India Ink: Image of the Day: Feb. 20

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Apple supplier Foxconn freezes hiring at largest plant

TAIPEI/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc’s manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology Group has frozen hiring at a Shenzhen plant that makes gadgets including the iPhone 5 and put the brakes on recruiting for other factories across China, but said the move was not linked to any single client.

Foxconn, which runs a network of factories across the world’s No. 2 economy that make products for tech companies from Hewlett Packard to Dell, sought to pour cold water on a Financial Times report that it had imposed a hiring freeze while it slows production of Apple‘s latest smartphone.

“Due to an unprecedented rate of return of employees following the Chinese New Year holiday compared to years past, our company has decided to temporarily slow down our recruitment process,” the company said in a statement.

“This action is not related to any single customer and any speculation to the contrary is false and inaccurate.”

Like other Chinese contract manufacturers, Foxconn relies on a large number of migrant laborers from across the country, who journey home for the most important holiday of the year. Many do not make it back to work, but Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo said this year they saw as many as 97 percent of employees return.

Apple sold a less-than-expected 47.8 million iPhones in the 2012 holiday quarter, fanning fears that its dominance of consumer electronics is on the decline as Samsung Electronics Co and other manufacturers that use Google Inc’s Android software gradually gain market share.

The iPhone is Apple’s most important product, accounting for half its revenue. The company’s shares slipped almost 2 pct on Wednesday to $ 451, and are down about 34 percent from their September peak above $ 700, as investors fret about sliding margins and intensifying competition.

IMPLICATIONS FOR APPLE

Apple watchers often take cues from its component suppliers and manufacturing partners. In January, CEO Tim Cook took the unusual step of warning investors that it is difficult to extrapolate from limited “data points”.

RBC estimates that just 70 to 80 percent of Chinese workers return to factories it tracks.

“This year we believe the return rates have been closer to 90 percent, which may minimize the need to hire,” RBC analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a Wednesday research note.

“Given the timing of the freeze, it may have more to do with higher return rates of employees versus what was expected by Foxconn and other supply chain companies.”

Foxconn’s latest statement contradicts another Foxconn spokesman, Liu Kun, who is cited in the newspaper on Wednesday as saying, “Currently, none of the plants in mainland China have hiring plans.”

A check on Foxconn’s recruitment website on Wednesday showed the company’s Taiyuan and Hangzhou plants were hiring. But its factory complex in the southern city of Shenzhen is its single largest production base.

The Shenzhen plant “is not hiring at the moment because workers’ return rate after Chinese New Year is very high this year, reaching 97 pct”, Woo said.

“We replenish each year depending on the return rate.”

(Editing by Edwin Chan, John Wallace and Dale Hudson)

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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American Idol: Women Face Sudden-Death Round

American Idol

By Jamie Bufalino

02/20/2013 at 11:00 PM EST

Mariah Carey

Mario Anzuoni/Reuters/Landov

American Idol threw yet another new twist at its 40 remaining contestants: a sudden-death round.

"One song, one chance, no mercy," Ryan Seacrest said as the first group of 10 female contestants gathered in Las Vegas to try to finally sing their way – in front of a boisterous studio audience – through to the "America votes" phase of the competition.

Five women moved on, five went home.

Kentucky high school junior Jenny Beth Willis, whose rendition of a Trisha Yearwood song earned mixed reviews from the judges, was the first up. Although Keith Urban appreciated her "effortless confidence," Nicki Minaj said her performance lacked excitement (a comment that elicited the first audience boos of the season). Final result: It was the end of the road for Willis.

Tenna Torres, 28, – who attended Mariah Carey's camp for kids as a youngster – took the stage next and impressed the judges with her take on the Natasha Bedingfield's "Soulmate." But she lost style points with Minaj, who didn't like one particular aspect of her look. "Lose the hair," said Minaj, who felt the contestant's coif aged her. Final result: She made it through to the Top 20.

The three most powerful performances of the night all made it to the next round: Nashville's Kree Harrison, who despite taking a decidedly plain-Jane approach to styling, wowed the judges with her version of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain." "You sang the hell out of that song," said Carey.

Angela Miller, 18, of Massachusetts, belted out Jessie J's hit "Nobody's Perfect." But she pretty much was.

And Amber Holcomb, an assistant teacher from Texas, closed the show with a rousing (and well received) rendition of "My Funny Valentine."

For the final spot of the night, it came down to Anchorage, Alaska, resident Adriana Latonio, 17, who tackled Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way," and Shubha Vedula, a Michigan high school senior who sang Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."

