MIAMI: The Kremlin on Sunday denied that three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States were on the cards, as diplomats gathered in Miami for talks on ending the conflict.&nbsp;A day earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that Washington had mooted the trilateral format, which would mark Moscow and Kyiv&#39;s first face-to-face negotiations in half a year, but expressed scepticism that they would lead to progress.&nbsp;&quot;At present, no one has seriously discussed this initiative, and to my knowledge, it is not in preparation,&quot; Russian President Vladimir Putin&#39;s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to Russian news agencies.&nbsp;After revealing the US three-way proposal, Zelensky told journalists on Saturday that he was &quot;not sure that anything new could come of it&quot;, and urged the United States to step up pressure on Russia to end the war.&nbsp;But the Ukrainian leader struck a more upbeat note on Sunday, adding that &quot;constructive&quot; talks between US, European and Ukrainian negotiators were &quot;moving at a fairly rapid pace&quot;, while cautioning that &quot;much depends on whether Russia feels the need to end the war for real&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;Unfortunately, the real signals coming from Russia remain only negative: assaults along the frontline, Russian war crimes in border areas, and continued strikes against our infrastructure,&quot; Zelensky posted on X.&nbsp;Russian envoy in townRussian envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived on Saturday in Miami, where Ukrainian and European teams have also been gathering since Friday for the negotiations, mediated by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner.&nbsp;Dmitriev &quot;will return to Moscow, make his report, and we will discuss what to do next&quot;, Uskakov said.&nbsp;The top Kremlin aide also told Russian journalists Sunday that he had &quot;not seen&quot; the revised US proposal to end the conflict.&nbsp;Washington last month stunned Ukraine and its European allies by presenting a 28-point plan to end the war widely seen as caving in to the Kremlin&#39;s key demands, which has since been redrafted following Kyiv and Europe&#39;s involvement.&nbsp;While little is known of the latest version, Kyiv is likely to be expected to surrender some territory -- a prospect resented by many Ukrainians -- in exchange for US security guarantees.&nbsp;Moscow&#39;s troops have been steadily advancing at the eastern front in recent months, with Putin on Friday hailing the Russian army&#39;s territorial gains -- and threatening more in the coming weeks.&nbsp;Putin-Macron call?The last time Ukrainian and Russian envoys held official direct talks was in July in Istanbul, which led to prisoner swaps but little else in the way of concrete progress to stop the fighting.&nbsp;Russian and European involvement in Miami marks a step forward from before, when the Americans held separate negotiations with each side in different locations.&nbsp;But the extremely strained relations between the two sides after nearly four years of Europe&#39;s bloodiest conflict since World War II have cast doubt over the prospect of direct Ukraine-Russia talks.&nbsp;Moscow, which sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, also argues that European involvement in the talks only hinders the process.&nbsp;According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview published Sunday, Putin however expressed his willingness to talk with France&#39;s Emmanuel Macron on the conflict.&nbsp;Macron held several calls with Putin in the run-up to and during the early months of the conflict, in an attempt to press the veteran Kremlin leader on the war.&nbsp;Putin has &quot;expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with Macron&quot;, Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti.&nbsp;&quot;Therefore, if there is mutual political will, then this can only be assessed positively.&quot;&nbsp;In response, Macron&#39;s office said Putin&#39;s stated willingness to talk was &quot;welcome&quot;, but stressed that any discussion with Moscow would be conducted &quot;in full transparency&quot; with Zelensky and European allies.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Zelensky said on X that &quot;over the past week, Russia has launched approximately 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 9 missiles of various types against Ukraine&quot; with the Odesa region and the south of the country &quot;hit particularly hard&quot;.&nbsp;Moscow on Saturday claimed the capture of two villages in the northern Sumy and eastern Donetsk regions, while Ukraine said it had destroyed two Russian fighter jets in the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Americas

Europe

Kremlin denies talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. in Miami. Ukrainian President Zelensky remains skeptical but optimistic about ongoing U.S.-European-Ukrainian discussions. Russian envoy Dmitriev reports back to Moscow, signaling continued tensions.

