Creative industry in China on the rise

SHANGHAI: The creative industry is becoming a new growth area of the Chinese economy.As one of the cities boasting the fastest growth in this sector, Shanghai's municipal government is injecting another US$32 million to further support its development.Located in one of Shanghai's creative industry parks, KRT is a young local design firm. It is known for doing detailed work that showcases...

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New path for mid-career professionals to join accounting industry

SINGAPORE: Mid-career professionals in Singapore without accounting work experience or accounting-related qualifications can now be hired and trained as accounts or audit professionals.This has been made possible by a new pilot programme, a result of a partnership between NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and professional accounting body CPA Australia.Under the programme,...

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N.Korea leader vows "radical" economic shift

SEOUL: North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-Un called for a "radical turnabout" in the impoverished country's economy in a rare New Year's address Tuesday that also urged improved relations with the South.While the heart of his lengthy speech was devoted to turning the North into an "economic giant" and raising living standards, Kim stressed that military power remained a national priority."The...

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Gang hits gem-cutting plant in Brazil, takes hostages

BRASILIA: Military police killed the leader of a gang that had spectacularly blasted its way into a gem-cutting plant on Sunday, traded fire with police and made off with nine hostages who were later safely freed.Three of the assailants died in the assault in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, a military police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.The dead included Elisandro Falcao,...

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Italy upbeat at end of 2012 after year of market tension

ROME: Italy is ending 2012 on an upbeat note, with renewed financial market confidence and optimism among analysts that the worst of the financial crisis is over, despite expectations of political uncertainty in the run-up to a general election in February.The Treasury's borrowing rates were slightly higher at short, medium and long-term debt auctions last week, but were well below levels...

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Gang-rape victim's body to be flown back home later Saturday

SINGAPORE: The body of an Indian woman who died in a Singapore hospital after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi will be flown back on a chartered plane later Saturday, India's ambassador said."The requisite formalities (including the issue of the death certificate) for sending the body to India are being completed," Indian High Commissioner T.C.A. Raghavan told reporters, hours after the...

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Football: Bosses on notice as owners eye Premier promotion

LONDON: Henning Berg, sacked by Blackburn after just 57 days, and Sean O'Driscoll, dismissed by Nottingham Forest just six months into his reign, became the latest managers to discover that patience is an increasingly rare quality among chairmen chasing the dream of a lucrative place in the Premier League.Owen Coyle, booted out by Bolton in October after a slow start to the season, and...

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Indian rape victim arrives in S'pore for further treatment

SINGAPORE: An Indian student who was left fighting for her life after being gang-raped in New Delhi has arrived at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment.The patient arrived at the hospital's Intensive Care Unit at 9.05am in extremely critical condition, said the hospital's spokesperson on Thursday.The hospital is working with the Indian High Commission, and has requested...

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'Yak insurance' plan saving Nepal's snow leopard

KATHMANDU: The remorse felt by Himali Chungda Sherpa after he killed three snow leopard cubs in retaliation for his lost cattle inspired him to set up a scheme to prevent other herders from doing the same.Sherpa lost his cattle near Ghunsa village at the base of Mount Kangchenjunga on the Nepal-India border, later finding their remains in a cave beside three sleeping snow leopard cubs.The...

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Mitsubishi offices inspected over latest recall

TOKYO: Dozens of transport ministry officials inspected Mitsubishi Motors' offices across Japan on Tuesday after the automaker last week widened a recall to about 1.7 million vehicles.The inspection of Mitsubishi's Tokyo headquarters and quality-control offices nationwide came after the ministry criticised the firm over the latest expansion of an oil leak recall."We are inspecting the...

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New Japan govt hints at joining Pacific trade pact

TOKYO: Japan's new government led by incoming prime minister Shinzo Abe has suggested it may join a US-backed Pacific-wide free trade deal, a report said on Monday.Tokyo has previously shown interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) but remained non-committal in the face of fierce opposition from its cosseted farming industry.Participation by the world's third largest economy...

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Euro survives 2012, further tests in store

BRUSSELS: The battered euro, written off as a dud many times during a crisis-wracked year, appears to have survived 2012, but 2013 could prove just as difficult if the economy continues to struggle.It finished the year strongly after the 17 eurozone nations earlier this month nailed down a deal to supply long-delayed bailout funds to Greece to keep the country afloat, and the bloc intact.Athens...

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Squash: World No. 1 Nicol David extends haul of World Open titles

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands: Nicol David extended her record of World Open titles to seven from eight finals on Friday with a balanced performance and great patience to beat English third seed Laura Massaro.The Malaysian heroine's 11-6 11-8 11-6 victory silenced critics who had suggested younger rivals were closing the gap on the 29-year-old champion.Massaro forced many long rallies and...

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Ex-Beatle's widow lauds Ravi Shankar at US memorial

ENCINITAS, California: Former Beatle George Harrison's widow Olivia joined hundreds of fans and family of Ravi Shankar on Thursday at an open-air memorial to the Indian sitar legend near his California home.Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the late musician who died last week near San Diego, and her step-sister Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones also paid their last respects at the service...

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Apple "pinch-to-zoom" patent deemed invalid

SAN FRANCISCO: A filing in a high-stakes legal battle between Samsung and Apple revealed that a "pinch-to-zoom" patent central to the case has been deemed invalid.The patent was a centerpiece of a trial that ended in August with a jury ordering Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages for illegally copying iPhone and iPad features for its flagship Galaxy S smartphones.Samsung provided...

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Strong turnout for South Korea's presidential election

SEOUL: South Koreans cast their votes Wednesday in a tight and potentially historic presidential election that could result in Asia's fourth-largest economy selecting its first female leader.The ballot is a straight fight between Park Geun-Hye, the conservative daughter of assassinated dictator Park Chung-Hee, and her liberal rival Moon Jae-In, the son of North Korean refugees.Opinion...

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Tarantino film latest to be pulled after US shooting

LOS ANGELES: A Hollywood premiere of notoriously violent director Quentin Tarantino's latest film "Django Unchained" was canceled Monday, the latest such response to the Connecticut school massacre.A string of movies and TV shows have been pulled or postponed since Friday's shootings, while sporting events have held moments of silence and players have worn black armbands to honor the victims,...

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Karena Lam pregnant again

HONG KONG: Hong Kong actress Karena Lam revealed Saturday during a publicity event that she is pregnant with her second child, reported Hong Kong media.The actress, who is married to advertisement director Steve Yuen, gave birth to their first, daughter Kayla, in 2010. Lam expressed that she has asked actor Ekin Cheng, who was also at the event, to be her unborn child's godfather."We are...

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Body found in Singapore River

SINGAPORE: A man was found dead in the Singapore River along Clarke Quay early Sunday morning. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call at about 1.30am.Someone was spotted jumping into the river near Block A.SCDF officers arrived about four minutes later and conducted a search around the area.Diving at a depth of about 3 metres, rescuers retrieved the body of a...

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SCDF, police conduct checks at commercial premises, Marina Square fined

SINGAPORE: A joint enforcement blitz by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the police was conducted on shopping malls, hotels and public entertainment outlets on Friday night.Marina Square Shopping Centre was issued three notices of Fire Safety Offence which carried a total fine of up to S$1,500. The shopping centre had fire safety works without approval plans at two levels of...

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