NEW YORK: New York&#39;s incoming leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani said Sunday he still believes US President Donald Trump is a fascist, even after the two had a warm meeting at the White House. &quot;That&#39;s something that I&#39;ve said in the past, I say it today,&quot; the mayor-elect said on NBC news. The self-described Democratic Socialist on Friday met the Republican leader, setting aside months of mutual recriminations and promising to cooperate on the city&#39;s future. Trump, who had previously suggested the Ugandan-born New Yorker should be deported, even came to his rescue as the two addressed reporters at the White House on Friday. When a journalist asked Mamdani if he continued to view Trump as a fascist, the president stepped in. &quot;That&#39;s OK. You can just say it. That&#39;s easier,&quot; Trump told Mamdani. &quot;It&#39;s easier than explaining it. I don&#39;t mind.&quot; In his NBC interview Sunday morning, Mamdani elaborated: &quot;I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment,&quot; he said. He added: &quot;I found in the meeting that I had with the president a productive one and a meeting that came back again and again to the central themes of the campaign that we ran: the cost of housing, cost of child care, the cost of groceries, the cost of utilities.&quot; After threatening to cut federal funding to the United States&#39; biggest city and sending in the National Guard, Trump at the White House praised Mamdani&#39;s historic election win, said he could do a &quot;great job.&quot; &quot;We&#39;re going to be helping him to make everybody&#39;s dream come true: having a strong and very safe New York,&quot; Trump said.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 21: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (L) in the Oval Office of the White House on November 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Im

Americas

New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani reaffirmed calling President Trump a fascist despite a cordial White House meeting, saying they openly discussed disagreements but focused on shared priorities like housing and living costs as Trump pledged cooperation.

New York mayor-elect Mamdani still views Trump as fascist

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, on Friday, ahead of the G20 Summit scheduled for November 22&ndash;23 in Johannesburg, according to Indian media.&nbsp;Since US President Donald Trump is skipping the G20 Summit, Modi&rsquo;s decision to attend, after missing earlier international gatherings where Trump was present, gives credence to the Indian opposition&#39;s criticism that the Indian premier is &ldquo;frightened&rdquo; of the US president. Modi, in a post on X on Friday, announced, &ldquo;will be attending the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is a particularly special Summit as it is being held in Africa. Various global issues will be discussed there. Will be meeting various world leaders during the Summit.&rdquo;<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" 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=1991689920365367791&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=dc03ef7bb17bffe0847e38e588d871b60b14ea48&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 712px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1991689920365367791">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>India&rsquo;s Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend two recent major international gatherings attended by the US president, -- the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia held on October 26&ndash;28 as well as the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt on October 13. Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier tweeted that &ldquo;PM Modi is frightened of Trump.&rdquo;<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" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" 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=1978669002798055695&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=dc03ef7bb17bffe0847e38e588d871b60b14ea48&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 416px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1978669002798055695">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The Indian opposition has also highlighted Modi&rsquo;s contradictory stance during the May conflict with Pakistan. On one hand, India&rsquo;s leadership claims no Indian Air Force planes were downed; on the other, the same leaders remain silent whenever Trump asserts that seven jets were destroyed.&nbsp;Trump has additionally claimed credit for brokering peace between India and Pakistan, a claim Modi reportedly finds humiliating; yet has neither refuted nor directly addressed it with the US president.<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-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1950181582901215683&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=dc03ef7bb17bffe0847e38e588d871b60b14ea48&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1950181582901215683"></iframe></div></div>

India

Since US President Donald Trump is skipping the G20 Summit, Modi’s decision to attend, after missing earlier international gatherings where Trump was present, gives credence to the Indian opposition's criticism that the Indian premier is “frightened” of the US president.