Kremlin denies three-way US-Ukraine-Russia talks in preparation

WASHINGTON: US House Democrats on Thursday published a fresh batch of photographs from Jeffrey Epstein&#39;s estate, stepping up pressure on Donald Trump&#39;s administration on the eve of its deadline to release federal files on the late financier and convicted sex offender.&nbsp;The 68 images -- shared without added context -- are part of a much larger cache that Congress obtained from Epstein&#39;s estate and has been drip-feeding to the public in recent days, stoking political drama in Washington.&nbsp;Among the newly released photos are shots of passports and identity documents from multiple countries, most of the personal details redacted.&nbsp;Several documents are marked &quot;female,&quot; including passports from places such as Ukraine and Russia, and a number of faces in the images are obscured to protect identities.&nbsp;Other photographs include two images showing public intellectual Noam Chomsky seated with Epstein on what appears to be an aircraft, and pictures of Bill Gates posing beside a woman whose face is blurred.&nbsp;The cache also includes images of filmmaker Woody Allen and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon -- both of whom featured in an earlier photo release.&nbsp;The latest batch of photographs do not appear to depict any unlawful conduct by any of the subjects.&nbsp;But one screenshot shows a snippet of a text exchange in which an unknown sender appears to discuss recruiting young women.&nbsp;&quot;I have a friend scout she sent me some girls today. But she asks 1000$ per girl. I will send u girls now. Maybe someone will be good for J?&quot; the post says.&nbsp;The screenshot includes a partially redacted physical description and the line &quot;18 y old,&quot; but provides no names or clear indication of who is speaking.&nbsp;A separate image shows a woman&#39;s foot bearing a handwritten quote from Vladimir Nabokov&#39;s &quot;Lolita,&quot; a novel about a man&#39;s sexual obsession with a child -- another detail released without explanation.&nbsp;Democrats say they are publishing material as it arrives while redacting identifying information for victims and anyone who could be a victim. Republicans, who control the Oversight Committee that is tasked with ensuring government transparency and accountability, have accused Democrats of &quot;cherry-picking&quot; to shape a narrative.&nbsp;The Justice Department (DOJ) has remained silent on whether it will meet Friday&#39;s deadline, set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed last month with bipartisan support.&nbsp;The law requires the DOJ to publish the most comprehensive set of Epstein-related materials yet, while safeguarding victims&#39; identities.&nbsp;Epstein, a convicted sex offender with ties to global elites, died in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death -- ruled a suicide -- fueled conspiracy theories and demands for accountability.&nbsp;&quot;Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people,&quot; the committee&rsquo;s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, said, calling for the Justice Department to &quot;release the Epstein files now.&quot;

House Democrats released 68 new Epstein estate photos, intensifying pressure on the Trump administration to meet a DOJ deadline. Images show documents and prominent figures, spark political dispute, but depict no clear crimes so far.

