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An Earth Hour before-and-after shot of two Toronto landmarks, the First Bank Tower and Scotia Plaza, seen from the CN Tower at 7:40 p.m., then and 8:08 p.m.
CN Tower, Peace Tower join lights-out landmarks around globe
Canadians joined communities around the world on Saturday in turning off the lights for this year's Earth Hour, a global campaign to raise awareness of climate change.
Canadians in about 150 communities including Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, pledged to turn off their lights for 60 minutes at 8 p.m. local time Saturday night.

In Toronto, much of the downtown core went dark as Mayor David Miller pulled a ceremonial switch in Nathan Phillips Square to dim the lights at City Hall shortly before the hour approached.

Canadian singer Nelly Furtado then led the thousands gathered in the square in an acoustic version of her hit song Turn Out the Lights.

The CN Tower soon darkened in the city's skyline, along with highrises, sports arenas such as the Rogers Centre and Air Canada Centre.

Meanwhile, in restaurants across the city, people dined by candlelight.

In Ottawa, the Peace Tower and its four-faced clock above Canada's Parliament faded to black.

About 100,000 Canadians out of a total of 300,000 people worldwide registered online for the event — putting the country among top participants anywhere.
In Alberta, fire and oil put darkness on ice

Gordon Kubanek, left, Frank de Jong, middle, and Chris Bradshaw hold candles below the unlit Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Saturday.Gordon Kubanek, left, Frank de Jong, middle, and Chris Bradshaw hold candles below the unlit Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Saturday.
(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

But the evening was not marked by total darkness in Canada's energy capital.

Officially, Calgary is marking Earth Hour, but patrons and bar owners were quick to point out the event coincided with a more historic Alberta tradition — a provincial battle on the ice between hometown Flames and the Edmonton Oilers.

Wayne Leong, owner of Calgary's Melrose Café and Bar, told CBC News he was expecting a packed house, so he wasn't shutting down anything.

"Not a chance, I'm sorry to say," Leong said with a laugh. "Let's celebrate Earth Hour at four in the morning. That will be a lot better time, I think."
Sydney Opera House dims lights

The campaign, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, was kicked off hours earlier Saturday in New Zealand and Fiji.

In Christchurch, New Zealand, more than 100 businesses and thousands of homes were plunged into darkness, computers and televisions were switched off and dinners delayed for the hour-long period.

Suva, Fiji, in the same time zone, also turned off its lights.

Those cities were soon followed by others in Australia and Asia, as Sydney's iconic Opera House and Bangkok's famous Wat Arun Buddhist temple went dark. As the clock ticked forward, Asian cities to the west followed suit.

Hours later, darkness enveloped Rome's Colosseum, Dublin's Custom House, London's City Hall and other landmarks across Europe. But other countries — including France, Germany, Spain and European Union institutions — planned nothing to mark Earth Hour.

One of the last major cities to participate will be San Francisco — home to the soon-to-be dimmed Golden Gate Bridge.
Group aims 100 million participants

During the one-hour event, Sydney was noticeably darker, though it was not a complete blackout. The business district was mostly dark; organizers said 250 of the 350 commercial buildings there had pledged to shut off their lights completely, and 94 of the top 100 companies on the Australian stock exchange were also participating.

The number of participants was not immediately available, but organizers were hoping that this year's worldwide effort would eclipse last year's single-city debut, when 2.2 million people and more than 2,000 businesses in Sydney shut off lights and appliances, resulting in a 10.2 per cent reduction in local carbon emissions during that hour.

"I'm putting my neck on the line, but my hope is that we top 100 million people," Earth Hour Australia chief executive Greg Bourne said.

The effect of last year's Earth Hour was infectious. This year, 26 major world cities and more than 300 other cities and towns have signed up to participate.

The Thai branch of the WWF said the campaign in Bangkok reduced the load on the electrical system by 73.34 megawatts and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 41.6 tons.

Organizers see the event as a way to encourage the world to conserve energy. While all lights in participating cities are unlikely to be cut, it is the symbolic darkening of monuments, businesses and individual homes they are most eagerly anticipating.

Even popular internet search engine Google put its support behind Earth Hour, with a black background to its main page and the words: "We've turned the lights out. Now it's your turn."

CBC

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The Iraqi military has extended a round-the-clock curfew in Baghdad until further notice, government television said Saturday, amid a fifth day of fierce fighting between government forces and Shia militias in the country's south.

The curfew for the capital, which has left the streets of Baghdad largely deserted since late Thursday, was to have expired at sunrise Sunday.

The curfew was imposed in an attempt to curb violence in the capital, including continued mortar and rocket attacks on the heavily-fortified Green Zone, as well as clashes between government forces and militia fighters in the city's Shia neighbourhoods.

