Indian Wells, California  - Holder Novak Djokovic swept through the first set and struggled in the second before consolidating his Indian Wells Masters title defence campaign with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) defeat of Tommy Haas on Tuesday.

The Serbian third seed finally prevailed over the one-time number 2 from Germany - now ranked 64th - in an hour and three-quarters.

Djokovic is bidding for his second title of the season after winning a fortnight ago in Dubai but losing both of his Davis Cup rubbers against Spain.

New York  - US stocks rose Tuesday as the construction of new homes in the United States unexpectedly surged in February and investors speculated about Federal Reserve efforts to bolster the economy.

Privately owned housing starts in February were 583,000 at an annual rate, up 22 per cent from January but still down 47.3 per cent from the same month in 2008, the Commerce Department said. Economists had expected a further monthly decline to 450,000 last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey.

Washington  - The United States will hold Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir responsible for any deaths that occur in Darfur because of his decision to expel foreign aid groups, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday.

"This a horrendous situation that is going to cause untold misery and suffering for the people of Darfur, particularly those in the refugee camps," Clinton said.

San Francisco  - Apple unveiled its proposed new software for its genre-defining iPhone Tuesday and gave acolytes of the world's most popular smartphone the feature they most wanted: the ability to cut and paste text and pictures on the device.

Lack of the cut and paste facility had been one of the main drawbacks of the device, compared to competitors like the Blackberry.

Indian Wells, California  - The women's WTA is well-placed to withstand the current world economic downturn with major sponsors all healthy, though boss Larry Scott says he expects no growth in tournament revenues this year.

"We are fully sponsored, they've not gone away. We're doing better than a lot of other sports," said the CEO during a visit to the Indian Wells Masters on Tuesday. "There is anecdotal evidence that entertainment and sport do not suffer so much in a recession.

"People don't want to give up their diversions."

Mexico City  - Twelve people died and 14 others were injured in northern Mexico when the tourist bus they were travelling in crashed with a truck.

The Mexican daily Reforma reported Tuesday that there were 11 US citizens among those killed in the crash, which happened late Monday near the city of Saltillo, in the state of Coahuila. The bus driver, a Mexican, was also killed.