WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and US President Donald Trump issued a joint statement on Tuesday (Oct 24), reaffirming the two countries’ strong and enduring partnership especially in the economic, defence, security, and people-to-people spheres.

Moving forward, the two leaders said they support the expansion of economic ties through closer cooperation in areas such as bilateral tax issues. The two countries aim to sign two new agreements – a tax information exchange agreement and a reciprocal intergovernmental agreement to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act – by the end of the year.

The joint statement comes a day after the two leaders met and took US-Singapore relations forward in witnessing the signing of a deal worth US$13.8 billion for Singapore Airlines (SIA) to purchase 39 Boeing aircraft.

Mr Lee described the deal as a win-win for both sides as it will further modernise SIA’s fleet and support American jobs. According to President Trump, the deal will create 70,000 jobs in America.

To strengthen security cooperation, Singapore will extend to 2018 its support to the US-led coalition to defeat Islamic State.

Beyond the bilateral relationship, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement UN Security Council Resolutions on North Korea and to consider additional measures to compel the North Korean regime to engage in meaningful dialogue about a different future.

Both leaders also expressed their concerns over the humanitarian situation in the Rakhine State and on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

They called for the expeditious delivery of humanitarian assistance to all affected communities and expressed their support for ASEAN’s role in working with the government of Myanmar to do so.

They also urged the Myanmar government to end the violence and implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State in the shortest time possible.

On the South China Sea maritime disputes, the two leaders underscored the importance of a peaceful resolution including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, and reiterated their support for the expeditious conclusion of an effective and binding Code of Conduct.

The two countries also reaffirmed their commitment to ASEAN centrality and the importance of strengthening the regional architecture to effectively address common trans-national challenges.

IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGEMENT IN ASIA-PACIFIC

Separately, on Tuesday, PM Lee also met National Security Advisor H R McMaster. During the discussions, they spoke about regional and international developments.

Both sides exchanged views on the threat of terrorism in the region and expressed concern about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s continued development of its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Mr Lee and Mr McMaster also agreed on the importance of the US’ continued commitment towards deepening its engagement of the Asia-Pacific.

Mr Lee also met Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain on Wednesday.

He will meet other key Congressional leaders, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Ben Cardin, and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. 

SINGAPORE: The run-up to Christmas this year will see the annual festive lights on Orchard Road being switched on hours earlier in the day. 

And for the first time, a European-inspired Christmas village will feature as part of the street’s annual light-up for the festive season.

In a media release on Wednesday (Oct 25), the Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) said the Christmas village will feature a double-decker carousel, as well as stores by more than 25 brands, including Starbucks, Toast Box, PAUL and Royal Selangor.

From 8pm on Christmas Eve, local bands will perform Christmas classics, ahead of a pyrotechnics show at midnight.

The Christmas village, which will be located at Ngee Ann City’s Civic Plaza, will operate from Nov 25 to Dec 25. 

Orchard Road will kick off its Christmas light-up on Nov 11, with President Halimah Yacob officiating the ceremony. This year’s decorations will span 2.88km, running from Tanglin Mall to Plaza Singapura. 

The Christmas lights will also be turned on earlier this year – starting from 3pm, instead of 6.30pm in previous years.

“We want visitors to enjoy the whole Endless Wonder experience in the day and the night,” said an ORBA spokesperson, adding that energy-efficient LED lights will be used.

The lights will remain on until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, and until midnight on all other days except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, when they will stay on until 6am the following morning.

Other highlights include the main arch between Ion Orchard and Tang Plaza. Standing at 12m this year, it is the tallest arch in the history of Christmas light-ups along Orchard Road.

In total, 76,800 man hours were spent producing the Christmas decorations while 15,120 man hours were spent to put them up along Orchard Road, according to ORBA. 

Retailers such as Haagen Dazs, Casio and SK-II will also have pop-up stores between Wisma Atria and Mandarin Gallery as part of festive celebrations, ORBA said. 

The Christmas light-up along Orchard Road runs until Jan 1, 2018. 

SINGAPORE: Seven students from the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) have been spending time at the Istana, cooking and tending to the spice garden. 

They are part of an internship programme that aims to boost their chances of getting full-time jobs. 

The students are the first batch to be offered work experience at the Istana, after President Halimah Yacob visited APSN last month and was told that its students faced challenges getting internships. 

