Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (Aug 18)
Singapore exports tipped for slower growth after worse-than-expected contraction in July
[SINGAPORE] The Republic is poised for slower export growth in the second half of 2025, economists said, after last month's numbers came in worse than expected.
More customer interest in floating-rate home loans amid Sora decline in Q2
[SINGAPORE] The local banks have observed more customer interest in home loans on floating-rate packages, following a decline in the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora) in the second quarter of 2025.
Winners and losers from Prabowo's first budget for Indonesia's economy
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[JAKARTA] Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's debut state budget has put the spotlight on food, healthcare and energy security, with analysts highlighting consumer companies, banks and energy companies as the main beneficiaries.
Bringing buzz to Woodlands, Kranji and Sembawang: Things to know
[SINGAPORE] The Republic's northern region is set to be rejuvenated into a vibrant precinct with business and industrial districts alongside nature, housing and transport amenities.
Singapore Shopping Centre back on the market at S$200 million
[SINGAPORE] Singapore Shopping Centre is relaunched for collective sale again – this time at a lower asking price of S$200 million, down 21.6 per cent from the S$255 million reserve price listed in its previous attempt.
Reit managers should cut acquisition and divestment fees for property transactions, do right by investors
[SINGAPORE] Want to raise money easily? Be a listed real estate investment trust (Reit) with a large asset portfolio, ample trading liquidity, good institutional investor following, an established track record, a strong sponsor and a healthy market valuation.
STI falls 1% after Trump-Putin meeting
[SINGAPORE] Singapore shares fell on Monday (Aug 18), following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
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Straits Times
4 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Well-mannered White House welcome for Ukraine leaves many questions
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures as U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during a meeting at the Oval Office of the White House, amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump gathered European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a hastily arranged White House meeting on Monday to discuss a path to ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Here are takeaways from the talks: WARM TONE, LITTLE SUBSTANCE Seven European leaders, the Ukrainian president, their motorcades, dozens of Trump administration staff and more than 100 journalists swarmed the White House campus on Monday in anticipation of the unusual meeting. Would Trump and Zelenskiy agree on a path to peace? Or would their latest Oval Office session devolve into a bitter squabble as in February? Neither scenario occurred. Zelenskiy, chided for his appearance and manner in February, adjusted both. Wearing more formal clothing and repeatedly expressing his gratitude to Trump, he was greeted by a far more complimentary U.S. president than in the past. But, despite Trump's vow to assist in Ukraine's security after a hypothetical peace deal, there was no immediate sign that any party had substantially changed position on land swaps, security guarantees or sanctions. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jobs, infrastructure and homes at the core of Singapore's resilience: Economists Singapore New online tools by SkillsFuture Singapore help companies plan and curate staff training Life Chinese EV brand Nio to be launched in Singapore in first quarter of 2026 Asia 2 firefighters die in building fire at Osaka's Dotonbori tourist district Singapore Driver hurt after car turns turtle in Upper Thomson accident Sport National tennis player Shaheed Alam serves up charity event to benefit migrant workers Life New Blackpink album scheduled for November, YG Entertainment confirms Singapore Jail for driver of 11-tonne garbage truck that ran over cyclist in Woodlands Instead, Trump ended with promises to host a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to address the many remaining issues. HEAPING PRAISE "Have you said 'thank you' once?" U.S. Vice President JD Vance asked Zelenskiy in February, accusing him of failing to show sufficient gratitude for U.S. support. On Monday, Zelenskiy made sure that was not an issue. His opening remarks in the Oval