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Tag: Pakistan

  • Explainer-Nuclear Testing: Why Did It Stop, Why Test and Who Has Nuclear Weapons?

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    (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military on Thursday to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, minutes before beginning a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

    How many nuclear weapons tests have there been, why were they stopped – and why would anyone start them again?

    The United States opened the nuclear era in July 1945 with the test of a 20-kiloton atomic bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico, in July 1945, and then dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 to force Japan to surrender in World War Two.

    The Soviet Union shocked the West by detonating its first nuclear bomb just four years later, in August 1949.

    In the five decades between 1945 and the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), over 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out, 1,032 of them by the United States and 715 of them by the Soviet Union, according to the United Nations.

    Britain carried out 45 tests, France 210 and China 45.

    Since the CTBT, 10 nuclear tests have taken place. India conducted two in 1998, Pakistan also two in 1998, and North Korea conducted tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 (twice) and 2017, according to the United Nations.

    The United States last tested in 1992, China and France in 1996 and the Soviet Union in 1990. Russia, which inherited most of the Soviet nuclear arsenal, has never done so.

    Russia held nuclear drills last week and has tested a nuclear-powered cruise missile and a nuclear-powered torpedo but has not tested a nuclear warhead.

    WHY WAS NUCLEAR TESTING ENDED?

    Concern mounted about the impact of the tests – above ground, underground and underwater – on human health and the environment.

    The impact of the West’s testing in the Pacific and of Soviet testing in Kazakhstan and the Arctic was significant on both the environment and the people. Activists say millions of people in both the Pacific and Kazakhstan had their lands contaminated by nuclear testing – and have faced health issues for decades.

    By limiting the Cold War bonanza of nuclear testing, advocates said, tensions between Moscow and Washington could be reduced.

    The CTBT bans  nuclear explosions  by everyone, everywhere. It was signed by Russia in 1996 and ratified in 2000. The United States signed the treaty in 1996 but has not ratified it.

    In 2023, President Vladimir Putin formally revoked Russia’s ratification of the CTBT, bringing his country in line with the United States.

    WHY WOULD YOU TEST AGAIN?

    To gather information – or to send a signal.

    Tests provide evidence of what any new nuclear weapon will do – and whether older weapons still work.

    In 2020, the Washington Post reported that the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump had discussed whether or not to conduct a nuclear test.

    Apart from providing technical data, such a test would be seen in Russia and China as a deliberate assertion of U.S. strategic power.

    Putin has repeatedly warned that if the United States resumed nuclear testing, Russia would too. Putin says a global nuclear arms race is already underway.

    WHAT ARE BIG POWERS DOING WITH THEIR NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

    The exact number of warheads each country has are secret but Russia has a total of about 5,459 warheads while the United States has about 5,177, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Those number include deployed, stockpiled and retired warheads.

    The Washington D.C.-based Arms Control Association says the United States has a stockpile of 5,225 nuclear warheads and Russia has 5,580.

    Global nuclear warhead stockpiles peaked in 1986 at over 70,000 warheads, most in the Soviet Union and the United States, but have since been reduced to about 12,000, most still in Russia and the United States.

    China is the third largest nuclear power with 600 warheads, France has 290, the United Kingdom 225, India 180, Pakistan 170, Israel 90 and North Korea 50, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

    Russia, the United States and China are all undertaking major modernisations of their nuclear arsenals.

    (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Pakistan threatens to ‘obliterate’ Taliban after peace talks fall apart

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    Pakistan’s defense minister on Wednesday threatened to “obliterate” the Taliban, which controls neighboring Afghanistan, after negotiations toward lasting peace between the two sides failed.

    Peace talks wrapped up in Istanbul, Turkey, without a “workable solution,” according to Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, which comes after deadly clashes this month. Dozens were killed along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the worst violence in the area since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

    Negotiations ended with a disagreement over terror groups allegedly using Afghanistan as a base to attack security forces along Pakistan’s border.

    “Pakistan does not require to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding,” Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on X.

    PAKISTAN AND TALIBAN AGREE TO 48-HOUR CEASEFIRE AFTER RENEWED FIGHTING KILLS DOZENS

    An Afghan Taliban fighter sits on a tank near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, following exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces in Afghanistan on October 15, 2025. (Reuters)

    The two countries agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha, Qatar, on October 19, but they could not find common ground in a second round of talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar in Istanbul, according to Reuters.

    Both countries blamed the other for the talks falling apart.

    “The Afghan side kept deviating from the core issue … on which the dialogue process was initiated,” Pakistan’s information minister said on Wednesday, accusing the Taliban of engaging in deflection, ruses and playing a “blame game.”

    “The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution,” he said.

    TRUMP THREATENS HAMAS IF GAZA CEASEFIRE COLLAPSES AS JD VANCE TO VISIT ISRAEL

    Taliban security personnel walk past a damaged car

    Taliban security personnel walk past a damaged car in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province on October 16, 2025, a day after the cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Getty Images)

    A Pakistani security source told Reuters that the Taliban had been unwilling to agree to reining in the Pakistani Taliban, a separate terror group that Pakistan says operates without consequences from inside Afghanistan.

    An Afghan source familiar with the talks told the outlet that negotiations ended after “tense exchanges” on the matter, noting that Afghanistan claimed it had no control over the Pakistani Taliban.

    The Pakistani Taliban launched attacks against the Pakistani military in recent weeks.

    The clashes began earlier this month after Pakistani air strikes targeted the head of the Pakistani Taliban in Kabul and other locations.

    A Taliban security personnel stands guard

    A Taliban security personnel stands guard along a road near the Ghulam Khan zero-point border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Gurbuz district in the southeast of Khost province on October 20, 2025. (Getty Images)

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    The Taliban retaliated with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the 1,600-mile border that remains closed.

    Pakistan’s defense minister said on Saturday that he believed Afghanistan sought peace but that the failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul would mean “open war.”

