While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Nov 21, 2025
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) welcoming US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to Kyiv on Nov 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Zelensky ready to work on US-backed plan to end war
President Volodymyr Zelensky said after talks with a top US Army official on Nov 20 that he was ready to work with Washington on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, and he expects to discuss it with President Donald Trump in the coming days.
European countries are pushing back against the US-backed plan, which sources said would require Kyiv to give up more land and partially disarm, conditions long seen by Ukraine’s allies as tantamount to capitulation.
But Mr Zelensky, whose office said he had received a draft of the plan, said after meeting US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv that Ukraine and the US would work together on elements of the plan.
Mr Zelensky’s office did not comment directly on the content of the 28-point plan, which has not been published, but said the Ukrainian leader had “outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people”.
Fire forces evacuation at UN climate talks
A fire erupted in a pavilion of the UN climate talks in Brazil on Nov 20, forcing panicked delegates to run for the exits and interrupting negotiations.
UN and security crews rushed with extinguishers to put out the fierce blaze, which quickly tore a hole in the fabric roof of the COP30 summit site in Belem as smoke engulfed the corridor and people shouted “fire!”
The fire was brought under control and no injuries were reported, Brazilian Tourism Minister Celso Sabino said.
Trump floats death penalty for ‘seditious’ Democrats
US President Donald Trump suggested on Nov 20 that Democratic lawmakers who urged the military to refuse illegal orders could be executed, calling them traitors and accusing them of “seditious behaviour”.
Democrats immediately slammed Mr Trump’s “absolutely vile” threats against the six senators and representatives, who made the comments in a video posted on X on Nov 18.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.
New York mayor ‘ready’ for high-stakes Trump meeting
PHOTO: AFP
New York’s incoming leftist mayor, Mr Zohran Mamdani, said he was “ready for whatever happens” when he meets US President Donald Trump in Washington on Nov 21, stressing their shared desire to tackle the cost of living.
Mr Trump has previously threatened to deport Uganda-born Mr Mamdani and falsely calls him a communist, but New York’s mayor-elect said Nov 20 he would “work with anyone to make life more affordable” for residents of the country’s largest city.
The mayor-elect noted that tens of thousands of New Yorkers had voted for both Mr Trump and Mr Mamdani over the issue of cost of living, with rents and the cost of essentials higher there than in much of the United States.
Trump, Vance not invited to Dick Cheney’s funeral
PHOTO: AFP
US President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance were not invited to the Nov 20 funeral service for former vice-president Dick Cheney, according to a White House official.
Former US leaders, lawmakers and other dignitaries gathered at Washington’s National Cathedral to remember the powerful and divisive former vice-president, who was a vocal opponent of Mr Trump.
Guests included former presidents Joe Biden and George W. Bush as well as former vice-president Kamala Harris and Mr Mike Pence, who served as vice-president in Mr Trump’s first term.
