WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Friday he is contemplating a limited military strike on Iran, in case a deal on its nuclear program is not reached.&nbsp;Asked by a reporter if he is &quot;considering a limited military strike if Iran doesn&#39;t make a deal,&quot; Trump answered: &quot;The most I can say I am considering it.&quot;

Americas

US President Donald Trump said he may order a limited military strike on Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached.

Trump says 'considering' limited military strike on Iran

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday called for an early end to the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, while warning that disinformation and emerging technologies were increasingly shaping modern conflicts. Speaking at an Arria-formula meeting of the United Nations Security Council organized by Russia on the information dimension of the Ukraine crisis, Pakistani Counsellor Kamran Taj said continued hostilities were having a disproportionate impact on civilians, according to the statement. He reiterated Pakistan&rsquo;s longstanding position that the conflict should be resolved through peaceful means, calling for a &ldquo;just and lasting settlement&rdquo; consistent with the UN Charter and international law and acceptable to all parties involved, said the statement. Taj said the growing role of information in global affairs had become increasingly complex, warning that disinformation campaigns were being used to manipulate public opinion and mislead policymakers, undermining trust and deepening polarization worldwide, as per the statement. He cautioned that the weaponization of narratives, where facts and fabricated content are blurred, posed risks to international discourse and stability. &quot;The disingenuous use of information&mdash;blurring the lines between fact and fabrication&mdash;continues to erode trust and deepen polarization across the globe,&quot; it added. Pakistan, he said, had itself been targeted by coordinated disinformation campaigns in the past, citing investigative findings by the EU DisinfoLab in 2020, the statement added. He warned that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and deepfake tools were amplifying the spread of false information by enabling the creation of highly realistic but fabricated content. Such developments, he said, risk inflaming tensions, misleading the public, and destabilizing regions, urging the international community to develop collective mechanisms to detect and counter technologically enhanced disinformation, it added. Arria-formula meetings are informal sessions of the Security Council that allow member states to discuss specific issues outside the Council&rsquo;s formal decision-making framework.&nbsp;

Foreign Affairs

Security

Pakistan urges diplomacy to end the Ukraine conflict at a UN meeting, warning that disinformation and AI-driven deepfakes increasingly manipulate narratives, undermine trust, and destabilize global security

Pakistan urges diplomacy, warns of disinformation risks at UN meeting on Ukraine

GAZA CITY: Hamas said any discussions on Gaza must begin with a total halt to Israeli &quot;aggression&quot; as Donald Trump&#39;s &quot;Board of Peace&quot; maps out the territory&#39;s future, with Israel insisting on the militants&#39; disarmament before reconstruction starts. Trump&#39;s board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel for rebuilding, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But the board meeting offered no timeline for Hamas to lay down its weapons or for Israel&#39;s army to withdraw from the shattered enclave. &quot;Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression,&quot; Hamas said in a statement late Thursday. The Palestinian group also said arrangements for Gaza&#39;s future must start with the &quot;lifting of the blockade and the guarantee of our people&#39;s legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination.&quot; During the Board of Peace meeting, it was announced that a handful of countries&mdash;Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Morocco&mdash;would commit troops to a nascent International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the Palestinian Islamist movement was open to international forces in the territory, but with caveats. &quot;We want peacekeeping forces that monitor the ceasefire, ensure its implementation, and act as a buffer between the occupation army and our people in the Gaza Strip, without interfering in Gaza&#39;s internal affairs,&quot; Qassem said. The ISF aims to have 20,000 soldiers, as well as a new police force. Muslim-majority Indonesia has said it is ready to send up to 8,000 troops. &#39;Security and peace&#39;&nbsp;The Board of Peace was established after the Trump administration, with longtime mediators Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The next phase of the Trump plan provides for the disarmament of Hamas, the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military, and the deployment of the ISF, with a transitional Palestinian technocratic committee overseeing day-to-day governance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins. But Hamas refuses to lay down its arms under the conditions set by Israel. Both sides have frequently accused each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire, which came into effect last October after two years of devastating war. At the Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, Trump said several countries, mostly in the Gulf, had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory. Palestinians who spoke to AFP in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis swayed between hope and suspicion about the Washington meeting. &quot;Trump is merely a military force imposing his views on the world, and this security council, which he boasts about, is another gateway to the occupation of Palestine, another face of the Zionist occupation,&quot; said Farid Abu Odeh, referring to the board. Another Palestinian, Mohammed al-Saqqa, said he was praying Trump&#39;s board would lead to &quot;security and peace, and to something better than what we have gone through.&quot; &#39;Colonial project&#39;But many experts and some US allies have indicated skepticism at the board due to concerns it may sideline the United Nations. Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP he found what was emerging from the board &quot;seriously disturbing.&quot; Lovatt said many of its ideas for Gaza&#39;s reconstruction originated from Israeli-friendly partners, while Palestinian voices were excluded. He said signs pointed to &quot;a colonial project in terms of trying to impose a foreign economic project on a territory.&quot; French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the European Commission should not have sent a representative to the meeting, as it did not have a mandate to represent member states. Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said the lack of Palestinian input and the grand reconstruction plans contingent on Hamas&#39;s disarmament made it &quot;hard to take the Board of Peace seriously.&quot;

