Trump | Pakistan

US President Donald Trump ruled out the use of force in his bid to control Greenland on Wednesday, but said in a speech in Davos that no other country can secure the Danish territory. “People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.” Trump took a hectoring tone, chastising the United States’ European allies for their insolence, disloyalty and policy missteps in areas ranging from wind power and the environment to immigration and geopolitics. Trump’s increasing threats to Europe over Greenland have frayed transatlantic ties and worried Europeans, overshadowing a speech that was intended to focus primarily on the US economy. Calling Denmark “ungrateful,” the Republican US president played down the issue as a “small ask” over a “piece of ice” and that an acquisition would be no threat to the Nato alliance, which includes Denmark and the United States. “No nation or group of natio...

US President Donald Trump has invited countries to pay $1 billion in exchange for a permanent seat on a newly proposed initiative known as the “Board of Peace”. The body was initially envisioned as a mechanism to address Israel’s war on Gaza, though its charter does not restrict its mandate solely to the occupied Palestinian territory. Several states have been approached by the US to join the initiative. Pakistan also received an invitation on Sunday. Today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accepted the proposal to participate in the initiative with the aim of “achieving lasting peace in Gaza”, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO). What is the board meant to do? According to AFP, the Board of Peace will be led by Trump under the terms outlined in its founding charter. The document describes it as “an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”. It further states t...

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday. “Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation and will join as a member of the Board of Peace, which will be composed of leaders of the world,” the office said in a statement. The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of post-war Gaza, but its charter seen by AFP does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory, and members have to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent spot on it. The board “seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate. It will be chaired by Trump himself, who will also “separately serve” as the representative of the United States. Dozens of countries and leaders...

US President Donald Trump’s plane was forced to return to an air base late Tuesday due to a “minor electrical issue” shortly after departing for Switzerland, the White House said. Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews out of an abundance of caution, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. It landed shortly after 0400 GMT. Journalists traveling with Trump reported that lights in the cabin went out briefly after takeoff. After returning to Andrews, Trump resumed his trip to the Davos forum early Wednesday. Trump and his entourage changed planes at Joint Base Andrews and took off again shortly after 0500 GMT, about two-and-a-half hours after his initial departure. With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably the world’s most iconic plane and an instantly recognisable symbol of the US presidency. Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets - two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W Bush. Last year, ...

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that his proposed “Board of Peace” might one day replace the United Nati­o­ns, which he described as “not very helpful”, as he marked the first anniversary of his second term in office at the White House. Speaking for more than an hour before taking questions from reporters, Trump said the UN had potential but added that he had never considered turning to the organisation to help resolve conflicts. Asked whether his envisioned Board of Peace could supplant the UN, he replied that it “might”. Earlier in the day, Tru­mp released a list of what he described as major achi­e­vements from his first year back in office, highlighting what he portrayed as successes in both domestic and foreign policy. Public opinion polls released around the same time showed growing voter dissatisfaction with the administration’s immigration policies. Against that backdrop, the first 15 minutes of Trump’s appearance in the White House briefing room appeared aimed at reshaping ...

French President Emmanuel Macron told US President Donald Trump that he could set up a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon and that he did not understand what Trump was “doing on Greenland,” in a screenshot of the messages that Trump posted on Truth Social and said was a note from Macron. According to the messages, Macron told the US president that he could invite the Ukrainians, the Danish, the Syrians and the Russians to participate on the margins of the meeting, and also invited Trump to have dinner with him in Paris on Thursday. Trump’s replies, if any, were not part of the screenshot that he posted. The White House and the Macron’s office did not respond to a request for comment. A source close to Macron said that the text message shared by Trump was authentic. EU leaders are set to convene in Brussels on Thursday evening for an emergency summit following Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on several EU countries over his demand to acquire Greenland. Last week, in a post on Truth Social, Trump s...

United States President Donald Trump said he no longer felt an “obligation to think purely of peace” after not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and repeated his demand for control of Greenland. Trump made the remarks in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, which was published on Monday and whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by Støre’s office. A copy of the text of the letter was posted by the foreign affairs and defence correspondent for PBS News, Nick Schifrin, on social media platform X, who said he had obtained it from multiple officials. Schifrin added that the letter had been forwarded to “multiple European ambassadors in Washington”. “Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump said in the letter. “Although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.” As Bloomberg pointed out, ...

