EARTHQUAKE

New car, truck and bus sales shot up 78.2 percent in March compared to a year earlier in Japan, as government subsidies buoy-up the industry and the nation moves into a fuller recovery from last year's March 11 tsunami and earthquake.

Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, who led Mexico from 1982 to 1988 during economic crisis and a devasting earthquake, died Sunday at age 77, President Felipe Calderon announced.

Retail sales in Japan increased 3.5 percent year-on-year in February, supported by subsidies on cars and higher fuel prices, according to data from the Japanese ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Facebook (NYSE: FB), the No. 1 social network website, will stop insider trades of its shares Friday because its initial public offering roadshow will begin next week.

Asian shares eased for a second day in a row Thursday, as investors limited their risk exposures on concerns about growth prospects in the world's two largest economies, the United States and China.

Bulgaria cites a lack of funding for not pursuing a planned nuclear power plant at Belene

The insurance market listed the litany of disasters in its annual report, which included claims from flooding in Australia in January, the February earthquake in New Zealand, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March and the floods in Thailand.

A senior executive at Invisible Children--creators of the viral Kony 2012 activism campaign--recorded a video in which he jokes, while appearing to be heavily drinking, about stealing money from a 2010 $1 million award, some of which was intended for earthquake aid to Haiti.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.25 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.29 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.36 percent at 0920 GMT.

Asian stock markets surged Tuesday, following gains in the Wall Street overnight as market-friendly comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke boosted sentiment.

The move leaves 53 of Japan's 54 reactors out of service. The last operational reactor, Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s Tomari No.3, will be switched off for maintenance May 5.

Growth is likely to be weak in the near term for New Zealand as the temporary boost from the Rugby World Cup unwinds, according to Capital Economics.

A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Chile on Sunday at 7:37 p.m. local time (6:37 p.m. EDT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At a depth of 21.6 miles (34.8 kilometers), the quake's epicenter was 136 miles (219 kilometers) south-southwest of the capital city of Santiago, the USGS reported.

Although there is some dispute, the mystery of the Clintonville, Wis. booming noises may have been solved. Last week, the United States Geological Survey said a 1.5-magnitute earthquake struck the small Wisconsin town of 4,600 people only about 40 miles west of Green Bay.

Venice could sink by up to three inches by 2032 at a rate much faster than previously thought, according to a study. It would gradually join the list of several cities that once thrived well before being swallowed up by oceanic waves that are assumed to have resulted from massive earthquakes and tsunamis.

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck in Mexico on Thursday, the second quake in one week in Guerrero state near Oaxaca.

Very little is known about the oceans. Researchers are trying to change that through the use of underwater robots.

Japan posted a surprise trade surplus of 32.9 billion yen, or $397.35 million, in February -- its first in five months, amid strong exports to the U.S., the Ministry of Finance said.

New Zealand residents have been urged to spread their Marmite extra thin after news of an upcoming Marmageddon when the popular breakfast paste will no longer be available on shelves do to the closure of the iconic Kiwi brand's Christchurch factory in the wake of the 2011 earthquake.

Two strong earthquakes struck Mexico Tuesday in a 7.4-magnitude earthquake, the worst since 1985, that destroyed hundreds of homes and affected over 20 million people with widespread damage. View the slideshow to see photos of the damage by the March 20 quake in Mexico.

The powerful earthquake that struck Mexico City Tuesday afternoon plunged the sprawling capital in utter chaos and devastation.