Although the judges saw potential in both contestants, they ultimately picked Lantonio's powerhouse vocals in a final emotional moment.

Thursday will bring out the guys. The first round of 10 will take the stage to try to make the top 20 – but once again, five will go home.

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Adults get 11 percent of calories from fast food

ATLANTA (AP) — On an average day, U.S. adults get roughly 11 percent of their calories from fast food, a government study shows.

That's down slightly from the 13 percent reported the last time the government tried to pin down how much of the American diet is coming from fast food. Eating fast food too frequently has been seen as a driver of America's obesity problem.

For the research, about 11,000 adults were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours to come up with the results.

Among the findings:

— Young adults eat more fast food than their elders; 15 percent of calories for ages 20 to 39 and dropping to 6 percent for those 60 and older.

— Blacks get more of their calories from fast-food, 15 percent compared to 11 percent for whites and Hispanics.

— Young black adults got a whopping 21 percent from the likes of Wendy's, Taco Bell and KFC.

The figures are averages. Included in the calculations are some people who almost never eat fast food, as well as others who eat a lot of it.

The survey covers the years 2007 through 2010 and was released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors couldn't explain why the proportion of calories from fast food dropped from the 13 percent found in a survey for 2003 through 2006.

One nutrition professor cast doubts on the latest results, saying 11 percent seemed implausibly low. New York University's Marion Nestle said it wouldn't be surprising if some people under-reported their hamburgers, fries and milkshakes since eating too much fast food is increasingly seen as something of a no-no.

"If I were a fast-food company, I'd say 'See, we have nothing to do with obesity! Americans are getting 90 percent of their calories somewhere else!'" she said.

The study didn't include the total number of fast-food calories, just the percentage. Previous government research suggests that the average U.S. adult each day consumes about 270 calories of fast food — the equivalent of a small McDonald's hamburger and a few fries.

The new CDC study found that obese people get about 13 percent of daily calories from fast food, compared with less than 10 percent for skinny and normal-weight people.

There was no difference seen by household income, except for young adults. The poorest — those with an annual household income of less than $30,000 — got 17 percent of their calories from fast food, while the figure was under 14 percent for the most affluent 20- and 30-somethings with a household income of more than $50,000.

That's not surprising since there are disproportionately higher numbers of fast-food restaurants in low-income neighborhoods, Nestle said.

Fast food is accessible and "it's cheap," she said.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

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Asian shares hit 18-month high on growth hopes

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares scaled their highest levels since August 2011 on Wednesday after an improving global economic outlook whetted investor appetite for risk, while the yen firmed amid doubts over Japan's commitment to drastic reflation.

Asian shares have been on an uptrend as risks from the euro zone debt crisis and the U.S. fiscal impasse abated and signs of recovery emerged in major economies including China. Corporate earnings have also been generally positive.

"The tide continued to push higher for equity markets across Asia today, with solid leads from Europe and the U.S. enough to keep traders in a buying frame of mind," said Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets.

News of new possible mergers boosted U.S. stocks on Tuesday, pinning the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> near a five-year high, while European shares rose after the German ZEW investor sentiment index rose to a three-year high.

European markets will likely consolidate, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> would open down 0.1 percent. U.S. stock futures were flat to suggest a subdued start for Wall Street. <.l><.eu><.n/>

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> added 0.8 percent, up for a third day in a row, led by a 1.9 percent gain in its technology sector <.miapjit00pus>. The index has risen 4.3 percent year to date.

South Korean shares <.ks11> outperformed their peers with a 1.8 percent jump to a one-month high, as foreigners stepped up buying and a pause in the yen's falling trend soothed sentiment.

Australian shares <.axjo> rose 0.3 percent, extending their bull run at 4-1/2-year highs on improving sentiment overseas and a better-than-expected domestic earnings season. The Australian market has risen nearly 10 percent this year.

Positive growth in Southeast Asia has drawn foreign investors, keeping regional stocks robust. The Philippines stock market <.psi> extended gains to a record high while Bangkok's SET index <.seti> hit a fresh 18-year high.

Rallying stocks weighed on assets perceived as safe-haven, with spot gold inching up 0.2 percent to $1,606.84 an ounce but stuck near a six-month low.

Asian credit markets took their cues from stocks, tightening the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index by two basis points.

London copper edged up 0.2 percent to $8,067.75 a metric ton, off Tuesday's three-week lows.

"A shift to cyclicals from defensives has come full circle and investors are now looking at sector-specific factors within an asset class, selecting those with a tight supply/demand outlook," said Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research and consulting firm Market Risk Advisory.

