WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) – A Chinese-born scientist
pleaded guilty on Tuesday to stealing valuable trade secrets
about pesticides and food products from two major U.S.
companies and sending the information to China and Germany.

Kexue Huang, 46, worked at a Dow Chemical Co
subsidiary from 2003 to 2008 in Indiana where he led a team of
scientists developing organic insecticides and then later for
another agribusiness giant, privately held Cargill Inc.

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – The Iranian-American
charged with plotting to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s top
diplomat in Washington could claim he was wrongly entrapped by
U.S. law enforcement, but if he does, he will likely have a
hard time proving it.

Manssor Arbabsiar was arrested last month and accused of
approaching someone in Mexico he thought could carry out the
hit against Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, but that man
turned out to be a U.S. law enforcement snitch.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States may have violated a U.N. treaty protecting diplomats and could escalate the crisis to an international court.

U.S. authorities have arrested Iranian-American Manssor Arbabsiar for the alleged plot and accused a second Iranian man, Gholam Shakuri, who is believed to be at large in Iran and a member of the country’s elite Quds Force.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Syrian-born U.S. citizen has been arrested and charged in Virginia with spying on anti-Syrian protesters in the United States and passing the details on to Damascus, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid, 47, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was accused of acting as an agent of the Syrian intelligence service and collecting video and audio recordings of protesters against Syria and President Bashar al-Assad.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican congressional investigators demanded on Wednesday Attorney General Eric Holder turn over documents and communications about a bungled operation that allowed guns to be smuggled to Mexican drug cartels from the United States.

Escalating the battle between Holder and the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, the panel subpoenaed the Justice Department seeking voluminous information from senior administration officials.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Syrian-born man has been arrested and charged in Virginia with spying on anti-Syrian protesters in the United States and passing the details on to Damascus, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid, 47, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was accused of acting as an agent of the Syrian intelligence service and collecting video and audio recordings of protesters against Syria and its president Bashar al-Assad.

TEHRAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday Iran would “pay the price” for what U.S. officials described as a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington, while Tehran called the accusation a fabrication designed to sow discord in the region.

U.S. officials said the elaborate plot — which they compared to a film script — would justify pushing for a new round of U.N. sanctions against Iran. They imposed sanctions on Wednesday on Mahan Air, a commercial Iranian airline which they said provided funds and transport for Iran’s elite forces.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican congressional investigators demanded on Wednesday that the Obama administration turn over documents and communications about a bungled operation that allowed guns to be smuggled to Mexican drug cartels from the United States.

Escalating the battle between the House of Representatives Oversight Committee and Attorney General Eric Holder, the panel subpoenaed the Justice Department seeking voluminous information from senior administration officials.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States accused Iran on Tuesday of backing a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, escalating tensions with Tehran and stirring up a hornet’s nest in the Gulf, where Saudi Arabia and Iran have long jostled for power.

U.S. authorities said they had broken up a plot by two men linked to Iran’s security agencies to assassinate Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir. One was arrested last month while the other was believed to be in Iran.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A proposal by US Airways and Delta Air Lines to swap a large number of slots at New York and Washington airports hit a snag on Tuesday with U.S. antitrust officials raising questions about the deal’s impact on competition.

The unexpected Justice Department development follows conditional approval of the proposal in July by transportation regulators, whose initial concerns prompted changes aimed at boosting competition at the two airports where access is government controlled due to congestion.