While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 24, 2025
Court says nations must address climate change
The United Nations' highest court on July 23 said countries must address the 'urgent and existential threat' of climate change by cooperating to curb emissions, as it delivered an opinion set to determine future environmental litigation.
The opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, was immediately welcomed by environmental groups. Legal experts said it was a victory for small island and low-lying states that had asked the court to clarify states' responsibilities.
'Climate change treaties establish stringent obligations on states,' Judge Yuji Iwasawa said, adding that failing to comply with them was a breach of international law.
'States must cooperate to achieve concrete emission reduction targets,' he said, reading out the court's advisory opinion.
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Russia, Ukraine still far apart at Istanbul talks
PHOTO: AFP
Russia and Ukraine discussed further prisoner swops on July 23 at a brief session of peace talks in Istanbul, but the sides remained far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders.
'We have progress on the humanitarian track, with no progress on a cessation of hostilities,' Ukraine's chief delegate, Mr Rustem Umerov, said after talks that lasted just 40 minutes.
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The talks took place just over a week after US President Donald Trump threatened heavy new sanctions on Russia and countries that buy its exports unless a peace deal was reached within 50 days.
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Illicit Chinese engines powering Russian drones
PHOTO: EPA
Chinese-made engines are being covertly shipped via front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia, labelled as 'industrial refrigeration units' to avoid detection in the wake of Western sanctions, according to three European security officials and documents reviewed by Reuters.
The shipments have allowed Russian weapons-maker IEMZ Kupol to increase its production of the Garpiya-A1 attack drone, despite the US and EU sanctions imposed in October designed to disrupt its supply chain, according to the sources and documents, which included contracts, invoices and customs paperwork.
An internal Kupol document, reviewed by Reuters, showed it signed a contract with the Russian defence ministry to produce more than 6,000 Garpiya this year, up from 2,000 in 2024. The document stated that more than 1,500 drones had already been delivered by April.
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Idaho students' killer gets life without parole
PHOTO: REUTERS
The former criminal-justice doctoral student convicted in the 2022 stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students was sentenced to life in prison on July 23, but his motives for the killings remained a mystery.
Bryan Kohberger, 30, received four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole or appeal under a deal with prosecutors sparing him the death penalty in return for pleading guilty earlier this month to four counts of first-degree murder.
Judge Steven Hippler gave Kohberger, dressed in orange jail garb and seated beside his lawyers, an opportunity to make a statement before sentence was pronounced.
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Bonmati fires Spain into Women's Euro final
PHOTO: REUTERS
Spain's Aitana Bonmati struck a superb extra-time winner to fire her side to a 1-0 victory over Germany on July 23 and send them through to the Women's European Championship final for the first time, where they will face reigning champions England.
Spain captain Irene Paredes struck the foot of a post with a first-half header as her side dominated possession, with the Germans building a solid block and inviting the Spaniards to attack while they attempted to strike on the counter.
Klara Buehl had a number of decent chances in the second half, including a deflected stoppage-time effort that Spain keeper Cata Coll had to claw away, but the game ended scoreless, forcing extra time.
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Straits Times
36 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump says he could impose more tariffs on China, similar to India duties, over Russian oil
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox US President Donald Trump on Aug 6 said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25 per cent duties announced earlier on India. WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Aug 6 said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25 per cent duties announced earlier on India over its purchases of Russian oil, depending on what happens. 'Could happen,' Mr Trump told reporters, after saying he expected to announce more secondary sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine. He gave no further details. 'It may happen ... I can't tell you yet,' Mr Trump said. 'We did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China.' Mr Trump on Aug 6 imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, on top of a 25 per cent tariff announced previously, citing its continued purchases of Russian oil. The White House order did not mention China, which is another big purchaser of Russian oil. Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned China that it could also face new tariffs if it continued buying Russian oil. REUTERS
Business Times
36 minutes ago
- Business Times
India's Modi to visit China for first time in seven years as tensions with US rise
[NEW DELHI] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday (Aug 6), in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the United States rise. Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that begins on Aug 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, said. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His trip will come at a time when India's relationship with the US faces its most serious crisis in years after US President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs among Asian peers on goods imported from India, and has threatened an unspecified further penalty for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. Modi's visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the summit of the SCO, a Eurasian political and security grouping that includes Russia, will be his first since June 2018. Subsequently, Sino-Indian ties deteriorated sharply after a military clash along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of a Brics summit in Russia in October that led to a thaw. The giant Asian neighbours are now slowly defusing tensions that have hampered business relations and travel between the two countries. Trump has threatened to charge an additional 10 per cent tariff on imports from members, which include India, of the Brics group of major emerging economies for 'aligning themselves with anti-American policies'. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Trump said on Wednesday that his administration would decide on the penalty for buying Russian oil after the outcome of US efforts to seek a last-minute breakthrough that would bring about a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. Trump's top diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow, two days before the expiry of a deadline the president set for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Meanwhile, India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is in Russia on a scheduled visit and is expected to discuss India's purchases of Russian oil in the wake of Trump's pressure on India to stop buying Russian crude, according to another government source, who also did not want to be named. Doval is likely to address India's defence cooperation with Russia, including obtaining faster access to pending exports to India of Moscow's S400 air defence system, and a possible visit by President Vladimir Putin to India. Doval's trip will be followed by Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in the weeks to come. Export impact US and Indian officials told Reuters a mix of political misjudgement, missed signals and bitterness scuttled trade deal negotiations between the world's biggest and fifth-largest economies, whose bilateral trade is worth over US$190 billion. India expects Trump's crackdown could cost it a competitive advantage in about US$64 billion worth of goods sent to the US that account for 80 per cent of its total exports, four separate sources told Reuters, citing an internal government assessment. However, the relatively low share of exports in India's US$4 trillion economy is expected to limit the direct impact on economic growth. On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India left its GDP growth forecast for the current April to March financial year unchanged at 6.5 per cent and held rates steady despite the tariff uncertainties. India's government assessment report has assumed a 10 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil, which would take the total US tariff to 35 per cent, the sources said. India's trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The internal assessment report is the government's initial estimate and will change as the quantum of tariffs imposed by Trump becomes clear, all four sources said. India exported goods estimated at around US$81 billion in 2024 to the US. REUTERS
Business Times
36 minutes ago
- Business Times
Are we near a pivot point for the Ukraine war?
