THE mayor of New Orleans has apologised for saying the hurricane-ravaged city would be rebuilt as a “chocolate” city and for blaming the storm on the wrath of God over US involvement in Iraq.

THE longest-running US senator, Strom Thurmond has died at the age of 100. He was in the Senate for 48 of his 100 years.

Wall Street looked askance at earnings reports yesterday, with investors bidding stocks sharply lower despite healthy profits at companies such as 3M and Ford.

US government bond prices closed at their highest levels of the day, benefiting from declines in the share market and repositioning ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King observance, dealers said.