S.4b added to Assurance Package to offset GST expenses for households amid rising inflation: Lawrence Wong

SINGAPORE: The Government will spend S$1.4 billion more to offset additional GST expenses for most Singaporean households for at least five years, announced Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Nov 7).  Speaking in Parliament at the second reading of the Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, Mr Wong saidContinue Reading

China more popular among SE Asia publics than elites

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Southeast Asian general publics tend to be far more positive about China than their national elites, according to a comparison of existing polls of “elite” opinion and a recently-published survey of 15 Indo-Pacific nations.   Analysts say this could be because ordinary people tend to perceive China primarily through economic lenses, increasing the popularity of the […]Continue Reading

COVID-19 cases from hospital clusters, nursing homes form less than 1% of total reported community cases

In a supplementary question, Ms Lim asked whether the reported COVID-19 cases in hospitals and nursing homes could be underestimates, given that some patients could be asymptomatic.  “The numbers may be an underestimate, we did not do daily testing on everybody,” said Dr Puthucheary. He added that it would beContinue Reading