HONG KONG - HONG Kong banks agreed to return more than US$800 million (S$1.15 billion) to investors burned by Lehman Brothers-backed products, potentially ending a nearly yearlong dispute that sparked street protests and exposed problems in the financial center's markets.
The 16 banks will return as much as 70 per cent of the principal to around 29,000 investors who were sold so-called mini-bonds backed by US investment bank Lehman Brothers, said the Securities and Futures Commission, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the banks in a joint statement.
SINGAPORE - THE World Trade Organization (WTO) and Asia-Pacific trade ministers warned here on Wednesday against rising protectionism amid signs that the global economic slump may be nearing its end.
'The global economy appears to be bottoming out, but the outlook remains uncertain and significant risks remain,' the ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum said in a statement after two days of talks.
JAKARTA - INDONESIA on Wednesday released sketches of the faces of two Indonesian men they suspect were the suicide bombers in near-simultaneous attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta.
Friday's attacks at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton killed nine people and wounded 53, including foreigners and Indonesians. Police suspect the involvement of Jemaah Islamiah, the militant Muslim group responsible for previous bombings in the region.
MUMBAI - THE sole surviving gunman of last year's Mumbai attacks told the judge in his trial on Wednesday that he was prepared to be put to death after making a dramatic confession of his role in the operation.
'Please go ahead and hang me,' Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national, told Judge M.L. Tahaliyani in court.
