PM Lee Hsien Loong received with enhanced honour cordon at Pentagon in US
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was received with an enhanced honour cordon at the Pentagon on Monday (Aug 1), as he arrived for a meeting with US Defence Secretary Ash Carter.
The honour cordon, which includes a guard of honour and a US military band playing the national anthem of the visiting country, is reserved for America's closest partners.
PM Lee is holding several meetings with US administration officials on Monday. Apart from Secretary Carter, he is also meeting Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. He will also be speaking at a reception organised by the US Chamber.
Republican John McCain slams Donald Trump over attack on dead Muslim soldier's parents
Decorated war veteran and US Senator John McCain denounced Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday for his attack on the parents of a Muslim US Army officer killed in the Iraq war.
The Arizona Republican, a leading voice on military matters in the US Congress, waded into the snowballing dispute between his party's controversial nominee and Khizr and Ghazala Khan, issuing the strongest rebuke yet to Trump from a senior Republican on the issue.
"While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us," McCain, who was a prisoner of war for five years during the Vietnam War, wrote in a long statement.
US health officials warn pregnant women on Zika in Florida
US health officials on Monday recommended pregnant women avoid travelling to a 2.6 square km area of Miami with active Zika virus transmission after the state of Florida identified 10 more cases caused by local mosquitoes.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on a conference call with reporters said local mosquito control efforts have not worked as well as hoped.
It said pregnant women who live or work in the mixed-use area north of downtown Miami and their partners should make every effort to avoid mosquito bites.
Olympics: US and China to win most gold in Rio, predicts Goldman Sachs
The world's two largest economies, the United States and China, will again win most gold medals at the Olympics and Britain will push Russia into third place in the overall standings, Goldman Sachs predicted in a survey released on Monday.
American athletes will come away with 45 gold medals from the Rio de Janeiro Games which start on Friday, one less that they got in London four years ago, while China will win 36, two fewer than in 2012, according to the investment bank's economists.
Beyond athletic performance, economic success enhances the chances of Olympic glory, according to Goldman Sachs, because "a country is more likely to produce world-class athletes in a world-class environment".
Rio opening ceremony features Gisele Bundchen 'mugging': reports`
The opening ceremony at the Rio Olympics will feature a shocking scene in which former supermodel Gisele Bundchen suffers an attempted mugging, then takes pity on the young thief, media reports said Monday.
Details are top secret ahead of this Friday's ceremony.
However, there have been widespread leaks following a dress rehearsal at Rio's Maracana stadium late Sunday, despite pleas from organisers to keep it under wraps.
