While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 11, 2025

Trump to use presidential authority to arm Ukraine

President Donald Trump for the first time since returning to office will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said on July 10, a move suggesting new interest by the president in defending Ukraine.

More than three years after Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, Mr Trump’s team will identify arms from US stockpiles to send to Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, the sources said, with one saying they could be worth around US$300 million.

Mr Trump on July 7 said the US would send more weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances.

The package could include defensive Patriot missiles and offensive medium-range rockets, but a decision on the exact equipment has not been made, the sources said. One of the people said this would happen at a meeting on July 10.

READ MORE HERE

France, Britain unveil nuclear weapons cooperation

France and Britain agreed on July 10 to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear arsenals, as the two European powerhouses seek to respond to growing threats to the continent and uncertainty over their US ally.

The announcement came after French President Emmanuel Macron concluded a three-day state visit to Britain, where the two allies sought to turn the page on years’ of turbulence following Britain’s decision to withdraw from the European Union.

“This morning, we signed the Northward declaration, confirming for the first time that we are coordinating our independent nuclear deterrence,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told a news conference alongside Mr Macron. “From today, our adversaries will know that any extreme threat to this continent would prompt a response from our two nations.”

READ MORE HERE

Original Birkin bag smashes records at Paris auction

The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for €8.58 million (S$12.8 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on July 10, smashing previous price records for a handbag.

The modern design classic, owned by a Paris-based handbag collector, sparked a telephone bidding war up to €7 million, with the final sale price set at €8.58 million with commission and fees, the Sotheby’s website showed.

“After weeks of anticipation, the bidding opened at €1 million - prompting a gasp from the room,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.

READ MORE HERE

Gaza doctors cramming babies into incubators

Doctors at Gaza’s largest hospital say crippling fuel shortages have led them to put several premature babies in single incubators as they struggle to keep the newborns alive while Israel presses on with its military campaign.

Overwhelmed medics say the dwindling fuel supplies threaten to plunge them into darkness and paralyse hospitals and clinics in the Palestinian territory, where health services have been pummelled during 21 months of war.

An Israeli military official said around 160,000 litres of fuel destined for hospitals and other humanitarian facilities had entered Gaza since July 9, but that its distribution around the enclave was not under Israel’s purview.

READ MORE HERE

Belgium warned over ‘tsunami’ packages from China

A Belgian state watchdog has warned that the country is drowning under a flood of small packages from China, as the European Union grapples to control the influx.

Belgium’s Central Economic Council said the number of low-value parcels arriving had tripled in 2024 to three million a day.

“This is an explosive increase, and these packages come mainly from China,” the council said in a report seen on July 10 by AFP. “This tsunami of packages submerging our country cannot be properly controlled with the current resources available to customs services and other competent inspection services.”

READ MORE HERE