Middle East

Hamas demands end to Israeli aggression before Gaza talks, as Donald Trump’s Board of Peace plans reconstruction amid disputes over disarmament, ceasefire terms, and governance

Hamas says Israel must end 'aggression' as Trump board plans Gaza future

WASHINGTON: The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier was seen entering the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, where it was ordered by US President Donald Trump as part of a massive military buildup in the Middle East.&nbsp;The carrier was seen transiting the Strait of Gibraltar -- which links the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean -- in a photo taken from the Gibraltar side of the strait.&nbsp;Trump -- who had previously sent another carrier to the Middle East -- said Friday he is &quot;considering&quot; a limited strike on Iran if negotiations fail to yield a replacement for the nuclear deal with Tehran that he tore up during his first term in office.

The USS Gerald R. Ford entered the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar as President Donald Trump ordered increased military presence in the Middle East. Trump said he is considering limited strikes on Iran if nuclear negotiations fail

US aircraft carrier enters Mediterranean as Trump mulls Iran strikes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi inaugurated the Electric Bus Depot and Charging Centre in Islamabad, marking a major step towards promoting environmentally friendly public transport in the federal capital.&nbsp;Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Naqvi said that over 125,000 citizens were currently benefiting from the electric bus service on a daily basis, adding that authorities have set a target to increase ridership to 250,000 passengers per day, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.&nbsp;During the ceremony, the minister congratulated the entire team on the successful completion of the project and directed officials to ensure that special attention is given to routes serving students, highlighting the importance of safe and reliable transport for educational institutions. &ldquo;Authorities further informed that electric buses are currently operating on 21 routes across Islamabad, significantly strengthening the city&rsquo;s public transport network,&quot; according to APP.&nbsp; Officials added that the project has been integrated with Google-based systems to enhance passenger convenience and route accessibility.&nbsp;The depot has the capacity to accommodate 64 chargers, of which 50 have already been installed, while the remaining 14 will be added soon. Each charger is capable of charging two buses within two hours, ensuring efficient fleet management.&nbsp;The interior minister announced the expansion of the electric bus service up to Rawat, stating that the initiative would further improve regional connectivity, observing that the electric bus service was playing an important role in addressing traffic challenges and facilitating commuters.&nbsp;He further said efforts were underway to restore the Rawalpindi&ndash;Islamabad railway service, which would provide an additional modern transport option for residents of the twin cities.

Economy

Climate & Environment

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi inaugurates an electric bus depot and charging center in Islamabad, expanding eco-friendly transport. Over 125,000 passengers use the service daily, with expansion to Rawat planned and ridership targeted to reach 250,000.

