Editorji is a popular short video news and information platform based in India. It was founded in 2018 by Vikram Chandra, one of India’s leading journalists, and has risen to prominence in the digital news space in a relatively short span of time. The platform is primarily designed for mobile devices, with applications available for Android and iOS.

ABOUT US:

about us editorji

Latest Video News: Editorji provides the latest news video headlines, latest videos clip from India and the World. Get all breaking news videos on Entertainment, Business, Coronavirus, Elections, Politics and more.

Latest Video News, Breaking News, Bollywood, Political, Sports, Business News | Editorji

+91 11 4035 6666 / info@editorji.com
3rd floor, Plot B, Khasara no 360, Sultanpur, New Delhi, Delhi 110030
<a title="mail to us" href="mailto:info@editorji.com">Send Feedback</a>
<a title="Contact Us" href="mailto:info@editorji.com">Contact Us</a>

REACH US

Contact for any questions, suggestions, comments, feedback or advertisement on Editorji.com, we are always looking forward to hearing from you.

Contact Us for Feedback, Suggestions and Advertising 

Editorji content is better experienced in our app.

The US State Department mandates all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants to make social media profiles public starting December 15, expanding security screening amid stricter immigration policies targeting foreign workers.

US Expands Social Media Vetting for H-1B, H-4 Visa Applicants

US Social Media Vetting for H-1B Visa Applicants

The US State Department mandates all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants to make social media profiles public starting December 15, expanding security screening amid stricter immigration policies targeting foreign workers.

The US government has expanded screening and vetting measures for H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents, directing them to keep the privacy settings on all their social media profiles set to "public".
In a new order issued Wednesday, the State Department said beginning December 15, a review of the online presence for all H-1B applicants and their dependents will be conducted. Students and exchange visitors were already subject to such scrutiny, which has now been extended to include those applying for H-1B and H-4 visas.
&ldquo;To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for H-1B and their dependents (H-4), F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to 'public',&rdquo; the State Department said.
Underscoring that a US visa is a privilege and not a right, the department said it uses all available information in screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible or pose a threat to America's national security or public safety. "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision," it said.
The department said the US &ldquo;must be vigilant&rdquo; to ensure applicants do not intend to harm Americans and that all visa applicants credibly establish eligibility and intent to comply with the terms of their admission.
The directive is the latest in a series of steps by the Trump administration to tighten immigration rules. The administration has launched a massive crackdown to check abuse of the H-1B visa programme, used largely by US technology companies to hire foreign workers. Indian professionals, including tech workers and physicians, form one of the largest groups of H-1B visa holders.
In September, US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation, titled &lsquo;Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers&rsquo;, imposing a one-time USD 100,000 fee on new H-1B work visas, an order that could significantly impact Indian workers seeking temporary employment in the US.
Separately, Washington has also paused with immediate effect Green Card, US citizenship and other immigration applications for people hailing from 19 &ldquo;countries of concern&rdquo;, following the shooting of National Guard soldiers by an Afghan national.
A policy memorandum issued Tuesday directs the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to &ldquo;place on hold&rdquo;, effective immediately, all asylum applications, regardless of the immigrant&rsquo;s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review. The pause also applies to all immigration applications from nationals of 19 countries previously covered by the administration's travel ban. These countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. The applications will be on hold &ldquo;pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date&rdquo;, the directive said.
The new guidance follows the shooting of US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and US Air Force Staff Sgt Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries, Trump said Thursday during a Thanksgiving call with service members, while Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The accused, Lakanwal, 29, had entered the US through &lsquo;Operation Allies Welcome&rsquo;, a Biden-era programme for Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Former US President Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war after inconclusive Moscow talks, while US envoys plan follow-up meetings with Kyiv.

Trump says Putin wants to end war, US to hold new talks with Ukraine

Former US President Donald Trump claimed Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war after inconclusive Moscow talks, while US envoys plan follow-up meetings with Kyiv.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to end the Ukraine war despite inconclusive talks in Moscow, as US officials prepared for a follow-up meeting with Kyiv's top negotiator.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner huddled into the early hours with Putin in the Kremlin but reached no breakthrough on halting Europe's worst conflict since World War II.
The Kremlin said afterward it found parts of the US plan to end the war unacceptable, even though the proposal includes Ukraine ceding parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds nearly four years after Russia's invasion.
"I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin," Trump said when an AFP reporter asked him about the talks, adding afterwards that the talks were "very good."
Trump said it was too soon to tell what would happen "because it does take two to tango."
Pressed on whether Witkoff and Kushner got any sense that Putin genuinely wanted to halt Russia's nearly four-year-old invasion, Trump replied: "He would like to end the war. That was their impression."
Trump added that Ukraine "pretty well" backed the US proposal, although he added that Kyiv should have done so earlier when he had a notoriously heated meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval office in February.
Witkoff and Kushner were now due to meet top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday, two US officials told AFP, to follow up on the Kremlin talks.
 - 'Successes of the Russian army' -
But while the White House had voiced optimism ahead of the Kremlin talks, Moscow said that the two sides had failed to reach a compromise and that more work was needed.
The Kremlin added Wednesday that its army's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine had bolstered its position and that Kyiv's ties to NATO remained a key question.
Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine gathered pace last month and Putin has said in recent days that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the rest of the land it claims if Kyiv does not surrender it.
"The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who took part in the US-Russia talks, told reporters, including AFP.
Moscow insisted it was incorrect to say Putin rejected the plan in its entirety.
It also said Russia was still committed to diplomacy, despite Putin's stark warning earlier this week that Moscow was prepared to fight Europe if it wanted war.
"We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
 - 'Opportunity to end the war' -
In Kyiv, Zelensky said that though a window of opportunity for peace has opened, it must be accompanied by pressure on Moscow.
"The world now clearly feels that there is an opportunity to end the war, and the current activity in negotiations must be supported by pressure on Russia," he said in a regular evening address.
The fresh talks come as NATO pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US arms for Kyiv.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said it was positive that peace talks were ongoing, but that the alliance should make sure that "Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going".
Russian troops have been grinding forward across the front line against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.
Earlier this week, Moscow claimed to have captured the important stronghold of Pokrovsk, but a Ukrainian army unit fighting in the city said urban combat was still ongoing.
European countries have expressed fears Washington and Moscow will reach agreements without them and have spent the last weeks trying to amend the US plan so that it does not force Kyiv to capitulate.

The Trump administration has paused green card, naturalisation, and other immigration applications for people from 19 countries deemed high-risk, citing the recent shooting of two National Guard troops.

Trump Halts Immigration Applications Amid Security Concerns

Trump's Immigration Pause Post-Shooting

The Trump administration has paused green card, naturalisation, and other immigration applications for people from 19 countries deemed high-risk, citing the recent shooting of two National Guard troops.

The US government has halted immigration applications for citizens from 19 nations including Afghanistan, Yemen and Haiti, an official memorandum said Tuesday, deepening the nation's sweeping crackdown on migration.
Authorities paused green card and citizenship processing, according to the memo, for people from countries already subject to travel restrictions announced in June by President Donald Trump.
Those 19 nations also include Venezuela, Sudan and Somalia.
Senior US officials have signaled in recent days they would starkly tighten restrictions on immigration, a move fueled by the shooting of two National Guard soldiers last week.
The main suspect in the shooting, which killed one, is an Afghan national.
The man, who on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to murder charges, entered the United States during mass evacuations as foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.
"USCIS plays an instrumental role in preventing terrorists from seeking safe haven in the United States and ensuring that USCIS' screening and vetting and adjudications prioritize the safety of the American people and uphold all US laws," the memorandum said, referring to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The memorandum said the US had recently seen "what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people," citing the suspected shooter in last week's attack as an example.
Trump, who campaigned for the White House on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants, said on November 26, following the shooting that he planned to "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover."
US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem also urged on Monday an expansion of the list of countries covered by the June travel restrictions.
"I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies," she said on X, without naming which countries she believed should be included.
The travel restrictions currently also apply to Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.
Also on Tuesday, US media reported federal authorities planned in coming days to launch a major immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would focus on Somali immigrants, sparking pushback from local leaders who said state police would not cooperate.
"Our values and our commitments to the Somali community, to every community of immigrants and people in our city is rock solid and will be unwavering," said Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised President Trump for brokering multiple global peace deals, including the India-Pakistan ceasefire, calling his foreign policy transformational, while New Delhi denies any third-party intervention.

Trump deserves credit for 'very dangerous' peace deals like India-Pakistan: US Secretary of State Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised President Trump for brokering multiple global peace deals, including the India-Pakistan ceasefire, calling his foreign policy transformational, while New Delhi denies any third-party intervention.

US President Donald Trump has brokered several peace deals, including the &ldquo;very dangerous ones like India and Pakistan&rdquo;, and deserves &ldquo;tremendous credit&rdquo; for reshaping America's foreign policy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
During a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, Rubio said for the first time in decades, American foreign policy was guided solely by whether it made the US &ldquo;safer, stronger and more prosperous&rdquo;. &ldquo;If it is, he&rsquo;s (Trump) for it. If it doesn&rsquo;t, he&rsquo;s against it. And that sort of clarity is transformational,&rdquo; he said.
"Not to mention all the other peace deals, very dangerous ones like India and Pakistan or Cambodia and Thailand, and so on... Mr President, I think you deserve tremendous credit for the transformational aspect of our foreign policy,&rdquo; Rubio said.
Earlier, at the Cabinet meeting, Trump repeated his claim that he had resolved several global conflicts, including between India and Pakistan, as he asserted that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the "eight wars" he has ended.
&ldquo;We ended eight wars... But we're going to do one more, I think, I hope,&rdquo; Trump said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that within the first eight-nine months of his second term in the White House, he resolved conflicts between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and Congo. He also credits himself for resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that Trump will host Congo President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and Rwanda President Paul Kagame to sign a "historic peace and economic agreement" brokered by the US president.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a &ldquo;full and immediate&rdquo; ceasefire after a &ldquo;long night&rdquo; of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he &ldquo;helped settle&rdquo; the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Congress slammed Prime Minister Modi amid US claims that President Trump brokered peace between India and Pakistan, calling the “Modi-Trump huglomacy” in deep freeze, while New Delhi denies any third-party intervention.

Congress Mocks Modi-Trump 'Huglomacy' Amid US Peace Mediation Claims

Congress Jests: Modi-Trump 'Huglomacy' Stalled

Congress slammed Prime Minister Modi amid US claims that President Trump brokered peace between India and Pakistan, calling the &ldquo;Modi-Trump huglomacy&rdquo; in deep freeze, while New Delhi denies any third-party intervention.

The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over repeated claims by the US that President Donald Trump brokered peace between India and Pakistan, saying &ldquo;no wonder the Modi-Trump huglomacy is in deep freeze."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that President Trump has brokered several peace deals, including the very dangerous ones like India and Pakistan, and deserves tremendous credit for reshaping America's foreign policy.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said on May 10, 2025, at 5:37 PM, Rubio was the first person to announce the abrupt stoppage of Operation Sindoor.
"Subsequently, President Trump himself has made the claim at least 61 times in 6 different countries that it was due to his intervention that Operation Sindoor was halted," he said on X.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
On May 10, 2025, at 5:37 PM, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the first person to announce the abrupt stoppage of Operation Sindoor. Subsequently, President Trump himself has made the claim at least 61 times in 6 different countries that it was due to his intervention that&hellip;
&mdash; Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1996066678074159613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
"Now Mr. Rubio has once again reminded the world of what Mr. Trump has been saying repeatedly. No wonder the Modi-Trump huglomacy is in deep freeze," Ramesh said.
During a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, Rubio said for the first time in decades, American foreign policy was guided solely by whether it made the US safer, stronger and more prosperous. "If it is, he's (Trump) for it. If it doesn't, he's against it. And that sort of clarity is transformational," he said.
"Not to mention all the other peace deals, very dangerous ones like India and Pakistan or Cambodia and Thailand, and so on... Mr President, I think you deserve tremendous credit for the transformational aspect of our foreign policy," Rubio said.
Earlier, at the Cabinet meeting, Trump repeated his claim that he had resolved several global conflicts, including between India and Pakistan, as he asserted that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the "eight wars" he has ended.
"We ended eight wars... But we're going to do one more, I think, I hope," Trump said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that within the first eight-nine months of his second term in the White House, he resolved conflicts between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and Congo. He also credits himself for resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he helped settle the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

US President Donald Trump reiterated that he resolved the India-Pakistan conflict and claimed he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the eight wars he says he has ended, even as India maintains it allowed no third-party mediation.

Trump repeats claim of ending India, Pak conflict, says should win Nobel Prize

US President Donald Trump reiterated that he resolved the India-Pakistan conflict and claimed he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the eight wars he says he has ended, even as India maintains it allowed no third-party mediation.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated his claim of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict and asserted that he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each of the eight wars he says he has ended.
&ldquo;We ended eight wars...But we're going to do one more, I think, I hope,&rdquo; Trump said in remarks at a Cabinet Meeting, referring to the Russia-Ukraine war.
&ldquo;Every time I end a war, they say, &lsquo;if President Trump ends that war, he's going to get the Nobel Prize&rsquo;. If I end that war, &lsquo;well, he won't get it for that war, but if he ever gets it for the next war&rsquo;.
"Now they're saying, &lsquo;if he ever ends the war with Russia and Ukraine, he's going to get the Nobel Prize&rsquo;. What about the other eight wars? India, Pakistan, think of all the wars I ended. I should get the Nobel Prize for every war, but I don't want to be greedy,&rdquo; Trump said.
The US President said he cares more about the lives being lost in these wars, and added that the 2025 Nobel Prize laureate Venezuelan activist Mar&iacute;a Corina Machado Parisca had said that he deserved the Nobel Prize.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a &ldquo;full and immediate&rdquo; ceasefire after a &ldquo;long night&rdquo; of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he &ldquo;helped settle&rdquo; the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

US President Donald Trump warned Israel against actions that could destabilize Syria and its new leadership, after an Israeli operation killed 13 people. Trump discussed regional peace and invited PM Netanyahu for a White House visit.

