While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 12, 2025
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US President Donald Trump remains “optimistic” about a trade deal with China, said the White House.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Tariff policy ‘doing really well’, says Trump
President Donald Trump insisted on April 11 that his tariff policy was “doing really well” despite China hiking levies on US goods to 125 per cent in the spiralling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
Investors dumped US government bonds, the dollar tumbled and stocks seesawed after Beijing’s retaliation against Mr Trump deepened concerns on already traumatised global markets.
Mr Trump sent financial markets into a tailspin by announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of trade partners last week, only to abruptly roll them back to 10 per cent on April 9 for 90 days – while raising levies on goods from China.
The White House said later that Mr Trump remained “optimistic” about a deal with China, and added that 15 other countries have offers “on the table” during his 90-day pause in their tariffs.
Trump tells Russia to ‘get moving’ on Ukraine
AFP
US envoy Steve Witkoff wrapped up his latest talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on April 11, after President Donald Trump urged his Russian counterpart to move quicker to end what he said was the country’s “senseless war” with Ukraine.
Mr Trump has been pressing Moscow and Kyiv to agree a ceasefire deal but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between Russian and US officials.
The US leader told NBC News in March he was “pissed off” with his Russian counterpart, while top US diplomat Marco Rubio warned last week that Washington would not tolerate “endless negotiations” with Russia over the conflict.
‘Several hundred’ Chinese fighting for Russia in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 11 that hundreds of Chinese nationals were fighting at the Ukraine front line alongside Russia, after accusing Moscow of dragging Beijing into its invasion.
“As of now, we have information that at least several hundred Chinese nationals are fighting as part of Russia’s occupation forces,” Mr Zelensky told a gathering of military chiefs from allied countries in Brussels. “This means Russia is clearly trying to prolong the war – even by using Chinese lives.”
Kyiv said this week that its forces had captured two Chinese nationals in the eastern Donetsk region fighting for Moscow, prompting allegations from Mr Zelensky that Russia was implicating Beijing in the invasion.
Singaporean golfer Hiroshi Tai poised to miss Masters cut
Getty Images via AFP
A historic debut at the Masters for Singapore’s Hiroshi Tai appeared to end on April 12, when the 23-year-old had a five-over par 77 in his second round for a six-over 150 two-day total.
Tai had put himself in a good position in the first round after carding a one-over 73 to place tied-38th. But the amateur golfer could not keep up the momentum in the next round, posting three bogeys on Nos. 4, 7 and 11 and a double bogey on the 15th.
The second round was still continuing, but Tai looked set to miss the cut.
Grey’s Anatomy, Euphoria star Eric Dane has ALS
PHOTO FACEBOOK/ERIC DANE
Eric Dane, the actor known as the handsome plastic surgeon nicknamed McSteamy in the hit TV series Grey’s Anatomy, told People magazine that he has been diagnosed with ALS.
Dane told the magazine that he was grateful for his family’s support and was excited to return soon to the set of the HBO show Euphoria.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurological disorder that degrades a patient’s ability to control muscles, speak and eventually breathe without assistance.
