While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 19
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People gather as smoke rises from a mobile shop in Sidon, Lebanon, on Sept 18.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Fears of all-out war as new wave of device blasts kills 20
A second wave of device explosions killed 20 people and wounded more than 450 others on Sept 20 in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, officials said, stoking fears of an all-out war with Israel.
“The wave of enemy explosions that targeted walkie talkies... killed 20 people and wounded more than 450,” the health ministry said in a statement.
A source close to Hezbollah said walkie-talkies used by its members blew up in its Beirut stronghold, with state media reporting similar blasts in south and east Lebanon.
AFPTV footage showed people running for cover when an explosion went off during a funeral for Hezbollah militants in south Beirut in the afternoon.
Ukraine’s Zelensky says ‘victory plan’ is ready
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept 18 that his “Victory Plan”, intended to bring peace to Ukraine while keeping the country strong and avoiding all “frozen conflicts”, was now complete after much consultation.
Mr Zelensky pledged in August to present his plan to US President Joe Biden, presumably next week when he attends sessions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
While providing daily updates on the plan’s preparation, Mr Zelensky has given few clues of the contents, indicating only that it aims to create terms acceptable to Ukraine, now locked in conflict with Russia for more than two and a half years.
Europe must prepare to meet Russia militarily in 6-8 years
The European Union must be quick to increase its defences as Russia may be ready for a confrontation in six to eight years, the nominee to be the EU’s first defence commissioner told Reuters in an interview.
Mr Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania - one of Russia’s neighbours - has been tapped to boost the continent’s arms industry, by getting EU countries spend more on European weapons and procure jointly - as well as by getting companies themselves to cooperate more across borders.
The new post reflects how security has risen to the top of the EU’s political agenda since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Fed cuts rates by half a percentage point
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half of a percentage point on Sept 18, kicking off what is expected to be a steady easing of monetary policy with a larger-than-usual reduction in borrowing costs that followed growing unease about the health of the job market.
“The committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards 2 per cent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance,” policymakers on the US central bank’s rate-setting committee said in their latest statement, which drew a dissent from Governor Michelle Bowman who favoured only a quarter-percentage-point cut.
Policymakers see the Fed’s benchmark rate falling by another half of a percentage point by the end of 2024, another full percentage point in 2025, and by a final half of a percentage point in 2026 to end in a 2.75 per cent to 3 per per cent range.
Ferrari’s Sainz in a hurry for Formula One success
Twice, Carlos Sainz asked politely “Are we ready?” as The Straits Times was setting up for an interview at the Marina Bay Sands’ Paiza Sky Residence on Sept 18.
The Ferrari driver is known as one of the nicest guys on the Formula One circuit, but these days he is also in a huge hurry. There is a padel game waiting for him in the evening, and this weekend, the defending champion of the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix has a race to win.
Precision timing, physical and race management are what he counts as his strengths on the track, attributes that helped him clinch victory here in 2023, when he started from pole and pitted just once for his second career race win.
