Clashes continue outside ADB meet

AUCKLAND. May 4: Hun dreds of environmental and human rights activists Stormer । the Asian Development Bank meeting Thursday In a third day of street battles with police More than 200 protesters marched to the conference site off Aotea Square, where police have banned demonstrations for the duration of this week s bank meetings, reports AP.

Boy's murder hits Pak carpet export

ISLAMABAD. May 4: Pak istani carpet-makers said yesterday they had lost export orders worth 10 million dollars since the murder of a 12-vear-okt boy who had won* international renown for his campaign against child labour. The Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan Carpet Manufactures and Exporters Association. Imran Malik, said shipments and orders had been halted and exhibitions of Pakistani carpets cancelled, re-porls Reuter.

Hanoi bans rice export

HO CHI MINH CITY. Vietnam. May 4: A temporary ban on Vietnamese rice exports has left about 20 ships waning for a week near Saigon Port to load their cargo, traders said yesterday. The suspension of exports was ordered to stabilise domestic prices of the staple, reports Reuter.

Vietnam, Kuwait sign trade pacts KUWAIT CITY. May 4: Vietnam and Kuwait on Wednesday signed agreements on economic, technical and scientific cooperation during a visit by Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh to the Gulf emirate, the official agency Kuna said. The accords are aimed at bolstering trade and the exchange of experts between the two countries. They were signed by the Vietnamese and Kuwaiti trade ministers, reports AFP.

KLCE reverts to palm oil trading KUALA LUMPUR. May 4: The Kuala Lumpur Commodity Exchange (KLCE) has reverted to trading only crude palm oil due to a lack of. interest in its other futures contracts, officials said yesterday. KLCE officials said the exchange would stop quoting prices for the SMR20, RSS1 rubber contracts, and tin and cocoa futures because there had been no trade "for a sustained period of time," reports AFP.

Bread prices up in Iran

TEHRAN, May 4: The government has hiked bread prices by 25 to 50 per cent in a move expected to hit millions of poor Iranians who depend on it for their staple diet, newspapers said here yesterday. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of bread will now cost between 250 and 600 rials (six to 15 cents), while the average wage in Iran is estimated at 150,000 rials (around 40 dollars) per month.

INGER helps Myanmar

MANILA, May 4: The International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) has helped Myanmar- become the world's fourth largest rice exporter The remarks was made by Myanmar's Minister of Agriculture during a recent meeting of the INGER advisory committee In Myanmar, reports Xinhua.

Unemployment in Germany declining

BERLIN. May 4: Unem ployment in Germany dropped to 9.4 per cent In April from 9.6 per cent in March, continuing a seasonal down trend, the Federal Labour Office said Thursday. The' number of jobless declined in both western and eastern Germany, and the pan-German total was 3.604,692 unemployed, reports AP.