Singapore Local News, 2012-04-13

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Names for Tuas West Extension MRT stations finalised The names for four Tuas West Extension MRT stations have been approved by the Street and Building Names Board (SBNB), the Land Transport Authority said. The names are Gul Circle, Tuas Crescent, Tuas West Road, and Tuas Link......     Wage restructuring suggestion 'too risky': Lim Swee Say National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Lim Swee Say felt local economist Lim Chong Yah's suggestions for a wage restructuring was 'too risky'. Professor Lim, who helmed the National Wage Council from 1971 to 2001,........ MediaCorp Publishing magazines are advertisers' top 3 choices Magazines under MediaCorp Publishing have been voted as advertisers' choice of magazines in an annual magazines ranking survey. 8 DAYS clinched the "Entertainment & Lifestyle Magazine of the Year" while i-weekly was voted "Chinese........ Singapore, UK sign MOU to raise private education standards Singapore and the United Kingdom will work together to raise standards in private education in both countries. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to do so was signed today by the Council for Private Education (CPE) Singapore and........ Singapore retail sales surged in February Singapore retail sales in February jumped 19 per cent on-year, compared to a revised 1.8 per cent increase in January. Excluding motor vehicles, sales increased 7.7 per cent on-year, according to data from the Department of........ Accountant fined for under reporting income A certified public accountant has to pay a total of S$55,760.98 in penalties and fines for under-reporting his income. 66-year-old Freddie Chin Kek Khiong was in the business of book-keeping, auditing and tax services...... New Settling-In Programme for foreign domestic workers All first-time foreign domestic workers (FDWs) will have to attend a one-day Settling-In Programme (SIP) from May 1 this year. The SIP will replace the English Entry Test for FDWs and aims to better orientate and equip FDWs with........ Age limit for taxi drivers raised Taxi drivers will be able to drive their taxis till they are 75 years old when the revised age limit takes effect from June 1 this year. This was announced by the Land Transport Authority today after a review of the current age........ Singapore economy grows faster than expected Singapore's economic growth accelerated faster than expected in the first quarter of 2012.Advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed the economy grew by 9.9 per cent in the three months to March 2012,........

'Be mindful' of wage increase without increase in productivity The Republic must be careful about raising wages without a corresponding increase in productivity, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said yesterday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event,........     Wage proposal by ex-NWC chief poses future risks: Lim Swee Say The labour movement has weighed in on ex-NWC chief Professor Lim Chong Yah's radical wage restructuring suggestion, saying that it poses risks in the future...... St Hilda's Secondary School opens new activity centre St Hilda's Secondary School marked the completion of its School Activity Centre (SAC) with an official opening ceremony on Friday...... 78 arrested, over S$360k worth of drugs seized by CNB over five days The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has arrested 78 suspected drug offenders and seized more than S$360,000 worth of drugs, including 2.16 kg of heroin and 230 grammes of 'ice'...... Man jailed for insulting modesty of stepdaughter A 30-year-old man was jailed one month on Friday for filming his then 13-year-old stepdaughter changing her clothes...... N.Korea rocket launch regrettable: MFA Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that it was regrettable that North Korea decided to proceed with the rocket launch...... S'pore, British PMs discuss ways to strengthen cooperation The leaders of Singapore and the United Kingdom have expressed satisfaction with their countries' longstanding bilateral relations...... Vivian Balakrishnan to attend energy forums in Tokyo and Italy Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, will be attending the East Asia Low Carbon Growth Partnership Dialogue in Tokyo, Japan, from April 14 to 15, 2012...... Defence Minister observes HQ 3 Div Command Post Exercise Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen had a first hand look at how the Headquarters 3rd Singapore Division (HQ 3 Div) of the Singapore Armed Forces plans, monitors and commands a battle in real-time on Friday...... Names for Tuas West Extension MRT stations finalised The names for four Tuas West Extension MRT stations have been approved by the Street and Building Names Board (SBNB), the Land Transport Authority said...... SMRT adds more wheelchair accessible bus services Four more SMRT bus service routes will have wheelchair accessible bus (WAB) services from April 29...... Singapore, UK sign MOU to raise private education standards Singapore and the United Kingdom will work together to raise standards in private education in both countries...... Former bank staff fined for unauthorised access to bank account A former United Overseas Bank Limited employee has been fined S$25,200 for accessing the bank's database without authorisation...... Accountant fined for under reporting income A certified public accountant has to pay a total of about S$55,760 in penalties and fines for under-reporting his income...... New Settling-In Programme for foreign domestic workers All first-time foreign domestic workers (FDWs) will have to attend a one-day Settling-In Programme (SIP) from May 1, 2012...... Age limit for taxi drivers raised The Land Transport Authority will raise the age limit for taxi drivers from 73 to 75 years old this June. This follows a review of the current age limit following feedback from the National Taxi Association and taxi drivers......