While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 6, 2025
The US trade gap with China shrank by a third to $12 billion, its narrowest since 2004.
US trade deficit hits nearly 2-year low
The US trade deficit narrowed in June on a sharp drop in consumer goods imports, and the trade gap with China shrank to its lowest in more than 21 years, the latest evidence of the imprint on global commerce President Donald Trump is making with sweeping tariffs on imported goods.
Mr Trump's tariffs are leaving their mark on the US economy beyond trade, as a measure of activity in the vast services sector hit stall-speed in July, with businesses saying the swarm of new import taxes is driving up costs and making business planning more difficult.
The overall trade gap narrowed 16.0 per cent in June to US$60.2 billion (S$78 billion), the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Aug 5.
Days after reporting that the goods trade deficit tumbled 10.8 per cent to its lowest since September 2023, the government said the full deficit including services also was its narrowest since then.
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Zelensky says he had 'productive' call with Trump ahead of ceasefire deadline
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug 5 that he had had a 'productive' conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump on ending the war, sanctions on Russia and the finalisation of a US-Ukraine drone deal.
'President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities,' Mr Zelensky wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks.
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Mr Trump, who has signalled frustration with Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has given the Russian president until August 8 to make peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions.
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Netanyahu meets security officials as Israel considers full Gaza takeover
PHOTO: AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met senior security officials to finalise a new strategy for the 22-month war in Gaza, his office said on Aug 5, with media reporting he favoured a complete military takeover of the Strip.
Despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave, efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas have collapsed.
Local health authorities said at least 20 people were killed by Israeli gunfire as they waited for UN aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip.
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Two Chinese nationals in California accused of illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China
AFP
Two Chinese nationals were arrested in California and charged with illegally shipping tens of millions of dollars' worth of AI chips to China, including Nvidia H100s, the US Justice Department said on Aug 5.
Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, exported the advanced Nvidia chips and other technology to China from October 2022 through July 2025 without obtaining the required licenses from the US Commerce Department, a criminal complaint says.
According to the complaint, Geng and Yang's El Monte-based company, ALX Solutions Inc, was founded in 2022, shortly after the US imposed sweeping export controls on technology to China and began to require licenses for the chips.
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US House panel subpoenas Clintons in Epstein probe
PHOTO: AFP
US lawmakers on Aug 5 subpoenaed former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for testimony on Jeffrey Epstein, in a major escalation of the controversy surrounding the investigation into the notorious sex offender.
The Clintons were among multiple former Democratic and Republican government officials – as well as the Justice Department – targeted by investigators reviewing the handling of the disgraced financier's case after he died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
The White House has been facing increasingly intense demands to be more transparent after the Justice Department angered Trump supporters – many of whom believe Epstein was murdered in a cover-up – when it confirmed in July that he had died by suicide in his prison cell and that his case was effectively closed.
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CNA
a few seconds ago
- CNA
Trump may meet Putin as early as next week
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is planning to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday (August 6), citing two people familiar with the matter. The report also said Trump intends to hold a separate meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The plans were disclosed during a call with European leaders earlier on Wednesday, the newspaper added. The White House did not immediately respond to the report. However, Trump acknowledged earlier in the day that he spoke with European leaders following a 'highly productive' meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin in Russia. "Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump, who had pledged to end the war in Ukraine on 'day one' during his presidential campaign, has held several phone calls with Putin and has also met with Zelenskiy since returning to the White House in January. In recent weeks, however, Trump has expressed growing frustration over what he sees as Moscow's lack of progress toward ending the conflict, now entering its fourth year.
Straits Times
a few seconds ago
- Straits Times
'I won't humiliate myself': Brazil's president sees no point in tariff talks with Trump
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA - As U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods jumped to 50% on Wednesday, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters in an interview that he saw no room for direct talks now with U.S. President Donald Trump that would likely be a "humiliation." Brazil is not about to announce reciprocal tariffs, he said. Nor will his government give up on cabinet-level talks. But Lula himself is in no rush to ring the White House. "The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him," Lula said in an interview from his presidential residence in Brasilia. "But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I won't humiliate myself." Despite Brazil's exports facing one of the highest tariffs imposed by Trump, the new U.S. trade barriers look unlikely to derail Latin America's largest economy, giving Lula more room to stand his ground against Trump than most Western leaders. Lula described U.S.-Brazil relations at a 200-year nadir after Trump tied the new tariff to his demands for an end to the prosecution of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial for plotting to overturn the 2022 election. The president said Brazil's Supreme Court, which is hearing the case against Bolsonaro, "does not care what Trump says and it should not," adding that Bolsonaro should face another trial for provoking Trump's intervention, calling the right-wing former president a "traitor to the homeland." "We had already pardoned the U.S. intervention in the 1964 coup," said Lula, who got his political start as a union leader protesting against the military government that followed a U.S.-backed ouster of a democratically elected president. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore Three people taken to hospital after fire in Punggol executive condominium Singapore Elderly man found dead in SingPost Centre stairwell could have been in confused state: Coroner Singapore 81 primary schools to hold ballot for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Singapore Two workers died after being hit by flying gas cylinders in separate incidents in 2025 Sport Young Lions and distance runner Soh Rui Yong left out of SEA Games contingent "But this now is not a small intervention. It's the president of the United States thinking he can dictate rules for a sovereign country like Brazil. It's unacceptable." The Brazilian president said he had no personal issues with Trump, adding that they could meet at the United Nations next month or U.N. climate talks in November. But he noted Trump's track record of dressing down White House guests such as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "What Trump did with Zelenskiy was humiliation. That's not normal. What Trump did with Ramaphosa was humiliation," Lula said. "One president can't be humiliating another. I respect everyone and I demand respect." Lula said his ministers were struggling to open talks with U.S. peers, so his government was focused on domestic measures to cushion the economic blow of U.S. tariffs, while maintaining "fiscal responsibility." He also said he was planning to call leaders from the BRICS group of developing nations, starting with India and China, to discuss the possibility of a joint response to U.S. tariffs. Lula also described plans to create a new national policy for Brazil's strategic mineral resources, treating them as a matter of "national sovereignty" to break with a history of mining exports that added little value in Brazil. REUTERS
Straits Times
27 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump plans to meet with Russia's Putin as soon as next week, New York Times reports
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A 2017 photo shows US President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting at an Apec summit in Vietnam. WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump plans to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Aug 6, citing two people familiar with the plan. Mr Trump then plans to meet with Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the newspaper reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders on Aug 6. The White House did not immediately respond to the report, but earlier on Aug 6, Mr Trump acknowledged that he spoke with European leaders after US envoy Steve Witkoff's 'highly productive' meeting with Mr Putin in Russia. While noting that 'great progress' was made during the meeting, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.' Mr Trump, who promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine on 'day one' during his presidential campaign, has held several phone calls with Mr Putin and has met Mr Zelensky since returning to the White House in January. However, in recent weeks, he has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow over a lack of progress towards ending the three-year conflict. REUTERS