    And despite a ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban, clashes over the weekend resulted in the killings of five Pakistani soldiers and 25 Pakistani Taliban members near the border with Afghanistan.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • Afghanistan-Pakistan Peace Talks in Istanbul End Without Resolution, Afghan Media, Pakistan Security Source Say

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    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Istanbul to broker a long-term truce have ended without a resolution, Afghan state media and a Pakistan security source said on Tuesday.

    Spokespeople for Afghanistan’s foreign ministry and Pakistan’s army and defence minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    (Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Syed Hassib in Kabul; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Pakistan Reports Border Clashes During Talks With Afghanistan

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    KARACHI (Reuters) -Five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants have died in clashes near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday, as delegations from both countries met to try to defuse tensions after the deadliest fighting in years.

    The militants tried to cross over from Afghanistan on Friday and Saturday in Kurram and North Waziristan districts, rugged areas along Pakistan’s northwestern frontier, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.

    It said the attempted infiltrations cast doubt on the intentions of the government in Afghanistan in “regards to addressing the issue of terrorism emanating from its soil”.

    In Afghanistan, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman and the defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported attacks.

    The Taliban denies accusations of sheltering militants and says Pakistan’s military operations violate Afghan sovereignty.

    Officials from both countries are meeting in Istanbul to prevent a relapse into conflict after clashes between their armies earlier this month – the worst border fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.

    That fighting erupted after Pakistan demanded the Taliban rein in militants it says operate from Afghan sanctuaries, prompting heavy exchanges of fire and Pakistani airstrikes. Both sides reached a truce in Doha last Sunday.

    Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, said on Saturday the truce was holding and he believed Afghanistan wanted peace. But he warned that failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul would mean “open war”.

    Pakistan’s military described the attackers on Friday and Saturday as members of “Fitna al Khwarij” a term it uses for groups it says are inspired by militant ideology and backed by “foreign sponsors”.

    (Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Opinion | ‘Does India Even Have Any Cards?’

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    Sadanand Dhume writes a biweekly column on India and South Asia for WSJ.com. He focuses on the region’s politics, economics and foreign policy.

    Mr. Dhume is also a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. Previously he worked as the New Delhi bureau chief of the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), and as Indonesia correspondent for FEER and The Wall Street Journal Asia.

    Mr. Dhume is the author of “My Friend the Fanatic: Travels with a Radical Islamist,” (Skyhorse Publishing, 2009), which charts the rise of the radical Islamist movement in Indonesia. His next book will look at India’s transformation since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.

    Mr. Dhume holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Delhi, a master’s degree in international relations from Princeton University and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, and travels frequently to India.

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  • Meth, cocaine worth nearly $1 billion seized from 2 sailboats in the Arabian Sea, U.S. confirms

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    A Pakistani navy ship seized narcotics worth more than $972 million from sailboats in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command confirmed on Tuesday.

    The Combined Maritime Forces, a naval partnership that includes the United States, said the Pakistani naval vessel PNS Yarmook last week intercepted two different traditional sailing vessels, known as dhows, within 48 hours.

    The crew seized several tons of crystal methamphetamine, worth over $960 million, and a smaller amount of cocaine, the partnership said in a statement.

    “The narcotics were transported back to the ship for testing to confirm the contents and subsequently disposed of,” the partnership said.

    The intercepted vessels were “identified as having no nationality,” it said without indicating where they had originated.

    Pakistan’s navy touted the seizure on social media, posting video of the PNS Yarmook.

    “The success of this focused operation highlights the importance of the multi-national collaboration,” said Royal Saudi Naval Forces Commodore Fahad Aljoiad, commander of the task force carrying out the operation. “PNS Yarmook has had one of the most successful narcotics seizures for CMF, which is directly attributed to the expertise and collaboration of our naval forces within the organization.”

    In a social media post, U.S. Central Command congratulated the Combined Maritime Forces, which includes 47 countries’ navies and patrols more than 3 million square miles of sea, including some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, to disrupt the smuggling of drugs and weapons.

    Smugglers often use dhows to transport drugs quietly through the region. In 2021, the U.S. Navy rescued five Iranians suspected of smuggling drugs after they apparently set fire to their stash on board a dhow.

    Large amounts of drugs have been confiscated from boats in the open sea around the globe in recent months. Last month, the French navy seized nearly 10 tons of cocaine worth more than $600 million from a fishing vessel off the coast of West Africa.

    In April, the U.S. Coast Guard seized roughly 10,000 pounds of cocaine from a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean. That haul was worth an estimated $74 million.

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  • Pakistan says ceasefire hinges on Afghanistan curbing armed groups

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    Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that his country’s fragile ceasefire agreement with Afghanistan depends on whether the latter reins in armed groups attacking across their shared border.

    “Everything hinges on this one clause,” said Asif in an interview with news agency Reuters on Monday, after the two countries reached a ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar and Turkiye the previous day.

    The truce followed a week of deadly border clashes that saw relations plummet to their lowest point since Afghanistan’s Taliban returned to power after the exit of US and NATO troops from the country in 2021.

    The fighting was triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul control fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella of several armed groups commonly known as the Pakistan Taliban, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan.

    “Anything coming from Afghanistan will be [a] violation of this agreement,” said Asif, who led the talks with his Afghan counterpart Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob. He said that the written agreement stipulated there would not be any incursions.

    The minister said that TTP operated “in connivance” with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, an allegation that the latter has denied. Afghanistan accuses the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation and sheltering ISIL (ISIS)-linked fighters to undermine its stability and sovereignty.

    Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said that under the terms of the agreement, “neither country will undertake any hostile actions against the other, nor will they support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of Pakistan”.

    Mujahid said the countries had agreed on refraining “from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians, or critical infrastructure”.

    The Pakistan Taliban, which has been waging a war for years against Islamabad in a bid to overthrow the government, has accelerated attacks in recent months to target Pakistan’s military.

    Pakistan security officials said the military carried out air strikes on the Afghan capital Kabul, including one on October 9 in an attempt to kill Pakistan Taliban leader Noor Wali Mehsud, though he later appeared in a video showing he was alive.

    “We were being attacked. Our territory was being attacked. So we just did tit for tat. We were paying them in the same coin,” Asif said.

    “They are in Kabul. They are everywhere. Wherever they are, we will attack them. Kabul is not, you know, a no-go area.”

    The next round of talks is scheduled to be held in Istanbul on October 25 to evolve a mechanism on how to enforce the agreement, Asif said.

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  • Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, Qatar says

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    Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. It follows more than a week of fighting that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds.Related video above: After historic hostage release, experts say lasting peace for Israel, Gaza is far from certainThe two sides agreed to establish mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability, as well as hold follow-up talks in the coming days to ensure the ceasefire’s sustainability, the Qatari statement said.Delegations from Afghanistan and Pakistan were in Doha for talks to resolve the deadliest crisis between them in several years. The talks were mediated by Qatar and Turkey.Both governments had sent their defense ministers to lead the talks, which Pakistan said would focus on “immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the border.”Each country has said it was responding to aggression from the other. Afghanistan denies harboring militants who carry out attacks in border areas.Regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have called for calm, as the violence threatened to further destabilize a region where groups, including the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, are trying to resurface.A 48-hour ceasefire intended to pause hostilities expired Friday evening. Hours later, Pakistan struck across the border.Pakistani security officials confirmed to The Associated Press Saturday that there were strikes on two districts in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province.The targets were hideouts of the militant Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. One said the operation was a direct response to the suicide bombing of a security forces compound in Mir Ali, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province a day earlier.The Pakistani Air Force raids killed dozens of armed fighters and there were no civilian deaths, they said.But Afghan officials said the aerial assaults killed at least 10 civilians, including women, children and local cricketers. The attacks prompted the national cricket board to boycott an upcoming series in Pakistan.On Saturday, several thousand people attended funeral prayers in Paktika. They sat in the open air as loudspeakers broadcast sermons and condemnation.Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, in a statement, criticized the “repeated crimes of Pakistani forces and the violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.”Such acts were deemed provocative and viewed as “deliberate attempts” to prolong the conflict, he added.The two countries share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, but Afghanistan has never recognized it.Pakistan is grappling with surging militancy, especially in areas bordering Afghanistan. It also accuses its nuclear-armed neighbor and rival India of backing armed groups, without providing any evidence.Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, urged Afghans to choose “mutual security over perpetual violence and progress over hardline obscurantism.””The Taliban must rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan,” he told an audience on Saturday at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.___Associated Press writers Abdul Qahar Afghan in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Sajjad Tarakzai in Islamabad, and Riaz Khan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

    Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. It follows more than a week of fighting that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds.

    Related video above: After historic hostage release, experts say lasting peace for Israel, Gaza is far from certain

    The two sides agreed to establish mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability, as well as hold follow-up talks in the coming days to ensure the ceasefire’s sustainability, the Qatari statement said.

    Delegations from Afghanistan and Pakistan were in Doha for talks to resolve the deadliest crisis between them in several years. The talks were mediated by Qatar and Turkey.

    Both governments had sent their defense ministers to lead the talks, which Pakistan said would focus on “immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the border.”

    Each country has said it was responding to aggression from the other. Afghanistan denies harboring militants who carry out attacks in border areas.

    Regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have called for calm, as the violence threatened to further destabilize a region where groups, including the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, are trying to resurface.

    A 48-hour ceasefire intended to pause hostilities expired Friday evening. Hours later, Pakistan struck across the border.

    Pakistani security officials confirmed to The Associated Press Saturday that there were strikes on two districts in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province.

    The targets were hideouts of the militant Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. One said the operation was a direct response to the suicide bombing of a security forces compound in Mir Ali, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province a day earlier.

    The Pakistani Air Force raids killed dozens of armed fighters and there were no civilian deaths, they said.

    But Afghan officials said the aerial assaults killed at least 10 civilians, including women, children and local cricketers. The attacks prompted the national cricket board to boycott an upcoming series in Pakistan.

    On Saturday, several thousand people attended funeral prayers in Paktika. They sat in the open air as loudspeakers broadcast sermons and condemnation.

    Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, in a statement, criticized the “repeated crimes of Pakistani forces and the violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.”

    Such acts were deemed provocative and viewed as “deliberate attempts” to prolong the conflict, he added.

    The two countries share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, but Afghanistan has never recognized it.

    Pakistan is grappling with surging militancy, especially in areas bordering Afghanistan. It also accuses its nuclear-armed neighbor and rival India of backing armed groups, without providing any evidence.

    Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, urged Afghans to choose “mutual security over perpetual violence and progress over hardline obscurantism.”

    “The Taliban must rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan,” he told an audience on Saturday at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Abdul Qahar Afghan in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Sajjad Tarakzai in Islamabad, and Riaz Khan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

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  • Afghanistan withdraws from cricket series after it says local players killed in Pakistan air strike

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    Afghanistan will no longer take part in an upcoming cricket series after it says three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike.

    The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November’s tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the three, who did not play for the national team, who it said were “targeted” in an “attack carried out by the Pakistani regime” on Friday evening.

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    The strike hit a home in Urgon district in eastern Paktika province, where the cricketers were eating dinner together after a match, eyewitnesses and local officials told the BBC.

    Eight people were killed, the ACB said. Pakistan said the strike targeted militants and denied attacking civilians.

    The ACB named the three players who were killed as Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths “a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family”.

    The attack came hours after a temporary truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan was due to expire following days of deadly clashes on the border between the two nations. Dozens of casualties have been reported.

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    Pakistan said it had targeted Afghan militants in the air strike and that at least 70 combatants had been killed.

    Pakistan’s Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar said claims that the attack targeted civilians are “false and meant to generate support for terrorist groups operating from inside Afghanistan”.

    On Saturday, large crowds of people were seen gathering at the funeral for the strike’s victims.

    In a social media post, Afghan national team captain Rashid Khan paid tribute to the “aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage”.

