In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump said that if given the choice again, he would take the same course of action, adding that he does not believe in the word “regret.”

Trump also dismissed suggestions that some of his supporters had become upset or demoralized over the war, saying they were proud that he was preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

He also reiterated his claim that the war would end immediately after the midterm elections, saying, “It ends right after the election.”

The conflict and the resulting rise in oil and gas prices have become a major political issue for Republicans ahead of the elections.

The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, while Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases. The fighting has reportedly killed thousands and displaced millions.

Trump has cited the weakening of Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of the main objectives of the war. Iran, however, says its uranium-enrichment program is peaceful and maintains that it does not possess nuclear weapons.

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Trump delivered the extraordinary overture during a primetime speech that lasted nearly two hours and firmly placed him at the ‌center of the midterm campaign at a time when his sagging approval ratings could weigh on Republicans’ chances, Reuters reported.

Vice President JD Vance will give the keynote address on Thursday night, though Trump is scheduled to make closing remarks to bring the made-for-television two-day event in Dallas to an end.

With Trump constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, Vance’s speech could serve as an early audition ​for the 2028 presidential election and offer clues about how he would lead a party reshaped by Trump.

It was not immediately clear how the $5,000 payments ​would work or whether they would be legal. The proposal would likely cost more than $1 trillion, with approximately 270 million ⁠U.S. adults, and could require the approval of Congress.

The convention’s focus on Trump – some Republicans have dubbed it “Trumpapalooza” – amounts to a risky bet that he can mobilize ​the voters who carried him to the presidency two years ago, despite opinion polls showing his popularity is at an all-time low.

But it remains to be seen whether ​his campaign-style speech will appeal to the critical swing voters who have drifted away from Trump’s party amid growing dissatisfaction with the cost of living and the war on Iran.

‘PRETEND THAT I’M ON THE BALLOT’

“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump said, a line that may have pleased Democratic campaign strategists just as much as MAGA voters.

Republican efforts ​got a boost from an unlikely source on Wednesday, when Democratic U.S. Senator John Fetterman appeared in a pretaped video segment introducing his “great friend,” fellow Pennsylvania Senator Dave ​McCormick, a Republican.

Fetterman said he would always “reject the extremes in socialism,” a comment that is likely to bolster Republican attacks on Democrats as too left-wing. Fetterman, who has increasingly broken ‌with his ⁠fellow Democrats, has nevertheless rejected speculation that he might leave the party.

Some vulnerable Republicans in tough races, perhaps mindful of tying themselves too closely to the unpopular Trump, elected to skip the affair, including Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

DEMOCRATS PORTRAYED AS ‘SOCIALISTS’ AND ‘COMMUNISTS’

While Republican officials had described the convention as an opportunity to tout Trump’s policies, most speakers focused on attacking Democrats as extreme on topics such as transgender women in sports and border security – political red meat ​for core Trump supporters.

Alabama state Representative Ernie ​Yarbrough, a convention attendee, said Trump ⁠needs to give voters a clearer sense of how long the war in Iran could last.

“People want to feel like we’re not getting stuck in an endless cycle,” he said.

Trump defended his decision to attack Iran, saying he acted to prevent ​Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. He also promised that oil prices would drop “as soon as we win the ​war with Iran,” which ⁠he vowed would happen soon.

But the conflict shows little sign of ending more than six months after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, and analysts have said Iran’s nuclear program has not been eliminated. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon.

Before Trump took the stage, a parade of speakers called Democrats “socialists” and “communists,” echoing one of Trump’s favorite ⁠attack lines. ​Democrats are “dangerous, radical and weird,” said Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the ​party’s Senate campaign arm.

The stakes are high for both parties. With the elections less than two months away, Republicans face the prospect of losing control of at least one chamber of Congress, with public ​polling showing Democrats more motivated to vote and Trump’s approval ratings deeply underwater.

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The U.S. Treasury ‌Department said the action was aimed at grounding Iran’s Mahan Air, which was already sanctioned by the U.S. and the European Union, and expanding sanctions to all other Iranian airlines. The sanctions also took aim at covert front companies, cargo handlers, foreign intermediaries and deceptive trans-shipment routes that Washington says Iran relies on to obtain U.S.-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.