US President Donald Trump’s government has asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, according to US media reports. The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban and Canada’s Mark Carney. Member countries — represented on the board by their head of state — would be allowed to join for three years, or longer if they contributed more than $1 billion within the first year, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the sum. “Each member state shall serve a term of no more than three years from this charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the chairman,” stated the board’s draft charter obtained by Bloomberg and other media. “The three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been invited to be a part of the Gaza “Board of Peace” that is being formed by United States President Donald Trump, the Foreign Office has said. “The prime minister of Pakistan has received the invitation from the president of the United States to join the Board of Peace on Gaza,” said FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi in response to media queries. “Pakistan will remain engaged with international efforts for peace and security in Gaza, leading to a lasting solution to the Palestine issue in accordance with United Nations resolutions,” he added. The so-called “Board of Peace” has begun to take shape as the US moves on to the second phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, which stands decimated after two years of Israel’s bombardment. Trump had already declared himself the chair of the body, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in the Palestinian territory. The United States has invited the heads of around 60 states to join the Board of Peace, including those...

The Netherlands’ foreign minister on Sunday said that US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on European allies until they agree to sell Greenland to the United States is “blackmail”. “It’s blackmail what he’s doing … and it’s not necessary. It doesn’t help the alliance (Nato) and it also doesn’t help Greenland,” David van Weel said in an interview on Dutch television. In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said additional 10 per cent import tariffs would take effect on February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain countries that have agreed to contribute personnel to a Nato exercise on Greenland. Van Weel said the Greenland mission was intended to show the US Europe’s willingness to help defend Greenland, and he was opposed to Trump making a connection with diplomacy over the island and trade. Trump has insisted he will settle for nothing less than full ownership of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, which he ...

US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” for post-war Gaza began to take shape on Saturday, with the leaders of Egypt, Turkiye, Argentina and Canada asked to join. The announcements from those leaders came after the US president named his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and senior negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to the panel. Trump had already declared himself the chair of the body, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in the Palestinian territory, which lies in rubble after two-plus years of relentless Israeli bombardment. The moves came after a Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to govern Gaza held its first meeting in Cairo which was attended by Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has partnered with Witkoff for months on the issue. In Canada, a senior aide to Prime Minister Mark Carney said he intended to accept Trump’s invitation, while in Turkiye, a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had bee...

Thousands of people took to the streets of Denmark’s capital on Saturday to protest at US President Donald Trump’s push to take over Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. The protest followed Trump’s warning on Friday that he “may put a tariff” on countries that oppose his plans to take over mineral-rich Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. They also coincided with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress that has made clear the opposition of many Americans to the Trump administration’s sabre-rattling. Waving the flags of Denmark and Greenland, the protesters formed a sea of red and white outside Copenhagen city hall, chanting “Kalaallit Nunaat!” — the vast Arctic island’s name in Greenlandic. Protesters wave Greenlandic flags as they take part in a rally under the slogans ‘Hands off Greenland’ and ‘Greenland for Greenlanders’, in front of the City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 17. — AFP Thousands of people had said on social media they would take ...

US President Donald Trump said Friday he may impose trade tariffs on countries that don’t support his plans to take over Greenland, part of the territory of Denmark. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a health roundtable at the White House. “I may do that,” added Trump. Trump compared the possible Greenland tariffs to those that he threatened on France and Germany last year over the price of pharmaceutical products. The threat is the latest pressure tactic by Republican Trump as he steps up his bid to acquire the autonomous Arctic island, a goal that he has threatened to achieve by military means if necessary. Trump claims the United States needs mineral-rich Greenland and has accused Greenland of not doing enough to ensure its security against rivals Russia and China. European nations have in recent days shown their support for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) ally Denmark and Greenland over Trump’s ...

