While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Nov 22, 2025
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska paying tribute on Nov 21 to demonstrators killed during freedom protests in Ukraine.
PHOTO: AFP
Trump demands Ukraine’s acceptance of peace plan
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov 21 that Ukraine faced losing its dignity and freedom or Washington’s support over a US peace plan which endorses key Russian demands and which Donald Trump said Kyiv should agree to by Nov 27.
The US president told Fox News Radio he believed Nov 27 was an appropriate deadline for Kyiv to accept the plan, confirming what two sources had told Reuters.
In a solemn address to the nation which he delivered in the street outside his office, a location he uses only rarely for major addresses, Mr Zelensky had earlier on Nov 21 appealed to Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.
“Now is one of the most difficult moments of our history. Now, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the heaviest. Now, Ukraine can face a very difficult choice – either losing dignity or risk losing a major partner,” he said.
Bitter UN climate summit pushes into overtime
Negotiators pushed into overtime on Nov 21 to salvage UN climate talks in Brazil as a bitter fight over whether to mention fossil fuels threatened to derail a final agreement.
At stake at COP30 is securing a deal that paves the way for faster cuts to planet-warming emissions that are driving ever more extreme weather – and proving that international cooperation can still function in a fractured world.
After nearly two weeks of negotiations in the Amazonian city of Belem, a new draft agreement unveiled by COP30 host Brazil made no mention of “fossil fuels” or the word “roadmap” that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had himself publicly supported.
Trump commends victory of NY mayor-elect Mamdani
PHOTO: AFP
US President Donald Trump praised the electoral victory of incoming New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Nov 21 in the first in-person meeting for the political opposites, who have clashed over everything from immigration to economic policy.
A democratic socialist and little-known state lawmaker who won New York’s mayoral race earlier this month, Mr Mamdani requested the sit-down with Mr Trump to discuss cost-of-living issues and public safety.
“We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well,” Mr Trump said, after inviting journalists into the Oval Office following a private meeting. “I want to congratulate the mayor, he really ran an incredible race against some very tough people, very smart people.”
Democrat seeks release of ‘shocking’ Trump-Saudi call
PHOTO: AFP
A Democratic lawmaker who served on Donald Trump’s National Security Council in his first term urged the White House on Nov 21 to release a transcript of Mr Trump’s 2019 call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing.
“The Khashoggi family and the American people deserve to know what was in that call... the receipts will raise serious questions,” Representative Eugene Vindman told a news conference with Khashoggi’s widow, Ms Hanan Elatr Khashoggi.
In 2019, Mr Vindman worked for the National Security Council (NSC), where his job included reviewing confidential telephone calls.
Michel gets 14 years in prison for aiding 1MDB’s Jho Low
PHOTO: AFP
Pras Michel, a Grammy-winning rapper turned political influencer, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for conspiring to wage a back-channel lobbying campaign to end US probes of fugitive Malaysian tycoon Jho Low and other crimes.
US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Michel, 52, on Nov 20 in Washington federal court, where jurors convicted him in April 2023. The judge previously ordered him to forfeit US$64.9 million (S$84.8 million).
Michel’s crimes included conspiring to illegally funnel Low’s money into the campaign of president Barack Obama in 2012 and trying to get American authorities to extradite a dissident Chinese billionaire.
