SYDNEY, Jan 10 -- AsiaNet ENSR DIRECTOR SINGAPORE and WESTFORD: Rick Reidinger has joined ENSR asdirector of key accounts for ENSR's Asia Operations, based inENSR's Singapore office which includes 7 offices and 55 staffacross Asia, serving major petroleum and industrial clientsacross the region. HOTEL COOPERATIVE... HONOLULU: North American carrier hotel owners 151 FrontStreet West, Toronto, CRG West, tel(x) and The Westin Buildinghave announced a cooperative effort at the PTC 2006 28th AnnualTelecommunications Conference and Exhibition: The Carrier HotelAlliance (CHA). MERCEDES GL-CLASS... PARIS: Following the recent launch of Mercedes' new M-Classand crossover R-Class 4WD models equipped with Valeo airconditioning systems, the new top-end GL-Class model, presentedto the American public for the first time at the Detroit MotorShow, also features a new Valeo 4-zone air conditioningsystem. HEALTH WEBSITE... MENLO PARK: GlobalHealthFacts.org - a new and freelyavailable website with the latest country and region-specificdata on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other key healthindicators - was launched Monday by the Kaiser FamilyFoundation, a non-profit, private operating foundation focusedon health care issues. DRUG FAST-TRACK... MELBOURNE: Starpharma (ASX:SPL, USOTC:SPHRY) Mondayannounced that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hasgranted Fast Track status to VivaGel, an Investigational NewDrug (IND) for the prevention of HIV. RESORT PROJECT... LAS VEGAS: MGM Grand Macau, a hotel-casino resort currentlyunder construction in Macau S.A.R., Monday announcedsignificant enhancements to the project and that it has secured$700 million in project financing from a consortium of leadingfinancial institutions, the project is 50/50 owned and will bejointly operated by MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM) and Pansy HoChiu-king. BOOST REGULATOR... SAN JOSE: Micrel Inc. (Nasdaq: MCRL) Monday launched theMIC3287, a 1.2MHz pulse width modulated (PWM) boost-switchingregulator optimized for driving series white LEDs used inbacklighting applications in mobile phones, PDAs, GPS systems,digital cameras, MP3 players and IP phones. BATTERY CHARGER... SUNNYVALE: Advanced Analogic Technologies Incorporated(AnalogicTech) (Nasdaq: AATI) introduced Monday the newAAT3688, a highly integrated battery charger IC designed tooperate from USB port inputs, that has a charge reduction loopthat reduces charge time by automatically monitoring the USBport voltage and dynamically adjusting the current while thebattery is charging. VERIZON-MCI MERGER... NEW YORK: Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and MCI,Inc. Monday closed their merger, enhancing Verizon's ability todeliver the benefits of converged communications, informationand entertainment to customers across the country and aroundthe world. RONIN WINS... CAPE TOWN: Fighting off fierce competition, Ronin fromDenmark was crowned Thirst 2005 Global Winner after a year longsearch to find the best up-coming DJ talent from around theworld. FORTE PRESIDENT... SAN JOSE: Forte Design Systems Monday announced that DavidSear has been named president and chief executive officer andelected to its Board of Directors, he will oversee all dailyoperations to drive the company's global growth strategy. MERCEDES-BENZ SPOTLIGHT... DETROIT: Sunday, Mercedes-Benz showcased four worldpremieres at the opening of the North American InternationalAuto Show 2006 in Detroit, including the innovative E 320BLUETEC, which is equipped with the cleanest diesel engine inthe world and will be launched this fall in the US market. (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agenciesdistributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwideclients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)