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    Other players for the Afghan national side joined the tributes, including Fazalhaq Farooqi who said the attack was a “heinous, unforgivable crime”.

    [BBC]

    The strike came after Pakistani officials said seven soldiers were killed in a suicide attack near the Afghan border on Friday.

    The 48-hour truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which began on Wednesday at 13:00 GMT, has reportedly been extended to allow for negotiations.

    An Afghan delegation arrived in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday for peace talks with the Pakistani side.

    The Taliban government said it would take part in the talks despite “Pakistani aggression”, which it says was Islamabad’s attempt to prolong the conflict.

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    Former Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai said Pakistan should “reconsider its policies, and pursue friendly and civilised relations” with Afghanistan.

    Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Saturday that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif would lead the country’s delegation in Doha.

    It said the talks will focus on ending cross-border terrorism and restoring peace and stability on the Pakistan-Afghan border.

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  • Saudi Arabia in Talks With US for Defence Pact, FT Reports

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    (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia is discussing a defence deal with the United States which it hopes to seal when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House next month, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

    A senior Trump administration official told the Financial Times there were “discussions about signing something when the crown prince comes, but the details are in flux.”

    The FT said the deal in discussion was similar to the recent U.S.-Qatar pact that pledged to treat any armed attack on Qatar as a threat to the United States. The U.S. deal with Qatar came after Israel last month attempted to kill leaders of Hamas with an air strike on Doha.

    The U.S. State Department told the FT that defence co-operation with the kingdom was a “strong bedrock of our regional strategy,” but declined to comment on details of the potential deal.

    The U.S. State Department, the White House and the Saudi government did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the FT report.

    Saudi Arabia has long sought guarantees similar to the Qatar deal as part of Washington’s efforts to normalise relations between Riyadh and Israel. Last month, Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan. 

    (Reporting by Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • FACT FOCUS: With a truce in Israel, Trump now says he’s ended eight wars. His numbers are off

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    As Israel and Hamas traded hostages and prisoners on Monday, taking a first step toward peace, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, telling them he had ended his eighth war.

    “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm. The guns are silent. The sirens are still. And the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace,” Trump said.

    He then upped the number of wars he claims to have ended in his first eight months in office, saying, “Yesterday I was saying seven, but now I can say eight.”

    But Trump’s claim is exaggerated. Much work remains before an end to the war between Israel and Hamas can be declared. That’s also true in other countries where Trump claims to have ended wars.

    Here’s a closer look:

    Israel and Hamas

    While the ceasefire and hostage deal is a major achievement, it is still an early and delicate moment in the path to a permanent end to the war, let alone a two state solution.

    The first steps of the agreement Trump brokered included the release of hostages in Gaza, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, a surge of humanitarian aid and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.

    But major elements remain to be worked out.

    After his stop in Israel, Trump gathered with other world leaders in Egypt for a “ Summit of Peace ” to discuss the ceasefire plan. Trump acknowledged that leaders had taken the “first steps to peace” and urged leaders to build on the breakthrough. Trump and other leaders signed a document that he said would “spell out a lot of rules and regulations and lots of other things, and it’s very comprehensive,” though details were not immediately available.

    The next phase of talks is expected to address disarming Hamas, creating a post-war government for Gaza, reconstruction, and the extent of Israel’s withdrawal from the territory. Trump’s plan also stipulates that regional and international partners will work to develop a new Palestinian security force.

    At least some, if not all, of those elements need to be worked out, and negotiations over those issues could break down. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said on Monday that he and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, were “already working” on implementation issues.

    Israel and Iran

    Trump is credited with ending the 12-day war.

    In June, Israel launched attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear program and military leadership, saying it wanted to stop Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied it was trying to do that.

    Trump negotiated a ceasefire after directing American warplanes to strike Iran’s Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites.

    Evelyn Farkas, executive director of Arizona State University’s McCain Institute, said that Trump should get credit for ending the war.

    “There’s always a chance it could flare up again if Iran restarts its nuclear weapons program, but nonetheless, they were engaged in a hot war with one another,” she said. “And it didn’t have any real end in sight before President Trump got involved and gave them an ultimatum.”

    Lawrence Haas, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the American Foreign Policy Council who is an expert on Israel-Iran tensions, agreed the U.S. was instrumental in securing the ceasefire. But he characterized it as a “temporary respite” from the ongoing “day-to-day cold war” between the two countries that often involves flare-ups.

    Egypt and Ethiopia

    This could be described as tensions at best, and peace efforts, which do not directly involve the United States, have stalled.

    The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River has caused friction between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan since the power-generating project was announced more than a decade ago. In July, Ethiopia declared the project complete. It was inaugurated in September.

    Egypt and Sudan oppose the dam. Although the vast majority of the water that flows down the Nile originates in Ethiopia, Egyptian agriculture relies on the river almost entirely. Sudan fears flooding and wants to protect its own power-generating dams.

    During his first term, Trump tried to broker a deal between Ethiopia and Egypt. He could not get the countries to agree and suspended aid to Ethiopia over the dispute. In July, he posted on social media that he helped the “fight over the massive dam (and) there is peace at least for now.” But the disagreement persists, and negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have stalled.

    “It would be a gross overstatement to say that these countries are at war,” Haas said. “I mean, they’re just not.”

    India and Pakistan

    The April killing of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir pushed India and Pakistan closer to war than they had been in years, but a ceasefire was reached.

    Trump has claimed that the U.S. brokered the ceasefire, which he said came about in part because he offered trade concessions. Pakistan thanked Trump, recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize. India has denied Trump’s claims, saying there was no conversation between the U.S. and India on trade in regards to the ceasefire.

    Although India played down the Trump administration’s role in the ceasefire, Haas and Farkas believe the U.S. deserves some credit for helping stop the fighting.

    “I think that President Trump played a constructive role from all accounts, but it may not have been decisive. And again, I’m not sure whether you would define that as a full-blown war,” Farkas said.

