What's News: March 18, 2016

TOP OF THE NEWS

Hep C outbreak: 16 disciplined

Four senior Ministry of Health officials and 12 staff in "leadership positions" at the Singapore General Hospital have been disciplined over last year's hepatitis C outbreak, which was linked to eight deaths at the hospital. The ministry said its sanctions included "warnings, stern warnings and financial penalties".

Talks are on over whether Scholarism founder Joshua Wong (left) should resign, leaving the activist group intact. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

TOP OF THE NEWS

'Trump poll win a global risk'

The prospect of Mr Donald Trump winning the US presidency represents a global threat on a par with Islamist militancy destabilising the world economy, said the Economist Intelligence Unit. It highlighted Mr Trump's alienation from China and his remarks on Islamist extremism.

WORLD

HK activists at crossroads

Scholarism, the student activist group that helped spearhead Hong Kong's Occupy movement in 2014, is at the crossroads. It is in discussions over whether it should disband, or if founder Joshua Wong should resign. One sticking point is the fate of the HK$2.5 million (S$438,000) in donations the group has reportedly stashed away.

WORLD

Sugar tax on soft drinks in UK

Britain is joining a growing band of countries taxing excessive sugar levels in soft drinks, as it tries to cut spiralling childhood obesity levels. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the levy on sugar-sweetened drinks will be introduced in two years' time.

OPINION

India-US ties: Jitters setting in

India and the US have been growing their security and strategic relationship, but now it looks like the former is getting nervous, writes Associate Editor Ravi Velloor. He compares it to a spinster who has a fit of nerves before nuptials.

HOME

Bus priority boxes in Orchard

The Land Transport Authority is trying out "bus priority boxes" along Orchard Road from next Monday, to make it easier for buses to move out of bus lanes. Currently, buses are often stuck in bus queues even when they are not stopping at a particular bus stop.

HOME

Condo owners hit snag in suit

The developer, architect and main contractor of The Seaview condominium, who are being sued by residents over numerous defects in the property, can use the defence that they had no control over the independent contractors they used to carry out works.

BUSINESS

10 financial firms penalised

Ten firms were slapped with penalties of nearly $1 million for engaging in an anti-competitive agreement to pressurise a competitor to withdraw an offer on one of their insurance products. The decision by the Competition Commission of Singapore is the first of its kind made against firms in the financial services industry.

SPORT

Home thrash Young Lions

The hapless Garena Young Lions sank to the bottom of the S-League football standings, after a 4-1 away thrashing by previous last-placed side Home United. Fareez Farhan put the Young Lions up but goals from Ken Ilso, Zulfahmi Arifin and a brace by Khairul Nizam lifted Home to sixth place out of nine.

More than 5,000 turned up for last year's Radikal Forze Jam (above). Big names in street dance are here again for the 2016 edition. PHOTO: JAZPAR PHOTOGRAPHY

LIFE

Dance-off on the streets of Orchard

Some of the biggest names in international hip-hop are in Singapore for home-grown festival *Scape Radikal Forze Jam 2016 this weekend. Pioneer street dancers Crazy Legs will judge dance battles while contemporary dance crew Triqstar from Japan will perform. The festival has grown from a modest turnout of 200 in 2008 to more than 5,000 last year.

A visitor interacting with installation ''Create! Hopscotch for Geniuses'' at the exhibition. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

LIFE

Fine art in a digital age

The ArtScience Museum's new permanent exhibition, Future World, features 15 multi-sensory digital works by Japanese art collective teamLab that will fill visitors with wonder and delight, says arts correspondent Huang Lijie. She describes the exhibition as "a bold suggestion of how fine art can be experienced in a digital age".

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 18, 2016, with the headline What's News: March 18, 2016. Subscribe