CHINA

The International Monetary Fund's bid to win a big boost in funding to handle the euro-zone debt crisis hit a speed bump on Thursday when Brazil demanded more power at the IMF for emerging economies as a condition for lending it extra cash.

The latest rumor to surface in the tech community is that the Palo Alto based company is soon to be coming out with an iPad Mini.

The 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, spoke to a rapt crowd of 12,000 at San Diego University on Thursday morning. He stressed the importance of compassion and the oneness of humanity.

Johnson Controls Inc. is expected to report a 5 percent drop in first quarter 2012 earnings tomorrow due to increased commodity prices, the expense of a new metals plant and higher engineering and launch costs from new business ventures. However, revenue and operating profit for the company are expected to be up.

Sometimes anything is possible. A seven-year-old girl born without hands has won a penmanship award and a $1,000 prize for being able to write by manipulating a pencil between her forearms, the Associated Press reported.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said on Thursday she expects to win a big boost in funding to help the lender contain damage from the euro-zone debt crisis now that Europe has taken significant steps on its own.

The global economy is set to expand by a modest 3.3 percent this year as a still-smoldering euro zone debt crisis and a relatively slow U.S. recovery continue to leave Asia as the main driver of growth, Reuters polls showed on Thursday.

Rumors have been swirling about a possible Lamborghini SUV called the Deimos, and all indications are that the company is out to build a bull of an SUV, but according to China Car Times, it will be called the Urus and make an appearance at the Beijing Auto Show later this month.

China issued a cautious statement that seemed to downplay any threats the missile may pose.

Nokia dropped its sales chief and promised to slash more costs, as Chief Executive Stephen Elop battles to reinvent the cellphone maker to compete with smartphone rivals.

The European Union will formalize a suspension of sanctions against Myanmar next Monday, allowing for major easing on restrictions against the country over the next year.

The Chinese government Thursday reacted diplomatically to India's successful launch of the nuclear capable long-range ballistic missile Agni-V while the government-controlled media lashed out at India for attempting to compete with China.

Shares of Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), the biggest designer of mobile chips, plunged more than 5 percent in early Thursday trading after missing second-quarter earnings estimates.

At a time when the smartphone lovers are busy churning out all possible features of Apple's next generation iPhone, it is apt to do a reality check. Some of the patents are like unibody design, ultrasonic bonding, iWallet, NFC, Universal Remote Control and etc. which Apple recently won might be featured in the next iPhone.

India now joins China, Russia, France, the U.S. and UK (and perhaps Israel) as the only countries on earth with similar capabilities.

Chinese workers who are exposed to silica dust in mines, and pottery and gemstone factories suffer not only from respiratory illnesses, but are at higher risk of contracting heart and infectious diseases and cancer, researchers in China have found.

Silver enjoyed a record 2011, as investors turned to physical bars and coins of the precious metal to piggyback a strong year for gold, according to The Silver Institute's World Silver Survey 2012 released on Thursday.

Ford Motor Co is investing $760 million to build a new plant in eastern China as part of its effort to catch up with U.S. rival General Motors Co in the world's largest auto market.

Amid the Samsung and Apple flagship model's launch buzz drifting to new levels in the mobile space every single day, tech enthusiasts might not be able to ignore this combined piece of news about the three powerful launches which are heading for the US release very soon. Yes, the spill is about the latest announcement by two major smartphone manufacturers, including HTC and Huawei.

UN probe panel is investigating the allegations that China has provided long range ballistic missile technology to North Korea, according to an AFP report quoting a defense magazine. According to the allegations North Korea's new missile launcher is based on Chinese missile technology, report said.Military analysts of IHS Jane's magazine tipped-off the United Nation's panel of experts about a possible transfer of either technology or the missile itself, from China to North Korea.

Eurosclerosis may finally have hit the technology sector.