While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 5
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Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that Israel’s protection is not “hermetic”.
PHOTO: AFP
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Israel says no change in defence policy for ‘now’
Israel’s army said on Aug 4 it had not changed “as of now” its policy for protecting civilians, as Iran and Hezbollah are expected to avenge killings blamed on Israel of two senior members.
“I would like to refer tonight to the various reports and rumours that we are on alert for the enemy’s response to the territory of the State of Israel,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an online briefing to journalists.
“I emphasise that as of now there is no change in the Home Front Command’s defence policy,” he said of a branch of the army that deals with the protection of civilians in times of war and emergency, including natural disasters.
WHO chief mulls calling emergency committee on mpox
REUTERS
The World Health Organization’s chief said Sunday he was considering convening an expert committee to advise on whether the growing mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, among others, were increasing their response to the outbreak.
“As a deadlier strain of mpox spreads to multiple African countries, WHO, Africa CDC, local governments and partners are further scaling up the response to interrupt disease transmission,” Tedros said on social media platform X.
NTUC Enterprise, Income Insurance rebuts former CEO’s criticisms about Allianz offer
The Straits Times
NTUC Enterprise (NE) and Income Insurance late on August 4 rebutted an open letter by former NTUC Income chief executive Tan Suee Chieh, in which he had criticised and objected to an offer by German insurer Allianz to buy a controlling stake in Income Insurance, and called on the Government to stop it.
Referring to Mr Tan’s Aug 2 letter to Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chairman Gan Kim Yong, which was posted on social media, NE and Income noted that “in raising his objections, he has cast aspersions on the stakeholders in relation to this proposed transaction. These aspersions are not well-founded and, indeed, unfair”.
Allianz on July 17 offered to buy a controlling stake of at least 51 per cent in Income, valuing a potential deal at $2.2 billion. At $40.58 a share, the offer price represents a 37.3 per cent premium over Income’s net asset value per share of $29.55 as at Dec 31, 2023.
Singapore’s Maximilian Maeder sits third after first day of kitefoiling event at the Olympics
REUTERS
Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder got his Paris Olympics campaign started on Aug 4, winning one of the four races contested. The regatta was delayed for several hours due to light winds.
The two-time world champion, who is undefeated this season, has eight points and sits third in the 20-sailor field. He finished fifth, first and second in the first three races, but did not finish his final race of the day, which he discarded.
Slovenia’s Toni Vodisek is first in the standings with six net points, while Austria’s Valentin Bontus is second with eight points.
Wolfman Lyles wins 100m gold by a whisker
REUTERS
After all the talk and all the hype, Noah Lyles delivered when it mattered most when he won a superlative Olympic 100 metres final by five thousandths of a second on Aug 4 to give the United States the title for the first time in 20 years.
In one of the most competitive finals of all time, there was a blanket finish, with the stadium scoreboard initially flashing a photo finish for the first seven athletes.
It then confirmed Lyles as the winner in a personal best 9.79 seconds, the same time as Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, but ahead by a fraction.
