MANIEMA PROVINCE, DRC -- Mines in second province here in the Democratic Republic of Congo are gaining final approvals for shipping tin and other ores to Western nations. Most of the war-torn country's mines have faced international bans that prevented Western companies from buying or trading in minerals from the DRC.

BEIJING -- A poll of nearly three dozen tin producers, traders and consumers at the first Tin Market Outlook reception sponsored by ITRI China in Beijing last week suggests most expect only a very gradual improvement in market conditions.

NEW YORK -- The chief executive of Flextronics this week became the latest to suggest the US is in line to reap a larger share of the manufacturing pie.

Albuquerque, NM – US physicist Willis Whitfield, developer of the clean room, has died of cancer at 92.