New photo dump fuels Capitol Hill push on Epstein files release

WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday it offered strong, NATO-like security guarantees to Ukraine and voiced confidence that Russia would accept, in what Washington said would be a breakthrough in ending the war.&nbsp;US officials described hours of talks in Berlin with President Volodymyr Zelensky as positive and said President Donald Trump would call both the Ukrainian leader and Europeans later Monday to push forward the deal.&nbsp;The US officials warned Ukraine must also accept the deal, which they said would provide security guarantees in line with NATO&#39;s Article Five &ndash; which calls an attack on one ally an attack on all.&nbsp;&quot;The basis of that agreement is basically to have really, really strong guarantees -- Article Five like -- also a very, very strong deterrence&quot; in the size of Ukraine&#39;s military, a US official said on condition of anonymity.&nbsp;&quot;Those guarantees will not be on the table forever. Those guarantees are on the table right now if there&#39;s a conclusion that&#39;s reached in a good way,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Trump has previously ruled out a formal entry of Ukraine into NATO and sided with Russia in calling Kyiv&#39;s aspirations to the alliance a reason for the 2022 invasion by Moscow.&nbsp;But another US official voiced confidence that Russia would back the deal.&nbsp;&quot;I think the Ukrainians would tell you, as would the Europeans, that this is the most robust set of security protocols they have ever seen. It is a very, very strong package,&quot; the second official said.&nbsp;&quot;I think hopefully the Russians are going to look at it and say to themselves, &#39;That&#39;s OK because we have no intention -- we&#39;re going to take them at their word -- we have no intention of violating,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;But violations are going to be addressed with the securities package.&quot;&nbsp;The first official acknowledged that there was no agreement on territory. Trump has called it inevitable that Ukraine would need to surrender territory to Russia, an outcome anathema to Zelensky after his country&#39;s defense of nearly four years.&nbsp;The first US official said that the United States discussed with Zelensky the idea of an &quot;economic free zone&quot; in the area now contested by militaries.&nbsp;&quot;We spent a lot of time trying to define what that would mean, how it operates. And then ultimately, if we can get that defined, then it will really be up to the parties to work out the final issues of sovereignty,&quot; the official said.&nbsp;The talks in Berlin were led by Steve Witkoff, Trump&#39;s business friend and roving global negotiator, and Jared Kushner, Trump&#39;s son-in-law.

The US offered Ukraine strong, NATO Article Five-like security guarantees to end the war, expressing confidence Russia would accept the "robust" package. The deal, pushed by US officials after talks with Zelensky, does not yet resolve the contested issue of Ukrainian territory.

US offers 'NATO-like' security to Ukraine, expects Russia to accept

MOSCOW: Donald Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday for high-stakes talks on ending the war in Ukraine. The meeting -- preceded by days of frenzied diplomacy from Florida to Geneva to Abu Dhabi -- comes as Washington said it was &quot;very optimistic&quot; about ending Europe&#39;s bloodiest conflict since World War II. But Kyiv and its European allies worry that Witkoff, who has been criticised for his dealings with the Kremlin, will yet cede ground to Moscow. Ukraine&#39;s President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Ireland on Tuesday, shoring up European support, with the US-Russia meeting coming at a critical point for Kyiv. Russian forces have advanced fast in November in eastern Ukraine, and Kyiv has been rocked by graft scandals that ended with the resignation of its top negotiator -- Zelensky&#39;s right-hand man. Moscow has also stepped up drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, with Zelensky accusing the Kremlin of trying to &quot;break&quot; his country. In Ireland, Zelensky was briefed by Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov returning from Florida, who said &quot;significant progress&quot; was achieved in US talks but that more work was needed on &quot;challenging&quot; issues. Zelensky has said he still expects to discuss key issues with the US president, including on territory, security guarantees and Ukraine&#39;s reconstruction. On Tuesday he said Moscow&#39;s real motivation for the US talks was to ease Western sanctions, rather than pursue peace. Putin has demanded that Kyiv surrender territory Moscow claims as its own for any deal to be possible. The diplomatic push comes as Kyiv said that fighting was ongoing in Pokrovsk, the eastern Ukrainian town that Moscow has tried to seize for months -- despite Moscow claiming one day earlier that it had seized the town and planted a flag in its centre. The fall of Pokrovsk would be a symbolic win for Moscow, which calls the city by its Soviet name Krasnoarmeysk. On the eve of the Witkoff meeting, Putin put on military attire as his commanders told him it had been taken. &quot;We all understand just how important&quot; the capture is, Putin said Monday. Last week, he repeated that Moscow was intent on capturing the rest of the Donetsk region by force if Kyiv does not give up land that it controls. &#39;Serious pressure&#39;Putin ordered the full-scale military assault on Ukraine in February 2022 -- calling it a &quot;special military operation&quot;.Kyiv and its European allies say the war is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction. Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel have been killed since the war began, while millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes. Europe has worried that Washington -- which has backed Kyiv with funding and weapons -- and Moscow will strike a deal over its head or force Ukraine into making unfair concessions. &quot;I am afraid that, you know, all the pressure will be put on the weaker side, because that is the easier way to stop this war when Ukraine surrenders,&quot; EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Monday. An original 28-point US plan last month hewed so closely to Moscow&#39;s demands that it prompted accusations that Russia was involved in drafting it -- which Washington denied. Bloomberg had last month reported that Witkoff had helped coach Russian officials on how Putin should speak to Trump. Much of the diplomacy in recent days has been aimed at giving greater weight to Ukraine&#39;s interests in any deal. French leader Emmanuel Macron has said the coming days could be &quot;decisive&quot; for Kyiv and for Europe. The talks came after Russia escalated its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine throughout November, according to an AFP analysis. Moscow launched a total of 5,660 missiles and long-range drones at Ukraine last month, daily reports published by Kyiv&#39;s air force showed, marking a two percent increase over the previous month. &quot;This is serious pressure, not only psychological but also physical pressure on our population,&quot; Zelensky has said.

