While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 14, 2026
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A billboard on a building in Tehran declaring the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Iran, on April 13, 2026.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Trump claims Iran reached out on deal as US begins Hormuz blockade
President Donald Trump said Iran reached out to his administration over peace negotiations, as the US began a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the war’s seventh week.
Even as Mr Trump sought to jawbone negotiations back on track, there were few signs that was taking place after weekend negotiations failed in Islamabad. Iran blamed the collapse of talks on the US and Tehran has not confirmed further discussions on April 13.
“We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal,” Mr Trump said at the White House, without elaborating on who participated in the conversation.
Mr Trump spoke hours after the US moved to cut off vessels from transiting the vital waterway to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas, which could further inflame tensions amid the global energy crisis.
Trump deletes Jesus post of himself after outcry
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM DONALD J TRUMP/TRUTH SOCIAL
US President Donald Trump on April 13 deleted a social media image apparently depicting him as Jesus after an outcry from religious leaders that he was being blasphemous.
The image posted on Mr Trump’s Truth Social platform showed him in flowing red and white robes, touching the forehead of what appeared to be a sick man and with light shining from his hand and head.
An American flag waved in the background while various figures gazed up at the president in reverence.
Brazil’s fugitive ex-spy chief arrested by ICE agents in the US
PHOTO: AFP
Former Brazilian intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem has been detained by ICE in the United States, the agency reported on its website on April 13, after he fled Brazil in September following his conviction for plotting a coup with ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
Ramagem, a former Federal Police inspector, was sentenced to over 16 years in prison for his role in a plot to overturn leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 2022 election victory over Bolsonaro.
Ramagem's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has long maintained his innocence.
Uber faces second driver sexual assault trial following $10 million verdict
PHOTO: JOHN MUGGENBORG/NYTIMES
After a key setback in the first trial of its kind before a US federal jury, Uber is expected to return to court on April 14 to face a second woman’s claims that she was sexually assaulted by a driver she booked through the app.
The jury trial in Charlotte, North Carolina federal court, which is expected to last about three weeks, will help determine whether a recent US$8.5 million (S$10 million) verdict in Arizona was a fluke or a sign of real trouble for Uber as it faces more than 3,300 similar lawsuits that have been consolidated in federal court.
Both cases are so-called “bellwethers,” or test cases for that litigation, and the verdicts could help determine the value of the remaining lawsuits for any potential settlement or resolution of the cases en masse.
Leeds grab 2-1 win over Manchester United as Martinez sees red
PHOTO: REUTERS
Leeds United's Noah Okafor scored twice as his side grabbed a morale-boosting 2-1 Premier League away win over bitter rivals Manchester United, who had Lisandro Martinez sent off in the 56th minute for pulling the hair of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Manchester United remain third in the table on 55 points, ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference, while 15th-placed Leeds put some more daylight between them and the teams battling relegation by moving up to 36 points, six ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in 18th.
The home side were returning to action after a long period of inactivity due to the recent international break, but instead of looking fresh and rested, they looked rusty as Leeds pressed them hard, repeatedly winning the ball high up the pitch en route to a well-deserved win.