With Trump skipping G20 Summit, Modi arrives in South Africa   

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Sunday he backed lawmakers&#39; efforts to release more files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, despite previous opposition to the measure. &quot;House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,&quot; Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. <div class="fr-embed"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115562626931599548/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">&nbsp;</iframe></div> The 79-year-old Republican has accused Democrats of pushing an &quot;Epstein hoax&quot; after emails emerged in which the disgraced financier suggested Trump &quot;knew about the girls.&quot; Some critics have accused Trump of trying to conceal details about his own alleged wrongdoing -- something the president denies -- by looking to block the vote. The issue has divided his typically loyal Republican party and driven a rift between Trump and some of his closest allies within his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Over the weekend, Trump withdrew his endorsement for Congresswoman and MAGA stalwart Marjorie Taylor Greene&#39;s 2026 re-election bid. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would hold a vote this week on a bid to force the Justice Department to release the remaining files relating to the Epstein probe. &quot;Some &#39;members&#39; of the Republican Party are being &#39;used,&#39; and we can&#39;t let that happen,&quot; Trump said in his post, in reference to lawmakers who backed a call by Democrats to release the files. Justice Department probe&nbsp;After the longest-ever US government shutdown ended last week, lawmakers in the US House of Representatives released a trove of emails obtained from Epstein&#39;s estate. In one, Epstein wrote that Trump &quot;spent hours&quot; with one of the victims at his house, and another referred to the president as &quot;dirty.&quot; Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the messages &quot;raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein&#39;s horrific crimes.&quot; After the email trove&#39;s release, Trump demanded Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI investigate links between Epstein and ex-president Bill Clinton, a Democrat, along with former Harvard president Larry Summers, who served as Clinton&#39;s treasury secretary. The order for a probe comes even though the FBI and Justice Department said in a memo in July that they had not uncovered evidence that would justify an investigation of uncharged third parties. With the help of Ghislaine Maxwell, who acted as a recruiter, Epstein brought underage girls to his residences -- notably in New York and Florida -- where they were sexually abused. Before Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial in a pedophile trafficking case, he had been required to register as a sex offender in Florida after pleading guilty in 2008 to solicitation of prostitution, including from a minor. Trump&#39;s conspiracy-minded supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been furious since the FBI and Justice Department said on July 7 that Epstein had killed himself while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures and did not keep a &quot;client list.&quot;

Trump reverses stance, backing House vote to release Jeffrey Epstein files, amid party divisions and past allegations. He urges investigations into Clinton and Summers, denying wrongdoing, following emails linking him to Epstein’s victims.

In reversal, Trump supports House vote to release Epstein files

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would sue the BBC for up to $5 billion after the British broadcaster apologized for a misleading edit of one of his speeches, but said it would not pay damages. &quot;We&#39;ll sue them for anywhere between a billion and five billion dollars, probably sometime next week. I think I have to do it. They&#39;ve even admitted that they cheated,&quot; Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Trump&#39;s lawyers sent the BBC a letter on Monday accusing it of defaming the president with the video of the speech before the 2021 US Capitol riot and giving it until Friday to apologize and pay compensation. &quot;The people of the UK are very angry about what happened, as you can imagine, because it shows the BBC is fake news,&quot; Trump said late on Friday. He added that he planned to raise the BBC issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has backed the broadcaster&#39;s independence while avoiding taking sides against Trump. &quot;I&#39;m going to call him over the weekend. He actually put a call into me. He&#39;s very embarrassed,&quot; Trump said. On Monday, the BBC apologized for giving the impression in a documentary aired last year that Trump had directly urged &quot;violent action&quot; just before the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. The firestorm over the video edit has led the BBC director-general and the organization&#39;s top news executive to resign. The BBC said on Thursday that its chairman, Samir Shah, had sent &quot;a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president&#39;s speech.&quot; However, it added: &quot;While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.&quot;

US president says people in UK are “very angry about what happened … because it shows the BBC is fake news.” 

Trump says will sue BBC for up to $5 bn over video edit

ISLAMABAD: <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">US President Donald Trump has said that a new trade agreement with India is close to completion, describing it as a &ldquo;fair deal&rdquo; compared with what he called previous &ldquo;unfair&rdquo; terms that favored New Delhi.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;You know we&rsquo;re making a deal with India, a much different deal than we had in the past,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;So, right now they don&rsquo;t love me but they&rsquo;ll love us again. We&rsquo;re getting a fair deal, just a fair deal. We had a pretty unfair trade deal. Pretty close to doing a deal.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He made the remarks on Monday as Sergio Gore was sworn in as the US ambassador to India during a ceremony held in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump&rsquo;s remarks referred to long-standing trade frictions between Washington and New Delhi. During his presidency, Trump has frequently criticized India for selling &ldquo;massive amounts of goods&rdquo; to the US while imposing high tariffs on American exports.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Earlier in September, Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, &ldquo;What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with the US In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest client, but we sell them very little &mdash; until now a totally one-sided relationship, and it has been for many decades.&quot;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;Right now the tariffs are very high on India because of the Russian oil and they&rsquo;ve stopped using the Russian oil,&quot; Trump said.Trump stated that the United States is negotiating &ldquo;a much different deal&rdquo; with India than the one it had before.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with the newly appointed Ambassador to India Sergio Gor during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office of the White on November 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

Asia

US President Donald Trump said a new trade agreement with India is close to completion, describing it as a 'fair deal' compared with what he called previous 'unfair' terms that favored New Delhi.

