While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 5, 2026
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Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Aug 3.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mediators make progress in efforts to end US-Iran war
Qatar said on Aug 4 that mediators were making progress in efforts to end the US-Iran war, driving oil prices lower, although Tehran has denied President Donald Trump’s assertion that talks are already under way.
Benchmark Brent crude fell more than 5 per cent after the comments from Qatar, extending Aug 3’s steep losses on hopes that an arrangement could soon be reached to restore traffic through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
But for now, the strait remained virtually shut, with another ship coming under attack while trying to cross it.
Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed efforts to narrow differences between Washington and Tehran and improve the prospects for a lasting settlement during a phone call on Aug 4, Qatar’s Emiri office said.
US will do ‘whatever it takes’ to support Japan, says Bessent
PHOTO: REUTERS
The US will do “whatever it takes” to support Japan’s effort to stabilise the yen, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Aug 4, following last week’s joint intervention by Washington and Tokyo to buy the Japanese currency.
“We will do whatever it takes to support them in a way that helps the American economy, the American taxpayer,” Bessent said, in an interview on CNBC two days after confirming the Treasury had joined Japan’s finance authorities in an intervention on July 31 to prop up the yen.
Bessent said the yen’s substantial undervaluation could trigger other economic problems or competitive devaluations of other currencies, “which is unhealthy.”
France suspects Russia meddling in run-up to presidential polls
PHOTO: AFP
France suspects Russia has sought to spread fake stories about two top French politicians running or likely to run in 2027’s presidential elections, a security source and one of the politicians have said.
French authorities last week detected a disinformation campaign targeting Raphael Glucksmann, a left-wing member of the European Parliament and vocal Kremlin critic expected to run for France’s top job in 2027, a source within the security services told AFP on Aug 4.
The effort was traced to propaganda network Storm-1516, which has been linked to Russian intelligence, the source said, asking to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to speak to the press.
Italian garbagemen help recover lost $1.5m lottery ticket
PHOTO: AFP
A €1 million (S$1.5 million) lottery ticket was recovered from the trash in Italy after the frantic winner called on garbagemen to help her retrieve it, the waste management company told AFP.
The instant win ticket was “miraculously still in one piece” after garbage workers combed through mounds of trash on their truck, said Roberto Nicola Toscano, the administrator of the SAMB company in Italy’s southern Puglia region.
Toscano explained how when the winner went on Aug 2 to check her ticket at her local shop after the draw, the machine indicated it was “non-payable”. That was because smaller retailers can only redeem small wins.
Infantino’s problems mount as Wenger, key ally turn on him
PHOTO: AFP
Pressure on FIFA president Gianni Infantino intensified on Aug 4, with opposition emerging from within world football’s governing body as well as from external critics over his since-abandoned proposal to open the World Cup to private investment.
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger - appointed in 2019 by Infantino as FIFA’s chief of global football development - said in a statement on Aug 4 that “the decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question”.
His remarks followed hot on the heels of an extraordinary internal email to FIFA staff, seen by AFP, in which secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom appeared to distance himself from Infantino on the issue.
