Kiev  - It used to be that Kiev City Hall stopped trying to make money off taxpayers once they were finally dead.

That was before the world financial crisis struck the Ukrainian capital - and Kiev Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky's scheme to make visiting a municipal cemetery, and one's deceased relatives, subject to an admission fee.

The six-dollar equivalent entrance charge would, as first described by Chernovetsky subordinates last week, is taken from every man, woman, or child entering a cemetery within Kiev city limits.

Davos, Switzerland  - Pushing for active countercyclical economic policies to work the world economy out of the current downturn, Mexican President Felipe Calderon also said he would continue his tough stance on organized crime.

He said Mexico was, for the first time in the country's volatile history of financial crisis, in good shape to engage in public spending, as it had a sound banking system and was well capitalized.

Madrid  - Spain's EU-harmonized inflation rate fell to the record low of 0.8 per cent in January, down from 1.5 per cent in December, the National Statistics Institute said Friday.

Inflation declined for the sixth consecutive month to the lowest level since such statistics began to be issued in 1977.

The drop was attributed mainly to lower oil prices.

Economy Secretary of State David Vegara described the drop as good news for families and exports, dismissing the possibility of deflation.

Seoul  - Industrial production in South Korea fell in December to its lowest level since the government started collecting such data in 1970 as the country's economy headed further toward recession, the National Statistical Office said Friday.

Owing to shrinking demand at home and abroad, production in the mining and manufacturing sectors fell 18.8 per cent in December after a 14-per-cent drop in November as a number of Korean companies have cut production in the wake of the global economic downturn.

Singapore - Singapore's manufacturing sector is expecting a weak first half of this year due to the rapid decline in global economic conditions, the city state's Economic Development Board (EDB) said Friday.

The weak business sentiment is broad-based, affecting all clusters in the manufacturing sector.

Hong Kong  - Gambling revenue in Macau's casinos has fallen by 30 per cent in January compared to the same month last year as punters stay away, according to figures released Friday.

Spending in the casinos over the Chinese New Year was down dramatically with gamblers spending a little more than half over the three-day holiday what they spent last year in a single day.