The diplomatic spat between India and the United States flared up again today, with India asking the American Embassy to remove one of its officers despite the US allowing an indicted Indian diplomat to return home.

Motorists in 12 northern New Jersey counties will be allowed to buy fuel just every second day under an order by Governor Chris Christie.

US Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney is trying to deflect questions about his record as a businessman who has kept part of his vast fortune in overseas accounts.

Oil fell for a third day after government data showed US inventories rose to the highest level in more than five months and on expectations that the Federal Reserve will not take new action to bolster the economy.

COST-CONSCIOUS motorists who opted for diesel cars to save money are finding the fuel costs as much — if not more — than petrol on the garage forecourts.

RICK PERRY says he “stepped in it” during Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate, but insisted his embarrassing gaffe won’t force him out of the presidential race.

A FORMER US government space scientist pleaded guilty yesterday to attempted espionage for trying to sell classified information to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli spy.

An oil slick from the Gulf of Mexico leak was confirmed a few miles off the Florida coast today as the impact of the disaster spreads.

AFTER more than a decade of work and $3.5 billion (e2.64bn), engineers have completed the world’s most powerful laser, capable of simulating the energy force of a hydrogen bomb and the sun itself.

Democratic President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to reverse or sharply modify many of the Bush administration’s policies.

Wall Street soared for the second straight day today, rallying in the last hour of trading after a rebound in financial stocks and optimism about private sector jobs helped investors brush off a sharp jump in oil prices.

Wall Street soared higher today, extending its rally into a second session as tumbling energy prices bolstered an already upbeat mood which followed stronger-than-expected quarterly reports from big names like JPMorgan Chase and United Technologies.

Wall Street resumed its sell-off today after oil hit a new record and a bearish analyst report renewed concerns that General Motors Corp. could run out of cash.

Wall Street took a tumble today on renewed concerns about the financial sector and FedEx Corp’s warning that weakening demand and surging fuel costs would weigh on profits in the coming year.

Scientists at an American government weapons laboratory have built the world’s fastest computer capable of 1,000 trillion operations per second.

Wall Street's euphoria over a $200bn (€128.46bn) plan from the Federal Reserve turned to caution today, leading stocks to retreat a day after their biggest rally in more than five years.

Delegates and scientists from around the world opened the biggest climate conference in Bali, Indonesia early today, aiming to achieve an international pact by 2009 to combat global warming – or risk economic and environmental disaster caused by rising temperatures.

Any agreement hammered out by a massive United Nations climate change conference starting in Indonesia this week would not make sense without the participation of the US, the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, the UN’s climate chief said today.

Republic of Georgia authorities, helped by the CIA, set up a sting operation that led to the arrest of Russian who tried to sell nuclear-bomb grade uranium in a plastic bag in his jacket pocket, a government minister revealed today.

Wall Street ended a volatile session marginally higher today after stocks first surged on robust retail sales numbers but pared their gains as oil prices spiked.

A Romanian man has been indicted on charges of hacking into more than 150 US government computers, costing Nasa, the Energy Department and the Navy nearly $1.5m (€1.1m).

Investors concerned over erratic oil prices and a slowing economy sent stocks lower today despite strong earnings from Cisco Systems and the Federal Reserve’s pause in raising interest rates.

President George Bush today ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for fuel, making it easier for refiners to meet demand and possibly dampen prices at the petrol pumps.

Oil prices climbed more than one dollar a barrel today and settled at their highest level in more than seven months as geopolitical friction kept traders nervous about supplies.

Wall Street slid lower today, with inflation concerns and a disappointing earnings report from media conglomerate Viacom prompting investors to collect profits. A drop in oil prices failed to mitigate the losses.

An unmanned NASA spacecraft the size and shape of a concert piano hurtled yesterday toward Pluto on a three-billion-mile journey to the solar system’s last unexplored planet – a voyage so long that some of the scientists who will be celebrating its arrival are just taking their first physics class.

Wall Street overcame its recent caution today, with a raft of acquisitions propping up US stocks and lower-than-expected gross domestic product growth easing inflation fears.

US stocks finished mixed today as interest rate worries and a legal setback for Merck & Co countered momentum from a possible multi-billion-dollar acquisition by ConocoPhillips.

Wall Street remained mired in uncertainty today, ending an erratic session narrowly mixed as investors’ inflation worries worsened in the face of a sharp jump in import prices.

Concerned about Hurricane Rita’s damage to coastal oil refineries, US President George Bush turned his attention to the nation’s energy industry as early economic indicators offered reason for optimism and a speedy recovery.

Confronting one of the nation’s worst natural disasters, US President George Bush said rebuilding from the massive devastation of Hurricane Katrina would take years and that “the days seem awfully dark” for millions of people suffering across the devastated Gulf Coast.

US President George Bush is expected to visit storm-ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast later this week, but first he is returning to Washington to oversee the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

US stocks sank amid increasing pessimism on Wall Street today, shedding early gains after oil prices reached another record high and a mix of data provided conflicting views on the economy.

Wall Street managed a moderate advance today as investors concentrated on solid second-quarter earnings and shrugged off higher oil prices and a drop in US petroleum reserves.

Wall Street scratched out its third minuscule gain in a row today as investors worried about rising oil prices and disappointing inventory data from the Energy Department.

Mark Shenk, Bloomberg

Wall Street had a mild rebound after three losing sessions today, with investors sending stocks mostly higher despite a sharp rise in unemployment claims and mixed holiday retail sales.

CRUDE OIL prices fell for the third session in four on speculation that US inventories are sufficient to meet demand from refineries making heating oil for winter.

The United States has removed from Iraq nearly two tons of uranium and hundreds of highly radioactive items that could have been used in a so-called dirty bomb, the Energy Department disclosed.

Scientists equipped with radiation detectors hidden in briefcases and golf bags scoured US cities in the run-up to New Year amid fears terrorists were planning to detonate a dirty bomb, it emerged today.

Lie detectors are not accurate enough to screen US government workers for potential security risks, the National Research Council said today.

The Department of Energy is expressing concern over claims that security checks at British Nuclear facilities have been halted.

American nuclear scientists have been ordered to produce a ‘‘bunker-busting’’ bomb designed to destroy the deepest underground hiding places, it was reported today.

A report says the US's 10 nuclear weapons facilities are vulnerable to terrorist attack.