Trump seeks to reset US-India trade ties with ‘fair deal’

Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD: Former US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to give most Americans $2,000 each, funded by tariff revenues collected under his administration. &ldquo;A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone,&rdquo; Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, criticizing opponents of tariffs as &ldquo;fools.&rdquo; <div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115519726463094783/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> Any such payments would need authorization from Congress, which remains locked in budget negotiations following a partial government shutdown that has stretched beyond 40 days, halting funding for key federal programs and disrupting air travel and other industries. The US Senate on Sunday took a major step toward ending the shutdown, clearing the way for a formal debate on a motion to resume funding for federal agencies. Trump has previously floated similar ideas, referring to the proposed payment as a &ldquo;dividend&rdquo; or &ldquo;rebate.&rdquo; Last month, he said his administration was &ldquo;thinking about a little rebate,&rdquo; but emphasized paying down national debt as a priority. &ldquo;We have so much money coming in,&rdquo; Trump said at the time. &ldquo;The big thing we want to do is pay down debt.&rdquo; Earlier this year, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced a bill to provide $600 tariff rebates to most Americans, arguing that citizens should benefit directly from trade revenue. Since returning to the White House, Trump has expanded tariffs on major trading partners including China, Canada and Mexico. Under his &ldquo;Liberation Day&rdquo; announcement in April, the United States extended higher tariffs to most foreign nations, though some were later eased. Trump has claimed the United States is collecting &ldquo;trillions of dollars&rdquo; through tariffs imposed on foreign nations, though the Treasury Department reported $195 billion in tariff revenue for fiscal year 2025. His latest proposal comes as the US Supreme Court considers challenges to his authority to impose broad tariffs without congressional approval.

File Photo - US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on November 7, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Former US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to give most Americans $2,000 each, funded by tariff revenues collected under his administration.

Trump vows $2,000 tariff dividend to all except 'high-income people'

MUMBAI: India&#39;s state-owned aeronautics firm said Friday it had inked an agreement with US company General Electric to acquire over 100 engines for its domestically designed and built Tejas fighter jets. The deal comes at a time when ties between the US and India have come under strain over President Donald Trump&#39;s decision to impose harsh tariffs as punishment for New Delhi&#39;s purchases of Russian oil. The two nations have yet to secure a trade deal, although Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have adopted a more conciliatory tone on bilateral ties after relations plummeted in August. Over 100 engines&nbsp;On Friday, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said the pact would see GE Aerospace supply 113 engines for an advanced version of the Tejas fighter referred to as Mk1A. &quot;The engine deliveries would be from 2027 to 2032,&quot; HAL said in a statement posted on social media platform X, without offering details on the contract&#39;s value.<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" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" 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=1986776331955437654&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=573f2936ea17d6b6d8659866035da40d90bb8df9&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 594px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1986776331955437654"></iframe></div></div>The announcement comes a little over a month after India placed a $7 billion order with HAL for 97 light combat aircraft Mk1A. Arms import&nbsp;One of the world&#39;s largest arms importers, India has made the modernization of its forces a top priority and has made repeated pushes to boost domestic production.

The deal comes at a time when ties between the US and India have come under strain over President Donald Trump's decision to impose harsh tariffs as punishment for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil.

