Indonesian jailed for 2002 Bali bombings starts coffee business
(Thumbnail photos: File/AFP, Reuters)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
16 hours ago
- CNA
Some two-room BTO flats to be set aside for first-time singles who want to live near parents
SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Sunday (Jul 20) announced the quota for Build-to-Order (BTO) two-room flats that will be set aside for first-time singles who are applying for a flat near their parents. The new Family Care Scheme (FCS), which was first announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in the National Day Rally last year, comprises two components: FCS (Proximity) and FCS (Joint Balloting). PROXIMITY FCS (Proximity) allows parents and their children, regardless of marital status, priority access if they are applying for a new flat to live with or near each other. This will be rolled out in the July BTO exercise. Currently, up to 65 per cent of two-room flexi BTO flats and up to 5 per cent of Sale of Balance flats (SBF) are set aside for first-timer singles, after allocating flats to seniors. Within these quotas, 30 per cent of BTO flats and 2 per cent of SBF flats will be set aside for first-time singles applying under FCS (Proximity). This applies to Standard and Plus flats. For Prime flats, the percentages drop to 20 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. The remaining quota will be for other first-time singles. Married couples and seniors currently have priority access under the Married Child Priority Scheme and Senior Priority Scheme when applying for new flats to live with or near their parents or married children. FCS (Proximity) will replace both of these schemes, with no change to the priority access for married couples and seniors. JOINT BALLOTING FCS (Joint Balloting) allows parents and their children, regardless of marital status, to jointly apply for two units in the same BTO project, where there are two-room flexi or three-room flats in the same project. This will start in the October BTO exercise, HDB said on Sunday. It will replace the Multi-Generation Priority Scheme for married children and parents to live near each other in the same BTO project. CHANGES FROM JULY Other changes that will start from the July BTO exercise have been announced previously. This includes HDB increasing the allocation quota of three-room and larger BTO flats for second-timer families by 5 percentage points. The revised proportion of BTO flats set aside for second-timer families: Up to 20 per cent of three-room Standard flats Up to 10 per cent of three-room plus and prime flats, and four-room and larger standard, plus and prime flats At least 80 per cent to 90 per cent of three-room and larger flats will continue to be set aside for first-time families. Changes to the Deferred Income Assessment (DIA) scheme and the Fresh Start Housing Grant for eligible second-time families will also take effect from the July BTO exercise. The DIA scheme allows eligible couples to apply for a new flat and delay their income assessment for housing grants or loans until just before they collect their keys. This will be expanded such that only one party in a couple needs to be a full-time student or national serviceman to be eligible. Previously, both parties needed to meet this requirement. The Fresh Start Housing Grant will be increased from S$50,000 to S$75,000 to support more second-timer public rental households with children to own homes. These families can use the increased grant to buy a new two-room flexi or three-room Standard BTO, or SBF flat, on a shorter lease.
Independent Singapore
16 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
‘Why did HR withdraw my job offer after 'indicating' I got the job?' — Jobseeker asks after being put through 5 months of job interview process
SINGAPORE: After enduring five grueling months of a job interview process, document submissions, and hopeful anticipation, a job seeker thought he had finally reached the career finish line. The HR department even dangled an indicative job offer in front of him. But all of a sudden, they decided to pull the rug out from under him — the offer was suddenly withdrawn. Gary, the job seeker still reeling from this twist of fate, wrote back after his previous dilemma about 'Why did HR ghost me after my job interview?' to CNA's Work It podcast for answers. This time, his question had a darker twist: 'Why did HR withdraw my job offer after 'indicating' I got the job?' From green light to red alert Tiffany, the podcast host, explained Gary's situation: 'He got past the interview, submitted documents for background screening, and then he was given an indicative job offer. Senior management approval was sought, and then… suddenly, the indicative offer was withdrawn.' Five months of effort — poof! All gone in the blink of an eye… So understandably, Gary was crushed and wanted to know what went wrong. Gerald, the career coach, always the voice of career wisdom, acknowledged Gary's frustration: 'Going through five months almost at the finish line but not getting it, it really doesn't feel good,' he said. 