Trump warns Israel not to 'interfere' in Syria

US President Donald Trump warned Israel against actions that could destabilize Syria and its new leadership, after an Israeli operation killed 13 people. Trump discussed regional peace and invited PM Netanyahu for a White House visit.

US President Donald Trump told Israel on Monday to avoid destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces killed 13 people.
Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and invited him for another White House visit, Netanyahu's office said shortly after Trump issued the warning.
"It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria's evolution into a prosperous State," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
The US leader has been pushing for a security pact between Israel and Syria since President Ahmed al-Sharaa's Islamist coalition overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago.
But tensions have risen over hundreds of strikes by Israel on Syria, and in the deadliest so far Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in the southern village of Beit Jin.
Syria called the Israeli operation a "war crime." Israel said it targeted an Islamist group.
Trump said he was "very satisfied" with Syria's performance under former Islamist rebel Sharaa, who made a historic visit to the White House a few weeks ago.
The US president insisted that Sharaa "is working diligently to make sure good things happen, and that both Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together."
He added that the United States was "doing everything within our power to make sure the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended" to rebuild the war-torn country.
 - 'Expanding' peace agreements -
Good relations between Syria and Israel would add to his efforts for a wider Middle East peace following the fragile Gaza ceasefire in October, added Trump.
The Trump administration lifted sanctions against Syria as part of its efforts to help Sharaa, while Washington says Damascus is joining the global coalition against the Islamic State group.
Netanyahu and Trump discussed "expanding" regional peace deals when they spoke on Monday, the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement that came hot on the heels of Trump's post.
"Trump has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House in the near future," it said.
Netanyahu has already made more visits to Trump than any other foreign leader since the US president's return to power.
"The two leaders stressed the importance and obligation of disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and discussed expanding the peace agreements," Netanyahu's office said.
Israel has defended its right to keep on striking militant groups in neighboring countries despite the Gaza deal with Palestinian armed group Hamas and last year's ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israeli army said the targets of the Beit Jin operation were fighters from Jamaa Islamiya, an Islamist group based in Lebanon and allied with Hamas.
Netanyahu meanwhile drew a sharp rebuke from Damascus and others in the region after visiting Israeli troops deployed in the buffer zone which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974.

US President Donald Trump said he plans to suspend migration from “third world countries” and reverse millions of admissions under Biden, vowing to deport foreign nationals deemed a security risk or non-contributors.

Trump says to 'permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries'

US President Donald Trump said he plans to suspend migration from &ldquo;third world countries&rdquo; and reverse millions of admissions under Biden, vowing to deport foreign nationals deemed a security risk or non-contributors.

Donald Trump said Thursday he would suspend migration from what the US leader called "third world countries", a day after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington, killing one.
His angry post, which also threatened to reverse "millions" of admissions granted under his predecessor Joe Biden, marked a new escalation in the anti-migration stance of a second term that has been dominated by Trump's mass deportation campaign.
Trump had earlier announced that Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard member deployed in Washington as part of his crackdown on crime, had died from her wounds.
The FBI has launched an international terror investigation as new details emerged about the alleged gunman, a 29-year-old Afghan national who had served with US troops in Afghanistan.
The shooting on Wednesday, which officials described as an "ambush-style" attack, brings together three politically explosive issues: Trump's controversial use of the military at home, immigration, and the legacy of the US war in Afghanistan.
"I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover," Trump wrote on social media.
He also threatened to reverse "millions" of admissions granted under his predecessor Joe Biden, and to "remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States."
In a Thanksgiving video call with US troops the Republican leader said: "I want to express the anguish and the horror of our entire nation at the terrorist attack yesterday in our nation's capital."
Trump linked the shooting and his decision to send hundreds of National Guard troops to the city.
"If they weren't effective, you probably wouldn't have had this done," he said, adding: "Maybe this man was upset because he couldn't practice crime."
Joseph Edlow, Trump's director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said Thursday that he had ordered a "full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern."
His agency later pointed to a list of 19 countries -- including Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Myanmar -- facing US travel restrictions under a previous order from Trump in June.
The Trump administration had earlier ordered an immediate halt to the processing of immigration applications from Afghanistan.
 - Gunned down in 'brazen' attack -
The other soldier injured in Wednesday's attack, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, was "fighting for his life" Thursday, Trump said. The suspected shooter was also in a serious condition.
The US attorney for Washington DC, Jeanine Pirro, said the suspected assailant -- identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal -- had been living in the western state of Washington and had driven across the country to the nation's capital.
In what she called a "brazen and targeted" attack, Pirro said the gunman opened fire with a .357 Smith and Wesson revolver on a group of guardsmen on patrol just a few blocks from the White House.
The suspect was charged with three counts of assault with intent to kill -- charges that Pirro said would immediately be upgraded to first-degree murder if any of the guardsmen died.
Officials said they still had no clear understanding of the motive behind the shooting.
 - Afghan legacy -
CIA director John Ratcliffe said the suspect had been part of a CIA-backed "partner force" fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and had been brought to the United States as part of a program to evacuate Afghans who had worked with the agency.
The heads of the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security and other senior Trump appointees all insisted that Lakanwal had been granted unvetted access to the United States because of lax asylum policies in the wake of the chaotic final US withdrawal from Afghanistan under former president Joe Biden.
But AfghanEvac, a group that helped resettle Afghans in the United States after the military withdrawal, said they undergo "some of the most extensive security vetting" of any migrants.
The group noted Lakanwal had been granted asylum in April 2025, under the Trump administration, and would be eligible to request permanent residency a year later.
"This individual's isolated and violent act should not be used as an excuse to define or diminish an entire community," said its president, Shawn VanDiver.
In the wake of Wednesday's shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced 500 more troops would deploy to Washington, bringing the total to 2,500.
Trump has deployed troops to several cities, all run by Democrats, including Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis. The move has prompted multiple lawsuits and allegations of authoritarian overreach by the White House.

The United States has indefinitely halted all Afghan immigration processes after an Afghan national attacked two National Guard soldiers near the White House, prompting a review of security protocols and signaling a tougher stance on immigration.

