CHINA

A recruiter for Foxconn, the largest manufacturing partner of Apple products, told reporters from TV Tokyo's World Business Satellite that Apple's sixth-generation iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 5, will be released in June. He added that Foxconn is hiring about 18,000 workers to kick production of the new smartphone into high gear before summer.

Global auction house Sotheby's kicked off its spring sales in Hong Kong by selling all lots in a two-day wine sale, outstripping expectations, but the picture was less clear for its Asian and Chinese art sales as buyers became more selective.

Ongoing fiscal troubles in the 17-state currency area have cut share prices of numerous European companies, making them attractive to suitors from abroad.

China's state banks make money too easily and their monopoly on financial services has to be broken if cash-starved private enterprises are to get access to capital when they need it, state media cited Premier Wen Jiabao as saying on Tuesday.

In the face of falling exports as a percentage of its economy, China is trying to get its citizens to overcome a long-held propensity to save and start spending more on consumer goods.

The world's most populous country now has more than one billion cell phones. Over the past two years, China has added 200 million mobiles.

America is in the process of embracing certain failure. We have a president who appears enraptured by the European economic model as Europeans themselves are facing the reality of its ashes and despair.

As firefighters in China scrambled to rescue a two-year-old baby trapped in a well 30-centimeters in diameter, they employed the help of an unusual tool: the Apple iPhone.

Chip stocks eased Tuesday after the Semiconductor Industry Association published data showing sales increased for the three months ended in February.

Jenna Talackova, the transgender beauty queen who became the face of a social movement for equality when she was kicked out of the Miss Universe Canada beauty pageant because she was born a male, can now compete in the Miss Universe Canada competition after all.

When will Apple release its next generation iPhone? Well, the Cupertino-based tech giant generally offers a new smartphone to its customers around June or July. But since the existing iPhone 4S was released in October last year, Apple fans around the world seem a bit confused about when to expect the next one, presumably called iPhone 5.

Most Asian stock markets advanced Tuesday as better-than-expected readings on US manufacturing and China's services industries data lifted sentiment while stronger yen hurt Japanese shares.

Nepal, the Himalayan state bordered by Asian giants China and India, has arguably achieved what its neighboring nations haven't even thought about: Preparations are underway in its mountainous terrain -- where the monarchy gave way to democracy only in 2008 -- to host the region's first sports competition for LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) community.

Asian shares rose Tuesday, riding on the back of strong gains in global equities overnight after solid manufacturing data from the United States and leading Asian exporters offset signs of mild recession in Europe.

Sherman shrugged off media reports that Iran was becoming a serious divisive issue between the U.S. and India.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP), the world's second-largest food and beverage company, claimed the No.784 spot on the IBTimes 1000 list by expanding aggressively in emerging markets and catering to consumers' demand for healthier food and beverages.

As the international community weighs options for halting the bloodshed in Syria, members of Congress and the Obama administration have emphasized alternatives to an outright military intervention.

The pace of growth in manufacturing picked up last month, but construction spending saw its largest drop in seven months in February, pointing to an economy that is healing gradually.

Special envoy Kofi Annan met Monday with the U.N. Security Council in New York to discuss the progress of his cease-fire and peace plan aimed at ending a brutal crackdown by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad against rebel fighters.

Could Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares trade at $1,001? Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets see that within 18 months when Apple closes its fiscal 2013.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), the world’s largest coffee-shop chain, is planning to further tap into the massive Chinese market and triple the size of its workforce and local network of shops by 2014.