S'pore & Indian armies conduct joint exercise in India

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Indian Army (IA) have conducted a bilateral artillery exercise in Devlali, India.The two-week exercise from 24 November to 8 December, codenamed Agni Warrior, saw the two armies carrying out combined artillery live-firing.The Defence Ministry said the exercise has enhanced the mutual understanding and interoperability between the two...

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

MUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the debate—that the Indian attitude to China was influenced...

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't...

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Federal Agencies Brace for Deep Cuts Post-'Cliff'

Dec 7, 2012 4:22pm Toby Jorrin/AFP/Getty ImagesWith the “fiscal cliff” quickly approaching, federal agencies are stepping up preparations for deep automatic budget cuts that will kick in Jan. 2 unless the White House and Congress can reach a deal.The Office of Management and Budget told ABC News that a memo went out to federal agencies earlier this week seeking “additional...

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Laos ratifies WTO membership

BANGKOK: Laos has ratified its membership of the World Trade Organisation, state media said on Friday, the latest step in the small Southeast Asian nation's 15-year effort to join the global body.The Laotian parliament on Thursday formally gave its approval, paving the way for the country's entrance to the 157-member organisation in early 2013, according to a report in the government mouthpiece...

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Government wins FDI battle, says reforms on track

NEW DELHI: The UPA government on Friday dealt a major blow to the opposition in the Rajya Sabha by winning a vote on FDI in retail by 14 votes and declared that there was no stopping India's reform process. In contrast to speculation that the government may lose the vote in the upper house, the victory proved pretty easy as the Samajwadi Party (SP) trooped out — like in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday...

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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano

Cassiopeia’s BubbleImage courtesy T.A. Rector, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSFA new camera called the One Degree Imager, located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is responsible...

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Fiscal Cliff Debate Puts Spotlight on Small Businesses

At a sprawling 25,000-square-foot factory outside Dayton, Ohio, David Curliss manufactures high-tech composite fibers, structural adhesives and special sealants known as syntactic foams. The small business he founded a decade ago has grown steadily since the recession, employing 21 workers on several production lines.But now, with a tax hike on the horizon as part of a deficit-reduction...

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MOM says Jurong crane incident workers had approached ministry for help

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the two workers from China involved in a crane incident at Jurong Port Road on Thursday morning had approached the ministry previously.The two construction workers, Mr Zhu Guilei and Mr Wu Xiaolin, were at the top of the crane at a construction site at 31, Jurong Port Road, citing unhappiness with their employer Zhong Jiang (Singapore) International...

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Zee chief gets shield against arrest till Dec 14

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday granted interim protection against arrest to Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra till December 14 in a case of an alleged extortion bid of Rs 100 crore by two journalists of his TV channel. Additional session judge Raj Rani Mitra granting the shield against arrest on the anticipatory bail pleas of Chandra and Zee group's managing director Puneet Goenka. Both...

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A 2020 Rover Return to Mars?

NASA is so delighted with Curiosity's Mars mission that the agency wants to do it all again in 2020, with the possibility of identifying and storing some rocks for a future sample return to Earth.The formal announcement, made at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting, represents a triumph for the NASA Mars program, which had fallen on hard times due to steep budget cuts....

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Kate Middleton Leaves London Hospital

Kate Middleton left King Edward VII Hospital in London this morning after being admitted four days ago following the palace's announcement that she is pregnant and being treated for hyperemesis gravidarum."The Duchess of Cambridge has been discharged from the King Edward VII Hospital and will now head to Kensington Palace for a period of rest," Nick Loughran, the assistant press...

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Rubio, Ryan look to the future during award dinner speeches

Two high-profile Republican members of Congress who stand at the forefront of the effort to rebuild the party after a stinging presidential defeat delivered speeches Tuesday night aimed at turning the page with a fresh emphasis on inclusion and a renewed focus on growing the middle class. “Nothing represents how special America is more than our middle class. And our challenge and our opportunity...