US suspends Afghan immigration following White House shooting incident

The United States has indefinitely halted all Afghan immigration processes after an Afghan national attacked two National Guard soldiers near the White House, prompting a review of security protocols and signaling a tougher stance on immigration.

The United States has announced an immediate and indefinite suspension of all immigration processes involving Afghan nationals, citing the need for a thorough reassessment of current security and vetting protocols.&nbsp;
This decision puts a temporary stop to visa applications, asylum petitions and other immigration routes for Afghans until the review concludes.
The development follows a shooting incident on Thursday, in which two National Guard personnel were attacked by an Afghan national near the White House.
According to an official statement, safeguarding the homeland and ensuring the safety of Americans remain the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;singular focus and mission."
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols. The protection and safety of our homeland and of the American people remains our singular focus and&hellip;
&mdash; USCIS (@USCIS) <a href="https://twitter.com/USCIS/status/1993882694640415163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump identified an Afghan man who had fled the Taliban as the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House, describing the attack as &ldquo;an act of terror."
In a short video message, Trump linked the episode to three polarising political issues &mdash; the domestic deployment of military forces, immigration policy, and the aftermath of the United States&rsquo; two-decade-long war in Afghanistan.
The broad-daylight shooting, which left two Guard members critically injured just two blocks from the White House, was denounced by Trump as &ldquo;an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror," noting that &ldquo;It was a crime against our entire nation." He also stated that the individual apprehended &ldquo;was a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan."
Trump said the suspect had arrived in the U.S. in 2021 &ldquo;on those infamous flights," a reference to the evacuation of Afghans who escaped the country after the Taliban regained control during the withdrawal of American forces. The attack, carried out near a busy metro station during peak hours, has intensified scrutiny of Trump&rsquo;s contentious deployment of military personnel in several Democrat-run cities, including Washington, Los Angeles, and Memphis &mdash; an approach that has prompted lawsuits and accusations of federal overreach.
Trump&rsquo;s comments further signalled a tougher stance on immigration. &ldquo;We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan" under former president Joe Biden, he said. He added, &ldquo;We must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country. If they can&rsquo;t love our country, we don&rsquo;t want them."

President Trump said the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House was an Afghan evacuee, calling the attack an act of terror and renewing debates over immigration, militarization, and national security.

Trump says shooter of National Guard was Afghan committing 'act of terror'

President Trump said the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House was an Afghan evacuee, calling the attack an act of terror and renewing debates over immigration, militarization, and national security.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that an Afghan man who fled the Taliban was the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House, calling it an "act of terror."
The announcement in a brief video message signaled the intertwining of three politically explosive issues -&ndash; Trump's controversial use of the military at home, immigration, and the legacy of the US war in Afghanistan.
The incident, which left two Guard members critically wounded, was "an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror," Trump said. "It was a crime against our entire nation."
He confirmed that the man taken into custody after the daylight shooting two blocks from the White House was "a foreigner who entered our country from Afghanistan."
<iframe class="truthsocial-embed truthsocial-video" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115619278155546502/embed" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&nbsp;
The suspect had arrived in the United States in 2021 "on those infamous flights," Trump said, referring to the evacuations of Afghans fleeing as the Taliban took over the country in the wake of the US retreat after 20 years of war.
The shocking attack, carried out next to a metro station at a time when the streets and offices of downtown Washington were bustling, also puts a new focus on Trump's controversial militarization of an anti-crime push around the country.
Trump has deployed troops to several cities, all run by Democrats, including Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis. The deployments have prompted multiple law suits and protests from local officials who accuse the Republican of seeking authoritarian powers.
Trump's statement also indicated that his equally controversial drive to root out migrants in the country illegally -- the core of his domestic agenda -- will get new impetus.
"We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan" under former president Joe Biden, said Trump.
"We must take all necessary measures to endure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here, or add benefit to our country if they can't love our country, we don't want them."
 - 'Ambushed' -
Jeffery Carroll, assistant chief of the Washington police, said the gunman "ambushed" his victims.
He "came around the corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard members."
FBI Director Kash Patel said the two Guards members were in "critical condition."
Trump earlier said on social media that the suspect was "also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price."
An AFP reporter near the scene heard several loud pops and saw people running.
Dozens of bystanders were caught up in the chaos.
"We heard gunshots. We were waiting at the traffic light and there were several shots," said Angela Perry, 42, who was driving home with her two children.
"You could see National Guard running toward the metro with their weapons drawn."
Soon after the shootings, security agents flooded the area. Officers carrying rifles stood guard behind yellow tape at the perimeter and a helicopter circled overhead.
An AFP reporter saw emergency crews running toward the metro with a wheeled stretcher and shortly after emerging with a casualty wearing camouflage whom they loaded into an ambulance.
 -- Troops controversy --
Washington's government buildings are heavily guarded, but much of the city has suffered from years of sometimes serious street crime.
Trump made Washington a showcase for his decision to order National Guard soldiers -- in camouflage and occasionally carrying rifles -- to do law enforcement in Democratic-run cities.
In the wake of Wednesday's shooting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that 500 more troops would deploy to Washington, adding up to 2,500.
Last Thursday a federal judge ruled that Trump's deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in the US capital was unlawful.

US President Donald Trump said he prevented conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening 350% tariffs, claiming Prime Minister Modi told him “we’re not going to go to war,” even as India denies any third-party intervention.

Trump repeats claim of stopping India-Pakistan conflict by threatening 350% tariffs

US President Donald Trump said he prevented conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening 350% tariffs, claiming Prime Minister Modi told him &ldquo;we&rsquo;re not going to go to war,&rdquo; even as India denies any third-party intervention.

US President Donald Trump has said he settled tension between India and Pakistan after threatening the two countries with 350 per cent tariffs and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say &ldquo;we're not going to go to war.&rdquo;
Trump has repeated the claim over 60 times that he &ldquo;helped settle&rdquo; tension between India and Pakistan in May this year even as India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. &ldquo;&hellip;I&rsquo;m good at settling disputes, and I've always been. I&rsquo;ve done very well with that over the years, even before this. I was talking about the different wars&hellip; India, Pakistan... they were going to go at it, nuclear weapons,&rdquo; Trump said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum attended by visiting Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Trump said that he told the two nuclear-armed neighbours that they &ldquo;can go at it, but I'm putting a 350 per cent tariff on each country. No more trade with the United States.&rdquo;
Claiming that both India and Pakistan told him not to do it, Trump said that he told them, &ldquo;I'm going to do it. Come back to me and I'll take it down. But I'm not going to have you guys shooting nuclear weapons at each other, killing millions of people and having the nuclear dust floating over Los Angeles. I'm not going to do it&rsquo;.&rdquo;
Trump then said that he was &ldquo;all set&rdquo; and told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that he will put a 350 per cent tariff to settle (the conflict) and added, if the countries stopped the war, &ldquo;we'll make a nice trade deal,&rdquo; as they are in the midst of the negotiations for the trade deal.
&ldquo;Now, no other president would have done that&hellip; I used tariffs to settle all these wars, not all of them. Five of the eight were settled because of the economy, because of trade, because of tariffs,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;I did this.&rdquo;
He added that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called him and thanked him, in front of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, for saving millions of lives. Trump then claimed that he &ldquo;got a call from Prime Minister Modi saying, &lsquo;we're done&rsquo;. I said, &lsquo;you're done with what?&rsquo;&rdquo; Trump said and claimed Modi replied: &ldquo;We're not going to go to war.&rdquo;
Trump said he then thanked Modi and said, &ldquo;Let's make a deal.&rdquo;
The US president also added that he saved a lot of people, millions of people, in many other wars. Trump had repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan a day earlier too during a bilateral meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince in the Oval Office.
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a &ldquo;full and immediate&rdquo; ceasefire after a &ldquo;long night&rdquo; of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he &ldquo;helped settle&rdquo; the tensions between India and Pakistan.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.&nbsp;
India has consistently denied any third-party intervention and maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached on May 10 following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.

