| PM backs controversial grants program
PRIME Minister John Howard says he stands by all grants issued under the discredited Regional Partnerships Program. The auditor-general has released a scathing report on the program, saying it has fallen short of an acceptable standard of public administration. The report shows ministers have overridden departmental recommendations not (not) to approve projects in 88 per cent of applications from coalition electorates, compared with just 9.3 per cent from those held by Labor. In some instances, ministers approved money for projects without even receiving a funding application. But Mr Howard said he would defend the grants program. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy to go to any part of Australia that has been a beneficiary of these grants and defend what the government has done," Mr Howard told journalists in Adelaide.
Aflac Honors Hispanic Entrepreneurs Making a Difference in Texas
COLUMBUS, Ga. (Map) - COLUMBUS, Ga., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, four exemplary Hispanic entrepreneurs were recognized with an Aflac Civic Award for making a difference in Texas. Vernon Herrera, a district sales coordinator at Aflac, and Hector Barreto, chairman of the Latino Coalition and former administrator of the Small Business Administration, honored each winner during an awards ceremony held at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas. "We are extremely proud to recognize these extraordinary business leaders for making a difference in their community," said Herrera. "They continuously strengthen the community through their civic contributions in their quest to building a better future." .
Tax planning, projections may be more complicated this year
Many small-business owners meeting with their accountants as the year draws to a close may find that tax planning and projections for 2008 are a little more complicated than usual because of the uneasy economy. "We're finding a lot of clients due to the economy aren't doing as well as they've done in previous years," said Jeffrey Berdahl, a certified public accountant with Berdahl & Co. in Center Valley, Pa. "We're not seeing as much of top-line revenue growth." .
Enterprise 50: Teras staff feel like one big happy family
IT�S hard to keep good help these days, amid a strong economy and its demand for skilled labour. But Teras Teknologi Sdn Bhd is one company that does not have to worry much about staff pinching. That is because the technology services and outsourcing company provides a working environment that promotes creativity, innovation, knowledge acquisition and career progression for its employees. Teras general manager (operations) Abdul Rahim Seliman said the company emphasises training for all of its employees to sharpen their skills. �We also send fresh graduates to undergo training at our company for a year without any obligation to work with us after they complete the training. �We train them in all departments, including sales and marketing, operations, and research and development (R&D),� he told Business Times in an interview.
Stalingrad, a bloody story
Strolling through the avenues and tree-lined squares of Volgograd, it is easy to forget that this is a city drenched in blood. The former Stalingrad, however, is filled with reminders of the battle that marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. Just the name Stalingrad evokes the horror of a clash that cost almost two million lives in the Russian winter of 1942-43. On the flat steppe beyond the city, Russians are still burying the dead almost 65 years later. The Second World War is better known here as the Great Patriotic War. After a year of humiliating defeats by the Nazi invaders, Stalingrad was the turning point that led to the Soviet Union’s victory, which was won at the price of 26 million dead. In the year since I moved to Moscow, I have come to realise how heavily this sacrifice weighs on the psyche of Russians, who are sensitive to any perceived threats to their homeland.
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