Pakistan shifts to electric buses for public transport

Beirut: Lebanon said Israeli strikes on the country&#39;s east and south killed at least eight people on Friday, with Israel&#39;s army saying it targeted militant group Hezbollah and its Palestinian ally Hamas. A Hezbollah source told AFP that a military leader from the Iran-backed group was among the dead in the strikes in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, usually saying it is targeting the group but occasionally also Hamas militants. Israeli strikes in the Bekaa &quot;led to an initial toll of six dead and more than 25 wounded, distributed across the region&#39;s hospitals,&quot; the state-run National News Agency said. The agency had earlier reported &quot;heavy strikes&quot; in several locations in the region, including a raid on a building in Riyak. Israel&#39;s army said it hit &quot;Hezbollah command centers&quot; in the Baalbek area. The raids came hours after an Israeli strike on the country&#39;s largest Palestinian refugee camp killed two people, according to the health ministry, with Israel&#39;s army saying it had targeted Hamas. The NNA said &quot;an Israeli drone&quot; targeted a neighborhood of the Ain al-Helweh camp, which is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon. An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building in the densely populated camp as ambulances headed to the scene. Hamas&nbsp;The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces &quot;struck a Hamas command center from which terrorists operated.&quot; The Israeli military &quot;is operating against the entrenchment&quot; of the Palestinian militant group in Lebanon and will &quot;continue to act decisively against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate,&quot; it added. Hamas in a statement condemned the attack, which it said led to &quot;civilian&quot; casualties. It rejected Israel&#39;s allegations as &quot;flimsy pretexts,&quot; saying the targeted building &quot;belongs to the joint security force charged with maintaining security and stability in the camp.&quot; A raid on Ain al-Helweh last November that Israel said targeted a Hamas training compound killed 13 people. The UN rights office had said 11 children were killed in that strike, while Hamas denied it had military installations in Palestinian camps in Lebanon. In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the outset of the Gaza war, triggering hostilities that culminated in two months of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group. Lebanon&#39;s government last year committed to disarming Hezbollah, and the army said last month that it had completed the first phase of the plan, covering the area near the Israeli border. Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming, has criticized the army&#39;s progress as insufficient.

An Israeli strike in south Lebanon hit the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp, while the Israeli army said it targeted the Palestinian group.

Lebanon says 8 dead in Israeli strikes on east, south

ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh Minister of Commerce, Industry, Textiles, and Jute Khandaker Abdul Muqtadir said national policies would be reformed to increase foreign investment in the country&rsquo;s jute sector, Bangladesh local media reported on Wednesday. Speaking with officials at the secretariat in Dhaka, the minister said, &ldquo;People are now increasingly interested in natural and biodegradable products.&rdquo; He added, &ldquo;policies will be reformed to increase foreign investment in jute sector.&rdquo; The minister said jute has had a historical connection with the country&rsquo;s heritage. &ldquo;We must highlight our competitive mindset, capacity, and advantages globally to attract foreign investors,&rdquo; the State Minister for Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam said on the occasion.&nbsp; &ldquo;Everyone must work in unity in accordance with the government&#39;s directives,&rdquo; he added. Bangladesh local media reported that he stressed the need for coordinated efforts to position Bangladesh&rsquo;s jute industry more effectively in international markets. Earlier, textiles and jute secretary Bilquis Jahan Rimi presented an overview of the ministry&rsquo;s overall activities, Bangladeshi media reported. Additional secretaries Arifur Rahman Khan, Subrata Shikdar, Raina Ahmed, along with senior officials and employees of the ministry and heads of its subordinate departments and agencies, were present on the occasion. The ministers represent Tarique Rahman&rsquo;s new cabinet following the Bangladesh nationalist party&#39;s victory in the recent elections. &nbsp; According to local media, both Abdul Muktadir and Shariful Alam have extensive experience in their respective industries and have been associated with politics, business, and trade sectors for a long time.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muqtadir announces planned policy reforms to boost foreign investment in the country’s jute sector, citing rising global demand for biodegradable products and urging coordinated efforts to strengthen international competitiveness under the new cabinet.

