Windsor Genova – Fourth Estate Cooperative News Writer Paris, France (4E) – President-elect Francoise Hollande on Tuesday flew to Germany for a eurozone debt crisis meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel but his plane was hit by lightning and it returned to Paris. He was unhurt and took another plane to resume his flight to Berlin. [...]

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter New York, NY, United States (AHN) – U.S. stocks fell on the open Tuesday as political uncertainty in Greece kept investors wary and on edge. Just after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 83 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 8 [...]

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – On Wednesday, GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is set to suspend his presidential bid and back Mitt Romney. In an interview Tuesday with USA Today, Gingrich said he will back Romney’s candidacy and is prepared to campaign for his former foe. In return, [...]

Chiang Mai, Thailand (IRIN) – Ethnic minority groups in Myanmar are calling on the international community to set stronger benchmarks or steps in the incremental removal of international sanctions, following this week’s announcement by the European Union (EU) to suspend sanctions for a year, retaining only the embargo on arms sales. “Now more than ever, [...]

AHN News Staff Tokyo, Japan (AHN) – Myanmarese President Thein Sein on Friday began his first five-day trip to Japan in 28 years. During his visit, Sein is expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and likely to seek a debt-forgiveness deal that could open way for Tokyo to resume financing impoverished country’s roads, [...]

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Mortgage rates fell in the week ending April 12. Fixed mortgage rates slid a full tenth of a percent in the latest week, and mark the third consecutive week of declines, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday The 15-year fixed rate average [...]

Kansas City, KS, United States (KaiserHealth) – In an ongoing disagreement over how to solve dental care access problems in Kansas, there is one thing no one disputes: the great need. That need was on display in February when the Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation held its eleventh free clinic of the past decade. Known as [...]

Saleem Samad – AHN News Correspondent Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) – Bangladesh will feel the impact of the economic slowdown in Europe, its major export destination for clothing and textile goods. Visiting World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy said he feared that the volume of world trade this year would be below what markets [...]

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter New York, NY, United States (AHN) – U.S. stocks were little changed on the open Wednesday after a dismal report on durable goods orders. Investors are hoping for big quarterly gains three days before the close of the first quarter of 2012. Just after 10 a.m. on Wall Street, [...]

Washington, DC, United States (KaiserHealth) – The Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee surprised no one today when he released a spending blueprint that would drastically reshape the Medicare and Medicaid programs for the elderly and poor in an attempt to rein in their soaring costs. Democrats predictably pounced on the proposal by Rep. [...]

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Stock index futures point to extended gains for Wall Street Friday as traders remain upbeat on the U.S. economy. Shortly before the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38 points to 13,209, the Standard & Poor’s 500 futures eked up [...]