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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right) speaking to US broadcaster CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview which aired on Oct 6, 2019.
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
Asian countries would be very unhappy if they have to choose between US and China: PM Lee
Most countries in Asia would be very unhappy if they have to choose between America and China, and such a choice would be painful, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview with US broadcaster CNN which aired on Sunday.
He noted that the United States' treaty allies in the region - Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand - all have China as their biggest trading partner. Asking them to choose would put them in a spot, he added.
"If you ask them to choose and say 'I therefore must cut off my links with my biggest trading partner', I think you will put them in a very difficult position," he said. "Singapore, we are not an ally, we are a close partner to the United States, but we also have our biggest trading links with China, bigger than the United States," he added.
PM Lee did the interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria for the presenter's GPS programme during his visit to New York last month. PM Lee also met US President Donald Trump during that visit.
Second Trump whistle-blower decides to come forward
A second whistle-blower has come forward about US President Donald Trump's attempts to get the Ukrainian president to investigate a political rival, lawyers for the official said on Sunday.
Lawyer Mark Zaid said the person, also an intelligence official, has first-hand knowledge of some of the allegations involving the initial whistle-blower complaint, which triggered impeachment proceedings against the Republican president.
The second official has been interviewed by the intelligence community's inspector general, Michael Atkinson, Zaid said.
China narrows scope for trade deal with US ahead of talks
Chinese officials are signalling they're increasingly reluctant to agree to a broad trade deal pursued by US President Donald Trump, ahead of negotiations this week that have raised hopes of a potential truce.
In meetings with US visitors to Beijing in recent weeks, senior Chinese officials have indicated the range of topics they're willing to discuss has narrowed considerably, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Vice Premier Liu He, who will lead the Chinese contingent in high-level talks that begin Thursday (Oct 10), told visiting dignitaries he would bring an offer to Washington that won't include commitments on reforming Chinese industrial policy or the government subsidies that have been the target of longstanding US complaints, one of the people said.
HSBC to cut up to 10,000 jobs in cost-cutting drive
HSBC Holdings is embarking on a cost-cutting drive that threatens as many as 10,000 jobs, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing two people briefed on the matter.
The bank, one of several European lenders eliminating roles, is questioning why it has so many people in Europe when it has double-digit returns in parts of Asia, one of the people told the paper.
The job cuts - on top of the 4,700 redundancies announced earlier - could be announced when HSBC reports its third-quarter results later this month, according to the FT.
Joker smashes October record with $129 million debut
Warner Bros' "Joker" laughed its way to a new record at the domestic box office.
Despite mounting controversy and security concerns, the R-rated comic-book movie scored US$93.5 million (S$129 million) over the weekend and now stands as the biggest October launch of all time.
Those ticket sales easily crushed the benchmark previously set last year by Sony's superhero tentpole "Venom" with US$80 million.