Singapore - Singapore Wednesday said it would discuss with other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies measures to support economic growth, address the global economic crisis, accelerate regional economic integration, and resist protectionism this year.

Singapore, as APEC chairman, would bring together, for the first time, APEC trade and finance senior officials, in February and July, to discuss fiscal and monetary measures to help businesses and workers tide over the economic crisis, the city state's Trade and Industry Ministry said.

Previously, APEC trade and finance senior officials have had separate meetings on their respective trade and finance agendas.

Manila - The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said Wednesday it has received an 11-million-dollar grant to fund an ambitious project to develop a higher-yielding rice variety that could boost production by up to 50 per cent.

The Philippines-based IRRI said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will provide the grant over a three-year period to fund the C4 Rice Consortium.

Berlin  - German economic growth slowed to between 1.3-1.4 per cent in 2008, heralding a sharp slowdown this year, analysts expect data to be released on Wednesday to show.

After turning in a solid 2.5-per-cent growth rate in 2007, Germany slumped into a recession in the third quarter last year. A slew of data last week showed the slowdown in Europe's biggest economy rapidly gaining momentum as the year came to an close.

Singapore  - Asian's economy might recover from the recession as early as the second quarter of this year, supported by the governments' policy responses to the downturn and the sharp drop in commodity prices, a news report said on Wednesday.

"The cavalry is on its way in the form of one of the most significant policy responses ever," the Straits Times quoted HSBC senior Asian economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde as saying.

Beijing - Tens of millions of migrant workers are inundating bus and train stations this month for the usual annual exodus from China's cities to their home villages for Spring Festival, or lunar new year.

But this new year will be different for many migrants: they are going home for good.

At least 10 million migrant workers have already lost their jobs in eastern and southern cities which rely on export-oriented manufacturing industries, according to government economists.