China's CNOOC Ltd on Tuesday abandoned its $18.5 billion offer to acquire Unocal Corp in the face of strident political opposition, clearing the way for the US oil and gas producer to conclude a deal with larger US rival Chevron Corp.

Hewlett-Packard Co, the world's number two PC maker, said on Tuesday it will stop selling digital cameras in Asia as it pursues business areas with greater potential in the region. HP, which last month announced plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce un

Brazil has made itself into a "shining example" of strong economic performance that stands in sharp contrast to Europe and Japan, US Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Tuesday. Speaking to business leaders and economists during a tour that aims to bolst

MasterCard International on Tuesday reported a 14.5 percent rise in purchases on its credit and debit cards in the second quarter while it continued to crack down on online identity theft.

MasterCard International on Tuesday reported a 14.5 percent rise in purchases on its credit and debit cards in the second quarter while it continued to crack down on online identity theft.

European low-cost airline Ryanair reported record first-quarter results on Tuesday, saying it had benefited from fuel surcharges levied by rival carriers, but was cautious about the rest of the year and kept its full-year forecast unchanged. Net profit ro

European low-cost airline Ryanair reported record first-quarter results on Tuesday, saying it had benefited from fuel surcharges levied by rival carriers, but was cautious about the rest of the year and kept its full-year forecast unchanged. Net profit ro

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) said on Tuesday its quarterly net loss shrank by more than 60 percent - better than it had anticipated thanks to falling sales costs and currency tailwinds - but it kept its forecast for an improved full-year result.

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) said on Tuesday its quarterly net loss shrank by more than 60 percent - better than it had anticipated thanks to falling sales costs and currency tailwinds - but it kept its forecast for an improved full-year result.

Germany's Siemens is carving out a new subsidiary from its loss-making telecoms unit, Com, which will run all of Com's remaining consumer businesses and have annual sales of some 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). The new entity, to be called Siemens Home an

US consumer spending advanced a robust 0.8 percent in June as shoppers took to auto showrooms to enjoy sales incentives that helped keep inflation steady, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Philippines share prices closed little changed on Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines due to renewed political concerns while others took profits after a week-long advance, dealers said.

Hong Kong stocks rose over 1 percent to a fresh 4-1/2 year closing high on Tuesday, with oil plays rallying amid persistently high oil prices and bank stocks rising after stronger-than-expected results from HSBC Holdings Plc. The benchmark Hang Seng index

US technology stocks rose on Monday boosted by shares of Web marketplace eBay Inc, which rose on a brokerage upgrade, but crude oil's climb to a fresh record and interest-rate worries, weighed on blue chip Dow industrial shares.

Indian share prices posted a sixth straight record high close on Tuesday as the market shrugged off devastating rains in Mumbai in the past week which killed 993 people, dealers said. The benchmark Mumbai stock exchange's 30 share Sensex closed up 86.59 p

US Treasury debt prices retreated on Monday after a second monthly gain in a key manufacturing index suggested the industrial sector was on the mend. The scenario suggested Federal Reserve policy-makers could keep raising interest rates without worrying a

US Treasury debt prices retreated on Monday after a second monthly gain in a key manufacturing index suggested the industrial sector was on the mend. The scenario suggested Federal Reserve policy-makers could keep raising interest rates without worrying a

Indonesian share prices rose 0.94 percent to chalk up another record finish on Tuesday led by index heavyweight Telkom, dealers said. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 11.104 points at 1,189.327, breaking its previous record close of 1,

Taiwan stocks rose 0.56 percent on Tuesday as investors snatched up big microchip makers like UMC as they reconsidered a recent correction in index heavyweights but cashed out of other tech issues. The TAIEX share index added 35.61 points to close at 6,34

Singapore share prices closed 0.48 percent higher on Tuesday, led by the majors including Singapore Telecommunications and DBS banking group, dealers said. The Straits Times Index rose 11.41 points to 2,377.13. Volume traded totalled 1.2 million shares wo

Japan's Nikkei stock average edged down on Tuesday, snapping a four-day winning streak, with investors selling Olympus Corp on disappointing earnings and cashing in recent winners such as Komatsu Ltd after the index rose to its highest intraday level in 1

Malaysian share prices closed 0.33 percent higher on Tuesday on buying of selected blue chips as investors brushed aside concerns over rising crude oil prices, dealers said. They added that investors were more focused on the corporate development of indiv

China's shares jumped 1.4 percent on Tuesday to their highest levels in more than a month as funds, hopeful about an imminent market recovery, built positions in large caps such as Huadian Power International Corp Ltd. The benchmark Shanghai composite ind

The Hong Kong dollar strengthened on Tuesday as funds flowed into the local stock market and the US dollar retreated against major currencies. The Hong Kong dollar was trading at 7.7721/22 to the US dollar in late trade, compared with 7.7724/26 in mid-mor

China's yuan strengthened beyond 8.1040 per dollar on Tuesday, recording a post-revaluation high for the fourth straight session as dealers gained confidence that central bank would keep allowing small gains.

