While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 10, 2025
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Hamas said five of its members were killed in the Israeli attack in Doha.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Trump told aide to tell Qatar Israel attack was coming
US President Donald Trump feels “very badly” about Israel’s strike on Hamas targets in Qatar and directed a top aide, Mr Steve Witkoff, to warn Qatar the attack was coming, the White House said on Sept 9.
Hamas, responsible for the Oct 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel from Gaza, said five of its members had been killed in the Israeli attack in Doha, including the son of Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya.
The United States counts Qatar as a strong ally in the Gulf and has relied on the Qataris to play an intermediary role in negotiations aimed at getting to a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US military informed the administration on the morning of Sept 9 that Israel’s strike was going to take place. She would not answer when asked who informed the US military.
US ready to take ‘strong’ action on Russia
PHOTO: EPA
The United States is willing to take firm action on Russia over Ukraine, but Europe’s full cooperation is crucial, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after talks with the European Union sanctions envoy on Sept 8.
Mr Bessent’s comments came as US officials and their EU counterparts were holding meetings on Sept 8 and Sept 9 – according to an EU official – on stepping up coordination involving sanctions targeting Moscow.
The EU sanctions envoy, Mr David O’Sullivan, who has spearheaded the bloc’s global outreach on preventing Moscow’s evasion of sanctions, is leading its delegation in Washington.
France’s Macron names loyalist Lecornu as new PM
PHOTO: EPA
French President Emmanuel Macron named loyalist Sebastien Lecornu, a one-time conservative protege who rallied behind his 2017 presidential run, as prime minister on Sept 9, defying expectations he might tack towards the left.
The choice of Mr Lecornu, 39, indicates Mr Macron’s determination to press on with a minority government that stands firmly behind his pro-business, economic reform agenda, under which taxes on business and the wealthy have been cut and the retirement age raised.
Mr Macron was forced to appoint a fifth prime minister in less than two years after Parliament ousted Mr Francois Bayrou nine months into the role over his plans for taming the country’s ballooning debt.
Apple unveils iPhone 17 Air
Apple unveiled its iPhone 17 lineup on Sept 9, featuring its thinnest smartphone ever, as the tech giant works to prove it can keep pace in the generative AI race.
The Silicon Valley powerhouse held its annual iPhone release event amid mounting pressures: the White House is pushing the company to reduce its dependence on Chinese manufacturing, while investors question whether Apple is truly ready for the AI age.
Adding to these challenges, the company faces headwinds from President Donald Trump’s high tariff policies. Apple shares have dropped more than 3 per cent since the Republican took office in January.
Rotting corpse found in US rapper D4vd’s Tesla
PHOTO, SCREENSHOT: D4VDDD/INSTAGRAM, X
A festering corpse has been found in the trunk of an impounded Tesla registered to rising US rap star D4vd, police and media reported Sept 9.
Neighbours of a tow yard called police about a foul smell coming from the site in Hollywood on Sept 8.
When officers arrived, they said they found a rotting body wrapped in a plastic sheet in the luggage compartment, which is found at the front in this kind of electric vehicle.