Donald Trump said the US will welcome skilled immigrants to help American workers learn advanced manufacturing, including chips and missile production, stressing that companies must bring expertise from abroad to operate complex new plants.

Trump says will welcome skilled immigrants to US, willing to take ‘heat’ for it

Donald Trump said the US will welcome skilled immigrants to help American workers learn advanced manufacturing, including chips and missile production, stressing that companies must bring expertise from abroad to operate complex new plants.

President Donald Trump said he will &ldquo;welcome&rdquo; to the US skilled immigrants who will &ldquo;teach&rdquo; American workers to develop complex products like chips and missiles, noting he may take a &ldquo;little heat&rdquo; over this from his base which supports immigration restrictions.
Addressing the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday, Trump said that a large number of plants, including "extremely complex&rdquo; ones, are being built in the US that will contribute significantly to the country&rsquo;s economic growth. He added that, given the complex nature of products that will be manufactured in these plants, like telephones, computers, and missiles, companies will have to bring in skilled workers from abroad who can share their knowledge and teach American workers.
"And I may take a little heat. I always take a little heat from my people, the people that love me and the people that I love, they happen to be toward the right of centre, sometimes they are way right,&rdquo; Trump said at the event that was attended by visiting Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman.
The US President said that companies have to bring people to "get those plants opened, we want you to do that, and we want those people to teach our people how to make computer chips and how to make other things." "...They're going to have to bring thousands of people with them, and I'm going to welcome those people,&rdquo; he said.
Trump said that the people against this are "really, really smart" and "unbelievable patriots", but he said they don't understand that the American people have to be taught. "This is something they've never done, and we're not going to be successful if we don't allow people that invest billions of dollars in plants and equipment to bring a lot of their people from their country to get that plant open, operating and working. I'm sorry,&rdquo; Trump said amid applause from the audience.
&ldquo;So my poll numbers just went down, but with smart people, they've gone way up. They've gone way up. And I mean that.&rdquo; Trump added said that he loves his conservative friends, &ldquo;I love MAGA, but this is MAGA,&rdquo; referring to his political ideology of &lsquo;Make America Great Again&rsquo;.
&ldquo;So for those of you that are doing the plants, you're going to have all the help you need, and you're going to do a great job, and you're going to teach our people how to do it, and our people are going to be just as good as your people ever were in not such a long period of time,&rdquo; Trump said.
Companies use visas such as H-1B and L1 to hire skilled foreign workers for speciality occupations in the US. The Trump administration has launched an intense crackdown on illegal immigration, and the President&rsquo;s supporters have also called for cracking down on H-1B visas, citing widespread abuse and fraud in the programme amid allegations that H-1B visa holders are rendering Americans unemployed.
Trump cited the example of the Hyundai battery manufacturing plant in Georgia, where law enforcement officials had conducted an immigration raid in September and detained hundreds of workers. Referring to the incident, Trump said, "Batteries are very dangerous to make. They're complex, much more complex than people understand. And they brought in, they spent a billion dollars to build a factory, and they were told to get out. And I said, &lsquo;Stop it. Don't be stupid&rsquo;. And we worked it out, and now they're teaching our people how to do it.&rdquo;
He said that a company cannot open up a big computer chip plant &ldquo;with people that don't even know what a chip looks like.&rdquo;
Earlier this month, Trump had defended the H-1B visa programme, saying America has to bring in talent from around the world as it does not have &ldquo;certain talents&rdquo; in the country. &ldquo;I agree but you also do have to bring in talent,&rdquo; Trump had said in an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News.
When Ingraham noted that "we have plenty of talent&rdquo;, Trump had said, &ldquo;No, you don&rsquo;t, no you don&rsquo;t. You don&rsquo;t have certain talents. And people have to learn. You can't take people off an unemployment line, and say, &lsquo;I'm going to put you into a factory, we're going to make missiles,'&rdquo; Trump had said.

Donald Trump has signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, mandating the release of government records on Jeffrey Epstein, but concerns remain over potential redactions, delays, and new investigations that could hinder full disclosure.

Donald Trump signs bill requiring Epstein files release

Donald Trump has signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, mandating the release of government records on Jeffrey Epstein, but concerns remain over potential redactions, delays, and new investigations that could hinder full disclosure.

Donald Trump signed into law on Wednesday legislation requiring the release of government records on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, spurring a showdown over whether the US president will allow full disclosure -- or return to trying to bury the case.
Trump stunned Washington over the weekend, reversing his months-long opposition to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and ensuring that it sailed through Congress on Tuesday in a rare show of bipartisan unity.
The Republican president, a former friend of the late sex offender, announced on social media late Wednesday that he had signed the bill, forgoing any media spectacle of the event.
Insiders warn that even with the president's signature, his administration could lean on redactions, procedural delays or lingering federal investigations to keep explosive details out of the public eye.
"Once the president signs the bill, he must apply and execute it faithfully. There must be no funny business from Donald Trump," top Democrat Chuck Schumer warned in a speech on the Senate floor.
"He must not use the excuse of frivolous investigations to release some Epstein documents, while intentionally hiding others that deserve to be seen by the American public."
Epstein, a wealthy financier, moved in elite circles for years, cultivating close ties with business tycoons, politicians, academics and celebrities to whom he was accused of trafficking girls and young women for sex.
Trump and his allies spent years pushing theories about powerful Democrats being protected over involvement with Epstein, framing the case as a potent symbol of how powerful men can hide behind lawyers, money and connections.
But Trump himself was a longtime associate of Epstein, raising questions over what he knew about the notorious figure.
Far beyond Trump's conspiracy-minded voter base, the saga dented public trust in the US justice system and raised suspicion among voters who believe important pieces of the story were either hidden or ignored.
Epstein's 2019 arrest fueled a storm of outrage and pressure for a full accounting of his network, his finances and the people who helped him evade.
Conspiracy theories about a cover-up only deepened after his death -- ruled a suicide -- in a New York jail soon after.
 - 'Smoke screen'? -
Passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in Congress marked a moment of deep emotional resonance, with abuse survivors filling the House gallery as the vote was called, hugging and cheering when it passed.
It was a sharp rebuke of Trump and his ally, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had led efforts to prevent disclosure.
Johnson had said he would "cross that bridge" when asked if he'd push Trump to veto the bill.
The president had warned House Republicans off the action but reversed course, fearing humiliation as he faced the largest rebellion of his presidency.
Under the law, the Justice Department has a month to dump its unclassified files online -- in a searchable trove of transcripts, flight logs and communications that could unearth unseen names and connections.
The text makes only narrow exceptions for personal data and genuine legal and security concerns.
But analysts question whether officials will comply, or argue that sensitive material cannot be released because related probes remain active -- including a new investigation ordered by Trump last week into Epstein's ties with Democrats.
"(This) might be a big smoke screen, these investigations, to open a bunch of them as a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files," Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who pushed the House vote, told ABC News.
The Justice Department and FBI said in July they had uncovered no evidence in a review of the files that would support further action, and it was not clear if the new probe ordered by Trump on Friday would hamper disclosure.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was pressed on the justification for further investigation and said there was "new information, additional information."
"If there are any victims, we encourage all victims to come forward," she told reporters. "And we will continue to provide maximum transparency under the law."

