iPHONE OS 5 LAUNCHED WITH OVER 200 NEW FEATURES

Owning an iPhones has become even more attractive with the new iOS 5. Packed with more than 200 new features, the new operating system is a massive upgrade from the previous version.

SYDNEY TOWER NOW SYDNEY TOWER EYE

The Sydney Tower at Pitt Street has re-opened after a $3.5 million renovation as SydneyTower Eye. The attraction boasts of a new state-of-the-art 4D-cinema and a refurbished Observation Deck upgraded with interactive multi-lingual touchscreens and high-powered binoculars.

Tower operator Merlin Entertainments Group says it is happy to bring the ‘Eye’ brand to Sydney, but some Australians have been up in arms, saying the new identity has given Sydney tourism a bad name. 

AUSTRALIA RELAXES RULES TO ATTRACT FOREIGN STUDENTS

Australia will relax university entry and visa requirements to attract more foreign students to the country. It hopes to boost its tertiary education sector, which has seen a drop in foreign students numbers recently due to strict visa requirements and a strong Australian dollar.

FACEBOOK PLAYS CATCH UP

Competition among social networks is heating up with Facebook announcing this week, two new features that mimic those of its rivals, Google+ and Twitter.

“Smart Lists” allows users to classify friends into different groups and specify the information to be shared with each group; a feature that is similar to “Circles” in Google.

“Subscribe” allows users to follow the status updates of any Facebook member; a feature that resembles “Follow” in Twitter.

SINGAPORE AMONG MOST EXPENSIVE PLACES TO BUILD

Singapore has been ranked third among the most expensive places to build in Asia. According to a report published by Property Report Asia,  construction costs in Singapore are just below that of Japan and Hong Kong.

The online report noted that construction prices in Asian countries have risen much higher than western countries in the last twelve months. For Singapore, the rise was fuelled by an increase in demand for construction in the tourism, commercial and residential sectors.

SINGAPORE'S NATIONAL COSTUME?

Curtain? Rug? Or a Masterpiece that reflected Singapore's multicultural identity? The national costume worn by Ms Singapore 2011 Valerie Lim, at the Ms Universe Pageant in Sao Paulo, has sparked an online debate that is as fiery as its colour.

This picture of Ms Lim on stage at Credicard Hall attracted hundreds of comments within a day it was posted on the Yahoo! Singapore Entertainment website on 8 September 2011.

TONY TAN ELECTED SINGAPORE PRESIDENT

Singapore’s former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan has been elected President for the next 6 years. He won 35.2% of the votes cast, beating lawmaker Dr Tan Cheng Bock by a mere 0.35 percentage point.

A total of 2,156,389 votes were cast at the Singapore Presidential Election on 27 Aug 2011. Among them were 3,375 votes cast by overseas Singaporeans, who participated through nine overseas polling stations around the world. I did not vote because the nearest polling station was in Canberra.

TELEGRAPH TURNS CURRY PROTEST INTO WAR

I was horrified when I logged on to Facebook this morning and read that Telegraph (UK) had run a story on the Cook a Pot of Curry event with the following headline, "Singapore’s anti-Chinese curry war”.

Besides the misleading headline, the article made several factual errors. 

SINGAPOREANS START CURRY PROTEST ONLINE

Calling on all Singaporeans in Sydney to cook a pot of curry this coming Sunday, August 21st, in support of Cook a Pot of Curry Day!

It’s an event created by a group of Singaporeans on Facebook to peacefully protest against immigrants who demand that locals change their ways to fit theirs.

DOWN, DOWN, AUSSIE $ IS DOWN!

Coles Supermarket’s “Down Down” jingle was ringing in my head when I read online that the Australian dollar was going down. A part of me wanted to shout out loud, ‘and stay down’!

You probably guessed by now why the news of a weakening Australian dollar mattered to this Singaporean student in Sydney. It hits the pocket! To be specific, my pocket, which has a big gaping hole created by the continued strengthening of the Australian dollar in the first half of 2011.