Female suicide bomber hits Iraq pilgrims, kills 54
At least 54 people have been killed and 117 wounded when a female suicide bomber mingling among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt.
Eighteen women and 12 children are among the dead.
The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims. It raises fears of an escalation of attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day on Friday.
Obama Unveils Multitrillion-dollar Spending Plan
U.S. President Barack Obama has sent Congress a 3.83-trillion-dollar budget in fiscal year 2011 to boost the fragile economic recovery, with a record- breaking 1.56-trillion-dollar deficit in fiscal year 2010 ending in September.
Much of the spending surge starting in 2008 was a result of the massive economic stimulus measures to deal with the economic downturn.
Obama says the United States has to change its mindset when it comes to spending.
"We can't simply move beyond this crisis, we have to address the irresponsibility that led to it. And that includes the failure to reign in spending as well as reliance on borrowing from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street to fuel our growth. That's what we have to change. We have to do what families across America are doing: save where we can so that we can afford what we need."
Obama's new budget projects a spending increase of 5.7 percent for the current budget year and forecasts that spending would rise another 3 percent in 2011.
Boeing China: No notice on sanctions yet
The China office of U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing says it had yet to receive any notice related to China's planned sanctions on companies involved in the latest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
The U.S. government has announced a plan to sell up to 6.4 billion U.S. dollars worth of weapons to Taiwan, which involved Boeing as a supplier.
China has said it will implement sanctions on U.S. companies involved in the sale.
Toyota's Remedy for Faulty Gas Pedal
Toyota says it has already begun shipping a fix to the gas pedal problem .Toyota Motor Sales USA will resume production next week.
Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.,apologizes that the company was "truly sorry" for letting customers down.
"Nothing is as important to us as their safety and their satisfaction, and that we are re-doubling out efforts to make sure this can never happen again."
Toyota's dealers will receive parts on 2.3 million recalled vehicles in the United States.
China's Soueast Motor to Recall 734 CVT Vehicles
China's quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine says that the Fujian-based Soueast Motor Corporation will recall 734 CVT vehicles.
The recall is due to gear safety faults caused by improper manufacturing techniques and involved CVT models produced from Nov. 17 to Dec. 15 last year, and the manufacturer would fix the problems for free.
China seizes 91,000, confiscating 28.8 tonnes of drugs in 2009
China seized 91,000 criminal suspects and confiscated nearly 29 tonnes of drugs in 2009 as the country's war on drugs intensified.
Over 1,500 foreign drug traffickers were also seized last year.
Official figures show China had more than 1.3 million registered drug users by the end of last year, up 18.6 percent from the previous year.
Males made up 84.6 percent of the total.
Four on trial over death of teenage Internet addict in south China
Four men have gone on trial for causing the death of a teenager, who was an internet addict in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The four instructors at a training camp used wooden boards and bamboo vines to beat a 15-year-old boy in August last year.
The boy was sent by his parents to the camp to quit his internet addiction. He was found dead just 14 hours after his arrival.
The court has not yet delivered a verdict.
China Puts First Gas-electric Hybrid Buses in Use
China's first 50 gas-electric hybrid buses have been launched in Changchun, capital of northeastern Jilin Province.
The 12-meter long hybrid buses can cut carbon emission by 30 percent.
The buses are specially designed and manufactured for Changchun by First Automobile Works Group ,one of China's leading automaker.
The city will soon launch another 50 gas-electric buses.
