The national interest

SINGAPORE: It’s National Day and you don’t have that coveted ticket to the parade, nor did you book a trip overseas for the long weekend. The silver lining this bicentennial year is that the National Day Parade (NDP) is coming to you and you don’t need a ticket for many of the NDP-related festivities planned. Here’s how you can join the patriotic celebrations coming up for the long weekend: WHEEEE! FIREWORKS Who doesn’t love a good fireworks display? For the first time, they will be lighting up the sky at the Singapore River. The 5-minute show, beginning at about 8pm, celebrates the spot where many Singaporeans’ ancestors landed to start new lives. READ: Fireworks to be set off at Singapore River for the first time There will also be 4-minute fireworks displays on Aug 10 in five neighbourhoods: Bishan, Geylang Serai, Jurong East, Punggol and Woodlands. IT’S RAINING TANKS Well, it’s not just tanks, there will also be Terrexes, artillery rocket … [Read more...] about NDP 2019: How to catch some National Day action other than at the Padang

SINGAPORE: Mediacorp will broadcast a host of National Day content in August, including the parade at the Padang, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally and a special concert at Gardens by the Bay. Watch the National Day Rally livestream here on Sunday, Aug 18 On Aug 8, Mr Lee's National Day message will be broadcast across Mediacorp's free-to-air channels, radio stations and digital platform Toggle. The message will be delivered by the Prime Minister in English. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will speak in Mandarin, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli will speak in Malay, while the message in Tamil will be delivered by Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran. The broadcast schedule is as follows: NATIONAL DAY PARADE The National Day Parade 2019 will be shown live on Aug 9 across multiple platforms. TV and radio: There will be live captions on Channel 5. For Toggle viewers, this can be … [Read more...] about Catch National Day message, parade and rally across Mediacorp’s multiple platforms

As he pulled on an England shirt again Kyle Sinckler stopped to think who he was about to represent. A nation in lockdown, looking for a reason to be cheerful on yet another blank weekend. Kids, like his twin brother and sister, climbing the walls at home, unable to go to school or take part in any sort of sport. He then went out and delivered a man of the match display which led Eddie Jones to liken him to a tiger. “Eddie made the point in our team talk beforehand that 8.7 million people watched our game against Scotland,” said the Bristol prop. “You can only imagine how many of them are kids that look up to us as players. “My little brother and sister play football, rugby, tennis and at the moment they are just stuck at home. We wanted to put smiles on faces.” Sinckler’s performance on his first game back from suspension was emblematic of this England victory. It was about taking responsibility for past failings and showing lessons had been learned. In England’s case … [Read more...] about Kyle Sinckler earns his stripes on redemption day for him and England in Six Nations

SINGAPORE: There was no fraud involved in the waivers of contractual provisions, which amounted to S$13 million, for the National Gallery development project, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu in Parliament on Monday (Aug 5). She was responding to a question from Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Png Eng Huat, who had asked why the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) concluded in its annual audit report that “it may be too late to recover the overpayment of S$13 million” from the contractor of the project. In her response, Ms Fu reiterated that the S$13 million refers primarily to “waivers of penalties for additional time taken by the contractor to complete construction works”, and was not an overpayment. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) has reviewed the AGO’s findings and "is satisfied that there was no fraud involved" in the waivers, she said. Last month, the AGO released its audit of government accounts for the financial … [Read more...] about ‘No fraud involved’ in S$13m waivers of contractual provisions for National Gallery project: Grace Fu

The National Museum of Singapore has launched a Quiet Room on Aug 1. This dedicated space is suitable for children who might experience sensory or social overstimulation, in particular children on the autism spectrum who may need a calmer environment. The 25 sq m room is supported by BNP Paribas Singapore and is designed to be “dream-like”. It can fit eight individuals, both children and adults, at a time. The neutral, modular space offers soft, even lighting with changeable colour settings that caregivers can toggle to suit the child’s preferences. There are geometric-shaped cushions that a child can hug for soothing purposes, and a padded inner chamber designed to resemble a womb for visitors to rest and self-regulate. The National Museum has been piloting initiatives to enhance accessibility and inclusiveness for visitors with special needs since 2016, including opening an hour earlier to accommodate visits by Special Education schools to allow a quieter setting for the … [Read more...] about National Museum of Singapore opens a Quiet Room for children with special needs