The Treasury instructed financial institutions to report any procurement networks ​supporting Iran’s aviation industry, while designating firms in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Kazakhstan that it said had helped Iran’s airlines operate and Tehran ​acquire U.S.-origin aircraft and sensitive technology.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also suspended three Iran-related aviation authorizations that allowed overflights and permitted ⁠non-U.S. airlines to fly U.S.-origin or U.S.-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.

Miad Maleki, a former senior Treasury official and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, ​said the suspension would hit air traffic from Dubai, Doha and Istanbul, shutting Tehran’s main gateways to regional trade and finance. OFAC’s action also closes previous ​carve-outs that allowed transport of safety parts, fuel and emergency repairs, he said.

Tuesday’s actions marked a sharp escalation of the Trump administration’s renewed push to squeeze Iran’s economy and pressure Tehran to loosen its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. naval blockade and tougher sanctions are curbing Iran’s oil exports, restricting access to foreign currency and exposing growing strains in the economy.

Treasury ​said any foreign firm or individual aiding Iranian airlines through aircraft transfers, cargo services or general sales agent support would face serious consequences.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week warned that airlines were possible sanctions targets along with digital assets and the maritime industry.

”Under Operation Economic Outcast, we promised severe consequences for ‌those providing ⁠financial lifelines to the Iranian regime,” Bessent said in a statement on Tuesday. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system.”

On Tuesday, Treasury designated 27 Iranian airlines, as well as several firms based in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for helping Mahan Air secure at least three Boeing B-777 aircraft this summer that had been retired ​elsewhere, read the report.

It hit UAE-based Egyptian citizen Ibrahim ​Ali Mohamed Mohamed Mahran, the chief ⁠executive of ECT Aviation Support, as well as the British unit of the firm.

OFAC also imposed sanctions on two firms based in Turkey and Malaysia that it said had serviced Mahan Air’s international flights and coordinated cargo shipments.

The U.S. ​Treasury has repeatedly targeted global networks supporting Mahan Air. In July, Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China, ​India, Russia and Iran, ⁠including several firms that act as sales agents for the airline. Washington first sanctioned Mahan in 2011 over support it provided to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on a China-based company it accused of acting on behalf of Mahan Air.

Brett Erickson, managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the latest moves ⁠were significant.

“The ​United States is using sanctions to effectively blockade Iran’s aviation sector from the rest of the ​world,” he said. “That represents a major expansion of the economic war, with foreseeable consequences for civilian travel, commerce, supply chains and Iran’s ability to sustain their strained economy.”

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Von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday for a two-day visit serving as a show of support for the governments of Greenland and Denmark, which have strongly rebuffed Trump’s campaign to annex the world’s largest island.

The head of the 27-nation European ​Union’s executive body, von der Leyen is expected to unveil plans to invest in sectors including critical minerals, satellite ​communications and renewable energy in Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of the Danish realm.

On Sunday in Nuuk, ⁠the capital, von der Leyen said the package would be “substantial” but gave no details. Greenland Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen said his ​country wanted to build on its “close friendship and good partnership” with the EU.

Von der Leyen’s visit reflects the increasing geopolitical importance ​of the Arctic to major powers, such as the United States, Russia, China and Europe, as melting ice opens new shipping routes to make the region’s mineral wealth more accessible.

“Greenland’s stunning landscapes and natural beauty will stay with me for a long time. But so will the ​visible scars of climate change on the ice sheet,” von der Leyen posted on X after a boat trip under ​clear blue skies in a fjord scattered with chunks of ice.

“As the ice melts, a new reality is taking shape.”

Trump, the U.S. president, sparked a crisis in U.S.-European ties and turmoil within the transatlantic NATO military alliance this year when he stepped up his demands for the U.S. to control Greenland, arguing that fellow NATO member Denmark could not defend it.

European officials stressed Greenland is part of NATO territory, meaning it is covered by the alliance’s mutual defence pact, and that ​the U.S. already has the ​right to increase its military ⁠presence there under a longstanding treaty.

Tensions lowered after Trump and NATO boss Mark Rutte agreed in Davos in January that the United States, Denmark and Greenland would begin talks to resolve ​their differences and NATO would step up its role in Arctic security, read the report.

However, the trilateral talks ​have yet to ⁠yield an agreement and, at a NATO summit in Turkey in July, Trump restated his insistence that the U.S. should control Greenland.

