Washington, Oct 28 : A new study by Purdue University researchers has determined that earthworms can change the chemical nature of the carbon in forest litter and soils, potentially affecting the amount of carbon stored in forests.

The Purdue scientists, along with collaborators from the Smithsonian Institution and Johns Hopkins University, studied the habits of earthworms originally brought to North America from Europe, to determine their effect on forest chemistry by comparing carbon composition in forests that vary in earthworm activity.

Some earthworms eat fallen leaves and other plant material - the litter of the forest floor - while others eat roots or soil organic matter.

Singapore  - Singapore's central bank said Tuesday it stands ready to intervene and manage the Singapore dollar exchange rate if volatility continues.

Citing the weakening external economic environment and its impact on Singapore's economy, the bank said its monetary policy would shift to keeping the currency from appreciating too much, which hurts exporters.

"This policy maintains the current level of the policy band, and there will be no re-centring of the band or change to its width," it said in its latest macroeconomic review.

The central bank said it expected economic growth to remain below potential due to the weak global economic environment and the crisis in financial markets.

Sydney  - Australian stocks recovered from early losses Tuesday on positive leads from Japan and Hong Kong.

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks started to climb up Tuesday after the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average earlier fell to its lowest level in 26 years to 7,000.

At 1:33 pm (0433 GMT) the Nikkei gained 216.43 points, or 3.02 per cent, to 7,379.33. Earlier the Nikkei had fallen to 7,000, its lowest level in 26 years.

Japan Tuesday imposed a ban on naked short selling to try to stabilise Asia's largest bourse, following similar crackdowns in the United States, Australia and some European markets.

Short sales involve selling borrowed shares in the hope of buying them back later at a cheaper price to make a profit. With naked short-selling, traders sell stocks before even borrowing them.

Taipei - A Taiwan woman, heart-broken over a broken-off love
affair, confined herself to her home for 30 years, a newspaper reported
Tuesday.

For the past 30 years, Ah Fang, 56, has never stepped out her home
in Tainan City, south Taiwan, and has been cared for by her mother, the
United Daily News (UDN) said.

But her mother is now bedridden after a car accident, so neighbours and relatives are taking food and clothes to Ah Fang now.

Thirty years ago, Ah Fang was a quiet young woman working in a wood
barrel factory and fell in love with a colleague at the factory. UDN
did not report the reason for the break-up, but it left a deep
psychological scar on Ah Fang with her refusing to leave her home ever
since.

Hong Kong (dpa) - Police in Hong Kong were Tuesday facing an inquiry
into why they carry out 18 strip searches a day on suspects with some
claiming they are repeatedly ordered to undress.

Legislators have set up a sub-committee to investigate the practice
after hearing that more than one in five suspects detained between July
and September were strip-searched.

Many of the suspects strip-searched are women from mainland China
and other South-East Asian countries detained for prostitution and
related offences in the wealthy city of 6.9 million.

A hearing of the legislative council's security panel Monday heard
that of 8,086 people detained by police between July and September,