While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Jan 31, 2026
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Around three million more files relating to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein - a one-time close friend of US President Donald Trump - were released by the US Justice Department on Jan 30.
PHOTO: AFP
Massive cache of Jeffrey Epstein files released
The US Justice Department on Jan 30 published a new and final cache of millions of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, under a law passed in November that required the release of all Epstein-related records.
Mr Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney-general, said at a press conference that the Jan 30 massive batch of files marked the end of the Trump administration’s planned releases under the law.
The new cache includes more than three million pages, 2000 videos, and 180,000 images, he said.
The files include “extensive” redactions, he said, given the law’s exceptions permitting certain documents to be blacked out, including identifying information of victims or materials related to active investigations.
UN chief warns of its ‘imminent financial collapse’
PHOTO: AFP
The UN chief has told member states that the organisation is at risk of “imminent financial collapse”, citing unpaid fees and a budget rule that forces the global body to return unspent money, a letter seen by Reuters on Jan 30 showed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly spoken about the organisation’s worsening liquidity crisis, but this is his starkest warning yet, and it comes as its main contributor the United States is retreating from multilateralism on numerous fronts.
“The crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near future,” Mr Guterres wrote, in a letter to ambassadors dated Jan 28.
Chinese MP in multi-million-euro Paris robbery
PHOTO: REUTERS
Thieves attacked a Chinese lawmaker at his Paris home while he was asleep, making off with jewellery and luxury goods worth several million euros, prosecutors said on Jan 30.
The attack took place overnight Jan 29 to 30 in the city’s upscale 16th arrondissement, where police found no signs of forced entry, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said.
The Chinese MP was “assaulted in his sleep and reports the theft of several pieces of jewellery and luxury goods”, prosecutors added.
Djokovic thanks doubters after reaching Open final
Novak Djokovic said he had always believed he could still play at the top level of tennis and rounded on those who had tried to usher him into retirement after beating Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Jan 30.
The 38-year-old rolled back the years with a vintage display to down the double defending champion in a five-set thriller and set up a final against Carlos Alcaraz, giving him the chance to land a first Grand Slam title since September 2023.
“I never stopped believing in myself, you know. There’s a lot of people that doubt me. I see there is a lot of experts all of a sudden that wanted to retire me or have retired me many times the last couple of years,” he told reporters.
Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone star dies aged 71
Emmy-winning actress Catherine O’Hara, who starred in Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone, has died at the age of 71, her management agency said on Jan 30.
The Canadian-born performer also starred in Beetlejuice and recently Apple TV’s Hollywood satire show The Studio.
A person who answered the phone at her manager Marc Gurvitz’s office confirmed the actress’ death to AFP, but did not give any further details.