THIS month marks the grim milestone of three and a half years of war since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, the date is more than a calendar event, and the conflict which has helped reset global politics and economics in the 2020s may now be at a pivot point. Friday (Aug 8) sees a deadline given by US President Donald Trump for Russia to respond to a deal to end the war. In late July, he threatened Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin with further sanctions, including secondary sanctions, if no agreement is reached beforehand. Ahead of US special envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow on Wednesday, Trump spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss potential sanctions on Moscow. While it remains unclear, as ever with Trump, whether he will follow through with his threat, optimism is growing in the West that this could be a key moment. In recent days, the US president has threatened to levy additional tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil, which he claims supports Putin's war in Ukraine. He said he will raise the 25 per cent rate of tariffs on Indian exports for this reason. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), India bought about 38 per cent of all Russian crude oil exports in June 2025, behind only China. Crea also estimated that India purchased around 49 billion euros (about S$73 billion) worth of Russian fossil fuels in 2024. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil' and 'they don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff paid by India to the US.' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The US president's outburst against India reflects his mounting frustration over Putin's unwillingness to negotiate a ceasefire to the conflict – which Trump had promised to end in a day upon taking office in January, but has clearly failed to meet. In Scotland earlier this month, the US president said: 'I've spoken to President Putin a lot, I've gotten along with him very well... but then he goes out and starts launching rockets into some city, like Kyiv, and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever, you have bodies lying all over the street.' So Trump's recent rhetoric could represent a significant shift in approach compared to only a few weeks ago when he was more neutral toward Russia. At the same time, the US president has moved to a more lukewarm tone on Ukraine and Zelensky. There is also consolidating support in the US Congress for Ukraine. Moreover, after Nato chief Mark Rutte's recent visit to the White House, Trump agreed to sell Europe significantly more weapons to give to Ukraine – again, a shift in stance. All of this may be politically important for Zelensky, who has recently suffered much international criticism after his proposed curbs to the independence of two Ukrainian anti-corruption bodies – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. Following nationwide protests in Ukraine, Zelensky said he has submitted a draft law to reinstate the freedom of two anti-corruption bodies. He asserts his previous Bill was intended to safeguard the bodies' independence from Russian influence. These developments potentially mark a new phase in the war that began in February 2022. This, too, after many months of Russia making battlefield gains in Ukraine that have, mostly, extinguished Western expectations that Ukraine could achieve all of its strategic war objectives. To be sure, Ukraine's European allies still are far from sure that Trump will follow through fully on his new threats to Russia. Yet, cautious optimism is building in the region that Kyiv may soon be in a stronger position to forge any eventual peace deal with Moscow. In part, this is also because key Ukraine allies, including the European Union and UK, have now reached tariff deals with Trump. This has taken away some short-term tension in transatlantic ties. Europe's leaders have been concerned for many months, certainly since Trump's election win last November, that any outcome in Ukraine that is perceived as a Russian victory may only embolden Putin and his allies across the world. Regional leaders have therefore intensified their efforts to help ensure the best possible outcome for Kyiv. Beyond extra funding, the EU and key allies such as the UK have also thought about a bolder and clearer grand strategy, too. This includes the potential political integration of Ukraine into the West. For instance, Brussels is moving forward with accession talks for Ukraine to potentially join the EU. Beyond that, the West can also put Kyiv onto a pathway to possible Nato membership as well. Moreover, important commitments can be made on reconstruction. The rebuilding of Ukraine may approximate that of Western Europe after 1945, Eastern Europe after the Cold War, and the Western Balkans after the break-up of Yugoslavia. It may easily cost over a trillion euros, and be the most ambitious post-war reconstruction effort in the 21st century. Amid all this uncertainty, Europe knows that while Moscow's forces have gained ground in Ukraine, the impact of the war remains overall negative for Russia. Not only have there been massive military casualties for Moscow, estimated to be over a million dead and injured, the strains on Russia's economy are also showing. Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said the country is 'on the brink of a recession'. Meanwhile, Russian Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina has asserted the resources that stoked growth in wartime, including military contracts, have been 'truly exhausted'. The International Monetary Fund recently downgraded its forecast for the Russian economy in its July World Economic Outlook Update. It forecast Russia's gross domestic product will rise by 0.9 per cent in 2025, down from its 1.5 per cent projection in April, following a significant decline in retail sales and industrial production. Even if Putin stays in power until the end of his current presidential term in 2030, his political position may still weaken significantly after the loss of so much blood and coin. Indeed, there may even be an outside possibility that his regime shows itself to be much more fragile than it sometimes seems. Taken together, the war is now entering a potential pivotal period ahead. If the ever-mercurial Trump translates his criticism of Russia into actions, Ukraine's negotiating position in any future peace negotiations with Putin may be strengthened significantly. The writer is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics
