A supersized family and lunch with Mahathir: The Straits Times' top 5 videos of 2018

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From a lunch interview with Dr Mahathir Mohamad to a peek inside a supersized family, jump in on weekly live show Hangout with ST's lookback at the most impactful videos produced by The Straits Times Video team in 2018.

In 2018 alone, The Straits Times' video team produced almost 1,000 videos. But as the year draws to a close, we have chosen just five of them for you.

Some are serious and some are light-hearted. Some focus on human interest topics, while others cover major world events.

Regardless of their category, all of them were selected because they showed the capabilities and versatility of the ST video team, and because they were popular among you - the viewers.

So sit back, relax and enjoy:

1. Up before sunrise

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Being an air stewardess is not just about travelling the world. It also means having very early call times and battling jet lag, says 25-year-old Ms Charmaine Ang.

Some of us may be familiar with the hassle of rushing to reach the airport two hours before our flights. This may happen on a yearly or even monthly basis for more frequent travellers.

For Ms Charmaine Ang, however, this is part and parcel of her daily job as an air stewardess with Singapore Airlines.

ST spoke with her and found out more about the challenges cabin crew face, such as battling jet lag and waking up at odd hours.

The video was part of ST's video miniseries Before 10am, which focused on people who start work before or at sunrise.

2. Lunch with Mahathir

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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad talks about the upcoming general election, working with the opposition, his thoughts on Singapore and his health.

In March this year, ST executive editor Sumiko Tan met Dr Mahathir Mohamad for lunch while he was still gearing up for the watershed election that brought him back to power.

Aside from discussing the challenges his then opposition faced, ST also found out more about his unique diet, like having only two spoonfuls of rice at night.

3. The supersized family

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Madam Elliawati Mohamed Ali, 39, and her husband Mr Idwan Sa’at, 45, are parents to 10 children, aged five months old to 16 years old.

In 2017, the number of Singapore's registered births were at a low of 39,615. While fewer babies were being born overall, some families were bucking the trend by having four or more children.

And then there is Madam Elliawati Mohamed Ali and her husband Mr Idwan Sa'at, who have 10 children.

ST spoke to them and found out about what a day in their life was like, as well as how their family plans their budget.

4. The guardians of our borders

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Woodlands Checkpoint is one of the busiest land checkpoints in the world. In this first episode of Singapore Works, we take a behind-the-scenes look at how Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers work.

Being an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer is no easy task. Over the recent holiday peak period, officers even had to be recalled to work on their rest days in order to cope with the higher volume of travellers.

In November this year, ST went behind the scenes with ICA officers to see what challenges they face, and how they cope with their heavy workload.

5. Trump-Kim summit

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Associate research fellow Shawn Ho of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies shares his key takeaways after witnessing the handshake between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He also analyses their lunch.

No recap of this year's highlights would be complete without the historic Trump-Kim summit.

When United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met on June 12, the world watched - and ST covered it.

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