Business

British Airways (BA) and the Spanish airline Iberia have signed a merger deal, which will create one of the largest air carrier groups in the world. The two announced the merger yesterday, and said that the deal, which has been expected for a long time, is to be implemented by the end of 2010. The move will make a group with a market value of US$8 billion. The deal has been negotiated since July 2008. Under the plan, both companies keep their own brands and operations, but will be owned by International Airlines Group, a new holding company.

According to revised official figures, the economy of the eurozone, the sixteen European countries using the euro, did not grow at all in the final quarter of last year. Eurostat reports that the number was revised from an initial figure of +0.1%. Meanwhile, the eurozone's lost more than 2.2% in a year-on year comparison, more than the initial estimate of 2.1%. According to the numbers, Ireland saw an output drop of 2.3% in the last quarter of 2009, while Greece, the country in the eurozone with the most debt, had its economy contract by 0.8%

The Bank of England has decided to keep the interest rates for the United Kingdom at 0.5%. A meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), of the Bank of England, was responsible for causing the figure to remain at what are the lowest interest rates for the country on record. They have remained at 0.5% since March 2009. The course of quantitative easing, a form of monetary policy used to stimulate an economy when the interbank interest rate is either at or close to zero, will also be remaining at approximately £200 billion (US$304 billion, €

Skyservice, a Canadian charter airline, has cancelled several flights from Toronto's Pearson International Airport, with reports that the airline has ceased operations. The company cites debt levels and changes in the vacation travel market with its decision to shut down operations and file for receivership. At the time of the filing in Ontario Superior Court, Skyservice is said to owe almost $9 million CAD to long-term partner and Thomas Cook subsidiary Sunquest Vacations. This situation exacerbated the debt load already put on the airline by

According to media reports, the bodies of 21 infants were found washed ashore along the riverbanks of the Guangfu river in eastern China over the past weekend. They are believed to have been dumped there by hospitals. Local residents found the bodies at the outskirsts of Jining, a city in the province of Shandong, underneath a bridge. Video footage showed that the bodies were in yellow bags, at least one of which was marked as "medical waste". Eight of the bodies had identification tags on them, which were traced back to a local hospital, the

On Tuesday the United States and Mexico announced a new strategy to combat increasingly violent drug movements across the border between the two countries. According to American officials, the new plan would place more emphasis on local law enforcement, as well as providing aid to cities affected by the drug trade. It would be based off an earlier plan, called the Mérida Initiative, that was introduced by the Bush administration three years ago. According to Hillary Clinton, the new strategy would not supersede the older initiative, but woul

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested two men in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India on Sunday for plotting to set the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) office on fire and attack a mall and a market. They were arrested on information given by lndian intelligence agencies. The pair was arrested on Saturday, produced in court on Sunday and have been remanded to police custody till 18 March. Police have seized several maps from them. The men, who are brothers-in-law, have been identified as Abdul Latif Rashid aka Guddu (29) and Riy

Fearing fresh protests from Palestinians, Israeli forces have moved to close the West Bank for 48 hours, preventing Palestinians from entering. The protests have been sparked by a recent decision to include the Al-Aqsa mosque as an Israeli heritage site, as well as a plan by Israel to add up to 1,600 settlement homes in the West Bank. The Al-Aqsa mosque is a holy site for both Muslims and Jews, however Muslims fear that along with the rest of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa is to be annexed and claimed by Israel. It has been a flash point for conflict

Brazil has announced, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) has approved, new trade sanctions on US goods, in response to illegal subsidies paid by the US government to American cotton growers. A list was published by Brazil of the items on which import tariffs would be placed, which includes more than 100 different American products, worth nearly $600 million. Cotton products would face the highest penalty, with the tariff increasing from 6% to 100%. Other American products will be included in the sanctions as well, although the tariff incre

The euro reached a ten-month low against the US dollar earlier today over concerns about Greece's debt crisis. The euro traded at US$1.3436 in the morning, a level not seen since May of last year, although it finished the day back up at $1.3606. It was, however, up 0.6% against the British pound, at 90.76 pence. The pound also fell today, reaching a trading level of $1.4936 after a loss of 0.4%. "The spike lower this morning indicates market nervousness about the prospects of a Greek bailout - the message coming out of Europe is still confus

Ford Motor Company said on Tuesday that its sales in the United States rose 43% in February compared to the same period last year, as the automaker outsold rivals Toyota and General Motors. Ford said that total sales improved to 142,285 units, compared to 141,951 units sold by GM. Additionally, Ford said that its share of the total US car market rose to 17%, up from 14% a year ago. The increase was better than analysts had predicted, and Ford's stock rose to a five-year high in morning trading, before declining later in the day. Ford's sa

The 58th Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition took place Feb. 26–28 at the Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, California, sponsored by the San Francisco Orchid Society. This year's theme for the expo's displays was "carnival", though a number of winning entries were among the smaller and more sedate species of orchids, quite at odds with the typical ostentatious colors and displays of carnival. Alongside the orchid exposition were a gala party, silent auctions and market area. Gallery Please click an image to enlarge it and find more informatio