While Denmark is a member of the EU, Greenland left the bloc in 1985. But its people, as Danish citizens, are also citizens ⁠of the ​EU.

The EU has long provided funding to Greenland, mainly to pay for ​fishing rights and support its education system. The package to be announced by von der Leyen will represent not only a big increase in funding but ​a broadening of the sectors that will receive EU cash, according to EU officials.

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Kushner and Witkoff travelled ‌from Moscow, where they held three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday but did not appear to secure a breakthrough in the conflict, Reuters reported.

Previous rounds of U.S.-mediated peace talks encouraged by President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to quickly end the war, have yielded few results. He suggested on Friday that the U.S. had a fresh proposal though he did not ​elaborate.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov described Saturday’s meeting as “highly useful”, while a White House official told Reuters that next steps would be announced in the ​coming weeks.

The two envoys met Zelenskiy and other top Ukrainian officials in central Kyiv.

Zelenskiy, who believes Washington will be key to ⁠any peace deal, has said a window of opportunity to make peace exists before the U.S. begins focusing on its next presidential election.

After the first round ​of talks between Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators that lasted about three hours, the U.S. envoys said that they were looking forward to making more progress.

“Substantive, important, and we ​are very encouraged,” Witkoff told reporters after the talks, which also included a working lunch.

Zelenskiy said that more talks, which would also include European representatives, were planned later on Sunday. British, French and German national security advisers were in Kyiv on Sunday.

“Security guarantees are needed. A dignified post-war peace is needed. Our proposals have been drawn up,” Zelenskiy said as his negotiating team ​was preparing to meet U.S. envoys.

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM ON THE STREETS OF KYIV

Witkoff and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, have visited Moscow several times in their roles as peace envoys. ​But Sunday is their first visit to Kyiv in their capacity as U.S. negotiators.

Their visit has long been sought by Ukraine’s leadership, and on the streets of Kyiv, which has been bombarded ‌heavily in ⁠recent weeks, some residents were hopeful.

“The issue can be solved in the blink of an eye. We want peace. I’ve fought myself, so I know what war is like. We need peace, because there’s no other way,” said military veteran Stepan Yermak.

In previous talks, the sides have remained far apart on key issues, including the future of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. Russia has demanded Ukraine’s withdrawal from an entrenched belt of towns that it still controls there, but Kyiv has refused, ​reasoning that it can still hold ​on.

For Ukraine, hard security guarantees from ⁠its European allies and the U.S. are crucial to deterring Russia from invading again.

“We need an agreement that will never be broken,” said Svitlana Kurylenko, a 19-year-old cafe worker.

“Just leave Ukraine alone and let people live in peace.”

TEMPORARY HALT IN STRIKES

Though ​the front lines of the ground war remain largely static, both Russian and Ukrainian forces have intensified long-range air strikes ​in recent weeks.

Russia has ⁠pounded the Ukrainian capital day and night with missiles and drones for the past two weeks, including an attack on Friday on the headquarters of the SBU security service.

The Kremlin has said it would pause strikes on Kyiv until Monday, while Zelenskiy has said Ukraine would also halt strikes on Moscow.

There was no let-up in fighting along the ⁠1,200-km (750-mile) front, however, ​and Russia bombarded other Ukrainian cities on Saturday.

Ukraine has inflicted damaging hits throughout the summer on ​Russian refineries, oil terminals and the warehouses of online retailer Wildberries, in an attempt to raise the cost to Moscow of continuing the war.

Ukraine said on Sunday it had struck the Ryazan oil ​refinery, around 480 km (300 miles) inside Russia, overnight, causing a fire.

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Extreme heat and drought in Europe, the threat of a severe El Nino weather pattern and trade upheaval caused by the Ukraine ​and Iran wars have unsettled agricultural markets, pushing grain prices to three-year highs and sugar to a one-year ​peak.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded ⁠food commodities, averaged 133.3 points in August, up from July’s revised reading of 130.8.

That was the highest ​score since November 2022, though nearly 17% below a record peak from March 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of ​Ukraine.

“August’s increase in global food prices is a warning that the risk premium is returning to food markets: climate shocks, geopolitical tensions and disrupted trade logistics are converging to tighten supply expectations,” FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said in a statement.

The FAO’s ​price benchmarks for cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy all rose in August.