“That’s why when I came back to the Istana, I discussed with my colleagues and asked them whether we can provide opportunities for internships for students from APSN,” Mdm Halimah said on Wednesday (Oct 25) after visiting the students in the kitchen and at the spice garden. 

She called on employers to offer such work opportunities to more students with special needs.

The internship at the Istana started earlier this month.

Students have to attend 10 sessions – five with the Istana’s household department where they will learn how to cook, and five with the National Parks Board to learn horticultural skills at the Istana’s spice garden.

“It’s all about creating an inclusive society,” said Mdm Halimah. “Not just as a slogan, but truly looking at how we can do it.”

“Persons with special needs can still be active contributors to our society, as long as they have the right training and environment,” she added in a Facebook post.

“I urge other employers to provide more opportunities to persons with special needs, so that together we can put our mantra of building an inclusive society into practice.”

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has had a very busy schedule during his official working visit to Washington DC this week, meeting US President Donald Trump, National Security Advisor H R McMaster, White House officials and Cabinet Secretaries. 

But Mr Lee found time to see the sights during what he described as “a short break” in his schedule, dropping by the National Air and Space Museum on Wednesday morning (Oct 25). 

“The museum holds the world’s largest collection of aircraft and spacecraft, and even has the original plane built by the Wright brothers!” Mr Lee wrote in a Facebook post.

“On Monday, SIA signed the deal with Boeing to purchase twenty 777-9 aircraft and nineteen 787-10 Dreamliner jets, so it was fascinating to see how American aviation began.”

Mr Lee shared photos from his tour of the museum, including one of a lunar module that was used for ground testing before the successful moon landing in 1969, as well as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a joint venture that marked a thaw in the Cold War between both the US and Soviet Union. 

He also ran into a family visiting Washington DC from Singapore. 

Mr Lee added that he managed to try the famous Shake Shack burger over the weekend. He and his wife were accompanied by Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States Mr Ashok Kumar Mirpuri. 

“My children told me I had to do it,” Mr Lee had said of his visit to Shake Shack when asked at the Economic Club of Washington DC on Monday about his plans for sightseeing.

The manager of the Shake Shack outlet, Ivory, provided “service with a smile”, Mr Lee said in his Facebook post. 

Mr Lee’s visit will conclude on Oct 26. Mr Lee and Mr Trump issued a joint statement on Tuesday, reaffirming the two countries’ strong and enduring partnership especially in the economic, defence, security, and people-to-people spheres.

Mr Lee will have a dialogue at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday. He will also have meetings with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn.

Mr Lee is scheduled to meet key Congressional leaders, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Ben Cardin, and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.  

SINGAPORE: A ceiling at the basement of Singapore Management University’s (SMU) School of Information Systems collapsed on Tuesday (Oct 24).

The false ceiling at the recess area collapsed at 5pm, the university has confirmed.

In response to Channel NewsAsia’s queries, an SMU spokesperson said preliminary findings showed that a drainage pipe above the ceiling had leaked and water had seeped through, causing the false ceiling to collapse. Some of the water entered a portion of the study area located next to the affected space, she said.

The spokesperson also confirmed that no one was hurt in the incident.

Video circulating online shows parts of a ceiling falling to the ground outside a toilet. The area, which is directly opposite a gymnasium and next to a study corner, has been sealed off.

An SMU employee who declined to be named said he saw workers putting up barriers at around 6.10pm.

“I noticed it was super dark and wet underfoot. And it smelled kind of funky,” he said, adding that he was heading back from a meeting when he saw the damage.

“The workers had already put up some barriers but through a gap you could see what looked like debris and bits of roof and dust all over the place. And they had loads of machines cleaning up the water,” he added. 

One student said no one appeared to be injured.

When Channel NewsAsia arrived at the scene at about 7.20pm, the area was completely covered by tarpaulin. Workers were seen unloading equipment such as saws and there were no unusual smells. 

SMU said its ground team cordoned off the area for safety reasons and cleared the water from the area.

The spokesperson added that the structure of the surrounding area was not affected, and that the university was investigating the incident.

“Measures to rectify the area will be taken as soon as the investigations have been completed,” she said. 

SMU TO INSPECT OTHER FALSE CEILINGS IN AFFECTED AREA: BCA

In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said on Wednesday that its engineers carried out a site inspection on the day of the incident and confirmed that the building’s structural integrity was not affected. 

A spokesperson added that BCA has directed SMU to engage a professional engineer to investigate the cause of the incident, inspect the condition of the remaining false ceilings at the affected area, and to recommend permanent rectification work.