Bangladesh plans to attract foreign investment in jute sector

SANDRINGHAM: Former prince Andrew hunkered down Friday at home on the king&#39;s private estate after hours of police questioning, as his stunning arrest tipped the British monarchy into an unprecedented crisis in its modern era. The disgraced royal was &quot;released under investigation&quot; late Thursday, with police believed to be continuing Friday searches of his former home on the royals&#39; Windsor estate, west of London. In a sensational development in investigations into his links to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew spent around 11 hours in custody after police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct. Officers swooped early Thursday on his home in Sandringham, eastern England, taking him into custody at a nearby police station while also raiding his former Windsor home.&nbsp;&lsquo;Law must take its course&rsquo;&nbsp;It prompted the king to swiftly issue a rare personally signed statement insisting &quot;the law must take its course&quot;, as he reiterated Buckingham Palace would support the police probe. &quot;It&#39;s a hugely significant moment for the British monarchy,&quot; royal expert Ed Owens told AFP, noting much remained unclear, including whether Andrew would be criminally charged. &quot;It&#39;s the unknown elements in this particular instance that I think pose so much concern and arguably a threat to the monarchy.&quot; &lsquo;Downfall&rsquo;&nbsp;Almost all Britain&#39;s newspapers carried on their front pages Friday a photograph of the disgraced royal, leaving the police station in a vehicle, looking haggard and wild-eyed. &quot;Downfall,&quot; screamed the Daily Mail headline. The Sun tabloid noted that, like anyone arrested, Andrew would have had a DNA&nbsp;saliva swab taken along with his fingerprints and a photograph. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;So bad&#39;&nbsp;</h2>The day of drama in Britain sent shockwaves around the world, with US President Donald Trump calling it &quot;very sad&quot;. &quot;It&#39;s so bad for the royal family,&quot; he told reporters. Andrew&#39;s arrest follows new revelations last week that the ex-prince appeared to have sent Epstein potentially confidential documents while serving as a UK trade envoy, a post he held from 2001. In a November 2010 email seen by AFP, Andrew appeared to share with the US financier reports on his visit to several Asian countries. Epstein had been convicted in the United States in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution. Official guidance is thought to stipulate that trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive commercial or political information related to their official visits. The former prince&#39;s humiliating day in custody, which coincided with his 66th birthday, was the most dramatic yet in his years-long fall from grace. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Difficult&#39;&nbsp;</h2>King Charles III last year stripped his brother of his titles and ordered him to leave his Windsor mansion -- though he does remain eighth in the line of succession. That followed one of Epstein&#39;s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, last year recounting in shocking detail in her posthumous memoirs claims that she had been trafficked three times to have sex with Andrew, twice when she was 17. Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein. He settled a US civil lawsuit in 2022 brought by Giuffre while not admitting liability. Charles sought to project an air of business-as-usual Thursday, carrying out several public duties, including opening London Fashion Week. Most severe crisisBut royal commentators were in no doubt that the monarchy was facing its most severe crisis in decades. Royal historian Anna Whitelock said it was the first arrest of a member of Britain&#39;s royal family in centuries - possibly stretching back to Charles I&#39;s surrender to the Scots army in 1646. &quot;Usually there is the usual&nbsp;&#39;keep calm and carry on&#39; but it&#39;s going to be very difficult in these circumstances,&quot; she told AFP. The police probe into misconduct in a public office allegations follow the US Justice Department&#39;s release last month of millions of files from its investigation into Epstein. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. At least nine UK police forces have confirmed they are assessing claims stemming from the Epstein files, many related to Andrew.

United Kingdom

In a sensational development in investigations into his links to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew spent around 11 hours in custody after police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct.