He said industrial metals and oil are favored by investors. Within base metals, copper will likely rise further as economic activity increases, as will Brent crude oil, while U.S. crude was seen weighed by ample supply.

U.S. crude steadied around $96.72 a barrel but Brent eased 0.2 percent to $117.31.

Platinum and palladium also have further upside scope due to supply concerns.

The rise in equities weighed on assets perceived as safe-haven, such U.S. Treasuries and gold on Tuesday. Spot gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,607.94 an ounce, but hovered near a six-month low hit the day before.

YEN INSTABILITY RISES

Tokyo's Nikkei stock average <.n225> closed 0.8 percent higher at its highest close since late September 2008. <.t/>

The yen remained jittery, swinging in narrow ranges on concerns Japan may not be able to pursue as strong a reflationary policy mix as previously perceived.

The government delayed nominating a new Bank of Japan governor, fuelling talk of friction between the prime minister and the finance minister over who is best suited to implement the bold steps needed to reignite the economy.

The G20 meeting last weekend gave tacit approval to a weak currency as long as it was as a result of domestic monetary easing, but maintained its traditional opposition to currency manipulation aimed at fostering exports and growth of one country at others' expense.

"In light of the G20 statement to avoid competitive devaluation, it will be difficult to talk down the yen specifically. I think the onus now is on policy to do the work," said Sim Moh Siong, FX strategist for Bank of Singapore.

The dollar fell 0.4 percent to 93.15 yen, off its highest since May 2010 of 94.465 hit on February 11. The euro eased 0.3 percent to 124.91 yen. It touched a peak since April 2010 of 127.71 yen on February 6.

Japan logged its biggest monthly trade deficit on record in January, underscoring the country's deteriorating trade balances and accenting the yen's weak fundamental trend.

Sterling was under pressure on growing speculation the UK could soon lose its prized triple-A credit rating. Sterling traded at $1.5444, having plumbed a seven-month low at $1.5414 in New York.

Investors remained wary of possible U.S. federal spending cuts and outcome of the upcoming Italian election. They also awaited the release later in the session of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting for clues to its future bond-buying plans.

The ZEW report was a positive sign ahead of the more important euro zone flash PMIs on Thursday and Germany's IFO business sentiment on Friday, said Vassili Serebriakov, a strategist at BNP Paribas.

The euro extended its gains, rising 0.2 percent to $1.3413.

(Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Singapore and Thuy Ong in Sydney; Edting by Eric Meijer)

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Prosecutors in Oscar Pistorius Case to Resist Bail

PRETORIA, South Africa — Prosecutors were expected on Wednesday to lay out their reasons for opposing bail for Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee global track star accused of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend — a crime he denies.

Mr. Pistorius, 26, arrived early at a courthouse here in a police car, his head covered by a blue blanket, news reports said, to press his case to be released on bail pending trial in the death of Reeva Steenkamp, 29, a model and law graduate found dead with gunshot wounds at his home in a gated community in Pretoria early last Thursday.

His appearance in court later on Wednesday will be his third since the shooting. The scene at the courtroom was described by witnesses as bedlam with journalists battling for space to follow the proceedings.

Mr. Pistorius told the court on Tuesday that on the day of the shooting he heard a strange noise coming from inside his bathroom, climbed out of bed, grabbed his 9-millimeter pistol, hobbled on his stumps to the door and fired four shots.

“I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated,” Mr. Pistorius said in an affidavit read by his defense lawyer, Barry Roux. “I had no intention to kill my girlfriend.”

Prosecutors painted a far different picture, one of a calculated killer, a world-renowned athlete who had the presence of mind and calm to strap on his prosthetic legs, walk 20 feet to the bathroom door and open fire as Ms. Steenkamp cowered inside, behind a locked door.

“The applicant shot and killed an unarmed, innocent woman,” Gerrie Nel, the chief prosecutor, said in court on Tuesday. That, Mr. Nel argued, amounted to premeditated murder, a charge that could send Mr. Pistorius to prison for life.

Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London.

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The U.S. Postal Service Is Getting into the ‘Wearable Electronics’ Business?

Yes, you read that headline right. Strapped for cash and obviously desperate, the United States Postal Service is launching a new line of “‘smart apparel,’ — also known as wearable electronics.” The mailmen-turned-fashionistas will call the new line Rain Heat & Snow, first for men and later for women, and while it’s unclear exactly how smart the apparel gets, reports suggest that you’ll  be able to plug your iPod into your new Postal Service jacket. The agency’s licensing manager, Steven Mills, says that the new line “will put the Postal Service on the cutting edge of functional fashion.” Which is basically true. When was the last time you plugged your iPod into your jacket? That said, when was the last time you used an iPod? Or the U.S. Postal Service?

