Top stories from The Straits Times on Sunday, Aug 5

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Sunday, Aug 5.


Asean and partners agree to step up efforts to clinch the world's largest trade deal

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (centre) delivers his opening remarks at the 8th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, during the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on Aug 4, 2018. PHOTO: AFP

Amid anxiety over a trade war, all 10 Asean nations and their key partners this week agreed to redouble efforts to conclude a region-wide trade pact by the end of the year.

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DBS took risks and absorbed downsides for the country in its early years: PM Lee

DBS Chairman Peter Seah (left) and DBS CEO Piyush Gupta (right) show PM Lee Hsien Loong key milestones from the bank's 50-year history. ST PHOTO: KHALID BABA

DBS provided companies with financing on attractive terms and convinced multinational corporations to set up manufacturing facilities here.

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Indonesia to hand over Jho Low's luxury yacht, allegedly bought with 1MDB funds, to Malaysia

Equanimity is the largest single asset in the DOJ list and is allegedly owned by financier Jho Low. PHOTO: AFP

Indonesia has quietly entered into an agreement with Malaysia to hand over the luxury yacht Equanimity in a handover ceremony in Batam island scheduled for Monday.

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Lunch With Sumiko: Actress Rebecca Lim is too blessed to be stressed

Rebecca Lim's early years on TV were tough because her command of Mandarin was poor. The actress saw this as a glaring problem she had to fix, so she got herself two tutors and started reading Chinese magazines. Today, she rates her command of the Chinese language a six out of 10, with "definitely still a lot of room for improvement". ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Luck, patience, timing and hunger for roles have brought actress Rebecca Lim success.

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Women see red over 'pink tax'

More women are seeing red over the so-called pink tax, an extra charge levied on goods and services for women that are nearly identical to those for men but marketed differently. PHOTO: ST FILE

Gender-based price differentiation has been in the spotlight here of late, following an outcry over higher premiums for women under the proposed CareShield Life insurance scheme last month.

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Battle scars are just part of athlete's life

BENT FINGER: Nurul Baizura's ring finger remains bent after she caught a netball awkwardly in 2014. She even had to put her wedding ring on her right hand.
BENT FINGER: Nurul Baizura's ring finger remains bent after she caught a netball awkwardly in 2014. She even had to put her wedding ring on her right hand. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Blood blisters, broken bones and battered bodies: All in a day's work for Singapore's athletes who chase medal glory in their chosen sports.

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It Changed My Life: Life is full of speed bumps for plastic surgeon Woffles Wu

Dr Woffles Wu and a skeleton he keeps in his home which he named Google. The doctor himself was named after a white rabbit in Enid Blyton's children classic The Magic Faraway Tree. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

Dr Woffles Wu is sitting on the patio of his late grandparents' house in Thomson, scarfing down kuih bahulu and kuih lapis, and sipping coffee as he animatedly fields questions about the trials and tribulations in his colourful life.

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Do children in the Gifted Education Programme really need tuition?

Former GEP pupil Shachah Chua (front) and his mother HR manager Jocelyn Goh. Mr Chua says he benefited from taking Science enrichment classes for gifted and high-ability students. ST PHOTO: SONG TAO

While children in the Gifted Education Programme are considered among the brightest in Singapore, such students are still increasingly participating in that most Singaporean of after-school activities: Tuition.

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Delusional parasitosis: She burned her skin to kill 'insects' that infested body

Mr Chua Juay Peng showing the marks on his mother Low Meow Luan's arms that came from her burning herself with joss sticks. It was her way to get rid of the "insects" she believed were roaming freely on her body. With treatment, Madam Low has improve
Mr Chua Juay Peng showing the marks on his mother Low Meow Luan's arms that came from her burning herself with joss sticks. It was her way to get rid of the "insects" she believed were roaming freely on her body. With treatment, Madam Low has improved gradually and is back to her old self. She still goes for follow-up checks and has to take medication daily. ST PHOTO: ALVIN HO

Delusional parasitosis is a rare condition where people are certain that their bodies are being invaded by insects. The National Skin Centre sees about 15 to 25 patients with this condition every year.

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Kenneth Kee, a poly dropout, is Singapore's poker millionaire

Kenneth Kee caused a stir recently when he won HK$22.5 million (S$3.9 million) at a tournament in Jeju, South Korea. PHOTO: TRITON POKER

Besides familiarising himself with the mathematics of the game, professional poker player Kenneth Kee had to chalk up experience by playing almost every day for up to 12 hours.

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