    Serbia and Kosovo

    The White House lists the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo as one Trump resolved. But there has been no threat of a war between the two neighbors during Trump’s second term or any significant contribution from the Republican president this year to improve relations.

    Kosovo is a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Tensions have persisted since, but never to the point of war, mostly because NATO-led peacekeepers have been deployed in Kosovo, which has been recognized by more than 100 countries.

    During his first term, Trump negotiated a wide-ranging deal between the countries, but much of what was agreed on was never carried out.

    Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

    Trump has played a key role in peace efforts between the African neighbors, but he is hardly alone and the conflict is far from over.

    Eastern Congo, rich in minerals, has been battered by fighting with more than 100 armed groups. The most potent is the M23 rebel group. It is backed by neighboring Rwanda, which claims that it is protecting its territorial interests and that some of those who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled to Congo and are working with the Congolese army.

    The Trump administration’s efforts paid off in June, when the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers signed a peace deal at the White House. The M23, however, was not directly involved in the U.S.-facilitated negotiations and said it would not abide by the terms of an agreement that did not involve it.

    The final step to peace was meant to be a Qatar-facilitated deal between Congo and M23 that would bring about a permanent ceasefire as well as a final agreement to be signed separately between Congo and Rwanda as facilitated by the administration. However, talks have stalled between the different parties amid setbacks, and deadly fighting continues in eastern Congo.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan

    In August, Trump hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House, where they signed a deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the signed document a “significant milestone.” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed Trump for performing “a miracle.”

    The agreements were intended to reopen key transportation routes and reaffirm Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s commitment to signing a peace treaty. The treaty’s text was initialed by the countries’ foreign ministers at that meeting, which indicated preliminary approval. But the two countries have yet to sign and ratify the deal.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in a bitter conflict over territory since the early 1990s, when ethnic Armenian forces took control of the Karabakh province, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, and nearby territories. In 2020, Azerbaijan’s military recaptured broad swaths of territory. Russia brokered a truce and deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to the region.

    In September 2023, Azerbaijani forces launched a lightning blitz to retake remaining portions. The two countries have worked toward normalizing ties and signing a peace treaty ever since.

    Cambodia and Thailand

    Officials from Thailand and Cambodia credit Trump with pushing the Asian neighbors to agree to a ceasefire in this summer’s brief border conflict.

    Cambodia and Thailand clashed in the past over their shared border. The latest fighting began in July after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Tensions had been growing since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thai politics.

    Both countries agreed in late July to an unconditional ceasefire during a meeting in Malaysia.

    Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pressed for the pact, but there was little headway until Trump intervened. Trump said on social media that he warned the Thai and Cambodian leaders that the U.S. would not move forward with trade agreements if the hostilities continued. Both countries faced economic difficulties and neither had reached tariff deals with the U.S., though most of their Southeast Asian neighbors had.

    According to Ken Lohatepanont, a political analyst and University of Michigan doctoral candidate, “President Trump’s decision to condition a successful conclusion to these talks on a ceasefire likely played a significant role in ensuring that both sides came to the negotiating table when they did.”

    ___

    Associated Press writers Michelle Price, Chinedu Asadu, Melissa Goldin, Jon Gambrell, Grant Peck, Dasha Litvinova, Fay Abuelgasim, Rajesh Roy, and Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report. ___

    Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • Pakistan Conducts Airstrike in Afghanistan’s Kandahar, Afghan and Pakistan Officials Say

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    (Reuters) -Pakistan carried out an airstrike in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province on Wednesday, Afghan and Pakistan officials said, as fresh fighting erupted between the neighbours.

    (Writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by YP Rajesh)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • Taliban, Pakistan trade claims of heavy losses in border clashes

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    Pakistan and Afghanistan traded accusations on Sunday after some of the worst cross-border fighting in years reportedly left dozens dead on both sides, with Islamabad vowing “no compromise” when it comes to national sovereignty.

    Pakistan sealed border crossings after forces exchanged heavy fire overnight. The Torkham crossing in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chaman in the south-western province of Balochistan were closed, a security official said.

    Pakistan’s civil and military leadership said 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 29 wounded in the border clashes.

    President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what they called “provocations” by Afghanistan and praised the military for its response.

    “We will not compromise on Pakistan’s defence,” Sharif said in a statement issued by his office. “Pakistan expects the Afghan interim government to ensure that its soil is not used by terrorist elements against Pakistan.”

    Zardari said that “no compromise will ever be made on Pakistan’s national sovereignty.”

    The military’s media wing, ISPR, said Pakistan had acted in self-defence after Afghan Taliban fighters and “Indian-sponsored terrorists” launched an unprovoked attack along the border on Saturday night.

    It said the assault was repelled “decisively all along the border” and that more than 200 Taliban fighters and affiliated militants were killed. Taliban camps, training facilities and support networks were targeted with precision strikes, ISPR said.

    In Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, seized more than 20 military posts and lost nine Afghan troops in the clashes.

    He said the fighting, which the Taliban says erupted after Pakistani airstrikes hit Kabul and Paktika province on Thursday night, was halted at Qatar’s request and that Taliban forces were now in a defensive posture.

    Mujahid accused Islamabad of harbouring Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) cells that had carried out attacks in Afghanistan and called on Pakistan to hand over or expel senior ISKP figures, including Shahab al-Muhajir. He also rejected Pakistan’s claims that the Taliban shelter fighters of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), insisting that no militants are allowed to operate in Afghanistan.

    The Taliban spokesman warned that Afghanistan would respond to any further aggression and reserved the right to defend its sovereignty.

    Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran have urged both sides to show restraint.

    The claims made by both sides could not be independently verified.

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  • Pakistan Closes Border With Afghanistan Following Exchanges of Fire

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    (Reuters) -Pakistan closed border crossings with Afghanistan on Sunday, Pakistani officials said, following exchanges of fire between the forces of the two countries. 

    Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani border posts late Saturday, with the country’s ministry of defence saying this was in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan earlier in the week.

