While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 26, 2025
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US President Donald Trump showing the signed executive order regarding TikTok, on Sept 25.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Trump signs executive order on TikTok
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Sept 25 declaring that his plan to sell TikTok’s US operations to US and global investors will meet the requirements in a 2024 law.
The new US company will be valued at around US$14 billion (S$18.1 billion), Vice-President J.D. Vance said.
Mr Trump has delayed enforcement of the law until Dec 16 amid efforts to extract TikTok’s US assets from the global platform, line up American investors and win approval from the Chinese government.
“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law,” Mr Vance said.
Trump urges Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil
US President Donald Trump on Sept 25 urged Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, while hinting that he may drop a ban on Ankara buying US stealth fighter jets.
Mr Erdogan was making his first visit to the White House since 2019 – the same year Washington kicked Turkey out of the F-35 jet programme over the Nato ally’s purchase of a Russian air defence system.
Mr Trump said they would talk “very seriously” about ending the rift over the high-tech planes, and said he was ready to lift sanctions against Ankara over the Russian S-400 missiles if the meeting went well.
N. Korea close to developing nuke ICBM that can hit US
PHOTO: REUTERS
North Korea is in the last stage of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit the United States with a nuclear weapon, though it has yet to master re-entry technology, South Korea’s president said on Sept 25.
President Lee Jae Myung, who is visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly, hosted an investor relations session on Sept 25 at the New York Stock Exchange. He pledged to reduce security risks linked to North Korea in order to draw more investments and spur the economy.
“Whether for negotiations with the US, or for their own regime, they are continuing to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, carrying a nuclear bomb and bombing the United States,” Mr Lee said.
Madagascar curfew after water, power shortage protests
PHOTO: EPA
Authorities in Madagascar on Sept 25 imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the capital, after protests over frequent power outages and water shortages turned violent, according to a top security official.
Police fired teargas to disperse the thousands of mostly youth protesters who were marching and carrying placards, in Antananarivo, the capital, according to a Reuters witness.
The demonstrators were denouncing the government and demanding restoration of reliable water and electricity across the country.
Food delivery giant Just Eat cuts 450 staff in AI shift
PHOTO: REUTERS
Dutch food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway said on Sept 25 it will cut about 450 jobs as it integrates automation and artificial intelligence into its operations.
The reductions will affect several countries and functions, including in customer service and sales administration.
In August, the company said it was partnering with Swiss robotics company RIVR to pilot doorstep delivery of food products with autonomous robots.
