Business

Earth Hour 2009 takes place Saturday, March 28, 2009 between 8:30 to 9:30 pm local time when communities will participate by turning out their lights starting in New Zealand and progressing along time zones around the world. Earth Hour began as a symbolic initiative against global warming by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). "[It is] The largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted." Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General said. Earth Hour began in 2007 with around 2 million participating, and increas

United States secretary of state, Hillary Clinton stated in an interview on Mexican radio that Americans are helping to fuel the illegal drug trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Clinton was on a two day tour of the nation. "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the death of police officers, soldiers and civilians. I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility," said Clinton. Clinton also gave thanks to and

The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais has won the Diagram Prize, the British award for the year's oddest book title. The Philip M. Parker study about the future of soft cheese beat out the runner-up, Baboon Metaphysics, for the annual humorous literary award. Other contestants this year included the medical manual Curbside Consultation of the Colon and the hobby handbook Strip and Knit With Style. The Parker book was an 188-page study of the global retail market for fromage frais, which literally means "fr

The economy of Ireland shrank by 7.5% in the last quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year previously, according to official statistics. The decline is the worst in decades. For the entire period of 2008, the economy contracted by 2.3%, the first loss since 1983. The construction industry has suffered badly as a result of the recession, with a 24% fall in output, the largest decline ever recorded. Industrial output plunged at an annualised rate of 12.5%. Unemployment has also shot up. It currently stands at around 10%, twice as high

Treasury Department secretary Timothy Geithner and the Obama administration are pressuring Congress to allow the government to seize troubled financial institutions such as insurance companies and investment firms. Currently, banks are the only such entities that the government has authority to take over. Speaking before the House Financial Services Committee, Geithner said "The United States government does not have the legal means today to manage the orderly restructuring of a large, complex non-bank financial institution that poses a threat

Mirek Topolanek, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and the head of the European Union, called United States President Barack Obama's plan to spend almost US$2 trillion to revive the country's faltering economy a "road to hell". he said, warning that the US's massive bailouts could risk destabilising financial markets worldwide. He urged other EU governments to avoid making similar plans. The remarks were made during Topolanek's report to Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on Wednesday. The comments are in sharp

The world's least expensive car, the Tata Nano, has been launched in India. It will go on sale in April, and will start delivery in July. The automobile costs only 100,000 Indian rupees, or just under US$2,000. "We are at the gates offering a new form of transportation to the people of India, and later I hope other markets as well," said the chairman of the auto firm, Ratan Tata, calling the vehicle a "milestone." "From the drawing board to its commercial launch, the car has overcome several challenges," Tata said. "I hope it will provide saf

Two of Canada's largest energy companies are merging, with Suncor Energy making a CA$19.2-billion bid to take over Petro-Canada. Suncor shareholders purchased $19.2 billion in stock and now own about 60% of Petro-Canada. Petro-Canada shareholders own the remaining 40%. Suncor is reported to be the third largest Canadian energy producer, and Petro-Canada is Canada's sixth largest. The current market value of Petro-Canada is $14.4 billion. "This is a made-in-Canada response to the challenges presented by global market uncertainty. More importa

The son of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes has committed suicide. Nicholas Hughes hanged himself at his home in Fairbanks, Alaska on March 16, after a long battle with depression. Hughes was 47 at the time of his death. Media outlets described the death as another in a long line of tragedy for the family. Hughes was only one year old when his mother famously gassed herself to death in 1963, soon after her relationship with Ted Hughes ended. In 1969, Ted Hughes' mistress killed herself and their daughter in a copycat suicide. Nicholas Hugh

United States stock markets surged on Monday, following an announcement by the government to give another bailout to the banks. All three major stock indexes posted gains of about seven percent at the closing bell. Part of the rally was attributed to the US Treasury's announcement that it will buy up to US$1 trillion in toxic assets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 497.48 points, or 6.84%, to a level of 7,775.86, while the Nasdaq Composite soared 98.50 points, or 6.76%, to 1,555.77 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped by 7.0

The older brother of Christopher Nolan, director of the films The Dark Knight and Memento, has been arrested in connection with an alleged murder in Central America. Matthew Francis Nolan, 40, was arrested last month and is awaiting extradition to Costa Rica to face murder and kidnapping charges. He is currently being held in prison without bond. Nolan is accused of killing Robert C. Cohen, a Florida businessman, in 2005 while trying to recover $7 million Cohen owed to another Florida man. Costa Rican authorities said Nolan posed as a busine

A Pennsylvania church that claims to worship through rock music may hold a limited number of concerts under a recent federal court settlement. In the face of complaints from neighbors about noise and traffic problems, the Fayette County zoning department found in 2005 that the Church of Universal Love and Music was operating a music business instead of a church and must shut down. William Pritts, founder of the Bullskin Township church, sued in 2006 under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, claiming the ruling infringed