Diary what's on this week

Tomorrow – Eleventh Global Businesswomen and Leaders Summit at Burj Al Arab

Tomorrow until Wednesday – Hedge Funds World Middle East 2009 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai

Tomorrow – Eastern Daylight Time begins in the United States. Clocks go forward by one hour to GMT -4

Monday – Kuwait International Property Show at Kuwait International Fair Centre, Mesherf

Monday – International Monetary Fund hosts a conference in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to discuss ways to build on Africa's recent economic success

Wednesday – Holi "Festival of Colours" in lndia

Thursday – Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery, pictured, from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.

Thursday to Saturday – Abu Dhabi Yacht Show, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and Marina

This day in History 

March 7, 1957 The people of Ghana celebrated the end of colonial rule and the dawn of their independence. Most workers were given the day off as tens of thousands gathered in the capital, Accra, to greet the independent country's first prime minister, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

The Duchess of Kent attended the celebrations and opened the Independence Monument – erected near the spot where members of the Ghanaian ex-servicemen's union were shot when marching to present a petition to the British Governor in 1948.

Ghana was the first black African country to become independent.

Three years later, Nkrumah declared Ghana a republic and himself president for life in 1964. He banned all opposition parties. He was deposed in 1966 by a military coup and later died in exile in Romania in 1972. A period of unstable government followed with repeated coups, culminating in 1992 in a referendum on a multi-party system. Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, who had led two coups against the government, was elected president. His supporters credit him with stabilising a turbulent political scene and leaving a legacy of democracy.

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