RELATED: Snail Mail Is Still Too Fast for the U.S. Postal Service

It’s hard to not to give the old USPS a slow clap for this one. It would be one thing if the Postal Service wanted to sell some t-shirts and Dad ties with pictures of stamps on them — they actually tried that back in the 80s, and it didn’t work — but it sounds like they’re actually going after serious outerwear brands like North Face and Burton Snowboards with this one. It’s unclear if the Postal Service can keep up, though. Burton, for one, has a head start, since it partnered with Motorola and released a Bluetooth-enabled snowboarding jacket with a matching, headphone studded beanie back in 2005. The geeks at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) loved it, called it “space age.” The Postal Service, by contrast, opted not to take the fancy brand-name strategy, instead teaming up with the Cleveland-based Wahconah Group. You might know them from their Legends line of men’s clothing, but you probably don’t.

RELATED: The U.S. Postal Service Lost $ 3.3 Billion Last Quarter

The big question remains: Will it work? The Postal Service lost $ 16 billion last year and plans to halt Saturday mail service in an attempt to cut costs and dig itself out of debt. Unfortunately, the drastic measure will cut 22,000 jobs, but it will only save the agency $ 2 billion a year. Suffice it to say that the Postal Service needed to get creative with their revenue streams — and you can’t get much more creative than cyborg jackets. After all, the new ad campaign last year didn’t work, and the Simpson’s stamp venture definitely didn’t work. So why not get into the outdoor gear business? If anybody knows anything about being outside, it’s those letter carriers, right? You know the riff: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

RELATED: Your Pants Are Lying to You

Here’s a little bit of encouraging news. Other companies have tried the apparel route in the past, albeit without the whole sexy wearable electronics angle. Apple released its own clothing line in 1986, and look at where the company is now!

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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What's Next for Mindy McCready's Two Young Boys?

By Steve Helling

02/19/2013 at 07:00 PM EST

Mindy McCready's apparent suicide on Sunday has left her two young sons in custodial limbo.

The boys – Zander, 6, and Zayne, 10 months – had been in state custody since Feb. 7, when McCready called police to ask for help in making her father and stepmother leave her home. When police arrived, McCready appeared to be intoxicated, according to a Department of Human Services report.

In a subsequent petition, the singer's father, Tim McCready, asked the court to order her to undergo mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment, alleging that his daughter, who had recently lost her boyfriend, "hasn't had a bath in a week ... screams about everything ... [is] very verbally abusive to Zander."

After a judge granted the petition, the children were quickly removed and placed into foster care. Although McCready was released from treatment, the boys remained in state custody.

At the time, Zander's father, Billy McKnight, requested custody of his son. "My son needs me," he told PEOPLE on Feb. 8. "I'm married, working and successful. I'm on the right track and proud of it. I've been sober for years. I just want my son."

But McCready's mother and stepfather, Gayle and Michael Inge, also want custody of the children – and authorities seem to agree.

In a proposed order sent to Circuit Judge Lee Harrod, the Department of Human Services proposed that the Inges might be a better fit for the children, claiming that they have "a substantial relationship." The Inges had custody of Zander for much the past few years, during McCready’s rehab and jail stints.

With McCready's death, the judge will have to determine what is in the children's best interest. A custody hearing has been scheduled for April 5.

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Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year

CHICAGO (AP) — Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines.

"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data.

In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics.

The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs — which include OxyContin and Vicodin — were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths.

Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs.

They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said.

Medication-related deaths accounted for 22,134 of the drug overdose deaths in 2010.

Anti-anxiety drugs including Valium were among common causes of medication-related deaths, involved in almost 30 percent of them. Among the medication-related deaths, 17 percent were suicides.

The report's data came from death certificates, which aren't always clear on whether a death was a suicide or a tragic attempt at getting high. But it does seem like most serious painkiller overdoses were accidental, said Dr. Rich Zane, chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

The study's findings are no surprise, he added. "The results are consistent with what we experience" in ERs, he said, adding that the statistics no doubt have gotten worse since 2010.

Some experts believe these deaths will level off. "Right now, there's a general belief that because these are pharmaceutical drugs, they're safer than street drugs like heroin," said Don Des Jarlais, director of the chemical dependency institute at New York City's Beth Israel Medical Center.

"But at some point, people using these drugs are going to become more aware of the dangers," he said.

Frieden said the data show a need for more prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level, and more laws shutting down "pill mills" — doctor offices and pharmacies that over-prescribe addictive medicines.

