While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Nov 24, 2025
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (centre), next to US special envoy Steve Witkoff (second from left), faces the Ukrainian delegation during the talks at the US Mission in Geneva, on Nov 23.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
US hails progress in Ukraine peace talks
The United States said it had made significant progress on crafting a plan to end the war in Ukraine during talks on Nov 23 but no agreement was reached on how to guarantee Kyiv’s security amid concerns about the threat posed by Russia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the talks in Geneva with a high-level Ukrainian delegation after Kyiv and its allies voiced alarm about a US-backed plan because of what they saw as major concessions to Russia, and pressed for changes.
Mr Rubio said work remained to be done on questions including the role of Nato and security guarantees for Ukraine, but that his team had narrowed down unresolved issues in a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine championed by President Donald Trump.
“And we have achieved that today in a very substantial way,” Mr Rubio told reporters at the US mission in Geneva.
Israel kills Hezbollah military leader in Beirut strike
PHOTO: REUTERS
Israel killed militant group Hezbollah’s top military official in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Nov 23, the Israeli military said, despite a US-brokered truce a year ago.
The strike, the first on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital in months, targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah’s acting chief of staff, Ali Tabtabai, the military said in a statement.
Hezbollah confirmed the death of Tabtabai in a statement, mourning him as “the great jihadist commander” who had “worked to confront Israeli enemy until the last moment of his blessed life,” showing his seniority, but without giving details about his exact role.
COP30 deal exposes fragile climate unity
PHOTO: REUTERS
In the final fractious hours of the UN climate summit in Brazil, when a deal to advance the world's fight against global warming was slipping out of reach, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago reminded them about the cost of failure.
This was the first international climate conference since the administration of US President Donald Trump in January abandoned international cooperation on global warming, making it crucial for countries to land an accord that demonstrates unity.
"Those who doubt that cooperation is the best way forward for climate are going to be absolutely delighted to see that we cannot reach an agreement between us," he told the delegates. "So, we must reach an agreement."
Wicked: For Good opens to a record $196 million in North American box office
PHOTO: AFP
Wicked: For Good brought in US$150 million (S$196 million) in the US and Canada in its opening weekend, setting a record for a film adaptation of a Broadway musical and ranking among the best-performing musicals of all time, according to the studio.
The second half of the big-screen adaptation of Wicked, which reunites Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba with Ariana Grande’s Glinda, posted the third-best domestic opening weekend for a musical ever, behind Disney’s 2019 photorealistic computer-generated version of The Lion King and its 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast, according to Universal Pictures and Comscore’s box office tallies.
Wicked: For Good also helped lift a moribund North American box office from a nine-week slump, where total ticket sales failed to reach US$100 million, according to Comscore.
Eze’s derby hat-trick sends Arsenal six points clear at the top of EPL
PHOTO: REUTERS
Eberechi Eze scored a majestic hat-trick as Arsenal trounced north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 to open up a commanding six-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Nov 23.
For 36 minutes the derby was a cagey contest with a defensively-minded Tottenham frustrating Mikel Arteta's side, but the hosts struck three times in 10 minutes either side of halftime to seize control.
Leandro Trossard broke the deadlock from close range before Eze, the player Arsenal snatched in a summer transfer tussle with Tottenham, rifled in Arsenal's second after 41 minutes.
