IBT Staff Reporter

A suicide bomber dressed as a paramilitary soldier attacked an office of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in the Pakistani capital on Monday, killing five staff members, government and U.N. officials said.

TransAlta Corp said on Monday it has reached a deal to buy renewable energy producer Canadian Hydro Developers after raising its takeover offer to C$5.25 a share.

Wealth managers around the world have learnt the hard way that they need to become more transparent but this will push up costs, prompting further consolidation in the crisis-hit sector.

The U.S. Supreme Court will again consider gun rights and decide an important case that could loosen restrictions on corporation spending in political campaigns in its new term beginning on Monday.

PepsiCo Inc said on Monday it will combine the North American operations of Pepsi Bottling Group Inc and PepsiAmericas Inc in a new bottling unit to be run by Pepsi Bottling's chief executive, Eric Foss.

Indian telecom Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is part of a consortium that is seeking a controlling stake in Kuwaiti telecom Zain, the chairman of the state-run firm was quoted as saying in a media report.

Hundreds of striking workers forced U.S. auto maker General Motors Co [GM.UL] to shut its Thai assembly plant on Monday, company and union officials said, raising the stakes in a pay dispute with management.

Nighthawk Energy Plc said on Monday it expected significant contribution from its Revere project in the United States in terms of reserves, production and cash flow, sending its shares up as much as 8.8 percent.

Goldman Politics; Impressions Off the Mark; New Buyer for Volvo?

Kate Gosselin appeared on NBC's Today Show on Monday claiming that Jon Gosselin withdrew $230,000 from $231,000 of their joint bank account in about one month.

Care about the future of your feet? You might want to consider your shoe choices carefully, new research shows.

Days before the swine flu vaccine becomes available, more than half of U.S. adults say they will get the vaccine for themselves and 75 percent will get it for their children, according to a survey released on Friday.

Norway has retained its status as the world's most desirable country to live in, according to U.N. data released on Monday, which ranks sub-Saharan African states afflicted by war and HIV/AIDS as the least attractive places.

Despite earlier health agency warnings, there is no strong evidence that the anti-smoking drug Chantix raises the risk of suicidal thoughts or depression compared to other stop-smoking products, researchers reported Thursday in the British Medical Journal.

A U.S.-led group has entered the race to buy Ford Motor Co's Volvo cars unit, the Financial Times reported, in a challenge to China's Geely Automotive which last month confirmed its interest in the loss-making Swedish carmaker.

A new compound can quickly counteract the action of an emerging class of drugs, offering a way to reverse the drugs' actions if a patient develops serious side effects, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

China Real Estate Information Corp, a provider of real estate information and consulting services, is planning to raise up to $248 million in a U.S.-listed initial public offering set for Oct 16.

Europe will this week launch a campaign to triple funding for energy research to 8 billion euros ($11.7 billion) a year in a technology race with Japan and the United States, a draft document shows.

Madonna and Lady Gaga appeared on Saturday Night Live's Deep House Dish sketch (A fake of the MTV show) over the weekend playing a mock lingerie fight and nearly kissing each other.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, legendary for its clout in Washington, has inexplicably halted its political fund-raising machine.

Stocks were headed for an opening bounce on Monday, with investors scooping up shares beaten down in last week's selloff, while a report that Brocade Communications Systems Inc put itself up for sale may fan deal optimism.

The H1N1 swine flupandemic should spur pharmaceutical researchers to renew efforts to develop a universal flu vaccine and rethink ways of dealing with future pandemics, scientists said on Friday.

China and a top G77 official accused rich nations on Monday of trying to kill off the Kyoto Protocol, the U.N.'s main weapon in the fight against global warming, as nations try to craft a broader climate pact.

Rich countries should make more vaccine available to poorer nations where the H1N1 virus is starting to hit, U.N. health officials said on Sunday.

Julius Baer Group AG expects an outcome soon on the sale of ING Group NV's Swiss private banking assets and is hopeful the terms of the sale are in its favor, Baer's chief executive said on Monday.

Healthcare workers in Indiana and Tennessee will be among the first to get swine flu vaccines in the United States on Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Narrator: Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything ... and just may get some of it back.

Japan Airlines Corp (JAL) plans to put on hold tie-up talks it has been holding separately with Delta Air Lines and AMR Corp's American Airlines, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Monday.

Japan's Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) said it would raise up to $1.1 billion in a share sale and invest most of the funds to develop hybrid and other technologies in what analysts said was a long-overdue bid to close the gap with rivals.