President Trump dismisses US intelligence findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s killing as he warmly hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with both nations announcing major investment, defence and diplomatic plans.

Trump dismisses US intelligence that Saudi prince was likely aware of 2018 killing of journalist

President Trump dismisses US intelligence findings on Jamal Khashoggi&rsquo;s killing as he warmly hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with both nations announcing major investment, defence and diplomatic plans.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed US intelligence findings that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi as Trump warmly welcomed the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on his first White House visit in seven years.
The US-Saudi relationship had, for a time, been sent into a tailspin by the operation targeting Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom. But seven years later, the dark clouds over the relationship have been cleared away. And Trump is tightening his embrace of the 40-year-old crown prince, who he said is an indispensable player in shaping the Middle East in the decades to come.
Trump in his defense of the crown prince derided Khashoggi as &ldquo;extremely controversial&rdquo; and said &ldquo;a lot of people didn't like that gentleman.&rdquo; Prince Mohammed denies involvement in the killing of Khashoggi, who was a Saudi citizen and Virginia resident.
&ldquo;Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen,&rdquo; Trump said of the international incident when asked about it by a reporter during an Oval Office appearance with Prince Mohammed. &ldquo;But (Prince Mohammed) knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.&rdquo;
But US intelligence officials determined that the Saudi crown prince likely approved the killing by Saudi agents of US-based journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to US findings declassified in 2021 at the start of the Biden administration. Trump officials, during his first administration, refused to release the report.
Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia &ldquo;did all the right steps&rdquo; to investigate Khashoggi's death. &ldquo;It's painful and it's a huge mistake,&rdquo; he said.
Trump, who said the two leaders have become &ldquo;good friends," even commended the Saudi leader for strides made by the kingdom on human rights without providing any specific detail. &ldquo;What's he done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else," Trump said.
New investment from Saudis
The crown prince for his part announced Saudi Arabia was increasing its planned investments in the US to USD 1 trillion, up from USD 600 billion that the Saudis announced they would pour into the United States when Trump visited the kingdom in May.
Echoing rhetoric that Trump likes to use, the crown prince used the moment to flatter the Republican leader by calling the US the &ldquo;hottest country on the planet" for foreign investment. &ldquo;What you're creating is not about an opportunity today. It's also about long term opportunity,&rdquo; Prince Mohammed said.
Trump's family has a strong personal interest in the kingdom. In September, London real estate developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. It's Dar Global's second collaboration with the Trump Organisation, the collection of companies controlled by the US president's children, in Saudi Arabia.
Trump pushed back on suggestions that there could be a conflict of interest in his family's dealings with the Saudis. &ldquo;I have nothing to do with the family business,&rdquo; Trump said.
Trump's comments about Khashoggi's and defense of his family's business in Saudi Arabia were blasted by human rights and government oversight activists. Human rights groups say Saudi authorities continue to harshly repress dissent, including by arresting human rights defenders, journalists, and political dissidents for criticism against the kingdom. They also note a surge in executions in Saudi Arabia that they connect to an effort to suppress internal dissent.
&ldquo;President Trump has Jamal Khashoggi's blood on his hands,&rdquo; said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for DAWN, a US-based group advocating for democracy and human rights in the Arab world that was founded by Khashoggi. Jarrar added, &ldquo;Trump has made himself complicit in every execution and imprisonment MBS has ordered since."
Rolling out the red carpet
Trump warmly received Prince Mohammed when he arrived at the White House Tuesday morning for a pomp-filled arrival ceremony that included a military flyover and a thundering greeting from the US Marine band. Technically, it's not a state visit, because the crown prince is not the head of state. But Prince Mohammed has taken charge of the day-to-day governing for his father, King Salman, 89, who has endured health problems in recent years.
Trump showed the prince the newly-installed Presidential Walk of Fame that features gold-framed images of past presidents along the West Wing colonnade and a photo of an autopen signing the name of Biden in place of the Democrat's official portrait.
Later, Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed the crown prince for a black-tie dinner in the White House East Room. The boldface names who attended included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Trump at the dinner announced he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally as the administration aims to elevate the two nations' military relationship. The designation, while largely symbolic, provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense, trade and security cooperation.
Trump and Prince Mohammed will attend an investment summit at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday that will include the heads of Salesforce, Qualcomm, Pfizer, the Cleveland Clinic, Chevron and Aramco, Saudi Arabia's national oil and natural gas company, where even more deals with the Saudis could be announced.
Fighter jets and business deals
On the eve of Prince Mohammed's arrival, Trump announced he has agreed to sell the Saudis F-35 fighter jets despite some concerns within the administration that the sale could lead to China gaining access to the US technology behind the advanced weapon system. The White House announced the two leaders formalized the F-35 agreement Tuesday as well as a deal for the Saudis to purchase nearly 300 tanks from the US.
They also signed agreements signifying closer cooperation on capital markets and critical minerals markets, as well as efforts against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Trump's announcement on the fighter jets was surprising because some in the Republican administration have been wary about upsetting Israel's qualitative military edge over its neighbours, especially at a time when Trump is depending on Israeli support for the success of his Gaza peace plan.
Abraham Accord talks
The visit comes at a moment when Trump is trying to nudge the Saudis toward normalising relations with Israel. The president in his first term had helped forge commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates through an effort dubbed the Abraham Accords.
Trump sees expansion of the accords as essential to his broader efforts to build stability in the Middle East after the two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Getting Saudi Arabia &mdash; the largest Arab economy and the birthplace of Islam &mdash; to sign on would spur a domino effect, he argues.
But the Saudis have maintained that a path toward Palestinian statehood must first be established before normalizing relations with Israel can be considered. The Israelis remain steadfastly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
&ldquo;We want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path of a two-state solution,&rdquo; Prince Mohammed said.

