$4b loan to Indonesia

MANILA: The ADB said on Tuesday it will provide $4 billion worth of loans and grants to Indonesia over the next four years under its new assistance strategy. The funds will go to support that country’s economic reform programme as well as its efforts to reduce poverty. The four-year plan proposes $3.82 billion in loans. — AFP

Delhi traders’ strike

NEW DELHI: Day three of the traders’ strike started off on a violent note on Wednesday with protest rallies, road blockades and incidents of buses being stoned and windowpanes getting smashed in several parts of the Indian capital. While the first two days of the strike to protest the sealing of unauthorised shops went off relatively peacefully, there was chaos from the morning today with hundreds of traders blocking traffic and puncturing tyres in east Delhi. — HNS

ITUC calls first meet

VIENNA: Delegates from trade unions worldwide gathered in Vienna on Wednesday to launch a new global labour federation aimed at ensuring workers’ rights are not forgotten in the rush toward economic globalisation. Organisers said the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) — formerly known as International Confederation of Free Trade Unions — would reinvent and modernise itself to better tackle fresh challenges to the rights of unionised workers and to strengthen its efforts to stamp out forced and child labour. — AFP

OECD inflation dips

PARIS: Inflation in the 30-country OECD zone slowed in September from the August level, falling to 2.1 per cent over 12 months in September from three per cent in August. The drop in inflation rates reflects a lower year-on-year increase of energy prices, which fell by 0.1 per cent over the 12 months to September for the G7 countries compared with a rise of 12.4 per cent to August. — AFP

Leadership meet

KATHMANDU: Mercy Corps, the global humanitarian agency has announced that it would holds its biannual 2006 Global Leadership Conference in Kathmandu on November 2-8, states a press release. More than 100 of Mercy Corps’ senior staff and support are taking part in the conference. The theme of the conference is ‘Reaching new Heights’. — HNS

Fair in the offing

DAMAULI: A Kyamin-Kalika fair has been scheduled in March in order to publicise the tourist destinations of Kyamin VDC and protect and promote its culture. The fair will be organised with the joint coordination of the Department of Archeology and the Nepal Tourism Board. — RSS