 SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22 2009 |
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| Features |
| In eastern Europe, a pining for socialism |
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BELENE, Bulgaria, Nov 8 — In the dense forests of the idyllic Danube island of Persin, home to the endangered sea eagle and the pygmy cormorant, lie the ghastly remains of a communist-era death camp.
Hundreds of “enemies of the regime” perished from beatings, malnutrition and exhaustion in 1949-59 in Bulgaria’s Belene concentration cam... Read More... |
| Pregnant? You’re fired |
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SINGAPORE, Nov 8 — The tough economic times — and more generous maternity benefits — appear to be prompting increasing numbers of firms to fire pregnant women or deny them their full entitlements.
There were 119 ‘pregnancy- related’ complaints lodged with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in the first nine months of the year — up from 72 for the whole of 2007, and 95 last year.
That is the highest since records began in 2004 and represents a doubling of the rate per month compared with 2007.
... Read More... |
| Ecosystem in Peru is losing a key ally |
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ICA, Peru, Nov 8 — A small grove of huarango, the storied Peruvian tree that can live over a millennium, rests like a mirage amid the sand dunes on this city’s edge. The tree has provided the inhabitants of this desert with food and timber since before the Nazca civilization etched geoglyphs into the empty plain south of here about 2,000 years ago.
The huarango, a giant relative of the mesquite tree of the American Southwest, survived the rise and fall of Pre-Hispanic civilizations, and plunder by Spanish conquistadors, whose chroniclers were astounded by the abundance of huarango f... Read More... |
| For Russia’s communists, ousting Putin is a priority |
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MOSCOW, Nov 8 — Along with the perennial calls for “land for farmers” and “factories for workers,” Communists who marched in Moscow at yesterday’s anniversary of the 1917 revolution offered a slogan of more recent vintage: “Russia without Putin.”
As the Nov 7 holiday approached, leaders of Russia’s Communist Party — with 13 per cent of the electorate the country’s largest opposition faction — have made it clear that they prefer President Dmitri A. Medvedev to his predecessor, and the current prime minister, Vladimir V. Putin.
Speaking at the party’s annual plenum last week, ... Read More... |
| Who Is a Jew? Court ruling in Britain raises questions |
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LONDON, Nov 8 — The questions before the judges in Courtroom No. 1 of Britain’s Supreme Court were as ancient and as complex as Judaism itself. Who is a Jew? And who gets to decide?
On the surface, the court was considering a straightforward challenge to the admissions policy of a Jewish high school in London. But the case, in which arguments concluded Oct 30, has potential repercussions for thousands of other parochial schools across Britain.
And in addressing issues at the heart of Jewish identity, it has exposed bitter divisions in Britain’s community of 300,000 or so Jew... Read More... |
| Singapore’s eighth wonder |
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By Ronald Tan
SINGAPORE, Nov 7 — A few weeks ago, Singaporeans watched in awe the hoisting of a 700-tonne beam linking the towers of Marina Bay Sands (MBS) to form the Skypark — a vast rooftop garden — while at Sentosa, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) was working on the finishing touches to the rides for its Universal Studios Theme Park.
Just how awesome these two integrated resorts (IRs) are is becoming more visible by the day. Together, they will cost in excess of S$13 billion (RM31.2 billion) when they are complete. Not only will they be iconic attractions, but wi... Read More... |
| Fight to keep Bangkok above water |
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BANGKOK, Nov 7 — Each of the 51 submersible pumps at the Phra Khanong pumping station — the biggest of the facilities draining Bangkok — can at full throttle blast 173 cubic metres per second of water into a broad canal.
From there, the momentum propels the water into the Chao Phraya river 1km away.
Night and day, the pumps work, literally keeping Bangkok above water.
... Read More... |
| The gecko on the crocodile’s back |
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By John McBeth
NOV 7 — For more than four hours this week, a packed Constitutional Court in Jakarta listened transfixed to 67 wiretapped conversations implicating the police and the Attorney-General's Office (AGO) in a plot to fabricate evidence against Indonesia's embattled Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK).
Perhaps it stemmed from the arrogance of power. Perhaps it was the result of profound stupidity. One may well have fed into the other, but the tapes gave Indonesians a riveting and depressing view of a justice system for sale.
... Read More... |
| For gene therapy, signs of resurgence |
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NEW YORK, Nov 6 — Not long ago, gene therapy seemed troubled by insurmountable difficulties. After decades of hype and dashed hopes, many who once embraced the still-experimental idea of correcting genetic disorders by giving people new genes all but gave up the idea.
But scientists say gene therapy might be on the edge of a resurgence. There were three recent, though small, successes — one involving children with a fatal brain disease, one with an eye disease that causes blindness and one with children who have a disease that destroys the immune system.
... Read More... |
| Space hotel says on schedule to open in 2012 |
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BARCELONA, Nov 2 – A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project.
The Barcelona-based architects of The Galactic Suite Space Resort say it will cost 3 million euro ($4.4 million) for ... Read More... |
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