WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is ordering federal agencies to begin &quot;identifying and releasing&quot; government files related to UFOs and aliens, a move sought for decades by some Americans. &quot;Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs),&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. While he did not specify whether classified documents would be released to the public, Trump added that the files should include &quot;any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.&quot; Earlier in the day the Republican president claimed that one of his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama, had revealed &quot;classified&quot; information in his recent viral podcast remarks about the existence of extraterrestrial life. &quot;They&#39;re real, but I haven&#39;t seen them and they&#39;re not being kept in... Area 51,&quot; Obama told host Brian Tyler Cohen, referring to the top-secret US military facility in Nevada at the heart of many UFO conspiracy theories. &quot;There&#39;s no underground facility. Unless, there&#39;s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States.&quot; Asked on Thursday about the comments, Trump told reporters that Obama &quot;gave classified information, he is not supposed to be doing that.&quot; The president did not specify what part of Obama&#39;s remarks were classified, but claimed &quot;he made a big mistake.&quot; For his own beliefs about aliens, Trump, 79, said &quot;I don&#39;t know if they are real or not.&quot; No evidence has been produced of intelligent life beyond Earth. Interest in UFOs and UAP has been renewed in recent years as the US government probed numerous reports of seemingly supernatural aircraft, amid worries that adversaries could be testing highly advanced technologies. In March 2024, the Pentagon released a report saying it had no proof that UAP were alien technology, with many suspicious sightings turning out to be merely weather balloons, spy planes, satellites and other normal activity.

Americas

US President Donald Trump has said he will order the Secretary of War to release all data on extra-terrestrial life and UFOs 

X files? Trump says he's ordering release of data on UFOs and aliens 

MUNICH: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure a nervous Europe on Saturday, saying that Washington wanted to &quot;revitalize&quot; the transatlantic alliance so that a strong Europe could help the US on its mission of global &quot;renewal&quot;. Washington&#39;s top diplomat struck a markedly reassuring tone as he addressed a security conference in Munich after months of turmoil in US-European relations sparked by US President Donald Trump&#39;s vows to seize Greenland and his often derisive remarks about Washington&#39;s allies. &quot;We do not seek to separate, but to revitalise an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history,&quot; Rubio said. &quot;What we want is a reinvigorated alliance.&quot; &#39;Belong together&#39; &quot;We want Europe to be strong. We believe that Europe must survive,&quot; Rubio said, adding that the continent and the US &quot;belong together.&quot; The United States will be &quot;driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and as vital as our civilization&#39;s past,&quot; he said. &quot;And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe,&quot; he said. Rubio&#39;s speech marked a sharp contrast to that of US Vice President JD Vance a year ago, when he used the same stage to attack European policies on immigration and free speech, shocking European allies. &#39;Destabilizing societies&#39; Rubio reiterated the Trump administration&#39;s stance that immigration is &quot;destabilizing societies&quot; but otherwise largely avoided the MAGA flashpoint and culture war issues that, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, had deepened a &quot;rift&quot; between US and Europe. Bruised by Trump&#39;s designs on Greenland and his often hostile comments about America&#39;s traditional allies, European leaders who have gathered at the Munich Security Conference have pledged to shoulder more of the burden of shared NATO defences. &#39;Right time&#39;&nbsp; Key leaders have pushed the message that this is essential for Europe to counter a hostile Russia, with NATO chief Mark Rutte saying that &quot;a strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever&quot;. French President Emmanuel Macron told the gathering on Friday that &quot;this is the right time for a strong Europe,&quot; that would be &quot;clear in the support of Ukraine&quot; and &quot;building its own architecture of security&quot;. &quot;This Europe will be a good ally and partner for the United States of America,&quot; he said. &#39;A sleeping giant&#39; British leader Keir Starmer was expected to tell the conference that Europe is &quot;a sleeping giant&quot; and must rely less on the United States for its defence. The Trump administration&#39;s new National Security Strategy similarly launched an unprecedented attack against Europeans, charging that the continent is threatened with &quot;civilizational decline&quot;. Ties plunged further last month when Trump stepped up threats to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark, forcing European nations to stand firm in protest. Ukraine war in focus&nbsp;German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday had appealed to Washington: &quot;Let&#39;s repair and revive transatlantic trust together.&quot; The high-powered Munich meeting of government leaders, diplomats, defense and intelligence chiefs comes shortly before Russia&#39;s full-scale war on Ukraine is set to enter its fifth gruelling year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been in Munich since Friday and meeting multiple allies, was expected to address the meeting on Saturday.&nbsp; No Russian officials have been invited. At the White House on Friday, Trump urged him to &quot;get moving&quot; to end the war. &quot;Russia wants to make a deal... He has to move,&quot; the US leader said. &quot;We don&#39;t know if the Russians are serious about ending the war,&quot; Rubio said in his speech on Saturday. A German government source said Merz and Rubio met at the conference on Friday and discussed &quot;Ukraine, the status of negotiations with Russia and further support for the country, particularly in terms of military aid&quot;. &#39;An aggressive Russia&#39; They also discussed Europe&#39;s role in NATO, and &quot;Rubio praised Germany&#39;s steps to strengthen the alliance&quot;, the source added. Macron said a new framework was needed to deal with &quot;an aggressive Russia&quot; once the fighting in Ukraine ends. Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said he feared &quot;a new cold war&quot; between Europe and Russia in the coming decade, making reopening dialogue with Moscow essential. &quot;If it makes sense to talk, we are willing to talk,&quot; said Merz, but he also charged that &quot;Russia is not yet willing to talk seriously&quot;.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 14, 2026, in Munich, southern Germany. (Photo: AFP)

