JAPAN

The S&P cut in the U.S. long-term credit rating to AA-plus is an unprecedented blow. It called the outlook "negative," signaling another downgrade is possible in the next 12 to 18 months. The U.S. dollar may weaken and Treasury yields rise when Asian markets reopen on Monday.

Certain shark species have the ability to create an optical illusion that renders them invisible to both preys and predators, a new study says.

China bluntly criticised the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower's credit rating was downgraded, saying the "good old days" of borrowing were over.

The United States lost its top-tier AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's, drawing a blast of criticism on Saturday from its biggest creditor China and deepening investors' alarm over the euro zone's debt crisis.

In the event Monday witnesses a massive sell-off of Treasuries, bond yields would surge.

Tolstoy thought unhappy families were unique in their unhappiness.

The crumbling of mega-merger talks between Japanese industrial behemoths Hitachi (6501.T) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T) threatens a rare opportunity for Japan to improve its global competitiveness by consolidating century-old companies.

China bluntly criticized the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower's credit rating was downgraded, saying the "good old days" of borrowing were over.

Ryan White, a 9-year-old tourist from Yardley, Philadelphia, who became the victim of a hit-and-run incident in downtown San Francisco after watching a baseball game, was battling for his life on Friday night at San Francisco General Hospital.

August 6th marks the 66th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing in Hiroshima, which cost an estimate of 140,000 lives by the end of 1945.Naoto Kan, Japanese Prime Minister, attended the anniversary in Hiroshima and reaffirmed the urgency to reduce Japan's dependence on nuclear energy.

The U.S. lost its AAA credit rating from Standard and Poor's for the first time in history, dealing a symbolic blow to the world's economic superpower. The impact of this downgrade is a matter of speculation.

The United States wouldn't enjoy "risk-free" top AAA credit rating any longer. Standard & Poor's decision, being questioned by many including the White House, to downgrade AAA rating to AA+ was based on an analysis which blew up U.S. deficits by $2 trillion.

For more than a century, mysterious crop circles have baffled scientists and farmers with its complex patterns and sophisticated shapes.

Researchers in Japan used embryonic stem cells to grow healthy mouse sperm on laboratory dishes, a development which could help treat human infertility, they said Friday.

The attacks ? the only time nuclear weapons have ever been used in world history to date ? killed tens of thousands of people and shocked the planet with the scale of their destruction.

U.S. President Barack Obama hailed a positive jobs report on Friday but said more job growth is needed and predicted the situation will improve over time.

One of the world's leading economists says don't get giddy over the July jobs report, which indicated the U.S. economy created a better-than-expected 117,000 jobs. NYU Professor Nouriel "Dr. Doom" Roubini, who accurately predicted the housing crisis four years ago, says U.S. GDP will be sub-par in 2011 and the risk of a recession is real.

Honda Motor Co Ltd will recall 2.49 million cars, small SUVs and minivans worldwide, including its popular Accord sedan, to repair a software problem that could damage the automatic transmission.

Parts of China?s eastern coast have been placed on alert as severe typhoon Muifa approaches the Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, close to Shanghai.

The crumbling of mega-merger talks between Japanese industrial behemoths Hitachi <6501.T> and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries <7011.T> threatens a rare opportunity for Japan to improve its global competitiveness by consolidating century-old companies.

Overseas stocks are plunging following the devastating sell-off in the U.S. Thursday, ahead of a crucial July jobs report out of Washington.