Top stories from The Straits Times on Thursday, Sept 20

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Thursday, Sept 20.

Changi is Asia's most connected airport

Changi Airport can handle up to 82 million passengers a year. Its capacity could grow to more than 130 million passengers a year when Terminal 5 is ready around 2030. PHOTO: ST FILE

But globally, it dropped two notches down to eighth spot, with London's Heathrow Airport topping the chart.

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Blackout from Bedok to Boon Lay: What happened

Large parts of Singapore were hit by a blackout early Tuesday (Sept 18) morning, affecting close to 147,000 customers, and plunging homes and roads into darkness. Here's what happened.

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Employment agency that 'sold' maids on online marketplace Carousell has licence suspended

Faces of maids, allegedly from Indonesia, were posted in Carousell listings put up by user @maid.recruitment. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM CAROUSELL

The Ministry of Manpower said it has established that employment agency SRC Recruitment was behind the maid advertisements.

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Court rejects use of WhatsApp messages in CPF claim

A woman's bid to use WhatsApp messages from her former husband before he died to support her claim that he had wanted all his CPF money to go to their two sons, has been dismissed. PHOTO: REUTERS

The judge made clear the CPF Act prescribed that a member's funds must be bequeathed through nominations or distributed via intestacy laws.

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Is the cashless jigsaw complete?

ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO

By all accounts, there is no better time to jump on the cashless bandwagon than now. This is chiefly because the Government is picking up the tab for equipment rental and the 0.5 per cent transaction fee for three years upon hawkers signing up with Nets. However, cash flow concerns are not fully addressed.

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Alibaba's Jack Ma says promise of one million jobs in US has been scuppered by trade row

Ma (above) said his pledge had been made on the basis of continued cooperation and trade growth between the US and China. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

One million jobs would be close to 1 per cent of all jobs in the United States - meaning that successfully delivering on the pledge would make Alibaba one of the country's largest private employers.

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'I don't have an attorney-general': Trump escalates his attacks on Jeff Sessions

US President Donald Trump (left) with Attorney-General Jeff Sessions at a graduation ceremony in Quantico, Virginia, on Dec 15, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

Mr Trump said the former senator from Alabama came off as "mixed up and confused" when he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2017.

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Nearly half of cellphone calls will be scams by 2019, report in US says

Spam calls are set to rise from 3.7 per cent of total calls in 2017 to a projected 45 per cent by early 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

The report projects an explosion of incoming spam calls, marking a massive leap from 3.7 per cent of total calls in 2017 to more than 29 per cent this year, to a projected 45 per cent by early 2019.

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Reel Rush: The best season for movies is here

A Star Is Born. PHOTOS: 20TH CENTURY FOX, GOLDEN VILLAGE, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, WARNER BROS, UIP

The fall movie season is usually the best time for movie buffs. It is when the prestige movies, ones that are trying to make a run at the Oscars and Golden Globes, show up. This year offers a stellar line-up from biopics about historical figures to reboots of well-loved classics.

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Football: Ronaldo controversially sent off, Lyon stun Man City in Champions League matches

Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to being sent off after being red-carded during the Champions League match with Valencia. PHOTO: REUTERS

Ronaldo's Champions League debut for Juventus lasted less than half an hour as the Portuguese star was red-carded after a collision with Valencia defender Jeison Murillo.

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