At a rare news event that gathered five top Chinese regulators, officials said it will take vigorous efforts to achieve its economic target this year. The chief of China's macroeconomic planner says the country needs to "jump hard" to attain its 2024 growth target of around 5 per cent which was unveiled in a government work report by Chinese Premier Li Qiang. CNA's Low Minmin reports.

Come 2026, passengers on planes departing from Singapore will have to pay more for their air tickets because carriers will be required to use sustainable aviation fuel. CNA’s Roland Lim was at the Singapore Airshow in February and the SAF mandate was the talk of the event. He shares more on how industry players are responding to the pressure to go green.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Alexis Dornier went to Bali in 2013 to help a friend with a project and he was so captivated by the way of life there that he decided to stay on and establish a design practice. Since then, he has worked on 26 residential projects on the island. Read more: https://cna.asia/49YaJlR #luxuryhomes #hometour #bali Subscribe to our channel here: https://cna.asia/youtubesub Subscribe to our news service for must-read stories: Telegram - https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp - https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us: CNA: https://cna.asia CNA Lifestyle: http://www.cnalifestyle.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/channelnewsasia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia

The Ministry of Social and Family Development will extend its ComLink+ support to another 3,000 eligible lower-income families not living in public rental housing. MSF's Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua said this builds on the encouraging response from families since ComLink was rolled out nationwide in 2021. It now serves 10,000 families with children in public rental flats.

The Social and Family Development Ministry has apologised for an omission in its online system to certify Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs). It said the wording online did not expressly state that the electronic document is a deed. This raises uncertainty about the validity of some 87,000 electronic LPAs processed from when the system was launched on 14 November 2022 until 4 January this year. MSF has introduced amendments to the Mental Capacity Act to rectify this.

The Social and Family Development Ministry wants to streamline its social support system by bringing together different family support services and offering them through a single point of contact. There are currently 47 Family Service Centres and more than 10 MSF-funded programmes. These are run by about 30 social service agencies that support clients with different needs, from domestic violence to at-risk youths. By streamlining this system, MSF said services can be more comprehensive and convenient.

Starting next month, the Ministry of Social and Family Development will appoint childminding operators to offer services for infants. Locations for such services are dependent on preferences of operators, as they may be interested in specific regions that are viable for their business. Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling was responding to questions from Members of Parliament on how and where the three-year childminding pilot will roll out. Aslam Shah reports.

Local charity Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, set up by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), will conduct another round of fundraising support for civilians of Gaza. It will happen sometime during the fasting month of Ramadan, which begins next Tuesday. This is the second time the charity is making an appeal to the community. RLAF previously raised close to S$6.8 million for humanitarian relief in Gaza.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has called for private insurance companies to "exercise more discipline", as over-generous coverage is leading to excessive prescriptions and tests, as well as unnecessary treatments. He added that insurers offering such "unsustainable" terms drive up claims and insurance premiums, and subsequently healthcare costs.

The Social and Family Development Ministry is testing out a childminding concept for infant care to give parents another option beyond childcare centres and babysitters. Starting in the second half of the year, it will appoint childminding operators to offer services for infants. To keep fees affordable, appointed operators will get funding support from the government, so parents would only need to pay around S$700 each month. ECDA will also work with operators to develop a safety framework.

More manpower and thousands more hospital beds are set to be injected into the healthcare sector as Singapore expands its capacity to meet the needs of a rapidly ageing population. Singapore has more than 11,000 hospital beds in the public healthcare system today. The Health Ministry hopes to add some 4,000 more over the next six years. To meet growing needs in the developing Western region, there are plans to open a new public hospital in Tengah in the coming decade. This will boost the number of public acute hospitals in Singapore to 13. Sherlyn Seah reports.

The Health Ministry is looking to refresh claim limits of national insurance scheme MediShield Life to ensure that as many as nine in 10 bills will be subsidised. It will also explore expanding coverage to more outpatient and novel treatments to keep them affordable. MOH said premiums will inevitably rise due to these measures, but it will ensure premiums can be paid fully by MediSave as far as possible. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said hospital bill sizes have grown by 5% annually in public hospitals and by 7% annually in private hospitals over the last few years. Sabrina Ng reports.

It's been almost a decade since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The tragedy has prompted several changes in industry practices and greatly impacted the national carrier. For one, a multi-million dollar facility next to Kuala Lumpur International Airport now houses the air traffic control centre. The system is designed to achieve zero fatalities in scheduled commercial operations. Malaysia Airlines, which saw its Skytrax ranking dipping from top 10 to 47th place, is determined to soar again. Melissa Goh reports.

Parents in Singapore, you'll soon get another caregiving option for your young kids. The government will trial an infant childminding service in the second half of this year, said Minister of State Sun Xueling in parliament on Wednesday (Mar 6) The new service is expected to cost about S$700 a month, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Union leaders in India's northwestern state of Punjab are calling for farmers to march to New Delhi to demand higher prices for their crops. They will be joined by farmers from other parts of India who plan to travel to the capital by trains and buses, to circumvent blockades set up to deny their entry. CNA's Rebecca Bundhun reports from Punjab's Shambhu.

US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump have dominated the Super Tuesday primaries, setting up a rematch in November's general election. But was it a good showing for Biden and is Trump’s remaining rival Nikki Haley ready to step aside? CNA's Simon Marks with more from Washington DC. Read more: https://cna.asia/3V6inGW Subscribe to our channel here: https://cna.asia/youtubesub Subscribe to our news service for must-read stories: Telegram - https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp - https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us: CNA: https://cna.asia CNA Lifestyle: http://www.cnalifestyle.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/channelnewsasia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia

Singapore has begun planning for a new hospital in Tengah, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in parliament on Wednesday (Mar 6). The hospital, which will be operated by the National University Health System, is targeted to be ready in the early 2030s.