The increase in violence is part of a nationwide backlash by followers of radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to the Iraqi government's crackdown this week on Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and criminal gangs in the southern oil port of Basra.

Meanwhile, U.S. jets struck again, launching air strikes near Basra to bolster the faltering Iraqi crackdown as gun battles were heard across the city throughout the day.
Sadr calls on fighters to defy weapons deadline

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has acknowledged he may have miscalculated by failing to foresee the strong backlash that his offensive, which began Tuesday, provoked in areas of Baghdad and other cities where Shia militias wield power.

As many as 200 people have been reported killed and hundreds of others wounded in violence around the country since Tuesday. Many fear the crackdown could lead Sadr to dissolve his unilaterally declared ceasefire with U.S. forces and end the relative calm that has existed in recent months ahead of the government offensive.

The Baghdad curfew extension was announced just hours after Sadr's Mahdi Army said it would defy the government's demand to surrender arms in Basra, where Iraqi forces remained locked in battle with militia fighters.

On Friday, Iraqi authorities gave them until April 8 to surrender heavy and medium weapons after an initial 72-hour ultimatum to hand them over was widely ignored.

But Sadr called on his followers Saturday to ignore the order, saying that the Mahdi Army would turn in its weapons only to a government that can "get the occupier out of Iraq," referring to the Americans.

CBC

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Mohammed Rabbae said at a press conference at the El Ouma Mosque in Amsterdam that the film was 'less bad' than expected, but said Wilders was mistaken in asserting the Qur'an justifies violence.
Authorities in the Netherlands reported calm Friday following the release of an anti-Islamic film posted on the internet by a Dutch politician.
Dozens of Islamists in Pakistan protested the 15-minute film Fitna — the Qur'anic term for "strife" — which was released Thursday night by right-wing Dutch legislator Geert Wilders after broadcasters in the Netherlands refused to show it.

Both Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, and Iran condemned the film.

But on Friday morning Dutch newspapers headlined that all was quiet the day after the film's release.

There have been fears the film could spark violent protests similar to those over the cartoon caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005.

Dutch media reported the film already had more than 5.5 million hits on the internet.
Muslim call for restraint

Some Muslim groups said the film is less offensive than they had thought.

Mohamed Rabbae, chairman of the moderate National Moroccan Council, said it was "less bad" than expected, but said Wilders was mistaken in asserting the Qur'an justifies violence.

He urged Muslims around the world to refrain from targeting Dutch interests in response to the film.

"Our call to Muslims abroad is follow our strategy and don't frustrate it with any violent incidents," he said.

The film quotes verses of the Qur'an alongside footage of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, at times showing graphic footage of bloody, mutilated bodies set to music, and even a beheading of a Caucasian man by men garbed in black.

"The government insists that you respect Islam, but Islam has no respect for you. Islam wants to rule, submit, and seeks to destroy our Western civilization," says text appearing near the film's end that eventually calls on Europeans to defeat the ideology of Islam.

The film ends with a caricature of Muhammad, his head drawn in the shape of a bomb that explodes into a crack of thunder and lightning.
Hate-speech ruling expected

A Dutch judge is scheduled Friday to review a petition from a Muslim group seeking an independent review of whether the film violates the country's hate speech laws.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has said he rejects Wilders's views, but supports his freedom of speech.

"The government is heartened by the initial restrained reactions of Dutch Muslim organizations," he said. "The Dutch government stands for a society in which freedom and respect go hand in hand … Let us solve problems by working together."

Wilders — a well-known anti-Islamist who has called for a stop to immigration from Muslim countries and a halt to the building of new mosques in his country — has said he's not against Muslims but against their faith.

CBC

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The Olympic torch has been handed over to Chinese officials at a ceremony in Athens, amid scuffles between police and pro-Tibet demonstrators.

A small group of protesters tried to break through a police cordon to enter the stadium.

Thousands gathered as the flame was delivered and transferred to a lamp for its journey by plane to China.

The handover came as pro-Tibet protesters tried to storm the Chinese embassy in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.

The torch's passage through Greece has been dogged by protests on human rights and Tibet.

The flame, which was lit in Olympia on 24 March, will be welcomed at a ceremony in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Monday.

It will then tour 20 countries before returning for the opening on 8 August.

See map of Olympic torch relay route

'Timeless symbol'

Sunday's formal handover was held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, where the first modern Olympics took place in 1896.

The Chinese and Greek flags were marched in by Greek athletes to the strains of a band, before a circle of white-clad actresses dressed as ancient priestesses surrounded a podium as the torch was brought in.