The Congress targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after US President Donald Trump claimed India would reduce oil imports from Russia, saying this was the fourth time in six days Trump had announced India’s policy.

Trump's Revelations Stir Political Flurry in India

Trump's Remarks on India-Russia Oil Deal

The Congress targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after US President Donald Trump claimed India would reduce oil imports from Russia, saying this was the fourth time in six days Trump had announced India&rsquo;s policy.

The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at the government after US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that India is "not going to buy much oil from Russia" and said this is the fourth time in six days that the American leader has announced India's policy.
The opposition party also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying what he conceals, "Trump reveals".
The attack came after Trump spoke with Modi and greeted him on Diwali.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The PM has finally acknowledged publicly that President Trump called him up and that the two spoke to each other. But all that the PM has said is that the US President extended Diwali greetings. But while Mr. Modi conceals, Mr. Trump reveals."
"On his part, the US President has said that in addition to extending Diwali greetings, he spoke of India's oil imports from Russia and that he had been assured that these imports will be stopped. This is the 4th time in 6 days that the US President has announced India's policy," Ramesh said on X.
Earlier, President Trump had first announced the stoppage of Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10 before Prime Minister Modi did, he said.
In a post on X on Wednesday morning, Modi said, "Thank you, President Trump, for your phone call and warm Diwali greetings.".
"On this festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms," the prime minister said.
The phone call between the two leaders comes at a time when the US-India relationship has hit a rough patch over trade tariffs and other issues.
Earlier, Trump in his remarks at the White House said, "I love the people of India. We're working on some great deals between our countries. I spoke to Prime Minister Modi today and we just have a very good relationship'. He's not going to buy much oil from Russia. He wants to see that war end as much as I do. He wants to see the war between Russia and Ukraine to end."
"They're not going to be buying too much oil. So they've cut it way back, and they're continuing to cut it way back," Trump said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked US President Donald Trump for his Diwali wishes after a phone conversation, emphasizing the shared democratic values and deepening friendship between India and the United States.

PM Modi thanks US President Trump for Diwali greetings, highlights strong India-US ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked US President Donald Trump for his Diwali wishes after a phone conversation, emphasizing the shared democratic values and deepening friendship between India and the United States.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his gratitude to United States President Donald Trump for his Diwali wishes after the two leaders spoke over the phone on the occasion of the festival of lights.
In a post shared on X on Wednesday, PM Modi appreciated President Trump&rsquo;s gesture and highlighted the strong democratic bond between India and the United States.
&ldquo;Thank you, President Trump, for your phone call and warm Diwali greetings. On this festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms,&rdquo; the Prime Minister wrote.
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thank you, President Trump, for your phone call and warm Diwali greetings. On this festival of lights, may our two great democracies continue to illuminate the world with hope and stand united against terrorism in all its forms.<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1980826742379184347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
President Trump, who celebrated Diwali at the White House on Tuesday (local time), conveyed his greetings to Indians and Indian-Americans. During his address, Trump praised PM Modi, referring to him as a &ldquo;great person&rdquo; and &ldquo;a great friend,&rdquo; while noting the strength of bilateral cooperation in trade and regional stability.
&ldquo;Let me extend our warmest wishes to the people of India. I just spoke to your Prime Minister today. Had a great conversation. We talked about trade... He's very interested in that. Although we did talk a little while ago about let's have no wars with Pakistan. The fact that trade was involved, I was able to talk about that. And we have no war with Pakistan and India. That was a very, very good thing,&rdquo; Trump said during the event. &ldquo;He's a great person, and he's become a great friend of mine over the years,&rdquo; he added.
Emphasizing Diwali&rsquo;s symbolism, Trump remarked, &ldquo;In a few moments, we'll light the diya as a symbol of faith in the victory of light over darkness... It's knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. During Diwali, the revellers recall ancient stories of enemies defeated, obstacles removed, and captives freed.&rdquo;
Following his remarks, Trump lit the diyas to mark the celebration at the White House. Several senior officials from his administration were in attendance, including FBI Director Kash Patel, ODNI Director Tulsi Gabbard, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai, India&rsquo;s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra, and the US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.
Also present were prominent Indian-American business leaders, reflecting the growing involvement of the Indian diaspora in strengthening the US-India partnership. The White House celebration highlighted both the cultural significance of Diwali in the United States and the enduring friendship between the two democracies.

US President Donald Trump warned Hamas it would be eradicated if it violates the Gaza truce with Israel, while Vice President JD Vance travels to Israel to support the fragile ceasefire.

Trump says Hamas will be 'eradicated' if group breaches Gaza deal

US President Donald Trump warned Hamas it would be eradicated if it violates the Gaza truce with Israel, while Vice President JD Vance travels to Israel to support the fragile ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump warned Hamas Monday it would be "eradicated" if it breaches the Gaza deal with Israel, but said he would give the Palestinian militant group a chance to honor the truce.
Vice President JD Vance headed to Israel shortly after Trump's comments, joining two top US envoys after weekend violence threatened to wreck the fragile ceasefire.
"We made a deal with Hamas that they're going to be very good, they're going to behave, they're going to be nice," Trump told reporters at the White House as he hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"And if they're not, we're going to go and we're going to eradicate them, if we have to. They'll be eradicated, and they know that."
Trump helped broker the Gaza deal nearly two weeks ago but it has repeatedly come under threat as Israel accuses Hamas of stalling on handing over dead hostages, and of launching attacks.
Hamas's top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, told Egypt's Al-Qahera News that the group was still committed to the ceasefire agreement.
"We are finding it extremely difficult to extract the bodies, but we are serious and working hard to extract them," he said in comments broadcast Tuesday morning.
"The Gaza agreement will hold, because we want it to and our will to abide by it is strong."
Trump has also warned the militant group to stop public executions of rivals and alleged collaborators as it seeks to reestablish its grip on the devastated territory.
Trump, however, insisted that American forces would not be involved in confronting against Hamas, saying dozens of countries that have agreed to join an international stabilization forces for Gaza would "love to go in."
"In addition, you have Israel would go in in two minutes, if I asked them to go in," Trump said.
"But right now, we haven't said that. We're going to give it a little chance, and hopefully there will be a little less violence. But right now, you know, they're violent people," he added.
"They got very rambunctious, and they did things that they shouldn't be doing, and if they keep doing it, then we're going to go in and straighten it out, and it'll happen very quickly and pretty violently."
Trump said that Hamas was now far weaker, especially as regional backer Iran was now unlikely to step in on its behalf following US and Israeli strikes this year.
"They don't have the backing of really anybody anymore. They have to be good, and if they're not good, they'll be eradicated," Trump stressed.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser son-in-law Jared Kushner met Netanyahu on Monday to discuss "developments and updates in the region", a spokesman for the prime minister's office said.
Vance and his wife Usha later left Washington for Israel without commenting to reporters. They were also due to meet with Netanyahu, the prime minister's office said.

