While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 19, 2025
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US President Donald Trump (left) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivering a press conference at Chequers, the country residence of British Prime Minister, on Sept 18.
PHOTO: EPA
Russia’s Putin has ‘let me down’, says Trump
Donald Trump warned that Russia President Vladimir Putin had “really let me down” as he met Prime Minister Keir Starmer for wide-ranging talks on Sept 18, the final day of the US president’s historic UK state visit.
A day after King Charles III treated Mr Trump to royal pageantry at Windsor Castle, the Republican flew to Mr Starmer’s Chequers country residence for talks on thorny issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Mr Starmer has positioned himself as a bridge between Mr Trump and European allies, particularly on the war in Ukraine, in a bid to secure more commitments for Kyiv from the US leader.
And his calls, repeated again on Sept 18, for more international pressure on Mr Putin appear to be gaining more traction with Mr Trump, who slammed the Russian leader for continuing the war despite his efforts to stop the fighting.
Ukraine pushes back some Russian advances
Ukrainian forces have pushed back some of the advances Russia made over the summer, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept 18, calling the operation an “important success” after months of battlefield setbacks.
Mr Zelensky said his troops had reclaimed 160 sq km of land near the eastern coal mining town of Dobropillia, where Russia pierced Ukraine’s defences in August.
Diplomatic efforts to end the three-and-a-half year war have fallen apart in recent months, with Russia last week announcing peace talks were on “pause” and Mr Zelensky warning Russia still wanted to occupy “all of Ukraine”.
US again vetoes UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire call
PHOTO: REUTERS
The United States on Sept 18 again wielded its veto and thwarted a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire in Gaza, shielding its ally Israel from meaningful diplomatic pressure.
The 14 other members of the Council backed the resolution, initiated in August in response to the UN’s official declaration of famine after nearly two years of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
The vote came as Israeli tanks and jets pounded Gaza City, the target of a major new ground offensive, forcing Palestinians to flee south.
French police shoot dead man with machete near school
PHOTO: AFP
French police on Sept 18 shot and killed a man wielding a machete near a school in the southeastern town of La Seyne-sur-Mer, prosecutors said.
The “threatening” individual refused to comply with police orders and moved towards the officers, who first used an electroshock weapon and then fired six shots at the man, said public prosecutor Samuel Finielz.
He said they aimed at the man’s lower body but he died of his injuries at the scene.
Madonna to release new album in 2026
Madonna, the best-selling female artist of all time, said on Sept 18 she will release a new dance music album in 2026.
The 67-year-old singer is returning to the Warner Records label, associated with her early hits such as Like A Virgin and Holiday in the 1980s.
She left Warner in 2007 after signing a huge contract with Live Nation records.
