United States announced new sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA and six other smaller oil and shipping companies for engaging in trade with Iran in violation of a US ban.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said US President Barack Obama vision of a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 could leave the Jewish state indefensible.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday was granted bail by a judge in a New York court, after being formally charged with trying to rape a hotel maid. Strauss-Kahn had earlier resigned as the International Monetary Fund's boss.
International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned following allegations he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York. In a statement, Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, said he had already informed the executive board of his intention to step down with immediate effect.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is not in a position to run the International Monetary Fund after his arrest over an alleged sexual assault, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said. He added IMF's executive board should designate an interim head.
The alleged assault on a maid happened at New York's luxury Sofitel hotel on 14 May.
United States reached the legal limits of its borrowing authority as a top Republican increased his party's demand for deep spending cuts as part of any increase. The remarks by Representative Paul Ryan, the top budget writer in the House of Representatives, underscored the divisions that Republicans and Democrats will have to overcome in order to raise the 14.3 trillion US dollars debt limit and avoid a default that would roil markets across the globe.
IMF Dominique Straus-Kahn, accused of attempting to rape a hotel housekeeper, was ordered held without bail by a New York judge after prosecutors argued he presented a flight risk.
Inflation in the United States slowed in April, mainly due to smaller price rises in fuel and food. Consumer prices rose 0.4% in April, having risen 0.5% in March, according to figures from the Labour Department.
With the US government about to hit its 14.3 trillion US dollars debt limit, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned of “catastrophic” consequences and a new recession if Washington is not able to borrow more.
The U.S. Travel Association unveiled a plan to create 1.3 million U.S. jobs and add 859 billion dollars to the U.S. economy by 2020 by reforming an antiquated visa process that often drives international travelers to other countries. The heart of U.S. Travel's plan is to increase staffing, reduce visa interview wait times and expand the Visa Waiver Program.