India buying over 100 GE engines for its Tejas fighter jets

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump hosted all five Central Asian leaders on Thursday for the first time, a few months after they held separate summits with Russia&rsquo;s Vladimir Putin and China&rsquo;s Xi Jinping. The West has increased its interest in the resource-rich region, where Moscow&rsquo;s traditional influence has been questioned since the Kremlin&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine and where China is also a major player. &lsquo;Incredible importance&rsquo; of rare earths&ldquo;We&rsquo;re strengthening our economic partnerships, improving our security cooperation, and expanding our overall bonds,&rdquo; Trump said before a dinner with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. &ldquo;One of the key items on our agenda is critical minerals,&rdquo; Trump said at the so-called &ldquo;C5+1&rdquo; meeting. He hailed the countries&rsquo; &ldquo;incredible importance and unbelievable potential.&rdquo; On social media afterward, Trump announced &ldquo;an incredible trade and economic deal&rdquo; with Uzbekistan, which he said included Tashkent investing nearly $35 billion over three years &mdash; and more than $100 billion in a decade &mdash; in key US sectors such as aviation, critical minerals, agriculture, and IT. The United States and European Union are drawn by the region&rsquo;s huge &mdash; but still mostly unexploited &mdash; natural resources as they try to diversify their rare earth supplies and reduce dependence on Beijing. Kazakhstan is the world&rsquo;s largest uranium producer, Uzbekistan has giant gold reserves, and Turkmenistan is rich in gas. Mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are also opening up new mineral deposits. But exploiting these vast reserves remains complicated in the impoverished states with harsh and remote terrains. Almost as large as the EU but home to only about 75 million people, Central Asia is landlocked and covered by deserts and mountains. It is sandwiched between countries that have strained ties with the West: Russia to the north, China to the east, and Iran and Afghanistan to the south. &lsquo;Sent by heaven&rsquo;&nbsp;Trump&rsquo;s counterparts did not hesitate in offering praise to their host. &ldquo;You are the great leader, statesman, sent by heaven to bring back common sense and traditions that we all share and value,&rdquo; gushed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was no less effusive. &ldquo;Before that, none of the presidents of the United States of America ever treated Central Asia as you do,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In Uzbekistan, we call you the president of the world.&rdquo; The five landlocked countries, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have put on a united front for diplomacy. China &mdash; which shares borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan &mdash; has presented itself as a main commercial partner for the region, investing in huge infrastructure projects. The ex-Soviet republics still see Moscow as a strategic partner but have been spooked by its invasion of Ukraine. Abraham AccordsThe biggest announcement of the day was that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords between Israel and mainly Muslim nations, in a largely symbolic move aimed at boosting Trump&rsquo;s push for Middle East peace. Kazakhstan will be the first country to join since the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan signed up to normalize ties with Israel in 2020. The Central Asian republic has already had diplomatic ties with Israel for decades, but US Vice President JD Vance said Kazakhstan&rsquo;s decision would nevertheless boost the initiative&rsquo;s &ldquo;momentum.&rdquo; Several states in the Middle East have refused to join the accords so far, most notably Saudi Arabia. Muffled human rightsFor Trump, who has expressed admiration for hard-line regimes, economic cooperation with Central Asia has taken precedence over promoting democratic values. While the region has opened up to tourism and foreign investment, rights groups have sounded the alarm over the further deterioration of civil freedoms. &ldquo;The summit is taking place while all participating governments have increased efforts to stifle dissent, silence the media, and retaliate against critics at home and abroad,&rdquo; Human Rights Watch said in a statement ahead of the talks.

(L-R) US Vice President JD Vance, US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a dinner with Central Asian leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Central Asia

US President Donald Trump hosted all five Central Asian leaders on Thursday for the first time, a few months after they held separate summits with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.

Trump hails Central Asia's 'unbelievable potential' at White House summit

WASHINGTON: The US government shutdown became the longest ever Wednesday, topping the 35-day record set during Donald Trump&rsquo;s first term, as his administration warned of holiday air travel chaos and threatened Americans&rsquo; benefits in a bid to force a resolution. Federal agencies have been grinding to a halt since Congress failed to approve funding past September 30, and the pain has been mounting as welfare programs &mdash; including aid that helps millions of Americans afford groceries &mdash; hang in limbo. There were, in recent days, the first fragile signs of progress in Congress in the search for an off-ramp, although 1.4 million federal workers, from air traffic controllers to park wardens, remain on enforced leave or working without pay. Hours before the shutdown record toppled at midnight, the Trump administration sounded the alarm over turmoil at airports nationwide if the crisis drags beyond a sixth week, with worsening staff shortages snarling airports and closing down sections of airspace. &ldquo;So if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos... you will see mass flight delays,&rdquo; Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told a news conference in Philadelphia. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it &mdash; we don&rsquo;t have the air traffic controllers.&rdquo; Thanksgiving air travel is expected to set a new record this year, the American Automobile Association projected &mdash; with 5.8 million people set to fly domestically over the November 27 holiday. More than 60,000 air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are working without pay, and the White House has warned that increased absenteeism could mean chaos at check-in lines. Airport workers calling in sick rather than working without pay &mdash; leading to significant delays &mdash; was a major factor in Trump bringing an end to the 2019 shutdown. Both Democrats and Republicans remain unwavering, however, over the main sticking point in the current stoppage &mdash; health care spending. &lsquo;Defiance&rsquo;Democrats say they will only provide votes to end the funding lapse after a deal has been struck to extend expiring insurance subsidies that make health care affordable for millions of Americans. But Republicans insist they will only address health care once Democrats have voted to switch the lights back on in Washington. While both sides&rsquo; leadership have shown little appetite for compromise, there have been signs of life on the back benches, with a handful of moderate Democrats working to find an escape hatch. A separate bipartisan group of four centrist House members unveiled a compromise framework Monday for lowering health insurance costs. Democrats believe that millions of Americans seeing skyrocketing premiums as they enroll in health insurance programs for next year will pressure Republicans into seeking compromise. But Trump has held firm on refusing to negotiate, telling CBS News in an interview broadcast Sunday that he would &ldquo;not be extorted.&rdquo; The president has sought to apply his own pressure to force Democrats to cave by threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target progressive priorities. Trump on Tuesday repeated his administration&rsquo;s threat to cut off a vital aid program that helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time in its more than 60-year history, even though the move was blocked by two courts. The White House later clarified, however, that it was &ldquo;fully complying&rdquo; with its legal obligations and was working to get partial SNAP payments &ldquo;out the door as much as we can and as quickly as we can.&rdquo; <figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic"> </figcaption>

