TOKYO – Intel Corp.’s (INTC) Japan unit tried to stifle competition in microprocessors by offering unfair rebates to personal computer makers, the country’s antitrust watchdog said on Tuesday in a warning against the chip giant. The warning was the Japanese Fair Trade Commission‘s (search) second such action against a computer …

This is a partial transcript of “The Big Story With John Gibson,” March 8, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. JOHN GIBSON, HOST: Soldiers battling terrorists on the streets of Iraq, weeding them out city-by-city, block-by-block. For now, their day-to-day lives focused on fighting the war on terror. But …

JERUSALEM – Thousands of Christians from around the world gathered at Jerusalem holy sites to celebrate Easter Sunday (search), marking the day with prayer and hymns. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (search), Michel Sabbah, the top Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land, celebrated Mass at the Church of the …

NEW YORK – The average price American drivers pay for a gallon of regular gasoline rose above $2.00 on Thursday for the first time since autumn last year, and are likely to keep rising, the AAA (search) motor club said. The average price at the pumps for regular gasoline across …

JEDEIDET YABOUS, Syria – President Bashar Assad (search) reiterated his commitment to withdrawing all Syrian troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon, a U.N. envoy said Saturday, indicating that he had received a timetable for the pullout. Meanwhile, a convoy of Syrian troops returned home to a rousing welcome. The long …

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon’s pro-Syrian prime minister said Tuesday he would resign, unable to put together a government, and the head of military intelligence stepped aside in new signs the anti-Syrian opposition was gaining momentum in the country’s political turmoil. Prime Minister Omar Karami‘s (search) decision comes amid a deadlock …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Kosovo’s former prime minister, who resigned last week and surrendered to a U.N. court, on Monday pleaded not guilty to war crimes charges at the U.N. tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Ramush Haradinaj (search), 36, stood when asked to respond to the first of 37 charges …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Islamic militants have threatened to kill an Italian journalist abducted in Iraq by Monday unless Italy agrees to withdraw its troops, according to a statement on the Internet. The statement, which appeared Saturday on an Internet bulletin board that serves as a clearinghouse for messages from extremist …

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld steadfastly declined Thursday to give Congress a public estimate of the size of the Iraqi insurgency (search). Under persistent question from Sen. John McCain (search), R-Ariz., Rumsfeld said the disorganized nature of the insurgency make it difficult to pin down a reliable, specific …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s leading Sunni Muslim clerics said Wednesday the country’s landmark elections lacked legitimacy because large numbers of Sunnis did not participate in the balloting, which the religious leaders had asked them to boycott. Emboldened by the elections, which U.S. and Iraqi authorities cited as a victory for …