CAAN inspects airplanes:

KATHMANDU: A team from the office of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) comprising senior technicians conducted an impromptu examination of airplanes involved in domestic flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday. Six airplanes belonging to Royal Nepal Airlines, Cosmic Air, Sita Air, Gorakha Air, Buddha Air and Yeti Air were inspected. — RSS

Dairy farmers worried:

BUTWAL: A meeting of the 16 dairy co-operatives of Rupandehi district held in Devdaha, Khairani has demanded that the government buy the milk they produce. Farmers have been facing hard times after their milk couldn’t be sold. Rupandehi is one of the leading districts in milk production. — RSS

Iran, India energy talks:

NEW DELHI: Iran’s foreign minister is to begin a three-day long visit to India on Sunday for talks following New Delhi’s decision to launch discussions on securing gas to fuel its energy-hungry economy. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazzi will address the India-Iran Joint Business Council Meeting on Monday. — AFP

P’pine economic growth:

MANILA: Philippine economic growth since 1985 has had only a slight effect in reducing poverty levels while the absolute number of poor keeps increasing, the ADB said. The ADB said official statistics showed that the proportion of families living in poverty fell from 44.2 per cent in 1985 to 31.8 per cent in 1997 but had since risen to 33.7 per cent in 2000. — AFP

S’pore increases budget:

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s military was the big winner in the national budget unveiled on Friday with defence spending for the next financial year to grow by 7.4 per cent to $5.8 billion. The defence outlay accounts for 31.2 per cent of the $29.68 billion national budget for the fiscal year ending March 2006 that prime minister and finance minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled before parliament. — AFP

Inflation fears flare in US:

WASHINGTON: Inflation moved to the front burner on Friday after a report showing the sharpest increase in wholesale prices at the ‘core’ rate in six years prompted a reassessment of the US economic outlook. Labour Department said its producer price index jumped by 0.3 per cent in January, while the core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, soared by 0.8 per cent. — AFP

Lebanese pound ‘steady’:

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s financial markets opened on Friday for the first time since Rafik Hariri’s assassination, with banks and money changers saying the demand for the US dollar was lower than expected. The Lebanese pound sold at 1,514 to the US dollar, a rate in line with regular trading. — AP