Germany

More details are expected later of the measures aimed at helping the country during what some fear could be its worst recession since World War II.

The initiatives include investments in railways, roads and schools, as well as a number of tax relief measures.

A 23bn euros plan, passed last month, was derided for being too cautious.

In its second attempt to kickstart Europe's largest economy, Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet has gone further, and she is expected to unveil the details of the plan on Tuesday.

"All in all, it is a package that will help get us through the financial crisis and secure jobs," said Christian Democrat parliamentary president Volker Kauder.
The agreement follows squabbles between the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats over how to shore up the German economy and prevent job losses.

The new two-year stimulus package will include investment measures worth around 18bn euros for infrastructure projects, correspondents say.

But, says the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin, this package alone will not solve Germany's biggest problem at the moment: its falling exports.

Due to the global economic downturn, there is less demand abroad for German goods, such as cars and machine tools.

Germany is heavily reliant on exports, which saw their largest fall in November since reunification in 1990.

Last year it unveiled a bail-out for businesses worth up to 500bn euros but its use has been limited due to strict conditions attached to taking the money.

Meanwhile, figures released on Tuesday morning showed that German wholesale prices fell 3% in December from the previous month, and were down 3.3% on a year-on-year basis.

Barack Obama

Monday's meeting in Washington DC was Mr Obama's first with a foreign leader since his election in November.

His transition office said the talks highlighted the importance of the relationship between the US and Mexico.

Mr Obama, who will be sworn in on 20 January, will make his first foreign trip to Canada, officials have said.

No date has been set but officials indicated it would be "soon" after Mr Obama takes office, restoring a long-standing tradition that Canada is the first destination for a new US president.

"It will be the first foreign trip of his presidency, underscoring the importance of the relationship between the United States and Canada," said Brooke Anderson, a transition spokeswoman.

Canada is the US's biggest trading partner, followed by China, and then Mexico.

After joining Mr Calderon for a lunch of tortilla soup, Mr Obama said his administration was "going to be ready on day one" to work to build stronger relations with Mexico.

Their meeting at the Mexican Cultural Institute included discussion on efforts by the Mexican government to tackle the drugs gangs that have seen more than 30,000 troops deployed since 2006.

There were more than 5,000 drug-related murders there last year, with many of the deaths in cities just across the border from the US.

In December, the US justice department said Mexican drug traffickers posed the biggest organised crime threat to the US.

Mr Obama has previously praised Mr Calderon's stance and supports a multi-million dollar aid package known as the Merida Initiative to help Mexico in the fight against illegal drugs.

He has also spoken about the need to address not only the flow of drugs north but the smuggling of guns from the US to Mexico.

"The friendship between the US and Mexico has been strong," he said. "I believe it can be even stronger."

Google

They are all on the list of the top 10 fastest-rising queries on Google during 2008.

The search engine has published its year-end Zeitgeist, the tool which reveals what internet users are searching for.

The most searched term for Google users in the UK was Facebook while the BBC came second and its iPlayer service was the fastest rising query.

The list also reveals what global preoccupations are and this year the US election candidates and the Beijing Olympics figure high.

The things people around the globe have in common are a strong interest in socialising and politics, according to Marissa Mayer, vice-president of search at Google.

“Social networks comprised four out of the top 10 global fastest-rising queries while the US election held everyone’s interest around the globe,” she wrote on Google’s official blog.

The economic crisis has made an impact on UK searchers with “money saving expert” and “hot uk deals” making the top 10 finance-related searches.

Gordon Brown will be pleased to hear that he beat David Cameron into second place on the list of most popular politicians among UK searchers.

Barack Obama made it into third place with rival John McCain coming in seventh.

Foodies were interested in recipes for cupcakes, meatballs, lemon posset and pork belly, while the hottest tickets in the UK went to Oasis and Leonard Cohen (first and second respectively)

Ukrainian apartment blast

The final death toll from a Christmas Eve explosion in a five-story apartment building in southern Ukraine has increased to 27 people, including three children.Twenty-one people were rescued from the remains of the building, located in the Black Sea resort town of Yevpatoria.

Rescue workers were still combing through the site Friday, but are expected to finish their work soon, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Situations Ministry.Government officials said oxygen canisters stored in the basement of the building are the most probable cause of the blasts, which reduced the apartment complex to rubble.

Television footage showed rescuers trying to free people buried underneath fallen debris, while others scrabbled through wires, construction rods and boulders.Another, who lived opposite the apartment block, told: “We heard a terrible bang. We though our balcony crashed because of the way the windows vibrated. But when I went onto the balcony I saw smoke from the other side.”