The extreme weather in Europe ​affected prospects for the maize (corn) and sugar beet harvests as well as livestock output, while the anticipated El Nino phenomenon ‌fuelled concerns ⁠for palm oil and sugar output in Asia, it said.

Escalating attacks in the Black Sea have curtailed grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine in their 4-1/2-year-old war, while the U.S.-Iran conflict was straining flows of fertiliser for crops.

Among food categories, FAO’s cereals price index rose 2.2% month-on-month to its highest since May 2024, and the ​vegetable oil index edged up ​0.6% to its highest ⁠since June 2022.

The agency’s sugar benchmark jumped 11.9% to its highest since June 2025, with lower production in Brazil’s crucial center-south region adding to weather concerns in ​Europe and Asia.

In a separate report, the agency cut its 2026 global cereal production ​forecast by ⁠3.4 million metric tons from a previous estimate in July to 2.980 billion tons, now 2.0% below 2025 in the largest annual decline since 2018.

Projected output would still be the second-largest on record, however.

Forecast world cereal stocks at the close of 2026/2027 were revised ⁠down ​1.1% to 947.2 million tons, now only marginally above the previous ​season.

A reduced estimate of coarse grain stocks outweighed an upward revision for wheat that reflected an anticipated build-up in Russian and Ukrainian stocks ​due to shipping disruption, the FAO said.

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Several South Korean media outlets, including JTBC and MBC, reported on Thursday that the government was preparing to deploy military assets to the region before the end of the year and could seek parliamentary approval as early as this month.

The reports said options under consideration included a maritime patrol aircraft, a logistics support vessel and a mine detection and clearance unit.

A presidential official confirmed that South Korea was discussing practical ways to contribute to freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway and that military measures were among the options being reviewed.

“Nothing has been decided,” the official told reporters, adding that Seoul would need to consider domestic legal procedures, military readiness on the Korean Peninsula and the possibility of parliamentary approval before taking any action.

The official also rejected reports that South Korea had provided no assistance related to the Strait of Hormuz, saying Seoul had long been discussing possible practical contributions with the international community.

South Korea has also been discussing the scale and nature of any potential contribution with countries including the United States, Britain and France, according to local media reports.

President Lee Jae Myung could discuss South Korea’s options regarding the Strait of Hormuz when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron next week, the presidential official said.

The issue comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy shipping route. U.S. President Donald Trump said in an August social media post that he had scaled back joint military exercises with South Korea partly because Seoul had declined to assist the United States in its war against Iran.

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The ferry departed from the northern port of Girne around midday on Sunday bound for the Turkish mainland but capsized shortly afterwards, triggering a major rescue operation. There were 267 people on board, of whom 241 were rescued, while eight died and 18 remained missing, according to local authorities. Their nationalities were not immediately disclosed.

Several survivors told local media they heard a blast shortly before the vessel overturned, while others said the ferry had begun taking on water before the accident, about four nautical miles into the journey.

Police detained the captain and more than a dozen others following the incident. The captain and eight others were brought before a judge early Monday and formally arrested, according to the official Cypriot news agency TAK.

Northern Cyprus has declared three days of national mourning for the victims.

Footage broadcast by Turkish television showed passengers wearing life jackets clinging to the overturned ferry’s orange hull. The vessel later sank completely and is now lying at a depth of 514 metres, Northern Cyprus Transport Minister Erhan Arikli said.

Arikli said recovering the ferry’s “black box” could help investigators determine the cause of the disaster. Survivors gave differing accounts of the incident, with some reporting an explosion at the front of the vessel and others saying there had not been enough safety equipment on board.

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Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump joked that after renaming a gulf and a lake, the next step could be an ocean.

“We have a gulf and we have a lake,” Trump said. “Now all we need is an ocean. Maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”

The remarks came as Trump signed the order changing the name of Lake Ontario on U.S. government maps, following his earlier move to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

Trump has also restored the former name “Mount McKinley” for Alaska’s highest peak, reversing the official use of Denali adopted during the Obama administration.

The latest proposal comes amid increasingly strained relations between Washington and Ottawa. Trump has repeatedly criticised Canada over trade and has previously suggested that the country should be treated as a U.S. state.

While the U.S. government can determine the names used on its own official maps, it cannot compel Canada, other countries or international organisations to adopt the changes.

