Top stories from The Straits Times on Thursday, Dec 5

Published
Dec 5, 2019, 6:50 am SGT

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Thursday, Dec 5.

Cross Island MRT Line to run directly under Central Catchment Nature Reserve


Ongoing works at the work-site of TEL Bright Hill MRT Station, which is expected to be completed in 2020.
Bright Hill station will be an interchange station of the new Cross Island Line. 
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

MOT said the direct alignment will have tunnels going 70m below the nature reserve.

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Jokowi a deft hand at domestic politics and global affairs named The Straits Times Asian of the Year 2019


ST editors hail President Joko Widodo's role in putting Indonesia at the heart of Asean, the 10-member regional bloc, in recent times. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

Indonesia's seventh and current president has been a unifying figure in an age of chaos and disruption.

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Pisa report: Students' fear of failure tied to focus on results


The latest Pisa study also showed that 60 per cent of Singapore students had a "growth mindset", or believe that their intelligence can change with effort they put in. PHOTO: ST FILE

Observers note that a student's sense of self-worth and confidence is often influenced by how well he does academically.

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Cross Island Line: Nature groups worry move may influence other future projects


Nature Society (Singapore) president Shawn Lum, a botanist, said impact of tunnelling and worksites for the direct line could be kept to a moderate level if mitigation measures are properly implemented, noting that both alignments would have an impact on wildlife and the habitat. PHOTO: ST FILE 

The decision on whether the Cross Island Line will go under or around Singapore's largest nature reserve was six years in the making.

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Google explains ban on political ads regulated under Pofma code of conduct in e-mail to SDP


Singapore Democratic Party chairman Paul Tambyah speaking at a rally at Jurong East stadium on Sept 6, 2015. PHOTO: ST FILE

SDP had earlier likened the move to a ban on freedom of speech.

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Legal experts summoned by Democrats call Trump actions impeachable


The impeachment inquiry focuses on President Donald Trump’s request on Ukraine to conduct investigations that could harm Democratic political rival Joe Biden. PHOTO: AFP

His actions to prod Ukraine to pursue investigations that could benefit him politically represent impeachable offenses, constitutional law experts testified.

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Election next week may be Britain's most unpredictable


Although Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) is regarded as much more credible than Jeremy Corbyn, the far-left leader of Labour, neither is particularly popular. PHOTO: AFP

The chief reason for the difficulty in gauging the results is the unprecedented volatility of the electorate.

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Man wins dispute with siblings over sale of property worth $8.1 million


(From left) Mr Neo Aik Soo, his younger sister Neo Geek Kuan and his older brother Neo Aik Siong. PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO

His two siblings argued that the purchase of a shophouse in Keong Saik Road was made with family funds but the judge found such monies didn't exist.

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Six SPH productions highlighted as quality public service broadcast programmes


Hawker Melvin Chew and his mother, Madam Lim Bee Hong, are featured in A Day In The Kitchen, one of three online video series from The Straits Times that made it to the list celebrating quality local public service broadcast programmes produced and shown on television and online media. PHOTO: ST VIDEO

They include A Day In The Kitchen, a video series which documents what happens behind-the-scenes at restaurants and hawker stalls.

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SEA Games: Team Singapore reap 10 golds from five sports in a single day



The three Quah siblings - Jing Wen, Zheng Wen and Ting Wen - all struck gold in SEA Games record times. PHOTOS: ST FILE, EPA-EFE, SSA

It includes the haul in the swimming pool by the three Quah siblings - Ting Wen, Zheng Wen and Jing Wen - who all struck gold in Games record times.

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