Straits Times

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied President Donald Trump's request to reconsider its earlier refusal to hear his appeal of the $5 million E. Jean Carroll verdict. A 2023 civil jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll and awarded her $5 million; Trump paid the judgment including interest after the June denial. A separate $83 million defamation verdict from 2019 statements remains pending on immunity grounds.

On August 17, Iran announced that two French embassy employees involved in a July diplomatic dispute would not be permitted to return, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stating at a press conference that their support for Iranian civil society violated the Vienna Convention. France had summoned Iran's charge d'affaires on July 21 after reports of detention and intimidation of embassy staff in Tehran. The episode occurs against the backdrop of an ongoing regional conflict involving the U.S. and Israel that began in late February.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recorded a Mandarin-language video promoting a Theater Development Fund lottery offering 2,000 free Broadway tickets to high school students. The video was produced in English, Spanish, Bangla, and Mandarin, drawing on the mayor's high school Mandarin studies. State Senator John Liu, a fluent Mandarin speaker, graded the mayor's delivery a solid B with an A+ for effort.

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Nickolay Mladenov met Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday to advance elements of a Gaza peace plan that include an immediate cessation of military operations, Israeli troop withdrawal, Hamas disarmament, and reconstruction under a new civilian Palestinian administration. Hamas officials attended some of the meetings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the roadmap on August 9, citing concerns over limits on targeted operations, while Israeli airstrikes resumed in Gaza.

Iran's parliament has approved legislation criminalizing interviews with media outlets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic, including U.S. and Israeli sources, with penalties of six months to two years in prison. The bill also imposes notification requirements for other foreign contacts and expands penalties for certain economic and policy activities directed by foreigners. It requires review by the Guardian Council to become law.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed August 17 showed 33 percent approval and 64 percent disapproval of President Trump's job performance. The rating matches the lowest point of his first term and follows US strikes on Iran conducted with Israel. The conflict has disrupted global oil trade and raised petrol prices while a 60-day peace deadline expires.

Hakainde Hichilema was re-elected to a second term as Zambian president with roughly 60 percent of the vote. Brian Mundubile received 38 percent. Results were released early Tuesday after the August 13 vote, accompanied by arrests of opposition figures.

A Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya met Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad on August 16 in El-Alamein to discuss implementation of a post-war plan for Gaza. The talks followed Hamas’s July statement on readiness to transfer weapons to a technical committee and occurred ahead of a visit by U.S. envoy Jared Kushner. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the 15-point plan and conditioned any withdrawal on full Hamas disarmament.

Supported reports confirm US and Israeli officials stated on Friday that Washington seeks a public condemnation by Prime Minister Netanyahu of militant settlers besieging Palestinian homes in Qusra. Israeli soldiers deployed in the village since Thursday to protect residents, while one local resident installed defensive fortifications following a prior shooting incident. An unverified claim from Al Jazeera describes three families trapped for nearly a week, with the reported publication date listed as August 2026.

The Houthis stated via Telegram that they attacked a Saudi military ship and four escorts near Mocha with missiles. Straits Times reported the claim alongside details of a prior Bab el-Mandeb Strait incident and a July naval blockade. Saudi authorities have not confirmed the latest incident.

Donald Trump held a press conference on August 15, 2024, at his Bedminster golf club displaying grocery items and attributing price increases to the Biden administration. Sheila Carney, a 68-year-old Trump voter, was reported unloading US$70 in groceries equivalent to S$89.57. Separate reporting from New York City under Mayor Zohran Mamdani described a rent freeze on one million units alongside record Manhattan rents and a 2.1 percent rise in food-at-home prices.

A federal judge ordered the pretrial release of 41-year-old Melissa Farris of Kentucky on Monday after she was charged with two felonies for alleged vandalism at the World War II Memorial in Washington. Farris, taken into custody last week, agreed to surrender her passport and remain in the continental United States. The Justice Department has urged reconsideration of the order, citing flight risk.

On August 16, Pope Leo XIV appealed for an end to violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank and urged international action toward a two-state solution. Reports describe a surge in militant settler attacks, including a siege in Qusra where settlers cut utilities before encircling homes. More than 150 UN member states recognize a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East Jerusalem, while Israel seized the West Bank in 1967 and settlements are viewed as illegal by the UN and most governments.

The Dubai Tower departed Ningbo on August 15 and is scheduled to reach Felixstowe on September 7 via the Northern Sea Route, followed by stops in Hamburg and Gdynia. Container transits on the route rose from 15 in 2024 to 23 in 2025 according to Allianz Commercial data cited by Straits Times. Maersk first used the passage in 2018, and the current timetable originates from Sea Legend.

On August 17 the White House Rapid Response account and President Trump criticized CNN reporter Kristen Holmes after she asked about Sen. Jon Ossoff's comments linking Trump to aide Natalie Harp. The exchange occurred during an event honoring a teenage lifeguard. CNN defended Holmes and described the response as beneath the office.

Zambia's August 13 presidential election featured 14 candidates and required more than 50 percent of votes for a first-round victory. Partial results from 135 of 226 constituencies showed incumbent Hakainde Hichilema leading, though exact percentages remain disputed between sources. Reports documented arrests of opposition figures, the death of a polling agent, and a six-hour suspension of counting.

Italian authorities recovered three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse valued above €9 million that had been stolen from a private museum near Parma, detaining five Moldovan suspects in connection with the works. Separately, four artworks by Antonello da Messina were taken overnight on August 15 from the public Museo Regionale di Messina, including three panels from the Polittico di San Gregorio altarpiece and one small two-sided painting sold by Christie's in 2003. The two incidents involve different locations, time periods, and victim institutions with no reported link between them.

On August 17, Donald Trump stated that Iran would not accept the deal he seeks and cannot have a nuclear weapon. Reports describe an interim US-Iran agreement reached in June that later collapsed, alongside ongoing regional tensions involving the Strait of Hormuz. Multiple claims rest on a single low-quality source with noted internal inconsistencies.

Liechtenstein announced on August 15 that women would be eligible to become monarch. The principality has a population of about 40,000 and is located between Switzerland and Austria. Its monarch exercises substantial political authority under the existing constitution.

Loui Ridi, a 46-year-old Palestinian American from Toledo, Ohio, returned to his hilltop home in Qusra after construction began three years ago. The property is one of three under reported siege, prompting U.S. condemnation and Israeli military deployment. Sources differ on siege duration and provide no coverage from center or right-leaning outlets.

Jared Kushner met Hamas leaders and mediators in Egypt on August 16 and Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on August 17. Reports indicate agreement that an American general would verify full Hamas disarmament before any Gaza reconstruction or Israeli redeployment. Both Straits Times and Axios attribute the details to the same set of meetings and reported outcomes.