Singapore Local News, 2011-12-26

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Retailers begin post-Christmas sales Malls and retailers in Singapore kicked off their post-Christmas sales on Monday, with many offering storewide discounts of up to 20 per cent. With the Lunar New Year less than a month away, shoppers took advantage of the special........     Singapore's education plans in the years ahead Minister of State for Education Lawrence Wong has given the assurance that publicly-funded universities will continue to play a core role in Singapore's higher-education sector. That means most university places will be publicly........ More Singaporeans using smartphones to shop online More Singaporeans are using their smartphones to shop online. Figures from online payment service provider, PayPal show that this year alone, the number of Singaporeans shopping via their mobile phones jumped nine times...... Second-time flat buyers priority in 2012? With the backlog of first-time buyers of HDB flats largely cleared, Singapore's Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan has set his sights on helping second-timers get their homes faster in the new year. Experts said this........

A baking dream come true for these girls ... Fifteen-year-old Syafiqa has always dreamed of being able to bake but could not do so because she stays in a girls' home and her family does not own an oven. But this year, she got her wish through Project Christmas Dreamcakes,........     TTSH first to perform robotic gastrectomy in SE Asia A more precise surgery method is now available to those suffering from stomach cancer. Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has become the first in Southeast Asia to perform the robotic gastrectomy procedure...... More buying gold in S'pore Demand for gold, a perennial hedge against inflation, is on the rise again...... Changi Airport sees 16% growth in retail sales More cash registers are ringing at Singapore's Changi Airport. From January to October this year, the airport posted a year-on-year growth of 16 per cent from retail sales...... More S'poreans using smartphones to shop online More Singaporeans are using their smartphones to shop online...... 2nd-time flat buyers priority in 2012? With the backlog of first-time buyers of HDB flats largely cleared, Singapore's Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan has set his sights on helping second-timers get their homes faster in the new year...... Singapore's education plans in the years ahead Minister of State for Education Lawrence Wong has given the assurance that publicly-funded universities will continue to play a core role in Singapore's higher-education sector...... SG Cares looking for volunteers Every Monday and Friday, a group of senior citizens will gather for a game of bingo at Friends@St Hilda's Link, a community services centre. The top prize may be just a box of cereal or a packet of tissues, but it is enough to keep the old folks happ..... More hospital patients seeking speech therapy Hospitals here have been seeing more patients seeking speech therapy...... More people with disabilities going for IT training More people with disabilities are undergoing an IT Apprenticeship Programme at the Infocomm Accessibility Centre, to better prepare themselves for real work environments...... Retailers begin post-Xmas sales Malls and retailers in Singapore kicked off their post-Christmas sales on Monday, with many offering storewide discounts of up to 20 per cent...... Police looking for missing man Police are appealing for information on a 34-year-old man who was last seen at Ghim Moh Food Centre at Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road last Friday morning (December 23)...... Mixed reactions on family medicine clinics Some general practitioners have expressed concern about possible competition from family medicine clinics......