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was backing the newly appointed “Palestinian Technocratic Government” in Gaza, where Washington has announced the launch of a second phase in a ceasefire that went into effect in October but remains fragile. “I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, supported by the Board’s High Representative, to govern Gaza during its transition,” Trump said on social media. Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas signed off in October on Trump’s plan, which says the Palestinian technocratic body will be overseen by an international so-called “Board of Peace” that is meant to supervise Gaza’s governance for a transitional period. In another post, Trump said the “Board of Peace,” of which Trump himself is the chair, was formed, and its members would be announced shortly. Israel and Hamas have accused each other of ceasefire violations in Gaza, where, since the start of the truce in October, over 440 ...

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged United States President Donald Trump to delay any American military strike on Iran, according to a report by The New York Times, a development that highlights growing regional unease over the risk of a wider conflict. Netanyahu spoke to President Trump on Thursday, the same day the US president publicly suggested that Tehran had eased its internal crackdown and halted executions, citing information from “very important sources on the other side”, remarks that were widely read in Washington as a signal of hesitation about imminent military action, the report said. The Israeli leader’s intervention comes as several key Arab partners of the US have also pressed the Trump administration to avoid an attack on Iran, warning that such a move could trigger a broader regional war, according to a senior official from a Gulf Arab country cited by the newspaper. Officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt have contacted senior US officials over the pa...

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump on Thursday during a White House meeting, as she tries to gain some influence over how the president shapes the South American country’s political future. A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal. In a social media post on Thursday evening, Trump wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!” Machado, who described the meeting as “excellent,” said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people. Machado’s attempt to sway Trump came after he dismissed the idea of installing her as Venezuela’s leader to replace the deposed Nicolas Maduro. Trump openly campaigned for the prize before Machado was awarded it last month and complained bitterly when he was snubbed. Though Machado gave Trump the gold medal that honorees receive with...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi “seems very nice” but expressed uncertainty over whether Pahlavi would be able to muster support within Iran to eventually take over. In an exclusive Reuters interview in the Oval Office, Trump said there was a chance Iran’s government could collapse and blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the stalemate in negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran. But he was reluctant on Wednesday to lend his full support to Pahlavi, the son of the late shah of Iran, who was ousted from power in 1979. “He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country,” Trump said. “And we really aren’t up to that point yet. I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me.” Trump’s comments went further in questioning Pahlavi’s ability to lead Iran, after he...

ISLAMABAD: Iran’s envoy to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, revealed on Thursday that US President Donald Trump informed Tehran that he will not attack the country and asked that Iran also exercise restraint. Moghadam made the remarks during a visit to the National Rahmatul-lil-Alameen Authority, where he met the authority’s chairman, Khurshid Ahmad Nadeem. Protests have taken place across Iran in a movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, leading to authorities imposing internet restrictions. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters. On Wednesday, Trump said that he had been informed the killings of protesters in Iran had been halted, and added that he would “watch and see” about threatened military action. The Iranian envoy also disclosed that he received information at around 1am, which indicated that Trump did not want war and had asked Iran not to attack the US interests in the region. Speaking of the protests, the envoy maintained that the ...

Oil prices fell more than three per cent on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said killings of demonstrators in nationwide protests in Iran were stopping, tempering concerns over military action against Iran and supply disruptions. Brent futures LCOc1 were down $2.19, or 3.3pc, at $64.33 a barrel by 8:45am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1had slipped $2.07, or 3.34pc, to $59.95 a barrel. Brent futures rose above $66.50 a barrel on Wednesday before giving back most gains after Trump’s remarks reduced expectations of a potential US attack on Iran. Trump turned the oil market mood by saying he had received assurances that killings of demonstrators in Iran had stopped, said PVM analyst John Evans, adding that prices on Thursday reflect the narrative of a near-term future of oversupply. Further weighing on prices, US crude and gasoline inventories rose last week more than analysts had estimated, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Also on the supply side, Venezuela has be...

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the United States needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island, even as he said that “something will work out” with respect to the future governance of the Danish overseas territory. The remarks, which came after a high-stakes meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials, indicate that there are still fundamental, if not intractable, differences between how Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk see the political future of the island. “Greenland is very important for the national security, including of Denmark,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And the problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela,” he said. After meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenland...