SYDNEY, April 23 -- AsiaNet VAN PRAAGH... NEW YORK: American Psychic and Bestselling Author James VanPraagh tours Australia for the first time in the followingcities: Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane starting May7th. CVRD GROWTH... RIO DE JANEIRO: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), aiming tomeet global demand growth, achieved significant YoY productiongrowth in 1Q04, in almost all of its products. WH SMITH... LONDON: WH Smith PLC today announces that it has reached anagreement with Pacific Equity Partners, a private equity groupbased in Sydney, to sell the ASPAC Retail business consistingof its retail businesses in Australia (Angus & Robertson), NewZealand (Whitcoulls) and Hong Kong but excluding the SingaporeAirport operations, for A$115m (US$84 million) in cash. (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)