Crops damaged

MYAGDI: Hailstorm damaged crops including wheat, mustard, vegetables and other winter crops which were ready for harvest in various rural areas of Myagdi. Farmers said hailstorm damaged crops in Jyamrukkot, Jhamkili, Takam, Darwang, Baranja and other VDCs. The initial estimate of the damage has been put at around Rs 8,00,000. — RSS

China revises forecast

BEIJING: China has revised up its economic growth figure for last year to 11.9 per cent from 11.4 per cent. China’s economy was last year worth 25.0 trillion yuan or about $3.6 trillion based on the current exchange rate. China had announced in January that the total output of the economy in 2007 was 24.7 trillion yuan. — AFP

India’s inflation rises

WASHINGTON: Even as India’s annual rate of inflation has touched a three-year high of seven per cent in recent weeks, the IMF says it will moderate to 5.2 per cent in the

current calendar year. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the Washington-based organisation says inflationary expectations had picked up around the globe due to sharp

increases in food and energy prices, particularly intensifying in emerging economies. — HNS

Plan to avert crisis

WASHINGTON: Group of Seven (G7) finance officials are mulling a plan to require more openness in complex market investments in an effort to avert future crises. The gathering of key finance ministers and central bank governors set for Friday comes amid increasingly grim forecasts for the global economic outlook, with worries about a global slowdown and a US recession. — AFP