US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is ready to act “immediately” as a peace broker in the Russia-Ukraine war if he is elected in November, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said in a letter to EU leaders.
The letter, addressed to European Council President Charles Michel and shared with all EU leaders, was drafted after Orban held talks with Trump as well as with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and China.
“I can (...) surely state that shortly after his election victory, he will not wait until his inauguration, (Trump) will be ready to act as a peace broker immediately. He has detailed and well-founded plans for this,” Orban wrote.
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Orban to EU leaders: Trump ready to act ‘immediately’ as Russia-Ukraine peace broker
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Orban to EU leaders: Trump ready to act ‘immediately’ as Russia-Ukraine peace broker
Bangladesh orders 25 Boeing planes as part of push to ease US tariffs
- Bangladesh is trying to avoid a looming 35 percent tariff hike that has rattled the country’s export sector
- Alongside aircraft deal, Bangladesh is boosting wheat, soybean oil and cotton imports from the US
DHAKA: Bangladesh has ordered 25 aircraft from Boeing and ramped up imports of key American goods in an effort to defuse trade tensions and bring down the steep tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, a senior official said on Sunday.
The moves are part of a broader strategy to narrow a $6 billion US trade deficit with Bangladesh and avoid a looming 35 percent tariff hike that has rattled the country’s export sector, especially the garments industry which risks losing competitiveness in one of its largest markets.
“We need new aircraft urgently, possibly within the next couple of years,” Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman told reporters. “Initially, it was 14 planes — now it’s 25,” he said, referring to an earlier plan to purchase aircraft from the US-based manufacturer.
Alongside the aircraft deal, Bangladesh is boosting imports of wheat, soybean oil and cotton from the United States. A new agreement signed earlier this month will see the country import 700,000 tons of US wheat annually over the next five years.
Officials hope that these steps will help improve trade relations with Washington and soften the impact of the Trump administration’s tariff measures.
UK’s Starmer to recall cabinet from summer break to discuss Gaza, FT reports
- The recall comes after Starmer said on Friday the British government would recognize a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will recall his cabinet from their summer break to discuss the situation in Gaza, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, amid growing pressure on the Labour government to recognize a Palestinian state.
Starmer’s office did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on the report.
The paper said the move to recall his cabinet of ministers next week was set out on Sunday by Downing Street. The UK parliament and cabinet are currently in a summer recess until September 1.
The recall comes after Starmer said on Friday the British government would recognize a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France in taking swifter action.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday France would recognize a Palestinian state, a plan that drew strong condemnation from Israel and the United States, after similar moves from Spain, Norway and Ireland last year.
More than 220 members of parliament in the UK, representing about a third of the House of Commons and mostly Labour members, wrote to Starmer on Friday urging him to recognize a Palestinian state.
Successive British governments have said they will formally recognize a Palestinian state when the time is right, without ever setting a timetable or specifying the necessary conditions.
Starmer’s approach to the issue has been complicated by the arrival in Scotland on Friday of US President Donald Trump, with whom he has built warm relations. In foreign policy terms, Britain has rarely diverged from the United States.
Israel has been facing growing international criticism, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government rejects, over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world.
Crowd surge at Hindu temple in northern India leaves at least 6 dead
- The incident in the pilgrimage city of Haridwar occurred after a high-voltage electric wire fell on a temple path, triggering panic
- Crowd surges at religious gatherings are not uncommon in India, where massive groups often congregate at temples or pilgrimage sites
LUCKNOW: A crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in northern India left at least six people dead and dozens injured, local authorities said Sunday.
The incident in the pilgrimage city of Haridwar occurred after a high-voltage electric wire reportedly fell on a temple path, triggering panic among the large crowd of devotees.
Vinay Shankar Pandey, a senior government official in Uttarakhand state where the incident happened, confirmed the deaths and said worshippers scrambled for safety following the incident.
Some 29 people were injured, according to Haridwar city’s senior police official Pramendra Singh Doval.
Thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the Mansa Devi hilltop temple, which is a major site for Hindu devotees, especially on weekends and festival days, local officials said. They were celebrating the holy month of Shravan.
Someone in the crowd shouted about an electric current on the pathway around 9am.
“Since the path is narrow and meant only for foot traffic, confusion and panic spread instantly,” said local priest Ujjwal Pandit.
