Berlin  - Economic confidence in Europe plummeted in October to its lowest level since 1993, according to a key survey released Thursday, adding to signs of a looming recession for the region.

The European Commission's closely-watched economic sentiment indicator (ESI) for the 15-member eurozone dropped from 87.5 in September to 80.4 October in the wake of share market chaos that has helped to fuel the deepening sense of economic gloom facing the currency bloc.

The release of the commission's latest survey comes just one week before the European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates to help shore up investor and economic confidence.

New York, Oct 30 : American actor Leonardo DiCaprio along with other celebrities used reverse psychology in their ‘No Means Yes’ public service announcement show to get Americans to vote.

DiCaprio produced, directed, and starred in the ad that debuted on My Space Celebrity on October 29, the New York Daily News reported.

The video shows the stars struggling to grasp the concept of “No means Yes”, and using reverse psychology to get people to vote on November 4.

Tokyo - Mazda Motor Corp saw its net profit fall 45 per cent during the July-to-September quarter to 14.5 billion yen (147 million dollars) because of the yen's rise and the higher costs of raw materials, the company said Thursday.

The Japanese automaker reported operating profits of 32.4 billion yen during the second quarter, down 20 per cent from the same period a year ago, and sales of 803.7 billion yen, down 5 per cent year-on-year.

For the full year through March 31, Mazda revised its profit projections downward. It now expects net profit to drop 28.6 per cent from an earlier estimate to 50 billion yen, and operating profit to fall 21.7 per cent to 90 billion yen.

Washington, Oct 30 : A leading pollster in the US has said that Republican presidential nominee John McCain can’t bank upon the undecided voters, as in the past elections undecided voters had not swayed decisively for either candidate.

The pool of undecided voters on Election Day could be as large as one in 10, but John McCain can hardly rely on them to overtake Barack Obama, he said.

According to politico. com, in the past eight presidential elections, voters who made up their minds during the last week of the campaign never went for either ticket by large margins of 3-2 or 2-1, which potentially could tip the scales.

Sao Paolo - The 2008 Formula One season reaches its thrilling conclusion with the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos this weekend when Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari's Felipe Massa battle it out for the drivers' world championship crown.

Hamilton needs just a fifth place finish to ensure he goes into the record books as the youngest ever F1 champion while Massa requires a win or second spot, and must also rely on his rival finishing outside the top five, to become the first Brazilian since

Ayrton Senna in 1991 to take the title.

Meanwhile, in the constructors championship, Ferrari hold a healthy 11-point lead over McLaren with BMW-Sauber a further 10 pints adrift.

Dhaka - Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Thursday denied bail in a graft case to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, now paroled for medical treatment abroad.

A five-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin passed the order during a hearing into the case filed by a businessman last year.