The Swiss franc eased against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected data on US manufacturing boosted the greenback and ahead of Switzerland's purchasing managers' index data for July. The US Institute for Supply Management's ma

The dollar fell on Tuesday after upbeat European factory data helped temper investor pessimism about the euro, while some traders favoured the yen as the Nikkei average hit a 13-month intraday high. Despite another piece of strong US economic data showing

The dollar pared losses on Monday after stronger-than-expected data on US manufacturing and options-related trading partially offset central bank demand for euros in quiet trading. Following a recent pattern, the dollar slipped after the Institute for Sup

Asian currencies rose on Tuesday as markets shrugged off record high oil prices to focus on regional stock markets, which hit multi-year highs, and data showing the US manufacturing sector was expanding. The Korean won and Thai baht led the pack, gaining

The inaugural Asia-Africa cricket series to be played in South Africa later this month was plunged into controversy on Tuesday when former India captain Sourav Ganguly protested at his omission.

Justin Gatlin goes into the world championships here with a fantastic chance to join an illustrious gang of four sprinters who all held both Olympic gold and the world title simultaneously.

Bulgarian teen Sesil Karatancheva upset No 13 seed Shinobu Asagoe of Japan 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 during the opening day of the 1.3 million dollar WTA Acura Classic on Monday. Asagoe wasn't the only seed to fall to an up and comer on Monday as No 12 Tatiana Golovi

Australian Wayne Arthurs almost paid the price for not eating enough, but 19-year-old American Phil Simmonds found he had bitten off more than he could chew in his ATP main draw debut. The 34-year-old Aussie Davis Cup veteran rallied to beat Simmonds 0-6,

Former Pakistan cricket captain Wasim Akram on Tuesday criticised England's decision not to play a Test match in Karachi later this year, saying his country was being unfairly targeted in security matters.

World champions Australia retained their place at the top of the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings even as Pakistan and Sri Lanka slipped to their lowest positions.

Separatist rebels in India's north-eastern state of Assam warned on Tuesday of more violence if New Delhi ignored their latest offer for talks. The warning came two weeks ahead of India's August 15 Independence Day, a target for rebel attacks in the past.

North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong-il never forgets a phone number, a cadre's career or a line of computer code. According to an article posted on Tuesday on a Web site run by North Korea, Kim wakes up early every day for intensive memory training where h

A German mother admitted some responsibility Tuesday in the deaths of nine of her new-born babies over a 16-year period but said she could recall few details as she had been drinking at the time.

China's military modernisation, including apparent plans for a deep-water navy, needs to be monitored closely to determine whether it exceeds requirements for self-defence, a Japanese defence report said on Tuesday.

India's defence minister Tuesday defended a military pact with Washington signed in June that paves the way for joint weapons production and co-operation on missile defence, saying it did not compromise national security.

Zimbabwe's government on Tuesday withdrew its remaining treason case against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who last year was acquitted of separate charges of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe.

An Iranian judge who sentenced several reformist dissidents to jail, including hunger-striking reporter Akbar Ganji, was shot dead in his car by a lone gunman riding a motorcycle, a judiciary spokesman said on Tuesday. Reuters witnesses saw the passenger

The presence of British and US troops in Iraq is fuelling the Sunni-led insurgency which has killed hundreds of people, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in comments published on Tuesday.

The European Union and United States on Tuesday issued sharp warnings to Iran over its threatened violation of a deal suspending its nuclear activities, saying it could trigger unspecified consequences from the UN Security Council.

Russia will maintain support for Iran's nuclear programme despite Tehran's decision to restart the enrichment of uranium, Russian news agencies quoted sources in Russia's atomic agency, Rosatom, as saying on Tuesday.

Iran is some 10 years away from manufacturing highly enriched uranium to make a nuclear device, The Washington Post said Tuesday quoting officials with access to a new intelligence review.

Russia on Tuesday barred ABC television from contacts with officials after it broadcast an interview with Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev, and will not allow the US channel's journalists to work in the country. "A decision was taken that at the end of

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, beset by violence in the Muslim south, graft scandals and economic woes that have eroded his support less than five months into a new term, reshuffled his cabinet on Tuesday.

The top US negotiator to stalled talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis said on Tuesday it was time for the parties to take a breather and mull what progress had been made in more than a week of wrangling.