    Pakistan said that it had responded with gun and artillery fire. Pakistani security officials said that a number of Afghan border posts were destroyed in retaliatory attacks. 

    The exchange of fire was mostly over on Sunday morning, Pakistani security officials said. But in Pakistan’s Kurram area, intermittent gunfire continued, according to local officials and residents.

    Pakistan’s two main border crossings with Afghanistan, at Torkham and Chaman, were closed on Sunday, local officials said. At least three minor crossings, at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan, were also closed, local officials said. 

    There was no immediate comment from Kabul on the closing of the border. Afghanistan’s ministry of defence had previously said that their operation had finished at midnight local time. 

    “There is no kind of threat in any part of Afghanistan’s territory,” the Taliban administration’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Sunday. 

    Landlocked Afghanistan has a 2,600-km (1,600-mile) -long border with Pakistan. Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of harbouring militants who attack Pakistan, a charge that Kabul denies. 

    The Pakistani airstrikes, not officially acknowledged by Islamabad, had targeted the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group in Kabul on Thursday, according to a Pakistani security official. It is unclear if he survived.

    The TTP has been fighting to overthrow the Islamabad government and replace it with a strict Islamic-led system of governance. It has had a close relationship with the Afghan Taliban. 

    (Reporting by Mushtaq Ali, Saud Mehsud; additional reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; writing by Saeed Shah; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Trump’s 20-Point Gaza Plan ‘Not Ours’, Says Pakistan’s Foreign Minister

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    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -The 20 points that U.S. President Donald Trump announced as part of his Gaza plan this week were not in line with the draft proposed by a group of Muslim-majority countries, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday.

    Changes were made in the plan, Dar told Pakistani lawmakers in parliament.

    “I have made it clear that these 20 points which Trump has made public are not ours. These are not the same as ours. I say that some changes have been made in it, in the draft we had,” he said.

    Trump published on Monday the plan that would end the war between Israel and Hamas militants and require the return of all hostages living and dead within 72 hours of a ceasefire.

    The plan leaves many details for negotiators to hash out and hinges on acceptance by Hamas militants who launched the war against Israel on October 7, 2023. It refers to a redeveloped Gaza as “New Gaza.”

    (Reporting by Asif Shahzad, writing by Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by YP Rajesh and Kim Coghill)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

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  • Global Reaction to Trump’s Proposal for a Gaza Peace Plan

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    BRUSSELS/ANKARA/BERLIN (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end nearly two years of war in Gaza has received the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while the plan has been shared with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

    Here are some reactions to the peace plan.

    ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU”I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims.

    It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”

    PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY STATEMENT CARRIED ON STATE NEWS AGENCY WAFA

    “The State of Palestine welcomes the sincere and determined efforts of President Donald J. Trump to end the war on Gaza and affirms its confidence in his ability to find a path toward peace.”

    ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER BEZALEL SMOTRICH

    “It is a historic missed opportunity … and in my estimation it will end in tears. Our children will be forced to fight in Gaza again.

    We will consult, consider and decide, God willing. But the celebrations since yesterday are simply absurd.”

    EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF KAJA KALLAS

    “President Trump’s Gaza plan is an opportunity for lasting peace. It offers the best immediate chance to end the war. The EU is ready to help it succeed. Israel has signed on to the plan. Hamas must now accept it without delay, starting with the immediate release of hostages.”

    JOINT STATEMENT BY FOREIGN MINISTERS OF UAE, SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, EGYPT, JORDAN, INDONESIA, PAKISTAN, TURKEY

    “The ministers affirm their readiness to engage positively and constructively with the United States and the parties toward finalising the agreement and ensuring its implementation, in a manner that ensures peace, security, and stability for the peoples of the region.

    They reaffirm their joint commitment to work with the United States to end the war in Gaza through a comprehensive deal that ensures unrestricted delivery of sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza, no displacement of the Palestinians, the release of hostages, a security mechanism that guarantees the security of all sides, full Israeli withdrawal, rebuilds Gaza and creates a path for just peace on the basis of the two state solution, under which Gaza is fully integrated with the West Bank in a Palestinian state.”

    UN SPOKESPERSON IN GENEVA, ALESSANDRA VELLUCCI

    “We are also continuing to be in touch with the parties, with the various parties, about the peace efforts. For indeed, we welcome all the mediation efforts. And of course, we stand ready to support any peace plan with everything we can do, including the provision of humanitarian assistance.”

    TURKISH PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN

    “I commend US President Donald Trump’s efforts and leadership aimed at halting the bloodshed in Gaza and achieving a ceasefire. Türkiye will continue to contribute to the process with a view to establishing a just and lasting peace acceptable to all parties.”

    GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ:

    “We welcome the peace plan for Gaza presented yesterday by President Trump. This plan is the best plan to end the war.

    The fact that Israel supports this plan is a significant step forward. Now Hamas must agree and clear the way for peace.”

    FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

    “I welcome President @realDonaldTrump’s commitment to ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of all hostages.

    I expect Israel to engage resolutely on this basis. Hamas has no choice but to immediately release all hostages and follow this plan. These elements must pave the way for in-depth discussions with all relevant partners to build a lasting peace in the region, based on the two-state solution and on the principles endorsed by 142 UN member states, at the initiative of France and Saudi Arabia.”

    UK PRIME MINISTER SIR KEIR STARMER

    “The new U.S. initiative to deliver an end to the war in Gaza is profoundly welcome and I am grateful for President Trump’s leadership.

    We strongly support his efforts to end the fighting, release the hostages and ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza. This is our top priority and should happen immediately.” ITALIAN GOVERNMENT

    “The proposal presented today by U.S. President Donald Trump could mark a turning point, enabling a permanent cessation of hostilities, the immediate release of all hostages, and full and secure humanitarian access for the civilian population.

    Hamas, in particular – having initiated this war with the barbaric terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 – now has the opportunity to end it by releasing the hostages, agreeing to have no role in Gaza’s future, and fully disarming.”

    SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ:

    “Spain welcomes the US-backed peace proposal for Gaza.

    We must put an end to so much suffering.

    It is time for the violence to cease, for all hostages to be released immediately and for humanitarian aid to be allowed access to the civilian population.

    The two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security, is the only possible solution.”

    (Reporting by Steven Scheer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Gavin Jones, Madeline Chambers, Sabine Wollrab, Alexander Cornwell, Emma Farge and Tuvan GumrukcuWriting by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

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  • Trump holds talks with Pakistan’s prime minister in the latest sign of warming relations

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    By AAMER MADHANI

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, for talks Thursday at the White House in the latest sign of warming relations between the United States and the South Asian nuclear power.

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  • Trump in speech to UN says world body ‘not even coming close to living up’ to its potential

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    President Donald Trump returned to the United Nations on Tuesday to boast of his second-term foreign policy achievements and lash out at the world body as a feckless institution, while warning Europe it would be ruined if it doesn’t turn away from a “double-tailed monster” of ill-conceived migration and green energy policies.His roughly hour-long speech was both grievance-filled and self-congratulatory as he used the platform to praise himself and lament that some of his fellow world leaders’ countries were “going to hell.”The address was also just the latest reminder for U.S. allies and foes that the United States — after a four-year interim under the more internationalist President Joe Biden — has returned to the unapologetically “America First” posture under Trump.“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump said. “The U.N. has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”World leaders listened closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.Trump escalated that criticism on Tuesday, saying the international body’s “empty words don’t solve wars.”Trump offered a weave of jarring juxtapositions in his address to the assembly.He trumpeted himself as a peacemaker and enumerated successes of his administration’s efforts in several hotspots around the globe. At the same, Trump heralded his decisions to order the U.S. military to carry out strikes on Iran and more recently against alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela and argued that globalists are on the verge of destroying successful nations.The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.Warnings about ‘green scam’ and migrationTrump touted his administration’s policies allowing for expanded drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States, and aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration, implicitly suggesting more countries should follow suit.He sharply warned that European nations that have more welcoming migration policies and commit to expensive energy projects aimed at reducing their carbon footprint were causing irreparable harm to their economies and cultures.“I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’ scam, your country is going to fail,” Trump said. “If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with your country is going to fail.”Trump added, “I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer.”The passage of the wide-ranging address elicited some groans and uncomfortable laughter from delegates.Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leadersTrump touted “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars. He peppered his speech with criticism of global institutions doing too little to end war and solve the world’s biggest problems.General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday said that despite all the internal and external challenges facing the organization, it is not the time to walk away.“Sometimes we could’ve done more, but we cannot let this dishearten us. If we stop doing the right things, evil will prevail,” Baerbock said in her opening remarks.Following his speech, Trump met with Secretary-General António Guterres, telling the top U.N. official that the U.S. is behind the global body “100%” amid fears among members that he’s edging toward a full retreat.The White House says Trump will also meet on Tuesday with the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speechTrump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.Trump sharply criticized the statehood recognition push.“The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists,” Trump said. “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7.”Trump also addressed Russia’s war in Ukraine.It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.Trump said a “very strong round of powerful tariffs” would “stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly.” He repeated his calls on Europe to “step it up” and stop buying Russian oil.Trump has Oslo dreamsDespite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the spurious claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.“Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize — but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless wars,” Trump offered.He again highlighted his administration’s efforts to end conflicts, including between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.“It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” Trump said. “Sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them.”Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.___AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

    UNITED NATIONS —

    President Donald Trump returned to the United Nations on Tuesday to boast of his second-term foreign policy achievements and lash out at the world body as a feckless institution, while warning Europe it would be ruined if it doesn’t turn away from a “double-tailed monster” of ill-conceived migration and green energy policies.

    His roughly hour-long speech was both grievance-filled and self-congratulatory as he used the platform to praise himself and lament that some of his fellow world leaders’ countries were “going to hell.”

    The address was also just the latest reminder for U.S. allies and foes that the United States — after a four-year interim under the more internationalist President Joe Biden — has returned to the unapologetically “America First” posture under Trump.

    “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump said. “The U.N. has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential.”

    World leaders listened closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.

    After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.

    Trump escalated that criticism on Tuesday, saying the international body’s “empty words don’t solve wars.”

    Trump offered a weave of jarring juxtapositions in his address to the assembly.

    He trumpeted himself as a peacemaker and enumerated successes of his administration’s efforts in several hotspots around the globe. At the same, Trump heralded his decisions to order the U.S. military to carry out strikes on Iran and more recently against alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela and argued that globalists are on the verge of destroying successful nations.

    The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.

    Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.

    The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

    Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.

    Warnings about ‘green scam’ and migration

    Trump touted his administration’s policies allowing for expanded drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States, and aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration, implicitly suggesting more countries should follow suit.

    He sharply warned that European nations that have more welcoming migration policies and commit to expensive energy projects aimed at reducing their carbon footprint were causing irreparable harm to their economies and cultures.

    “I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the ‘green energy’ scam, your country is going to fail,” Trump said. “If you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with your country is going to fail.”

    Trump added, “I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer.”

    The passage of the wide-ranging address elicited some groans and uncomfortable laughter from delegates.

    Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leaders

    Trump touted “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars. He peppered his speech with criticism of global institutions doing too little to end war and solve the world’s biggest problems.

    General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday said that despite all the internal and external challenges facing the organization, it is not the time to walk away.

    “Sometimes we could’ve done more, but we cannot let this dishearten us. If we stop doing the right things, evil will prevail,” Baerbock said in her opening remarks.

    Following his speech, Trump met with Secretary-General António Guterres, telling the top U.N. official that the U.S. is behind the global body “100%” amid fears among members that he’s edging toward a full retreat.

    The White House says Trump will also meet on Tuesday with the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

    He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.

    Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speech

    Trump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.

    France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.

    Trump sharply criticized the statehood recognition push.

    “The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists,” Trump said. “This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7.”

