IBT Staff Reporter

Iraq's fractious parliament on Monday approved an amended version of a law needed to hold a general election next year, but sidestepped a veto by Sunni Arab Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi, lawmakers said.

Gourmet coffee chain Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc increased its cash-and-stock offer to acquire Diedrich Coffee Inc by $53 million to ward off competition from rival Green Mountain Coffee Roaster Inc.

Jennifer Lopez fell on her butt during a boxing-theme performance of her new single Louboutins, at the American Music Awards 2009.

Search engines have always been at war, but now they have entered a new dimension. First, News Corp's Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said he wants to make people pay for access to his news websites like The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post and will take off its content from sites like Google.

The Twilight sequel scored the third-biggest opening weekend of all time at the North American box office on Sunday, as millions of young women swooned over the complex love triangle involving a high school girl, a vampire and a werewolf.

Santa Claus should avoid kissing children and shaking their hands to prevent spreading the flu and should get vaccinated against the illness, Hungary's state health authority said.

As U.S. health officials struggle to vaccinate tens of millions of Americans against the pandemic of swine flu, some are looking regretfully at one easy way to instantly double or triple the number of doses available -- by using an immune booster called an adjuvant.

Michael Jackson's famous white glove sold for $350,000 at a memorabilia auction on Saturday, soaring far past pre-sale estimates, while a black jacket he wore during a 1989 world tour fetched $225,000.

British singer Robbie Williams may sell the right to half his future album, touring and sponsorship earnings in a 50 million pound ($83 million) deal, one of his managers was reported to say on Saturday.

The H1N1 flu is moving eastwards across Europe and Asia after appearing to peak in parts of western Europe and the United States, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday after comments by a Fed official reassured investors the government is committed to helping the economy recover from a deep recession.

Michael Jackson's personal physician told investigators he was not the first doctor to give the pop star propofol, the powerful anesthetic that was one of the drugs to cause his death, according to court papers unsealed on Friday.

Morticians who use formaldehyde to embalm bodies have a higher risk of leukemia, researchers reported on Friday.

A French attorney for Roman Polanski who said the film director would not return voluntarily to the United States to face child sex charges is not authorized to speak in the case, Polanski's U.S. attorneys said on Friday.

Past the security man and his pit bull and through a haze of eye-watering smoke, two youths load up a pipe next to a row of shiny glass jars with two dozen varieties of marijuana bud displayed like candy.

The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

Campbell Soup Co reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, helped by prices increases, easing costs for ingredients like grains and tomatoes and efforts to cut overhead costs.

Country crossover star Taylor Swift overshadowed the late Michael Jackson at the American Music Awards on Sunday, winning five prizes including artist of the year.

- Nokia Oyj's battered shares could get a boost when the firm looks ahead at next week's investor day to an expected upturn in handset margins and a more competitive smartphone offering in 2010.

Shares in Reliance Industries rose nearly 4 percent to a one-month high on a view India's biggest firm would steal a bargain with its bid for bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell, a deal sources say may be worth $12 billion.

Pakistani security forces backed by tanks and artillery attacked Taliban positions in the northwest of the country, killing 22 militants, a senior police official on Monday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a nearly 1 percent rise at the open on Monday after comments by a Fed official reassured investors the government is committed to helping the economy recover from a deep recession.

The Iraqi parliament on Sunday failed to resolve an impasse threatening to delay the country's election in January, which could affect the U.S. military's plans for a partial pullout next year.

Indonesian coal miner PT Bumi Resources Tbk said on Monday it plans to raise $300 million from the sale of seven-year convertible bonds.

India's Reliance Industries has made a cash offer to buy bankrupt U.S. basedpetrochemicals firm LyondellBasell Industries.

HEGANG, China (Reuters) - Relatives of victims of a gas blast at a northeast Chinese coal mine scuffled with police and demanded answers from the owners on Monday as state media put the toll from the latest in a series of mine disasters at 104.The protest came a day after another 11 miners were killed in a blast at a pit in the southern province of Hunan, Xinhua said. China's stability-obsessed government is nervous about any public protests, and will be keen to keep discontent under control...

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd said on Monday it found additional oil in an Iraqi well, sending the oil and gas explorer's shares up 7.8 percent.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, aware his chances of re-election may hinge on the economy emerging from recession, called on Monday for a global growth strategy to tackle trade and currency imbalances.

The global economy is in a holding pattern and vulnerable to more upheaval, the head of the IMF said on Monday, adding a lasting recovery will depend on policymakers taking the proper steps in the coming months.