For now, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans remain firmly on the map under their familiar names — but Trump has made clear he is not ruling out another change.

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Treasury said it moved to cut off Banque Misr’s branches in the United Arab Emirates from dollar transactions for its dealings ​with Iran. In a statement, it said its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule that would revoke Banque Misr ​UAE’s correspondent banking access to U.S. financial institutions.

The action, teased by Bessent on Monday as a “major announcement” ⁠of a secondary sanction on an international bank, was first reported by the Financial Times.

“Treasury promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran ​has left and finally end the threat of the Iranian regime,” Bessent said in a statement. “We also warned that Iran’s enablers cannot continue ​to enjoy access to the U.S. dollar and the global financial system. Banque Misr UAE decided to find out the hard way, and today, we are taking the first step in holding it accountable for its continued, egregious support of the Iranian regime.”

Egypt’s central bank said on Friday that the U.S. ​action only affected Banque Misr’s UAE branches and did not extend to any other Egyptian banks. The Central Bank of Egypt said ​in a statement that it and Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs were in contact with the U.S. authorities about the measures.

A Treasury official also said ‌the ⁠action only applies to Banque Misr’s UAE branches, allowing the bank to continue dollar transactions through its head office in Cairo and other foreign branches. These include Paris, Frankfurt, Riyadh, Beirut and Djibouti, according to Banque Misr’s website.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control separately issued sanctions targeting the manager of Iran’s Bank Melli branch in the UAE as well as a Hong Kong entity that it said helped ​launder money for a sanctioned ​Iranian exchange house.

Banque Misr UAE ⁠did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on a public holiday. The sanctioned Bank Melli branch manager, Reza Mohammad Taeedi, also did not immediately respond to a Reuters email requesting comment.

The U.S. Treasury said it views Banque Misr’s six UAE branches as a “critical node” ​for the Iranian ⁠government’s access to U.S. dollars.

The department said it estimates that between January 2024 and June 2026, Banque Misr UAE processed approximately $1.8 billion in transactions for 103 companies that are potentially part of Iranian shadow banking networks.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement that Bank ⁠Melli has ​served as a critical financial hub for Iran’s armed forces, including the Islamic ​Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, both entities under U.S. sanctions.

Iran has urged other nations not to join new U.S. sanctions.

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“He’s not going to attack a NATO territory,” Trump said of the Russian leader while speaking to reporters ​in the Oval Office.

Earlier in the day, Trump told Axios in a ​phone interview that there would be no such attack, and that Ratcliffe, who ⁠flew to Russia on Tuesday to meet briefly with intelligence counterparts, had not ​been dispatched to deliver any particular message.

“Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six ​months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message and there was nothing unusual,” Trump told the news outlet.

Trump’s comments came after the Wall Street Journal ​reported on Wednesday that Ratcliffe had traveled to Moscow to warn Russia off any ​attack on a NATO member.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Ratcliffe did bring ‌up ⁠the possibility of a Russian operation against a NATO member during that meeting, though it was unclear if that was the sole purpose of the trip.

One source said they discussed several topics, including Russia’s support for Iran, which has proven an irritant ​for the U.S. The ​sources were granted ⁠anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence.

European and U.S. intelligence officials have long monitored Russian sabotage and gray zone attacks in Europe that ​fall below the threshold of full-on war and which are generally aimed ​at weakening ⁠NATO’s unity and its member states’ willingness to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Among the potential plots that Western intelligence officials have been monitoring in recent months is the possibility ⁠that Russia ​uses a Ukrainian drone to attack a country in ​eastern or northeastern Europe in a false flag operation that obscures Moscow’s authorship.

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Rescuers in Nepal used helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands cut off after Wednesday’s disaster swept a rugged ‌mountainous region thronged by trekkers and pilgrims linking Lhasa in Tibet with the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. Police said they expected the death toll to rise beyond 165, Reuters reported.

“This will go up, as we have resumed the search and more bodies are expected to be recovered,” police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told Reuters.

Almost 600 foreigners were among 826 people missing in Nepal, police and tourism officials said.

Among the missing tourists from more than two dozen countries, 177 were from India, 63 were from the United States, ​34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.

The tally of missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county was 558, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday, including 260 foreign nationals.

