According to MND, the EHG is gradually tiered, giving buyers with lower incomes more assistance while those in need will also get more assistance.  , With the most recent enhancements, first-timer families can receive up to S$ 120, 000 ( US$ 92, 200 ).  , Only available first-time home buyersContinue Reading
Sorry, Blackjacks. You’ll have to travel to Seoul this October to view your 2NE1 homecoming. Waterbomb Singapore 2024’s perfect cap came from CL’s repertoire of solo hits like Spicy as well as 2NE1 classics like I Am The Best and I Do n’t Care.
The 33-year-old also had her signature stage presence, dominating the audience with her large coat and sunglasses while strutting the stage.
***
Besides these shows, the on-ground workers at Waterbomb Singapore 2024 deserved great acclaim. Despite the surrounding ceremonies, the crowd control personnel handled the crowd power staff’s requests politely but confidently, and the security staff deserves praise for catching accidental visitors ( including those who were smoking in the trap ).
The liquid situation was strangely both the Waterbomb Singapore 2024’s best and worst case. I adored how the organizing team was so kind with blasting visitors. We were soaked in water every three days, not to say that was overstated. The event did a fantastic job of accomplishing that.
But, Waterbomb is a festival that is usually a party for both the performers and the audience. Unfortunately, that was n’t the case for the latter. A few performers ended their models without a single drop of water on them. Some musicians, like Loco and BamBam, even used to pour liquid on themselves.
SINGAPORE: Grab and Gojek owners have noticed a drop in their earnings over the past six weeks, but Grab, the largest ride-hailing strong below, said this is cyclical.  ,
Mr Lee Chin Chye, 56, used to make S$ 300 to S$ 500 ( US$ 230 to US$ 380 ) driving 10 hours a day. He now earns about 10 % less than he did before this started to decline, despite driving the same number of hours as he did six months ago.
He attributes this to lower Grab system fares.
The declining demand from customers also has to do with it, according to Mr. Lee, who only accepts bookings on Grab.  ,
CNA spoke to eight , private-hire individuals, and all who use Capture or Gojek said charges are now lower and their revenues have in switch fallen. Three drivers who have n’t experienced a decline only use TADA, a company known for its zero-commission approach.
CNA asked whether Grab or Gojek had reduced their charges, but neither of them responded.
With a 50.2 percent market share in Singapore in 2022, based on the data system Measurable AI, Grab is the market leader among the five major ride-hailing companies. This is followed by Gojek with 17.7 per cent, ComfortDelGro with 15.1 per share and TADA with 11.1 per share. With a 5.9 %, Ryan is the smallest player.
The falling revenue is a growing problem, especially for younger individuals or those with financial obligations, individuals said.
A 31-year-old Gojek driver, who did not want to be named, said the 10 per cent hit to his earnings has been” tough” to take but he has no plans to quit.
He has been a private-hire pilot for five years to provide for his five children and lost his previous job due to an accident at work.  ,
Get vehicle Mr., who did not want to give his full name, is another vehicle with money to pay and a five-year-old baby to pull.  ,
In the last six weeks, his revenue has decreased by about 20 %. While he used to earn about S$ 300 a day for 10 hours of work, he now earns around S$ 250.  ,
” I have to cut down on vacation, eating at restaurants. The prices ( of goods ) are all going up but ( my income ) seems to be going down”, said the 56-year-old. ” Sometimes, once a month, it happens that I have to take a personal loan to sustain ( my expenses ) for a while” . ,
The rising cost of living, including for diesel, is making things worse, he said.  ,” It’s really a dual whammy”.
With a voter turnout of 38,929, Hong Kah North SMC is now the only one to go beyond the 38, 000-vote control.
Independent observer Felix Tan, who has written about Singapore’s social environment, claimed it was possible to divide and unite a part of the SMC with a nearby GRC.
Then, he warned that it might be merged with a nearby GRC before the GRC might be restored to form two small GRCs.  ,
In 2020, what was then known as Sengkang West SMC had 47, 891 electors, far above the lower limit. In the end, it was transferred to a fresh Sengkang GRC.
