Top stories from The Straits Times on Monday, May 20

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Monday, May 20.


MOM bans 60 abusive employers in 3 years from hiring maids again, but observers say loopholes remain

Migrant worker rights groups say the ban is a good deterrent, since the consequences are felt by the entire household. However, some want better enforcement of the ban, while others note that the key is to ensure domestic helpers have access to help if they face difficulties.PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

A little-known Ministry of Manpower (MOM) rule bans abusive employers - and all their household members - from ever hiring maids again.

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India elections: Exit polls show Narendra Modi's coalition set to return to power

Most pre-election surveys had suggested that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to power. PHOTO: REUTERS

The counting of ballots from the world's biggest election, with 900 million eligible voters, will start on Thursday.

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Jakarta on edge ahead of protests against election results

Police installing barbed wire before a rally by members of the Islamic Defenders Front in front of the election supervisory body office in Jakarta, on May 10, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

Reports of the rally this week prompted foreign missions such as the United States embassy to issue a warning of "heightened risk of terrorism" and mass demonstrations in Jakarta, as well as other cities in Indonesia, such as Surabaya and Medan.

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Finance Ministers have never interfered in Temasek and GIC's investments: Heng Swee Keat

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that he and former finance ministers did not interfere in what countries or sectors to invest in. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Doing so would lose him the authority of holding them accountable for their performance, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

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Trump blasts Republican lawmaker Amash over impeachment remarks

US President Donald Trump called Republican Representative Justin Amash "a total lightweight" and "a loser" on Twitter, a day after the Michigan conservative said the Mueller report showed that the Republican president "engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment." PHOTO: AFP

Donald Trump lashed out at the first Republican congressman to call the US president's behaviour impeachable, while Democrats warned Trump's stonewalling of congressional probes is strengthening the case for an impeachment inquiry.

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Fully cashless public transport system may not be implemented by 2020

The move to go fully cashless was announced by the LTA and subsidiary TransitLink in August 2017, in line with Singapore's Smart Nation push. PHOTO: ST FILE

In response to queries, a Land Transport Authority spokesman said that a "progressive and calibrated approach" to the transition towards a fully cashless system would be adopted to meet commuters' needs.

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Biometrics helps nab visitors with false IDs

ICA officers demonstrating the use of the Bio-Screen-Multi Modal Biometric Screening System at the Woodlands Checkpoint. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO

Increased border security as terrorism and other threats persist have led to about 840 people being nabbed at the checkpoints in the last three years using biometric fingerprint screening.

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What makes people peep...

ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO

Psychologists say they have been seeing a rise in the number of people suffering from sex addiction disorders that lead to voyeurism and other sex offences.

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Google suspends some business with Huawei after Trump blacklist: Source

Google will stop providing any technical support and collaboration for Android and Google services to Huawei going forward, a source told Reuters. PHOTO: REUTERS

Huawei will immediately lose access to updates to the Android operating system, and the next version of its smartphones outside of China will also lose access to popular applications and services, including the Google Play Store and Gmail app.

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'Now our watch is ended': History-making Game Of Thrones wraps up

The Game Of Thrones television series comes to an end after eight years. PHOTO: HBO

After eight epic years of chivalry, sex, death and dragons, Game Of Thrones fans worldwide have just 79 pulsating minutes remaining to get their final fix in one of the most hotly anticipated events in TV history.

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