Verified videos showed crushing ​masses of water and debris sweeping away dozens of people at a border crossing in Gyirong, with homes, roads and power projects washed away further downstream ⁠in Nepal.

“It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us,” said Keshav Prasad Baral, a 68-year-old survivor being treated in hospital.

“As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher. When I saw it ​enter our home, I tried to grab my wife’s hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud.”

A helicopter ferried him to safety four hours later. “My wife is still somewhere beneath ​the mud,” he added. “She’s gone.”

Another survivor said he saved himself by clinging to a mango tree as he watched the house where he had been working disappear.

EMERGENCY DELIVERIES BEGIN

In the hardest-hit districts, helicopters are dropping tents, food and other emergency supplies provided by neighbouring India, said Raja Ram Basnet, a spokesperson for Nepal’s army. More than 5,000 army and police rescue personnel were mobilised to look for survivors and find bodies.

Early reports from Nepali officials suggested an earthquake in the area ​could have caused the lower part of a glacier to collapse and trigger the floods.

The U.S. Geological Survey said an earthquake with magnitude initially reported as 4.4 was in fact seismic energy generated by the collapse of ​glacial rock and ice, followed by debris flow.

Chinese authorities have identified risks from a still-dammed lake located in Gyirong, upstream from the mudslide and flood-stricken Tibet-Nepal border crossing that could significantly complicate rescue efforts in the mountainous site, CCTV reported ‌on Thursday.

Many of ⁠the victims were making a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar, a high-altitude site in Tibet revered by Hindus and Buddhists among others.

Mount Kailash, which Hindus believe to be the abode of Lord Shiva, lies on the banks of Lake Mansarovar, also held sacred in various religions.

The U.S. State Department said it was sending a disaster response adviser and providing assistance of $500,000.

Canada was also closely following the situation, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X, describing the floods as “absolutely devastating”.

U.N. teams and partners were sending supplies and personnel to support affected Nepali communities, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said details on the disaster were scant.

“Nepal … is a developing country,” he ​said. “It doesn’t have the resources that an event like ​that would have in Australia, so information is ⁠difficult.”

Sagar Pandey, the chief executive of a Himalayan tourism operator, said 15 Indian-Australians on a pilgrimage tour with the company were missing.

“There are no human-made things, no human settlement left. Everything is just flat,” he told Reuters after flying over the zone in a helicopter. “So anyone in the hotel, the restaurant, or the car, I ​believe that everybody is gone.”

VIDEOS SHOW PEOPLE SWEPT AWAY WHILE FLEEING

Security footage captured on the Chinese side of the border showed many people fleeing from a ​torrent of rock, mud and ⁠water that destroyed buildings and vehicles.

People seeking information about family members missing from the affected areas of Nuwakot and Dhading gathered outside a Nepali army training centre that was the base for helicopter rescue operations, the images showed.

In the affected areas, layers of mud metres thick swathed homes, trees and vehicles. Helicopters ferrying survivors hovered overhead all day.

An initial study of Planet Labs satellite imagery showed a landslide of ice and rock unleashed a flood carrying debris in ⁠the Lhende River, ​about 20 km (12 miles) northeast of the Nepal-China Rasuwagadhi border crossing, Nepal disaster management officials said on X.

Television images showed collapsed ​homes, floating cars and a metal bridge being washed away, while witnesses said the waters engulfed entire villages.

“There is devastation everywhere we look,” said Tula Bahadur BK, a health worker in Rasuwa.

“The settlements next to the river have been completely swept away. Five of my ​own relatives are missing.

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The trial-scheduling order entered by Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schrama marked the latest ​milestone in a military prosecution beset by two decades of legal deadlock surrounding the four detainees ​held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Reuters reported.

Last month, a U.S. appeals court refused to allow Mohammed ⁠and two of his co-defendants to plead guilty under agreements that would have spared them the death penalty.

The appellate ​decision reversed decisions of a military judge and the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review in support of ​the plea deal.

The agreement had been offered last year and accepted by the official who oversees the Pentagon’s Guantanamo war court, only to be revoked last August by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin amid criticism of the deal from Republican lawmakers.

Under Schrama’s 11-page ​order, Mohammed and three co-defendants — Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, and Ali ​Abdul Aziz Ali — will stand trial starting on June 5, 2028.

