Unemployment remains low, income growth strengthens in 2013

Unemployment stayed low and the income growth of Singaporeans strengthened in 2013.

Local employment rose more quickly in the year, as the growth in the number of foreign workers continued to moderate amid tightened foreign manpower measures.

Those are the key findings from a Manpower Ministry's report on Singapore's employment situation in 2013.

A ministry statement on Wednesday said as inflation eased, real median income grew at a higher rate in 2013 compared to 2012.

The income growth, deflated by Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items, was 4.6 per cent in 2013, up from 1.2 per cent in 2012.

Kuala Lumpur-S'pore high speed rail link well on track

The proposed High Speed Rail (HSR) link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is making good progress.

This was revealed in a joint statement after the 10th Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee Meeting for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM).

The meeting was held in Singapore, and was co-chaired by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Abdul Wahid Omar.

Also present were Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew and Johor's chief minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

Singaporeans still conservative about certain social issues, says IPS survey

A survey by the Institute of Policy Studies revealed that Singapore remains a largely conservative society with regard to certain social issues.

80.3 per cent of respondents said they felt sexual relations with someone other than their marriage partner was always or almost always wrong. Though slightly less than half of the respondents (44 per cent) disapproved of living with a partner before marriage.

78.2 per cent felt likewise about sexual relations between two adults of the same sex.

Minister Tan Chuan Jin graces Saturday Night Lights Central launch

Saturday Night Lights Central, in collaboration with Changi Airport group, was officially launched on 25 January at the ITE College Central. It aims to give underprivileged youths in the Central district a platform to come together and enjoy a game of football.
The football programs will be headed by former Singapore internationals, S.Subramani and Yakob Hashim, including the guidance of coaches from the Real Madrid Foundation Singapore.

The event was graced by Acting Minister of Manpower, Mr Tan Chuan Jin, and he believes that this initiative will be a good avenue to churn out positivity and character from an individual.

Professional recognition for Navy personnel

Servicemen from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) can now look forward to greater recognition for their specialisations with the introduction of the Streamlined Accreditation Programme.

This latest initiative between the RSN and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) offers Navy personnel, including naval officers and divers, the opportunity to attain industry-recognised professional titles.

Following the success of obtaining accreditation for its Military Domain Expert Scheme (MDES) engineering specialisation two years ago, this second phase secured accreditation for the remaining specialisations through the IMarEST Marine Technologist (MarTech) professional register.

Former ISD chief reflects on Mas Selamat's escape and the lessons learnt

He was the director of the Internal Security Department (ISD) when former Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat bin Kastari escaped from detention in February 2008.

Now the Permanent Secretary for Transport, Mr Pang Kin Keong, has finally come out to talk about the event that sparked a massive manhunt for a fugitive wanted on both sides of the Causeway, and the lessons he learnt.

In an interview with Challenge -- a magazine by the Singapore Public Service -- published on Wednesday, he spoke candidly as he revisited the event that marked the lowest point of his 20 years in the service.

"To have an incident of this national security magnitude happen under your leadership... that's an awful feeling," he said as he recounted the public criticism that ensued.

Singapore Para athletes receive a warm welcome home

Team Singapore Para athletes won a total of 26 medals from the recent ASEAN Para Games in Myanmar, and they were given a hero's welcome at the Changi Airport by well wishers, family and friends on 21 January.

Justinian Chua, Chef De Mission of the games led the contingent out of arrival hall. Jason Chee, Yip Pin Xiu, Theresa Goh and the cerebral palsy football team were some of the Para athletes that were spotted amongst the returning contingent.

MINDEF and NTU strengthen defence research partnership

A super-elastic ceramic that can bend and recover its shape upon heating may well be used to create body armour to protect our soldiers in the future. And a special algorithm will allow our military radio communications systems to pick up weak signals in a noisy environment.

These are just two of the many defence scientific breakthroughs achieved by scientists from the Temasek Laboratories at Nanyang Technological University (TL@NTU) since its establishment in 2003.

The research centre is a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and NTU to develop technological solutions to enhance the defence of Singapore. Over the last 10 years, it has grown from three research programmes and 10 scientists, to 15 research programmes and over 200 researchers and staff today.

Sales of new private homes down 80% in December

Sales of new private homes plunged nearly 80 per cent in December compared to a month ago, as developers held off new property launches.

According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), just 259 units of new private homes were sold in December, down from 1,228 units transacted in November.

Among the units sold, 125 are located in the suburban areas, 90 units in the city fringe, and 44 units in the core central region.

For the whole of 2013, total private home sales amounted to about 15,000 units -- levels last seen during the global financial crisis five years ago.

S'pore is not facing a credit bubble: MAS

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday said Singapore is not facing a credit bubble that puts the country or its banking system at any risk of crisis.

This was in response to media queries after a Forbes article claimed that Singapore is facing a dangerous credit bubble, fuelled by ultra-low interest rates.

The article cited several risks including Singapore's ratio of household debt to GDP, rising property prices and potential crisis in the banking system should non-performing loans increase when interest rates start to normalise.

COE quota to be determined every 3 months from February

The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system has been refined to make it more responsive to de-registrations.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that from February, it will announce the COE quotas every three months instead of the current six months.

This will enable a more accurate and prompt matching of the number of new COEs to be issued to replace de-registered vehicles, it added.

Vehicle de-registration has been rising in recent months as more vehicles reach 10 years of age. This trend is likely to continue until 2016.

Our women's table tennis team - growing from strength to strength

At the 2010 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Moscow, Singapore’s table tennis team consisting of Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Beibei were crowned victors. With unparalleled precision and grit, they sliced their way past China’s undefeated champions to clinch the winning title for the first time in history.

Over the years, our women’s table tennis has indeed become a force to be reckoned with. Let us take a look at some of the major milestones in the history of this successful sport. Table tennis saw a humble beginning back in 1926, when the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) was established, and the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) started later in 1931, when the demand for the sport had begun to grow exponentially. 

Expanded Ex Wallaby

Based on the tsunami that hit Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2010, this was the exercise scenario presented to troops from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Time was, of course, essential and the SAF deployed Army, Navy and Air Force elements to assist the ADF in HADR efforts.

The Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN's) Landing Ship Tank (LST) RSS Resolution was used to coordinate operations with the set-up of a Combined Task Force Headquarters (CTF HQ) that comprised planners from both countries' armed forces.