While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 15
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Hunter Biden is a Yale-trained lawyer and lobbyist-turned-artist, but his life has been marred by alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Biden’s son, Hunter, indicted on gun charges
US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter was indicted on Thursday for illegally buying a gun when he was using drugs, casting a new shadow over his father’s campaign for reelection next year.
Hunter Biden, 53, was charged with two counts of making false statements when claiming on forms required for the 2018 gun purchase that he was not using drugs illegally at the time.
A third charge said that, based on the false statements, he illegally possessed the gun during an 11-day period in October that year.
If convicted on all three felony charges, Biden could in theory face 25 years in prison, though in practice they are seldom punished by any jail time.
Ukraine attacks Russian warships in Black Sea
Ukraine said on Thursday it attacked two Russian patrol ships and destroyed a sophisticated air defence system in the west of occupied Crimea, ramping up its strikes to challenge Moscow’s dominance in the Black Sea region.
The attacks come a day after Kyiv said it seriously damaged a Russian submarine and landing ship undergoing repairs in a missile strike on a shipyard in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The Ukrainian military, in a post on Telegram, said it hit two Russian patrol boats in the south-west of the Black Sea, causing “certain damage” in a morning attack.
Israel’s Netanyahu to meet Musk amid antisemitism storm
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to California on Monday to meet Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur accused by civil rights groups of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on his X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
An official in Mr Netanyahu’s office on Thursday confirmed the meeting.
Mr Musk said on X that their talks would focus on artificial intelligence technology and not the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), with whom Mr Musk is feuding over antisemitism on X.
Princess Diana’s ‘Black Sheep’ sweater sells for $1.5m
An iconic red sweater worn by Princess Diana shortly after her engagement to then-Prince Charles, featuring rows of fluffy little sheep, sold at auction for more than US$1.1 million (S$1.5 million) following a frenetic bout of final bidding, Sotheby’s announced on Thursday.
The 19-year-old sported the knit garment – which includes one black sheep amid dozens of otherwise white wooly creatures – at a June 1981 polo match during her whirlwind days as a shy royal-in-the-making.
The playfully patterned “Black Sheep” sweater became one of the most emblematic articles of clothing worn by Diana, which in hindsight seems to foretell her troubled journey as a member of the British royal family.
‘He’s not Superman’: Djokovic defends Alcaraz absence
Novak Djokovic stepped in to defend Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday for missing this week’s Davis Cup matches, saying the 20-year-old Spaniard may be young but he’s not Superman.
Alcaraz pulled out of the final group stage after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open semi-finals, saying he needed a rest.
Spain could have done with the world number two when losing their opening Group C tie in Valencia 3-0 to the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
