While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 3, 2026
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British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaking during a virtual summit at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, England, on April 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
40 countries discuss reopening Strait of Hormuz
About 40 countries on April 2 discussed joint action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stop Iran holding “the global economy hostage,” Britain said, after US President Donald Trump said securing the waterway was for others to resolve.
British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said Iran’s “recklessness” in blockading the waterway was “hitting households and businesses in every corner of the world” as she chaired the virtual meeting, which included France, Germany, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and India.
“We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” Ms Cooper said, in opening remarks broadcast to the media before the rest of the meeting took place behind closed doors.
The discussions took place after Mr Trump said on the evening of April 1 that the Strait could open “naturally” and it was the responsibility of countries that rely on the waterway to ensure it was open.
Trump fires Pam Bondi as US attorney-general
PHOTO: TIERNEY L. CROSS/NYTIMES
US President Donald Trump ousted Attorney-General Pam Bondi on April 2, after mounting frustration with her performance, especially over the release of files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Trump also felt Ms Bondi was not moving quickly enough to prosecute critics and adversaries whom he wanted to face criminal charges, according to sources.
Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Mr Trump, will lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) temporarily, Mr Trump said in a social media post.
Inaction, disregard for safety led to HK’s deadly fire
PHOTO: AFP
Thoughtless actions by multiple parties and the possible rigging of a renovation bid led to Hong Kong’s deadliest disaster in decades, a public inquiry into the Nov 26 Wang Fuk Court fire has heard.
An independent committee investigating the Tai Po tragedy, which killed 168 people and left nearly 5,000 homeless, closed its first of three rounds of evidential hearings on April 2.
The committee’s lead counsel Victor Dawes had said on the first day of the hearings on March 19 that human factors rendered ineffective almost all the housing estate’s fire safety measures.
Dinosaur collagen used to create one-of-a-kind bag
PHOTO: REUTERS
Scientists and designers unveiled on April 2 a handbag made with collagen derived from Tyrannosaurus rex fossils from the US, in a unique creation intended to demonstrate the value of laboratory-grown leather.
The teal-coloured bag will be displayed on a rock in a cage under a replica of a T. rex at Amsterdam’s Art Zoo museum until May 11, after which it will be auctioned, with a reported starting price of more than US$500,000 (S$640,000).
Scientists behind the initiative said the material was developed using ancient protein fragments extracted from dinosaur remains that were inserted into an unidentified animal’s cell to produce collagen that was turned into leather.
US judge tosses most of Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni
PHOTOS: REUTERS
A federal judge on April 2 dismissed most of Blake Lively’s claims in her lawsuit accusing Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment in connection with the filming of their 2024 romantic drama It Ends With Us.
The decision was issued by US District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan.
It followed more than a year of acrimonious litigation over the movie, in which Lively and Baldoni co-starred and which Baldoni directed.
