Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Monday, Dec 31.

Pacific Rim trade deal enters into force with steep tariff cuts for six nations including Singapore, Australia, Japan

Consumers will also stand to gain from the deal. For example, Japanese retailer Aeon has already cut prices of Australian beef at its supermarkets.

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More deaths, fewer injuries in construction from Jan to Nov

A Ministry of Manpower spokesman told The Straits Times that there were 13 workplace fatalities in the construction sector from January to last month, up from 10 in the same period last year.

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Malaysia’s PM Mahathir indicates will hand over power to Anwar, despite calls to stay on

“I am aware of calls for this old prime minister to remain for a long time. But we could only win the election with our coalition parties, and to have this coalition, one of the conditions was that the prime minister, their former enemy, can only be prime minister as a temporary measure,” he said.

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Marina Bay all set to ring in 2019

As the year rushes to a close, no effort has been spared to ring in the new, with participants of the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2019 working hard in the past week to put together an exciting show.

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Minimum legal age for smoking raised to 19 from Jan 1

It will be raised progressively every January until 2021, when smokers will have to be at least 21.

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Graham says Trump committed to smart Syria withdrawal

“We talked about Syria. He told me some things I didn’t know that made me feel a lot better about where we’re headed in Syria,” the Republican senator told reporters.

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10 tips on recovering from your holiday binge

While so-called detox diets may lead to rapid short-term weight loss, it is unclear whether these are sustainable in maintaining a healthy weight in the long term, say health experts.

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AVA investigating pet boarding service Platinium Dogs Club after alleged pet mistreatment

The pet boarding facility based in a Bukit Panjang landed house was raided by the authorities on Saturday following complaints.

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Yakult Singapore to stop providing straws from end December 2018

Some netizens pointed out that its products’ bottles are still made of plastic and suggested that the company look into finding a non-plastic alternative.

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Football: Five things we learnt from the Premier League weekend

Liverpool took another significant step towards a first top-flight title in 29 years by thrashing Arsenal 5-1 to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League, thanks also to Tottenham’s collapse at home to Wolves.

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