Top stories from The Straits Times on Saturday, Dec 9

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kickstart your Saturday, Dec 9.


US defends Donald Trump on Jerusalem at the UN

Nikki Haley delivers a speech during the meeting at the UN headquarters in New York City. PHOTO: AFP

US ambassador Nikki Haley defended Trump as remaining committed to the peace process and a two state solution if the Israelis and Palestinians choose this.

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Review needed over cladding issue as safety concerns now involve more buildings

JTC LaunchPad @ one-north is one of two projects with unrestricted public access found to contain one or both brands of cladding material, as identified by the Singapore Civil Defence Force. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

After all, how can sub-standard building materials that could put occupants at risk somehow slip through Singapore's tough and stringent building controls?

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Shorter service hours start at selected MRT stations on East-West and North-South lines

Commuters boarding the free shuttle bus outside Tiong Bahru MRT station. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

The shorter operating hours are aimed at allowing for longer engineering hours on the two lines.

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Causes Week 2017: Old hotel linen gets new lease of life - with seniors' help

Seniors at the NTUC Health Silver Circle senior care centre in Jurong West making Christmas stockings out of linen from Shangri-La Hotel. The project has helped to improve their physical coordination and attention span. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Several years ago, Mr Stefan Phang noticed that the luxury hotels which used his company's services were throwing away tonnes of good quality linen every month.

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Virtual telco sells 'shrinking bill' promotion

Headquartered in Australia, Zero Mobile has picked Singapore as the first country to launch in.PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ZERO MOBILE SG

A new virtual mobile telco is setting up shop in Singapore with an unusual proposition to consumers.

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AGC sets out arguments for bringing case against Li Shengwu

Mr Li Shengwu was served court papers on Oct 17 at his work space at Harvard University by a US-based legal services firm.

Mr Li Shengwu may have put his Facebook privacy settings on "friends only" when he published a post that allegedly attacked the independence of Singapore's judiciary, but this does not entitle him to claim privacy, the Attorney-General's Chambers has argued.

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4% dip in families getting short to medium term government financial aid

Mr Maswadi Sujaie, 63, suffered a stroke in July and was unable to work. He gets $350 a month from the Short to Medium Term Assistance scheme for six months. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

After rising for four consecutive years, the number of families receiving short to medium term financial aid from the Government fell last year.

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Bitcoin drops after dramatic gains ahead of futures launch

The drop sparked fears that the market may be heading for a price collapse. PHOTO: REUTERS

Bitcoin lost almost a fifth of its value in 10 hours, having surged more than 40 per cent in the preceding 48 hours, sparking fears the market may be heading for a price collapse.

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No idea how to dress your Christmas tree? Here are suggestions for every budget

Using ornaments of various shapes makes the decorations on a tree look less boring, says Ms Jill Jeremiah Ng (top).
Using ornaments of various shapes makes the decorations on a tree look less boring, says Ms Jill Jeremiah Ng. ST PHOTO: BENJAMIN SEETOR

There are 16 days till Christmas and if you have not yet decked your halls, do not worry.

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Skating: Singapore's first Winter Olympian Cheyenne Goh is ST's Athlete of the Month

Cheyenne Goh, with ST sports editor Lee Yulin (left) and F&N Foods general manager Jennifer See, proudly holding her trophy and hamper for being the ST Star of the Month for November. She qualified for the Winter Games mainly on the strength of her 2
Cheyenne Goh, with ST sports editor Lee Yulin (left) and F&N Foods general manager Jennifer See, proudly holding her trophy and hamper for being the ST Star of the Month for November. She qualified for the Winter Games mainly on the strength of her 20th place at the Shanghai World Cup meeting. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Her first brush with ice skating took place at a public rink in Quebec when she was about four years old.

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