While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 25, 2025
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Olha embraces her son Yevhen, a freed Ukrainian prisoner of war, as he left a bus after a swap in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Russia and Ukraine stage new prisoner exchange, Russian defence ministry, Ukraine president say
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 146 prisoners of war from each side on Aug 24 after mediation by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian defence ministry and the Ukrainian president said.
The Russian ministry said all of the freed Russians were in Belarus receiving psychological and medical assistance.
Ukraine also returned to Moscow eight Russian citizens, residents of the Kursk region, the ministry said.
Israeli bulldozers uproot hundreds of trees in West Bank village
Palestinian men check olive trees reportedly uprooted by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir, north of Ramallah, on Aug 24.
PHOTO: AFP
Israeli bulldozers uprooted hundreds of trees in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir on Aug 24 in the presence of the Israeli military, according to AFP journalists who witnessed the scene.
Most of the felled vegetation appeared to be olive trees, essential to the economy and culture of the West Bank, while olive groves have also long been a flashpoint for violent clashes between farmers and encroaching Israeli settlers.
Abdelatif Mohammed Abu Aliya, a local farmer from the village near Ramallah, said he lost olive trees that were over 70 years old on about one hectare of land.
Suspect detained over quadruple River Seine murder
The Seine river where firefighters were called to pulled out four men’s bodies from the river on Aug 13.
PHOTO: AFP
A French judge on Aug 24 charged a homeless man, whose identity and nationality remain uncertain, for the murders of four men whose bodies were found in the River Seine just outside Paris, prosecutors said.
The bodies, some partially naked, were found on Aug 13 in the river in the southeastern suburb of Choisy-le-Roi. A passenger on a passing train saw one body floating in the river and the others were found later.
The suspect was detained on Aug 20.
Fernandes misses penalty as Fulham hold Man Utd to 1-1 draw
Fulham’s Emile Smith Rowe scores their first goal in Craven Cottage, London, on Aug 24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Fulham held visitors Manchester United to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Aug 24 after Emile Smith Rowe equalised for the hosts with his first touch as a substitute to cancel out an own goal while Bruno Fernandes missed a first-half penalty.
After Leny Yoro’s header took a deflection off Rodrigo Muniz’s back to open United’s account this season, Smith Rowe scored 93 seconds after coming on as the two teams seeking their first win of the campaign shared the spoils.
“We are very competitive in training, we all want to score goals and contribute to the team. We know when we come off the bench we have to work hard and try and score,” Smith Rowe told Sky Sports.
KPop Demon Hunters takes North American box office by storm
Netflix’s monster animated hit KPop Demon Hunters ruled the North American box office with a special singalong event.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
Netflix’s monster animated hit KPop Demon Hunters ruled the North American box office with a special singalong event, raking in US$18 million (S$23.07 million) in a first victory in theatres for the streaming giant, industry estimates showed on Aug 24.
Netflix refuses to report ticket sales data, so the amount is based on projections from rival studios and exhibitors, but it is a huge showing for the famously cinema-averse streamer, whose film has already topped music charts and smashed viewing records.
Released in June, KPop Demon Hunters is already Netflix’s most-watched animated offering.
