Top stories from The Straits Times on Saturday, April 6

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Saturday, April 6.

NKF to build more dialysis centres in polyclinics, community hospitals and CCs

New centres located in Punggol Polyclinic and Toa Payoh West Community Club are due to be operational by September this year and August next year respectively. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

New centres located in Punggol Polyclinic and Toa Payoh West Community Club are due to be operational by September this year and August next year respectively.

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Wirecard director suspected of fraud no longer at company

Wirecard's headquarters in Munich, Germany. The Wirecard Asia director at the centre of a global scandal rocking the digital payments giant has not worked at the company since April 1, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

Sources said Mr Edo Kurniawan had not been seen in the office for weeks since the accusations surfaced in February, and his Singaporean colleagues had told police investigators that they had lost contact with the senior accounting executive.

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Dark clouds loom over surprise Thai election winner

Pheu Thai Party's prime ministerial candidate Sudarat Keyuraphan (seated, second from left), Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit (seated, centre) and leaders of other parties at a news conference in Bangkok on March 27, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

The Future Forward Party is now under siege, fighting off criminal charges and allegations that it is hostile to the monarchy. What happens next could fundamentally alter the political equation.

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Workers' Party will not call for repeal of Section 377A as there is no consensus among its leaders: Pritam

Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh also highlighted his concern that turning Section 377A into a political issue may worsen divisions in society. PHOTO: ST FILE

Noting the deepening cultural war between conservatives and liberals, party chief Pritam Singh highlighted his concern that turning Section 377A into a political issue may worsen divisions in society.

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Integrated resorts' $9b investment will help Singapore stay ahead of rivals: Analysts

One of the casino establishments in Sihanoukville, the coastal capital of Preah Sihanouk province in Cambodia. Rival markets like Cambodia, Macau and Vietnam are building more developments. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

The new $9 billion investment in Singapore's two integrated resorts, announced this week, will cement their appeal amid stiffening regional competition for a slice of the pie, analysts said.

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Seoul declares national disaster as winds fan giant forest fire

A forest fire rages near a town in Sokcho. PHOTO: AFP

Fanned by strong winds, the blaze quickly spread, incinerating 400 homes and 500 hectares of land while the authorities deployed some 900 fire engines and tens of thousands of personnel to bring it under control.

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Ammonia pollution: Water supply restored in most Kulai homes

High levels of ammonia were detected in Johor's Sayong River (right), which left about 17,000 households in Kulai without water. According to news reports, water supply was restored to about 80 per cent of households in Kulai yesterday. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

Johor International Trade, Investment and Utility Committee chairman Jimmy Puah told ST he had received 31 complaints from affected residents and clean-up operations were under way. He said only the PUB-owned sites had not resumed operations as at 3pm Friday.

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Basketball: Harlem Globetrotters wow fans with their magical brand of entertaining basketball

The Harlem Globetrotters' Wham (40) in action during the Singapore stop of their 2019 Fan Powered World Tour. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

The Harlem Globetrotters entertained more than 3,000 spectators in their exhibition match against the Washington Generals with their usual four-point shots, dance parties and stunts such as climbing on top of the basketball hoop and "arguing" with the referee.

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Australian winegrowers putting sunscreen on grapes

Mr Bruce Tyrrell on his vineyard in Australia's Hunter Valley, north of Sydney. To ensure his grapes can survive in the increasingly warm and dry weather, he has adopted a novel solution: applying sunscreen on the grapes to prevent them from becoming sunburnt. PHOTO: TYRRELL'S WINES

Hotter weather prompts new solutions from winegrowers as harvest patterns change and alcohol content rises.

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Sprained neck, swollen eye for 60-year-old security supervisor punched in face at Roxy Square

Police are investigating an incident in which a man was caught on camera punching a 60-year-old security supervisor at Roxy Square. SCREENGRAB: ANDREW LIM

The incident, which the police have classified as a case of voluntarily causing hurt, left Mr Andrew Lim with a swollen eye, a sprained neck and broken glasses.

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