Good morning! Morning Minutes is a round-up of stories that will break on Thursday, June 30, and which we think you'd be interested in.

It appears on weekdays, available by 7am.

Penang Chief Lim Guan Eng to be charged with corruption

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng will be charged with corruption in court today, after which Democratic Action Party is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission arrested Lim on Wednesday over his purchase of a reportedly RM2.8 million (S$938,000) bungalow from businessman Phang Li Khoon.

Duterte to be sworn in as Philippine President

New Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte takes office today for a six-year term. He becomes the first occupant of Malacanang Palace from the vast southern region of Mindanao, which is one of the nation's poorest areas and home to decades-old communist and Muslim insurgencies that have claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Mr Duterte, who won last month's elections in a landslide, has vowed to have the constitution rewritten to achieve his bold plans - which would see power devolved from the central government in the capital to newly created states governing the current 81 provinces.

MPH Bookstores answer Mendaki's call to spark interest in reading

MPH Bookstores has donated 600 storybooks to Mendaki, in response to the self-help group's call to create greater awareness on the importance of reading among the young and instill a culture of learning within the Malay/Muslim community. The books will go to Mendaki's beneficiaries as well as young children from low-income households.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and chairman of Yayasan Mendaki Board of Directors, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, will be distributing the books to pre-schoolers at the Al-Muttaqin Mosque Kindergarten today.

ITE youth leaders to receive National Youth Achievement Award

More than 60 youth leaders from the Institute of Technical Education will receive the gold awards of the National Youth Achievement Award this year, after successfully completing the youth development programme.

Participants of the programme are given the opportunities to help the needy, the elderly, the sick as well as young children. They are also encouraged to demonstrate leadership and commitment to various green causes, such as climate change and environmental and wildlife protection. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will present the awards to the recipients.

Eye on China's May trade data

China's trade performance last month will be the key data to watch today, with export and import figures due to be released. After the dismal job figures in the United States, market watchers will be nervously looking for signs of a further slowdown in China. A weak set of numbers could trigger a market sell-off.