Jared Kushner and US envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks on ending the Ukraine war, sparking European and Ukrainian fears of concessions as Russia steps up attacks and advances in the east.

US to hold talks with Putin on ending Ukraine war

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'

SAN FRANCISCO: In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power. &ldquo;The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it&rsquo;s the power and ... the ability to get the builds done fast enough close to power,&rdquo; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged on a recent podcast with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. &ldquo;So if you can&rsquo;t do that, you may actually have a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that I can&rsquo;t plug in,&rdquo; Nadella added. Echoing the 1990s dot-com frenzy to build internet infrastructure, today&rsquo;s tech giants are spending unprecedented sums to construct the silicon backbone of the artificial intelligence revolution. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Meta are drawing on their massive cash reserves to spend roughly $400 billion in 2025 &mdash; and even more in 2026 &mdash; backed for now by enthusiastic investors. All this cash has helped alleviate one initial bottleneck: acquiring the millions of chips needed for the computing power race. The tech giants are accelerating their in-house processor production as they seek to challenge global leader Nvidia. These chips will go into the racks that fill massive data centers &mdash; which also consume enormous amounts of water for cooling. Building these information warehouses takes an average of two years in the United States, while bringing new high-voltage power lines into service takes five to 10 years. Energy wallThe &ldquo;hyperscalers,&rdquo; as major tech companies are called in Silicon Valley, saw the energy wall coming. A year ago, Virginia&rsquo;s leading utility provider, Dominion Energy, already had a data center order book of 40 gigawatts &mdash; equivalent to the output of 40 nuclear reactors. The capacity it must deploy in Virginia, the world&rsquo;s largest cloud computing hub, has since risen to 47 gigawatts, the company announced recently. Already blamed for inflating household electricity bills, data centers in the United States could account for 7% to 12% of national power consumption by 2030, up from 4% today, according to various studies. But some experts say the projections could be overblown. &ldquo;Both the utilities and the tech companies have an incentive to embrace the rapid growth forecast for electricity use,&rdquo; Jonathan Koomey, an expert from the University of California, Berkeley, warned in September. As with the late 1990s internet bubble, &ldquo;many data centers that are talked about and proposed &mdash; and in some cases even announced &mdash; will never get built,&rdquo; Koomey said. Emergency coalIf the projected growth materializes, it could create a 45-gigawatt shortage by 2028 &mdash; equivalent to the consumption of 33 million American households, according to Morgan Stanley. Several US utilities have already delayed the closure of coal plants, despite coal being the most climate-polluting energy source. Natural gas, which powers 40% of data centers worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency, is also seeing renewed favor because it can be deployed quickly. In Georgia, where data centers are multiplying, one utility has requested authorization to install 10 gigawatts of gas-powered generators. Some providers, including Elon Musk&rsquo;s startup xAI, have rushed to purchase used turbines from abroad to build capacity quickly. Even recycling aircraft turbines &mdash; an old niche solution &mdash; is gaining traction. &ldquo;The real existential threat right now is not a degree of climate change. It&rsquo;s the fact that we could lose the AI arms race if we don&rsquo;t have enough power,&rdquo; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in October. Nuclear, solar, and spaceTech giants are quietly downplaying their climate commitments. Google, for example, promised net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 but removed that pledge from its website in June. Instead, companies are promoting long-term projects. Amazon is championing a nuclear revival through small modular reactors, an experimental technology that would be easier to build than conventional reactors. Google plans to restart a reactor in Iowa in 2029. And the Trump administration announced in late October an $80 billion investment to begin construction on 10 conventional reactors by 2030. The hyperscalers are also investing heavily in solar power and battery storage, particularly in California and Texas. The Texas grid operator plans to add about 100 gigawatts of capacity from these technologies alone by 2030. Finally, both Musk, through his Starlink program, and Google have proposed putting chips in orbit, powered by solar energy. Google plans to conduct tests in 2027.

