S'poreans must apply for authorisation 72 hours before flying to US

From January 12, Singaporeans heading to the United States must obtain travel authorisation at least three days ahead of their trip at the US Department of Homeland Security's ESTA website.

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Malaysia's Penang could lose world heritage status
The UN said Malaysia's Penang island could lose its newly-acquired world heritage status because of a row over plans for four high-rise hotels.

It claimed that the hotels, all of which have been approved by Malaysian planning authorities, would be too tall under UNESCO's rules for world heritage listing. Hubert Gijzen, the regional chief of UNESCO, the UN's cultural wing, who officially presented the listing to Penang and southern Malacca state at the weekend, said the body would send experts to help resolve the controversy.

December: Northern Lights, Arctic Circle

Until author Philip Pullman fired up the public’s imagination with his theory of the Northern Lights in The Golden Compass, the aurora borealis, no matter how beautiful, was simply a phenomenon of nature. Now, everyone knows it’s a portal to a parallel universe. Okay, that’s a bit of stretch. But Pullman’s idea does pique curiosity about “nature’s fireworks”.

The journey to the Arctic Circle where the aurora borealis can be seen is a pilgrimage to be sure. One has to endure bonechilling temperatures in Finland, Sweden, Alaska and even then, a sighting is not guaranteed. It’s a quest ... yet, what revelation of the divine better than this, in the last month of the year, the night sky ablaze with glorious light? Let the angels sing.

Source: TODAY

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