While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 30, 2026

Nepal flood survivors recount harrowing experienceAn electrical technician at an upcoming hydropower station along the Bhote Koshi River in northern Nepal, Bikash Tharu would show up for work daily at around 8am. But on Aug 26, he and his co-workers were running late, having overslept because of gruelling work the previous day.That delay turned out to be a lifesaver. As they climbed down from their living quarters closer to the river, they saw a large dust cloud with thunderous noise hurtling down the river.They realised something was terribly amiss and ran back to higher ground – a decision that saved their lives on the day of the devastating flash flood on Aug 26 that even washed away the under-construction dam that Tharu and his colleagues worked at.“I want to thank God we were late that day. That saved our lives,” Tharu told The Straits Times, clutching a bottle of ORS, a rehydration drink, and a packet of biscuits handed to him at a relief camp run by the Nepali army in Battar in Nuwakot district.READ MORE HEREUS deports far-right commentator back to UKBritish far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was deported back to his home country, the United Kingdom, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said on Aug 29.The deportation on Aug 28 came a day after Yiannopoulos, 41, was arrested at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).A DHS spokesperson said he “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws” after legally entering the country in May 2019.READ MORE HERENorway’s King Haakon honours late ‘dear father’ HaraldPHOTO: AFPKing Haakon VIII of Norway paid homage to his late father as “such a good dad” in his first address to the nation since becoming sovereign, his voice briefly filling with emotion when evoking his widowed mother Queen Sonja.King Harald, who emerged from the shadow of his own well-loved, extrovert father to become a reformer during more than three decades on the throne, died on Aug 28 at the age of 89.His son Haakon, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie, praised Harald as a warm family man in a recorded televised speech at the palace.READ MORE HEREUkraine’s occupied nuclear plant running on generatorsPHOTO: REUTERSThe Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been without off-site power for more than a week and is currently relying on emergency diesel generators, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said Aug 29.The plant, which needs power to keep its six non-operating reactors cool, has only a 10-day diesel supply on site, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.It has not had a delivery to an off-site storage facility in about six months, but the plant had been supplied with diesel on Aug 26 and 27 from another off-site location, the IAEA added.READ MORE HERESecond-half collapse for Tottenham against NewcastlePHOTO: ACTION IMAGESTottenham Hotspur’s initially improved performance against Newcastle United on Aug 29 gave way once again to familiar failings in a limp 2-0 loss, leaving coach Roberto De Zerbi’s attempt to establish a connection with their fans in tatters.After a dreadful display at Brentford last weekend, in which the scoreline of 3-0 arguably flattered the visitors, Spurs looked sharper for much of the first hour against Newcastle before any optimism was dashed by two cheap goals.Spurs showed glimpses of the crisp attacking play De Zerbi was hired to bring. Then the fragility that led to the Italian becoming their third coach of last season came to the fore as they unravelled in the second half.READ MORE HERE