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President Trump has invited China’s President Xi to stick around after the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires so that Trump can host a dinner party – “maybe hamburgers, maybe more; it’ll be just great, great,” he might have said. Xi has tentatively accepted and the world can assume that the two leaders will engage in substantial conversation about the trade war, tension in the South China Seas and other subjects of deep concern to both countries. The dailyReport Must-reads from across Asia - directly to your inbox While the Dow Jones seems to flutter up and down depending whether the pre-summit preparatory talks by officials are perceived to be going well or not, most observers following Trump closely are not expecting much to come out of the coming summit. A major reason for low expectation is Trump’s notorious negotiating style. He says one thing and means another. He always reserves the right to abruptly change his position at any time. This approach … [Read more...] about Will history remember the coming Trump-Xi dinner party?

The European Union has signed a controversial agreement to support Vietnam’s forest governance improvement goals, aimed at ensuring that the timber it imports from the Southeast Asian country is legally sourced. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) was signed on October 19 in Brussels by Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, and Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnam’s minister of agriculture. The dailyReport Must-reads from across Asia - directly to your inbox The implementation of the VPA will involve multiple steps, according to Bruno Angelet, ambassador of the EU delegation to Vietnam. “Currently timber and timber products exported to the EU from Vietnam are subject to the due diligence requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which prohibits placement of illegally harvested timber on the EU market,” Angelet wrote in an emailed response to Mongabay. … [Read more...] about EU forest agreement with Vietnam aims for ‘clean’ timber

Singapore and the United States are exploring new turf in their relationship as they reach beyond the traditional domains of defence and trade to grasp opportunities in areas such as driverless cars, energy and cyber security. Both Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and US Vice-President Mike Pence agreed yesterday that there were more ways for the two countries to work together, and there was much room to grow. "Although our bilateral relationship is already comprehensive, we are still discovering new ways to cooperate, for example, in energy, advanced manufacturing and technology partnerships," PM Lee told reporters in a joint press engagement with Mr Pence at the Istana. Mr Pence, who was on his first official visit to Singapore, arrived on Tuesday to participate in this week's Asean-US meeting and East Asia Summit on behalf of President Donald Trump. After inspecting a ceremonial guard at the Istana yesterday, Mr Pence and his wife witnessed the naming of a new orchid hybrid, the … [Read more...] about Singapore, US pledge to enhance ties in energy, cyber security

Researchers at the National University of Singapore's Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine say they have developed a molecule that can "kill" melanoma skin cancer cells. The man-made molecule is said to control the growth of cancer cells by activating a "death switch", starting a process which causes the cells to die. … [Read more...] about NUS team develops man-made molecule that can ‘kill’ skin cancer cells

SINGAPORE – Students entering the polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) next year will have to pay more than their seniors.  Checks by The Straits Times found that their annual fees, which apply to newcomers in the 2019 academic year, will go up by between 3 per cent and 7 per cent, like the year before.  … [Read more...] about New polytechnic and ITE students to pay higher tuition fees in 2019