Sen. Ayotte offers GOP an influential new voice

The three Republican senators emerged grim-faced from a basement meeting room in the Capitol on Tuesday and took turns before a bank of televisions cameras, blasting away at the Obama administration for its handling of the deadly attack on an American outpost in Benghazi, Libya. The first two were prominent national security heavyweights, Arizona’s John McCain and Lindsey O. Graham of...

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Accident between bus, motorcycle along Woodlands

Accident between bus, motorcycle along WoodlandsPosted: 01 December 2012 1949 hrs SINGAPORE: An accident between a bus and motorcycle occurred on Saturday along Woodlands Centre Road. Police received the call at around 10:00am.The motorcyclist was conveyed conscious to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.Investigations are ongoing.- CNA/ck !-- Zone Tag : Channel News Asia In Text innity_pub...

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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest.BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national interest and who is working...

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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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Could Outgoing Republicans Hold Keys to 'Cliff' Deal?

Nov 30, 2012 1:45pm AP Photo/Carolyn KasterThe outlook for reaching some sort of bipartisan agreement on the so-called “fiscal cliff” before the Dec. 31 deadline is looking increasingly grim. Shortly after noon today, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, appeared before the cameras to say the talks had reached a “stalemate.”But there may be a glimmer...

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Golf: Supakorn soars ahead in King's Cup

BANGKOK: Thailand's Supakorn Utaipat continued his dream run at the $500,000 King's Cup when he signed for a five-under-par 67 to take the second round lead on Friday.The 22-year-old compiled a two-day total of 13-under-par 131 to take a two-shot advantage over the chasing pack heading into the weekend rounds.Singapore's Mardan Mamat carded a 70 to take a share of second place alongside...

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Yeddyurappa gears up for new political journey

BANGALORE: Snapping his 40-year-old links with the BJP, mercurial leader B S Yeddyurappa, seen as the party's face in Karnataka before he was removed as chief minister, has embarked on an uncertain path that has left him as well as the party he helped build at the crossroads. A hardboiled politician from the RSS stable, Yeddyurappa, a prominent Lingayat strongman, rose through the ranks step by...

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Pictures: Inside the World's Most Powerful Laser

Photograph courtesy Damien Jemison, LLNLLooking like a portal to a science fiction movie, preamplifiers line a corridor at the U.S. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF).Preamplifiers work by increasing the energy of laser beams—up to ten billion times—before these beams reach the facility's target chamber.The project's lasers are tackling "one of physics' grand...

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Man Arrested in Fla. Girl's 1993 Disappearance

Police have arrested a 42-year-old man and charged him with murder in the case of a Florida girl who vanished almost 20 years ago.Andrea Gail Parsons, 10, of Port Salerno, Fla., was last seen on July 11, 1993, shortly after 6 p.m. She had just purchased candy and soda at a grocery store when she waved to a local couple as they drove by on an area street and honked, police said.Today,...

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The Democratic claim that Obama’s health-care cuts top Simpson-Bowles

(Evan Vucci/Associated Press) “The president's budget actually contains more health-care savings than the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission does.” — Rep. Chris van Hollen (D-Md.), on CNN, Nov. 27, 2012 “He's got more health-care cuts than Simpson-Bowles proposed.” — Van Hollen, on Fox News, Nov. 27As lawmakers continue to tussle over solutions to the looming “fiscal cliff,”...

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MediaCorp launches its first fashion portal

SINGAPORE: Singapore's leading media company MediaCorp has launched its first fashion portal. styleXstyle features the latest news on Singapore and international fashion and beauty trends, celebrity blogs and spotlights on emerging designers in the region. Members can connect with the fashion industry and fellow style-savvy members by sharing images and blog posts. They can also upload...

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Mend your ways or lose power, Markandey Katju tells Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju has described West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as "intolerant and whimsical" and warned her that she would lose power if she did not change. In a letter to her, Katju demanded she apologise to all who were victimised by her adminisration, and sought action against policemen who arrested Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra...

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Caterpillar Fungus Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties

In the Tibetan mountains, a fungus attaches itself to a moth larva burrowed in the soil. It infects and slowly consumes its host from within, taking over its brain and making the young caterpillar move to a position from which the fungus can grow and spore again. Sounds like something out of science fiction, right? But for ailing Chinese consumers and nomadic Tibetan harvesters, the parasite...