US President Donald Trump warned Hamas against continued internal bloodshed in Gaza, saying there would be consequences, though he clarified that US troops would not enter the territory and enforcement would come from regional actors.

Trump warns Hamas 'we will have no choice but to go in and kill them' if bloodshed persists in Gaza

US President Donald Trump warned Hamas against continued internal bloodshed in Gaza, saying there would be consequences, though he clarified that US troops would not enter the territory and enforcement would come from regional actors.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Hamas "we will have no choice but to go in and kill them" if internal bloodshed persists in Gaza.
The grim warning from Trump came after he previously downplayed the internal violence in the territory since a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect last week in the two-year war.
Trump later clarified he will not send US troops into Gaza after launching the threat against Hamas. "It's not going to be us," Trump said in an exchange with reporters. "We won't have to. There are people very close, very nearby that will go in and they'll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices."
Trump said on Tuesday that Hamas had taken out "a couple of gangs that were very bad" and had killed a number of gang members. "That didn't bother me much, to be honest with you," he said.
The Republican president did not say how he would follow through on his threat posted on his Truth Social platform, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking clarity.
But Trump also made clear he had limited patience for the killings that Hamas was carrying out against rival factions inside the devastated territory. "They will disarm, and if they don't do so, we will disarm them, and it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently," Trump said.
The Hamas-run police maintained a high degree of public security after the militants seized power in Gaza 18 years ago, while also cracking down on dissent. They largely melted away in recent months as Israeli forces seized large areas of Gaza and targeted Hamas security forces with airstrikes.
Powerful local families and armed gangs, including some anti-Hamas factions backed by Israel, stepped into the void. Many are accused of hijacking humanitarian aid and selling it for profit, contributing to Gaza's starvation crisis.
The ceasefire plan introduced by Trump had called for all hostages &mdash; living and dead &mdash; to be handed over by a deadline that expired on Monday. But under the deal, if that did not happen, Hamas was to share information about deceased hostages and try to hand them over as soon as possible.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel "will not compromise" and demanded that Hamas fulfil the requirements laid out in the ceasefire deal about the return of hostages' bodies.
Hamas' armed wing said in a statement on Wednesday that the group honoured the ceasefire's terms and handed over the remains of the hostages it had access to.
The United States announced last week that it is sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations and nongovernmental organisations. But US officials have stressed that US forces would not set foot in Gaza.
Israeli officials have also been angered by the pace of the return of the remains of dead hostages the militant group had been holding in captivity. Hamas had agreed to return 28 bodies as part of the ceasefire deal in addition to 20 living hostages, who were released earlier this week.
Hamas has assured the US through intermediaries that it is working to return dead hostages, according to two senior US advisers. The advisers, who were not authorised to comment publicly and briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said they do not believe Hamas has violated the deal.

Russian envoy Denis Alipov stated India’s energy cooperation aligns with its national interests, following Trump’s claim that PM Modi assured a halt to Russian crude, while India emphasizes diversification and stable supplies.

It is based on India's national interest: Russia on energy ties with New Delhi

Russian envoy Denis Alipov stated India&rsquo;s energy cooperation aligns with its national interests, following Trump&rsquo;s claim that PM Modi assured a halt to Russian crude, while India emphasizes diversification and stable supplies.

Russia's energy ties with India are in tune with New Delhi's national interests, Russian envoy Denis Alipov said on Thursday, asserting that overall bilateral trade relations are on an upswing.&nbsp;
Alipov's remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi will stop procuring Russian crude oil.
"This is a question for the Indian government (to answer)," the envoy told reporters when asked if India will continue to procure Russian crude oil in view of Trump's remarks.
The Indian government is dealing with the matter having in mind the national interests of this country in the first place, he said. "Our cooperation in the energy sector is very much in tune of those interests," he said.
In response to the US president's comments, India said it is "broad-basing and diversifying" its sourcing of energy to meet market conditions. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to Trump's remarks, said it has been New Delhi's consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.
He said India's import policies are guided entirely by national interest, adding India has been looking at expanding energy ties with the US as well. "Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy," Jaiswal said. "This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions," he added.
India's continuing purchase of petroleum products from Russia notwithstanding Western sanctions has become a major issue that resulted in severe downturn in ties between New Delhi and Washington.
In Washington, Trump told reporters that "he (Modi) has assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia." The US president said India may not be able to cut the procurement immediately but the process has started. "It (process) has started. He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," the US president said.

A day after Donald Trump claimed PM Modi assured a halt to Russian oil imports, India reiterated its energy policy is driven by consumer interests, focusing on stable prices and diversified supplies.

India reaffirms energy independence after Trump’s Russian oil claim

A day after Donald Trump claimed PM Modi assured a halt to Russian oil imports, India reiterated its energy policy is driven by consumer interests, focusing on stable prices and diversified supplies.

India on Thursday said it is "broad-basing and diversifying" its sourcing of energy to meet market conditions, hours after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi will stop procuring Russian crude oil.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to Trump's remarks, said it has been New Delhi's consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.
He said India's import policies are guided entirely by national interest, adding the country has been looking at expanding energy ties with the US as well.
<img src="https://cdn.editorji.com/68f09caa0d860_1760599210.jpg" width="528" height="528">
"Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy," he said. "This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions," Jaiswal added.
India's continuing purchase of petroleum products from Russia notwithstanding Western sanctions has become a major issue that resulted in severe downturn in ties between New Delhi and Washington.
In Washington, Trump told reporters that "he (Modi) has assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia." The US president said India may not be able to cut the procurement immediately but the process has started. "It (process) has started. He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," the US president said.
In his remarks, Jaiswal noted that India is holding talks with the Trump administration on boosting bilateral energy ties. "Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade," he said. "The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing," he added.
Explaining India's policy on energy procurement, Jaiswal said it is driven by national interest. "India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario," he said. "Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective," he said.
In his remarks, Trump suggested that the US wants India to stop procurement of Russian crude only to put financial pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin so that he ends the war in Ukraine. "All we want from President Putin is to stop this, stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians because he's killing a lot of Russians. It is a war he should have won in one week and now it is going into fourth year," he said.
Washington has been maintaining that India is helping Putin to finance the war through its purchase of Russian crude oil. The relations between New Delhi and Washington have been reeling under severe stress after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable."

donald trump

Categories