Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is dead.

The Board of Directors has announced Jobs' death, releasing a statement saying that that his brilliance, passion and energy have been the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all our lives.

It's unclear at this point what Jobs' succumbed to.

However, he had been battling pancreatic cancer for the last two years.

Jobs struggled with health issues for years, undergoing a liver transplant at one point.

He resigned at the end of August as the CEO of Apple.

Steve Jobs was 56-years old.

 

 

White House voices concern over yuan legislation

 

The White House is now expressing concern about proposed bill in the US Senate connected to China's currency.

The Democratically-controlled Senate is expected to vote the proposed legislation later on this Thursday.

The bill, which would then have to be sent to both the House of Representatives and the US President before becoming law, could authorize the US government to impose duties on those countries -- it feels -- undervalue their currency.

White House spokesperson Jay Carney.

"We have, from the beginning as an administration, worked on the issue of the undervalued Chinese currency. And it has appreciated to some degree as a result, we think, of those efforts. More needs to be done.　We certainly also have concerns about this particular legislation, and whether or not it would create consistency issues with our international obligations." 

Republican House Majority leader John Boehner has already labeled the proposed legislation a "dangerous" overreach by lawmakers.

The Chinese government says the proposed bill would violate the rules of the World Trade Organization and obstruct China-US trade ties.

 

 

Melted iron overflow kills 11 in Jiangsu

 

11 workers are dead, one one other is missing, after a molten iron spill in Jiangsu.

The accident happened when the molten iron spilled out of a refining furnace at a factory in Nanjing yesterday morning.

One other worker is in hospital in stable condition.

The accident happened as the workers were shutting down one of the furnaces at the steel mill.

 

 

President Assassination plot thwarted in Afghanistan

 

Afghanistan's intelligence service says it's thwarted a plot to assassinate President Hamid Karzai.

Afghan authorities have arrested one of Karzai's bodyguards and 5 others, all said to have links with both the Haqqani network and al-Qaeda.

The intelligence agency says the plotters include university students and a medical professor.

Agency spokesperson Lutfullah Mashal says the group recruited one of Karzai's bodyguards to kill the president after he left Kabul.

 

 

NTC forces completes siege of Sirte

 

Fighters allied with the Libyan National Transitional Council are now making, what is being described, as their final push against Gadhafi loyalists entrenched in the ousted leader's hometown of Sirte. 

NTC forces have completely encircled Sirte, after some 3-weeks of heavy fighting. 

NTC commanders claim they've been holding back on a final assault because of concerns about civilian casualties. 

Pro-Gaddafi forces in the center of Sirte have been heavily entrenched, pushing back several earlier attempts by NTC fighters to take the city.

 

 

NATO hints more countries to join missile defense

 

The head of NATO is hinting that more countries in Europe may be preparing to join the alliance's controversial missile shield program.

Romania, Poland and Turkey have all agreed to allow the anti-missile defense systems on their territory.

Spain has also agreed to play host to 4 US anti-missile ships in the southern port city of Cadiz, which will allow NATO to expand its missile defense program into the Mediterranean.

Speaking to reporters following a NATO Defense Ministers meeting, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen says he wouldn't be surprised more announcements coming in the weeks and months ahead.

 

 

U.S. says ambassador to stay in Syria despite sanction attempt

 

The US State Department is rebuffing suggestions of duplicity when it comes to Syria, saying that Ambassador Robert Ford will remain in the country.

The State Department says Ford is playing "an essential role" in helping the United States understand the situation on the ground in the embattled country.

The statement comes following comments by the Syrian-American community, which is questioning why the US -- on the one hand -- is trying to level sanctions on Syria, while -- on the other hand -- is maintaining a diplomatic presence in the country.

 

 

Pakistani Commission interrogates Osama family

 

The Pakistani commission set up to investigate the killing of Osama Bin Laden has questioned the family of the dead al-Qaeda chief.

The US authorities turned the surviving members of bin Laden's family over to the Pakistani authorities following the raid in early May which killed the terror mastermind.

The Pakistani commission is looking into how bin Laden managed to live in Pakistan for years.

It's also tasked with investigating the US raid itself, which the Pakistani government has condemned, noting that it was a violation of Pakistan's territorial sovereignty.