Islamabad says US president helped resolve India conflict but critic says ‘Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza’ not candidate for any prize
Pakistan has said it will recommend Donald Trump for the Nobel peace prize for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.
The move, announced on Saturday, came as the US president mulls joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Continue reading...President denies report in Wall Street Journal and says newspaper has ‘no idea’ of his plans for Israel and Iran
Donald Trump has denied a report in the Wall Street Journal that he has approved US plans to attack Iran, saying that the news outlet has “no idea” what his thinking is concerning the Israel-Iran conflict.
He also confirmed, later on Thursday, via his press secretary, that he’d be making a decision within the “next two weeks”.
Continue reading...Republican Thomas Massie joins with Democrats in effort to require Congress approval before Trump attacks Iran
As Donald Trump publicly threatens to join Israel in attacking Iran, an unlikely coalition of lawmakers has moved to prevent the president from involving US forces in the conflict without Congress’s approval.
On Tuesday, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, whose libertarian-tinged politics have often put him at odds with Trump, joined with several progressive Democrats to introduce in the House of Representatives a war powers resolution that would require a vote by Congress before Trump could attack Iran. Democrat Tim Kaine has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
Continue reading...US president says he is working on something ‘much bigger’ than a ceasefire after French president says ‘an offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions’
Donald Trump has encouraged vice president JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to offer to meet the Iranians this week, the New York Times has reported, citing a US official.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier indicated that Tehran was open to negotiations, also suggesting Trump could stop the war with “one phone call” to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on X he wrote:
If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.
It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.
There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions … We have to see now whether the sides will follow.
Right now I believe negotiations need to restart and that civilians need to be protected.
All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken.
Continue reading...Tim Kaine introduces measure to prohibit US forces from taking action against Iran without approval from Congress
As Iran and Israel exchange missile attacks for a fourth day, Democrats in Washington are moving swiftly to reassert congressional authority over US military engagement in the region amid fears of American involvement in a broader conflict.
Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator of Virginia, on Monday introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress or a declaration of war. The measure, like other attempts to claw back power from the executive branch, faces a steep climb in the GOP-controlled Congress, where Republicans have been mostly unwilling to challenge Donald Trump’s authority.
Continue reading...Casualties reported in central Israel as G7 leaders were set to meet in Canada with the battle between the two regional enemies set to dominate the agenda
Iranian missiles have struck Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, destroying homes and fuelling concerns among world leaders at this week’s G7 meeting that the conflict between the two regional enemies could lead to a broader Middle East war.
Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said Monday that four people were pronounced dead after strikes at four sites in central Israel, with 87 injured. The dead were two women and two men, all approximately 70 years old, the MDA said.
Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv said that Iranian missiles had hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, blowing out windows and heavily damaging multiple apartments.
Companies hail ‘historic partnership’ to bring ‘massive investment’ but details of agreement remain unclear
Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order paving the way for a Nippon Steel investment in US Steel, so long as the Japanese company complies with a “national security agreement” submitted by the federal government.
Trump’s order did not detail the terms of the national security agreement. But US Steel and Nippon Steel said in a joint statement that the agreement stipulates that approximately $11bn in new investments will be made by 2028 and includes giving the US government a “golden share” – essentially veto power to ensure the country’s national security interests are protected.
Continue reading...State department move comes amid increasing concerns about nuclear talks between US and Iran that appear to be deadlocked
The United States has ordered the departure of “non-essential” diplomatic staff and their families from embassies in the Middle East amid growing diplomatic tensions in the region.
The US diplomatic draw-down came as Iran threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out, while Donald Trump said he was “less confident” about reaching a nuclear deal.
Continue reading...Draft agreement may reassure top US military suppliers after president’s tariffs flip-flopping threatened production
The draft trade agreement with China announced by Donald Trump on Wednesday would ease concerns from top US military suppliers about rare-earth metals and magnets that, if cut off permanently, could hobble production of everything from smart bombs to fighter jets to submarines and other weapons in the US arsenal.
While the deal has not yet been finalised, it may reassure major defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, the largest US user of samarium – a rare-earth metal used in military-grade magnets – whose supply is entirely controlled by China.
Continue reading...US commerce secretary expresses optimism that deal will resolve concerns about rare earths and magnets
The US and China have extended the truce in their trade war after two days of talks in London that resulted in a “framework” deal over export restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors.
Negotiations to resolve the wider tariff war triggered by Donald Trump in April will continue but the truce settles, for now, growing tension between the two economic super-powers.
Continue reading...Government defence expert Fiona Hill warns UK to respond to threats by becoming more cohesive and resilient
Russia is at war with Britain, the US is no longer a reliable ally and the UK has to respond by becoming more cohesive and more resilient, according to one of the three authors of the strategic defence review.
Fiona Hill, from County Durham, became the White House’s chief Russia adviser during Donald Trump’s first term and contributed to the British government’s strategy. She made the remarks in an interview with the Guardian.
Continue reading...President had cued up ban in January order and, despite exemptions, policy will separate families and harm people fleeing crises
Donald Trump’s first travel ban in 2017 had an immediate, explosive impact – spawning chaos at airports nationwide.
This time around, the panic and chaos was already widespread by the time the president signed his proclamation Wednesday to fully or partially restrict foreign nationals from 19 countries from entering the United States.
Continue reading...Friedrich Merz struggles to get word in as US president focuses on record of former German leader who left office in 2021
Donald Trump has heaped criticism on the former German chancellor Angela Merkel for opening up her country to refugees, telling her successor: “I told her it shouldn’t have happened.”
During an appearance with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Thursday, Trump was asked about the sweeping travel restrictions on 19 countries that he announced the previous day.
Continue reading...US president says he accepted invitation in first phone conversation between leaders since January
Donald Trump said he had accepted an invitation to meet Xi Jinping in China after a phone conversation on trade was held between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president said the “very good” call lasted about 90 minutes and the conversation was “almost entirely focused on trade”.
Continue reading...Russia, China, France and the UK all voted in favour of ‘immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire’
The United States has vetoed a United Nations security council resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza while the 14 remaining countries on the council voted in favour.
The vetoed resolution also called the situation in Gaza “catastrophic”, and demanded the “immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution at scale, including by the UN and humanitarian partners”.
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin has warned Russia will respond to Kyiv’s attacks on nuclear-capable aircraft at airfields
As Vladimir Putin pledges to retaliate against Ukraine for last weekend’s unprecedented drone attack, Kremlin advisers and figures around Donald Trump have told the US president that the risk of a nuclear confrontation is growing, in an attempt to pressure him to further reduce US support for Ukraine.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and an important intermediary between the Kremlin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, called the Ukrainian drone strike an attack on “Russian nuclear assets”, and echoed remarks from Maga-friendly figures warning of the potential for a third world war.
Continue reading...Lee Jae-myung must tackle US leader’s trade war as he attempts to revive Asia’s fourth biggest economy
Two years ago, the then South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, serenaded Joe Biden in the White House with a rendition of American Pie. The foundations of Washington’s ties with Seoul, one of its most important allies in the Asia-Pacific, appeared as firm as Yoon’s more-than-passable crooning.
As he prepares to replace the now-disgraced Yoon, South Korea’s new leader, Lee Jae-myung, will have to strike a very different note with Biden’s successor in the White House.
Continue reading...Extended closure said to be for maintenance and follows deaths of at least 27 people killed by Israeli troops near distribution site
A US-backed group operating food distribution sites in Gaza has announced that its operations would be suspended for a second day on Thursday, due to “maintenance and repair work”, as the Israeli army warned that roads leading to distribution centres were considered “combat zones”.
After Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians, killing at least 27 and injuring hundreds, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) pressed Israel to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites.
Continue reading...Johnnie Moore, also an adviser to Trump, named as US- and Israeli-backed initiative tries to recover from resignations
An evangelical leader and adviser to Donald Trump on interfaith issues has been appointed the new head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as the controversial US- and Israeli-backed initiative attempts to recover from top-level resignations during a tumultuous rollout last week.
Johnnie Moore, a member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and founder of the boutique advisory firm Kairos Company, was appointed the new head of the GHF after Jake Wood, a former marine, resigned, saying that he could not guarantee the GHF’s independence from Israeli interests.
Continue reading...Israel and US envoy reject group’s proposal to free 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for release of Palestinian prisoners
Hamas said on Saturday that it had submitted its response containing some amendments to a proposal presented by Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to mediators, the most concrete sign of progress towards a ceasefire since March.
The Palestinian group said in a statement that under the deal, it will release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in return for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners – a change to the US’s latest proposal that will make it more difficult for Israel to resume fighting if talks on a permanent ceasefire are not completed by the end of the truce.
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