Today, Ang Mo Kio GRC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC are also nearing the 190, 000 upper limit ( for their five-MP wards ), with 188, 820 and 180, 319 voters respectively.
Both were originally six-member GRCs before being reduced in size in 2020.
With fresh SMCs and smaller GRCs carved out, authorities said they could stretch even more.
This was already the case with Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC prior to the next election, when a fresh Punggol West SMC and four-member Sengkang GRC were established.  ,
The average amount of Members per GRC has dropped- from five in 2011 to 4.75 in 2015 to 4.65 in 2020- while the number of SMCs has gone off ( from 12 to 13 to 14 over the same time ).
Among the individual votes, Yuhua is the smallest with 20, 362 citizens – just above the lower restriction of 20, 000.
It is the only SMC run by Grace Fu, the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, as its head.
Jurong GRC, which has no “anchor” minister at the moment, is bounded by Yuhua, which was bounded by former top secretary Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s victory in a presidential election next year.
An anchor secretary is the de facto GRC group leader, according to Ms. Kasthuri from SUSS, whose presence serves to comfort citizens and orient new candidates.
There “might get a great opportunity” Yuhua gets subsumed into a new or existing GRC, said Dr Tan.
However, not all political boundaries are redrawn at every large.
In 2020, 12 districts were undisturbed, Institute of Policy Studies research brother Teo Kay Key noted. Seven of them were left alive in 2015 as also.
Hougang SMC and the opposition-held Aljunied GRC are among them.
According to Dr. Tan,” It is probably an unwritten rule that unless the opposition wards fall, there are certainly no other strong reasons to ( redraw boundaries there” ), adding that any change in the boundaries at these wards may be viewed as “politically motivated.”
Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing said in parliament earlier this month that the EBRC features freely, without direction or power from the state.
Mr Chan, who is also Education Minister, added that the Committee prioritises the interests of voters and not any political party, including the ruling People’s Action Party ( PAP ).
The senior civil servants that make up the EBRC also do n’t have any political allegiances and can fervently suggest boundary changes, he said.
SAN ISIDRO, PHILIPPINES/KUNIRAN, INDONESIA: When Madam Gina Fabiano initially considered leaving her wooden house in the Philippines ‘ Rodriguez city to become a home contractor in Saudi Arabia 7, 000km aside, her children begged her not to go.  ,
They had never been separated, let alone been separated for such a long time due to their great length. Without her, they claimed, they may not be able to live their lives.  ,
But at the moment, the then 43 year-old mother of five- who gradually worked in the Middle East for three years between 2016 and 2019- felt that she did certainly had a choice.
Since the government decided to open a garbage near in 2002, her mother’s farmland has been losing steam.
Mdm Fabiano and her husband sifted through the thousands of tons of trash from the Metro Manila area, looking for metals, plastics, and other assets to market to recycling plants along with other families whose cropland were even destroyed.
The mother’s income was not stable. Mdm Fabiano and her husband would earn as little as 1, 000 to 2, 000 pesos ( US$ 17.10 to US$ 34.20 ) a month. The cost of her son’s education was hardly sufficient to cover the costs of meals.
Then her mother died in 2016 and Mdm Fabiano, as the next oldest of 14 relatives, had to play the role of mother for her brothers and sisters, some of whom were also in school at the time.
We did n’t have the money to take my mother to the hospital after she became ill. When I first started to worry about my mother passing away if I had worked worldwide sooner, I thought. Mdm Fabiano reached into her throat while caringssing the cross.  ,
But she jumped at the chance to work as a home worker in Saudi Arabia with a monthly salary of US$ 400.
According to statistics from the Philippines ‘ Department of Migrant Workers, 2.1 million Filipinos left their home country in search of work worldwide in 2016. This figure may decrease as a result of the pandemic before reaching a new history of 2.3 million in 2023.
The majority of them were from far-off places in remote areas and poor urban neighborhoods like Rodriguez’s San Isidro, where employment opportunities are limited, especially for those like Mdm Fabiano, who only has a junior high school certificate to her title.
