Syria accepted a cease-fire drawn up by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan on Tuesday, but the diplomatic breakthrough was swiftly overshadowed by intense clashes between government soldiers and rebels that sent bullets flying into Lebanon.Opposition members accuse President Bashar Assad of agreeing to the plan to stall for time as his troops make a renewed push to kill off bastions of dissent. And the conflict just keeps getting deadlier: The U.N. said the death toll has grown to more than 9,000, a sobering

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., whose parent owns Volvo cars, said it targets to become China’s largest auto exporter in two years by focusing on expanding in developing countries, overtaking leader Chery Automobile Co. The Hong Kong-traded carmaker plans to open factories in Belarus and Uruguay this year, Geely Chief Executive Officer Gui Shengyue said. Geely has said it is targeting to have at least half of its sales coming from overseas by 2015. “I am confident we will be able to become the l

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest carmaker, may accelerate plans to expand in Brazil after Latin America’s biggest automobile market decided to scale back imports from Mexican factories. The deal between Latin America’s two biggest auto markets means “the ramp-up of the Brazilian plant has to be even more faster than what we are envisioning,” Nissan President Carlos Ghosn, who was born in Brazil 58 years ago, said in an interview Monday in Iwaki, northeast of Tokyo. “This limitation of ex

CEO visits Beijing, had ‘great meetings’ with Chinese officialsApple Inc. said it plans “greater investment” in China as Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook visited the world’s most populous country, where store openings have trailed a forecast the company made two years ago. Cook had “great meetings” with Chinese officials, Carolyn Wu, a Beijing-based spokeswoman, said by phone Monday, without identifying the officials. Cook earlier in the day posed for photos with customers at Apple’s store in th

Draghi says it has tools to withdraw emergency loans to banks credited with easing debt crisisFRANKFURT (AP) ― European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said he sees no inflation threat from the bank’s infusion of than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) in emergency loans, a bold move that has stabilized the continent’s banking system. Draghi addressed head-on some of the worries about the bank’s large credit injection during a speech Monday in Berlin. He declared that any excess money in the finan

SANTIAGO, Cuba (AFP) ― Pope Benedict XVI urged hundreds of thousands of Cubans gathered for an open-air mass on Monday to “build a renewed and open society,” at the start of his visit to the Communist-ruled country.The pontiff ― making the first papal visit to Cuba in 14 years ― is seeking to bolster close church-state ties here while also urging authorities in the Americas’ only one-party Communist state to embrace change.Benedict, who arrived on Monday after a visit to predominantly Roman Cath

A female Dachshund mix "Beyonce" on top of an iPhone. (AP-Yonhap News)A puppy named after one of the world's biggest pop stars could set the world's record for tiniest dog.Animal rescuers in Northern California say the female Dachshund mix, named Beyonce, was so small at birth that she could fit int

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Attacks by Afghan soldiers on NATO troops have resulted in an “erosion of trust” between the two allies, but ties remain strong and officers on both sides are working to contain the problem, the commander of U.S.-led forces said Monday.Speaking hours after two British troops and a U.S. soldier were killed in two separate “insider” assaults by Afghan security forces, U.S. General John Allen acknowledged the incidents were cause for concern.“There is an erosion of trust that has