Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s javelin star Arshad Nadeem was honored with the Global Breakthrough Athlete Award at the World Sports Summit in the United Arab Emirates on Monday. Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, Sheikh Mansoor, presented the award.&nbsp;Nadeem received praise for his historic performance at the Paris Olympics, where he won the gold medal with a record-breaking throw of 92.97 meters, setting new Olympic and world records.&nbsp;Nadeem wrote on Instagram, &ldquo;Alhamdulillah. Honored to receive the Global Breakthrough Athlete Award at the World Sports Summit in Dubai.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed instagram-embed" style="width: 50%; display: block; max-width: 600px;"><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DS1_y_ijCPZ/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=592&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com&rp=%2Farticles%2Fnew#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A613208.099999994%2C%22ls%22%3A1587%2C%22le%22%3A1587%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="510" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background: white; max-width: 540px; width: calc(100% - 2px); border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219); box-shadow: none; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px;"></iframe></div>The global event featured over 1,500 sports leaders, policymakers, and athletes who will participate in discussions on the future of the industry under the theme &ldquo;Uniting the World Through Sport.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s Federal Minister for Information &amp; Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, wrote on social media platform X, &ldquo;Arshad Nadeem is our pride.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2005550408308261022&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=7704bdc4bf0e6763afc04d37faf7e05443d56d2e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 779px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2005550408308261022"></iframe></div></div>Nadeem has also won medals at other international competitions, such as the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. In November, he won gold in the men&rsquo;s javelin throw at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Saudi Arabia, recording a throw of 83.05 meters.

Athletics

Pakistan’s javelin star Arshad Nadeem was honored with the ‘Global Breakthrough Athlete’ award in the UAE. He previously won Olympic gold with a record 92.97-meter throw and Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 gold in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan’s javelin star Arshad Nadeem receives Global Breakthrough Athlete award  

PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday for crucial talks on moving to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan. The two leaders also discussed Iran, with Trump saying that if Tehran rebuilt its nuclear facilities, the United States would &quot;knock them down.&quot; Trump played down reports of tensions with Netanyahu, saying that &quot;he can be very difficult&quot; but that Israel &quot;might not exist&quot; without his leadership following Hamas&#39;s October 7, 2023, attacks. &quot;We have about five major subjects that we&#39;re discussing, and Gaza will be one of those,&quot; Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort ahead of the bilateral meeting. Trump called again on Hamas to disarm as part of the next phase of October&#39;s Gaza ceasefire, after the Palestinian group&#39;s armed wing vowed to keep its weapons. &quot;There has to be a disarming of Hamas,&quot; Trump said. Netanyahu responded by saying that &quot;we&#39;ve never had a friend like President Trump in the White House.&quot; The Israeli premier also met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ahead of his talks with Trump. The meeting, the fifth between the two leaders to be held in the United States this year, comes as some White House officials fear both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the second phase of their ceasefire. Trump is reportedly keen to announce as soon as January a Palestinian technocratic government to replace Hamas&#39;s rule in Gaza, and the deployment of an international stabilization force. Fragile ceasefire Netanyahu&#39;s visit caps a frantic few days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday for talks on ending Russia&#39;s invasion. The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major achievements of Trump&#39;s first year back in power, but his administration and regional mediators want to keep up the momentum. The first phase of the truce deal stipulated that Hamas release the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, taken during its 2023 attack on Israel. The group has so far returned all the living captives and the remains of all but one. Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas is supposed to lay down its weapons. An interim authority is meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the international stabilization force (ISF) is to be deployed. Both sides, however, have alleged frequent ceasefire violations. Hamas&#39;s armed wing reiterated earlier on Monday that it would not surrender its weapons. &quot;Our people are defending themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains,&quot; the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a video message. &#39;Harsher consequences&#39;The Axios news outlet reported on Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new Gaza &quot;Board of Peace&quot; that he will chair at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January. But it said that senior White House officials were growing exasperated with what they viewed as efforts by Netanyahu to stall the peace process. The Israeli and US administrations are increasingly at odds on many key issues, including Israel&#39;s continued strikes on Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and in Syria. On Iran, Israeli officials and media have expressed concern in recent months that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal after it came under attack during the 12-day war with Israel in June. Trump told reporters Monday he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal but warned it would face a repeat of US attacks on its nuclear facilities &quot;fast&quot; if it tried to rebuild its program. Iran on Monday denounced the reports as a &quot;psychological operation&quot; against Tehran, emphasizing it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warning renewed aggression would &quot;result in harsher consequences&quot; for Israel. Trump added that he hoped Netanyahu could &quot;get along&quot; with the new president of Syria, the former commander of an armed rebel group, following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad last year.

