Ramadan observance. Muslim girls practice before a Koran reading competition inside the Golden Mosque in Quiapo. On Wednesday is Eid el-Fitr, a national holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Breakthrough in bailout deal US races for agreement before
Asian marts open
WASHINGTON — US lawmakers on Sunday were set
to sign off on a deal to create a $700 billion government fund
to buy bad debt from ailing banks in a bid to stem a credit
crisis threatening the global economy.
After marathon talks into the wee hours of
Sunday morning, congressional leaders from both parties emerged
with an agreement that altered key parts of a Wall Street
bailout program initially proposed by the Bush administration.
The preceding week of negotiations over the
rescue package roiled financial markets and altered the course
of the US presidential campaign less than six weeks before the
election.
PRESS Secretary Jesus Dureza yesterday said
the Philippines must strengthen its economy by expanding trade
with Asian markets, among other things, on the heels of
continued uncertainties in the economy of the United States.
Dureza said this would enable the Philippines
to be prepared regardless of the outcome in the US government’s
bailout plans.
"We may get the backlash but it may not be as
bad," he said.
A SENATE investigation on the allegations of
Sen. Panfilo Lacson of a double budget funding entry on the C-5
extension project opens today but it would not touch on the
properties of Senate President Manuel Villar, which could have
benefited from the project.
"Hindi na sa amin ‘yun. They should file a
case, bring it to the court, or dapat sa ethics," said Sen. Juan
Ponce Enrile, finance committee chair.
Enrile said allegations of conflict of
interest against Villar are not within the mandate of his
committee.
