Germany's new chancellor, Merz, to meet Trump in Washington on Thursday
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The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Militants kill nine Pakistani soldiers in Balochistan: govt officials
Pakistani soldiers in Balochistan. - Photo: Reuters file QUETTA, (Pakistan): At least nine Pakistani soldiers were killed when dozens of militants staged an attack in the country's restive southwestern Balochistan province, government officials said Tuesday (Aug 12). The attack on Monday happened the same day the US State Department listed the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) as a foreign terrorist organisation after a string of deadly assaults claimed by the group. A senior government official of Washuk district, where the assault took place, said dozens of militants attacked a police station and a border force compound. "The army was attacked by terrorists on their way to respond. The terrorists killed nine soldiers," he told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. "There were around 40 to 50 terrorists on motorbikes who attacked government buildings and ransacked them," said a senior official from the province's interior department who asked not to be named, confirming to AFP that nine soldiers were killed. The officials said that six other soldiers were also wounded in the attack. A senior official from the province's interior department said the militants hurled hand grenades at the Frontier Corps compound in Basima city of Washuk district. No group has claimed the attack, but the BLA is the most active in the region. Washington had already listed the BLA under the less severe label of specially designated global terrorists, which targets financial resources, before toughening the ban on Monday. The new step comes as US President Donald Trump increases contact with Pakistan, which was kept at arm's length by his predecessor Joe Biden, whose administration resented Islamabad's role in the two-decade war in Afghanistan. Baloch separatists and rights groups say the military's heavy-handed response to the insurgency has included widespread enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. - AFP
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Tusk says Poland must not let Russia drive wedge between Warsaw and Kyiv
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during government sitting in Warsaw, Poland, August 12, 2025. Robert Kowalewski/Agencja via REUTERS WARSAW (Reuters) -The Polish prime minister said on Tuesday that Russia was seeking to drive a wedge between Warsaw and Kyiv ahead of peace talks, after an outcry over a spectator waving a Ukrainian nationalist flag at a concert in Poland's national stadium. Poland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers since Russia invaded in 2022, but some Poles have grown weary of refugees from their war-torn neighbour, while historical tensions between the nations over World War Two massacres have at times risen to the surface, straining ties and boosting the Polish far-right. Many Poles were angered by footage shared on social media which showed an audience member at a concert in the National Stadium in Warsaw on Saturday waving the red and black flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a nationalist group Poland says was involved in the 1943-1945 Volhynia massacres of Poles. However, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a government meeting that Poles and Ukrainians must not allow themselves to be divided ahead of a crucial summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. "It's truly fundamental from the perspective of Polish security that Putin not receive gifts before these talks, and such a gift for Putin would undoubtedly be conflict between Ukrainians and Poles," Tusk said. "This is precisely the... goal of Russian agents and Russia's actions in Poland." The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plan to speak with Trump on Wednesday before his summit with Putin in Alaska, amid fears that Washington, hitherto Ukraine's leading arms supplier, may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Kyiv. Warsaw police said they had detained 109 people during the concert by Belarusian rapper Max Korzh for offences ranging from drug possession to assaulting security personnel. Tusk said that proceedings were underway to deport 63 people following the disturbances at the concert - 57 Ukrainians and six Belarusians. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian man who was filmed waving the UPA flag apologised for his actions in a video shared on social media, saying that he had only meant to show support for his country. (Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Swiss open to Federer or FIFA chief helping on US tariffs
ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss government would not object to tennis legend Roger Federer or FIFA President Gianni Infantino intervening to reduce the country's tariff burden after the U.S. slapped a 39% import duty on its goods, President Karin Keller-Sutter said. Some Swiss politicians have proposed their countryman Infantino as an informal negotiating channel with U.S. President Donald Trump after the U.S. leader attended the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey in July. Trump is also a fan of celebrities and could be swayed by an approach by Federer, Swiss media has reported. "If personalities who know him have a conversation with him, we're not against it," Keller-Sutter told broadcaster Tele Zueri, when asked about Infantino or Federer speaking with Trump. "That's not a strategy we can officially pursue," she said, adding negotiations with Washington would be led by the government. "I don't know if that would actually help in the end." Switzerland has been left stunned by the 39% import levy - among the highest of any applied under Trump's global trade reset, which went into effect last week. Earlier in May, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa included popular golfers in his delegation that travelled to Washington hoping to discuss trade and reset strained relations with the U.S. During a tense White House meeting Trump confronted him with false claims of white genocide and land seizures. Keller-Sutter said she hoped talks to cut U.S. tariffs on Swiss exports could be settled by October, but warned Switzerland would not pay "any price" after an earlier agreement was brushed aside by Trump in a phone call between the two leaders on July 31. "The Federal Council is naturally striving to find a solution that will reduce customs tariffs," Keller-Sutter said. "I hope that is true," she said when asked about U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments that trade issues could be resolved by October. The tariff was unjustified and must be reduced, she said, noting that Swiss companies were investing heavily in the United States. "It cannot be that, to put it simply, we just pay, worsen our business location and then still have high customs duties," she said. Still, Switzerland was a small country with no political power, which meant its leeway was limited, Keller-Sutter said. (Reporting by John RevillEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