“A wall along the path is also suspected to have worsened the crowd bottleneck,” he added.
Police and emergency services rushed to the scene and launched a rescue operation. The injured were transported to a nearby hospital, officials said.
“The situation is now under control,” Pandey told the Associated Press by phone from Haridwar. “But the panic led to tragic consequences.”
Authorities are investigating what caused the overhead wire to collapse, and whether proper crowd management protocols were in place.
The town of Haridwar draws millions of visitors each year. The Mansa Devi temple, which is accessible by cable car or foot, is a major pilgrimage site that draws thousands of visitors daily during Shravan.
Crowd surges at religious gatherings are not uncommon in India, where massive groups often congregate at temples or pilgrimage sites, sometimes overwhelming local infrastructure and security measures.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the victims and their families in a social media post and wished for a fast recovery for those who were injured.
India nearing free trade deal with Oman, minister says after UK pact
- Negotiations between India and Oman formally began in November 2023— Deal expected to be similar to India’s comprehensive trade agreement with UAE
NEW DELHI: India’s free trade agreement with Oman is almost finalized, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has announced, only days after New Delhi signed a long-awaited trade pact with the UK.
Negotiations between India and Oman on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement formally began in November 2023, with the first round in New Delhi and the second in Muscat.
When the talks concluded in March 2024, Oman sought revisions on market access terms and the final signature was postponed.
“We are in negotiations at an advanced stage with Oman — almost finalized,” Goyal told reporters on Saturday evening, two days after he signed a multibillion-dollar free trade deal with the UK.
“The free trade agreement between India and UK, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, clearly reflects the growing relevance and importance of India at the world stage.”
Under the pact, about 99 percent of Indian goods will get duty-free access to the UK market, and bilateral trade is expected to increase by over $34 billion in the next decade from the current $54 billion.
India has free trade agreements with more than 10 countries, including comprehensive economic partnership agreements with South Korea, Japan, and the UAE.
It is also in talks with the EU to conclude an FTA by the end of 2025, and also with Australia, with an interim deal signed in 2022 and a full one under negotiation.
If India finalizes its pact with Oman, it will be its second with a Gulf Cooperation Council country after the 2022 CEPA with the UAE.
While Oman is one of New Delhi’s smaller GCC trading partners — trailing behind the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with bilateral trade volume accounting for about $10 billion — it remains strategically important, particularly in energy and logistics.
The FTA could further deepen these ties, Anil Wadhwa, New Delhi’s former envoy to Muscat, told Arab News.
“India and Oman both are set to benefit a lot from this FTA ... Oman and India have a trade volume between $8 billion and $10 billion annually, and 700 Indian companies have invested in Oman,” he said.
“Oman was keen on an FTA on the lines of the UAE. The main negotiations took less than 90 days. Since then, Oman wanted further concessions in petrochemicals and in marble ... It is understood that these negotiations are now nearing a closure.”
Economic cooperation plays a crucial role in India-GCC relations, with exports to India representing 71 percent of the bloc’s total exports.
India has been pursuing a free trade pact with the whole bloc for the past two decades. A framework agreement on economic cooperation was signed in 2004, but two rounds of negotiations, in 2006 and 2008, were inconclusive.
The agreement would give India access to a large and affluent market for its goods and also concessions on visas in a region, which is a second home for about 9 million Indian expat workers.
In January, GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohammed Al-Budaiwi said that the grouping would look forward to starting free trade negotiations with India in 2025.
At least 21 killed in attack on east Congo church by Islamic State-backed rebels, civil leader says
- Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church
- The attack is believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with machetes, who stormed the church premises in Ituri province’s Komanda town
GOMA: At least 21 people were killed on Sunday in an attack on a Catholic church in eastern Congo by Islamic State-backed rebels, according to a civil society leader.
The military confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the death toll at more than 40.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with machetes, who stormed the church premises in Ituri province’s Komanda town at around 1 a.m. Several houses and shops were also burnt.
“More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing,” Dieudonne Duranthabo, civil society coordinator in Komanda, told The Associated Press.
Lt. Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 killed in the attack.
Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock.
A UN-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the center of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive.
Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.
Duranthabo condemned the attack “in a town where all the security officials are present.” He added: “We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.”
The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni.
In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighboring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities between the Rwanda-backed M23.
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