KATHMANDU -- The Nepali government on Saturday decided to cut fuel prices substantially amid growing public pressure over rising prices of goods and services.

As a result, the prices of petrol and diesel shall be cut by 20 Nepali rupees (16 U.S. cents) and 29 rupees (23 cents) per liter respectively from Saturday midnight, Minister for industry, commerce and supplies Dilendra Prasad Badu told the press. (Nepal-Fuel Prices-Cut)

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COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's central bank on Saturday announced that the amount of foreign currency an individual can hold has been reduced from 15,000 U.S. dollars to 10,000 or its equivalent in other foreign currency.

The central bank said the decision was taken to attract foreign currency into the formal banking system. (Sri Lanka--Foreign Currency-Holding Amount)

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CANBERRA -- The Australian National University (ANU) has opened a new national climate research facility to provide better information on climate change and extreme weather events.

Funded by the federal government, the 7.6-million-Australian dollar ( 5.3-million-U.S. dollar) Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS) is the largest computer modeling system in the Southern Hemisphere. (Australia-Climate Simulator-Research)

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HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has published an official commemorative book to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.

HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in the book's foreword that the experiences and success stories of the interviewees vividly resonate with the theme of the 25th anniversary "A New Era -- Stability, Prosperity, Opportunity." (HKSAR-Commemorative Book)