An employee works on a production line for electric flying car “Land Aircraft Carrier” at a factory of Xpeng's subsidiary Aridge in Guangzhou, in southern China's Guangdong province on November 6, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

Artificial Intelligence

In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power.

The AI revolution has a power problem

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The United States and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral relations on Saturday, with both sides emphasizing the goal of developing an &ldquo;economically entrenched strategic partnership.&rdquo; The reaffirmation came during a meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs S. Paul Kapur and Pakistan&rsquo;s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh at the State Department in Washington.<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=1986959822462275854&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=67811c1fc0b3ff0eae270c1483ee35931d4cf782&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 921px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1986959822462275854">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> Ambassador Sheikh described the discussion as cordial and forward-looking, noting that both sides explored ways to turn recent high-level political resolve into concrete cooperation. &ldquo;We discussed the ways and means of translating the resolve &mdash; expressed at the leadership level &mdash; of developing Pakistan&ndash;US ties into an economically entrenched strategic partnership through sustained engagement in multiple domains of mutual interest,&rdquo; Sheikh said on X. Kapur, who assumed his new role on Oct. 22, said it was a &ldquo;pleasure&rdquo; to meet the Pakistani envoy and that they discussed &ldquo;ways to advance the US-Pakistan relationship and make our countries more prosperous and secure.&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-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1986916860864938039&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=67811c1fc0b3ff0eae270c1483ee35931d4cf782&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 825px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1986916860864938039">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The meeting followed a visit by US Charg&eacute; d&rsquo;Affaires Natalie Baker to Islamabad on Friday, where she met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Dar noted the &ldquo;positive momentum&rdquo; in Pakistan-US relations and discussed ongoing efforts by Washington and Arab-Islamic nations to promote peace and stability in Palestine and the wider Middle East.<figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/351c313b-dd71-463a-8d17-c9568b5bec5a-dar and us.jpg" alt="US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker meets Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025." class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>US Charg&eacute; d&rsquo;Affaires Natalie Baker meets Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 (Radio Pakistan).</figcaption></figure>In recent months, US officials have highlighted Pakistan&rsquo;s role in promoting regional stability and its potential to contribute to economic and energy initiatives in South and Central Asia. The Trump administration has also encouraged American firms to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan&rsquo;s infrastructure, minerals, and technology sectors. Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington seeks to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan while maintaining close ties with India. In September, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met former President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss regional security, counterterrorism cooperation, and economic engagement. Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir also attended the meeting. Trump has continued to emphasize his administration&rsquo;s diplomatic efforts during the May military standoff between India and Pakistan, saying that swift US engagement &ldquo;prevented a nuclear conflict&rdquo; after both nations exchanged airstrikes. In multiple public remarks, he has claimed that swift US diplomatic engagement &ldquo;stopped a nuclear conflict&rdquo; after the two neighbors exchanged airstrikes, asserting that Pakistan &ldquo;shot down eight Indian planes&rdquo; during the clashes.

