While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 19, 2025
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US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on April 18.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Trump says US will soon ‘take a pass’ if Russia or Ukraine balk on deal
US President Donald Trump signaled he could walk way from efforts to end the war in Ukraine if a deal can’t be found soon, as Russia said a one-month pause on targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure had ended.
“If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, you’re foolish,” Mr Trump told reporters on April 18 in the Oval Office. “You’re fools, you’re horrible people, and we’re going to just take a pass. But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”
Mr Trump said he did not have a “specific number of days” in mind by which he wanted to see an agreement before walking away, but needed to see quick progress.
“I know when people are playing us, and I know when they’re not,” Mr Trump said. “And I have to see an enthusiasm to want to end it. And I think I see that enthusiasm. I think I see it from both sides.”
Ukraine bans Chinese firms for helping Russia make missiles
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ukraine imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies on April 18 claiming they were involved in production of advanced Iskander missiles, a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged that China had been supplying weapons to Russia.
China’s foreign ministry earlier on April 18 dismissed Mr Zelensky’s accusation as groundless. While maintaining close economic ties with Russia during Moscow’s three-year war in Ukraine, China has sought to project an image of neutrality and denies any involvement in the war.
Mr Zelensky’s administration on April 18 published an updated list of sanctioned entities. The list, which also includes Russian companies, named Beijing Aviation And Aerospace Xianghui Technology, Rui Jin Machinery, and Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Xining, all described as registered in China.
Trump’s White House launches Covid-19 website pushing China lab leak theory
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM COVID.GOV
The White House on April 18 unveiled a revamped Covid-19 website that promoted the contentious theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese laboratory, framing it as the pandemic’s “true origins.”
The Covid.gov website, previously focused on promoting vaccine and testing information, now includes a full-length image of President Donald Trump and criticises the pandemic policies implemented under former president Joe Biden.
The site also targets Dr Anthony Fauci, Mr Biden’s former chief medical advisor, for advancing what it calls the “preferred narrative that Covid-19 originated naturally.”
Deadliest US strike in Yemen kills 80, Houthis say
via REUTERS
US strikes on a Yemeni fuel port killed at least 80 people, Houthi rebels said on April 18, in the deadliest attack of Washington’s 15-month campaign against the Iran-backed group.
The strikes on Ras Issa aimed to cut off supplies and funds for the rebels that control large swathes of the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, the US military said.
Images broadcast by a Houthi-run television channel showed large blazes lighting up the night sky following the latest in an intensified barrage of attacks under US President Donald Trump.
Pope Francis, still recovering, skips Rome’s annual Good Friday procession
PHOTO: REUTERS
Pope Francis, still recovering from double pneumonia, did not attend an annual procession on April 18 at Rome's Colosseum with thousands of Catholic faithful for the third year in a row.
The 88-year-old pontiff, who is limiting his public appearances on doctors' orders, skipped an outdoor ceremony for Good Friday, the day Christians mark Jesus' crucifixion.
The Via Crucis at the Colosseum, which is believed to have been a place of martyrdom for early Christians, is a re-enactment of Jesus' death.
