Business

The federal prosecution in Belgium has finished an investigation into the activities of the Scientology Church in the country, and is planning to file a lawsuit against the Belgian and European sections of the religious movement, and 14 individual members. The inquiry began in 1999 after some former members accused Scientology of swindling. Now, the prosecutor has finished the inquiry. The accounts against Scientology and some of its members include blackmailing, swindling of its members, breaking trade and privacy laws, unlawfully practicing

The Vancouver Canucks, hockey team to Vancouver, British Columbia, unveiled it's new home and away uniforms today. Keeping the trade-mark Orca, the jersey has remixed the colors as well as adding a green stripe for both the home and away uniforms. This is the 5th jersey the team has gone through since 1970 when the team was founded. The redesign has been met with some criticisms. John Carter a graphics arts instructor at a local college was quoted as calling the redesign an "utter disappointment." The design uses the same core colors in the

A Queenstown, New Zealand Automated teller machine (ATM) that was incorrectly stacked allowed customers to double their money. A contractor incorrectly stacked the NZ$10 note slot with $20 notes, and vice versa. The problem only affected small withdrawals of $20 or $10. Dozens of customers, mostly backpackers, exploited the Kiwibank ATM with several people making up to 40 transactions. Due to the complexity of the issue, the bank does not plan to attempt to track down the customers who got extra money, but they do plan to reimburse those who

The leading supplier of school uniforms in the United Kingdom, Lancashire-based manufacturer Trutex, has announced it is "seriously considering" including GPS tracking devices in future ranges of its uniform products after conducting an online survey of both parents and children. “As a direct result of the survey, we are now seriously considering incorporating a [tracking] device into future ranges" said Trutex marketing director Clare Rix. The survey questioned 809 parents and 444 children aged nine to 16. It showed that 44% of parents were

Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) admitted on Thursday that three of their officers disguised themselves as demonstrators during the protest at the North American leaders summit in Montebello, Quebec. U.S. President George W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderón met in Quebec to discuss a proposed security, resource and trade initiative between the countries called Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), but dubbed NAFTA 2.0. Police said, "At all times, they responded within their mandate to keep

Health authorities in Finland have banned a squirrel from visiting a SIWA supermarket in the central Finnish city of Jyväskylä. The squirrel had previously been allowed in by the store's manager, Irene Lindroos, where it would enter daily via the open front door, and help itself to a Kinder Egg chocolate from the confectionery section. Once it had one, it would carry it back outside to eat it. The appearance of the squirrel regularly amused customers, often with the effect of causing them to purchase Kinder Eggs themselves. However, as of to

The mayor of the Norwegian capital Oslo, Per Ditlev-Simonsen, resigned today after massive critique following revelations that he used to have a Swiss bank account for which he did not pay taxes. Ditlev-Simonsen was elected mayor in 1995. Before that, he was the defence minister of Norway from 1989 to 1990. Allegations that Ditlev-Simonsen had an unknown Swiss bank account were first made in the financial newspaper Dagens Næringsliv on August 17. He admitted to not having paid taxes on the money in the account, which he said was closed before

A huge political storm has erupted around Australia after labor leader Kevin Rudd was found to have gone to a strip club during a taxpayer funded trip. This caused many people to ask their country's politicians questions. John Key, leader of New Zealand's National Party, has openly admitted to visiting a strip club after being posed the question by reporters. However, unlike Rudd, Key never visited the club when he was a politician, nor on an official trip, when he went to the two strip clubs. The two trips Key has made was once as a business

Stocks continued a volatile trading day today as lingering fears over fallout from the troubled U.S. sub-prime mortgage market continued to weigh on investor sentiment. After opening at 13,078.51 points and then dropping below the 13,000 mark, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back in late trading to above 13,100, but on lower volume than the previous trading day in what looked like a cover spike. But woes persisted as flight to quality continued and the yield on the 3-month U.S. Treasury bill dropped below 2.5% -a 20 year low (U.S. Tre

Residents of the Jewish settlement of Elon Moreh in the West Bank have cut a water pipe carrying drinking water to the nearby Palestinian village of Dir al-Khatab, and the rerouted water pipe is being used to fill a swimming pool. The pipe brings fresh drinking water into the pool and drains dirty water back into the village's water system. "They not only use water that doesn't belong to them, but they also pollute the drinking water of some of the village residents," Yoel Marshak, the head of the Kibbutz Movement's Special Assignments Branch

One of United States President George W. Bush's twin daughters, Jenna Bush, announced her engagement today, according to the White House. Bush, 25, became engaged to long-time boyfriend Henry Hager. Hager reportedly proposed to Bush in Maine on Wednesday. The Washington Post reports the two have been dating for two years. Sally McDonough, the press secretary for first lady Laura Bush said no official wedding date has been set. Hager, 28, is currently enrolled at the University of Virginia School of Business, and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J

Stead Mashushire, a 28-year-old Zimbabwean, has admitted today to stealing a Takaz commuter bus in Harare, Zimbabwe on August 7. He told the court he stole it because he needed transport to the Vehicle Inspection Department to collect his driving licence. The man waited at the Charge Office Bus Terminus in central Harare until the driver exited the bus, destined for the nearby town of Chitungwiza, and proceeded to a nearby supermarket to buy food, leaving the engine running. Mashushire then entered the vehicle and told all the passengers and t