Europe

Washington's top diplomat strikes a markedly reassuring tone as he addresses a security conference in Munich after months of turmoil in US-European relations sparked by US President Donald Trump's vows to seize Greenland and his often derisive remarks about Washington's allies.

Rubio tells allies US and Europe 'belong together'

Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will push Donald Trump on Wednesday to take a tougher stance in nuclear talks with Iran, after rushing to Washington to stiffen the US president&#39;s resolve, AFP reported. Trump said on the eve of the hastily arranged White House meeting -- set to begin at 11:00 am local time (1600 GMT) -- that he was weighing sending a second US &ldquo;armada&rdquo; to the Middle East to pressure Tehran to reach a nuclear deal. Seizing tankers &nbsp;A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report published on Tuesday stated that US is weighing seizing tankers carrying Iranian oil to pressure Tehran, but using a strategy the White House directed at Venezuela is seen as likely to spark retaliation by Tehran and a surge in oil prices. Trump administration officials have discussed whether to seize additional tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil but have held off, concerned about Tehran&rsquo;s near-certain retaliation and the impact on global oil markets, US officials said. The US has seized several ships that have carried Iranian oil as part of its two-month-old blockade of sanctioned tankers serving Venezuela, the WSJ report said. &lsquo;Destructive influence&rsquo; &nbsp;But <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/netanyahu-to-discuss-iran-talks-with-trump-in-washington-wednesday" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Netanyahu</a>, making his sixth visit to the United States since Trump took office, will also be urging the US leader to take a harder line on arch-foe Iran&#39;s ballistic missile program, AFP reported. Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman, warned Monday of &ldquo;destructive influences&rdquo; on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli premier&#39;s visit. Netanyahu had been expected to come to Washington for a February 19 meeting of Trump&#39;s &ldquo;Board of Peace&rdquo; for Gaza, but reportedly brought forward his visit as the US-Iran talks proceeded. What does Trump think?&nbsp;While talking up hopes of a nuclear deal, Trump warned in an interview with the Axios news outlet on Tuesday that he was &ldquo;thinking&rdquo; of sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region. &ldquo;Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,&rdquo; Trump told Axios. &ldquo;We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.&rdquo; Trump, who ordered US strikes on Tehran&#39;s nuclear sites during Israel&#39;s 12-day war with Iran last June, separately told Fox Business that any deal would have to involve &ldquo;no nuclear weapons, no missiles.&rdquo; He added that Iran&#39;s leaders &quot;want to make a deal&quot; but &quot;it&#39;s got to be a good deal&quot;, saying Tehran had been &quot;very dishonest with us over the years.&quot; What are Netanyahu&#39;s goals?&nbsp;Netanyahu said as he left for Washington his talks would &quot;first and foremost&quot; be about the Iran negotiations, while adding that they would also discuss Gaza and other regional issues. &quot;I will present to the president our views regarding the principles for the negotiations,&quot; he said in a video statement before his departure.&nbsp; Netanyahu&#39;s office said he would highlight Iran&#39;s missile arsenal. Israel&rsquo;s concerns came to a head during their unprecedented war last year, during which Iran launched waves of ballistic missiles and other projectiles at Israeli territory, striking both military and civilian areas. So far, Iran has rejected expanding the scope of its talks with the United States beyond the issue of its nuclear program, though Washington also wants Tehran&#39;s ballistic missile program and its support for regional militant groups on the table. What about the West Bank?&nbsp;The meeting will also come amid growing international outrage over Israeli measures to tighten control of the occupied West Bank by allowing settlers to buy land directly from Palestinian owners.Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved the move ahead of Netanyahu&#39;s Washington visit.&nbsp; It is unclear whether the US president intends to bring them up. A US official said on Monday that Trump &quot;does not support Israel annexing the West Bank&quot; and wants stability, while holding off from directly criticizing the Israeli government&#39;s moves. How many meetings?&nbsp;Wednesday&#39;s meeting will be the sixth encounter between the two leaders on US soil since Trump returned to office in January 2025 -- five times at the White House and once at the Republican&#39;s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. A seventh meeting took place in Jerusalem in October when Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza.

