Singapore - Singapore Tuesday revised down its forecast of economic activity for this year, expecting gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 6 to 9 per cent, lower than the contraction of 2 to 5 per cent that it had forecast on January 21. Advance estimates for the Singapore economy indicate that economic activity slowed sharply in the first quarter of 2009, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

The decline in the first quarter affected every sector except construction, the ministry pointed out.

Wellington - Fiji's military government, which is ruling with emergency powers, strengthened its hold on the country Tuesday, taking over the Reserve Bank and ordering the country's Human Rights Commission office closed, according to reports from the capital, Suva. The Reserve Bank tightened exchange controls with immediate effect and deputy governor Sada Reddy said the move was in line with the bank's core objective of safeguarding foreign reserves, Radio New Zealand reported.

Taipei - Taiwan bicycle manufacturer Giant Inc plans to launch a travel agency to promote bike tourism , a newspaper reported Tuesday. Giant has applied to the Transport Ministry to operate a Class-A travel agency and hopes to launch the new venture in May, the Taipei Times quoted Giant general manager John Ho as saying.

Ho said the new travel agency was initially expected to bring in more than 100 million Taiwan dollars (nearly 3 million US) in annual revenue, but Giant's goal is not making money but to promote bike riding as a way of life.

Los Angeles - Porn star Marilyn Chambers, who pioneered the transformation of adult movies from the furtive to the mainstream, has died at age 56 at her Los Angeles County home, police said Monday. Chambers, whose real name was Marilyn Ann Taylor, starred in 1972's Behind The Green Door, which is often seen as the first porn film to gain widespread distributions as video cassettes were becoming popular in US homes. Chambers was famous at the time as a model for a popular soap brand and her career switch to porn star was widely covered in the media.

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Monday lifted all restrictions on Cuban Americans travelling and sending money back to their home country as part of a much-anticipated reversal of US policies toward Cuba. In an executive order, Obama will also expand communications links and allow more humanitarian donations to be sent to Cuba in what the White House billed as an effort to encourage a Democratic transition on the Communist island.

New York - The United Nations Security Council Monday spoke with one voice to condemn North Korea for launching a missile, and found the April 5 firing of the rocket violated a 2006 resolution. The so-called presidential statement fell short of full resolution status because of opposition from China and Russia, which hold two of the five veto votes on the 15-member council.

But it was adapted unanimously, a pre-requisite for issuing a presidential statement.