    Trump also addressed Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.

    European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.

    Trump said a “very strong round of powerful tariffs” would “stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly.” He repeated his calls on Europe to “step it up” and stop buying Russian oil.

    Trump has Oslo dreams

    Despite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the spurious claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.

    “Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Prize — but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless wars,” Trump offered.

    He again highlighted his administration’s efforts to end conflicts, including between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.

    “It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them,” Trump said. “Sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them.”

    Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.

    ___

    AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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  • Trump to take aim at ‘globalist institutions,’ make case for his foreign policy record in UN speech

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    Watched by the world, President Donald Trump returns to the United Nations on Tuesday to deliver a wide-ranging address on his second-term foreign policy achievements and lament that “globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order,” according to the White House.Watch live video from the United Nations in the video player aboveWorld leaders will be listening closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.“There are great hopes for it, but it’s not being well run, to be honest,” Trump said of the U.N. last week.The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.“This is by far the most stressed the U.N. system has ever been in its 80 years,” said Anjali K. Dayal, a professor of international politics at Fordham University in New York.Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leadersWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would tout “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars.“The president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” Leavitt said.Following his speech, Trump will hold one-on-one meetings with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speechTrump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.Leavitt said Trump sees the push as “just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies.”Trump, for his part, in the lead-up to Tuesday’s address has tried to keep focus on getting agreement on a ceasefire that leads Hamas to releasing its remaining 48 hostages, including 20 still believed be alive.“I’d like to see a diplomatic solution,” Trump told reporters Sunday evening. “There’s a lot of anger and a lot of hatred, you know that, and there has been for a lot of years … but hopefully we’ll get something done.”Leaders in the room will also be eager to hear what Trump has to say about Russia’s war in Ukraine.It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.Trump has Oslo dreamsDespite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.He points to his administration’s efforts to end conflicts between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.Still, Trump’s Nobel ambitions could have impact on the tenor of his address, said Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.“His speech is going to be driven by how much he really believes he has a chance of getting a Nobel Peace Prize,” Montgomery said. “If he thinks that’s still something he can do, then I think he knows you don’t go into the U.N. and drop a grenade down the tank hatch and shut it, right?”___AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

    NEW YORK —

    Watched by the world, President Donald Trump returns to the United Nations on Tuesday to deliver a wide-ranging address on his second-term foreign policy achievements and lament that “globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order,” according to the White House.

    Watch live video from the United Nations in the video player above

    World leaders will be listening closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.

    After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.

    “There are great hopes for it, but it’s not being well run, to be honest,” Trump said of the U.N. last week.

    The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.

    Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.

    The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

    Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.

    “This is by far the most stressed the U.N. system has ever been in its 80 years,” said Anjali K. Dayal, a professor of international politics at Fordham University in New York.

    Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leaders

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would tout “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars.

    “The president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” Leavitt said.

    Following his speech, Trump will hold one-on-one meetings with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

    He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.

    Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speech

    Trump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.

    France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.

    Leavitt said Trump sees the push as “just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies.”

    Trump, for his part, in the lead-up to Tuesday’s address has tried to keep focus on getting agreement on a ceasefire that leads Hamas to releasing its remaining 48 hostages, including 20 still believed be alive.

    “I’d like to see a diplomatic solution,” Trump told reporters Sunday evening. “There’s a lot of anger and a lot of hatred, you know that, and there has been for a lot of years … but hopefully we’ll get something done.”

    Leaders in the room will also be eager to hear what Trump has to say about Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.

    European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.

    Trump has Oslo dreams

    Despite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.

    He points to his administration’s efforts to end conflicts between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.

    Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.

    Still, Trump’s Nobel ambitions could have impact on the tenor of his address, said Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.

    “His speech is going to be driven by how much he really believes he has a chance of getting a Nobel Peace Prize,” Montgomery said. “If he thinks that’s still something he can do, then I think he knows you don’t go into the U.N. and drop a grenade down the tank hatch and shut it, right?”

    ___

    AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • Man charged with murder in killing of teen TikTok star in Pakistan

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    A Pakistani court charged a man on Saturday with murder for shooting a teenage social media influencer outside her home earlier this year after refusing his offer of friendship.

    Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka in the capital, Islamabad, indicted Umar Hayat for killing 17-year-old Sana Yousuf. Hayat pleaded not guilty.

    Hayat, a 22-year-old TikTok content creator, was arrested in June in the eastern city of Faisalabad. Yousuf’s death drew widespread condemnation.

    Judge Majoka asked Hayat if he had killed Yousuf. Hayat replied that he had not. He also rejected the allegation that he had stolen her mobile phone, a court official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

    Footage on Pakistan’s private Samaa TV channel showed police leading a handcuffed Hayat to the court.

    Women activists holding posters and photographs of TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf, who was murdered, take part in a demonstration condemning violence against women, in Islamabad on June 5, 2025.

    FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images


    Yousuf, originally from the scenic northern region of Chitral, was known for promoting traditional Chitrali music and dress through her TikTok channel. She also advocated for girls’ education. Hours before her murder, she had posted a birthday celebration photo with friends.

    Police described the killing as a “gruesome and cold-blooded murder,” alleging Hayat killed Yousuf after she repeatedly rejected his proposals.

    Some comments in social media posts sharing the news of Yousuf’s murder suggested it was justified in a society where honour codes dictate how women should behave.

    “You reap what you sow,” said one comment.

    TikTok enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan due to its easy-to-use and visually-led format, with tens of millions of users.  Women have found both audience and income on the app, which is rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy.

    But it has also faced temporary bans. The government has suspended the platform several times, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral or unlawful content.

    In July, police in Pakistan said a father shot and killed his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account.

    Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan according to the country’s Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting marriage proposals are not uncommon.

    In 2021, 27-year-old Noor Mukadam was beheaded by her Pakistani-American boyfriend, Zahir Jaffer, after she rejected his marriage proposal in a case that sparked widespread anger. Jaffer was sentenced to death.

    Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.  

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