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In response to queries from The Straits Times, Mindef said: \\"Mr Benjamin Davis is a NS defaulter. He failed to report for NS as required. He is also staying overseas without a valid Exit Permit. TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE You have reached one of our Premium stories. To continue reading, get access now or log in if you are a subscriber. Wh","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550485084,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/yq-bend-18022019.jpg?itok=LRBZj5mP","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367635,"index":1,"title":"Singapore Budget 2019: Smaller duty-free alcohol allowance and GST relief for overseas shopping","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2019-smaller-duty-free-alcohol-allowance-and-gst-relief-for-overseas","description":"SINGAPORE - From Tuesday (Feb 19), returning travellers will have a smaller allowance on tax-exempt overseas shopping. Those who spend fewer than 48 hours outside Singapore will have to pay the 7 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on items bought abroad worth $100, down from $150. The threshold will be lowered from $600 to $500 for travellers who spend 48 hours or more outside the country, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Monday (Feb 18), citing a rise in international travel. The","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550483214,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/hzchangi0218.jpg?itok=rIpVFMiP","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367625,"index":2,"title":"Singapore Budget 2019: $1.1 billion Bicentennial Bonus to be shared with Singaporeans","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2019-11-billion-bicentennial-bonus-to-be-shared-with-singaporeans","description":"SINGAPORE - To celebrate the bicentennial year, a $1.1 billion Bicentennial Bonus will be shared with Singaporeans, said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Monday (Feb18). The bonus is part of two initiatives that will be launched to commemorate the year, with the other being a Bicentennial Community Fund. As part of the Bicentennial Bonus,, 1.4 million lower-income Singaporeans will receive up to $300 through a GST Voucher cash payouts. The bicentennial payment, which will be received at t","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550481229,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/hz-bicen27049533-zb.jpg?itok=Rkaba9nR","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367629,"index":3,"title":"Singapore Budget 2019: $6.1b for Merdeka Generation package includes Medisave top-ups, higher Chas subsidies","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2019-61-billion-for-merdeka-generation-package-includes-medisave-top-ups","description":"SINGAPORE - A total of $6.1 billion will be set aside under the Merdeka Generation Package, the bulk of which will go towards easing the burden of healthcare costs for nearly 500,000 Singaporeans. Announcing details of the much talked-about package during his Budget Statement on Monday (Feb 18), Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat called it a \\"gesture of our nation\'s gratitude\\" for those in that generation who are now aged between 60 and 69. \\"It will provide them better peace of mind over future hea","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550480365,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/hzmerdeka0218pm.jpg?itok=cBhsKjVR","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367589,"index":4,"title":"US inmate breaks into car with clothes hanger to save 1-year-old girl locked in by dad","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/us-inmate-breaks-into-car-with-clothes-hanger-to-save-1-year-old-girl-locked-in","description":"WASHINGTON (DPA) - A prisoner in the US state of Florida used his special skills to break into a parked vehicle and rescue a 1-year-old who was locked inside, US media reported on Sunday (Feb 17). The prisoner in question and four other low-level offenders in Florida\'s Pasco County near Tampa, broke into an SUV on Thursday (Feb 14) to rescue the girl who was accidentally locked in, according to CNN affiliate KABC-TV. The mother of the child, Ms Shadow Lantry, recorded the rescue operation and po","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550469691,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/im1.jpg?itok=wfkUfs8a","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367585,"index":5,"title":"Woman trapped under car in Punggol accident loses left foot and has operations to save other foot","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/woman-trapped-under-car-in-punggol-accident-loses-left-foot-and-goes-through-operations-to","description":"SINGAPORE - A woman who was trapped under a car in an accident in Punggol has lost her left foot and undergone multiple surgical operations to save her remaining foot. Madam Alice Hee, who is in her 50s, was on her way to morning service at the Church of the Transfiguration with her husband and daughter on the morning of Feb 3 when the accident happened. They were were waiting to cross the road at Punggol Central near Sumang lane when a car slammed into the family tailfirst, pinning Madam Hee to","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550466683,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/ak-waterpoint1-03022019_2x_2x.jpg?itok=tqRDtgVT","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367587,"index":6,"title":"Explicit video of school girl with a man circulated online","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/explicit-video-of-school-girl-with-a-man-circulated-online","description":"SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - An