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THE BIG STORY
Supply of BTO flats to go up by 35% over next 2 years
The supply of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be ramped up over the next two years to meet the strong demand for public housing and keep prices in check. Up to 23,000 flats will be launched each year in 2022 and 2023 - a 35 per cent jump from the 17,000 flats launched this year. More private housing will also be made available.
Australia is set to restore its migration intake to pre-pandemic levels as it faces a drastic lack of workers that is threatening its soaring post-lockdown recovery. As the country this week reopened its borders to skilled workers and international students, the federal government flagged plans to accept 160,000 migrants a year.
There will be more frequent and more bus services plying the Singapore-Johor Baru route from Monday. This is when the expanded Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme kicks in and vaccinated Singapore citizens can enter Malaysia via the Causeway, and vice versa. The number of tickets sold by the two designated bus operators for quarantine-free travel will be increased by 50 per cent.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong thanked Singapore's international community for its contributions to the country's economy and society. He was speaking in a video clip screened at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) - one of Singapore's first international schools.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, with offices shuttered and dine-in restrictions, many hawkers' business suffered. Associate editor Chua Mui Hoong looks inside the Alliance for Action - Online Ordering for Hawkers, where business competitors, hawker groups and government agencies try to find common solutions.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has converted some existing orders for passenger planes into orders for a new freighter fleet, part of efforts to manage costs amid the Covid-19 pandemic. It has signed a letter of intent with Airbus to buy seven freighter planes, with options to order another five; the deal includes a swop.
