While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 25 edition

Syrian refugee arrested after killing woman with machete in Germany

A 21-year-old Syrian refugee was arrested after killing a woman with a machete and injuring two other people in the southern German city of Reutlingen on Sunday, but the attack had no apparent connection to terrorism, police said.

The asylum-seeking Syrian man had been involved in previous incidents causing injuries to other people, and was apparently acting alone, a police spokesman said.

The spokesman had no immediate information on when the man arrived in Germany, or when the previous incidents took place.

READ MORE HERE

Young Afghan friend of Munich gunman arrested over possible role in shooting - police

German police arrested a 16-year-old Afghan youth on Sunday on suspicion of a connection to the killing of nine people by an 18-year-old gunman in Munich, authorities said.

The youth was under investigation for possibly having failed to report the plans of the gunman, who later shot himself, and may have played a role in a Facebook posting that invited people to a meeting near the Munich train station, a police statement said.

"We suspect that this boy aged 16 years could have been aware of the act," police said in a statement following Friday's shooting spree after which the 18-year-old German-Iranian attacker, David Ali Sonboly, killed himself.

READ MORE HERE

Olympics: Rio scrambles to be ready as athletes, soldiers arrive

Tens of thousands of armed troops fanned out across Rio de Janeiro and local organisers faced a rebellion by Australia about unfinished living accommodations as athletes began to move in Sunday for the first Olympics ever in South America.

Australia's Olympic team, complaining about uninhabitable rooms in the Olympic Village, refused to check in. Kitty Chiller, the head of the country's delegation, complained of "blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring".

In the final stretch before the Games start Aug 5, more than 60,000 troops took positions across the city, part of an overall contingent of more than 85,000 soldiers, police and other security forces that will be deployed for the event at a time of heightened fears after recent massacres in Germany, France and the United States.

READ MORE HERE

'Brain training' cut dementia risk in healthy adults - US study

A computerised brain training program cut the risk of dementia among healthy people by 48 per cent, US researchers said on Sunday in reporting an analysis of the results of a 10-year study.

The preliminary findings, presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto, are the first to show that any kind of intervention could delay the development of dementia in normal, healthy adults.

To date, cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists have largely rejected evidence that computer-based cognitive-training software or "brain games" have any effect on cognitive function.

READ MORE HERE

Star Trek Beyond boots Pets to box office doghouse

Star Trek Beyond boldly went to the top of the box office in its weekend debut, sending The Secret Life of Pets to the doghouse in the number two spot.

Paramount's Star Trek Beyond, the latest instalment in the 50-year-old franchise, beamed up US$59.6 million (S$81 million) in gross receipts, according to estimates released by industry tracker Exhibitor Relations on Sunday.

In the epic science-fiction adventure directed by Justin Lin, the crew of the USS Enterprise crash-land on a hostile planet and must find a way to escape from the villain Krall.

READ MORE HERE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.