The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a Facebook post it has launched a proposal for bids on piloting autonomous public bus services in the city-state.

“This RFP (Request for Proposal) will help us assess the technical feasibility and operational requirements for deploying autonomous buses at both individual service and fleet levels,” it said.

“From mid-2026, the autonomous buses will operate alongside our existing manned bus services for an initial period of three years.”

Six driverless buses with at least 16 seats will travel through Marina Bay and Shenton Way areas in the financial district and a business park and research centre on the fringes, LTA said.
“We are starting with these routes as they are shorter and simpler.”

During the first phase, the buses will operate with a driver on board as “safety operators”, it said.

A “remote safety operator can take over the surpervisory role” after that phase.

LTA said it “may purchase up to 14 more” driverless buses to expand the pilot.

The request for bids is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025 and the project will be awarded by the end of the year.

Orderly Singapore has been testing autonomous vehicles for several years, with tests for buses, taxis and trucks carried out in designated areas.The government has led the drive as it seeks to attract more foreign firms to invest.

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The operator of one of Asia’s most-loved airports said in a statement Thursday that the hike in fees, between 2025 and 2030, will aid in covering the cost of rising demand for air travel while enabling the airport to stay competitive.
“As a major air hub for the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, Changi Airport is well-poised to serve this rise in demand and provide better connectivity to travelers,” it said. “The aviation sector will continue to be a key driver of economic growth for Singapore and provide more and better jobs for Singaporeans.”

Most of the money will go toward upgrading baggage handling systems, expanding check-in desk facilities, improving air-side infrastructure and also paying for some wider refurbishments of the facilities outright, such as Terminal 3, which will be 20 years old by 2030.

A passenger service and security fee for people departing from Singapore currently costs S$46.40 a flight, which is baked into ticket prices. By April 2030, that will come to S$58.40, a 26 per cent increase. There will also be a one-time increase to the aviation levy from S$8 to S$10 in 2027.Fees for transit passengers stand at S$6 now and will rise to S$18 gradually by 2030.
For everyday passengers, the added cost translates into about a 1 per cent rise in airfares relative to the average cost of an economy class ticket, according to Thursday’s statement.

Some of the new air-side facilities include more remote aircraft parking stands that can be used for both passenger and cargo jets, bringing the total number of aircraft stands to more than 200.Some taxiways will also be reinforced to accommodate the eventual arrival of Boeing Co.’s new B777X family of planes, which will be the world’s longest twin-engine aircraft.

Various systems for the Skytrain that links the airport’s terminals, including signaling and communications, will be replaced and new cars will be added for additional capacity.

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SINGAPORE : Two F-15 fighter jets from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) were scrambled on the evening of Oct 15 after Air India Express received an e-mail that there was a bomb onboard one of its flights.

Flight AXB684 was heading for Singapore from southern Indian city Madurai.

In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said: “Two of our RSAF’s F-15SGs scrambled and escorted the plane away from populated areas, to finally land safely at Singapore Changi Airport at around 10.04pm tonight. Our Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team were also activated.”

When it landed, the plane was handed to the airport police, he added. Investigations are ongoing.

“Many thanks to the dedication and professionalism of our Singapore Armed Forces and Home Team that keep us safe in our homes, even when threats exist around us.”

According to Flightradar24, the flight was circling for about an hour in the east of Singapore.It was scheduled to arrive in Changi Airport at 8.50pm but landed more than an hour later at 10.04pm.An Ayodhya-bound Air India Express flight on Oct 15 received a bomb threat via a phone call, reported The Times of India, adding that the flight later made an emergency landing.

Local media reported at least five Indian flights received bomb threats on Oct 15, prompting emergency checks, with at least two flights making emergency landing.

An Air India plane, flying from India’s capital, New Delhi, to Chicago, was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada. The airline said it was the subject of “a security threat posted online” and as a “precautionary measure” has landed at Iqaluit Airport in Canada, AFP reported.

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Pidlit Industries is a manufacturer of a wide range of products, including fevicol, paint chemicals, and industrial polymers. Pidlit Industries’ well-known brands that focus on quality and innovative products are Fevicol, Dr. Fixit,Cyclo, Hobby Ideas, Roff and M-Steel.

Pidlit Industries was established in 1959. At the time, the company had only one product, Fevicol. This product made the work of carpenters much easier and made it one of the most well-known brands in India.

Two-thirds of Pdlit’s products are sold for home improvement work. The company has three fully equipped R&D centers in India. There are also five research centres in Singapore, Thailand, Brazil, Dubai and the United States.

Fevicol, Feviquic, Mseel and Dr. Fixit have not only dominated the market but have also become synonymous with products in their respective sectors. Glue for wood is now known as Fevicol. Pidilite Industries’ business is likely to improve as construction activities pick up.

Pidlit Industries is one of the stocks that stands out among the mid-sized companies. This is a stock that investors can buy with a long-term goal. In the long run, these stocks have the potential to offer great returns to investors.