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Sembcorp Marine says able to handle rig accident without activating SCDF

SINGAPORE: Sembcorp Marine said that the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was not activated when the rig accident happened as the company was able to handle the situation.It said only the company's emergency response team was activated.SembCorp said its criteria for SCDF activation is when there is a major fire. For this particular rig, the last evacuation drill was carried out in...

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Sukhbir Badal asks DCs to intensify drive against illegal hoardings

JALANDHAR: Punjab deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has said that he has issued directions to all Deputy Commissioners and District Authorities to intensify drive against illegal hoardings in the cities. Even as hundreds of hoardings of the ruling party leaders, carrying pictures of CM Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal, latter said that any violation of Municipal bylaws would...

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Scientific Results From Challenger Deep

Jane J. Lee The spotlight is shining once again on the deepest ecosystems in the ocean—Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (map) and the New Britain Trench near Papua New Guinea. At a presentation today at the American Geophysical Union's conference in San Francisco, attendees got a glimpse into these mysterious ecosystems nearly 7 miles (11 kilometers) down, the former visited by filmmaker...

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Majority Back Clinton for Presidential Bid in 2016

Kevin Lamarque/AP PhotoCarried by a new high in personal popularity and broad approval of her work as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton closes out her diplomatic career with majority support as a candidate for president in 2016.Fifty-seven percent in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they’d back a run by Clinton to succeed Barack Obama, vs. 37 percent opposed. That includes a broad...

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Motor Racing: Hamilton hopes to improve on Mercedes car next season

SINGAPORE: Former Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton hopes to improve on the Mercedes car next season. The 2008 champion is back in Singapore to inspire and give out grants to 33 Institute of Technical Education students at the ITE College West.The scholarship was set up by billionaire Peter Lim in 2010 to nurture local sporting talents. When asked about the recent controversy surrounding...

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FDI in retail is death knell for small industries: Sushma Swaraj

NEW DELHI: Asserting that FDI in multi-brand retail will sound the "death knell" for small industries and traders, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday accused the government of having failed to evolve a political consensus on the controversial issue despite making a promise in parliament. Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha on FDI in retail, the leader of opposition said the government claim...

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Mars Rover Detects Simple Organic Compounds

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has detected several simple carbon-based organic compounds on Mars, but it remains unclear whether they were formed via Earthly contamination or whether they contain only elements indigenous to the planet.Speaking at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco, Curiosity mission leaders also said that the compound perchlorate—identified...

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Insiders Reveal 2012 Election Secrets

Pete Souza/White HouseThe 2012 election cycle came full circle last week when representatives from the Obama and Romney campaigns, as well as top advisers to many of the GOP primary candidates and several influential outside groups, gathered at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for a 2012 debrief — finally answering some of the lingering questions about the race.On neutral ground in Cambridge,...

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ICPAS encourages companies to open channels for whistle-blowing

SINGAPORE: Recent fraud cases in the public sector and alleged breaches by Singapore-listed companies like China Sky Chemical Fibre have put the spotlight on whistle-blowing.Experts said whistle-blowing has a role to play in uncovering fraud and it is necessary to ensure that channels are open for whistle-blowing.The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS) -- the...

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Arvind Kejriwal's party joins protest by Bhopal gas tragedy victims

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party today joined a protest by Bhopal gas tragedy victims near the Prime Minister's office and alleged the government's agenda of wooing foreign investments is acting as a deterrent in ensuring justice for those affected. The party's chief spokesperson Manish Sisodia took part in the protest on the 28th anniversary of the gas tragedy and said if voted to...

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Photos: Kilauea Lava Reaches the Sea

Into the Sea Photograph by Hugh Gentry, ReutersA spectacular natural phenomenon was on display early this week as lava from a vent in Hawaii's Kilauea volcano flowed into...

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Will Mortgage Deduction Survive Fiscal Cliff?

When politicians talk about closing tax loopholes, it seems like they're targeting greedy corporations. But they're also talking about Jaclyn Picarillo, 33, mom of two and American homeowner.The home mortgage interest tax deduction is one of the biggest tax breaks available and it allows individuals to deduct the interest they pay to their mortgage company.It has encouraged...

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