Office included eight thank-yous, mostly for Trump. "Thank you so much, Mr. President ... thank you for your attention. Thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you," Zelenskiy said. He included the U.S. first lady, who sent a letter to Putin about abducted children in Ukraine. "Using this opportunity, my thanks to your wife," the Ukrainian president said. "And thanks to all our partners and that you supported this format. And after our meeting, we're going to have leaders who are around us, the UK and France, Germany... all partners around Ukraine supporting us. Thanks (to) them. Thank you very much for your invitation." Unlike in February, Vance this time sat largely silent. COMBAT FORMAL The stakes of the meeting could not have been higher. But one of the most-asked questions among diplomats in D.C. could not have been more frivolous: Would the Ukrainian president wear a suit? The answer: kind of. Zelenskiy showed up to the White House in what one European diplomat described as "almost a suit." His black jacket had tiny lapels and jetted chest pockets. He did not wear a tie. His attire, which split the difference between the battlefield and the boardroom, could be described as combat formal. Those sartorial details matter when it comes to dealing with the U.S. president, who was upset that Zelenskiy did not wear a suit for their February meeting. Zelenskiy passed the fashion test this time, however. When one journalist in the Oval Office said Zelenskiy looked "fabulous," Trump chimed in to agree. "I said the same thing," Trump told reporters. DIVIDE OVER CEASEFIRE The assembled European leaders, Zelenskiy included, were careful to paper over policy disagreements with Trump, keeping their comments vague and showering the U.S. president with compliments. But one point of disagreement did bubble to the surface. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the assembled leaders and media that he wanted to see Putin agree to a ceasefire. Trump had long pushed for a ceasefire in Ukraine. But he largely jettisoned that goal after meeting with Putin last week in Alaska, a shift that was widely seen as a diplomatic defeat for Ukraine. The U.S. president now says he is fine trying to move directly to a peace deal. "To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire," Merz said. "I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire, so let's work on that." Trump pushed back, arguing he has solved many conflicts without first reaching a ceasefire. WHOSE BOOTS ON THE GROUND? One of the great mysteries that hung over the summit was what support the U.S. would give to secure any Russia-Ukraine deal long term. Trump hasn't offered U.S. troops' "boots on the ground" to guarantee Ukraine's security from Russia, reflecting American reticence to commit to military entanglements or a head-to-head confrontation with a nuclear power. Instead, he has offered weapons sales and promised that Americans will do business in Ukraine, assurances that Ukrainians see as far less than a security guarantee. Europeans are preparing for a peacekeeping mission backed by their forces. Yet, asked explicitly whether U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine could include U.S. troops in the country, Trump did not rule it out. Instead, he teased an announcement as soon as Monday on the topic. "We'll let you know that, maybe, later today," Trump said. He said Europe was the "first line of defense" but that "we'll be involved." WHAT'S NEXT Trump said he would call Putin and set up a trilateral meeting with Ukraine at a time and place to be determined. Despite some private misgivings, the assembled leaders agreed that such a meeting was a logical next step. Still, the path forward is more complex than Trump and his allies are letting on. For one, Russia has delayed and obstructed high-level meetings with Ukraine in the past, and it was not immediately clear that Putin would actually sit down with Zelenskiy, who he frequently describes as an illegitimate leader. Additionally, it is unclear how much a principal-level meeting would actually advance the cause of peace. The gulf between the Russian and Ukrainian positions is vast. The Kremlin said on Monday the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is a non-starter, a stance that would be hard for Ukraine to swallow. Russia is also calling for Ukraine to fork over significant chunks of territory that Kyiv controls, another proposal that Ukraine's leaders are not entertaining. REUTERS
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
What does Ukraine's constitution say about territorial changes?
