Obama to propose permanent research tax credit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will ask the Congress on Wednesday to increase and permanently extend a tax credit for business research as a way of boosting job growth, an administration officials said on Sunday.
Basque ETA call to halt attacks met with caution
MADRID (Reuters) - The Basque rebel group ETA called a halt to armed attacks on Sunday but the government said the declaration was not enough and urged the weakened organization to renounce violence once and for all.
Twelve killed in suicide assault on Iraq army base
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Up to six suicide bombers, some armed with rifles, tried to storm an army base in Baghdad on Sunday, killing 12 people and wounding 36 less than a week after Washington declared U.S. combat operations in Iraq over.
Quake-hit New Zealand city remains shut
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A state of emergency aftera 7.1 magnitude earthquake is keeping much of New Zealand's second-biggest city shut on Monday but financial markets have mostly shrugged off the quake as the long-term economic impact is seen limited. Many businesses in the South Island city of Christchurch remain closed as a state of emergency was extended until Wednesday after the country's most damaging earthquake in 80 years tore up roads, smashed water and sewer pipes, and severely damaged
Oracle offered job to ex-HP CEO Hurd says source
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oracle Corp has offered a job to Mark Hurd, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co who resigned amid a scandal involving inaccurate expense receipts related to a female contractor, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Taxpayers may face initial loss on GM IPO: sources
NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. government is likely to take a loss on General Motors Co in the first offering of the automaker's stock, six people familiar with preparations for the landmark IPO said.
Minister says Pakistani militants stoking sectarian rift
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pro-Taliban Pakistani militants are trying to create a sectarian rift, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Saturday, as a new wave of violence piled pressure on a government already struggling with a flood crisis.
Earl fizzles as it sweeps through Maritime Canada
HALIFAX, Canada (Reuters) - Hurricane Earl made landfall in Canada on Saturday and fizzled after a series of scares along the U.S. East Coast, flooding roads, felling trees and cutting power to tens of thousands in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia.
Philippine police chief takes blame for bus hijack
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' national police chief took the blame for the botched bus hijacking rescue attempt last week that killed eight Hong Kong tourists at a Manila park, announcing his decision to retire early from the service.
BP Gulf well "secured," awaiting final kill: U.S.
HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc's ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well is secure with no threat of spewing crude again, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said