10 must-reads for today

Elite New Zealand soldiers taking part in a mission to retrieve bodies from White Island volcano yesterday, after Monday's eruption. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Elite New Zealand soldiers taking part in a mission to retrieve bodies from White Island volcano yesterday, after Monday's eruption. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

WORLD

1 NZ troops find 6 bodies

Elite soldiers took part in a mission to retrieve bodies from New Zealand's volatile White Island volcano, where they found six bodies, winning praise for a "courageous" mission carried out under the threat of another eruption. At first light, two military helicopters set off for the offshore volcano, where an eruption on Monday killed at least 16 people.


TOP OF THE NEWS

2 Clearer road to Brexit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday promised to carve the United Kingdom out of the European Union after leading his party to a massive election victory that he said had "smashed the roadblock" in Parliament over Brexit.


TOP OF THE NEWS

3 Big move for State Courts

The move was more than two decades in the making, but the district judges and staff of the State Courts took less than five minutes to make their way to the new State Courts Towers from the 44-year-old building next door. The new 35-storey building uses smart technology, and processes have been improved for the judiciary.


WORLD

4 Severe drought in Australia

Australia is in the grip of a severe drought that has crippled farmers and left entire towns without water. The effects are now spreading to major population centres such as Sydney, where its five million residents are subjected to Level 2 water restrictions, which include a ban on hosing gardens.


OPINION

5 Way forward for consent

Forget the false dichotomy between a process that is doctor-centric and one that is patient-centric. A good consent-taking process requires patients to participate and doctors to respond to their concerns, says Dr Wong Chiang Yin.


HOME

6 Healing grieving hearts

Grief literacy and death education are among the awareness efforts by Grief Matters, the first centre in Singapore to specialise in bereavement support. Run by charity Montfort Care, it provides free grief counselling to people who have lost a loved one, and also works with dying patients and their families.


HOME

7 Reactions to new MRT map

The new MRT network map has received mostly positive reactions online, with comments running the gamut from "amazing" to saying it was "about time". The newly introduced curves, however, have not gone down well with some netizens. Some are already waxing nostalgia for the current "iconic" map and its straight lines.


BUSINESS

8 HSBC's digital push

HSBC is looking to fine-tune aspects of its operations, from customer messaging to identity verification to product promotion, amid competition from financial technology firms. The bank's moves towards digitalisation comes as it weathers job cuts that are part of its restructuring.


SPORT

9 Slingers aim for first title

After reaching the Asean Basketball League Finals thrice in the past four years and losing them all, Xavier Alexander is back for a fifth season with the Singapore Slingers. And, having helped recruit imports Marcus Elliott and Anthony McClain, the swingman is determined to get his hands on the trophy.


ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

LIFE

10 Bookseller retiring

Mr Kenny Chan (below) is retiring at the end of the month from his role as Books Kinokuniya Asia-Pacific senior store and merchandising director. Under his direction, the bookstore became a place that kept its finger on the zeitgeist and embraced pop culture without sidelining literature.


Straits Times Digital

VIDEO

'Netflix tax' and other changes

Those who subscribe to Netflix and other overseas digital services will have to pay a 7 per cent goods and services tax next year. Here are nine other policy changes that will affect you next year. str.sg/blurb105

PODCAST

Food Picks

We talk about the fragrant bamboo-whisked matcha tea from Volks Coffee Co, originally named The Matcha Project, as well as the very affordable handmade soba from Tokyo Soba in Tanjong Pagar. str.sg/blurb106

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 14, 2019, with the headline 10 must-reads for today. Subscribe