Transport in Mumbai resumed near-normal service on Tuesday as rains and floods finally let up after killing close to 1,000 people last week, but low-lying parts of India's financial capital remained under water.

Mourners paid tribute to Sudan's John Garang Tuesday, as his successor vowed to pursue the rebel-turned-statesman's peace drive and urged restraint as riots flared again in the capital Khartoum.

Thousands of Israeli ultranationalists rallied on Tuesday against a Gaza pullout as police deployed in force to block any attempt to march across the nearby frontier into Jewish settlements due to be evacuated.

The Pentagon has banned the use of anonymous quotes in press releases, calling the recent use of nearly identical quotes attributed to unnamed Iraqis an "egregious error." Lawrence DiRita, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said the incident involving press re

France raised a potential new hurdle on Tuesday to Turkey starting European Union membership talks in October, saying Ankara must recognise Cyprus first.

Discovery's astronauts had misgivings about the risky spacewalk mission to the shuttle's fragile belly but agreed to try the repair because it seemed relatively easy to do, crewmembers said on Tuesday.

All timings are in PST (Pakistan Standard Time).

The rupee slid to a one-week low on Tuesday as the central bank stepped up its dollar-buying intervention amid nervous bids for the US currency from local oil refiners eyeing the latest spike in global crude prices. Traders said a clutch of state-run bank

Sterling hit a three-week high against a weakening dollar on Tuesday before paring gains on a brief security alert in central London. The currency was little moved by slightly weaker-than-expected retail sales figures from the Confederation of British Ind

The dollar hit a 1-1/2 week low against the yen on Tuesday, as investors awaited more convincing evidence to boost US interest rate hike expectations after the currency failed to rally on strong US data. The yen was cheered by Tokyo stocks hitting a 13-mo

US stocks rose on Tuesday, as investors found reasons to buy equities after government reports showed stronger June consumer spending and solid earnings at US companies helped drive the Nasdaq to a four-year high.

British engineer GKN Plc and service firm Rentokil Initial led the European corporate bond market lower on Tuesday, amid light trading in what is traditionally the quietest month of the year.

British engineer GKN Plc and service firm Rentokil Initial led the European corporate bond market lower on Tuesday, amid light trading in what is traditionally the quietest month of the year.

Seoul shares rose on Tuesday for a seventh consecutive session, posting their highest close in more than a decade, as technology titles such as Hynix Semiconductor gained amid hopes for better second-half earnings.

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Tuesday.

Britain's top shares closed at three-year highs on Tuesday thanks to strength in miners and oil majors while British Airways and BSkyB rose in anticipation of strong earnings.

Wheat production in Argentina, Brazil's main supplier, is expected to fall sharply and prices may rise, Brazilian wheat millers said. Argentine wheat output is seen at 13 to 14 million tonnes in 2005/06, down from 16.5 million in 2004/05, due to a smaller

A trap found four "rust-like" spores in Illinois, the nation's biggest soyabean producing state, but the sample is too small to confirm if it is the highly contagious soyabean rust disease, the US Agriculture Department's rust-monitoring Web site said on

Oil prices firmed on Tuesday to within striking distance of the record as fears over the stability of world supplies persisted following the death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. A spate of refinery problems in the United States and expectations a US governm

Mexico has imposed a compensatory duty on European olive oil imports, saying subsidies paid to Mediterranean growers hurt Mexico's only producer. The new tax, which begins on Tuesday, will levy between 40 US cents and 73 US cents per kilogram and include

Tuesday's Rotterdam vegetable oil prices at 1600 GMT.

Tuesday's Rotterdam vegetable oil prices at 1600 GMT.

Cotton futures settled higher Tuesday on a steady drumbeat of speculative buying and the market will be looking for news to provide it direction on its next move, analysts said. The New York Board of Trade's December cotton contract rose 0.19 cent to end

London coffee futures jumped on Tuesday, bouncing back from an earlier 3-1/2-month low after fund buying in New York boosted speculative interest, dealers said. London's benchmark September and second-month November contracts closed just over four percent

London Metal Exchange (LME) copper prices ended little changed in floor trading on Tuesday as profit-taking knocked the market off a new record high of $3,582.50 a tonne reached near the close, dealers said.

Platinum prices moved off an earlier 15-month peak on Tuesday in Europe, while gold stagnated near four-week peaks in subdued trade, dealers said. Platinum, used mainly in jewellery and autocatalysts to clean exhaust fumes, fell back below $900 an ounce f

New York Board of Trade benchmark arabica futures rose more than 4 percent to end at an 19-day high, fuelled by a bout of fund buying amid strong technical signals, market sources said. NYBOT's September arabica climbed 4.45 cents to settle at $1.0660 a l

Cocoa futures on the New York Board of Trade climbed to a fresh 5-week high Tuesday, boosted by speculative buying amid concerns about a tottering peace plan in top cocoa grower Ivory Coast, market sources said.

