While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, May 22, 2025
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US President Donald Trump (right) meeting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on May 21.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Trump ambushes South African president over ‘genocide’
President Donald Trump ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on May 21 by playing him a video that he claimed proved genocide is being committed against white people, driving farmers to flee to the United States.
The extraordinary stunt turned the usually staid diplomatic setting of the Oval Office into a stage for Mr Trump’s contention that white South African farmers are being persecuted.
With the media standing by and Mr Ramaphosa at times unable to get a word in, Mr Trump had staff put the video on a large screen, saying it showed black South Africans discussing genocide.
“You do allow them to take land, and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them,” Mr Trump said.
Outcry from Europe as Israeli soldiers fire near diplomats
European countries on May 21 condemned an incident where Israeli soldiers fired near a diplomatic delegation in the occupied West Bank, with Italy and France both summoning Israeli ambassadors to explain what happened.
The Israeli military said the delegation had “deviated from the approved route and entered an area where they were not authorised to be” and that soldiers fired “warning shots to distance them away.”
Footage on Israeli television showed individuals running to vehicles with diplomatic licence plates as shots were heard in the distance.
Ukraine has detained 50,000 men trying to flee draft
Ukrainian border guards have prevented tens of thousands of military service-age men from illegally leaving the country since the start of Russia’s invasion, a spokesman for the border guard told AFP on May 21.
Under martial law, most Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have been barred from leaving the country, unless they receive an official permission or qualify for an exemption.
But thousands have still attempted to flee to avoid being drafted in the Ukrainian army, which is struggling to recruit.
Spurs beat Man United 1-0 in scrappy Europa final
Brennan Johnson’s bundled first-half goal helped Tottenham Hotspur win a scrappy Europa League final 1-0 against Manchester United on May 21 as they cast aside their domestic woes to earn a berth in 2026’s Champions League.
It was Spurs’ first silverware since the 2008 League Cup and their first European trophy since 1984, but the fourth time they had beaten United this season.
Johnson scored in the 42nd minute when United’s defence crumbled as Pape Sarr swung in a cross while goalkeeper Andre Onana remained rooted to his line. Johnson and United defender Luke Shaw rushed in and the ball appeared to glance off both of them and in, past Onana’s desperate swipe.
Apple iPhone design legend Jony Ive joins OpenAI
The legendary designer behind Apple’s iPhone, Jony Ive, has joined OpenAI to create devices tailored for using generative artificial intelligence, according to a video posted on May 21 by the ChatGPT maker.
Mr Ive and the team from his latest startup will take over design at OpenAI.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said in the video clip that a prototype Mr Ive shared with him “is the coolest piece of technology that the world will have ever seen.”
