Top stories from The Straits Times on Saturday, April 14

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kickstart your Saturday, April 14.


Three veteran ministers expected to step down in Cabinet reshuffle

From left: Trade and Industry (Trade) Minister Lim Hng Kiang, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say and Information and Communications Minister Yaacob Ibrahim are expected to step down from the front bench, said sources.

A Cabinet reshuffle is expected to be announced this month, and it will see younger ministers being placed in new portfolios to prepare them for bigger leadership roles, say MPs and political analysts.

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Drivers welcome extension for Uber's services

Grab's office in Midview City. Grab said last week that "thousands" of Uber drivers had signed up with the Singapore-based firm following the announcement of its deal with Uber. ST FILE PHOTO

The directives issued by the CCCS to keep the private-hire car market open while it investigates the merger also require Grab not to lock drivers into exclusivity obligations.

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Baby in yacht blaze at Sentosa Cove undergoes 8 operations in 3 weeks

Baby Reagan Thor when he was first admitted to hospital on March 22, 2018. PHOTO: ALVIS THOR

A nine-month-old baby who suffered severe burns when the yacht he was on burst into flames has undergone seven operations and one skin graft since the incident at Sentosa Cove three weeks ago.

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Clearing the air on war against old bikes

Motorcycles make up less than 15 per cent of Singapore's vehicle population and 84 per cent of them have engines no bigger than 400cc. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER FILE

Evidence is required to convince people that old motorcycles contribute most to vehicular CO emissions here.

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Video of fracas involving five-year-old boy with autism draws mixed reactions

A man physically assaulted a five-year-old boy at an indoor playground on April 9, 2018. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/OW MAY CHEN

The recent incident involving the abuse of a boy with autism at a playground in Yishun has sparked strong online debate.

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Singapore Zoo's Inuka the polar bear through the years

Born in 1990 at the Singapore Zoo in the early hours of Dec 26, Inuka would be well in its 70s if it were human. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Singapore's beloved polar bear, Inuka, is ailing and might have to be put down. Let's take a walk down memory lane and remember Inuka's lifetime in the tropics.

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Malaysia elections: Scandal-hit Umno women's chief Shahrizat Jalil tipped to contest again

Ms Shahrizat Jalil, who leads 1.3 million women in Umno, came under scrutiny in 2011 over her husband's entanglement in the so-called cows-and-condo scandal which caused public outrage. PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN MALAYSIA

The chief of Umno's powerful women's wing was not fielded in the previous Malaysian general election after her husband's entanglement with the so-called cows-and-condo scandal caused public outrage.

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Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen has been under criminal probe for months, US says

Attorney Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's long-time personal attorney, in New York, US on April 12, 2018. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

A months-long investigation into President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen's business dealings led to this week's searches of Cohen's residence, hotel room, office, safety deposit box and two cell phones, US prosecutors told a judge in a court filing.

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Indian lawmaker arrested over teenager's rape as protests mount

Indian activists protest over alleged political silence regarding the rape of a child near Jammu and a rape case in Uttar Pradesh state, in New Delhi on April 12, 2018. PHOTO: AFP

A lawmaker from India's ruling party was arrested on Friday in connection with the rape of a teenager, police said, after days of protests by activists accusing authorities of failing to investigate the case and other attacks.

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Commonwealth Games: Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu claim table tennis team's first gold

Singapore's Feng Tianwei (right) and Yu Mengyu (left) will face India's Manika Batra and Mouma Das in the Commonwealth Games table tennis doubles final on April 13, 2018. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

Singapore paddlers Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu won the Republic's table tennis team's first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games when they beat India's Manika Batra and Mouma Das 11-5, 11-4, 11-5.

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