IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. President Barack Obama begins his biggest week yet on the world stage, facing pressure for results on an agenda of rekindling Middle East peace talks, tackling climate change and reshaping financial regulations.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, a new 3D animated feature based on a popular children's book, shone brightest at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday, overshadowing flops starring Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston and Megan Fox.

The upcoming park documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, is directed by Ken Burns and will be aired on September 27 by PBS.

Cubans were expected to fill Havana's massive Revolution Square on Sunday for a concert by Colombian singer Juanes and a lineup of top Spanish-language musicians who hope art can do what politics has not -- bring together Cubans here and in the United States.

Despite a second consecutive victory at this year's Miss Universe, even Venezuela's hugely successful beauty factory is feeling the global pinch.

Just 8 miles across the Hudson River from New York City, the largest city in New Jersey can seem a world away from the affluence and ambition on Wall Street.

Will the Mad Men of U.S. television score a second Emmy best drama victory and can anyone stop comic actress Tina Fey and 30 Rock?

Senior management at Cazenove and JPMorgan are thought to be close to agreeing a price for Cazenove's share of their J. P. Morgan Cazenove joint venture before the end of the year, the Independent on Sunday newspaper said.

The United Nations is confident Afghanistan's election can be resolved before winter, with ballots already being printed to hold a second round if a fraud investigation makes that necessary, a spokesman said on Sunday.

Israel told Russia it would not launch an attack on Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a CNN interview released Sunday, in which he described such an attack as the worst thing that can be imagined.

President Obama has asked New York Governor David Paterson to withdraw from the state's 2010 governor's race for fear that the embattled fellow Democrat cannot regroup from a series of political setbacks, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Japan's new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, faces his first diplomatic test this week when he meets President Barack Obama in New York as the two allies grapple with disagreements that investors fear could damage ties.

President Barack Obama in an interview aired Sunday said all signs point to the U.S. economy starting to grow again but there may not be enough new jobs created until next year.

Miner Anglo American is not about to request a put up or shut up order on Xstrata to make a formal bid or walk away, a source close to the company said on Sunday, denying a media report.

Senior management at Cazenove and JP Morgan are thought to be close to agreeing a price for Cazenove's share of their JPMorgan Cazenove joint venture before the end of the year, the Independent on Sunday newspaper said.

U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd plans to propose legislation that would merge four bank agencies into one super-regulator, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

President Barack Obama, preparing to meet with other G20 leaders in Pittsburgh, on Saturday stressed the need for regulations to prevent another global economic crisis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was optimistic agreement could be reached at the summit.

A Goldman Sachs Group private equity fund is investing about $250 million in Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile , a move that could free up capital for Geely's parent to bid on Ford's Volvo unit, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unidentified source.

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Zaragoza in northeast Spain on Saturday to protest against Canada's Magna acquiring 55 percent of General Motors' Opel, Spanish media reported.

Soft drink maker Pepsico Inc said on Saturday that Michael White, vice chairman and PepsiCo International chief executive, would retire later this year after nearly 20 years with the company.

U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd plans to propose legislation that would merge four bank agencies into one super-regulator, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Zaragoza in northeast Spain on Saturday to protest against Canada's Magna acquiring 55 percent of General Motors' Opel, Spanish media reported.

Patty Loveless' 2001 bluegrass album, Mountain Soul, holds a special place in her heart. Influenced by the music she grew up with in rural Kentucky, the album resonated strongly with the country singer's fans even as it broadened her audience.

The Blueprint 3 by Jay-Z might be the week's No. 1 album. But the other major September 8 hip-hop release, Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx . . . Pt. II, can still claim a victory.

In the midst of its first reunion tour in the summer of 2006, veteran hard rock act Alice in Chains played to a crowd of 30,000 at Portugal's Super Bock Super Rock festival. As the band performed a set of its classic cuts, a handful of fans unfurled a 25-foot-long sign that read, Alice in Chains Get Born Again.

He gained fame as one of China's best dancers and was at the center of an international crisis, but the real story of Li Cunxin may never have been told if it had not been for Li sitting down to write it.

Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued a statement Saturday telling people of the West not to listen to U.S. President Barack Obama's justifications of war and vowing to defeat NATO troops like other invaders of history.

Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group Inc. are among those discussing the creation of a cash reserve to blunt a run on money markets like the one that occurred last September, according to a report by Bloomberg on Saturday.

Members of the union representing more than 10,000 workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co have ratified a four-year labor deal, Goodyear and the United Steelworkers union said on Saturday.