While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 17

Updated

Aug 17, 2024, 05:38 AM

Published

Aug 17, 2024, 05:36 AM

Google News US’ Blinken heading to Israel to press Gaza truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel this weekend to push forward a Gaza ceasefire deal as the United States tries to bridge the gaps in talks in the region, the State Department said.

Blinken will leave on Aug 17 and seek to “conclude the agreement for a ceasefire and release of hostages and detainees through the bridging proposal” presented on Aug 16 during talks in Doha by the US, a State Department statement said.

President Joe Biden earlier on Aug 16 said that “we are closer than we have ever been” to a ceasefire in the 10-month-old Gaza war after two days of talks in the Qatari capital Doha.

“We’re not there yet. It’s much, much closer than it was three days ago. So keep your fingers crossed,” Mr Biden said.

READ MORE HERE

Google News Gaza records first polio case in 25 years

Gaza has recorded its first polio case in 25 years, the Palestinian health ministry said on Aug 16, after UN chief Antonio Guterres called for pauses in the Israel-Hamas war to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children.

Tests in Jordan confirmed the disease in an unvaccinated 10-month-old from the central Gaza Strip, the health ministry in Ramallah said.

According to the United Nations, Gaza, now in its 11th month of war, has not registered a polio case for 25 years, although type 2 poliovirus was detected in samples collected from the territory’s wastewater in June.

READ MORE HERE

Google News Ukraine advancing in Russia, ‘strengthening positions’

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug 16 that Kyiv’s forces were advancing between one and three kilometres in some areas in the Kursk region, 11 days since beginning an incursion into Russia.

Kyiv has claimed to have taken control of 82 settlements over an area of 1,150 square kilometres in the region since Aug 6.

Briefing President Volodymyr Zelensky via video link, Colonel-General Syrskyi reported fighting in the area of Malaya Loknya, about 11.5 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. He said he hoped the fighting there would allow the Kyiv military to capture “many prisoners”.

READ MORE HERE

Google News Pilot dies after aerobatic plane crashes in France

A small aerobatic plane crashed into the sea on Aug 16, during an airshow off the coast of south-east France with the pilot trapped inside, officials said.

The Fouga Magister aircraft was performing at Le Lavandou just before a demonstration by the French air force’s elite acrobatic flying team, a French air force spokesman told AFP.

Built after World War II, the Fouga Magister was for many years used by the French army as a trainer jet and aerobatic plane. It has no ejection seat.

READ MORE HERE

Google News Joshua Zirkzee an instant hero for Man United

Joshua Zirkzee made himself a Manchester United hero on his debut with a late winner to beat Fulham 1-0 in the opening match of the Premier League season on Aug 16.

Zirkzee, lacking match fitness after his £36.5 million (S$60 million) move from Bologna in July, came on only for the final half hour.

The Dutch international saved the Red Devils from a frustrating evening at Old Trafford when he poked in Alejandro Garnacho’s cross on 87 minutes.

READ MORE HERE