the very latest news

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey will support petrol sales by Turkish companies to Iran, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Reuters on Wednesday, despite U.S. sanctions that aim to squeeze the Islamic Republic’s fuel imports.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has defended his decision to travel abroad while the country battled the worst floods in decades, saying he had helped focus international attention on the plight of the victims.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran has offered support to Lebanon’s army, a week after a deadly cross-border clash between Lebanon and Israel which prompted U.S. lawmakers to block funding to the Lebanese military.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved, and President Barack Obama promptly signed into law, an election-year bill providing $26 billion to struggling states by closing tax loopholes for multinational companies and cutting food aid to the poor.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Tuesday took a small but significant step to counter a weakening U.S. economic recovery, saying it would use cash from maturing mortgage bonds it holds to buy more government debt.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved, and President Barack Obama promptly signed into law, an election-year bill providing $26 billion to struggling states by closing tax loopholes for multinational companies and cutting food aid to the poor.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – Former Senator Ted Stevens, who for several years played a leading role in controlling the nation’s purse strings, died with four other people in a small plane crash in his home state of Alaska, officials said on Tuesday.