Singapore Local News, 2012-04-30

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Istana opens to public tomorrow In conjuction with Labour Day, the Istana grounds will be open to the public from 8.30am to 6pm tomorrow, May 1. Planned activities for the open house include performances by The River Valley High School Concert Band and Fu Chun........     Raising productivity only way to sustain better wages, says PM Lee Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made another urgent call to raise productivity as the country faces domestic constraints. He said that's the only way to sustain better wages. In his May Day message, Mr Lee said........ Raffles Medical posts S$11.7m net profit in Q1 Raffles Medical Group booked a net profit of S$11.7 million in the first quarter of this year, up 10.5 per cent on-year. In a filing on the Singapore Exchange, Raffles Medical said the increase was due to better operating........ MAS sticks to 1%-3% growth forecast for 2012 The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is sticking to its projection that Singapore's economic growth for the rest of the year will moderate, after the surprise rebound in the first three months of the year. Singapore's........ Residential site at Boon Lay Way up for sale The Urban Redevelopment Authority launched the residential site at Boon Lay Way (Jurong Gateway) for sale by public tender today. URA said the land parcel was made available for sale through the Reserve List system on December 22........ LTA revises ERP rates at 6 gantries Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges at certain gantries along the Central Expressway (CTE) and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) will be adjusted from May 7. Motorists using the southbound CTE before Braddell Road between 9am and 11am........ SUTD welcomes first batch of students The Singapore University of Technology and Design will welcome its first batch of students come May 8, when classes begin. The SUTD received close to 4,150 applicants from junior colleges, polytechnics, and schools offering the........ Singapore's jobless rate rises to 2.1% in March Fewer jobs were created in the first quarter of this year, with about 27,400 new jobs added. The increase was lower than the 28,300 new jobs in the first quarter of last year and the seasonal high of 37,600 in the fourth quarter of........

More than '10,000 residents have joined Community Games so far' The ongoing Community Games, which aims to bring sports into the heartlands, has drawn more than 10,000 participants so far. Seven of the 10 sports are under way and organisers expect the number of residents taking part to reach 13,000 to........     Latvia's Foreign Minister in S'pore for official visit Latvia's Foreign Affairs Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs will make an official visit to Singapore from April 30 to May 2 at the invitation of Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam...... Help will be given to those unemployed: Tan Chuan-Jin Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin said employment growth will not be uniform across all sectors and industries...... St Luke's Hospital to get more beds Bed capacity will increase by about 25 per cent, following the construction of a seven-storey wing and redevelopment of its existing wards at St Luke's Hospital...... Istana open house on Labour Day The Istana grounds will be open to the public on Labour Day...... Enclosure built in Ang Mo Kio to manage stray dogs A dog enclosure is being built at Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West to manage the nuisance of strays...... Raising productivity only way to sustain better wages, says PM Lee Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made another urgent call to raise productivity as the country faces domestic constraints...... Worker falls to death in Yishun A worker fell to his death at a block undergoing lift upgrading in Yishun Ring Road on Monday afternoon...... More clinics to offer free Pap smear screening in May The Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) has widened its network to provide free Pap smear screening islandwide in May...... Gardens by the Bay to unveil two new attractions Two new permanent attractions will be added to Gardens by the Bay, which will open on 29 June...... LTA revises ERP rates at 6 gantries Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges at certain gantries along the Central Expressway (CTE) and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) will be adjusted from 7 May...... SUTD takes in pioneer batch of 340 students Three-hundred-and-forty applicants have been enrolled as the pioneer batch in the new Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)...... Scientists find new developments to treat heart diseases Scientists at Singapore's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) have made a discovery that could lead to the development of new treatments for heart diseases...... Singapore's jobless rate rises to 2.1% in March Fewer jobs were created in the first quarter of the year, but the Ministry of Manpower said the domestic job market remains "fairly strong"......