While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Nov 29, 2025
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) said on Nov 28 that his chief of staff, Mr Andriy Yermak, had resigned.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Zelensky’s top aide quits after anti-graft raid
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, a close ally of the president who has headed Ukraine’s negotiation team at fraught US-backed peace talks, quit on Nov 28, hours after anti-corruption agents searched his home.
Mr Zelensky said Mr Andriy Yermak had resigned and that he would consider his replacement on Nov 29.
Mr Yermak’s departure comes as a major probe into high-level graft ensnared senior officials, fuelling widespread public anger.
“Russia very much wants Ukraine to make mistakes,” Mr Zelensky said in a video address. “There will be no mistakes on our part. Our work continues.”
Airbus recalls A320s, threatening holiday travel
PHOTO: AFP
Europe’s Airbus said on Nov 28 it was ordering immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely-used A320 family of jets in a sweeping recall affecting more than half the global fleet, threatening upheaval during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States.
The setback appears to be among the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most-delivered model. At the time Airbus issued its directive, some 3,000 A320-family jets were in the air.
The fix mainly involves reverting to earlier software, but it must be carried out before the planes can fly again, according to a bulletin to airlines seen by Reuters. Numerous airlines on Nov 28 said the repairs could potentially cause flight delays or cancellations.
Bedbugs force closure of prestigious Paris cinema
PHOTOS: AFP, RENTOKIL
The prestigious Cinematheque Francaise said on Nov 28 it would temporarily close over a bedbug infestation after sightings of the blood-sucking creatures, including during a master class with Hollywood star Sigourney Weaver.
The Cinematheque, an internationally renowned film archive and cinema, said in a statement it would close its four screening halls for a month from Nov 28.
The temporary closure, which comes after a series of reported bedbug sightings, should guarantee viewers “a perfectly safe and comfortable environment”, it said.
China’s BYD recalls 88,981 plug-in hybrids
PHOTO: REUTERS
BYD will recall 88,981 plug-in hybrids immediately over a potential battery-related safety hazard, China’s market regulator said in a notice on Nov 28, weeks after the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s largest recall to date.
The Qin PLUS DM-i models affected were produced between January 2021 and September 2023 and “may have limited power output due to problems with the consistency of their power battery packs during the production process”, the notice said.
In extreme cases, they may not be able to drive in pure electric mode, the market regulator said, adding that the recall was based on a defect investigation it had initiated.
HK anti-corruption watchdog arrests 8 over fire
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog said it arrested eight people on Nov 28 in connection with a housing estate fire that killed at least 128 people, the world’s deadliest building blaze since 1980.
The group of seven men and one woman include “consultants, scaffolding subcontractors and a middleman of the (estate’s renovation) project”, said the financial hub’s Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The commission had already opened an investigation into the fire at the residential complex, which was under renovation.
