While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 12, 2025
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People wave Israeli and US flags during a gathering at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Oct 11, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
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Trump to chair Gaza peace summit in Egypt
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to a devastated Gaza City on Oct 11, as Hamas prepared to release Israeli hostages and US President Donald Trump readied to chair an international summit on his peace plan for the region.
Mr Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair the summit of more than 20 countries in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Oct 13 afternoon, the Egyptian presidency said.
The meeting will aim “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability”, it said.
A day after the guns fell silent, Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy promised Israeli hostage families their loved ones would return, and the region’s top US general visited Gaza.
‘We finally feel hope’: Israeli crowds yearn for hostage release
PHOTO: REUTERS
Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered beneath a screen in Tel Aviv marking 735 days since Hamas took hostages to Gaza, finally daring to hope a ceasefire will herald an end to their ordeal.
“My emotions are immense, there are no words to describe them – for me, for us, for all of Israel, which wants the hostages home and waits to see them all return,” said Einav Zangauker, mother of 25-year-old hostage Matan Zangauker.
“We finally feel hope, but we cannot and will not stop now,” added Mr Zairo Shachar Mohr Munder.
Diane Keaton, Annie Hall and The Godfather actress, dies aged 79
PHOTO: REUTERS
Diane Keaton, the quirky US actress who won an Academy Award and captured hearts with her endearing performance as Woody Allen’s eccentric, insecure girlfriend in the 1977 romantic comedy Annie Hall, has died at the age of 79, People reported on Oct 11, citing a family spokesperson.
A representative for Keaton could not immediately be reached.
Keaton, who appeared in more than 60 films, including The Godfather trilogy, The First Wives Club and eight films with Allen, stood out in Hollywood with a personal style that favoured androgynous looks, turtleneck sweaters and her trademark hats.
Trump says US has a way to pay troops during shutdown
PHOTO: AFP
US President Donald Trump said on Oct 11 his administration has found a way to pay troops during the federal government shutdown and that he has ordered Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to do so.
“I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
“We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” said Mr Trump.
Nobel Peace Prize leak was ‘likely’ espionage, says report
PHOTO: REUTERS
A potential leak that preceded the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was “highly likely” the result of espionage, the Nobel Institute told Norwegian media on Oct 11.
The odds of Ms Machado winning the prize jumped from 3.75 per cent to nearly 73 per cent overnight Oct 9 to Oct 10 on the predictive betting platform Polymarket.
But no expert or media outlet had mentioned her as being among the favourites for the prize, which was announced just a few hours later in Oslo.
