While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 14

US President Donald Trump arrives to speak about tax cuts in the Rose Garden of the White House. PHOTO: AFP

Trump calls Michael Cohen as lawyers go to court over seized Trump documents

President Donald Trump phoned his longtime confidant, Michael Cohen, to "check in" on Friday as lawyers for the two men went to court to block the Justice Department from reading seized documents related to Cohen's decade of work for Trump, according to two people familiar with the call.

It is not clear what else they discussed in a call that came days after a series of FBI raids.

Depending on what was said, the call could be problematic for both men, as defence lawyers often advise their clients not to talk to each other during investigations.

Trump and Cohen still were trying to determine what exactly was seized. The raids were even broader than have been previously reported. Prosecutors said the raids were part of a months-long investigation into Cohen.

READ MORE HERE

Trump, Abe to focus on North Korea in Florida talks

US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will focus heavily on the challenge posed by North Korea's nuclear arms programme when they meet next week in Florida, a senior Trump administration official said on Friday.

The Trump-Abe summit at Trump's Mar-a-Lago retreat comes as US officials are working to set up a summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late May or early June.

The official, who briefed reporters at the White House about the Abe visit on condition of anonymity, would not describe the status of negotiations with North Korea on the summit. The exact time and place of the summit have not been established.

READ MORE HERE

Russia says Britain helped fake Syria chemical attack

The Russian military on Friday said it had proof that an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria's Eastern Ghouta was staged on orders from London.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the military had "proof that testifies to the direct participation of Britain in the organising of this provocation in Eastern Ghouta".

He said Britain had told the White Helmets, who act as first responders in rebel-held areas, to fake the suspected chemical attack in the town of Douma. London put "powerful pressure" on the civil defence organisation, Konashenkov said.

READ MORE HERE

Andrea Constand tells Bill Cosby jury: 'I could not fight him off'

Bill Cosby was supposed to be her mentor, Andrea Constand told a jury on Friday.

But instead he became her attacker, she said, so unrelenting in his sexual pursuit - even after she had rejected his advances - that he drugged and molested her during a visit to his home in January 2004.

Constand was more composed and less emotional in giving her account this time than she had been last summer, when she first testified about what she said had happened at Cosby's house near Philadelphia. That case ended in a mistrial when the jury became deadlocked.

READ MORE HERE

Football: Neymar 'about a month' away from comeback after operation

Neymar has told Brazilian television he still needs around a month to recover from a foot operation, as the Paris Saint-Germain superstar targets a return to full fitness in time for the World Cup.

"I need about a month, but it is healing well. Everything is happening normally," Neymar, who has not played since breaking a metatarsal bone in his right foot on Feb 25, told TV Globo.

Neymar's comments were released as a short extract from a pre-recorded interview that will be broadcast on Saturday, and which may give a clearer picture of the former Barcelona forward's state of fitness.

READ MORE HERE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.