CHINA

Foxconn Technology Group, the top maker of Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads whose factories are under scrutiny over labor practices, has raised wages of its Chinese workers by 16-25 percent from this month, the third rise since 2010.

In an interesting turn of events, will the entry of al-Qaeda comically twist the balance as it will be naturally pitted against the Hezbollah, the feared Shia militia actively supported and patronized by Iran? Assad's promise of a regional conflict could come true then!

The Airport Council International has announced the list of the top airports in the world.

Kosovo celebrates its fourth anniversary of Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on Feb. 17. Even after four years of its UDI, the Albanian majority country is still to make any head way towards development or in ensuring stability in the region. The biggest challenge it faces includes its conflict with Serbia, which don't recognize Kosovo's independence and the resistance from several of the European Union countries that oppose its inclusion in the Union.The territorial confl...

The latest fourth quarter 2011 global consumer confidence report by Nielsen has found that India is the most optimistic market in the world.

General Motors Co. has posted its best annual profit, which jumped 62 percent to $7.6 billion, beating expectations and breaking records two years after it nearly collapsed into bankruptcy.

The foreign exchange reserves of China shrank by $20 billion in Q4 2011, the first quarterly decline since 1993.

Apple's share of China's booming smartphone market slipped for a second straight quarter in October-December.

Oil prices moved higher in Asian trade Friday as tension between Western countries and Iran continued to intensify.

China's top search engine, Baidu Inc, plans to begin monetizing its mobile search traffic and social media platforms this year in an effort to boost growth outside its traditional PC domain, Baidu's chief executive said on Friday.

The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly ratcheted up the pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday by overwhelmingly approving a resolution that endorses an Arab League plan calling for him to step aside.

Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google, reported fourth-quarter earnings rose more than expected due to heavier Internet use and sales.Baidu said net income rose 77 percent to $326.3

The Duchess of Cambridge is getting waxed.

Now that President Barack Obama must nominate a new President of the World Bank, he’s keeping his mouth shut, especially in an election year.

Chinese dissident Web site Boxun has reported that Wang uncovered a plot by his former boss, Bo Xilai, and a senior government official, Zhou Yongkang, to seize power from Xi Jinping, heir-apparent to the reigns of Communist Party leadership.

According to the Xinhua news agency, Lu Jun -- a referee at the 2002 World Cup -- was sentenced by the Intermediate People's Court in the northeastern city of Dandong to five years and six months for accepting bribes.

Xi Jinping, Vice President of the People's Republic of China, will be courtside as the Lakers play the Suns at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Friday. But this self-proclaimed fan of American basketball has little to say about international phenomenon Jeremy Lin.

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) has embarked on a study of the working conditions in factories run by eight of Apple's suppliers in China, according reports by Reuters. Auret van Heerden, president of the FLA, noted that the working environment imposed onto the workers, which inevitably perpetuates boredom, could have contributed to the tragic suicides. After several days' worth of visits to the facility, Heerden commended that the conditions were not as slave-like as reported previously....

Worldwide sales of gold last year soared 29 percent to a record high as two groups of investors, each with mutually exclusive views of economic and financial threats, flocked to the yellow metal and related assets.

Dressed in a black Mao-style suit, a smiling Kim resembled his grandfather Kim Il-sung as he presided over a lavish military parade in honor of the recently deceased Kim Jong-Il.

Horse races are always fun to watch, even if no money is involved, and every four years, one of our two major political parties participates in a usually futile horse race. Americans are fed daily updates on who said what and on the ever fluctuating poll numbers.