'Gary, if you're listening, I hope you didn't quit your job.' Possible reasons HR pulled the offer Gerald laid out several plausible (and painfully common) scenarios: Reference check failure: 'Maybe the reference check didn't work in his favour, and then they decided not to proceed.' Budget cuts: 'Maybe the company might have felt that they don't need this person.' Hiring freeze or restructuring: Internal shifts could cause sudden U-turns in hiring plans. Tiffany also added that, 'Many things could have changed within the five months.' Gerald agreed: 'There could be a hiring freeze, and so all of these would affect the indicative offer being taken away.' What even is an 'indicative job offer' anyway? Tiffany posed the burning question: 'Why would companies give an indicative job offer without actually being sure in the first place?' Gerald's answer: 'They want to give you the indicative offer so that you're kind of prepared, primed to accept it later on. So you start to think about your plans—how to exit from your current role.' Basically, an indicative offer is the corporate version of 'We're pretty sure we want to date you… unless something better comes up or our parents say no.' Could Gary have done anything differently? Sadly, Gerald says the answer is not really. Indicative offers are usually verbal and rarely put in writing. However, he offered one practical tip for all job seekers: 'If the reference check was the issue… prepare your referees. Contact them and tell them someone's going to be calling. [Tell them] 'Maybe you could say something for me'.' See also 4 in 10 young women do not foresee themselves getting married Otherwise, as Tiffany hinted, 'they [referees] score [their] own goal for you.' Key takeaway: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst Gary's situation is, in Gerald's words, 'very unfortunate' — but not entirely uncommon. And while there's no foolproof way to protect yourself from these scenarios, being proactive, especially when it comes to reference checks, can help smooth the path. Tiffany also offered Gary (and every jobseeker out there) a hopeful send-off: 'We hope that things will look up for you. And we hope that in the future, companies don't do that to you.' Read related: 'Why did HR ghost me after my job interview?' — Jobseeker asks and gets advice from career coach, who also advises HR to stop ghosting interviewees
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
SAF and MINDEF units part of Singapore's response to ongoing cyberattack: Chan Chun Sing
SINGAPORE: Units in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) have been responding to the ongoing cyberattack by an alleged China-linked threat actor on Singapore's critical infrastructure, said Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing on Saturday (Jul 19). These select units will work with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in a whole-of-government effort to manage the incident, he added. Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam first revealed on Friday that Singapore was actively dealing with the "highly sophisticated' UNC3886 group, which he said posed a serious danger to Singapore and could undermine national security. UNC3886 has been described by Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant as a "China-nexus espionage group" that has targeted prominent strategic organisations on a global scale. On Saturday, Mr Chan was one of three Cabinet ministers to address the attack. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said in a Facebook post that Singaporeans should be aware about the ongoing cyberspace threats the country faces, and that there was "never a perfect time" to disclose such incidents. "We always have to strike a fine balance between maintaining operational security and raising public awareness, especially while live operations are ongoing," she added. "Imagine if threat actors succeeded in taking down any of our critical systems, such as water, power or telco networks. The knock-on effects could be devastating." On the sidelines of a community event in Chong Pang on Saturday, Mr Shanmugam was also asked why the Singapore government decided to name the attackers. He said Singaporeans ought to know where the attack was coming from, and that attackers have been named in the past. "The number of incidents we disclose are far smaller than the actual number of attacks, and we don't disclose because of national security or public interest reasons," he added. "This time round, our assessment was that we can disclose those details. I released very little, very few details ... we have confidence as to who the attacker was. So we thought that that is appropriate to disclose." When asked about UNC3886's alleged links to China and possible retaliation for naming them, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said this was "speculative". "Who they are linked to and how they operate is not something I want to go into," he said. CHINESE EMBASSY RESPONDS On Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Singapore noted that Singapore media outlets had cited "so-called information from a certain country's cybersecurity company" and claimed UNC3886's link to China. The Chinese government expresses "strong dissatisfaction" over the claim and opposes any "groundless smears and accusations", the embassy said in a statement. "The embassy would like to reiterate that China is firmly against and cracks down (on) all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with law. China does not encourage, support or condone hacking activities," it added. "Keeping the cyberspace safe is a global challenge and China stands ready to work with Singapore and the rest of the world to jointly protect cybersecurity." OPERATIONAL READINESS Mr Chan on Saturday described the cyberattacks as an example of the type of emerging threats that the SAF and MINDEF have had to handle. Speaking to journalists during a visit to Selarang Camp, Mr Chan also addressed the importance of readiness among operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen). Countries can buy machines if they have money, but the "most critical" component of Singapore's defence is the "fighting spirit" of its men, he said. "To see the men being prepared, spend time and effort to maintain their fitness, to maintain their operational currency - that to us is the greatest deterrence that we can have," said the Defence Minister. He pointed to new operational challenges, including the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, that Singapore is learning lessons from. "Many of these things we would have anticipated prior, and we will be ready. We can't be starting our preparations after we see what people do," said Mr Chan.
