CHINA

Iran is getting a visit from the United Nations' nuclear agency on Sunday, a surprise development as Iran prepares for scheduled talks with Western powers next week.

The Japanese government is asking businesses and homes to conserve electricity during the summer in order to avoid blackouts, but efforts to restart nuclear reactors continue to encounter resistance by political opponents of the national government.

Facebook has become a showcase for vulgar narcissism and voyeurism.

Gold prices continued its rebound Friday after dipping to a five-month low earlier this week. June delivery of the metal rose was up over 1 percent to $1,595 on Friday after jumping 2.3 percent the day before, the biggest one-day gain since January.

Gold rose more than 1 percent on Friday, building on the previous session's hefty gains, as a recovery in the euro prompted fresh buying of the precious metal after prices slid to five-month lows earlier this week.

The U.S. Commerce Department has imposed hefty tariffs on Chinese solar panel imports, a move the Obama administration is saying comes as a response to uncompetitive Chinese export practices.

Shares of Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), the No. 3 search engine, jumped as much as 6 percent in early trading Friday on a rumor it had finally made a deal to sell at least part of its 40-percent stake in China's Alibaba Group (Pink: ALBCF).

CNN's Italian football correspondent claims there is a 99% chance Fabio Capello will become the next Chelsea boss, if the club fails to win the Champions League.

Asian stock markets slumped Friday as renewed concerns over euro zone crisis and lackluster economic data from US dented investor sentiment.

Home prices in China fell in April, indicating that the government's efforts to curb the property market boom are gaining further momentum.

Asian stock markets tumbled on Friday, following an overnight slump on Wall Street as weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data and a deepening euro zone crisis dampened sentiment.

A U.N. panel of experts that monitors compliance with sanctions on North Korea is investigating reports of possible weapons-related shipments by the Communist state to Syria and Myanmar, the panel said in a confidential report seen by Reuters on Thursday.

European stocks lost big Thursday as Greek banks were cut loose from European Central Bank support and Spain's borrowing costs kept skyrocketing. The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, also warned today of the extremely expensive consequences of Greece leaving the currency bloc.

Spot gold rallied more than 2.6 percent on Thursday, its largest one-day gain since late January, as technical buy signals and new signs of a sluggish U.S. economy more than offset deepening despair over the euro zone.

Chinese water experts say that around 50 percent of the country's tap water may not meet national pollutant standards and that water quality in non-coastal cities remains seriously neglected.

Israeli leaders Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Ehud Barak have long taken a hawkish stance against Iran.

China has been nudging North Korea to shelve the plans for a third nuclear test, though it remains unclear how North may react to the pressure, sources aware of the secretive discussions between the two nations have said.

North Korea has resumed construction on an experimental light water reactor, a move that could extend its capacity to produce more material for nuclear weapons, Web site 38North reported Thursday.

A group of retired Chinese Communist Party members have called for the resignation of Zhou Yongkang, the head of China's Public Security Ministry.

Greece continued to weigh heavily on confidence Wednesday as bank customers there began sending cash out of the country or hiding it under their beds -- this despite hints from German Chancellor Angela Merkel that a stimulus would be forthcoming if the country stuck to its austerity commitments.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) said it would buy two mining equipment companies as it seeks to expand in the $61 billion global mining supplier industry.