Working abroad paid these Filipinos at least half the region’s minimum wage of US$ 10 per day, but it also came with some high costs.
Working abroad, for parents like Mdm Fabiano, meant missing out on significant events like the first weeks of class and graduations, as well as the chance to watch their kids grow up, commemorate special occasions like birthdays and Christmas, and watch their children grow up.
For those left behind, it meant losing someone they love, a caretaker, a coach and a shoulder to cry on.
The most challenging aspect was that I was unable to look after my only child, according to Mdm Fabiano, about her youngest baby, who was still in school when she left.
” What are you doing then?” was all I could do, so I dialed her on my phone and asked her. Did you eat? Are you going to college?’ That’s all. But the lady I took care of in Saudi: I may weave her hair, pull her correctly, tuck her to sleep”.
” I was able to take care of her, but I could n’t even take care of my own kids.”
Going on a vacation is similar to how we Singaporeans have it built to unwind. We put in a lot of effort before enjoying a relaxing vacation in Japan, South Korea, or wherever we nice.
It was a dream come true for me to host the novel CNA traveling show A Street Like This. I was working but likewise travelling to places I had always wanted to visit: Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Pakistan and India.
However, there was an odd caveat: I was n’t actually exploring these entire nations or regions, but rather particular streets.
Yes, it sounds immoral: You travel hundreds and thousands of yards, book flight reservations and hospitality, do your planning and subsequently spend your vacation walking along only one road?
The Bangladesh Society was shocked by A , a Bangladeshi extremist preacher who delivered an illegal sermon to migrant workers in Singapore, according to its general secretary on Friday ( Aug 23 ).
The preacher, Amir Hamza, had entered Singapore using a passport with a name that was different from what was in the country’s security databases, the Ministry of Home Affairs ( MHA ) said on Wednesday.
His speech “propagated fundamentalist and segregationist teachings that were harmful and destructive to Singapore’s collective harmony,” MHA said.
On August 9, he preached to migrant workers in Tuas ‘ Lantana Lodge dormitory.
The basic director of the Singapore Bangladesh Society, who did not want to be named, called the affair “upsetting” and told CNA that those coming from their home country are “peace-loving people”.
The non-profit organization’s goal is to promote closer ties between Singaporeans and Bangladeshis.  ,
” They want to do their jobs and at the end of ( the day ) go back to their dormitories. They want to live a quiet life around in Singapore”, he said.
The basic secretary, who has been with the community for 17 years, added that Bangladeshis in Singapore generally do not want to be involved in questionable conversations.  , At the same time, he acknowledged that they may never know what does go wrong.
” Maybe there are 10 people going, so ( they think ) okay I will also follow. They probably do n’t know the consequences”, he added.
The world issued an advisory on Facebook and WhatsApp to its over 700 people on Wednesday evening, warning those who attended the lecture to stay away from” carried away with the information from such careless speakers and end up in trouble here.”
” Those employee boys who had attended Amir Hamzah’s statement should not be carried away and react adversely”, said the world.
They ought to refrain from trying to get involved in any Singaporean activities that might threaten its health and unity.
The advice reads,” All Bangladeshi employees are likewise reminded to abide by the laws of Singapore and not to take into Singapore any problems that are occurring again in Bangladesh or other places,” the expert study.  ,
More than 450 people were killed in the weeks leading up to Sheikh Hasina’s impeachment on August 5 during the protests.
SEUL: South Korean cab driver Park Jeong-soon purchased his electric vehicle ( EV ) about four months ago because he wanted to spend less on fuel.
He now pays about 400,000 won ( US$ 299 ) per month, which is roughly a third of what he used to pay for his previous diesel-powered car, which has the intended effect.
While he is content with the money saved, current EV fires are making him anxious.
” In my house, I charge my car completely in the underwater parking lot, and that makes me nervous”, he told CNA.
A Mercedes-Benz electronic coupe made by China’s Farasis Energy on August 1 caught fire in the underground storage of an house in Incheon, South Korea.
