Singapore Local News, 2013-03-12

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2 town councils to serve residents in Sembawang & Nee Soon From 1 April, the Sembawang-Nee Soon Town Council will be restructured to form two separate Town Councils......     5 chefs charged with accepting bribes from seafood supplier Five chefs were on Tuesday charged with accepting bribes totalling more than S$250,600 from a seafood supplier...... Review of healthcare financing will involve "fundamental shifts": Health Minister Singapore's Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the review of the country's healthcare financing system will be extensive, involve fundamental shifts, and will take more than a year to complete...... Govt stepping up enforcement efforts against littering, raising cleanliness standards The government is stepping up enforcement and surveillance in public areas, in a bid to deter the recalcitrant minority from littering, and will also raise standards of the cleaning and food industry...... Govt to ramp up infrastructure to create self-sufficient, sustainable environment The government will ramp up infrastructure to cater to create a self-sufficient and sustainable environment, which will be through projects such as the second phase of the Deep Tunnel Sewarage System, and the second desalination plant in Tuas...... Nursing home licensing standards to be enhanced: Dr Khor An enhanced set of nursing home licensing standards will be introduced by 2015...... Ex-teacher promised "moonlighting" ex-coach he would be paid The trial of former chief of the Singapore Table Tennis Association, Choo Wee Khiang, continued on Tuesday......

35,000 to gather to spread message of water conservation As part of World Water Day celebrations, 35,000 people will gather this Saturday at various sites to spread the message of water conservation......     MOH mulls banning point-of-sale display of cigarettes The Health Ministry is looking at the possibility of banning point-of-sale display of tobacco products in stores...... PUB identifies 100 potential sites for ABC Waters programme PUB has identified 100 more sites in Singapore that could potentially be developed in the ABC Waters Programme...... No horsemeat found in meat imports to S'pore: AVA Singapore imports 80 per cent of beef and beef products from Australia, New Zealand and Brazil...... Govt mulls harsher littering penalties The government is considering harsher penalties for litterbugs...... Caterers to submit plans on food safety management from 2014 Come June 2014, new applicants for food catering licences need to submit a Food Safety Management System plan to the National Environment Agency within the first three months of getting their licences...... Govt to raise standards to improve air quality Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced that the government will be enhancing standards to improve air quality in Singapore...... Hawker centres under Stall Ownership Scheme to continue operations The 15 hawker centres under the old Stall Ownership Scheme will continue to operate, after a short period of refurbishment and renovations...... S'pore will be water-independent before agreement expires: Balakrishnan Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore will be water-independent well before the expiry of the country's last water agreement with Malaysia...... Ministry to table bill on mandatory licensing of cleaning companies Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said the ministry is ready to table a bill later this year, to introduce the mandatory licensing of all cleaning companies in 2014...... Researchers working on ways to limit dengue effects: Grace Fu Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu said in Parliament researchers are currently working on ways to potentially limit the effects of less common dengue viruses...... JTC gradually phasing out scheme for housing foreigners: Lee Yi Shyan Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said JTC Corporation has been gradually phasing out the scheme for housing of foreign talent (SHiFT)...... Survey reveals contract work is now more attractive Eight out of 10 workers in Singapore find contract assignments an attractive option given the current global economic environment, according to a new survey by recruiting experts Hays...... New bus service to link Choa Chu Kang to CBD Residents in Choa Chu Kang will soon have a new bus service to the Central Business District (CBD)......