Americas

Trump is reportedly keen to announce as soon as January a Palestinian technocratic government to replace Hamas's rule in Gaza, and the deployment of an international stabilization force.

Trump, Netanyahu meet in Florida to discuss Gaza, Iran

KYIV: Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of having fired dozens of drones at one of President Vladimir Putin&#39;s homes, an accusation that Ukraine called a &quot;lie&quot; aimed at undermining US-led efforts to end the war.&nbsp;Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who does not typically announce drone strikes, said Ukraine had fired &quot;91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles&quot; at Putin&#39;s residence in the Novgorod region between late Sunday and early Monday, all of which were shot down.&nbsp;&quot;Given the complete degeneration of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia&#39;s negotiating position will be reconsidered,&quot; Lavrov said, without elaborating.&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with US President Donald Trump on Sunday for talks on ending the war, called Russia&#39;s claim &quot;a complete fabrication&quot; designed to derail the peace process and suggested Moscow was preparing to intensify its bombardment of Ukraine.&nbsp;&quot;Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump&#39;s team,&quot; the Ukrainian leader wrote on X.&nbsp;Russia&#39;s accusation comes at a pivotal moment in the peace process.&nbsp;Ukraine says it has agreed to 90 percent of a US-drafted peace plan -- including the issue of post-war security guarantees -- though the issue of territory in a post-war settlement remains unresolved.&nbsp;Russia, which has stayed silent about what parts of the US plan it has agreed to, said Monday it was still committed to the peace process but would &quot;revise&quot; its position in light of the alleged drone attack.&nbsp;Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a &quot;special military operation&quot; to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of NATO.&nbsp;Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.&nbsp;Territory main sticking pointTrump has held talks with both sides in recent days, including a phone call with Putin on Monday that the White House described as &quot;positive&quot;.&nbsp;During talks with Zelensky on Sunday, Trump offered Kyiv long-sought-after security guarantees for a period of 15 years, according to Kyiv.&nbsp;But the issue of territory and the future of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remain unresolved, Zelensky said.&nbsp;Zelensky said Monday that Kyiv was ready for &quot;any&quot; format of meetings including with Putin if necessary but said he still did not think the Kremlin chief wanted peace.&nbsp;The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and establish a demilitarized area.&nbsp;But the Kremlin has shown no sign of compromise.&nbsp;Putin said Monday that Russia was pressing ahead with its plan to capture four Ukrainian regions it announced the annexation of in 2022 and that his troops were &quot;confidently advancing&quot;.&nbsp;Moscow on Monday said it took another village, Dibrova, in Ukraine&#39;s eastern Donetsk region.

Europe

Russia accused Ukraine of a massive drone attack on Putin’s residence, which Kyiv denied as a fabrication, warning Moscow is trying to derail US-led peace efforts as territorial disputes and military fighting continue despite ongoing negotiations.

Russia says Ukraine attacked Putin's home, Kyiv calls this 'lie'

WASHINGTON: A throwaway remark last week by President Donald Trump has raised questions about whether US forces may have carried their first land strike against drug cartels in Venezuela.&nbsp;Trump said the US knocked out a &quot;big facility&quot; for producing trafficking boats, as he was discussing his pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an interview broadcast Friday.&nbsp;&quot;They have a big plant or a big facility where they send, you know, where the ships come from,&quot; Trump said in an interview with billionaire supporter John Catsimatidis on the WABC radio station in New York.&nbsp;&quot;Two nights ago we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard.&quot;&nbsp;Trump did not say where the facility was located or give any other details. US forces have carried out numerous strikes in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing more than 100 people.&nbsp;The Pentagon referred questions about Trump&#39;s remarks to the White House. The White House did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.&nbsp;There has been no official comment from the Venezuelan government.&nbsp;Trump has been saying for weeks that the United States will &quot;soon&quot; start carrying out land strikes targeting drug cartels in Latin America, but there have been no confirmed attacks to date.&nbsp;The Trump administration has been ramping up pressure on Maduro, accusing the Venezuelan leader of running a drug cartel himself and imposing an oil tanker blockade.&nbsp;Maduro has accused Washington of attempting regime change.

