Some Memories

50% more bus tickets for quarantine-free travel between S'pore and JB from Dec 20 One of the designated bus operators, Causeway Link, announced on Tuesday that it will operate 10 more services in each direction between Larkin Sentral in Johor Baru and Queen Street in Singapore. The increased frequency will kick in from Dec 20. The operator currently operates 16 services in each direction daily. Tickets have been available for purchase at the operator's website since 8am on Wednesday. A spokesman for Causeway Link, which is also known as Handal Indah, told The Straits Times that its quota for tickets for land VTL travellers has been increased by 50 per cent. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/50-more-bus-tickets-for-quarantine-free-travel-between-spore-and-jb-from-dec-20

S'pore sets up Vaccinated Travel Lanes with 9 more countries: What's the Covid-19 situation there? On Saturday, Transport Minister S Iswaran said vaccinated travellers will also be able to fly to Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain and the United States from Oct 19 And South Korea too slightly later.  https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-sets-up-vaccinated-travel-lanes-with-9-more-countries-covid-19-situation-there

Employment, economic sectors to enjoy several relaxations of regulations from Friday (Sept 17), says PM

Inspiring

Youth praised by PM Lee for helping the homeless slept on the streets when she was a teenager SINGAPORE - When undergraduate Roslina Toh read about Malaysians working in Singapore who were stranded after the Malaysian border was closed to stem the spread of Covid-19 in March last year, she decided to help at once. She led a team of about 200 volunteers from various churches, and for more than a month, they spent almost every night looking for people who were sleeping rough and wanted a refuge. The Home Away from Home initiative took those who wanted a temporary roof over their heads to Transit Point @ Margaret Drive, a shelter for the homeless run by New Hope Community Services, and offered food and sleeping bags to those who preferred to rough it out on the streets. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/youth-praised-by-pm-lee-for-helping-the-homeless-once-slept-on-the-streets-when

Good advice! "The problem is in this day and age is you're not going to die sooner; you're going to be stuck with 10 or 20 years of chronic disease as modern medicine keeps you alive." Their advice:  Pay attention to your health and  change your lifestyle  if it's making you unwell, otherwise the incredible burden of chronic disease will make your life miserable. https://www.today.com/today/amp/tdna118918

For example - Online marketing, graphic designs, video production Pandemic-hit tourism, lifestyle firms in Singapore still hiring for in-demand digital skills Among the 18 new CCPs is the CCP for Digital Marketing Tourism Professionals, to be launched in September. This is an enhanced version of the Digital Marketing Place-and-Train Programme launched in March 2020 by WSG and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). To meet increased demand for digital marketing skills, the upcoming CCP includes new modules such as optimising sales conversion techniques and maintaining after-sales customer relationships through digital channels. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/pandemic-hit-tourism-lifestyle-firms-in-singapore-still-hiring-for-in-demand

Restaurant chefs turn to running hawker stalls in S'pore amid Covid-19 pandemic Qing Feng Yuan Where:  02-49 Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre, 30 Seng Poh Road Open:  9am to 5pm (Tuesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/restaurant-chefs-turn-to-running-hawker-stalls-in-spore-amid-covid-19-pandemic

End-of-life care needs a reset. Here is how it can be done Organisations such as hospices are recognising the issues and working with designers to create more holistic solutions. Our design team at The Care Lab is working with registered charity HCA Hospice Care (Singapore's largest home hospice care provider), the Lien Foundation and Lekker Architects to create a new day hospice model in Singapore called  Oasis@Outram , which will serve patients with life-limiting illnesses. Besides  Oasis@Outram , I was involved in co-creating the service blueprint working with three inpatient hospices in Singapore: St Joseph's Home, Dover Park Hospice and Assisi Hospice. The concept of an "open hospice" was a key component of the design strategy, where we broke down the walls and engaged with the local community to shift negative perceptions. https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/end-of-life-care-needs-a-reset-here-is-how-it-can-be-done

Inspired. https://youtu.be/hKF0fS-PIf4

About 71,600 in S'pore have psychotic disorders, says study Psychotic disorders may involve one or more of the following: - Delusions, which are the fixed belief in something that is not true. - Hallucinations, which are sensations that are not real, such as seeing things that are not there. - Disorganised thoughts, making a person's speech difficult to follow with no logical connection. - Abnormal motor behaviour, which includes inappropriate or bizarre postures, or a complete lack of response to instructions. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/over-71600-in-singapore-have-psychotic-disorders-says-study

Bill and Melinda Gates to divorce after 27 years of marriage WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) - Bill and Melinda Gates, two of the most influential philanthropists in the world, said on Monday (May 3) that they are divorcing after 27 years of marriage. "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the two said in a statement posted on Twitter. "We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives." "We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life," their statement said. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/bill-gates-and-melinda-gates-say-have-made-decision-to-end-their-marriage