The proceedings open with selection of a panel consisting entirely of ‌service ⁠members who will act as the jury to hear the case according to rules of military justice.

Opening statements will commence 30 calendar days after the panel is seated, followed by presentation of the prosecution’s evidence, after which the defendants may file motions for findings of not guilty.

The order gives both sides opportunities to argue those ​motions and rebut one ​another, and for prosecutors ⁠to reopen their case. The defense presents its principal evidence starting 60 calendar days after the prosecution concludes its case.

The trial ends with a sentencing phase.

Schrama rejected the ​prosecutors’ proposal to open the trial in January 2027, saying that would leave ​too little ⁠time for the “resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.”

Mohammed remains the most well-known inmate at the Guantanamo detention facility, which was set up in 2002 by then-U.S. President George W. Bush to house foreign militant suspects following the ⁠September 11, ​2001, attacks.

He is accused of orchestrating the plot to fly hijacked ​passenger jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York City and into the Pentagon. The 9/11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people.

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A U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday that it launched a global training initiative at ​all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide and that appointments for visa services ​will be adjusted to accommodate the training, Reuters reported.

Trump has pursued an aggressive deportation ⁠drive and immigration crackdown that includes revocations of visas and green cards and rejection ​of applications over a. range of reasons like political opinions and pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s ​assault on Gaza.

He says the crackdown aims to improve domestic security.

The crackdown has faced some legal setbacks. A U.S. judge on Friday struck down a Trump administration policy suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants ​from 75 countries, saying that the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory ​authority.

The State Department did not specify details on the training and its timeline, beyond saying the ‌training aimed ⁠to help consular officers screen out applicants deemed likely to become dependent on U.S. public benefits and to ensure evaluation of visa applicants “comprehensively and consistently.”

The pause on visa appointments was reported earlier by the Financial Times, which said immigrant visa applicants with scheduled ​interviews at U.S. embassies ​and consulates have ⁠received emails that their appointments were being rescheduled and that they would receive future notice of a new date.

Trump’s immigration crackdown has ​been widely condemned by human rights groups as being discriminatory and ​in violation ⁠of free speech and due process rights. Rights groups also say the crackdown has created an unsafe environment in the U.S., especially for ethnic minorities who have raised concerns about racial ⁠profiling.

While ​Trump campaigned in 2024 on a platform of stopping ​illegal immigration, his administration has also made legal immigration more difficult – for example, by imposing new and expensive fees ​for applicants of certain work visas.

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The trip would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by ‌a U.S. spy chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

CBS News and Axios ​reported the visit by Ratcliffe, U.S. President Donald Trump’s CIA chief, who served ​as director of national intelligence in Trump’s first term. The outlets did ⁠not say whom he was meeting or what the talks are expected to cover.

The ​CIA declined to comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the report, telling ​Reuters President Vladimir Putin did not plan to have a meeting with Ratcliffe.

The U.S. last week asked Ukraine not to launch air strikes around Moscow, St. Petersburg, and some northern territories of Russia on ​Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week because a plane carrying a senior U.S. ​official would be flying to the Russian capital, said a source familiar with the matter.

The source declined ‌to ⁠provide further information. The Financial Times first reported the U.S. message to Ukraine.

On Monday, the U.S. warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, a move aimed at stepping up economic pressure on Tehran to settle the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ​launched in February.

The U.S. ​has no ambassador ⁠to Russia, which maintains a close strategic partnership with Iran involving extensive military, economic and diplomatic ties.

Tehran supplied Moscow with drones for its ​war against Ukraine. In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of ​supplying its ⁠version of those drones to Iran.

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reported by Reuters in April said that Russia has aided Iran with satellite imagery for use in targeting U.S. facilities in the ⁠Middle East.

Moscow ​denies providing such assistance and has said it is ​ready to help resolve the U.S.-Iran conflict.

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Netanyahu’s allegation underscores the heightened tensions since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in February, during which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian ​leaders were killed.

Netanyahu, whose coalition is trailing in opinion polls two months ​before an October 27 general election, made the claim in a ⁠telephone interview with Israel’s Channel 14. He was responding to reports that one ​of Israel’s security agencies had refused to provide protection for a political rival ahead ​of the nationwide vote.

“As for my sons. Here, I think there is something quite unbelievable, yes. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” ​Netanyahu told the conservative channel known for its favourable coverage of the government.