UK monarchy reels from Andrew's stunning arrest

NEW DELHI: White House technology adviser Michael Kratsios said Friday that the United States &quot;totally&quot; rejects global governance of artificial intelligence. Kratsios, head of the country&#39;s delegation to an AI summit in New Delhi, made the comments ahead of an expected leaders&#39; statement setting out a shared vision on how to handle the divisive technology. &quot;As the Trump Administration has now said many times: We totally reject global governance of AI,&quot; he said at the summit, which draws to a close on Friday. &quot;AI adoption cannot lead to a brighter future if it is subject to bureaucracies and centralised control.&quot; On Friday morning, UN chief Antonio Guterres had said that a new expert panel convened by the global body aimed to &quot;make human control a technical reality&quot;. The advisory group -- aiming to be to AI what the UN&#39;s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is to global warming -- was created in August, and its 40 members have now been confirmed, Guterres said. At last year&#39;s edition in Paris, US Vice President JD Vance warned against &quot;excessive regulation&quot; that &quot;could kill a transformative sector&quot;. In New Delhi, Kratsios said that &quot;international discussion of AI has evolved, as this summit itself attests,&quot; noting the change of the meeting&#39;s name from &quot;AI Safety&quot; to &quot;AI Impact&quot;. &quot;This is clearly a positive development,&quot; but &quot;too many international forums, such as the UN&#39;s Global Dialogue on AI Governance, maintain a general atmosphere of fear,&quot; he said. &quot;We must replace that fear with hope,&quot; Kratsios added, saying that AI has the potential to &quot;advance human flourishing and drive unprecedented prosperity&quot;. He argued that &quot;ideological, risk-focused obsessions, such as climate or equity, become excuses for bureaucratic management and centralisation&quot;. &quot;In the name of safety, they increase the danger that these tools will be used for tyrannical control.&quot; &quot;Focusing AI policy on safety and speculative risks... inhibits a competitive ecosystem, entrenches incumbents, and isolates developing countries from full participation in the AI economy,&quot; Kratsios said.

White House technology adviser Michael Kratsios (File/World Economic Forum)

White House tech adviser Michael Kratsios opposed centralized oversight, urging innovation over regulation, while UN chief Antonio Guterres promoted an expert panel to ensure human control of the technology.

US 'totally' rejects global AI governance: White House adviser

WASHINGTON: The estate of convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to pay up to $35 million to settle the outstanding legal claims of potentially dozens of victims, according to a court filing Thursday. The agreement must be approved by a federal judge in New York before it can become final. The settlement is related to victims who said they were &quot;sexually assaulted or abused or trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein between January 1, 1995, and through August 10, 2019,&quot; the date of the disgraced financier&#39;s death in prison, the proposed plan said. Epstein&#39;s estate would pay $35 million if there are 40 or more people eligible in the class and $25 million if there are fewer than 40. The co-executors of the settlement are Darren Indyke, Epstein&#39;s former lawyer, and Richard Kahn, the financier&#39;s former accountant. Both have denied any wrongdoing through their association with the convicted sex offender and have not been accused of any sexual abuse crimes or witnessing of sexual abuse. But the settlement, if confirmed, will bring to a close the initial lawsuit filed in 2024 in which the pair of advisors were accused of enabling Epstein&#39;s illicit activities through their legal and business services. The judgment filed in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday said the agreement does not mean the co-executors admit fault or are liable to further legal action from victims. The law firm representing the class of victims, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many people were part of the lawsuit. Bloomberg News reported late Thursday that the firm was confident they had at least 40 victims who had not yet settled with Epstein&#39;s estate. Daniel H. Weiner, the lawyer representing the co-executors, did not immediately reply to a comment request. The settlement comes after the release by the US Justice Department of millions of documents, photographs and videos related to the investigation into Epstein. Epstein cultivated a global network of powerful politicians, business executives, academics and celebrities -- many of whom have been tainted by their association with him.

Epstein's estate has agreed to pay up to $35 million to settle the outstanding legal claims of victims