Saturday, May 13, 2006
Storm forces Asean economic meeting to move venue (4:55 p.m.)
MANILA --- Tropical storm Chanchu forced officials on Saturday to change an annual retreat of Southeast Asian economic ministers from a resort island in the central Philippines to the capital, Manila.
Senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations made the decision after considering strong winds, rough seas and power outages on Boracay, an island resort about 300 kilometers southeast of Manila.
"Due to the bad weather, the Asean economic ministers' retreat will now be held in Manila," said liaison officer Richelle Hernandez.
At the two-day informal meeting, which begins Monday, the ministers are to discuss ways to accelerate the integration of the region's 10 economies and create a European-style economic community by 2020.
The storm gained strength Saturday as it sliced through the central Philippines, leaving at least 23 people dead. (AP) |