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Two Winners in Record Powerball Jackpot

Winning tickets for the record Powerball jackpot worth more than $587 million were purchased in Arizona and Missouri.Missouri Lottery official Susan Goedde confirmed to ABC News this morning that one of the winning tickets was purchased in the state, but they would not announce which town until later this morning.Arizona lottery officials said they had no information on that...

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Olam shares fall despite rebuttal of Muddy Waters' report

SINGAPORE: Olam International's shares continued to slide Wednesday despite its rebuttal of a research firm's warning that the Singapore farm commodities giant could collapse like US energy trader Enron."Olam faces no risk of insolvency. We have proactively planned for an appropriate capital structure and raised the requisite equity and debt to meet our investment plans," it said in a...

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Gujral 'very critical', doctor says

GURGAON: The condition of former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral remains "very critical", a doctor said on Wednesday. "His condition is the same as yesterday -- very critical," K.L. Sehgal, a doctor from the Medicity Medanta Hospital here, told IANS. On Tuesday, Gujral fell unconscious and his urine output was blocked. Gujral, 93, was admitted to Medicity with a lung infection Nov 19, and...

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Pictures: Falcon Massacre Uncovered in India

Photograph courtesy Conservation IndiaA young boy can sell bundles of fresh Amur falcons (pictured) for less than five dollars. Still, when multiplied by the thousands of falcons hunters can catch in a day, the practice can be a considerable financial boon to these groups.Since discovering the extent of Amur hunting in Nagaland this fall, Conservation India has taken the issue to the local Indian...

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Powerball Fever Sweeps the Nation, Fuels Jackpot

The allure of the record $500 Powerball jackpot has led to long lines across the nation at local mini-marts and gas stations, with Americans hoping their champagne and caviar dreams become a reality when the numbers are drawn tonight.The jackpot was boosted Tuesday from $425 million to the now historic $500 million sum, which is expected to get sweeter as millions of Americans...

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Keeping the financial regulators on their toes

When members of Congress need factual information and insights into the effectiveness of the financial laws put in place after the 2008 economic crisis, they regularly turn to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Orice Williams Brown. Initially as director and now as managing director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment section, Brown and her staff have issued...

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HK's securities watchdog urges support for new regulatory framework

HONG KONG : The chief of Hong Kong's securities watchdog has called on regional regulators to fully participate in the global implementation of new financial rules or risk Asia being isolated.He said a "one-size-fits-all" set of financial regulations imposed by the West could hurt Asian markets. The financial world is facing regulatory changes in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis,...

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FDI in retail: We have the numbers in Parliament, says PM after meeting

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday said that the UPA was ready to discuss along with a vote the issue of FDI in multi-brand retail under any rule in Parliament."We are not concerned about a vote," parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said. "It is for the Lok Sabha Speaker to decide under which rule a discussion on FDI should be held," Kamal Nath added.Kamal Nath was speaking to reporters after...

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Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

High Horse Photograph by Greg Parker, Your Shot The Horsehead Nebula rears its pretty head in a November 17 photograph submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot photo community.Taken...

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Violating Norquist's No-Tax Pledge Could Hurt GOP

The most talked about name in the opening weeks of the fiscal cliff negotiations isn't Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It's Grover Norquist.Norquist is not a publicly elected official or even a government appointee. The 56-year-old conservative leader is the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform and promoter of the...

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Amazon announces investment in France, sees 2,500 jobs

PARIS: The US Internet giant Amazon said on Monday that it would open a fourth despatch centre in France with the likely creation of 2,500 jobs, as it negotiates a tax dispute with the French government.The facility would improve the handling of orders from customers in northern France but also in Europe and the world, Amazon said.The company, which began life early in the Internet boom...

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UPA running away from vote on FDI in Parliament: Badal

AMRITSAR: Congress led UPA government was running away from vote in Parliament on the crucial issue of 'Foreign Direct Investment' in Retail sector as it was fearing threat that even its allies would not support the government , said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal while talking to media persons here on Monday.He said that NDA as well as all opposition parities had been demanding a vote...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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President Obama Prepares for Cabinet Shuffle

Nov 26, 2012 6:45am Carolyn Kaster/AP PhotoAs President Obama prepares for his second term, preparations have begun for the traditional shuffling of the Cabinet.Top priority for the president: filling slots for those top officials heading — if not running — for the door: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.To replace Clinton,...

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