Last month, a federal panel of drug safety specialists recommended that Vicodin and dozens of other medicines be subjected to the same restrictions as other narcotic drugs like oxycodone and morphine. Meanwhile, more and more hospitals have been establishing tougher restrictions on painkiller prescriptions and refills.

One example: The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora is considering a rule that would ban emergency doctors from prescribing more medicine for patients who say they lost their pain meds, Zane said.

___

Stobbe reported from Atlanta.

___

Online:

JAMA: http://www.jama.ama-assn.org

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com

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Philippine, Aussie shares at new peaks; yen firms

TOKYO (Reuters) - Philippine and Australian shares scaled new heights on Tuesday but other Asian shares were mixed, with worries about the risk of an inconclusive outcome in Italy's election and about U.S. budget talks limiting the upside after strong rallies in early February.

European markets looked set to inch higher, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> would open up 0.1 percent. <.l><.eu/>

U.S. stock futures rose 0.1 percent to suggest Wall Street will reopen with a firmer tone after the President's Day holiday on Monday. <.n/>

"Markets have become top-heavy after rallying through early February on signs of economic recovery in the United States and Europe, and investors now await fresh factors to push prices higher from here," said Tomomichi Akuta, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting in Tokyo.

"The broad sentiment is underpinned by a lack of tail risks, but investors are turning to some potentially worrying elements such as Italian elections and U.S. budget talks," he said.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> edged up 0.1 percent. Earlier in the day it had touched a 18-1/2-month high. The index has gained 3.5 percent this year.

Shares in the Philippines <.psi>, where a strong economic growth has led to rising interest in the country as an investment destination, hit a record. The Thai index <.seti> was also up 0.3 percent after recent data showed robust fourth-quarter economic numbers.

Australian shares ended 0.4 percent up at a 4-1/2 year high, continuing a recent rally on better-than-expected corporate earnings.

But Hong Kong shares <.hsi> fell 0.2 percent and Shanghai shares <.ssec> shed 1.1 percent, with real estate and financials leading the declines on concerns that rising property prices would lead to fresh restrictions on the sector.

Tokyo's Nikkei stock average <.n225> ended down 0.3 percent, after surging on Monday to approach its highest level since September 2008 of 11,498.42 tapped on February 6. <.t/>

The concerns about Italy's election this weekend and the talks in Washington over a package of budget cuts set to kick in March 1, also helped limit gains in commodities and also weighed on the euro.

The dollar's strength against a basket of currencies <.dxy> capped gains in gold, with the spot price up 0.2 percent at $1,613.01 an ounce.

London copper steadied at $8,122.50 a metric ton as Monday's three-week low drew bargain hunting given prospects for a slowly improving global economic recovery. Unease over China's limp return to the market from a week-long break held back upside momentum, however.

"I think we've already had the nicest rally that we're going to get this year," Singapore-based Credit Suisse analyst Ivan Szpakowski said. "You can still get some more mild upturns, but frankly as you move to the second half of the year industrial metals are going to trend down.

U.S. crude fell 0.5 percent to $95.43 a barrel while Brent steadied around $117.37.

The euro was steady around $1.3348.

YEN JITTERY

Bank of Japan minutes revealed board members had discussed buying longer-dated government debt at their January meeting, sending the yield on five-year Japanese government bonds to record low.

The yen firmed, however, after Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters Japan has no plans to buy foreign currency bonds as part of monetary easing and as attention remained focused on who will be the next Bank of Japan governor.

The dollar fell 0.3 percent to 93.61 yen, but remained near its highest since May 2010 of 94.465 hit on February 11. The euro eased 0.4 percent to 125.00 yen, below its peak since April 2010 of 127.71 yen touched on February 6

The yen, which has dropped 20 percent against the dollar since mid-November, fell further at the start of the week after financial leaders from the G20 promised not to devalue their currencies to boost exports and avoided singling out Japan for any direct criticism.

The choice of the next BOJ governor and two deputies has drawn attention as a gauge of how strongly Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is committed to reflating the economy. The G20's message was that as long as Japan pursues aggressive monetary easing to achieve that goal, a weaker yen as a result of such domestic monetary policy will be tolerated, analysts say.

"But that means that some other economy's monetary conditions have been tightened," said Barclays Capital in a note.

"Japan hasn't even changed its policy stance thus far, and the effect of expectations of a looser setting have led to limited moves in domestic interest rates, but the sell-off of the JPY has been marked and has clearly caused unease in other economies," the note said.

(Additional reporting by Melanie Burton in Singapore; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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