The performance of the company has stood out in the stock index over the years. The stock has gained 19.61 per cent year-on-year over the last three years. During the same period, the Sensex gained 6.47 per cent year-on-year. Pidlit Industries is an ideal stock for long-term investors.

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Some of the greatest works of this century that have been realised in modern material defy the laws of physics, and beauty too. While some buildings are associated with the architect who brought it to life, others are often unique to the country and milieu where it is situated paying tributes to a bygone culture or civilisation. Here we feature some of the modern works of architecture from across the world.

Burj Khalifa,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Rising a dizzying 2,717 feet above the desert, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates featured as our opening photograph, is a spectacular super tower that reigns as the tallest structure in the world. Its 162 floors contain offices, residences, restaurants, an Armani hotel, and an observation deck, 124 stories up. The strength of its design stems not only from its awe-inspiring verticality but also from its sleek silhouette. Wrapped in a glass curtain wall with steel mullions that catch the Arabian sun, the building tapers gradually from its Y-shaped base, with setbacks culminating in a 700-foot spire.

Gardens by the Bay,
Singapore

Side-by-side parabolic conservatories of glass and steel anchor this cutting-edge botanical garden, Gardens by the Bay, in Singapore’s booming Marina Bay district. Named the 2012 building of the year by the World Architecture Festival, the Wilkinson Eyre–designed structures replicate distinct climates—one dry, the other humid—allowing for diverse attractions like a flower meadow and a misty mountain forest.

Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre,
ReykjavÍk, Iceland

Even before its official opening, Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre breathed new life into the Icelandic capital’s once-sleepy harbour, captivating local people and luring visitors with its kaleidoscopic façade of multi-colour glass. The crystalline shell, conceived by artist Olafur Eliasson, complements the structure’s aggregate of jagged, geometric volumes. At night, exterior LED strips activate, transforming the waterfront landmark into a shimmering beacon of beauty.

Linked Hybrid,
Beijing

Composed of eight connected towers, Linked Hybrid in Beijing is a mixed-use complex representing a compelling vision for 21st-century urban development. To combat the isolation often associated with luxury residential buildings and gated communities, the architects placed wide, open passages at ground level, ushering pedestrians into a series of public spaces that include gardens, shops, restaurants, and schools.

The Shard,
London

Familiar to watchers of last summer’s Olympic Games, The Shard. London is a 72-story skyscraper — the tallest in Western Europe — that transformed the UK capital’s skyline, rising on the southern banks of the Thames. Inspired by church steeples, the structure comprises eight angled glass façades that reflect the surrounding city and sky and offer glimpses inside. Intended by Renzo Piano Building Workshop to act as a vertical village, the multifunctional building includes offices, apartments, restaurants, and a hotel—all crowned by a recently opened observation platform, which affords stunning views in every direction.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Dallas, Texas, United States
Architect Thom Mayne, the Pritzker Prize–winning founder of Morphosis, is famous for breaking the mould, and his latest building is no exception. Sheathed in panels of textured concrete, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas consists of a five-story cube, fractured at one corner and set atop a sweeping plinth planted with Texas grasses. Slashed across the cube’s exterior is a dramatic glass-enclosed escalator, which whisks visitors to the top-floor entrance to the exhibits.

Parrish Art Museum,
Water Mill, New York

Topped by a double-gable roof of white corrugated metal, the Parrish Art Museum’s strikingly horizontal new home in New York melds brilliantly with its setting, nodding in form to both the traditional barns and the cottagelike artist studios that have long been associated with Long Island’s East End. Inside the poured-concrete structure—devised by architect Ascan Mergenthaler, a senior partner at the Swiss firm—inviting galleries joined by a central spine are warmed by natural-wood ceilings and abundant skylights.

Guangzhou Opera House,
Guangzhou, China

Zaha Hadid’s Opera House for the southern industrial city of Guangzhou is a testimony to the British Iraqi architect’s aesthetics. The venue consists of two dynamic fluid-form structures, the larger housing an undulating, gilded 1,800-seat hall and the smaller home to a more intimate 400-seat space. The buildings are clad in great expanses of steel-framed glass and granite panels—the complexity of which led to challenges during construction and in ongoing maintenance. But the futuristic complex is an emphatic statement on the ambitions of 21st-century China.

Metropol Parasol,
Seville, Spain

When excavation for a parking garage unearthed Roman artifacts in Seville’s Plaza de la Encarnación, city officials opted to commission a welcoming landmark called Metropol Parasol instead. Some 90 feet high and nearly 500 feet long, the billowing timber pavilion is part pergola, part urban parlor. Viewing platforms are perched atop the organic forms, which also shelter restaurants and an archaeological museum.

Absolute World,
Mississauga, Ontario

Absolute World, Mississauga, Ontario, consists of residential high-rises that strike a unique profile in Toronto’s largest suburb. With continuous balconies and elliptical floor plans, the 50- and 56-story skyscrapers appear to shimmy and twist, each around its own axis.
Such creative formmaking is the focus of the young Beijing firm, whose design was executed in coordination with Burka Architects. The Absolute towers offer a refreshing take on a familiar building type.

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