US Assistant Secretary of State S. Paul Kapur meets Pakistani Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh at the State Department on Nov. 8, 2025, to discuss advancing bilateral ties for greater prosperity and security.(X/Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh)

Economy

The United States and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral relations on Saturday, with both sides emphasizing the goal of developing an “economically entrenched strategic partnership.”

US, Pakistan reaffirm ‘economically entrenched strategic partnership’

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

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh on Saturday inaugurated the Pakistan-United States Joint Business Conference and Expo 2025 in Virginia, US, underscoring the importance of economic collaboration as a foundation for a lasting partnership between the two countries, Radio Pakistan reported. The conference, organized by Brain Designer Pakistan and the Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries in collaboration with the US-Pakistan International Chamber of Commerce, gathered business leaders, investors, and traders to explore avenues in trade, investment, and commercial cooperation. In his keynote address, Ambassador Sheikh highlighted the potential of the US market for Pakistani businesses and called for strategic adaptations to succeed in a competitive environment.&nbsp; &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s relations with the United States are best underwritten by economic, commerce, trade, and investment ties that can survive our generation if we sow the right seeds today,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;This conference would be a seed-sowing exercise leading to developing into a full-blown forest,&rdquo; he added, according to Radio Pakistan. Sheikh described the United States as &ldquo;the world&#39;s premier consumer market&rdquo;, essential for scaling global businesses. He urged Pakistani entrepreneurs to adopt formal business practices, form coalitions, and pool resources to match the scale of the American economy. The ambassador reaffirmed the embassy&rsquo;s commitment to supporting participants in refining business models suited to US standards. The day-long event featured Pakistani companies from diverse sectors, including tourism, real estate, textiles, furniture, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, and information technology, to enhance business collaboration and trade links between the two nations. Ambassador Sheikh also toured various stalls, engaging with business representatives and commending the organizers for hosting a conference that, he said, &ldquo;augured well for small traders and the business community toward expanding their footprint in the United States,&rdquo; Radio Pakistan reported.

Inauguration of the  Pak-USA Joint Business Conference and Expo 2025, Nov 2, 2025. (Screengrab/Radio Pakistan)

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, inaugurates the Pak-USA Business Conference and Expo 2025 in Virginia; says Pakistan’s relations with the US are best underpinned by enduring economic, commercial, trade, and investment partnerships.

Pakistan’s relations with US based on trade, investment: ambassador

BRUSSELS: NATO said Wednesday it had been informed in advance of US plans to reduce some of its troops deployed on the alliance&#39;s eastern flank, describing the move as an &quot;adjustment&quot; and nothing &quot;unusual.&quot; Washington&#39;s commitment to the alliance remained &quot;clear,&quot; and its presence in Europe sizeable, a NATO official told AFP. &quot;Even with this adjustment, the US force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years, with many more US forces on the continent than before 2022,&quot; the official said. The US has been expected to announce drawdowns in Europe following a review of its military deployments worldwide &mdash; but no move has been officially communicated yet. Romania&#39;s Defense Ministry, however, previewed the scale-down Wednesday, saying Washington was to halt the rotation of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. The prospect of a US pullout is fraying the nerves of allies, especially given fears that Russia could look to attack a NATO country within the next few years if the war in Ukraine dies down. But NATO swiftly downplayed the significance of the planned US reduction in personnel. &quot;The US commitment to NATO is clear,&quot; the official said. &quot;NATO has robust defense plans in place, and we are working to ensure we maintain the right forces and capabilities to deter potential aggression and provide for our collective defense.&quot;

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Oct. 22, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Images via AFP)

NATO said Wednesday it had been informed in advance of US plans to reduce some of its troops deployed on the alliance's eastern flank, describing the move as an "adjustment" and nothing "unusual."

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