UNITED STATES

Google Inc's threat to withdraw from China over censorship and cyber attacks has suddenly jeopardized any plans it has for the world's biggest Internet market, stunning investors and analysts.

International aid has been deployed to Haiti today after a 7.0 magnitude earhquake struck the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, lifted by a broker's upgrade of Merck & Co and a higher profit outlook from Kraft Foods Inc.

Iran received information days ago that Israeli and U.S. intelligence intended to carry out terrorist acts in Tehran, its parliament speaker said on Wednesday, after the killing of a university scientist.

In early 2008, an official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a report to his superiors detailing what he called the most significant development in the criminal exploitation of aircraft since 9/11.

Goldman Sachs defended its role in creating securities at the center of the financial crisis under tough questioning from a U.S. commission investigating the 2008 meltdown.

Google Inc said on Tuesday that it is considering shutting down its China operations and website after hackers in China coordinated a highly sophisticated cyber-attack on the Internet search giant in December and targeted at least a score of other major corporations.

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for $33 billion (20.3 billion pounds) in emergency war funding for a major U.S. troop buildup in Afghanistan this year, defence officials said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama is discussing ways to help U.S. states cover costs that are destined to rise under pending healthcare reform legislation, his press secretary said on Monday.

British and U.S. researchers studied the effects of the chemical bisphenol A using data from a U.S. government national nutrition survey in 2006 and found that high levels of it in urine samples were associated with heart disease.

Novartis will likely nudge up its lowball bid to minority shareholders in eyecare group Alcon to push a deal through cleanly, even though it appears to hold all the trump cards.

Britain's business secretary Peter Mandelson is expected to add his weight to union calls for Cadbury shareholders to resist Kraft Foods' bid, which got a boost from the withdrawal of a possible rival.

U.S. mortgage applications rose in the first week of 2010, reflecting surging demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates dropped, industry data showed on Wednesday.

ther internet search businesses operating in China could benefit from Google's possible exit from the market over censorship issues

A major earthquake rocked Haiti, killing possibly thousands of people as it toppled the presidential palace and hillside shanties alike and left the Caribbean nation appealing for international help.

Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc inked a deal video game console maker Nintendo to allow Wii users to stream movies and TV episodes to their television sets.

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro hit a one-month high against the dollar on Wednesday while higher-yielding currencies trimmed losses from the previous day as investors concluded China's surprise monetary tightening would not derail growth.

Google's announcement that it may quit China over censorship and hacking drew applause, warnings and bouquets from dissidents and Internet activists on Wednesday, with few seeing much chance of the wary government giving ground.

Google Inc threatened to quit China, the world's biggest Internet market, warning it would no longer tolerate strict censorship of its Google.cn search engine.

China's monetary tightening and disappointing corporate earnings put downward pressure on world stocks on Wednesday, combining to present investors with two of their biggest concerns.

President Barack Obama will announce plans on Thursday to raise up to $120 billion from major U.S. financial firms to cover expected losses from a taxpayer-funded bank bailout, a senior administration official said on Tuesday.