While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 24, 2025
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mr Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Zhao Changpeng paves the way for the crypto mogul to return to the business he helped found in 2017.
PHOTO: REUTERS
DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
Trump pardons convicted Binance founder ‘CZ’ Zhao
US President Donald Trump has pardoned Zhao Changpeng, the convicted founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, the White House said on Oct 23, in the latest move by Mr Trump to boost the crypto industry and expunge its past misdeeds.
Mr Zhao, a billionaire known as “CZ” who is one of the most influential figures in crypto, quit in 2023 as Binance chief after the company pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme and paid a penalty of US$4.3 billion (S$5.5 billion).
Mr Zhao was prosecuted by the Biden administration “in their war on cryptocurrency,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Since he returned to office, Mr Trump’s family has reaped millions of dollars from a variety of crypto ventures - moves criticised by political rivals and ethics experts citing the potential for conflicts of interest.
Putin defiant after Trump sanctions Russian oil majors
PHOTO: AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin remained defiant on Oct 23 after US President Donald Trump hit Russia’s two biggest oil companies with sanctions to pressure the Kremlin leader to end the war in Ukraine, a move that pushed global oil prices up 5 per cent.
The US sanctions prompted Chinese state oil majors to suspend Russian oil purchases in the short term, trade sources told Reuters.
Refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports, according to industry sources.
Russian jets briefly enter airspace of Nato’s Lithuania
Two Russian military aircraft entered Nato member Lithuania’s airspace on Oct 23 for about 18 seconds, Lithuania’s military said.
The two aircraft, an Su-30 fighter and Il-78 refuelling tanker, were possibly on a refuelling training mission when they flew 700m into Lithuania from the Kaliningrad region at about 1500 GMT (11pm in Singapore), the military said.
Lithuania summoned Russia’s top diplomat in the country and issued a stern protest, and informed its Nato and European Union allies and the North Atlantic Council about the incident, the Foreign Ministry said.
NBA’s Billups, Rozier caught up in gambling probe
PHOTOS: REUTERS
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, an NBA Hall of Fame player, and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among more than 30 people charged on Oct 23 in connection with two separate but related federal gambling investigations that involved the league and organised crime.
The schemes – one of them focused on insider sports betting and another that rigged poker games nationwide – spanned years and involved tens of millions of dollars in illicit gains from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion and gambling, FBI director Kash Patel said, at a press conference in Brooklyn on Oct 23.
Rozier was one of several National Basketball Association insiders who provided non-public information about how they would perform to their criminal partners, who in turn used straw bettors or proxies to place multiple bets based on the tips, authorities said.
Hackers access Max Verstappen’s personal data
PHOTO: AFP
Formula One’s ruling body on Oct 23 confirmed it had suffered a cyber security breach in which the personal details of drivers, including four-time world champion Max Verstappen, were exposed by hackers.
In a statement issued at the Mexico City Grand Prix, the International Motoring Federation (FIA) said the incident had taken place “over the summer” and steps had been taken to secure the data.
The breach related to the FIA Driver Categorisation website in which the hackers were able to find information including passport numbers and personal contact details for nearly 7,000 drivers.
