IBT Staff Reporter

It was a cold, drizzly March morning this year when Ed Sproull's heart stopped beating.

Indian officials began a meeting on Monday to decide whether to ban some of Research In Motion's BlackBerry services, a day before the deadline runs out for the firm to give security agencies access to its secure data.

Genzyme Corp rejected an $18.5 billion (11.8 billion pounds) takeover offer from French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis, saying it dramatically undervalues the company.

Canadian auto sales rose to their highest level in nearly three years this summer on the back of rebounding employment levels and steep incentives from automakers

Ireland's government signalled on Monday that gradually winding down nationalised Anglo Irish Bank could be an option as political pressure mounts on Prime Minister Brian Cowen to stem the rising cost of maintaining the troubled lender.

Indian soldiers on Monday shot dead six separatist militants trying to cross over from Pakistan into the disputed region of Kashmir where popular protests against Indian rule have mounted in recent weeks.

Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 575,000 Windstar vans in 21 cold-weather U.S. states and Canada from model years 1998 to 2003 because of the possibility that the rear axle may fracture due to corrosion

Stocks dipped on Monday as confidence about the economy sagged and investors were cautious ahead of several key reports coming this week.

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, the country's third-biggest lender, said on Monday that its level of real estate loans were the lowest among its peers and its yearly profit could exceed forecasts.

Ukraine's parliament Monday changed the law on regional elections in a move that is likely to dilute support for the party of Yulia Tymoshenko, the main opponent of President Viktor Yanukovich.

Last week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered a major speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on the state of the economy.

General Motors Co will pay a spread of 400 basis points over the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, if it draws on its $5 billion revolving credit facility in the first three months

Consumer spending rose at the strongest pace in four months in July, supported by a small gain in incomes that offered hope consumers will be able to keep contributing to a modest recovery.

An Indonesian volcano, inactive for four centuries, erupted again on Monday, pitching ash two km into the air and sending nearby residents scurrying from their homes.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's attempt to convert dozens of young women to Islam during a visit to Italy led to an angry reaction from Italian media Monday.

The Bank of Japan boosted its cheap loan scheme on Monday, bowing to government pressure for action to protect a fragile recovery by curbing the yen's rise, while cabinet ministers signalled they may intervene to weaken the currency.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will give the Indian government access to encrypted data from September 1, while the Indian home ministry wants BlackBerry, Google and Skype to set up servers in India, a government source familiar with the matter said Monday.

Chinese and North Korean state media on Monday confirmed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had visited the country, where he met China's President Hu Jintao in the northeastern city of Changchun.

Hewlett-Packard Co's said on Monday its board approved to buy back an additional $10 billion in shares to manage dilution created by shares issued under other plans.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will give the Indian government access to encrypted data from September 1, while the Indian home ministry wants BlackBerry, Google and Skype to set up servers in India, a government source familiar with the matter said Monday.

The Bank of Japan boosted its cheap loan scheme on Monday, bowing to government pressure for action to protect a fragile recovery by curbing the yen's rise, while cabinet ministers signalled they may intervene to weaken the currency.

In a small study, people who had chronic pain as a result of damage to the nervous system reported feeling less pain, as well as less depression and anxiety, when they smoked marijuana compared to when they smoked a drug-free placebo.

When it comes to treating very short kids with growth hormone, some doctors may be just as swayed by their own attitudes about being short as by data, suggests a new study.

Kids who suffer concussions should be cleared by a doctor before they start playing sports again, and parents and coaches should be aware that young athletes take longer to recover than college and professional athletes, according to a new report in Pediatrics.

As part of efforts to shift its export emphasis away from West Europe, Russia inaugurated a branch of Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline that delivers east Siberian oil to China.

China confirmed to foreign diplomats in Beijing on Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had visited the country, Japan's Kyodo news agency said, as Chinese state media praised ties with the isolated country.

More than half of the natural gas drillers operating in the Marcellus Shale missed the deadline to report the production levels of their wells in violation of state law, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

As part of its rice recovery scheme, Philippines is to produce at least 500,000 metric tons of paddy rice to narrow the expected production shortfall of unmilled rice. Country's Agriculture ministry is in the process of validating its figures with the budget for its rice recovery plan during the wet cropping season.

After increasing paddy field areas, Indonesia said the country expected to see a rice surplus of 5 million tons at the end of this year.