Minos Kyriakou, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, passed the flame to chief Beijing organizer Liu Qi.

"The Olympic flame is the timeless symbol which stirs admiration, pride and faith [in] the Olympic ideals and values," said Mr Kyriakou.

"I hope the world community welcomes the flame and honours it".

Mr Liu pointed out that the summit of Mount Everest was on the torch's destination list, "testifying to the great strength of the Olympic movement in marking the progress of human civilisation".

Nepal protest

The protesters tried to unfurl a banner which said "stop genocide in Tibet", but failed to enter the stadium or disrupt the solemn ceremony.

At least six people were arrested.

Police had warned they would confiscate all banners, signs or objects that might be thrown.

Greek organisers had altered the torch's route ahead of the ceremony to nullify protests. The torch has had a police guard and a group of runners to protect it.

Meanwhile, in Kathmandu, police baton-charged Tibetan exiles and Buddhist monks who were trying to storm an office of the Chinese embassy, and arrested at least 100 people.

The city is home to hundreds of Tibetan exiles, and the protest was the third over Tibet in the past week. Those detained in the previous incidents were released within hours.

And in India's capital Delhi, exiled Tibetans launched an "independence torch" to tour the world in an anti-China protest.

The Tibetan alternative torch was unveiled in Delhi on Sunday and will next go to San Francisco on 9 April, when the Olympic torch is expected to arrive.

Tibet's government-in-exile, based in India, says about 140 people were killed in the crackdown on recent unrest by Chinese security forces. Beijing disputes this, saying 19 people were killed by rioters.

There has been little movement internationally towards a boycott of the Games, although French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said "all options are open" following the recent unrest in Tibet.

BBC News

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About 65 miners are feared dead after rainfall triggered the collapse of mines in Tanzania, the government says.

Six bodies have so far been recovered in the Mererani region, about 40km (25 miles) south-east of Arusha in north-eastern Tanzania.

Rescuers say the flooding is hampering their efforts and there is little hope of finding anyone else alive.

The area mines Tanzanite, a valuable blue gemstone found only in a small area near Arusha.

Ten years ago more than 100 Tanzanite miners died in an accident caused by heavy rain.

Resource rich

A regional commissioner, Henry Shekifu, told Associated Press news agency the men went missing on Friday amid heavy rains.

The government is trying to deploy equipment that will drain the mines, he said.

He said the flooding had affected 100 people - 35 had escaped the pit alive, six bodies had been found, and another 59 were missing.

He was jeered by some miners, as he addressed them at the pit entrance on Sunday, the French news agency AFP reported.

"You come with Land Cruisers instead of machines to help us pull out colleagues," said one of the miners.

Thousands of workers have been drawn to Mererani to mine the Tanzanite.

Tanzania is also rich in diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires and is Africa's third-largest gold producer.

The mining sector has boomed with economic liberalisation policies applied in the mid-1980s.

BBC News

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Equatorial Guinea has issued an arrest warrant for Sir Mark Thatcher over his alleged role in a failed 2004 coup.

The country's attorney general said that Sir Mark, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, had provided money and transport.

In 2005, Sir Mark was given a fine and a suspended sentence in South Africa after pleading guilty to unknowingly helping to finance the plot.

However, he has always denied any direct involvement.

He told the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper he was not worried by the arrest warrant.

"As far as I'm concerned the issue has already been dealt with," he was quoted as saying.

"I've been charged and tried in a court in South Africa on exactly those charges so I don't see what more they can do."

'Part of the team'

But Equatorial Guinea's Attorney General Jose Olo Obono said he had received new evidence against Sir Mark from Simon Mann, a former British army officer awaiting trial for his alleged role in the attempted coup.

"Mark Thatcher provided financing for a coup d'etat in Equatorial Guinea and then he organised all the transport for the coup d'etat," Mr Obono told the Associated Press.

"We don't understand how [South Africa] let him go with just this fine. With an issue like this, we can't just let it go."

In comments to AFP news agency, Mr Obono said that Interpol had been asked to help find Sir Mark, "because we really don't know where he is, no-one knows where he is living."

The Daily Telegraph said that Sir Mark was speaking from the resort of Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol.

Mann is being held at the notorious Black Beach prison in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

He told a British television station recently that the plot did exist, but he was not the driving force behind it.

The ex-SAS officer also alleged Sir Mark Thatcher was "part of the team".

In the past, Sir Mark has always claimed he was an unwitting conspirator and that as far as he knew, he was helping finance an air ambulance business in West Africa.

The president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, took power in 1979, in a coup in which he killed his uncle.

Equatorial Guinea is now one of Africa's largest oil producers.

BBC News