Middle East

Tehran, which resumed talks with Washington last week in Oman, warned Monday of ‘destructive influences’ on diplomacy ahead of the Israeli premier's visit.

Netanyahu to push Trump on Iran missiles in White House talks

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump&#39;s lead negotiator with Iran, Steve Witkoff, said on Saturday that he visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, currently in the Arabian Sea, as Washington and Tehran prepare to hold further talks soon.&nbsp;&quot;Today, Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, Jared Kushner, and I met with the brave sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, her strike group, and Carrier Air Wing 9 who are keeping us safe and upholding President Trump&#39;s message of peace through strength,&quot; said Witkoff in a social media post.&nbsp;Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran&#39;s red lines and warning against any American attack.

Central Asia

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff visits USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, projecting US military resolve as Washington and Tehran prepare further talks, with Iran signalling readiness to resume negotiations while warning against any American attack.

Top Trump Iran negotiator visits US aircraft carrier in Middle East

HONG KONG: Oil prices tanked Monday on easing US-Iran tensions while precious metals swung wildly following last week&#39;s dollar-fueled collapse sparked by Donald Trump&#39;s pick to lead the Federal Reserve. The retreat was also reflected in equity markets, with most regional indexes tracking a retreat on Wall Street and extending Friday&#39;s losses amid fresh concerns over the tech sector. Both main crude contracts shed more than three percent in early Asian trade as the US president said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran after it warned that any attack on the Islamic Republic would trigger a regional conflict. Washington has hit out at the country&#39;s leadership in recent weeks over its response to anti-government protests last month, with Trump threatening military action while ordering the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East. He has also pushed for an agreement over Iran&#39;s nuclear program.&nbsp;&lsquo;A regional war&rsquo;Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday likened the recent protests to a &quot;coup&quot; and warned that a US attack would trigger a broad conflict. &quot;The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war,&quot; he said. Asked about the Iranian leader&#39;s warning, Trump told reporters on Sunday: &quot;Of course, he is going to say that. &quot;Hopefully, we&#39;ll make a deal. If we don&#39;t make a deal, then we&#39;ll find out whether or not he was right,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Stronger dollar&nbsp;Oil&#39;s drop was helped by a stronger dollar, which came on the back of news that Trump had tapped Kevin Warsh to take the helm at the US central bank. The president said Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, &quot;will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best&quot;. Traders regard Warsh as the toughest inflation fighter among the final candidates, raising expectations of monetary policy that would underpin the greenback. The choice also eased recent concerns about the Fed&#39;s independence following a series of attacks on incumbent Jerome Powell over his reticence to cut rates as quickly as the president wanted. The dollar surged across the board on the news, having taken a battering for most of last week on concerns the White House was happy to see it weaken. While Warsh is seen as more open to keeping rates higher, Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said: &quot;People do not get handed the keys to the most powerful central bank on earth because they plan to drive in the opposite direction of the people who gave them the keys. &quot;The Fed may be independent, but personnel is policy, and this appointment was unlikely to have been made in a vacuum.&quot; The announcement sent dollar-priced precious metals plunging Friday, with gold losing as much as 12 percent and silver more than 30 percent at one point. And the losses mounted on Monday, with gold shedding as much as six percent to touch $4,586, while silver briefly lost around 11 percent to $75.&nbsp; Both bounced back slightly but were well down from their record highs of $5,595 and $121 touched last week.&nbsp;Gold and silver&nbsp;The easing of Iran tensions added to the selling pressure on gold and silver, which are also considered go-to havens in times of turmoil and uncertainty. Most equity markets were in the red following a sell-off on Wall Street that came amid fresh concerns over the wisdom of the vast sums being invested in artificial intelligence and when traders will begin to see returns. Seoul, which has hit multiple records this year thanks to its big tech weighting, sank more than two percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Manila were also well down. Tokyo rose.&nbsp;Key figures at around 0230 GMT&nbsp;Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2% at 53,422.01 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7% at 26,919.07 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8% at 4,083.84 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1870 from $1.1856 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3693 from $1.3688 Dollar/yen: UP at 155.00 yen from 154.64 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.68 pence from 86.63 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 3.5% at $62.92 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.3% at $67.02 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4% at 48,892.47 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5% at 10,223.54 (close)

