By-election is about choosing the right candidate who can serve: minister

SINGAPORE: Education Minister Heng Swee Keat said the by-election in Punggol East is not about voting more opposition into Parliament. He said it is about electing the right candidate who can best serve the residents in the ward.Mr Heng said these in response to comments made by the Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general Low Thia Khiang at the WP rally on Saturday.Mr Low had said that...

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At least 55 dead in gas plant siege

STORY HIGHLIGHTSTwo Americans unaccounted for, senior U.S. official saysObama says "scourge of terrorism" must be foughtAlgerian state news: At least 55 people, including hostages and militants, have diedThe militants targeted an eastern Algerian gas facility where many foreigners workers(CNN) -- Algerian troops ended a hostage crisis at a remote gas facility Saturday with one last, bloody assault,...

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Failed assassination attempt in Bulgaria - caught on tape

January 19, 2013 12:29 PM In a failed assassination attempt on the leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish party, Ahmed Dogan, a man is seen jumping out of the audience and onto the stage where Dogan is speaking. He then points the gun at Dogan's head and the gun reportedly misfires. The attacker is then tackled and beaten by security guards....

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Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials...

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Why Africa backs French in Mali

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UN council slams 'heinous' Algeria attacks

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the "heinous" attack and hostage-taking at an Algerian gas complex by Al-Qaeda linked militants.A statement agreed by the 15-member council stressed the need to bring the Al-Qaeda linked attackers and their backers to justice.At least 12 hostages and 18 kidnappers were killed in an assault by Algerian security forces...

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Manti Te'o: 'I wasn't faking it'

By Greg Botelho and Lateef Mungin, CNNupdated 1:52 AM EST, Sat January 19, 2013STORY HIGHLIGHTSManti Te'o talks to ESPN about his alleged girlfriend hoax"I wasn't faking it," he says in an off -camera interviewTe'o rose to national prominence by leading the Fighting Irish to an undefeated regular seasonWhat are your thoughts? Share with us on iReport.(CNN) -- Manti Te'o -- one of the best defenders...

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T'eo to hoax doubters: "I wasn't part of this"

Updated 12:15 AM ET SOUTH BEND, Ind. Manti Te'o gave an interview to ESPN in which he denied any involvement in fabricating an online relationship with a woman he considered to be his girlfriend. "I wasn't faking it," he told ESPN Friday night. "I wasn't part of this."13 PhotosManti Te'oTe'o also said that he did not make up anything to help his Heisman Trophy candidacy. "When (people) hear the...

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Armstrong Tearful Over Telling Kids Truth

Lance Armstrong, 41, began to cry today as he described finding out his son Luke, 13, was publicly defending him from accusations that he doped during his cycling career.Armstrong said that he knew, at that moment, that he would have to publicly admit to taking performance-enhancing drugs and having oxygen-boosting blood transfusions when competing in the Tour de France. He...

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Basketball: Bryant gets record 15th straight NBA All Star nod

NEW YORK: Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant led all players in votes in earning a record 15th successive NBA All-Star selection, the NBA said.The league on Thursday announced the starters for the 2013 mid-season exhibition and said Bryant received 1,591,437 votes to edge Miami's LeBron James (1,583,646) as the top vote-getter.Bryant had been tied with Jerry West, Karl Malone and...

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Lie, repeat: Armstrong says admission comes 'too late'

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Manti Te'o kept girlfriend myth alive after revelation

SOUTH BEND, Ind. Not once but twice after he supposedly discovered his online girlfriend of three years never even existed, Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te'o perpetuated the heartbreaking story about her death. 13 PhotosManti Te'oAn Associated Press review of news coverage found that the Heisman Trophy runner-up talked about his doomed love in a Web interview on Dec. 8 and again in...

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Scientology ad crossed the line

The Church of Scientology is also at fault for thinking the advertorial would survive The Atlantic readers' scrutiny, Ian Schafer says.STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe Atlantic published and pulled a sponsored Scientology "story"Ian Schafer: On several levels, the ad was a mistakeHe says the content was heavy-handed and comments were being moderatedSchafer: Experimenting to raise revenue makes sense, but standards...

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Tennis: Murray keeps it short in sizzling Sousa win

MELBOURNE: Andy Murray has played in tougher conditions but he was glad he made short work of reaching the Australian Open's third round on a sweltering day on Thursday.The British third seed and reigning US Open champion conceded just eight games in putting away 100th-ranked Portuguese Joao Sousa, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in 1hr 41min on Hisense Arena.Murray, a twice runner-up at the Australian...

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Gun bills may be a long shot

STORY HIGHLIGHTSObama's proposed assault weapon ban isn't likely to survive the House, analyst saysVulnerable Democrats may not support legislation in the Senate, either But supporters say December's killings in Connecticut changed the equation(CNN) -- Despite supporters' hopes that this time it's different, President Barack Obama's new call for restricting some semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity...

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Manti Te'o says he's the victim of "girlfriend" hoax

Updated 11:20 p.m. ET SOUTH BEND, Ind. Notre Dame said a story that star Manti Te'o's girlfriend had died of leukemia — a loss he said inspired him all season and helped him lead the Irish to the BCS title game — turned out to be a hoax apparently perpetrated against the linebacker. 13 PhotosManti Te'oNotre Dame Fighting Irish Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick held a press conference late Wednesday...

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