NEA's new partnership to enhance S'pore's radiological operational readiness

SINGAPORE: National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) on collaboration in nuclear and radiation safety, emergency preparedness and response.NEA's partnership with DEMA is meant to enhance Singapore's capabilities in radiological operational readiness and incident response. The partnership will provide a platform...

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Pearlman: I think Bobby Petrino is slime

Bobby Petrino was named head coach at Western Kentucky, months after being embroiled in scandal at University of ArkansasSTORY HIGHLIGHTSBobby Petrino was named the new football coach at Western Kentucky this weekHiring came just months after he was fired from Arkansas amid scandalJeff Pearlman says, sadly, this is no surprise in big-time college sportsHe says the vast majority of players are ultimately...

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Hundreds pack Conn. church for vigil after rampage

Updated 11:39 PM ET NEWTOWN, Conn. Twenty-six candles — one for each of the victims — flickered on the altar Friday as hundreds of grief-stricken residents gathered for a vigil in memory of the children and staff killed in a shooting rampage at a school in this Connecticut town. With the church filled to capacity, hundreds spilled outside, holding hands in circles in the cold night air and saying...

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Conn. Shooter Adam Lanza: 'Obviously Not Well'

Adam Lanza of Newtown, Connecticut was a child of the suburbs and a child of divorce who at age 20 still lived with his mother.This morning he appears to have started his day by shooting his mother Nancy in the face, and then drove her car to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School, armed with two handguns and a semi-automatic rifle.There, before turning his gun on himself, he shot...

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CERN becomes first pure physics voice in UN chorus

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporter(Image: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras)If CERN observes the proceedings of the United Nations, will it change the outcome?The international particle physics laboratory, based near Geneva, Switzerland, has been granted observer status in the General Assembly of the United Nations, CERN officials announced today. The lab joins environmental groups and public...

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Enough blood for injured Navy serviceman & others in need

SINGAPORE: Singapore Red Cross and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said injured Navy serviceman Jason Chee is well supported by the National Blood Programme.In a joint statement, they assured well wishers that there is sufficient blood for his surgeries.The statement revealed that the Singapore Red Cross has already been recalling donors who are due for donation and blood donors of...

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22 school kids wounded in knife attack

By CNN Staffupdated 1:14 AM EST, Fri December 14, 2012STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe attack takes place at a primary school in Henan province, state media reportPolice say they have detained a 36-year-old local residentChina was hit by a spate of knife and cleaver attacks on school children in 2010(CNN) -- Twenty-two primary school children have been wounded in a knife attack in central China, the state-run...

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Rice withdraws from secretary of state consideration

Updated: 8:45 p.m. ET U.N. ambassador Susan Rice on Thursday officially withdrew her name from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, citing in a letter to President Obama the "lengthy, disruptive and costly" nominating process she was sure to face if tapped for the job -- a disruption she argued the nation "cannot afford." Play VideoAnalysis: Why did Rice withdraw?Rice,...

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What Is a Right-to-Work Law?

This week Michigan became the 24th state in the country to adopt a right-to-work law. The passage of the bill by the state legislature, and eventual signing by Rick Snyder, the state's Republican governor, brought a huge wave of protests in a state with deep union roots.Right-to-work laws have garnered a lot of national attention in recent years as more states have implemented...

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Permian mass extinction triggered by humble microbe

AROUND 251 million years ago, over 90 per cent of the species on Earth suddenly went extinct. Their killer may not have been a devastating meteorite or a catastrophic volcanic eruption, but a humble microbe. The prevailing theory is that the mass extinction...

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Fare increases needed to improve service to commuters, says Lui Tuck Yew

SINGAPORE: Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew has said fare increases are needed to improve service to commuters while keeping public transport operations commercially viable.In a Facebook post, Mr Lui said fare increases are not to boost the short-term profits of Public Transport Operators (PTOs) or improve the salaries of bus drivers.He said that's why the government must work with the...

