While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 13, 2025
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A Ukrainian soldier keeps a lookout for Russian drones in the back of a pickup truck, in the city of Kostyantynivka, Ukraine.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
Ukraine fights Russian grab for more territory
Small bands of Russian soldiers thrust deeper into eastern Ukraine on Aug 12 before a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, which European leaders fear could end in peace terms imposed on an unlawfully shrunken Ukraine.
In one of the most extensive incursions so far this year, Russian troops advanced near the coal-mining town of Dobropillia, part of Mr Putin’s campaign to take full control of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s military dispatched reserve troops, saying they were in difficult combat against Russian soldiers.
Mr Trump’s administration tempered expectations on Aug 12 for major progress towards a ceasefire, meanwhile, calling his meeting on Aug 15 with Mr Putin in Alaska a “listening exercise”.
DPM Gan kicks off India visit in Mumbai
Kicking off his India visit aimed at deepening bilateral economic and business ties, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on Aug 12 witnessed Singapore firms inking agreements committing more than 200 billion rupees’ (S$2.93 billion) worth of investments in Maharashtra state.
In addition, DPM Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, visited PSA’s port operations at Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal and inaugurated CapitaLand Investment’s (CLI) first data centre in Navi Mumbai – touted as being two of the more significant investments by Singapore firms in Maharashtra.
“These investments underscore the growing bilateral economic partnership between Singapore and India and Singapore’s confidence in India’s long-term economic trajectory,” the Republic’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Aug 12.
South Korea’s former first lady arrested
South Korea’s former first lady, Ms Kim Keon Hee, has been arrested after a court late on Aug 12 issued a warrant to arrest her following accusations of graft that she denies, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Ms Kim is South Korea’s only former first lady to be arrested, joining her husband, ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, in jail as he faces trial, following his ouster in April, over a botched bid to impose martial law in December.
Earlier in the day, Ms Kim, wearing a black suit, bowed as she arrived at court, but did not answer reporters’ questions or make a statement. After the hearing ended she left to await the ruling at a detention centre in Seoul, the capital, in line with customary practice.
Perplexity makes bold $44b bid for Google’s Chrome
Perplexity AI made a US$34.5 billion (S$44.2 billion) unsolicited all-cash offer for Alphabet’s Chrome browser on Aug 12, a bid far above its own valuation as the startup reaches for the browser’s billions of users pivotal to the AI search race.
Run by Mr Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity is no stranger to headline-grabbing offers: it made a similar one for TikTok US in January, offering to merge with the popular short-video app to resolve US concerns about TikTok’s Chinese ownership.
OpenAI, Yahoo and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management have also expressed interest in Chrome as regulatory pressure threatens Google’s grip on the industry.
Duplantis breaks pole vault world record for 13th time
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record with a clearance of 6.29m at the Hungarian Grand Prix meeting in Budapest on Aug 12, the 13th time he has set a new world-best mark.
The double-Olympic champion continued his tradition of improving on his previous mark by one centimetre, with his second attempt at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial overhauling the record he set in Stockholm in June.
Duplantis had looked a little off his best form, missing his first attempt at 6.11, and after Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis retired after failing twice at the same height the Swede had the bar raised to make his usual world record attempt.
