In today's bulletin: Xi's upcoming address on Oct 1, fears over Brexit, Hong Kong, Asia's safest cities and more.

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XI PREPARES TO ADDRESS NATION ON OCT 1 ANNIVERSARY

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a 'major' speech on October 1, to mark the founding of the People's Republic of China, to motivate and mobilise the party, a spokesman said. It will be accompanied by a national day parade. The announcement comes amid gnawing concerns over the US-China trade war.

Xi Jinping to deliver major speech to 'mobilise the whole party, the whole military'

ASIAN SHARES, POUND STRUGGLE WITH NO-DEAL BREXIT FEARS

Fears of recession and a no-deal Brexit continued to haunt stock markets. Asian stocks traded mostly flat on Thursday as investors sought clarity while the British pound dipped further with the United Kingdom caught up in one of its most serious political crisis after Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to suspend Britain's Parliament, for more than a month before Brexit.

Asia shares, pound struggle with no-deal Brexit fears and bond yields near record lows

NOW SEE AND LISTEN TO ASIAN INSIDER

Asian Insider can now be viewed and heard. Will the US-China trade war impact on Asian and global economies? US Bureau Chief Nirmal Ghosh and China Correspondent Danson Cheong discuss this in our latest video in this series. Click here to see.

Here's the latest on this matter too:

China, US are discussing face-to-face trade talks in September, says Chinese official

Farmers' frustration with Trump grows as US escalates China fight

CHINA ROTATES NEW BATCH OF PLA TROOPS INTO HONG KONG

Matters are still worrisome in Hong Kong. Now China has rotated troops in its People's Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong. While China has said this was routine, the move has raised concerns about what China could do if protesters persist with rallies and calls for full democracy. Here's the latest, and more stories.

China rotates new batch of PLA troops into Hong Kong

Hong Kong police ban protest march planned for Saturday, says organiser

Beijing expresses 'strong dissatisfaction' with G-7 on Hong Kong

And don't miss Asian Insider on Hong Kong. Click here for our video and podcast.

SINGAPORE IS THE WORLD'S SECOND SAFEST CITY, AFTER TOKYO

Singapore held on to its position as the world's second safest city, after Tokyo, in the latest Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Safe Cities Index. In all, six Asian cities figure in the top 10 in the index this year. Besides Tokyo and Singapore, the others are Osaka (third), Sydney (fifth), Seoul (eighth) and Melbourne (10th).

Singapore is world's second safest city, after Tokyo, in EIU's Safe Cities Index

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

JAKARTA MAKEOVER: The current Indonesian capital will undergo a 571 trillion rupiah (S$55.5 billion) urban regeneration in the next 10 years, more than the US$33 billion expected cost to build a new capital city on Borneo island.

DUTERTE IN CHINA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will meet China President Xi Jinping for the 8th time, since the former took over in 2016. His intent will be "to build bridges, not to burn," Manila's top envoy in Beijing, said.

PAKISTAN ON KASHMIR: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called on the country on Thursday to join mass demonstrations to protest against Delhi's actions in Indian-administered Kashmir as tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals continued to boil.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading and we'll be back with more tomorrow.

- Shefali