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French teen fined in Singapore 'straw licking' case

A French teenager was fined in Singapore on Thursday after pleading guilty to a public nuisance charge for a straw-licking stunt that landed him in hot water in the city state. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, was handed a Sg$600 ($465) fine after admitting to posting to social media a video of himself putting a straw he had licked back into the dispenser on an orange juice vending machine. The clip went viral on Instagram shortly after the incident on March 12, triggering a backlash that led to his arrest in Singapore, which is known for its strict enforcement of public order and hygiene rules. Handing down the sentence, Judge Kelly Ho said given Maximilien's "age and nature of the offence", alternatives like probation or a community-based sentence would not be imposed. Prosecutors agreed to the defence's proposal for a fine, saying the offence was at the "lower end" of its seriousness and while hygiene was compromised, no member of the public u...

Trump says meetings with Zelenskiy and Netanyahu were positive

US President Donald Trump said late on Tuesday his meetings with Ukrainian ​President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were positive. Netanyahu and Zelenskiy were in Washington to attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who died earlier this ​month and was an influential advocate for Israel and Ukraine. In separate ​short posts on Truth Social, Trump said he discussed ⁠various topics with them, without giving specifics. "Had a very good ​meeting! Obviously, many important subjects were discussed," Trump wrote on meeting ​Netanyahu. Trump voiced irritation with Netanyahu ahead of the meeting, complaining that details of Netanyahu's planned talking points on Iran had surfaced publicly. Read: Trump to host Netanyahu, Zelenskiy as Ukraine, Iran wars reach critical stages The US and ​Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Tehran responded with its own ​strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on ‌Iran ⁠and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed thousands and displaced millions. The meeting also came as Israeli strikes have repeatedly violated the Gaza ceasefire since it began in October. Nearly 1,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed ​in Israeli attacks ​since then, according ⁠to Gaza health officials. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by militants ​during that period. Approximately 80,000 Palestinians are recorded dead from the ongoing genocide. Netanyahu described the meeting as "excellent." Zelenskiy also ​met Trump, and they discussed plans for Ukraine to produce Patriot missile interceptors and reviving peace talks with Russia, which launched a full-scale ⁠invasion of ​Ukraine in February 2022. "Many things were ​discussed. The meeting went very well," Trump wrote. Zelenskiy also cast it as ​a "good meeting."

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