10 must-reads for today
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Tens of thousands of people protested in Russia's far east on Saturday against President Vladimir Putin, demanding the release of a regional governor arrested on suspicion of multiple murders. The protests in Khabarovsk and several other towns were the largest in Russia's provinces in many years, rivalling demonstrations in Moscow.
Australia has been rolling back its shutdown after largely suppressing the Covid-19 outbreak, but the centres of some major cities still remain eerily quiet. Analysts believe city centres are unlikely to return to their pre-pandemic activity levels, at least for the foreseeable future.
Younger Malaysians will not be able to vote if a snap election is called, despite the fact that the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 last year. These electoral reforms, which include automatic voter registration for those who qualify to vote, are set to be implemented only in July next year.
Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents defied concerns about social distancing and a new security law to vote in primaries held by pro-democracy opposition parties. Organisers said 500,000 people had voted by yesterday afternoon.
Covid-19 is driving a debate on how to pick and train public servants in an age of uncertainty and a surfeit of information. Suggestions such as "follow the science" come with their own complications, says global affairs correspondent Jonathan Eyal.
A new fund set up by Temasek Trust earlier this year has so far given out $1.6 million to 52 initiatives, which have provided help for more than 125,000 beneficiaries. The trust said last month that the oscar@sg fund, launched in April, supports ground-up initiatives that respond to community needs in Singapore that have arisen as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
More than 3,600 students took part in the National Chinese Challenge this year, setting a new participation record. Participation in the nationwide Chinese language quiz for primary and secondary school students has been growing over the years.
A faster-than-expected reopening from a near two-month lockdown may have saved Singapore from a deeper recession. Still, the economy is likely to have suffered a double-digit drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in the April-June period, said economists ahead of the release of the advance estimate for second-quarter GDP tomorrow.
Some of Singapore Athletics' (SA) 23 affiliates are uneasy over the national track and field body's intention to propose certain constitutional changes at an extraordinary meeting today. But president Tang Weng Fei said that most of them are in adherence to the guidelines and requirements.
Actor Zachary Quinto freely admits he is a career villain, and says that fans probably like it that way. The 43-year-old's latest baddie outing is in NOS4A2 (pronounced "Nosferatu"), a supernatural drama on Amazon Prime Video that casts him as an immortal feeding off children's souls - a part that required a drastic physical transformation.
StraitsTimes Digital
VIDEO
Miniature earths
Watch ceramic artist Steven Low create for the 30 Days Of Art series a set of clay globes in the style of his older Planet works. The spheres are fired using a method that originated in Eastern Europe in the 12th century. str.sg/blurb471
WEB SPECIAL
Airborne coronavirus?
There is scientific evidence that suggests the coronavirus can stay aloft in tiny droplets in stagnant air, such as in restaurants. Here are answers to a few questions raised by the latest research. str.sg/blurb472