While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, March 9

Mikhy Farrera Brochez is escorted out of the Clark County District Court house in Winchester, Kentucky, on Feb 18, 2019. ST PHOTO: ARDEN BARNES FOR THE STRAITS TIIMES

Mikhy Farrera-Brochez indicted by grand jury on three counts

Mikhy Farrera-Brochez was indicted by a grand jury in Kentucky on three counts related to stolen identification documents from Singapore, bringing his case closer to trial.

The 34-year-old American was named by Ministry of Health (MOH) in January as the person behind the online leak of Singapore's HIV registry.

The first count, of intent to extort, centered around an email Farrera-Brochez sent from Kentucky to Singapore on Jan 22. The email contained a threat to injure the reputation of Singapore government officials and the Ministry of Health, according to the grand jury charges seen by The Straits Times.

The second count of intent to extort involves another email he sent on Feb 18 to Singapore officials.

READ MORE HERE

Trump won't sign China trade pact unless it's 'great'

Optimism about a rapid resolution of the months-long US-China trade war was undercut by conflicting comments out of Washington and Beijing, sending global stock markets on a downward slide on Friday.

President Donald Trump said he remains optimistic but will not agree to a pact with China unless it is a "very good deal."

And an economic adviser said Trump could walk away from the negotiations.

READ MORE HERE

Baby son of ISIS teen Shamima Begum dies: SDF spokesman

The baby of Shamima Begum, a teenager who left London to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group, has died, a spokesman for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday.

Begum, whose two older children had also previously died, was stripped of her British citizenship in February on security grounds after she was discovered in a detention camp in Syria.

The 19-year-old left London to join ISIS when she was 15.

READ MORE HERE

On Women's Day, Meghan hopes for feminist royal baby

Remote video URL

Meghan Markle said on Friday she hoped the baby she is expecting this spring with Britain's Prince Harry will follow in her feminist footsteps.

The former Suits actress made the comment during an International Women's Day panel discussion at King's College London. Asked how her "bump" was treating her, Meghan told the audience: "very well".

"I'd seen this documentary on Netflix about feminism and one of the things they said during pregnancy was 'I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism'," she said."I love that. So boy or girl or whatever it is, we hope that that's the case, with our little bump."

READ MORE HERE

Ben Affleck and stars of Triple Frontier meet fans at Marina Bay Sands

The stars of the Netflix action movie Triple Frontier were in Singapore Friday evening to meet hundreds of fans.

Actors Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund, with producer Chuck Roven, spent about an hour at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands walking the red carpet, taking selfies and showing clips from the film.

The thriller, out on March 13, is about a team of former special forces men who raid a South American drug lord's money cache. It also stars Oscar Isaac and Pedro Pascal.

READ MORE HERE

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