Thousands of online giants, including Google, Wikipedia and Flickr, are taking part in a “blackout” protest over proposed anti-piracy laws.
Wikipedia and WordPress have both blacked out their sites, while Google has put a black box over its logo. Both Twitter and Facebook criticised US Congress’ Stop Online Piracy Act but decided to keep their sites running.
World Bank issues recession warning
The global economy could be set for a second major downturn, with the World Bank slashing its growth forecasts.
The bank said the world economy will grow by 2.5% in 2012 and 3.1% in 2013, a sharp dip on its previous estimate of 3.6% growth in both years.
“No country and no region will escape the consequences of a serious downturn,” said the World Bank.
Customers lash out at doorknockers
Door-to-door salespeople are being verbally and physically attacked, with some irate homeowners brandishing knives and baseball bats, according to a report in the Herald Sun.
Details of the attacks, which include one worker being stabbed in the arm, come ahead of the launch of a code of conduct for the electricity and gas switching industries, which regularly deploy doorknockers.
Overnight
The Dow Jones Indus Average climbed by 0.7% to 12,571.49. The Australian dollar rose to 104.18 US cents.
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