IBT Staff Reporter

Myanmar government lifted the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest Tuesday before it expired on Wednesday. But Suu Kyi still remains in detention while she was on charges of breaking the terms of house arrest.

Ireland's Catholic order of Christian Brothers, reeling from a report cataloguing decades of rapes and beatings of children by priests, bowed to pressure on Tuesday and said it would review compensation to victims.

Mobile phone giant Nokia rolled out its Ovi Store online store to an estimated 5 million Nokia device owners across more than 50 Nokia devices, but its first day of operations were met with complaints.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that police, under certain circumstances, can initiate an interrogation of a suspect without the defendant's lawyer being present.

North Korea will pay a price for its latest nuclear test if it does not reverse course but the door remains open to talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

Russia signed a landmark deal to supply nuclear fuel directly to U.S. companies on Tuesday, setting itself up to control 20 percent of the U.S. uranium market and extending its global reach in the nuclear sector.

The Democratic-led U.S. Senate must vote to confirm President Barack Obama's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Oil rose slightly on Tuesday, lifted by U.S. consumer confidence data and comments from OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia that oil demand has begun to pick up.

Stocks climbed on Tuesday after data showing a sharp rise in consumer confidence suggested the economic downturn was easing and a brokerage upgrade of Apple Inc lifted technology stocks

Apple's iTunes online music store may reach more customers throughout Europe after the body tasked with collecting artist royalties in France agreed to allow counterparts elsewhere to license its catalog.

Hong Kong government released an additional HK$16.8 billion ($2.2 billion) stimulus plan on Tuesday in order to boost the local economy and counter the impact of the global financial downturn.

Facebook sold a 1.96 percent stake for $200 million to a technology investment firm, valuing the largest social networking site at $10 billion, the two companies said on Tuesday.

Advanta Corp., a banking group that offers credit cards to small businesses, sent out an email to its customers on Tuesday that explained why it moved its credit-freeze date to May 30th from June 10, its original date.

General Motors Corp has failed to persuade enough bondholders to accept a debt-for-equity swap, setting the stage for the largest-ever U.S. industrial bankruptcy by the end of this month.

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it would hear an appeal by Merck & Co Inc of a ruling that reinstated a securities fraud lawsuit involving the company's disclosures to investors about its withdrawn Vioxx pain drug.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday after data from an industry group showed that consumer confidence rose in May, boosting optimism that the recession may be abating, and a broker upgrade of Apple Inc lifted technology stocks.

U.S. consumer confidence soared in May to its highest level in eight months, suggesting underlying improvement in the economy after a grim first quarter that witnessed a record plunge in home prices.

Microsoft's Windows Vista officially entered into its Service Pack 2 (SP2) phase on Tuesday after releasing its second service pack for the operating system.

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that nearly 13,000 people have been confirmed infected with the new H1N1 flu strain but the number of countries affected is stable at 46.

Ties between the United States and China could be transformed by cooperation on climate change, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, linking environmental concerns to human rights and the rule of law.

Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis trapped by an offensive against the Taliban in Swat face catastrophe and authorities should lift a curfew to enable them to get out and for help to get in, a rights group said.

General Motors Corp faces a number of major deadlines and events on Tuesday that will go a long way toward determining how and when the company files for an expected bankruptcy later this week.

Myanmar authorities lifted the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday, her lawyer said, but she remained in detention while her trial continues.

A senior Chinese health official complained on Tuesday that his country was being unfairly demonized as a center of fake drug production and defended the government's regulatory steps as sufficiently strong.

Prices of U.S. homes in March fell a sharp 18.7 percent from a year earlier, though some relief appeared to be in sight as, for the second month, prices did not slide at a record rate as they had been doing since late 2007.

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it would hear an appeal by Merck & Co Inc of a ruling that reinstated a securities fraud lawsuit involving the company's disclosures to investors about its withdrawn Vioxx pain drug.

North Korea, irked by South Korean and Japanese criticism of its nuclear test, said on Tuesday it may not support moves to curb production of nuclear bomb-making material, jeopardizing the start of global talks on the issue.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi testified at her prison trial on Tuesday as the nation's military regime tried again to justify a case that has enraged the West and annoyed its neighbors.