WORLD

The new Kobe Bryant controversy relating to his contract with Turkish Airlines is a bizarre, unexpected and fascinating juxtaposition of fame, media, wealth, sports, ancient history and multi-culturalism that could only happen in Hollywood.

President Obama's tax cut plan, by lowering unemployment and boosting economic growth, may ease the Federal Reserve's pressure to buy Treasuries via its controversial program of quantitative easing.

Whistleblower site Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been in spotlight for exposing diplomatic cables, seems to have a cablegate scandal of his own, as some of his emails recording his attempt to court a teenager have surfaced.

Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, has threatened to nationalize all British and American companies operating in his country unless Western sanctions are eliminated.

Oklahoma has executed John David Duty, 58, on Thursday keeping alive its capital punishment policy. The difference this time was that it used for the first time a drug called pentobarbital, a sedative that is used as euthanasia for animals.

Obama's tax cut plan is a done deal now. By cutting taxes and increasing spending, it is essentially a fiscal stimulus package for the next two years that will boost GDP growth, create jobs, and add to the budget deficit.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has unveiled its recommendations for improving online privacy practices, and has called for a privacy bill of rights that would help regulate the way personal data is used.

Classified US diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blower site Wikileaks revealed that the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) briefed US officials over the continued ill-treatment of detainees in Kashmir by the armed forces and the police. Some cables stated that the government-nurtured militia committed brutal human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings, rapes and extortion of Kashmiri civilians suspected of harboring extremists in the Valley.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) negotiated with the Iranian government about developing Iraq-Iran cross-border oilfield, in direct violation of U.S. sanctions against Teheran, according to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a proposed rule that says advanced boiling water reactors must be built to withstand aircraft impacts similar to the one that brought down the World Trade Center.

Congress passed a compromise deal late Thursday to keep alive Bush era tax cuts for all Americans and continue to provide unemployment benefits for millions of workers, with President Barack Obama set to sign the bill into law.

North Korea on Friday warned of 'deadlier attacks' if the South decides to go ahead with live-fire drills on Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea. Officials of the communist state maintained that the attacks this time would be more lethal than that of last month's artillery shelling that killed two South Korean soldiers and two civilians.

European Union leaders said last night differences over amending the EU treaties to make way for a permanent crisis mechanism have been papered over, but the market response to the development was muted as doubts still remained over key features of the deal.

Business sentiment in Germany continued to improve for the third straight month in December, helped by better conditions in retailing and wholesaling, according to the Ifo Business Survey.

World reacts against TIME magazine’s choice to snub Wikileak's founder Julian Assange and honor Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg as the 2010 Person of the Year title.

It's a rather new Cold War. New rhetoric, spiraling conflicts and opposing fronts have returned to the panorama of the World. Posing a threat to the region's still fragile peace, a new arms race has begun in the Asia-Pacific.

The new export control policies proposed by the Obama administration may address some previously identified weaknesses but leave many more open, a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said on Thursday

The Federal Reserve is proposing a 12-cent cap on fees merchants pay to banks pay for debit card transaction processing

The House of Representatives has postponed deciding on an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts.

The U.S. can expect greater legal software sales in China, the top U.S. trade official said Wednesday.

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today called for greater oversight of scientists working on synthetic biology, though it fell short of calling for any new federal regulations or institutions.

Standard & Poor’s upgraded its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the People’s Republic of China to ‘AA-’ (its fourth-highest ranking) from ‘A+’.

The lawyer for indicted former financial adviser Kenneth Starr was himself charged today for assisting in Starr's multi-million dollar fraud, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

There’s hope for polar bears, but it depends on human behavior.

Developing countries lose between $20 billion to $40 billion per year to bribery, embezzlement, and other corrupt practices by public officials.

The U.S. Senate opens debate on the START Treaty this morning, with the Democrats needing one more vote to ensure passage.

Manufacturing conditions in Philadelphia continued to improve for the third consecutive month and input prices increased, according to a survey report on Thursday

The Asia-Pacific region will continue to be the fastest-growing region of the world in 2011, according to a forecast by IHS Global Insight. However, the report says the region faces significant risks in the backdrop of the fragile state of some of the largest economies in the world, the raging sovereign debt crisis in the European Union and 'deep-seated structural problems facing Japan.

Construction of new homes in the U.S. rose during November but permits fell surprisingly, according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department, indicating that the housing market might face some weakness in the coming months.