Good morning! Morning Minutes is a round-up of stories that will break on Friday, Dec 18, and which we think you'd be interested in.

It appears on weekdays, available by 7am.

UN Security Council to meet over Syria

The UN Security Council will bring together foreign ministers today (Dec 18) to adopt a resolution endorsing steps toward a political transition in Syria to end the nearly five-year war. The ministers will hold talks in New York aimed at brokering a ceasefire and political talks between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Syria's armed opposition.

Study on elderly death rate and risk

What kills older people in Singapore and what affects their risk of death?

Researchers from the National University of Singapore will reveal the answers from their study on more than 2,000 seniors here over eight years.

They looked at aspects such as the seniors' health, marital status and living arrangements. - KOK XING HUI

Bank of Japan policy meeting

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to keep monetary policy steady today (Dec 18) following the United States Federal Reserve's first interest rate increase in a decade.

BOJ, which began a two-day meeting yesterday in Tokyo, has been maintaining a zero per cent interest rate and aims to get inflation to accelerate towards its 2 per cent price target by next year.