While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 2, 2025
US President Donald Trump (left) said he was deploying two nuclear submarines in response to perceived threats from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
Trump deploys nuclear submarines in row with Russia
US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines on Aug 1 in an extraordinary escalation of what had been an online war of words with a Russian official over Ukraine and tariffs.
Mr Trump and Mr Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's security council, have been sparring on social media for days.
Mr Trump's post on his Truth Social platform abruptly took that spat into the very real – and rarely publicised – sphere of nuclear forces.
'Based on the highly provocative statements,' Mr Trump said he had 'ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.'
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Switzerland stunned by Trump tariff rate of 39%
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Swiss manufacturers warned on Aug 1 that tens of thousands of jobs were at risk after US President Donald Trump hit them with one of the highest tariff rates in his global trade reset, even if there was some relief for now for the key drugs sector.
The government said it was 'disappointed' and would decide how to proceed after Mr Trump set a 39 per cent tariff on the export-reliant country - more than double the 15 per cent rate for most European Union imports into the United States.
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The levy - up from an originally proposed 31 per cent tariff that Swiss officials had described as 'incomprehensible' - is a body blow for the small Alpine nation, which counts the US as the top export market for its pharmaceuticals, watches, machinery and chocolates.
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Trump orders firing of US jobs official amid cracks
President Donald Trump said on Aug 1 he has ordered the firing of a key economic official, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political reasons – without giving evidence – after a new report showed cracks in the US jobs market.
US job growth missed expectations in July, Labour Department data showed, and revisions to hiring figures in recent months brought them to the weakest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Trump lashed out at the department's commissioner of labour statistics – Dr Erika McEntarfer – after the report, writing on social media that the jobs numbers 'were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.'
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Man in SAF custody after allegedly vaping on bus
SCREENSHOT: WHATSAPP/ADMINSGFOLLOWS
A person who appears to be vaping while dressed in an army uniform has been identified and is now in the custody of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
In a media reply, Mindef said it is also looking into an online video, which showed the person allegedly using an e-vaporiser while on board a public bus. The clip began making its rounds on social media on July 31.
Mindef added that the possession and use of vapes by its service personnel is 'both a matter of military discipline and an offence under national law'.
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Red Bull reprimanded over Verstappen face towel
Formula One stewards reprimanded Red Bull on Aug 1 for a bizarre incident involving Max Verstappen throwing a face towel out of his car and onto the track during Hungarian Grand Prix practice.
The four-times world champion was summoned after the second session at the Hungaroring as stewards reviewed the video evidence.
'Shortly after Car 1 was released from its garage, the driver of Car 1 (Verstappen) was observed to have thrown a towel out of the cockpit,' they said in a statement.
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Who is Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian war hawk who got under Trump's skin?
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He referred to Ukrainians as "cockroaches", in language Kyiv condemned as openly genocidal, and called President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a criminal, a drug addict, a louse, a rat and a freak. In January 2023, he accused Japan's prime minister of shameful subservience to the United States and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself. Russian opposition figures have dismissed Medvedev's outpourings as sad, impotent rants. However, some Western diplomats say they give a flavour of the thinking in Kremlin policy-making circles. Until now, they have rarely provoked a direct response from Western leaders. SPAT WITH TRUMP That changed last month when Trump rebuked Medvedev and accused him of throwing around the "N" word after the Russian criticised U.S. air strikes on Iran and said "a number of countries" were ready to supply Iran with nuclear warheads. 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