Business

Both main crude contracts shed more than three percent in early Asian trade as the US president said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran after it warned that any attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional conflict.

Oil tumbles on Iran hopes, precious metals hit by stronger dollar

BRUSSELS:&nbsp;Denmark&#39;s foreign minister said Thursday he was &ldquo;more optimistic&rdquo; after technical talks kicked off with the United States over Greenland. &quot;We have had the very first meeting at senior official level in Washington yesterday regarding the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/greenland-dispute-strategic-wakeup-call-for-all-of-europe-says-macron" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Greenlandic </a>issue,&quot; Lars Lokke Rasmussen told journalists at an EU meeting in Brussels. &quot;It went well in a very constructive atmosphere and tone, and new meetings are planned. It&#39;s not that things are solved, but it&#39;s good.&quot;&nbsp;Trilateral talksThe trilateral talks come after US President Donald Trump last week backed down from his threats to seize the autonomous Arctic territory of EU and NATO member Denmark. &ldquo;There was a major detour. Things were escalating, but now we are back on track,&rdquo; Rasmussen said.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&#39;m slightly more optimistic today than a week ago.&rdquo; Trump&#39;s threats over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/penguins-memes-and-greenland-trumps-viral-post-breaks-the-internet" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Greenland </a>plunged the transatlantic alliance into its deepest crisis in years. The US leader backed off his desire to take control of Greenland after saying he had struck a &ldquo;framework&rdquo; deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence. 1951 treaty&nbsp;But few concrete details appear to have been agreed -- with authorities in Denmark and Greenland refusing to discuss handing over any sovereignty. &ldquo;I have stated on many occasions, we, of course, share the US security concerns regarding the Arctic, this is something we want to solve in close cooperation,&rdquo; Rasmussen said. As part of the compromise with Washington NATO is expected to bolster its activities in the Arctic, while <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/greenland-denmark-set-aside-troubled-history-to-face-down-trump" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Denmark </a>and Greenland could renegotiate a 1951 treaty on US troop deployments.

The trilateral talks come after US President Donald Trump last week backed down from his threats to seize the autonomous Arctic territory of EU and NATO member Denmark.

