Malay Language Council outlines target groups for programmes

SINGAPORE: The Malay Language Council said Monday that it will focus its programmes on three target groups in a bid to preserve and enhance the use of the Malay language.Council Chairman Masagos Zulkifli identified the three groups as the language elites, students and teachers and the general public.Three sub-committees have also been formed to look after each group.The council will also...

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Get a Logitech Harmony 700 universal remote for $59.99

The Logitech Harmony 700.(Credit:Logitech)This is an update of a deal I posted last summer.Juggling is meant for circus folk, not home-theater owners. Yet that's exactly what you're doing if you have more than one device and, ergo, more than one remote.Regular Cheapskate readers know I'm a fan of Logitech's Harmony series of universal remotes. One of the better models, the 700, has a list price of...

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Hugo Chavez returns to Venezuela

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with his daughters, Maria Gabriela, left, and Rosa Virginia as he holds a Feb. 14, 2013 copy of Cuba's state newspaper at an unknown location in Havana, Cuba, Feb. 14, 2013. / AP/Venezuelan government CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following...

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Bloody Cricket Bat Surfaces in Pistorius Case

Police in South Africa investigating the shooting death of model Reeva Steenkamp, allegedly by boyfriend and Paralympics champion Oscar Pistorius, consider a bloody cricket bat to be a central piece of evidence, according to South Africa's City Press newspaper.Pistorius, 26, was arrested Thursday and charged with killing Steenkamp, 29, at his home in the South African capitol...

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Pope, nearing retirement, says pray "for me and next pope"

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope, addressing a crowded St. Peter's Square in his penultimate Sunday address before becoming the first pontiff in centuries to resign. The crowd chanted "Long live the pope!," waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window. The 85-year-old Benedict, who will resign...

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Hugh Grant uses Twitter to announce new baby

LONDON: Hugh Grant, the British actor and campaigner for tighter press regulation, has announced on Twitter that he has become a father for a second time after a newspaper obtained his new son's birth certificate.Grant said he was "thrilled" to become a father again, reportedly with Chinese actress Tinglan Hong, but urged the press to leave his family in peace.The 52-year-old star of "Notting...

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Russian meteorite: The conspiracy theories

A strange time for a military attack?(Credit:CNN; screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)A good hearty conspiracy theory can shine a sharp light on two of humanity's most enduring traits.One, of course, is humanity's boundless imagination. The other is humanity's essential suspicion of humanity.So while you might be deeply immersed in Bill Nye's explanation of the Russian meteorite, those with darker...

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Nigerian police say 7 foreigners kidnapped

Updated 10:31 a.m. ETBAUCHI, Nigeria Gunmen attacked a camp for a construction company in rural northern Nigeria, killing a guard and kidnapping seven foreign workers from Britain, Greece, Italy and Lebanon, authorities said Sunday, in the biggest kidnapping yet in a region under attack by Islamic extremists. The attack Saturday night happened in Jama're, a town in a rural portion of Bauchi state....

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WH Chief of Staff on Leaked Immigration Plan: Let's Make Sure It Doesn't Have to Be Proposed

Feb 17, 2013 9:06am Responding to sharp criticism from Sen. Marco Rubio over the leaked White House immigration proposal, President Obama’s chief of staff Denis McDonough pushed back this morning on “This Week,” in an interview with ABC’s Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl, saying it was up to those in Congress to ensure the president’s...

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Pistorius, girlfriend were planning future: uncle

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African athlete Oscar Pistorius was planning a future with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who he is accused of shooting in cold blood this week, his uncle said on Saturday. "We are in a state of total shock - firstly about the tragic death of Reeva who we had all got to know well and care for deeply over the last few months," Anthony Pistorius said in a statement...

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