While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 26, 2025
Neighbours Cambodia and Thailand traded deadly strikes for a second day on July 25.
Cambodia calls for ceasefire with Thailand: UN envoy
Cambodia wants an 'immediate ceasefire' with Thailand, the country's envoy to the United Nations said on July 25, after the neighbours traded deadly strikes for a second day.
A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on July 24, prompting the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis on June 25.
'Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,' said Cambodia's ambassador, Mr Chhea Keo, following a closed meeting of the Council attended by Cambodia and Thailand.
The envoy questioned how Thailand, a regional military heavyweight, could accuse Cambodia, its smaller neighbour, of attacking it.
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Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and trade talks
PHOTO: REUTERS
US President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on July 25 for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European Union.
Mr Trump told reporters before leaving the US that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney.
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Mr Trump said he and Mr Starmer would discuss the US-British trade deal and perhaps even 'improve' it, but gave no details.
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Ukraine facing fierce fighting around Pokrovsk
PHOTO: REUTERS
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 25 that Ukrainian forces were facing fierce fighting around the city of Pokrovsk in the east, a logistics hub near which Russia has been announcing the capture of villages on an almost daily basis.
Mr Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said Ukraine's top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, told a meeting of senior officials that the situation around Pokrovsk was the current focal point of its attention in the war, which began when Russia invaded in February 2022.
'All operational directions were covered, with particular focus on Pokrovsk. It receives the most attention,' Mr Zelensky said.
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UK MPs urge Starmer to recognise Palestinian state
PHOTO: AFP
More than 220 British MPs, including dozens from the ruling Labour party, demanded on July 25 that the UK government formally recognise a Palestinian state, further increasing pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The call, in a letter signed by lawmakers from nine UK political parties, came less than 24 hours after French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state at a UN meeting in September.
France would be the first Group of 7 country – and the most powerful European nation to date – to make the move, already drawing condemnation from Israel and the United States.
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Two teens jailed in UK over murder of 14-year-old
PHOTO: METROPOLITAN POLICE
A British judge on July 25 sentenced two teenagers to life in prison, with a minimum term of 15 years, for stabbing to death a 14-year-old boy on a London bus earlier this year.
The attack in January reignited debates around gang violence and the ongoing problem of knife crime that has plagued the British capital and other UK cities for years.
On Jan 7, Kelyan Bokassa was stabbed 27 times with machetes on the bus in Woolwich in south-east London.
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US says tariff deadline of Aug 1 is firm, no extensions
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US says tariff deadline of Aug 1 is firm, no extensions
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Food airdropped into Gaza as Israel opens aid routes
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Humanitarian aid being airdropped by the Royal Jordanian Army over the northern Gaza Strip on July 27. GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories - Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on July 27, as Israel began a limited 'tactical pause' in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The Israeli military said it had also begun airdropping food into the Palestinian territory – making one drop of seven palettes – while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he characterised as UN 'lies' that his government was to blame for the dire humanitarian situation. The army also dismissed allegations that it had been using starvation as a weapon, saying it had coordinated with the UN and international agencies to 'increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip'. UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the tactical pauses, saying he was in 'contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window'. But the UN's World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 people were 'enduring famine-like conditions' that were already leading to deaths. The Israeli decision came as international pressure mounted on Mr Netanyahu's government to head off the risk of mass starvation in the territory. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on July 27, urging Mr Netanyahu 'to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole did not happen overnight: Experts Singapore Workers used nylon rope to rescue driver of car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road sinkhole Singapore Car that fell into Tanjong Katong Road South sinkhole removed; road remains closed for repairs Asia Singapore-only car washes will get business licences revoked, says Johor govt Sport Arsenal beat Newcastle in five-goal thriller to bring Singapore Festival of Football to a close Singapore Benchmark barrier: Six of her homeschooled kids had to retake the PSLE Singapore Younger generation must inherit and strengthen Singapore's multiculturalism: David Neo Asia S'porean trainee doctor in Melbourne arrested for allegedly filming colleagues in toilets since 2021 Accusing the UN of fabricating 'pretexts and lies about Israel' blocking aid, Mr Netanyahu said in remarks at an airbase that 'there are secure routes' for aid. 'There have always been, but today it's official. There will be no more excuses,' he added. Since Israel imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza on March 2, the situation inside the territory has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of 'mass starvation'. Though aid has trickled back in since late May, the UN and humanitarian agencies say Israeli restrictions remain excessive and road access inside Gaza is tightly controlled. The Jordanian military said its planes, working with the United Arab Emirates, had delivered 25 tonnes of aid in three parachute drops over Gaza on July 27. Truckloads of flour were also seen arriving in northern Gaza through the Zikim area crossing from Israel, according to AFP journalists. The charity Oxfam's regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi called Israel's latest moves a 'welcome first step' but warned they could prove insufficient. 'Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops,' she said. 'What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza. 'We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege.' In general, humanitarian officials are deeply sceptical airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. In Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her 'life's wish' was to simply feed her children. She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from aid points daily. Chaotic scenes broke out at the site where Israel conducted its first food drop, witnesses told AFP. Mr Samih Humeid, a 23-year-old from the Al-Karama neighbourhood of Gaza City, said dozens of people had gathered to rush towards the palettes of supplies parachuted onto the area. 'It felt like a war, everyone trying to grab whatever they could. Hunger is merciless. The quantities were extremely limited, not enough even for a few people, because hunger is everywhere. I only managed to get three cans of fava beans,' he said. In a social media post, the Israeli military announced it had 'carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip'. AFP journalists saw Egyptian trucks crossing from Rafah, with cargo routed through Israel's Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection before entering Gaza. The Israeli army's daily pause from 10am to 8pm will be limited to areas where its troops are not currently operating – Al-Mawasi in the south, central Deir el-Balah and Gaza City in the north. Israel said 'designated secure routes' would also open across Gaza for aid convoys carrying food and medicine. The military said the measures should disprove 'the false claim of deliberate starvation'. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing 'reasonable grounds' to suspect war crimes including starvation – charges Israel vehemently denies. On July 27, according to the Gaza civil defence agency, Israeli army fire killed 27 Palestinians, 12 of them near aid distribution areas. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Separately, the Israeli navy brought an activist boat, the Handala operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, into the part of Ashdod, after intercepting and boarding it late on July 26 to prevent it attempting to breach a maritime blockade of Gaza. The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had met 19 of the 21 detained activists and journalists from 10 countries. The other two detainees, dual US-Israeli nationals, had been transferred to Israeli police custody, the group said. Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's Oct 7, 2023, attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. AFP
