Dual-key EC units becoming more popular

SINGAPORE: Dual-key units in executive condominiums (ECs) are rising in demand among home-seekers.Developer MCC Land said its executive condominium project One Canberra sold out its 95 dual-key apartments within a month, from when the project was launched in April.The developer is now confident that its new project, the EC Forestville, will also do well.The number of dual-key apartments...

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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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Two China workers charged with criminal trespass

SINGAPORE: Two workers from China who sat on top of two construction cranes for hours on Thursday have been charged in court with criminal trespass. Zhu Guilei, 24, and Wu Xiaolin, 47, were offered bail of $10,000 each. They said in court that they intend to claim trial but won't be engaging counsel. Both men will be back in court on December 12 for a pre-trial conference. The two are...

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FDI win is rejection of politics of BJP, Kamal Nath says

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday termed its winning of the FDI vote in the Rajya Sabha as a "rejection of the politics of the BJP". "It is a rejection of the politics of the BJP ( Bharatiya Janata Party), I wish they were better losers," Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath told reporters outside Parliament House minutes after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government won the vote...

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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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Tsunami Warning Lifted in Japan After Quake

A tsunami warning has been lifted for the northeastern region of Japan following a strong 7.3-magnitiude earthquake that struck off the coast of Miyagi prefecture.The earthquake rattled the coast of Japan just after 5 p.m. local time. Tsunami waves were recorded in at least five different locations – the largest in Ishinomaki was measured at 3 feet, according to the Japan Meteorological...

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Rice nomination and White House musical chairs

White House observers note an interesting game of musical chairs underway — or maybe dominoes is more appropriate — with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice at the center. Here’s what we’re hearing is the state of play amongst some very interested parties. While it’s well known that Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett is (after Obama himself) Rice’s biggest supporter to be nominated as secretary...

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Golf: Japan star Ishikawa eyes emulating 'hero' McIlroy

CHONBURI, Thailand: Japanese golf star Ryo Ishikawa said he has two years to catch up with his "hero" Rory McIlroy and hopes to end his barren run overseas with a win at the Thailand Golf Championship.Ishikawa, 21, is two years younger than world number one McIlroy, whose four US PGA Tour victories in 2012 including the PGA Championship saw him named Tuesday as the US tour's Player of...

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BSP puts its weight behind govt on FDI issue in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: BSP on promised to vote in favour of FDI in Rajya Sabha, giving much relief to the government which is bracing for a crucial vote on Friday, even as BJP and AIADMK attacked parties which sided with UPA despite having reservations over the measure.A day after the opposition motion seeking rollback of the decision was rejected convincingly in Lok Sabha, the Upper House took up the debate...

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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 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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Horse Racing: Dettori banned for six months

PARIS: Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori was suspended from riding worldwide for six months by French racing's governing body France Galop on Wednesday for failing a doping test.The 41-year-old Italian-born England based rider -- probably racing's most high profile personality -- tested positive for a non-performance enhancing banned substance at the September 16 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe...

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Release 10,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, SC tells Karnataka

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today directed Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of water from Cauvery River to Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Cauvery monitoring committee to meet on Thursday to decide the water requirement of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The court had earlier on Friday told Tamil Nadu to submit its requirement of water on Saturday, after the talks failed between...

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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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Subway Push Murder Suspect Implicated Self: Police

A suspect believed to be responsible for throwing a man into the path of an oncoming New York City subway train who was taken into custody today has made statements implicating himself, police said.According to Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne, the suspect has been questioned by police since at least early afternoon and while the suspect is in police custody,...

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Horse Racing: Jockey Dettori to learn fate on Wednesday

PARIS: Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori will learn the length of his suspension for failing a doping test on Wednesday, his lawyer said on Tuesday.The Italian rider was represented during a 40-minute disciplinary hearing at French racing's governing body France Galop by his lawyer, Christopher Stewart-Moore."We had a very sympathetic hearing but they are not going to make a decision till...

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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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Maldives president to face no-confidence vote

COLOMBO: The Maldivian parliament Monday voted to hold a secret vote on a no-confidence motion against President Mohamed Waheed in a move that threatens the leader who took charge during turmoil less than a year ago.The 75-member parliament voted 41 to 34 in favour of a secret vote against Waheed who took power after the ousting of the country's first democratically elected president in...

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

ANI Dec 1, 2012, 03.28PM ISTNEW 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...

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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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Boehner on Fiscal Cliff Talks: 'You Can't Be Serious'

President Obama and his White House team appear to have drawn a line in the sand in talks with House Republicans on the "fiscal cliff."Tax rates on the wealthy are going up, the only question is how much?"Those rates are going to have to go up," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner flatly stated on ABC's "This Week." "There's no responsible way we can govern this country at a time...

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DIA sending hundreds more spies overseas

The Pentagon will send hundreds of additional spies overseas as part of an ambitious plan to assemble an espionage network that rivals the CIA in size, U.S. officials said. The project is aimed at transforming the Defense Intelligence Agency, which has been dominated for the past decade by the demands of two wars, into a spy service focused on emerging threats and more closely aligned...

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Spain hints it may not reach 2012 public deficit goal

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in remarks published Sunday it would be difficult to meet the goal of cutting the public deficit to 6.3 per cent of gross domestic product this year in line with European Union demands."It is very complicated to reduce the deficit by 2.6 points in a context of recession, with as many problems with revenue and such high financing costs,"...

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