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Japan scrambles fighter jets over disputed islands

By Yoko Wakatsuki and Alex Zolbert, CNNupdated 3:28 AM EST, Thu December 13, 2012STORY HIGHLIGHTSA Japanese Coast Guard vessel spots the Chinese plane near the islandsJapan says it sent four F-15 jets and another aircraft to the areaThis is the first time the island dispute has involved aircraftTokyo (CNN) -- Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese plane was seen Thursday near small islands in...

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L.A. campus lockdown ends, suspect still at large

Updated 3:45 a.m. ET LOS ANGELES Students at Cal State Fullerton who barricaded themselves inside classrooms and dorm rooms Wednesday were given the all clear early Thursday by campus officials. They were told Wednesday afternoon to prepare to stay put into the night as police searched for one of two suspects who was still on the loose after a jewelry store-pawn shop robbery-shooting. The other...

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Today on New Scientist: 11 December 2012

Out-of-season's greetings from the Arctic frost flowers Season's regards from an icy meadow in the Arctic, but it's no winter wonderland and please don't dash out into itHow hacking a mosquito's heart could eradicate malaria Watch how a double-pronged trick helps mosquitoes remain healthy while carrying disease, a process that could be exploited to eliminate malariaNew drug lifts hard-to-treat...

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Mass protest as Michigan curbs union rights

CHICAGO: Thousands of protesters descended on Michigan's state capitol Tuesday as lawmakers prepared to pass union-curbing "right-to-work" legislation in a state seen as the heart of the labor movement.The measure would weaken unions by allowing workers who get the same wages and benefits as union members to decline to pay any union dues.Democratic lawmakers begged their Republican colleagues...

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Angry with Obama, GOP regroups for next political war

STORY HIGHLIGHTSSen. Graham says President Obama is in for a "rude awakening"Graham: "We're not going to raise the debt ceiling" without deficit reductionObama says the nation's credit standing shouldn't be a political issuePolls show most Americans back the president on raising taxes on the richWashington (CNN) -- They are losing the battle over higher taxes on the wealthy, so now Republicans are...

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Mandela "responding" to treatment for infection

JOHANNESBURG South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela is suffering from a recurring lung infection and is responding to medical treatments, the nation's presidency said Tuesday. The ailing Mandela, 94, has been hospitalized since Saturday for medical tests at 1 Military Hospital near South Africa's capital, Pretoria. 34 PhotosNelson MandelaThe announcement ended speculation about what was...

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Closing Tax Loopholes Not Enough to Avert 'Cliff'?

Closing "corporate tax loopholes" sure sounds good to the average, non-corporate American -- so good, in fact, that politicians talk about it all the time.House Speaker John Boehner's fiscal-cliff proposal purports to raise $1.6 trillion in revenue by "clos[ing] special-interest loopholes and deductions while lowering rates."The White House, meanwhile, has complained that Boehner...

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Doha summit launches climate damage aid

The latest summit to stop climate change, held in Doha, Qatar, over the past two weeks has been roundly slammed. Little was agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions and the latest modelling, carried out by the Climate Action Tracker consortium shows global averages temperatures are still set to rise by at least...

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Football: Police hunt for Ferdinand coin throw culprit

LONDON: Police said on Monday that they were working to track down the person responsible for throwing a coin at Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand during Sunday's Manchester derby.Ferdinand was left with blood streaming down his face from a cut above his eye after being struck by a coin as he celebrated Robin van Persie's injury-time winner in United's 3-2 victory at Manchester City.Greater...

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DJs 'heartbroken' and 'sorry' over prank gone wrong

STORY HIGHLIGHTSMichael Christian says he's "gutted, shattered and heartbroken"It's "gut-wrenching" that the prank apparently led to nurse's suicide, Mel Greig saidPair says decision to air recorded prank call was not theirs(CNN) -- The two Australian radio personalities who made the prank phone call to a British hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was admitted expressed deep remorse...

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