UNITED NATIONS: US envoy Elliott Abrams said Tuesday the Trump administration will seek a UN Security Council vote this week on a resolution calling for Venezuela’s government to let in humanitarian aid and to hold free elections, and then sparred with Russia over possible US military intervention in the politically divided country.
Abrams accused “armed gangs, thugs and criminals released from prisons” of being mobilized to control Venezuela’s borders — leading to the burning of humanitarian aid and Venezuelans being shot, beaten and killed as they tried to bring in food and medicine while President Nicolas Maduro “literally was dancing in Caracas.”
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza responded by accusing the United States of organizing and financing “a well-orchestrated operation” to violate his country’s sovereignty that Venezuelan armed forces and police “were able to contain ... without using any kind of deadly force.”
He claimed that “the aggression came from the Colombian side” and blamed opposition “thugs” and “bandits” for the violence, saying most of the injured were soldiers, police and other law enforcement personnel.
The opposing views of Saturday’s attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido to deliver aid to Venezuelans facing an economic crisis and severe shortages of food and medicine reflected the deep divisions in the Security Council and among the UN’s 193 member states. Guaido is recognized as Venezuela’s interim president by the US and over 50 other countries.
Arreaza called on the Security Council to support a resolution that rejects “the threat of the use of force against the Venezuelan people, and to rule that out once and for all.”
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country backs the Maduro government and opposes any interference in a country’s internal affairs, said it is “perfectly clear” that Washington’s sole aim in creating Saturday’s “humanitarian show” was “not resolving the problems of Venezuela, not caring for the people, but regime change, including with threats to do so via foreign intervention.”
Abrams, clearly angered, shot back saying: “I reject from start to finish, I reject from top to bottom, accusations of military interventions from a country that is occupying the territory of Georgia and Ukraine.”
Before the council meeting, he told reporters that US policy “is to use as much diplomatic and economic and political pressure as we can” along with the countries backing Guaido “to support the Venezuelan people’s desire for democracy.”
As for President Donald Trump’s statement that all options are on the table, he said, “presidents always say that, and rightly do.”
Abrams also accused Nebenzia of using “a lot of Cold War rhetoric” reminiscent of the former Soviet Union. The Russian ambassador retorted that Abrams “was an active participant in the Cold War.”
Arreaza reiterated that the Maduro government is waiting for the opposition to sit down and hold talks to find a solution without US or other interference. “There are elections maybe, there are other possible solutions, maybe,” he said.
Nebenzia challenged the United States to approve the same Security Council press statement that it recently issued on Haiti.
In the Haiti statement, the Security Council expressed concern about “violent demonstrations and the death of innocent civilians,” reaffirmed its commitment to work with the country’s government and people “toward a more secure and prosperous future” and underscored the importance of key “actors” to engage “in good faith” on political, social and economic issues.
Nebenzia said Russia will circulate a proposed press statement changing Haiti to Venezuela.
Abrams said that for Venezuela, “the solution to the humanitarian situation is to get a government that works for rather than against the people of Venezuela.”
The United States “will have a resolution this week which will certainly call for the admission of humanitarian aid into Venezuela” and free elections, he said.
US seeks vote on UN resolution to allow aid into Venezuela
US seeks vote on UN resolution to allow aid into Venezuela
- Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country backs the Maduro government and opposes any interference in a country’s internal affairs
Bessent does not back up Trump on China tariff discussions
- Trump’s erratic, and often confusing, rollout of tariffs has hit many countries including the largest US trading partners, like Canada, Mexico and China
WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday did not back President Donald Trump’s assertion that tariff talks with China were under way and said he did not know if the US president had talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Trump administration signaled openness last week to de-escalating a trade war between the world’s two largest economies that has raised fears of recession. Trump himself has said talks on tariffs were taking place with China and that he and Xi have spoken.
Yet Beijing has denied that any trade talks are occurring.
Bessent, a key player in US trade talks with multiple countries, said that he had interactions with his Chinese counterparts last week during International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, but did not mention tariffs.
“I had interaction with my Chinese counterpart, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi,” Bessent added. “I know they have a very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other.”
Asked why the Chinese were denying talks, Bessent said. “I think they’re playing to a different audience.”
Bessent, who said last week that tariff negotiations with Beijing would be a “slog,” did not give a timetable for any potential agreement with China.
He said a trade deal can take months, but a de-escalation and an agreement in principle can be achieved sooner and would keep tariffs from ratcheting back to the maximum level.
Trump’s erratic, and often confusing, rollout of tariffs has hit many countries including the largest US trading partners, like Canada, Mexico and China. The result has been almost unprecedented market volatility and serious damage to investor trust in US assets.
In a separate television interview on Sunday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the United States was holding daily conversations with China over tariffs, but did not elaborate.
“Every day we are in conversation with China, along with those other 99, 100 countries that have come to the table,” Rollins said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
AU calls for action to tackle extremist threat in Sahel region
- The attack “highlights the urgent need for enhanced cooperation between neighboring states to address the growing threat posed by terrorist groups operating in the Sahel,” a statement read
NAIROBI: The African Union hs called for urgent cooperation to tackle extremist violence in the Sahel region, after a recent attack blamed on militants killed 54 soldiers in northern Benin.