Denmark hails 'very constructive' meeting with US over Greenland

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday said it regretted the United States&rsquo; notification of withdrawal from the UN health agency, warning that the decision would make both the United States and the world less safe, while firmly rejecting Washington&rsquo;s criticism of the body&rsquo;s independence and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement, released following the US notification, WHO said the United States, a founding member, had made significant contributions to many of the organization&rsquo;s major public health achievements, including the eradication of smallpox and progress against polio, HIV, Ebola, tuberculosis, malaria, and other global health threats.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2015172835489063345&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=7738163e8d0072b0f9ea00fd951e8a8bfb0a274a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;The notification of withdrawal raises issues that will be considered by the WHO Executive Board at its regular meeting starting on Feb. 2 and by the World Health Assembly at its annual meeting in May 2026,&rdquo; the agency said. The organization directly addressed US government statements accusing WHO of having &quot;trashed and tarnished&quot; America and compromising its independence, saying &quot;the reverse is true&quot; and that it has always engaged with Washington in good faith while respecting its sovereignty. Criticism of Covid-19 responseAddressing criticism of its Covid-19 response, including allegations of obstructing information sharing and concealing failures, the WHO said that while no organization or government handled every aspect of the pandemic perfectly, it stood by its actions during an unprecedented global health crisis.&nbsp; WHO said it acted quickly after receiving the first reports of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31, 2019, alerting the world and publishing guidance before the first death was reported on Jan. 11, 2020. When the WHO director-general declared Covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern on Jan. 30, 2020, there were fewer than 100 reported cases outside China and no reported deaths, the statement said. The agency rejected US claims that it has &quot;pursued a politicized, bureaucratic agenda driven by nations hostile to American interests,&quot; reiterating that it repeatedly urged countries to take immediate action in the pandemic&#39;s early weeks, warning &quot;the window of opportunity is closing&rdquo; and remained impartial and governed by its 194 member states. The organization clarified that it recommended masks, vaccines, and physical distancing but never mandated them, supporting sovereign governments in making their own decisions. WHO highlighted reforms and strengthened systems introduced following multiple reviews of the pandemic response, noting that these measures continue to help protect all countries, including the United States. The organization said it valued the continued engagement of other member states, noting the adoption last year of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, which aims to improve global preparedness and response.&nbsp; It expressed hope that the United States would eventually return to active participation, reaffirming its commitment to the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right for all.

FILE: WHO Director-General Dr Tedros at the ACANU Press Conference, Geneva, Switzerland, 11 December 2025 (WHO photo library)

The world health body defended its pandemic response, saying it shared information rapidly and transparently, never recommended mandates, and remains impartial, while regretting that the United States’ withdrawal makes both the US and the world less safe.

WHO regrets US notification of withdrawal, rejects accusations over COVID-19 response

ISLAMABAD: The US Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy, on Saturday, announced US formal withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO).&nbsp; In a post on X on Saturday, Kennedy stated: &ldquo;The United States has formally withdrawn from the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/withdrawal-from-who-makes-us-world-unsafe-who-chief" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Health Organization</a>.&rdquo; &ldquo;We are reclaiming our independence, protecting American sovereignty, and putting U.S. public health policy back in the hands of the American people,&rdquo; the post stated.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 600px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2014831176695873653&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=f2b29df973d507d375ae26b5197177f518a3de63&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2014831176695873653"></iframe></div></div>In his video message accompanying the post, Secretary Kennedy stated: &ldquo;On Thursday, the United States formally withdrew from the World Health Organization. We made this decision to reclaim our independence, to protect American sovereignty, and to free our public health policy from a system that no longer serves the American people.&rdquo;&nbsp;Covid pandemic&nbsp;He said, &ldquo;The World Health Organization has lost its way. It&#39;s drifted far from its founding mission, and it&#39;s become mired in bureaucracy, in conflicts of interest, and in international power politics. During the COVID pandemic, those failures weren&#39;t just abstract. They were deadly.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;The world watched as transparency collapsed, accountability disappeared, and ordinary citizens paid the price. That hasn&#39;t changed, and it isn&#39;t improving.&rdquo;&nbsp;Kennedy said, &ldquo;President Trump recognized the problems with WHO immediately. In fact, one of his very first executive orders of his second term began the formal process of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization. It was an early decisive signal that American health policy would answer to the American people and not to foreign bureaucracies.&rdquo;&nbsp;&lsquo;America will continue to lead&rsquo;&nbsp;He further stated: &ldquo;Going forward, US engagement with the WHO will be limited solely to completing our withdrawal and safeguarding the health and safety of the American people. All US funding has ended. All government US personnel have stopped working there.&rdquo;&nbsp;Kennedy said: &ldquo;I believe this deeply, that only the United States has the scale, the innovation, and the leadership to drive global health solutions that put people first, starting with our own citizens.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Although we are withdrawing from the WHO, America will never withdraw from its leadership in global health. America will continue to lead. We will lead with science, with integrity, and with transparency, and with accountability.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;And let me say this clearly. For the Americans who died alone in nursing homes, the small businesses that were destroyed by reckless mandates, the families whose lives were upended by unelected foreign officials who never answered to them, this decision is for you,&rdquo; he concluded.&nbsp;

US Secretary Kennedy says the WHO ‘has lost its way. It's drifted far from its founding mission, and it's become mired in bureaucracy, in conflicts of interest, and in international power politics.’ 