The US Capitol is seen in Washington, DC on November 4, 2025. (AFP)

The US government shutdown became the longest ever Wednesday, topping the 35-day record set during Donald Trump’s first term, as his administration warned of holiday air travel chaos and threatened Americans’ benefits in a bid to force a resolution.

US government shutdown becomes longest in history

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, while stating US President Donald Trump &ldquo;entered promising to put an end to Netanyahu&#39;s bamboozling of Obama and Biden&rdquo;, stressed &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not too late to reverse course&rdquo;.&nbsp; In a post on X on Monday, the Iranian top diplomat said, &ldquo;Iran did not kill diplomacy. Those who blew up the negotiating table did.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Israel targeted diplomacy because its real fear is the failure of its &lsquo;Iran Demonization Project&rsquo;&rdquo;, he added.<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-4" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1985065286085624188&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=4ce46ae6fd8f4ced8a0fb11acb2b65c6496c0477&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Araghchi said, &ldquo;POTUS entered office promising to put an end to Netanyahu&#39;s bamboozling of Obama and Biden. It&#39;s not too late to reverse course.&rdquo; &lsquo;Thoroughly debunked&rsquo;&nbsp;The Iranian foreign minister said, &ldquo;In the past 48 hours, the heinous lie that the unlawful Israeli and US bombing of Iran was motivated by an imminent nuclear threat has been thoroughly debunked by&nbsp; - The International Atomic Energy Agency Chief, who has explicitly stated that Iran &quot;is not and was not&quot; developing nuclear weapons.&nbsp; - My Omani counterpart, H.E. AlBusaidi, an intermediary trusted by both Iran and the U.S., who has made clear that there was never any Iranian &quot;nuclear threat&quot;.&rdquo;&nbsp; &#39;Stronger than before&#39;Earlier, Iran said on Sunday that it would rebuild nuclear sites damaged by Israeli and US strikes &quot;stronger than before&quot;, as mediator Oman urged Tehran and Washington to revive stalled diplomacy, according to AFP. US President Donald Trump has said the strikes obliterated Iran&#39;s nuclear program, but the full extent of the actual damage remains unknown. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a visit to the country&#39;s nuclear organization, said Tehran &quot;will build (the destroyed sites) stronger than before&quot;. &lsquo;Not be set back&rsquo;&quot;By destroying buildings... we will not be set back,&quot; he said in a video posted to his official website, adding that Iranian scientists still had the necessary nuclear know-how. Pezeshkian did not elaborate. In similar remarks in February before the strikes, he said Tehran would rebuild its sites if they came under attack.Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June, kicking off a 12-day war that saw it target nuclear and military facilities -- as well as residential areas -- and kill many top scientists. Iran retaliated with ballistic missile barrages aimed at Israel. &lsquo;Serious and severe&rsquo;Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in July, after the United States announced a halt in fighting, that the damage in Iran was &quot;serious and severe&quot;. Pezeshkian&#39;s comments came as Oman, Iran&#39;s traditional intermediary, urged the two countries on Saturday to resume talks. &quot;We want to return to the negotiations between Iran (and) the United States,&quot; Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said at the IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain. Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Sunday that Tehran &quot;has received messages&quot; on resuming diplomacy, without providing further details. &lsquo;Snapback&rsquo; mechanismOman hosted five rounds of US-Iran talks this year. Just three days before the sixth round, Israel launched its strikes against Iran&#39;s nuclear facilities. Iran has since faced the return of UN sanctions after Britain, Germany, and France triggered the &quot;snapback&quot; mechanism over Tehran&#39;s alleged non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, AFP reported.

Middle East

Says, “Iran did not kill diplomacy…Israel targeted diplomacy because its real fear is the failure of its “Iran Demonization Project”; Iran said on Sunday that it would rebuild nuclear sites damaged. 

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