While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 19
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Ukrainian soldiers sit on a armoured military vehicule in the city of Severodonetsk, Donbas region, on April 7, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
Ukraine says Russia begins offensive in east
Ukraine said on Monday that Russia had started an anticipated new offensive in the east while a Russian missile attack killed seven people in Lviv, the first civilian victims in the western city about 60km from Poland.
Ukrainian officials said Russian shelling killed four people in the eastern Donetsk region on Monday, while a man and a woman were killed in Kharkiv when shells hit a playground near a residential building.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said in a video address that Russian forces had begun the "Battle of Donbass" after senior officials said Moscow had begun a new offensive push along most of Ukraine's eastern flank.
"A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive," he said, adding: "No matter how many Russian troops they send there, we will fight. We will defend ourselves."
Biden has 'no plans' to visit Ukraine: White House
US President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal Castle, in Warsaw, on March 26, 2022.
PHOTO: REUTERS
US President Joe Biden is not planning to visit Kyiv, despite Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky urging him to demonstrate US support for the fight against Russia by travelling to the embattled capital, the White House said Monday.
"There's no plans for the president to go. Let me just reiterate that," press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
A string of European leaders have made the trip to Kyiv and met with Zelensky. However, a Biden visit would present a more complex security challenge.
US judge overturns CDC mask mandate for airplanes and trains
The ruling could create confusion on airplanes.
PHOTO: AFP
A federal judge in Florida said on Monday a US mask mandate on public transportation is unlawful, overturning a Biden administration effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
Last week, US health officials extended by 15 days the mandate requiring travellers to wear masks on airplanes, trains, and in taxis, ride-share vehicles or transit hubs, saying they needed time to assess the impact of a recent rise in Covid-19 cases.
The ruling by US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, an appointee of President Donald Trump, came in a lawsuit filed last year in Tampa, Florida, by a group called the Health Freedom Defense Fund.
China's Ant Group to take up majority ownership of Singapore-based payments platform 2C2P
Ant has over the years deepened its presence in Southeast Asia by investing in and partnering with fintechs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ant Group, the fintech unit of China's Alibaba Group, is set to become the majority investor in Singapore-based payments platform 2C2P as part of a partnership, the companies on Monday.
The deal will lead to the integration of Ant's Alipay+ payment service with 2C2P's platform used by merchants in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
Ant has over the years deepened its presence in Southeast Asia by investing in and partnering with fintechs, and recently appointed a general manager for the region to ramp up growth outside of China.
Cristiano Ronaldo's newborn twin boy dies
Cristiano Ronaldo (right) and partner Georgina Rodriguez in a photo taken in 2019.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez, who announced in October last year they were expecting twins, said on Monday one of the two babies has died.
"It is with deep sadness we have to announce that our baby boy passed away," Ronaldo and Rodriguez said in a joint statement on social media.
Asking for privacy during this difficult time, the couple thanked the doctors and nurses for their expert care and support.
