Top stories from The Straits Times on Sunday, Dec 30

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Sunday, Dec 30.


Four-room HDB resale flats cross $1m mark in Tiong Bahru

At least four such transactions have been made since September, with all of them located in same cluster in Tiong Bahru.

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'I flunked the IP': Integrated Programme dropout shares his story

26-year-old university graduate Edwin Chaw recalls the pressures of the elite programme, and says his failure still haunts him.

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US President Donald Trump touts 'big progress' after phone call on trade with China's President Xi Jinping

Both the US and China talked of progress on Saturday after telephone talks between their leaders over a trade war that has helped rattle global markets.

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Lee Kuan Yew laid foundation of China-Singapore ties: PM Lee Hsien Loong

The award China recently conferred on founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is a strong affirmation of his longstanding support for the country's reform and opening up as well as the friendship between the two countries, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

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1 in 3 eligible consumers switches to electricity retailer

Take-up rate is expected to stay at about 30% as the market fully liberalises by next May, said the Energy Market Authority.

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What's in store for investors: Not near a bear market, but prepare for volatility

Retail investors in Singapore and abroad have been rattled by market swings this year while the property cooling measures in July took everyone by surprise, reversing the wave of collective sales that started last year.

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Malaysian PM Mahathir says his party needs to defend 'weak' Malay community

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad defended his party's pro-Malay stance amid criticisms raised even within his ruling Pakatan Harapan alliance that race-based policies should be toned down or abandoned in the Malaysia Baru (New Malaysia) administration.

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Circular Road transforms at night with seedy KTV lounges and 'girly bars'

It was cleaned up to become a more gentrified area but seedy operators have now returned.

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Inuka and the saga of Toto

A trip to the zoo recalls memories of Singapore's much-loved polar bear, and the bittersweet story of a Delhi orang utan.

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Confessions of a YouTube cook wannabe

Jiro dreams of sushi, I dream of launching my own YouTube cooking channel.

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