Etihad Airways offer

KATHMANDU: Etihad Airways — the national airline of the United Arab Emirates - offered special deals for its guests to celebrate the rolled out new ‘Inspired Service’ in First and Business Class across the entire network including Nepal till February 28. Under the offer, travellers can avail of Diamond First Class at Pearl Business Class rate and Pearl Business Class at Coral Economy Class rate. For Nepal, the offer was entitled to Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Moscow, Geneva, Minsk, Brussels and New York routes with a special price. To avail the offer, guests needed to book their tickets till February 28 but the outbound travel period is extended till March 31 while travel can be completed by May 31. — HNS

Obama digs in heels

WASHINGTON: US president Barack Obama vowed on Saturday to fight for his budget proposals that include investments in clean energy and healthcare as he faces a tough battle moving the measures through Congress. The audacious $3.55 trillion budget proposal that Obama rolled out on Thursday bristles with economic reforms and spending on healthcare, climate change and education among others. — AFP

ADB prez stance

KATHMANDU: Strong subregional cooperation is crucial to helping Southeast Asia withstand the challenges of the current global economic downturn and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will this year bolster efforts to cement links, said ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda on Saturday addressing regional leaders at the fourth Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Summit. — HNS

ASEAN oil rebate deal

HUA HIN: Southeast Asian nations are to sign an energy security agreement on Sunday that will allow their members to buy oil at a discounted price during times of crisis. “Under the agreement, oil exporting states will supply petroleum to a country that is facing a shortage at a lower price,” said S Pushpanathan, deputy secretary-general of ASEAN. — AFP