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A drone view shows the ruins of residential buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo KYIV - Territorial questions are certain to be a key area of focus when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders meet U.S. President Donald Trump for talks on Monday to map out a possible peace deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and the U.S. president has said "land-swapping" and changes to territory will be crucial for any settlement. Two sources briefed on Russian thinking said on Saturday that Putin and Trump have discussed a proposal requiring Ukraine to fully withdraw troops from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the eastern Donetsk region. UKRAINE'S CONSTITUTION ON THE ISSUE OF TERRITORY Any changes to Ukraine's territory would have to be settled in Ukraine by a referendum, according to the country's constitution. "Issues of altering the territory of Ukraine are resolved exclusively by an All-Ukrainian referendum," Article 73 says. The question can be put to a referendum by popular initiative if the signatures of three million eligible Ukrainian voters are gathered from at least two thirds of the country's regions, it says. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jobs, infrastructure and homes at the core of Singapore's resilience: Economists Business New online tools by SkillsFuture Singapore help companies plan and curate staff training Life Chinese EV brand Nio to be launched in Singapore in first quarter of 2026 Asia 2 firefighters die in building fire at Osaka's Dotonbori tourist district Singapore Driver hurt after car turns turtle in Upper Thomson accident Sport National tennis player Shaheed Alam serves up charity event to benefit migrant workers Life New Blackpink album scheduled for November, YG Entertainment confirms Singapore Jail for driver of 11-tonne garbage truck that ran over cyclist in Woodlands UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT STANCE Ukraine, like its European allies, strongly opposes the idea of legally recognising any Ukrainian territory as Russian. But it has tacitly acknowledged it will almost certainly have to accept some de facto territorial losses. Zelenskiy has said talks to end the war should take the current front line as their starting point and cannot begin by Kyiv having to withdraw its troops from parts of its own sovereign territory that Russia does not control. He has said he does not have a mandate to give away any of the country's territory, and that tracts of state land cannot be traded around as if they were his private property. Zelenskiy has also said that if Kyiv withdrew troops from the heavily fortified eastern Donetsk region, it would open up Ukraine to the threat of Russian advances deeper into less well-defended Ukrainian territory. TRUMP'S STANCE The U.S. president has publicly criticized Zelenskiy for saying he could not violate the constitution by agreeing to give away territory. "I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskiy was saying: 'Well, I have to get constitutional approval'. I mean, he has got approval to go into war, kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on", he told the press on August 11. UKRAINIANS' VIEW A clear majority of Ukrainians want a negotiated settlement, according to opinion polls, but they also oppose recognising Ukrainian land as Russian. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology says that an opinion poll it conducted in June showed that 68% of those questioned oppose the idea of officially recognising "some parts" of occupied land as Russian, while 24% are open to this. The same survey showed that 78% are against the idea of giving up on land that Kyiv's troops still control. The pollster did not survey opinions in areas occupied by Russia. REUTERS
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump vows to target mail-in ballots ahead of midterm election
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Workers process mail ballots at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center in the city of Industry, California, U.S. October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would sign an executive order ahead of next year's midterm elections, saying he would lead "a movement" targeting mail-in balloting and voting machines across the country. "I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we're at it, Highly 'Inaccurate,' Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES," he wrote in a social media post without providing any evidence. "WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections," he added. Trump, a Republican, previously signed a March 25 executive order targeting elections that has been blocked by the courts after Democrat-led states sued. States run elections separately in each of the 50 U.S. states, but Trump warned them to comply. "Remember, the States are merely an 'agent' for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do," Trump wrote. The Republican president's comments follow his meeting with his Russian counterpart on Friday, in which Trump said Vladimir Putin agreed with him on ending mail-in balloting. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jobs, infrastructure and homes at the core of Singapore's resilience: Economists Business New online tools by SkillsFuture Singapore help companies plan and curate staff training Singapore LTA, public transport operators join anti-vaping effort with stepped-up enforcement Opinion It's time vaping offences had tougher consequences Life Chinese EV brand Nio to be launched in Singapore in first quarter of 2026 Asia 2 firefighters die in building fire at Osaka's Dotonbori tourist district Singapore Woman hurt after car turns turtle in Upper Thomson accident Singapore Jail for driver of 11-tonne garbage truck that ran over cyclist in Woodlands Trump, who promoted the false narrative that he, not Democrat Joe Biden, won the 2020 election, has long pressed his fellow Republicans to try harder to overhaul the U.S. voting system. He also voted by mail in some previous elections and urged his supporters to do so in 2024. REUTERS
