I GREW UP IN HOUGANG, CAN I BTO IN HOUGANG? Before I first applied for my BTO, I'd always thought of living close to where I grew up, Hougang. However, unless you have a lot of time to wait for a really ideal location, chances are you'll probably only have a few choices. For example, in the May 2019 BTO launch, it was either Tengah, Woodlands or Kallang/Whampoa. If that's not what you're looking for, well, you've got to wait till the next quarter when HDB releases a new batch of flats for balloting. There are also two kinds of BTO areas: mature estates and non-mature estates. Flats in mature estates such as Tampines and Toa Payoh, for example, tend to cost more as infrastructure and amenities have already been built. These include a variety of public transport options, hawker centres, shopping malls, and schools. Non-mature estates (such as Sengkang, Punggol, and Sembawang) offer slightly cheaper housing options, but as the name suggests, they are usually lacking what is … [Read more...] about What I wished I knew before applying for my first BTO flat
Make a wish wishes granted
FIFA ramps up pressure on Iran to grant women access to matches
HONG KONG: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has ramped up the pressure on Iran to ensure local female football fans are allowed to attend men's World Cup qualifiers in the Islamic Republic later this year.In a letter seen by Reuters sent to the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), Infantino requested a timeline to be delivered to FIFA that would result in women to being able to buy tickets for the qualifiers, which begin on Sept. 5."Whilst we are aware of the challenges and cultural sensitivities, we simply have to continue making progress here, not only because we owe it to women all over the world, but also because we have a responsibility to do so, under the most basic principles set out in the FIFA Statutes," Infantino wrote to FFIRI President Mehdi Taj on Tuesday."I would be very grateful if you could inform FIFA, at your earliest convenience but no later than 15 July 2019, as to the concrete steps which both the FFIRI and the Iranian state authorities will now be taking in order … [Read more...] about FIFA ramps up pressure on Iran to grant women access to matches
Divorce? Merger? Renault-Nissan alliance faces a crossroads
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co's two-decade partnership is hurtling toward a reckoning, their carmaking alliance shaken by the arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn in November and fruitless merger talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Forged in 1999 when Renault bought a stake in the struggling Japanese carmaker, the group - which now includes Mitsubishi Motors Corp - has always been marked by a lopsided relationship. While Nissan is the largest partner in terms of vehicle output, Renault exercises more control over the Japanese automaker. Ghosn, who was charged with financial crimes and is facing trial next year, had long sought to merge the companies in order to take on Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG. Renault was poised to strengthen its hand just a couple weeks ago, when Fiat proposed a combination of the two European automakers. Instead, Nissan's reluctance to back further negotiations triggered the deal's collapse. Now, Nissan Chief Executive Officer … [Read more...] about Divorce? Merger? Renault-Nissan alliance faces a crossroads
Movies, fans and a Jeremy Lin question in a full mailbag
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/raptors/2019/05/11/raptors-and-sixers-will-go-as-far-as-stars-take-them-in-game-7/leonard_bench_game_5.jpg)
By Doug Smith Sports Reporter Sun., May 12, 2019 First off the top a very Happy Mother’s Day to all who qualify, hope you’re spoiled and taken care of and appreciated all day. Hope that all the time, of course, but especially today. And now here’s another big old weekend mailbag to wade through before the 7 p.m. game, for which those of us who now don’t have to write an early story are very thankful. - Q: Hi Doug From your perspective, is there anything left for the Toronto Argonauts to try in order to get more bums in seats at BMO Field? Moving there from the Rogers Centre has not helped and they are so far off the radar that they are now barely an afterthought. Article Continued Below Love your column too! Regards, Mike Guelph, Ontario A: I honestly don’t know what’s next. I don’t think they market themselves well enough to a broad audience and maybe there’s some nifty way to get themselves in … [Read more...] about Movies, fans and a Jeremy Lin question in a full mailbag
Tom Ford: Portrait of a perfectionist, anal-retentive, painfully shy vegan designer
Tom Ford has come early to rearrange the furniture. He thinks that the already stylish room in the hottest new private club in town, the San Vicente Bungalows, could be even more captivating. So a team of eight club staff members gets busy under his direction, pulling a potted plant from the terrace for one corner and setting up two dozen glowing amber votive candles.Ford himself redoes the white flowers, plucking out the roses and leaving in the ranunculus, because he doesn’t like mixed blooms. The Murphy bed he can do nothing about.As I enter, the designer is lost in thought, still fantasising about redoing the room in his own preferred palette, draping chocolate brown velvet on the walls.Everything in life can always be more sensual and beautiful, if you think about it. And Ford is always thinking about it. From the time he was big enough to push furniture, at six years old, he was rearranging it in his house. And giving his mother critiques on her hair and shoes.Being Tom … [Read more...] about Tom Ford: Portrait of a perfectionist, anal-retentive, painfully shy vegan designer