10 must-reads for today

Miami Heat will have to stop rivals Los Angeles Lakers from clinching the lead after three quarters if they are to have any chance of clawing back from a 3-1 deficit in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals tomorrow. Led by LeBron James, the Lakers are one win away from a 17th NBA crown after a 102-96 Game 4 win on Tuesday.

Singapore has found jobs and training spots for 33,100 locals through various government initiatives since May. It had also managed to create 117,500 such opportunities for local job seekers by end-August, surpassing the National Jobs Council's target. But a number of unfilled vacancies still remain.

An expert witness yesterday told the High Court that a Facebook post sharing an article with "shocking" allegations about Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would have spread more quickly than articles correcting the fake news. He estimated that blogger Leong Sze Hian's post would have appeared on the Facebook news feeds of 11,749 users.

Experts say targeted and localised shutdowns are a more effective way of tackling surging coronavirus cases in Malaysia, after the country set a record high of 691 new daily cases on Tuesday. Most of these were linked to clusters in Sabah and Kedah, making a repeat of the March nationwide lockdown unnecessary, they said.

China has urged the United States to abandon its "Cold War" mentality, accusing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of maliciously creating political confrontation and smearing Beijing. Mr Pompeo had on Tuesday called for deeper cooperation with Australia, India and Japan to counter China's growing regional influence.

Universities are pushing for interdisciplinary curricula to better equip their students for a future of increasingly complex challenges. A key skill is the ability to spot connections in apparently unrelated fields, says education correspondent Amelia Teng.

A decade ago, Punggol was known mainly for its lalang fields and a lone tree atop a small hill. Even further back, Punggol was a rural village called Kampung Punggol. But today's Punggol is a far cry from these beginnings.

Those looking to go for a dip at the beach can now check if the quality of seawater is safe first. The National Environment Agency now provides weekly assessments of the quality of seawater at nine beaches in Singapore, along with an advisory, based on the levels of enterococcus bacteria measured in the water.

Novena Global Healthcare Group co-founders Terence Loh and Nelson Loh have agreed to legally separate all their business interests as the scandal dogging them and their web of companies intensified. The latest twist involves the Singapore police opening an investigation into their Cayman Islands holding company.

Dr Amanda Tan (above), a Singaporean researcher, is featured in an episode of BBC documentary Primates. The assistant professor of primatology is shown observing a group of long-tailed macaques, which comb the beach on Thailand's Koram Island for shellfish and are able to use tools to get at the flesh inside.

Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad talks to The Straits Times about his regrets and his erstwhile ally Muhyiddin Yassin. The elder statesman also talks about whether he might stand in the next general election. str.sg/blurb621

Ms Gillian Tee gave up a high-flying Silicon Valley career to found a home and nursing care start-up in Singapore. When the pandemic struck, she and her team at Homage built a small army to help fight Covid-19. str.sg/blurb622