More than 100 vehicles were reportedly damaged in the blaze, which took more than eight hours to destroy. More than 20 persons even suffered smoke inhalation and had to be hospitalised.  ,
According to preliminary investigations, the park lot’s sprinkler ‘ malfunction caused the fire to get worse.  ,
Only days later, a Kia EV6 burned out in a park building in South Chungcheong state, taking more than an hour to set out.
In a report published in February, the Seoul Metropolitan Fire &, Disaster Headquarters said 1, 399 fires occurred in underground parking lots in South Korea between 2013 and 2022 with 43.7 per share attributed to automobiles.  ,
More than half of vehicles fires in underwater garages were caused by electrical sources, according to the report.
Describing the Jokowi-Prabowo ally as “tenuous”, Professor Vedi Hadiz, chairman of the Asia Institute at University of Melbourne, said that once Mr Prabowo assumes the best job, Mr Jokowi’s control will be considerably eroded.
Prof Hadiz, who teaches Eastern reports, explained what might be at job.
” All of the patronage networks that ( Mr Jokowi ) has built potentially could shift to Prabowo’s direction. Therefore, what he needs to do is place as many people as possible in important opportunities to ensure that Prabowo has liquidity on him,” he told CNA’s Asia First.
He noted that Mr. Jokowi was even able to remove the former head of the second-largest social party in the country, Golkar, and replace him with a nationalist.
” He’s obviously positioning himself but that he does not become useless, outdated come October 20, when Prabowo becomes leader”, said Prof Hadiz.
While Mr. Jokowi has typically attracted high ratings of support, a lot of his actions have become” so obvious in its intention of grabbing his power and influence” as he has said, according to Prof. Hadiz.
He added that Indonesians no longer tolerated his previous deeds because of it.
” We have to see whether this explosion of rally is a one-off that, after this particular discussion has passed, whether it builds up into something more regular, where some sort of civil society-based surveillance of the elites can get place”, he said.
However, recent history in Indonesia has revealed that maintaining these things is extremely difficult, largely because the opposition is incredibly fragmented and poorly organized.
The chances of parliament reconvening before that are “virtually zero,” according to Prof. Chin, and registration for regional elections begins on Tuesday ( Aug 27 ).  ,
There is another deterrent for the government, he said: The way the matter has resonated with Indonesia’s fresh.  ,
” If they ( the government ) try to pull a fast one, I suspect nobody is willing to pay the political price”, he said.
While passing the law before Tuesday “does seemed economically and naturally impossible,” Prof. Hadiz claimed that there is a “history of high-level collusion among the social leaders” behind why the protesters in Indonesia have continued to follow what is happening.
” They do n’t trust anything that comes out of the mouth of the leadership, of parliament. So essentially, they’re standing by to make sure that no crawl attempt to hold a conference will take place”, he said.
One should maintain a high standard of personal hygiene and refrain from touching the skin lesions of those infected to prevent the spread of mpox, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Health ( MOH) on Thursday.
Avoid engaging in high-risk behaviors like having various sexual partners or engaging in casual sex.
Additionally, it is advised to refrain from touching exotic animals or consuming bush meat with the government.
According to health officials, someone who has a mpox risk may find medical advice and stay away from other people until they have been thoroughly tested and evaluated.
Mpox vaccines are available, the WHO said, quite as MVA-BN or LC16, or the ACAM2000 vaccination when the others are not available.  ,
The WHO does not advise large vaccination, but only those who are in danger may be taken into account for the vaccinations.
WHO now advises vaccinations for those who have had close connections with a person who has mpox or who belong to a group at high risk of getting the virus.
Signs of mpox may change. These include a rash that may last for two to four weeks, disease, headaches, muscle pains and swollen lymph nodes.
For blisters, it may appear in the form of pimples or sores on places like the face, hands, soles of the feet, or vaginal areas.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are no particular approved mpox treatments right now for the disease.
Supportive treatment and pain relief may assist infected people who have healthy immune systems and no body conditions in their recovery without the need for health care.
The WHO even noted that a dengue care, tecovirimat, was approved by the European Medicines Agency in January 2022 to address mpox under “exceptional conditions”.