While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 21, 2025
· The Straits TimesRepublicans fear incomplete disclosure of Epstein files will loom over US midterms
Extensive redactions and the limited number of documents released related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein angered some US Republicans and did little to defuse a scandal threatening the party ahead of 2026 midterm elections.
The Trump administration touted this week's release of a cache of Epstein-related files as a show of transparency, but a handful of Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures joined Democrats in blasting Dec 19’s disclosures as inadequate and possibly in violation of a law that prompted their release.
While the criticism fell short of a broader party backlash, it underscored that the Epstein controversy was far from being put to rest and was likely to linger into next year, when Republicans will be fighting to keep control of Congress.
The release of files, starting Dec 19 and followed by a second, much smaller batch released Dec 20, is intended to comply with a bipartisan law passed by Congress in November that mandated the disclosure of all Epstein files held by the Justice Department, despite a months-long effort to keep them sealed by US President Donald Trump, who once counted Epstein as a close friend.
Australia holds a minute’s silence for Bondi Beach shooting victims
Millions of Australians will light candles and observe a minute’s silence on Dec 21, a week after a pair of gunmen fired into crowds at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s most famous beach and killed 15 people.
A father and son are accused of targeting the family-thronged Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach, striking on a sunny day at a tourism hotspot that is emblematic of Australians’ ocean-loving lifestyle.
Gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the Dec 14 assault. His 24-year-old son Naveed, who survived and remains in hospital under police guard, is facing charges including terrorism and 15 murders.
Zelensky says US proposed three-way peace talks with Ukraine and Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 20 that Ukraine would back a US proposal for three-sided talks with the United States and Russia if it facilitated more exchanges of prisoners and paved the way for meetings of national leaders.
Mr Zelensky, speaking to local journalists in Kyiv, also said top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov had told him of the latest discussions that took place on Dec 19 with US negotiators in the United States.
A new round was scheduled for Dec 20, he said, focusing on Ukraine's post-war recovery. Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev was also in Miami for talks with US officials.
Elon Musk becomes first person to cross $900 billion in net worth
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s net worth surged to US$749 billion (S$968 billion) late on Dec 19 after the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Tesla stock options worth US$139 billion that were voided in 2024, according to Forbes’ billionaires index.
Mr Musk’s 2018 pay package, once worth US$56 billion, was restored by the Delaware Supreme Court on Dec 19, two years after a lower court struck down the compensation deal as “unfathomable.”
The Supreme Court said that a 2024 ruling that rescinded the pay package had been improper and inequitable to Mr Musk.
After a colourful and chaotic Games, Thailand says goodbye
A half-empty Rajamangala National Stadium set the scene for the closing ceremony on Dec 20, when Thailand bade farewell to the SEA Games with an understated but fitting end to the biennial sporting event held in Bangkok and Chonburi.
And unlike the opening ceremony – which was devoid of pyrotechnics – this time the night ended with colourful fireworks lighting up the sky.
With thousands of empty seats visible in the 51,000-seater venue – the 90-minute ceremony, like the opening show on Dec 9 at the same venue, kicked off with a tribute to Thailand’s late Queen Mother Sirikit.