SYDNEY, Jan. 27--AsiaNet/InfoQuest CAFE OPENS... MUMBAI: India's financial capital is rockin' with theopening of Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai in Bombay Dyeing Mills, Opp.Kamala Mills City Studio, Pandurang Budhkar Marg, Worli,Mumbai, the newest and most up-and-coming district of the city.As the first Hard Rock Cafe in India, the Mumbai cafe will makea grand entrance, offering its guests great American fare in arock 'n' roll atmosphere. http://www.hardrock.com TOSHIBA'S BID... LONDON: The Board of Directors of British Nuclear Fuels plc(BNFL) confirmed Toshiba Corporation as the preferred bidderfor Westinghouse Electric Company, paving the way for what BNFLCEO Mike Parker predicted will be a "smooth, expeditious" sale.Toshiba offered the highest bid for Westinghouse. CVRD ANNOUNCES... RIO DE JANEIRO: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) announcesthat its Senior Management have approved and will submit to theBoard of Directors a proposal for payment of a minimum dividendof US$1.3 billion to shareholders for the year 2006. Thepayment will be made in two equal installments, on April 28 andOctober 31, 2006. http://www.cvrd.com.br JOINT VENTURE... HONG KONG: Buongiorno Vitaminic SpA and Mitsui & Co., Ltd.,one of Japan's largest general trading companies, followingearly operational results of the recently set-up Joint Venture,have approved Buongiorno Hong Kong Ltd.'s business plan for2006 and a further investment up to US$7.6 million. http://www.buongiorno.com ARROW ELECTRONICS... MELVILLE, N.Y.: Arrow Electronics, Inc. has announced thatMichael J. Long has been promoted to President of North Americaand Asia/Pacific Components. MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS... HONG KONG: Associates of Texas Pacific Group, led byNewbridge Capital (TPG), have made a proposal to PacificCentury Regional Developments (PCRD), a company listed on theSingapore Stock Exchange, that proposes a scheme of arrangementto PCRD's minority shareholders. www.sgx.com CHINA-JAPAN RELATIONS... TOKYO: In his annual peace proposal, SGI (Soka GakkaiInternational) President Daisaku Ikeda calls for improvedrelations between China and Japan. He also calls for asummit-level meeting of all the states currently participatingin the Six-Party Talks on the issue of North Korean nucleardisarmament. www.sgi.org WOODWING SOFTWARE... ZAANDAM: One of the top professionals in the internationalpublishing industry has joined the staff of WoodWing, with thegoal of helping the company make further inroads in the boomingAsia Pacific market. http://www.woodwing.com GLOBAL APPEAL... TOKYO: Twelve world leaders, including five Nobel PeacePrize laureates, will issue a "Global Appeal to End Stigma andDiscrimination Against People Affected by Leprosy." The appealwill be delivered at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi onJanuary 29, World Leprosy Day, at a ceremony attended byex-Indian president R. Venkataraman and Yohei Sasakawa,chairman of The Nippon Foundation. http://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/eng/ PARTICLEBOARD FACILITY... SINGAPORE: SGX-Mainboard-Listed Asia Dekor Holdings Limited,the only vertically integrated producer and distributor oflaminated floor and related products in Asia, is pleased toannounce the successful completion of its particleboardproduction plant in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China, withthe first board being produced on 24 January 2006. GAP JOINS... DAVOS: Gap Inc. will deepen its commitment to sustainableeconomic development in Africa through a new collection ofclothing offered by Gap brand inspired by Product RED. Theglobal business initiative announced by Bono and Bobby Shriverwill support The Global Fund in the fight against AIDS inAfrica. www.theglobalfund.org http://www.gapinc.com (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agenciesdistributing unedited, translated news releases for worldwideclients. Visit www.asianetnews.net for full-text versions.)