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THE BIG STORY
Property agencies vie for agents as market hots up
The hot property market has sparked a recruitment war between real estate agencies that has reached fever pitch. Agencies are offering hefty cash incentives for agents to sign on with them, as well as training and technology subsidies and penalty support schemes to reimburse agents who incur fees for changing firms.
Australia yesterday defended its scrapping of a deal for French submarines, saying it had raised concerns to Paris for months. It said last week it plans to build at least eight nuclear-powered ones with US and British technology instead, in a new deal that is fuelling a multinational diplomatic crisis.
THE BIG STORY
Debate over whether Covid-19 booster shots are needed
Some countries, including Singapore, Israel, Germany and France, have started administering an additional dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to the elderly and the immunocompromised, as studies show waning immunity over time. The move has sparked debate over whether the boosters are truly necessary, and if doing so is ethical and equitable.
Counsellors in Singapore are facing burnout and high demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic as more individuals seek therapy to cope with mental health concerns and stress related to employment. Representatives from five firms here said the number of new cases had spiked by an average of 20 per cent from pre-pandemic years.
While some Singapore team sports are aiming to return to normality, athletes from others like basketball, netball and hockey are enduring a stressful and frustrating time, restricted to small group training and hampered by the lack of competitions. Often they have to focus on improving technical skills and individual fitness.
Several firms in the local start-up scene have landed fresh funds from investors in recent months. Firms in the healthcare and medical fields are among those in the limelight, such as telehealth provider Doctor Anywhere, which raised $88 million, and health services start-up Homage, which raised $40.3 million.
