While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 9, 2025
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A Ukrainian serviceman preparing to fire a mortar towards Russian positions, on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
PHOTO: AFP/24TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE OF UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES/OLEG PETRASIUK
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US-Russia plan truce that will cement Putin’s gains
The US and Russia are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Moscow’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion, Bloomberg News reported on Aug 8.
US and Russian officials are working towards an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Addressing reporters at the White House on Aug 8, Mr Trump suggested an agreement would involve some exchange of land.
“There’ll be some swopping of territories to the betterment of both,” Mr Trump said.
Trump announces Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal
PHOTO: AFP
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a US-brokered peace agreement on Aug 8 during a meeting with US President Donald Trump that would boost bilateral economic ties after decades of conflict.
The deal between the South Caucasus rivals - assuming it holds - would be a significant accomplishment for the Trump administration that is sure to rattle Moscow, which sees the region as within its sphere of influence.
“It’s a long time - 35 years - they fought and now they’re friends, and they’re going to be friends for a long time,” Mr Trump said, at a signing ceremony at the White House, where he was flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Jim Lovell, of Apollo 13 moon mission, dies aged 97
American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the failed 1970 mission to the moon that nearly ended in disaster but became an inspirational saga of survival and the basis for the hit movie Apollo 13, has died at the age of 97, Nasa said on Aug 8.
Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks played Lovell in director Ron Howard’s acclaimed 1995 film. It recounted Nasa’s Apollo 13 mission, which was planned as humankind’s third lunar landing but went horribly wrong when an onboard explosion on the way to the moon put the lives of the three astronauts in grave danger.
Lovell and crew mates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise endured frigid, cramped conditions, dehydration and hunger for three and a half days while concocting with Mission Control in Houston ingenious solutions to bring the crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth.
Vietnamese tourists among 3 dead in Greece gales
PHOTO: AFP
Three people including two Vietnamese tourists died in Greece on Aug 8 as ferocious winds whipped up wildfires and disrupted ferry travel for tens of thousands of summer holidaymakers.
More than 200 firefighters backed by 11 water bombers and seven helicopters were battling a blaze in Keratea south-east of Athens.
The gales confined many ferries to port, leaving hundreds of travellers stranded. Ferries are the main mode of transport connecting thousands of islands and their crucial tourism sector.
US, UK differ on Gaza but share common goals: Vance
PHOTO: REUTERS
Britain and the United States may disagree about how to address the crisis in Gaza but they share a common goal in resolving it, Vice-President J.D. Vance said as he met British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Aug 8 in southern England.
Mr Vance, who has previously criticised Britain and its governing Labour Party, landed with his wife Usha and their three children in London before heading to Chevening, the large country residence used by the British foreign minister in Kent.
The visit comes amid increased attention on Mr Vance’s foreign policy views as he emerges as a key figure in President Donald Trump’s administration and his possible pick as successor.