Episode 8: Community in Nomadland - Meetup Blog BW: Well, it was pure selfishness and what motivated me initially is I needed a place to live. I was going through a divorce and I couldn't afford to run two households all of a sudden. I had been a camper and a backpacker all my life. I knew how to camp and I thought, "Well, I'm good at camping, aren't I? That's the cheapest way I know to live." I drove to work every day past a car lot that had a van for sale, an old beat-up box van. I said, "I can live in that really comfortably." I bought it and moved in and that's how I was introduced to living in a van.  https://www.meetup.com/blog/episode-8-community-in-nomadland/

Phase one of Putrajaya MRT line almost complete, operations scheduled to start in August There are 12 stations in phase one of the project, with three stations migrated from the Kajang MRT line and the journey from the Kwasa Damansara Station to the Kampung Batu Station is 24 minutes. The remainder of the MRT Putrajaya line from Kampung Batu to Putrajaya Sentral is scheduled to open under Phase Two in January 2023 and the construction progress of the whole line is at 87%. The Putrajaya line is the second line of the Klang Valley MRT project. The first line was the Kajang line, which started operations in July 2017. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/04/03/phase-one-of-putrajaya-mrt-line-almost-complete-operations-scheduled-to-start-in-august

Hope can try them of of the days! 8 S'pore restaurants make it to Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list SINGAPORE - Eight Singapore restaurants have made it to this year's list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, up from six last year. However, French restaurant Odette at the National Gallery Singapore fell from its top spot to No. 2. Sitting atop the list is Hong Kong restaurant The Chairman, which held the No. 2 ranking last year. This marks the first time a Hong Kong restaurant has claimed the top spot. The other Singapore restaurants on the list are Les Amis (No. 13), Burnt Ends (No. 14), Zen (No. 23), Cloudstreet (No. 31), Labyrinth (No. 40), Euphoria (No. 41) and Jaan by Kirk Westaway (No. 42). Dropping out is Corner House, which was at No. 42 last year. https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/8-spore-restaurants-make-it-to-asias-50-best-restaurants-list

May she RIP. 'Heaven had blessed me abundantly': S'porean woman leaves over $1m to Africa's poor kids SINGAPORE - Ms Doris Chua Kheng Geck was a planner and her obituary, which she had paid for herself, was prepared months before her death on March 20. She even wrote it as a farewell message to her loved ones, telling them as they were reading it that she was already on her way to enjoying paradise. She also apologised for her sudden departure and thanked family and friends for their love and kindness, writing: "Heaven had indeed blessed me abundantly with many good things in life and I felt extremely fulfilled." https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/tutor-left-over-1m-to-africas-poor-kids

IN FOCUS: No roaming cattle but with high-tech labs, could Singapore be a 'meat' exporter? It boils down to several reasons: Singapore's intellectual property laws, skilled talent pool, accessibility to a multicultural palate, geographical proximity to agriculture exporters in Southeast Asia, as well as policymakers' support for the food technology industry. Singapore authorities recently granted the world's first regulatory approval for cellular meat. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/alternative-proteins-plant-based-singapore-companies-in-focus-13986682  

Restaurants tell The Straits Times they have been told that diners have to keep their masks on during the lohei. These can only be removed when eating or drinking. Diners are also not allowed to shout the auspicious phrases during lohei. https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/masks-and-gloves-on-and-no-shouting-please-quieter-lohei-to-welcome-year-of-the-ox

Covid-19 response was a global series of failures, says WHO panel The interim report, an early blueprint for reform, describes the faulty assumptions, ineffective planning and sluggish responses – including missteps by the WHO itself – that helped fuel a pandemic that has killed more than two million people.   "We have failed in our collective capacity to come together in solidarity to create a protective web of human security," the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response writes. Many of the failings, such as the inability of governments to obtain protective equipment or do widespread contact tracing, have long been painfully clear over the course of the pandemic. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/who-china-could-have-acted-faster-on-covid-19-pandemic-experts

https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/558704

MCO standard operating procedures (SOPs): The dos and don'ts 13 to 26 Jan 2021 https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/01/12/mco-standard-operating-procedures-sops-the-dos-and-don039ts

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-extends-recovery-movement-control-order-to-mar-31

https://www.klook.com/en-MY/blog/malaysia-pkpp/

KL-Singapore HSR project terminated after agreement lapses, both countries to proceed with 'necessary actions' In September 2018, both sides agreed to postpone the construction of the HSR until end-May this year. Malaysia had to pay Singapore S$15 million for costs incurred in suspending the project. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/malaysia-singapore-high-speed-rail-discontinued-13799618