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THE BIG STORY
Upgrading works slated for 56,000 HDB flats
More homes will be improved with new features as well as elderly friendly fittings, with a second batch of about 230,000 Housing Board flats eligible for the Home Improvement Programme. These flats were built between 1987 and 1997. Upgrading works are set to start first for about 56,000 units from this group, HDB said.
THE BIG STORY
Boosting battered aviation sector
The Government has provided much-needed clarity for Singapore's battered aviation sector. However, reopening to all vaccinated travellers will not be a silver bullet that will restore air travel to pre-pandemic levels. But it will help the sector take flight from the runway that has been laid by vaccinated travel lanes.
Hong Kong is in "all-out combat" to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases, the city's No. 2 official said, with the ramping up of community isolation and treatment units. Scenes of people lying outside public hospitals in the rain and chilly weather have shocked many in the global financial hub, leading to an apology from the authorities.
Masseurs and food servers from the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) are back at work after a two-year disruption due to the pandemic. Besides bringing back its signature Dining in the Dark and massage programmes, SAVH said it is also looking into setting up a pop-up cafe and thrift and gift shop.
The fast expanding start-up economy in Singapore is becoming more enriched. While a host of venture capital firms have flocked to the Republic to invest, some multinationals - such as Royal Dutch Shell and Oracle Corp - are also pitching in, boosting the chances of finding the next unicorn.
Norway, with a population of just over five million, has finished atop the Winter Olympics medal tally again. At the Beijing Games, which ended yesterday, Norway bagged a record 16 gold medals - four more than second-placed Germany. Eleven of its Olympians, including skier Therese Johaug, won more than one medal.
