While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 9, 2026
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Women walking past a political billboard in central Tehran on Aug 8.
PHOTO: AFP
Hopes of reopening Strait of Hormuz dampened
A top Iranian national security official delivered a sweeping set of demands on Aug 8 that he said the United States must meet before the Strait of Hormuz can reopen to maritime traffic, throwing the fate of the critical trade waterway into question.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued a statement carried by state media laying out multiple requirements for reopening the strait.
He called for the United States to lift its naval blockade and sanctions on Iran, withdraw the US military from around Iran, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets, as well as end attacks on Iran’s allies in the region and threats against the country.
The Trump administration is unlikely to agree to those demands. A previous ceasefire between Iran and the United States, agreed to in June, had said that sanctions would be fully lifted only in the event of a final deal regarding Iran’s nuclear programme. US officials have said that Iran could only access its frozen funds if it committed to giving up its highly enriched uranium first.
Joe Biden’s cancer has spread, is very painful: Son
PHOTO: REUTERS
Former US president Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread beyond his bones and is very painful, his son, Hunter Biden, said in an interview with the BBC.
“The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter Biden told BBC’s Newsnight, according to video posted online on Aug 7. “It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many respects.”
A spokesman for the 83-year-old Democrat declined on Aug 8 to comment on Hunter Biden’s interview.
US slams Chinese actions in South China Sea
PHOTO: REUTERS
The United States on Aug 8 accused China of “destabilising” activity near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, saying it is using “dubious” environmental explanations to advance its territorial claims.
Scarborough Shoal is a fish-rich reef formation 240km from the main Philippine island of Luzon and hundreds of kilometres away from mainland China. Both Beijing and Manila claim the flashpoint coral atoll.
“The United States rejects China’s ongoing attempts to enforce its destabilising ‘national nature reserve’ at Scarborough Reef and deny Filipino fishermen access to their traditional fishing ground,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Four killed in helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro
PHOTO: AFP
Four people were killed in a helicopter crash on Aug 8 in Rio de Janeiro, fire officials said, with Brazilian media reporting three of the victims were Colombian tourists.
The helicopter went down in Tijuca National Park, a mountainside forest with very dense vegetation.
Firefighters confirmed the pilot and three women “burned to death” and released images showing the smoking remains of the aircraft on a steep, hard-to-reach hillside.
Carrick being ‘careful’ with Mount as United draw with PSG
Michael Carrick said he had to be “careful” with Mason Mount after the England midfielder was involved in an injury scare during Manchester United’s 1-1 friendly draw with Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg on Aug 8.
Mount, who joined United from Chelsea in 2023, has been hampered by injury problems since arriving at Old Trafford and he lasted less than 20 minutes after starting against PSG.
The 27-year-old appeared to suffer a foot injury in Sweden and, following discussions with coaches on the touchline, left the field to be replaced by Tyler Fletcher.
