Etc...

NO CHEATING NOW, OK?

In Ottawa late last month, 31 engineering students at Carle-ton University were caught handing in "original" essays that turned out to be borrowed heavily – in some cases word-for-word – from material available on the Internet. They face punishment that could include expulsion from school. Oh, the course they taking at the time: professional ethics.

Although it is the home of Canada's oil and cattle industries, Calgary, Alberta, ranks No. 1 on a list of the world's cleanest cities as determined by human resources consultants William M. Mercer LLC. Mexico City fared worst in the ratings, which are based on air pollution levels and waste-disposal efficiency. Mercer clients use the rankings to help decide hardship allowances for their employees. Mercer's top 10 neat-and-tidy list:

1. Calgary, Alberta

2. Honolulu

3. Helsinki, Finland

(tie) Katsuyama, Japan

5. Minneapolis

(tie) Ottawa

7. Victoria, Seychelles

(tie) Wellington, New Zealand

9. Auckland, New Zealand

10. Kobe, Japan

(tie) Omuta, Japan

(tie) Tsukuba, Japan

(tie) Oslo

(tie) Stockholm

(tie) Perth, Australia

(tie) Zürich, Switzerland

– Agence France Presse