The region, which borders both Niger and Burkina Faso, has seen a recent rise in strikes targeting army positions and on April 17, suspected extremists attacked military posts in a national park.
Benin’s government blamed the attacks on a spillover from Niger and Burkina Faso, both ruled by army officers who took power in coups on the promise of quashing the long-running extremist scourge in the Sahel.
The AU commission’s chairman, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, condemned the latest attack and called it “cowardly.”
The attack “highlights the urgent need for enhanced cooperation between neighboring states to address the growing threat posed by terrorist groups operating in the Sahel,” a statement read.
On Wednesday, Benin criticized the lack of cooperation with authorities in Burkina Faso and Niger, which have been hit by violence from armed groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
Burkina Faso and Niger have turned their backs on the West and accuse Benin of harboring foreign military bases to destabilize them. Benin has denied the accusations.
The April 17 attack was claimed by an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group which claimed that 70 Beninese soldiers were killed.
Rwanda’s actions in DR Congo unjustified: Belgian top diplomat
- UN experts and some Western countries have accused Rwanda of backing the M23, whose lightning offensive has raised fears of a regional war
KAMPALA: Belgium’s foreign minister said that Rwanda’s “legitimate” security concerns in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could not justify its former colony’s backing for the M23 armed group.
In an interview, Maxime Prevot urged both sides to negotiate an end to the conflict in the DRC’s troubled east, where the M23 has seized swathes of territory from the Congolese government.
“There will be no military solution in the east of the Congo. We need dialogue,” Prevot said after meeting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the capital Kampala on Friday.
“The situation there remains extremely precarious and the local population pays the price every day,” the minister added, raising concerns of human rights abuses.
FASTFACT
President Paul Kagame’s government denies offering the M23 military support, but argues it faces threats from armed groups linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide present in the DRC’s east.
“There is an urgent need to act.”
Since the beginning of 2025 the M23 armed group has forced the Congolese army out of swathes of the DRC’s mineral-rich east, triggering a worsening humanitarian crisis and displacing hundreds of thousands.
UN experts and some Western countries have accused Rwanda of backing the M23, whose lightning offensive has raised fears of a regional war.
President Paul Kagame’s government denies offering the M23 military support, but argues it faces threats from armed groups linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide present in the DRC’s east.
Prevot said Rwanda’s security concerns were understandable, but its actions in the eastern DRC were unacceptable.
“I think that Rwanda, and it is legitimate, is looking for security,” Prevot said.
“But I fully disagree with Rwanda considering the way it is acting in the east of Congo.”
Prevot denied Belgium’s position was linked to its colonial history. Belgium ruled Rwanda and neighboring Burundi from 1916 to 1962.
Rwanda, which according to UN experts maintains 4,000 troops in the DRC to support the M23, severed diplomatic links with Belgium in March because of its stance on the conflict.
“We do not have any feeling of past colonialism regrets,” Prevot said. “And certainly not for me. I have a lot of respect for Rwanda.”
Prevot welcomed mediation efforts by Qatar and the United States between the DRC, the M23 and Rwanda but cautioned against false optimism.
“I hope I’m not being naive with the positive announcements” made this week, the minister said.
The DRC and the M23 issued a statement this week pledging to work toward a ceasefire and to engage in dialogue to end the conflict, with Qatar facilitating the talks.
Responding to suggestions that the parties to the talks were using a lull in the fighting to prepare a further military offensive, Prevot said: “I hope that this is not a kind of smokescreen and that everybody is sincere.”
Prevot acknowledged Belgium’s limited influence, given diplomatic tensions with Rwanda, but said efforts should continue.
“I hope it will be possible in the coming months to reopen, maybe discreetly, maybe informally, communication channels,” the foreign minister said.
“The way Belgium is reacting is not against Rwanda, it’s for the defense of international law, humanitarian law, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Kristof Titeca, a Belgian academic specializing in the African Great Lakes region, told AFP that Belgium has played a key role in Europe advocating for sanctions against Rwanda.
But he warned that the situation on the ground remains fragile, while domestic Congolese politics complicated the picture.
“It has become close to impossible for Kinshasa to regain the territories lost to M23 and Rwanda,” Titeca said.
Any outside power hoping to intervene would have “to navigate both Rwanda’s support for M23 and the structural weaknesses in the Congolese political system,” he added.
Titeca said Rwanda’s minimum objective appears to be the establishment of a “buffer zone” in the eastern DRC, either through the M23 or through influence over a local administration.
Following his visit to Uganda, Prevot will continue his tour in Burundi and the DRC.
Millionaire donor of Lebanese heritage defects from Conservatives to Reform UK
- Tech mogul Bassim Haidar announces intention to give £1m, making him party’s biggest donor
- He plans to leave Britain over tax changes but believes party leader Nigel Farage can return country ‘to its glory’
LONDON: A major donor to the Conservative Party has switched allegiances to Reform UK.
