While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 18, 2025
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US President Donald Trump welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in Washington DC, USA, on Oct 17.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Trump says it’s too soon for Tomahawks in talks with Zelensky
US President Donald Trump suggested on Oct 17 it would be premature to give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying as he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the war with Russia could probably be ended without them.
Mr Zelensky, who came to the White House to push for the long-range US-made weapons, said however that he would be ready to swap “thousands” of Ukrainian drones in exchange for Tomahawks.
The US president’s reluctant stance came a day after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a call to hold a new summit in the Hungarian capital Budapest.
“Hopefully they won’t need it. Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with without thinking about Tomahawks,” Mr Trump told journalists including an AFP reporter as the two leaders met at the White House.
US, China officials likely to meet in Malaysia for Trump-Xi talks
PHOTO: AFP
Senior US and Chinese officials are likely to hold talks next weekend in Malaysia as part of efforts to set the stage for a meeting between their countries’ presidents, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Oct 17.
Amid renewed trade tensions before President Donald Trump’s anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping late October in South Korea, the senior US official said he planned to speak by phone with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on the evening of Oct 17.
Mr Bessent said his team and a Chinese delegation led by the vice-premier will then “meet in Malaysia probably a week from tomorrow to prepare for the two presidents to meet.”
Trump asks US Supreme Court to allow troop deployment to Chicago area
PHOTO: AFP
US President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Oct 17 to allow his deployment of National Guard troops to the Chicago area, as the Republican president moves to dispatch military personnel to a growing number of Democratic-led locales and expand the use of the armed forces for domestic purposes.
The Justice Department asked the court to block a judge’s ruling that halted the deployment of hundreds of troops over the objection of Illinois state officials and local leaders, while litigation challenging Mr Trump’s plan continues.
Given events on the ground, the judge questioned the administration’s stated reasons for sending in the military. A federal appeals court upheld the judge’s ruling on Oct 16, also doubting the administration’s stated justification.
Britain’s Prince Andrew gives up title of Duke of York
Prince Andrew arriving for the Requiem Mass service for the Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral, central London, on Sept 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Britain’s Prince Andrew said on Oct 17 he would give up using his title of Duke of York following years of criticism about his behaviour and connections to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The reputation of Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles and second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, has taken a battering in recent years, most notably because of his links to Epstein.
A court ruling last year also revealed that the British government believed one of his close business associates was a Chinese spy. Prince Andrew at the time said he had stopped all contact with the businessman.
UN shipping agency delays decision on carbon price under US pressure
PHOTO: AFP
A majority of countries at the UN shipping agency voted on Oct 17 to postpone by a year a decision on a global carbon price on international shipping, after failing to reach consensus on the emissions reduction measure amid US pressure.
The decision to delay the deal is a blow to the European Union and other countries including Brazil which have been pushing for the global shipping industry to go greener and set out a price mechanism for decarbonisation.
Washington and Riyadh, the world’s two largest oil producers, have strongly opposed a carbon price on shipping during talks in London at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
