National / International News

During the nearly two-year-old battle that has cost tens of thousands of lives, the U.S. has not given direct assistance to those who oppose President Bashar Assad's regime. Now, news outlets say, the U.S. may send body armor, vehicles and other such goods.

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A shark has attacked and killed a 47-year-old man who was swimming off a beach near the New Zealand city of Auckland.

Target 4Q adj. profit beats Wall Street's view

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Syrian forces clash with rebels around Aleppo

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Rick Smith, one half of British dance act Underworld, will be heard on the score of Danny Boyle's new film Trance alongside Brit-winning singer Emeli Sande.

A woman pleads guilty to using Facebook to harass the family of a girl who went missing in Germany in 1981.

The judge due to preside over the inquest into the death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is to examine secret documents to decide whether more information can be made public.

A councillor apologises for saying "disabled children cost the council too much money and should be put down."

News photos over 24 hours: 27 February

David Cameron and Ed Miliband clash over the downgrading of Britain's credit rating.

Floral tributes have been laid at the site of the Luxor balloon crash, as investigations into the tragedy continue.

The recovery of a rocket launcher and an accompanying warhead in west Belfast has saved lives, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has said.

An overnight attack by insurgents on an Afghan police post in Ghazni province leaves 11 police officers and six others dead.

Also: Drag queen is uninvited to Dr. Seuss reading; course syllabi of famous authors; and Russell Brand is working on a new book.

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A mobile app that can analyse urine for 25 medical conditions has been launched at the TED conference in Los Angeles.

Critics give their judgement on Trelawny of the Wells at London's Donmar Warehouse, the first stage play to be directed by Atonement's Joe Wright.

An Aberdeen man who took more than 70,000 photos of women walking past his flat is placed on the sex offenders register for three years.

Last year when it looked like the U.S. would go over the fiscal cliff, the Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 1,000 points in about a month. Two years ago in the lead up to the debt ceiling debacle, the Dow lost almost 2,000 points in a month. But today, two days away from the sequester, the Dow is pretty much right where it was a month ago.

So why is Wall Street seemingly unfazed by Washington's latest fiscal deadline?

"If you are looking at any market of $20 trillion worth of value, and you have an $85 billion sequester that may or may not actually happen, it's very hard to say that should be the driving factor in the market," says Allan Sloan, senior editor-at-large at Fortune Magazine.

But according to Sloan, just because the sequester hasn't had a visible impact on the Dow doesn't mean investors and corporate America aren't taking note. Businesses are watching and waiting for a sign of what's to come in the long-term.

"Corporate America wants some sort of predictability, stability and knowing what the rules are, even if they don't like the rules," says Sloan.

To hear more about Wall Street's reaction to the sequester, click on the audio player above.

Ambulance response times in Wales improve for the first time in five months, but they are still below government targets.

Aerospace and defence group EADS reports a rise in profits and sales in 2012, boosted by a strong performance from its aircraft maker Airbus.