Bassim Haidar, born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents, has pledged £1 million ($1.33 million) to Nigel Farage’s party, having previously donated more than £700,000 to the Conservatives.
The Conservative Party has “lost its way,” Haidar told the Telegraph on Sunday, adding that he believes Farage could become prime minister and “bring this country back to its glory.”
The move makes Haidar Reform’s biggest donor, with £200,000 already delivered to aid the party at upcoming local elections.
The tech mogul, who moved to the UK in 2010 and made his fortune modernizing communications networks in Nigeria, became disillusioned with the former Conservative government after it changed Britain’s tax laws for non-domiciled individuals.
He now plans to move his family, including three school-aged children, out of the UK following the election last year of the Labour government, whose non-dom and inheritance tax policies he disagrees with.
“I’ve always been pro-business and I always supported parties that supported businesses,” he told the Telegraph. “The Conservative Party stopped listening and, for me, I had to go with the party that I believe can actually reset and change the status quo in the UK.
“Nigel and Reform are the only ones that can do this and that’s why I’m supporting them. If we want a better future, we have to stop funding the past.”
Labour’s economic strategy “defies all logic” and will make the country poorer, he said. Farage, though, is “listening to the people, he is addressing their concerns, he is talking about immigration in a way that no one has actually spoken about, he is willing to do things that I think the other parties aren’t willing to do.”
Haidar, whose business empire includes a vast property portfolio worth over £100 million, a Caribbean hotel and a loans company, added: “I believe he would reform tax, he would encourage investment, maybe come up with a new non-dom tax regime, so hopefully once he becomes prime minister we’re going to see the UK becoming great again.”
On the subject of Farage potentially becoming prime minister, Haidar said he is “very convinced” of his chances.
“Nigel has all it takes, and if funding is an issue, I don’t think he will have that issue going forward,” he added.
“They (Reform) have a lot of momentum behind them. Yeah, they are a small party, but what does that actually mean? It means nothing. All of us were small once.
“It’s the same thing I said to people who thought I would never make it in life, when I was in my 20s and I was starting out in business and I had something to prove, and look where I am today.”
Reform UK is expected to perform well at local elections across the UK next week, and currently leads the Conservatives by a considerable margin in a number of opinion polls.
Haidar believes that success over Labour and the Conservatives could lead to even more financial support for Reform from wealthy donors.
“I have a few friends that are seriously, seriously considering (donating to Reform),” he said. “Some of the statements that Nigel made recently have resonated with them and I have got calls and they have told me they really believe that he is on the right track and they have become very encouraged.
“I know it will come. Like everything else you have to be a pioneer, you have to lead and once you lead people will follow. Nigel has done it from a politics point of view, I want to do it from a support point of view.”
He added: “There is absolutely nothing in it for me besides me believing that Nigel can turn it around and bring this country back to its glory.”
Farage told the Telegraph: “Reform has achieved a huge amount on a small budget so far. With a donation like this, we can rapidly build out our team and professionalise further as we head towards the next general election. This is especially true if others follow Bassim’s lead.”
Pakistani troops kill 54 militants attempting to sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan
- Pakistani intelligence reports indicated that the killed militants were 'Khwarij,' a phrase the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban
- The insurgents were spotted and killed near the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban near North Waziristan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces overnight killed 54 militants who attempted to cross into the country from Afghanistan, the military said Sunday, marking one of the deadliest such killings in recent years.
The military said in a statement that intelligence reports indicated that the killed militants were “Khwarij” — a phrase the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban.
Without directly blaming anyone, the military said that the slain insurgents had been sent by their “foreign masters” to carry out high-profile attacks inside Pakistan.
The insurgents were spotted and killed near the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban near North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border.
“This is the first time during the ongoing operations against terrorists that Pakistani forces killed terrorists in such a high number in a single day,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters. He praised security forces for carrying out a successful operation against militants and foiling possible attacks by them in the country.
“We had this information that the foreign masters of these terrorists are asking them to enter Pakistan as soon as possible” to carry out attacks. He stopped short of saying that India had urged the militants to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have congratulated security forces for eliminating the insurgents.
The military also said in the statement that the infiltration attempt came “at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan” following a recent deadly assault on tourists in India-controlled Kashmir.
In recent months, Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It’s a separate group, but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tatar on Sunday told foreign media that New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the tourist attack to distract Pakistan’s security forces from their focus on the war on its western borders.
He said that New Delhi, without presenting any evidence, blamed Pakistan for the assault on tourists in Kashmir “to divert Pakistan’s attention from the western region.” He said that Pakistan had “undeniable evidence” about India’s backing for the Pakistan Taliban and Baloch Liberation Army, which is behind multiple attacks in Balochistan, including one on a train in which more than 30 hostages were killed in March.
Balochistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency with the separatists seeking independence from the central government in Islamabad. Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence has persisted.