The price of raw sugar at the New York Board of Trade finished Tuesday at its highest level in 4-1/2 years due to heavy fund buying and a bullish fundamental outlook for the sweetener, analysts said. "I think we'll go higher. The fundamentals are still bu

Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were higher at mid-morning on Tuesday on inter-market spreading and spillover from a firm trend in soybeans and corn, traders said. As of 11:40 am CDT (1640 GMT), September wheat was up 2-1/4 cents at $3.32-3/4

Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were firm early on Tuesday, supported by prospects for a smaller US corn crop due to heat stress, traders said. But corn prices were range-bound as much of the weather premium was factored into the market during

New York copper futures slipped early Tuesday as some market players took profits at the recent highs and others became nervous that day-earlier peaks would not be sustained, traders said. Though fund buyers may still be lurking in the wings, brokers said

Soyabean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were sharply higher early on Tuesday, lifted by concerns about the US soyabean crop amid forecasts for warm, dry weather in August, traders said. The market gained momentum when buy stops were hit near $6.94

US gold futures were flat on early Tuesday, backing off Monday's one-month high, and brokers saw little dramatic news - even the chance of a South African mining strike - to drive the market during a seasonally slow period.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has formally launched a five-year project for improvement of maternal and new-borns health to be executed in collaboration with the Health Department at district Buner under Pakistan Initiativ

About 47 new varieties of crops evolved by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) have been contributing towards additional benefits for farmers amounting to over six billion rupees per annum.

"Our Maulanas may have come of age."

The government of Pakistan has decided to start issuing machine-readable visas (MRVs) to the foreigners intending to travel to Pakistan. The Director General, Passports and Immigration, Khalid Habib, told PPI on Tuesday that issuance of machine-readable v

Social health insurance covering most of the population is still a new concept in Pakistan, which requires major assistance and a lot of awareness raising, capacity building, and institutional development. So far, not much assistance has been given to the

The Sui Southern Gas Company's (SSGC) new bills, no doubt, reflect a Technicolor proforma, replacing its old style since a few months ago. However, the left front portion of the bill reflects a broad belt of advertising signs of KFC while its back portion

Since June 2205, the Karachi CNG Green Bus (Route UTS-19) and World-wide Express from Johar Chorangi to Tower, vise-versa via city routes have been stopped without any replacement, depriving the residents of the area transport facilities.

As a combat soldier in an Israeli army engineers battalion, Avi Bieber had always volunteered for the toughest missions. But when the 19-year-old, US-born corporal was ordered to take part in pre-withdrawal operations in Gaza's main settlement bloc, he re

Swati, 18, was a brilliant pupil but still she feared she had failed her school-leaving exams. She hanged herself hours before the results were released. She had in fact passed. Aruna, 17, killed herself by drinking pesticide after learning she had flunke

Accepting advances from customers is a normal and the most common feature of various types of business enterprises. This activity is also addressed in the Sales Tax Act, 1990 (the Act) under subsection 44 of section 2 of the Act read without provisos as f

The passing away of the custodian of the two Holy Mosques, Saudi monarch, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, has not only deprived the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of one of its great motivated rulers, who guided the desert country in its blossoming into an envious ris

The corporate earnings generally are showing a healthy 20 percent rise with banking sector and oil and gas companies outshining the rest in FY 06. However, these stellar performances are not reflected in the stock market movement which remains confined in

Another four persons, including three women, Shamim Mai, Mrs Ata Muhammad and Mrs Asghar Sabzani and a minor child Dilshad (6) died of gastro-enteritis on Saturday night in a suburb of Dera Ghazi Khan. More than 300 residents of the area staged a demonstr

Pakistan Railways has changed the timings of Gandhara Steam Safari, running between Rawalpindi and Golrra Railway Station on Sundays. The Gandhara Steam Safari was launched by Pakistan Railways to provide healthy entertainment to inhabitants of the twin c

The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) will not be able to control the menace of smuggling till the 'Bara' markets in NWFP and Balochistan, which are primary source of supply of smuggled goods in Punjab and Sindh, are effectively controlled through anti-smugg

Despite great media "hype of literate Punjab" district governments in the province utilised only 53 per cent of allocated funds last year. Official sources said rupees 20.477 billion were spent on elementary education during 2004-05 from total allocation

The central leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has expressed "no confidence" in the Pakistan Election Commission for holding free and transparent local bodies' elections. The PPP leaders demanded that the local bodies' polls should be held und