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Singapore isn't usually known as a place simmering with tensions, but the city-state's first riot in more than 40 years has prompted the prime minister to urge calm.

Sunday's riot was sparked by the death of a 33-year-old Indian national who was struck and killed by a bus. Hundreds rioted in the Little India neighborhood following the death. Rioters attacked police, and set police cars and an ambulance on fire, the BBC reported. Eighteen people were hurt. Police arrested 27 people, mostly Indians. They face up to seven years in prison along with caning.

In a post on Facebook, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged restraint. He said he'd ordered an inquiry into the events that led to the incident, "how the incident was handled, and how we manage areas where foreign workers congregate."

He added:

"This was an isolated incident caused by an unruly mob. The vast majority of foreign workers here obey our laws. We must not let this bad incident tarnish our views of foreigner workers here. Nor should we condone hateful or xenophobic comments, especially online."

"You know when you put something in the bin, and in your head, say to yourself 'that's a bad idea'? I really did have that," James Howells says. And boy, was his intuition right: Howells tossed a hard drive that held millions of dollars' worth of Bitcoins, the currency whose value has skyrocketed this year.

Howells' story is emerging on the same day Bitcoin rose above the $1,000 mark for the first time on the Mt. Gox exchange, as CNET reported. At that exchange rate, Howells' stash of 7,500 Bitcions would have been worth $7.5 million today. (Because there's no central exchange for Bitcoins, prices can vary.)

The Bitcoins were in a digital wallet in a hard drive that was sitting in a desk drawer in Newport, Wales. It contained the unique access key that would allow Howells to control the money. Howells, who reportedly works in IT, did not make a backup file.

As Howells tells The Guardian, it was months before he realized he had tossed the Bitcoins along with the drive, the survivor of a Dell laptop he had used to "mine" the currency in 2009.

"I don't have an exact date, the only time period I can give – and I've been racking my own brains – is between 20 June and 10 August," he tells the newspaper. "Probably mid-July."

His attempts to find the missing hard drive have been stymied by the epic size of the local landfill. Its operators told Howells that his hard drive was probably about four or five feet deep, in an area the size of a soccer field. And with no guarantee of finding the Bitcoins, he can't take on the expense of an excavation.

"I'm at the point where it's either laugh about it or cry about it," Howells says. "Why aren't I out there with a shovel now? I think I'm just resigned to never being able to find it."

At least Howells has company. As we reported this past spring, a man named Stefan Thomas told Der Spiegel that he lost 7,000 Bitcoins because of a hard-drive failure. Back then, the currency made headlines for hitting the $200 mark.

Ukraine's government has deployed riot police near Independence Square outside Kiev's city hall, which has been occupied by anti-government protesters for more than a week. Police had told the protesters they have until early this week to vacate the building.

Opposition leaders have been trying to calm the situation, which was sparked by outrage over President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to reject closer ties with the European Union in favor of joining a trade union with Russia.

From Kiev, NPR's Corey Flintoff reports on the scene today:

"Riot police with black helmets and shields formed a line near the building, but didn't advance toward it. Vitaly Klitchko, an opposition politician and world boxing champion, spoke briefly with one of the police commanders.

"He said before giving any orders, the police should consider whether they themselves are violating the law. Klitschko said the protest was a peaceful demonstration with no aggression."

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An "enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones" known as Radiant Orchid is Pantone's Color of the Year for 2014, unseating the more verdantly inclined Emerald that dominated the previous 12 months.

Pantone Color Institute, which describes itself as a global authority on color, describes its latest pick as "a captivating, magical, enigmatic purple" whose "rosy undertones radiate on the skin, producing a healthy glow when worn by both men and women."

For interiors, Radiant Orchid, Pantone says, is "as adaptable as it is beautiful" and "complements olive and deeper hunter greens, and offers a gorgeous combination when paired with turquoise, teal and even light yellows."

Sounds like it might go well with its predecessor, which was "a lively, radiant, lush green" that is "most often associated with precious gemstones."

All Things Considered's Melissa Block talked to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, about the color, and what it takes to find the color of the year. You can hear the audio by clicking play above.

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