US formally withdraws from World Health Organization 

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The US military will prioritize protecting the homeland and deterring China while providing &ldquo;more limited&rdquo; support to allies in Europe and elsewhere, a Pentagon strategy document released on Friday said. The 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) marks a significant departure from past <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pentagon-pizza-theory-latenight-orders-spark-online-war-speculation" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pentagon</a> policy, both in its emphasis on allies taking on increased burdens with less backing from Washington and its softer tone on traditional foes China and Russia. &quot;As US forces focus on homeland defense and the Indo-Pacific, our allies and partners elsewhere will take primary responsibility for their own defense with critical but more limited support from American forces,&quot; the strategy said. &lsquo;Respectful relations&rsquo; with BeijingThe previous NDS -- released under President Donald Trump&#39;s predecessor Joe Biden -- described China as Washington&#39;s most consequential challenge and said that Russia posed an &quot;acute threat.&quot; The new document, however, urges &ldquo;respectful relations&rdquo; with Beijing -- while making no mention of Taiwan -- and describing the threat from Russia as a &ldquo;persistent but manageable&rdquo; one affecting NATO&#39;s eastern members. Both the Biden and Trump strategies say homeland defense is important, but their descriptions of the threats facing the US differ significantly. &lsquo;Flood of illegal aliens&rsquo;The Trump administration&#39;s NDS takes aim at the past administration for neglecting border security, saying this led to a &ldquo;flood of illegal aliens&rdquo; and widespread narcotics trafficking. &ldquo;Border security is national security,&rdquo; and the Pentagon &ldquo;will therefore prioritize efforts to seal our borders, repel forms of invasion, and deport illegal aliens,&rdquo; it said. Biden, meanwhile, focused on China and Russia, saying they posed &ldquo;more dangerous challenges to security and safety at home&rdquo; than even the threat of terrorism. The 2026 NDS also includes no mention of the dangers of climate change -- which Biden&#39;s administration had identified as an &ldquo;emerging threat.&rdquo; Like Trump&#39;s national security strategy, which was released last month, the NDS elevates Latin America to the top of the US agenda. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Restore military dominance&#39;&nbsp;</h2>The Pentagon &quot;will restore American military dominance in the Western Hemisphere. We will use it to protect our Homeland and our access to key terrain throughout the region,&quot; the NDS said. The document called that the &ldquo;Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine,&rdquo; a reference to the declaration two centuries ago by the then-young United States that Latin America was off limits to rival powers. Since returning to office last year, Trump has repeatedly employed the US military in Latin America, ordering a shocking raid that captured Venezuelan <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/deposed-venezuelan-leader-pleads-not-guilty-in-us-court" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">President Nicolas Maduro</a> and his wife, as well as strikes on more than 30 alleged drug-smuggling boats that have killed more than 100 people.

2026 National Defense Strategy says, ‘As US forces focus on homeland defense and the Indo-Pacific, our allies and partners elsewhere will take primary responsibility for their own defense with critical but more limited support from American forces.’ 

US military to prioritize homeland and curbing China, limit support for allies

COPENHAGEN: Negotiations with the United States on Greenland aimed at increasing security in the Arctic are expected to start soon, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Friday. &ldquo;We will get those meetings started fairly quickly. We will not communicate when those meetings are, because what is needed now is to take the drama out of this,&rdquo; Lokke told reporters in Copenhagen, adding that the talks would focus on &ldquo;security, security and security.&rdquo; Upcoming meeting in Nuuk Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will also travel to Greenland&rsquo;s capital, Nuuk, on Friday for talks with her counterpart there, following Donald Trump&rsquo;s climbdown from his threats to seize the Arctic island. Frederiksen wrote on X that she would travel to Nuuk from Brussels, where she held talks early Friday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who reached a purported deal with Trump in Davos this week about Greenland, the details of which remain scant.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (L) and Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen addresses journalists at a doorstep after a meeting of the Foreign Policy Committee at Christiansborg in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 23, 2026.

Says security-focused talks with the United States will soon begin, as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen travels to Greenland's capital Nuuk to meet counterpart. 

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