UNITED STATES

Jewish settler leaders on Tuesday shrugged off President Barack Obama's call for Israel to halt settlement building in the occupied West Bank, saying Palestinians needed to halt terror first.

Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbors expressed grave concern on Tuesday over the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi but China said it would not interfere in the regime's affairs.

Iran's leading authority accused the United States on Tuesday of promoting terrorism in border areas and using arms and money against the Islamic state, in his latest verbal attack on Tehran's arch enemy.

The Palm Pre, the supposed iPhone killer, is set to launch June 6 in the U.S., and will only be available through Sprint, Palm confirmed on Tuesday, ending months of speculation as to when it will be rolled out to the public.

Stocks were little changed on Tuesday as data suggesting no let-up in the housing slump tempered investors' hopes that the recession was moderating.

Western-backed technocrat Salam Fayyad will stay on as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority at the head of a new cabinet to be announced shortly, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday.

Rodney Ringler is an unemployed blue collar male without a college degree. He's hardly alone. Men like him have been the main victims of the current recession in the United States.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has no plan to install former U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad as chief executive of his country, a spokesman said on Tuesday, denying a report in the New York Times.

The United States plans to give Pakistan about $100 million in humanitarian aid to help people who have fled fighting between government forces and Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, two sources familiar with the plan said on Tuesday.

Teen idol Miley Cyrus has a message for Internet critics calling her fat -- cyber-bullying can seriously scar people, leading them to hurt themselves.

Release Explanation: This report covers the number of new residential Starts and residential Building Permits issued each month, reported on an annualized basis.

Britain has held talks with investors to gauge their interest in buying its stakes in part-nationalized lenders, and could begin selling its holdings within a year, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The flood of follow-on stock issues in the United States will continue for several weeks but start shifting away from banks, a Morgan Stanley executive said Monday.

New U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly fell to record lows in April, a government report showed on Tuesday, denting hopes that stability in the housing market was imminent.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Teen idol Miley Cyrus has a message for Internet critics calling her fat -- cyber-bullying can seriously scar people, leading them to hurt themselves.

After 100 years in business and 10 months of frenzied but failed restructuring, General Motors Corp is weeks from the bankruptcy filing experts say will be required to complete the Obama administration's bid to reshape a fallen icon of American industry.

Stocks were set to fall at the open on Tuesday after data showed new U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly slid to record lows in April, tempering hopes of economic stabilization.

European Union moves to exempt industries such as steel, refining and cement from the cost of buying carbon permits risk handing them windfall profits and could blunt EU green investment, analysts say.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday will propose the most aggressive increase in U.S. auto fuel efficiency ever in a policy initiative that would also directly regulate emissions for the first time and resolve a dispute with California over cleaner cars.

U.S. lawmakers were set on Tuesday to begin wrangling over a climate change bill aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other pollutants with Republicans objecting that the legislation would burden the economy with higher energy costs.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, positioning Wall Street to recoup the rest of last week's losses, as upbeat quarterly results from Home Depot Inc bolstered hopes the economic downturn was easing.