SYDNEY--15 May--AsiaNet/InfoQuest THOMSON REUTERS DONATION... NEW YORK - Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI; TSX: TRI; LSE: TRIL; Nasdaq: TRIN),the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses andprofessionals, today announced that Thomson Reuters and its Foundation willsupport disaster relief efforts in Myanmar with a donation totaling $300,000.The commitment will directly fund relief agencies that have gained access toareas devastated by Cyclone Nargis through the Foundation's AlertNetInternational Disaster Fund (AIDfund), an independent grant-making fund thatdisburses cash grants for specific aid projects immediately after disasters.http://www.thomsonreuters.comhttp://www.alertnet.org COMPTEL INDIA... HELSINKI - Comptel Corporation (OMX Helsinki: CTL1V), the leading vendor ofdynamic Operations Support System (OSS) software, announced today that thenumber of telecom subscribers served by Comptel solutions through its customershas now reached close to 200 million. This landmark number has been reachedthrough a combination of the signing of new customers in 2007 and thephenomenal growth of existing customers.http://www.comptel.com VIRTUAL WORLD... BOSTON, MA. - More Than 14 Million Kids Learn and Explore on Poptropica,Virtual World From the Developers of Funbrain. The number of kids exploring thevirtual world of Poptropica -- from the developers of Funbrain, the longtrusted learning Web site for children -- has exploded since its launch justlast September. With today's debut of the new "Time Tangled Island," Poptropicaoffers even more opportunities for young children to learn, play, explore andsafely connect with other children on the Web.http://www.poptropica.comhttp://www.pearsoned.com FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C - Fannie Mae will redeem the principal amount of MTNRsecurities issues amounting to a total of US$50 million on May 28, 2008 at aredemption price equal to 100 per cent of the principal amount redeemed plusaccrued interest.www.fanniemae.com MASTERCARD FOUNDATION... TORONTO - The MasterCard Foundation launched its Scholars Program today byawarding grants totaling $600,000 to six leading microfinance traininginstitutes. The program will fund 200 scholarships for staff working inmicrofinance in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle Eastto participate in management and professional development courses.www.mastercardfoundation.org NETDRAGON RESULTS... HONG KONG - One of the leading game developers and operators in the PRC,NetDragon Websoft Inc. (NetDragonor theCompany, with its subsidiaries collectively theGroup; Stock Code: 8288.HK), today reported its unaudited results for the threemonths ended 31 March 2008 (theperiod under review), representing its first quarterly results for 2008.http://www.nd.com.cn SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS... WICHITA, Kan. - Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. (NYSE: SPR) today announced it hassigned a contract with Airbus to design and produce a major composite fuselagestructure for the A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) program. Spirit will design andmanufacture the Section 15 center fuselage frame section, a composite structurethat will be approximately 65 feet long, 20 feet wide and weigh nearly 9,000pounds.http://www.spiritaero.com SHORTLIST UNVEILED... SINGAPORE - OAG (Official Airline Guide), the world's authority on flightinformation, today unveiled the shortlist for the 26th OAG Airline IndustryAwards The winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony on Wednesday, 4June in the opulent art deco setting of The Bloomsbury Ballroom in centralLondon. Boeing is the Awards' headline sponsor.http://www.oagcorporate.comhttp://www.oagairlineawards.comhttp://www.cbizmedia.comhttp://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com BRANDES WITHDRAWAL... SAN DIEGO, CA. - Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. ("Brandes") announcesthat, on May 13th, 2008, it submitted a letter to Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.(the "Company"), a pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Japan and listed on theTokyo Stock Exchange, withdrawing the resolution (the "Resolution") submittedto the Company on April 8th, 2008. On behalf of its investment advisoryclients, Brandes currently holds in excess of 7.0% of the Company's shares.This represents an ownership position built since 1997. CHRONIC PAIN... MELBOURNE - A revolutionary new treatment for chronic back pain, that couldbe used to treat all severe pain, will be presented at a world leading surgicalCongress in Hong Kong today. SORRY NOT ENOUGH... MELBOURNE - Saying sorry to their patients when a surgeon has made amistake is not enough, but it is a good start surgeons in Hong Kong will betold today. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT... PARIS - German Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel, Transport Ministers FromMore Than 50 Countries, Rajendra Pachauri, Yvo de Boer, Thomas Enders, HartmutMehdorn and Other Distinguished Participants..."Transport and Energy: The Challenge of Climate Change"28-30 May 2008 in Leipzig -- Programme Highlights28 May 2008: Stakeholders' DayParticipants include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Scandia,Volkswagen, the World Bank, Michelin, Toyota Europe, TechnicalUniversity of Berlin, GTZ, International Energy Agency.http://www.internationaltransportforum.org HILCO CAPITAL... TORONTO - A joint venture led by Hilco Consumer Capital, L.P. ("HCC") and GBBrands, LLC ("GBB"), in partnership with Windsong Brands, LLC and CrystalCapital, announced today that it was approved as the stalking horse bidder forcertain assets of The Sharper Image Corporation. ASIA APPOINTMENT... SAN FRANCISCO - Glass Lewis & Co., LLC, a leading independent research andproxy advisory firm, today announced its appointment of James Hawrylak asManaging Director of Asia Operations. Mr. Hawrylak will focus on marketingGlass Lewis products and services to Pan-Asian institutional investors andmanage the operational activities connected to Glass Lewis' research coverageof Asia's proxy seasons.http://www.glasslewis.com VERIZON ACCESS... BASKING RIDGE, NJ, - Verizon Business has further expanded global access toits audio-conferencing services, enabling even more of its multinationalcustomers to realise cost efficiencies by accessing audio meetings throughlocal dial-in numbers from around the globe.http://www.verizonbusiness.com RITCHIE BROS AUCTION... BRISBANE, May 15 /CNW-AsiaNet/ -- Entire crane and truck fleet of theSkelton Group to be sold at Ritchie Bros.' first two-day Australian auctionFor the first time ever, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) - theworld's largest industrial auctioneer - has added a second day to one of itsAustralian auctions. The unreserved public auction will be conducted at theCompany's permanent auction site in Brisbane on June 24 & 25, 2008.www.rbauction.com. DIABETES GRANT... BRUSSELS and HANOI - The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) BRIDGEStranslational research grant program will fund a pilot study in Vietnam toincrease opportunities for screenings for people at high-risk for getting type2 diabetes and promote a program designed to motivate people to develop ahealthy lifestyle.http://www.idfbridges.org. BASF SE TENDER... MUMBAI - BASF SE today announced that it intends to raise its shareholdingin BASF India Ltd. from currently 52.69 percent to a maximum of 75 percentthrough a public tender offer to BASF India Ltd.'s public shareholders. BASFSE's offer is INR274 per share in cash or INR1,723 million in total. This pricerepresents a premium of 22 percent above the average daily high and low priceduring the two weeks preceding this announcement and a premium of 16 percentabove the minimum price of INR236.70 directed by the Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (SEBI).http://www.basf.comwww.windsongbrands.comwww.GordonBrothers.com AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited,translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net forfull-text versions.