UNITED STATES

Canada's Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold producer, plans to sell its 20 percent stake in Russia's Highland Gold, pulling out of one of the world's most promising - but also toughest - gold frontiers.

Shares of Apple, the world’s most valuable technology company, hit the $500 mark Monday valuing the company at $462 billion. It remains the world's most valuable company.

A controversial radiation treatment for patients who've had lung cancer surgery may not help elderly people live longer, U.S. researchers have found. Postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, is thought to cut the chances that a tumor will return.

By indicting Pakistan's embattled prime minister for contempt of court on Monday, the Supreme Court may have cemented its role as a political player alongside the military and the civilian government, complicating an already Byzantine political scene.

The international economic outlook is showing tentative signs of improvement, with the momentum shift spreading from the United States and Japan to other developed countries, the OECD's December survey of growth prospects showed on Monday.

Sales at U.S. retailers probably climbed in January as Americans bought more new cars and shoppers took advantage of post-holiday promotions, a sign that the U.S. economy is recovering, economists said before a report this week.

Qatar is perhaps the wealthiest nation on earth.

U.S. stock markets may begin the week with gains as stocks in Asia and Europe advanced after Greek parliament approved austerity measures demanded by Eurozone leaders to secure a bailout package and avoid a messy debt default.

China Investment Corp remains wary about investing in European government bonds despite a plea from Germany's chancellor, but will look for opportunities in infrastructure and real industrial projects, the head of the country's $410 billion sovereign wealth fund said on Monday.

The 136th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show begins Monday in New York City. Dogs from across the country come for two days to compete in the world's most famous dog show against top entries in their breed and group. Find out more information here on where to watch the live stream video, on where to find the schedule events, and for further details on the breeds and groups competing.

General Electric Co plans to hire 5,000 U.S. military veterans over the next five years and to invest $580 million to expand its aviation footprint in the United States this year.

Gold prices rose Monday after Greek lawmakers accepted terms of a deeply unpopular austerity plan that Eurozone leaders demanded as the price for financially rescuing the debt-choked nation.

Henrique Capriles Radonski, Governor of Miranda state, has won the opposition nomination to fight the incumbent socialist President Hugo Chávez in the October presidential elections in Venezuela. Capriles, 39, has swept the opposition primaries, defeating four of his opponents with huge margins. His one-sided victory in the primaries is seen as a warning sign to President Chavez who is looking forward to winning a third six-year term as Venezuelan President.

Oil prices rose to nearly $100 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, after Greece's parliament approved painful austerity measures to secure a second bailout and avoid bankruptcy.

Soul singer Adele triumphed in her return to music's stage on Sunday at the Grammy Awards 2012, scooping up six Grammys and winning every category in which she was nominated including album of the year for 21 and best record with Rolling In the Deep.

Japan's Olympus Corp, which is trying to recover from an accounting scandal that battered its balance sheet, forecast a 32 billion yen ($412 million) full-year net loss on Monday, dragged down in large part by its ailing camera business.

With the rising economy of China ensuring its steady march toward superpower position, the country has rolled out special programs to attract foreign elites which could make it the land of opportunities for skilled immigrants rivaling the U.S.

The European Union will not bow to pressure to suspend a controversial scheme to charge airlines for their carbon emissions, but is willing to be flexible in finding a solution to a row that threatens to escalate into a full-blown trade war.

Federal prosecutors have presented evidence to a grand jury against U.S. executives of cosmetics company Avon Products , in a case that probes whether those executives broke foreign bribery laws, the Wall Street Journal said.

Japan's economy shrank more-than-expected in the fourth quarter, hurt by slowing global growth, Thai floods and a strong yen, casting doubt on hopes for a pick up in activity in the first months of 2012.

It was a clean sweep for British soul singer Adele who won six awards out of six nominations and took home the the 2012 Grammy for Album of the year for 21. She snagged the trifecta of record, song and album of the year.