explicit video of a young girl in a secondary school uniform was circulated online last week. The three-minute video, which appears to have been taken at a staircase landing, shows her performing various sex acts with an unidentified man. The girl, whose face can be seen, appears to be a minor. She was wearing the uniform of an all-girls school. The New Paper understands a police report has been made. A Ministry of Education (MOE) spokesman told TNP the school had ","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550466000,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/ak_dpg_1802.jpg?itok=3uHVeOtx","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367564,"index":7,"title":"Spanish fashion label Zara \'insulting China\'? Don\'t be so sensitive: China Daily editorial","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/spanish-fashion-label-zara-insulting-china-dont-be-so-sensitive-china-daily-editorial","description":"BEIJING (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, AFP) - Fashion and cosmetics brand Zara was recently in trouble because one of its advertisements which featured a female Chinese model was blamed for \\"defaming the Chinese\\". The advertisement was released on Friday (Feb 15) on Zara\'s official website. Titled \\"Beauty is here\\", it stars a Chinese woman wearing the brand\'s clothes and aims to introduce new cosmetics. Yet, after Zara shared it on Sina Weibo, China\'s equivalent to Twitter, in some of the comme","pubdate":"Feb 18, 2019","pubdateunix":1550457089,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/zaragirl.jpg?itok=2YPn5Ca_","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367549,"index":8,"title":"Malaysian minister Yeo Bee Yin to tie the knot on March 29","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysian-minister-yeo-bee-yin-to-tie-the-knot-on-march-29","description":"KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The stage is set for one of the biggest weddings of the year. The banquet dinner of property developer Lee Yeow Seng and Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin will be held on March 29. Invitation cards have already been sent out to family members, friends, and business and political figures. The dinner will be held at the Le Meridien Putrajaya. Talk of the 36-year-old Yeo getting hitched has been floating on s","pubdate":"Feb 17, 2019","pubdateunix":1550447220,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/bp_yeo_bee_yin_180219_35.jpg?itok=lxuVPpFr","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367548,"index":9,"title":"Singaporeans loving the luxury homes foreigners can\'t buy","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/singaporeans-loving-the-luxury-homes-foreigners-cant-buy","description":"SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Some of Singapore\'s most desirable houses come with a catch: only locals can own them. That foreign buyers - notably from China - who for years helped drive demand for luxury homes, can\'t buy these dwellings, hasn\'t dented their appeal. Their scarcity and the exclusivity they confer have pushed prices of the homes - known as Good Class Bungalows, or GCBs - to record highs, even as the broader property market cools. Just about 2,500 GCBs dot the city-state, ranging from co","pubdate":"Feb 17, 2019","pubdateunix":1550446395,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/bp_gcb_180219_36.jpg?itok=nT_gdlVo","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367545,"index":10,"title":"Malaysian toddler dies after falling onto knife that pierced her abdomen in freak accident","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysian-toddler-dies-after-falling-onto-knife-that-pierced-her-abdomen-in-freak","description":"IPOH - A two-year-old girl in Ipoh died after falling onto a kitchen knife that pierced her abdomen at her home on Sunday (Feb 17) morning, Bernama news agency reported. Nur Qhaisara Medina Supian was pronounced dead at the Parit Buntar Hospital. The victim\'s 27-year-old mother Hana Mazlan said the incident occurred at their home in Kampung Teluk Pial Baroh at about 9.30am when she was putting her four-month-old baby to sleep in the kitchen. \\"Nur Qhaisara Medina had asked for milk but I told her","pubdate":"Feb 17, 2019","pubdateunix":1550445110,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2017/11/06/genericpaper_edit.jpg?itok=S-MZg46v","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""},{"_id":367475,"index":11,"title":"More primary schools keep out sugary drinks","link":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/more-primary-schools-keep-out-sugary-drinks","description":"Some primary schools are stepping up the war on sugar by halting the sale of sweet drinks to pupils. At least three primary schools have done away with drink stalls - previously a regular feature in canteens - altogether, a check by The Straits Times has found. TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE You have reached one of our Premium stories. To continue reading, get access now or log in if you are a subscriber. What is Premium?","pubdate":"Feb 17, 2019","pubdateunix":1550437200,"image":"https://www.straitstimes.com/sites/default/files/styles/x_large/public/articles/2019/02/18/ST_20190218_VNSUGAR2_4629654.jpg?itok=qLdZfBtQ","isad":0,"_type":0,"feedname":""}]}'); } } catch (e){} } new Image().src = queryly.protocol + "data.queryly.com/ping.aspx?type=pv&queryly_key=" + queryly.QuerylyKey + "&visitorid=" + queryly.visitorid + "&httpurl=" + encodeURIComponent(document.URL.replace(/&/g, "&")) + "&httpreferer=" + encodeURIComponent(document.referrer.replace(/&/g, "&")); })(jQuery);