“Iran tried ​to murder one of my sons, and therefore this security protection is not a luxury,” he ‌said, ⁠without providing any further details about the alleged plot or how close it came to being carried out.

It was not immediately clear which of his sons he was referring to. Netanyahu’s elder son, Yair, lives in Miami.

Iran’s mission at the United Nations ​in New York ​did not immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment on the accusation.

Netanyahu also said he had told the Shin Bet security agency chief David ​Zini that appropriate security should be provided for any prime ministerial ​candidate.

Israeli media ⁠had reported earlier that Zini declined to provide security for Gadi Eisenkot and told the country’s election authority there was no plot to harm him, read the report.

Eisenkot’s party is projected ⁠to win ​the largest number of seats in the election, ​although Israeli governments are usually formed through coalitions among multiple parties rather than by a single party winning ​a parliamentary majority outright.

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Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Norway plans to give another 85 billion Norwegian crowns ($9.2 billion) in financial support ​to Ukraine in the 2027 fiscal year, in ‌line with the amount given in 2026, the Nordic country’s government said in a statement on Sunday.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and ​leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic region ​are visiting Kyiv on Sunday in a show of ⁠support for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Russia ​and Ukraine ⁠are both ramping up drone campaigns aiming to cripple each other’s economic infrastructure, often striking targets far beyond the frontlines ⁠of ​the war started by Moscow, as ​fighting on the battlefield grinds toward the 4-1/2-year mark.

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The Syrian foreign ministry said the drone ​had hit a civilian car on a ​road near Beit Jinn village in the ⁠countryside west of the capital, which caused injuries ​amongst civilians.

Syrian state TV reported one person was injured.

The ​Israeli military said in a statement that it fired in southern Syria toward what it described as a terrorist, ​whose activity posed an immediate threat to its ​soldiers. It did not say how it fired.

Tensions between Israel ‌and ⁠Syria flared up this week after Israel bombed an airbase in the northwest on Tuesday, an escalation U.S. special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called “unnecessary.”

Syria’s foreign ​ministry said ​the strike ⁠was part of a pattern of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, and ​was a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty. ​It ⁠held Israel accountable for the consequences of such actions.

Israeli troops continue to operate in southern Syria, and ⁠Israel occupies ​territory in southwest Syria it ​seized after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

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Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said the United States was continuing to assess developments in the conflict when asked whether Washington’s military options against Iran had become limited.

“It just means that we’re seeing what happens,” Trump said.

Trump also claimed that the United States had “total control” over the region surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically vital waterway that previously carried around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.

“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump said.

The remarks come after Washington pledged this week to impose what it described as the toughest financial penalties in history against Iran, with the stated aim of increasing pressure on the country’s leadership, read the report.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said further details of the planned sanctions would be announced on Monday, following Trump’s warning that any country providing “any type of lifeline” to Iran could face serious economic consequences.

Meanwhile, disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have continued as Iran retains missile and drone capabilities that have affected oil tanker traffic in the waterway.

Iran responded to the initial attacks on February 28 with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.

The continuing US-Israeli strikes on Iran, along with Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have reportedly killed thousands of people and displaced millions across the region.

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Their joint statement followed Israeli strikes that have killed at ​least 16 Palestinians in Gaza since Tuesday, according to ​medics; Israel says it is targeting Hamas militants. U.S. envoy ⁠Jared Kushner wrapped up a regional visit on Monday without advancing President ​Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.

“The intensification of Israeli attacks ​undermines regional and international efforts at a critical juncture, as intensive efforts are under way to implement the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” ​they said.

The international community and Trump’s Board of Peace, which is ​overseeing the ceasefire, must take the necessary steps to ensure compliance and prevent ‌further ⁠escalation, they added.

A proposed roadmap envisaged Hamas giving up its weapons in phases as Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza and halted military operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected that sequencing, insisting ​that Hamas must ​fully disarm before ⁠an Israeli withdrawal.

Hamas has demanded that Israel adhere to the ceasefire and withdraw its forces from ​Gaza. Hamas has also disputed the sequencing of how ​Trump’s ⁠plan should be implemented.

At least 1,283 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect last October, according to Gazan health ⁠officials, ​while the Israeli military says four Israeli ​soldiers have been killed.

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