Trump claimed the US destroyed a major drug-boat production facility, sparking speculation of the first land strike in Venezuela, though no details or confirmations followed, as Washington intensifies pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and sanctions.

Trump hints at land strike as Venezuela pressure mounts

TEHRAN: Some shopkeepers in Tehran shut their stores for the second day in a row Monday in protest against economic hardships and sharp swings in Iran&#39;s embattled currency, media reports said. The rial has hit new lows on the unofficial market, with the US dollar trading at around 1.42 million rials on Sunday -- compared to 820,000 rials a year ago -- and the euro nearing 1.7 million rials, according to price monitoring websites. The rates eased somewhat on Monday, with the dollar at around 1.39 million rials, and the euro at about 1.64 million rials. A journalist from the pro-labour news agency ILNA reported &quot;demonstrations&quot; at several bazaars in the centre of the capital on Monday, the agency said. It said protesters &quot;are demanding immediate government intervention to rein in exchange-rate fluctuations and set out a clear economic strategy&quot;. Price fluctuations are paralysing the sales of some imported goods, with both sellers and buyers preferring to postpone transactions until the outlook becomes clearer, AFP correspondents noted. &quot;Continuing to do business under these conditions has become impossible,&quot; ILNA quoted protesters as saying. State news agency IRNA reported: &quot;Many shopkeepers preferred to suspend sales in order to prevent potential losses.&quot; It added that some protesters on Monday &quot;chanted slogans&quot;. The conservative-aligned Fars news agency released images showing a crowd of demonstrators occupying a major thoroughfare in central Tehran, known for its many shops. Another photograph appears to show tear gas being used to disperse protesters. &quot;Minor physical clashes were reported... between some protesters and the security forces,&quot; Fars said, warning that such gatherings could lead to instability.<h2 style="line-height: 2;"> </h2><h2 style="line-height: 2;">Judicial warning</h2>On Sunday, the ISNA news agency said a group of shopkeepers and mobile phone vendors at a main shopping centre in the city &quot;protested against sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate and the damage caused to the mobile phone market&quot; by briefly shutting up shop. On Monday, Iranian Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei called for &quot;the swift punishment of those responsible for currency fluctuations&quot;, the justice ministry&#39;s Mizan agency reported. The government has also announced the replacement of the central bank governor. &quot;By decision of the president, Abdolnasser Hemmati will be appointed governor of the Central Bank,&quot; presidency communications official Mehdi Tabatabaei posted on X. Hemmati is a former economy and finance minister who was dismissed by parliament in March because of the sharp depreciation of the rial. On Sunday, President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered the budget for the next Persian year to parliament, vowing to fight inflation and the high cost of living. Notably, the budget provides for a 20 percent increase in wages, a rate that is nonetheless well below that of inflation. In December inflation stood at 52 percent year-on-year, according to official statistics. But this figure still falls far short of many price increases, especially for basic necessities. Iran&#39;s economy, already battered by decades of Western sanctions, was further strained after the United Nations in late September reinstated international sanctions linked to the country&#39;s nuclear programme that were lifted 10 years ago. Western powers and Israel accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Negotiations with the United States on the issue are at a standstill, and uncertainty stemming from 12 days of war in June against Israel is also affecting the economic outlook. Pezeshkian in an interview published on Saturday accused the United States, Israel and Europeans of waging &quot;total war&quot; against Iran.

Asia

Shopkeepers in Tehran closed shops for a second day, protesting sharp rial depreciation and economic hardships. Demonstrations disrupted markets as authorities used tear gas, while the government replaced the central bank governor and promised inflation-fighting measures.

Tehran shopkeepers shut stores over economic conditions

GENEVA: Washington on Monday pledged an initial $2 billion for United Nations humanitarian aid in 2026&mdash;far less than it has provided in recent years&mdash;warning individual UN agencies to &quot;adapt, shrink or die&quot;. With its pledge, announced at the US mission in Geneva alongside the United Nations&#39; aid chief Tom Fletcher, the United States is pursuing a dramatic overhaul of how it funds UN humanitarian work. Instead of handing funds to individual agencies, the United States will funnel its contributions through the UN aid agency OCHA, headed by Fletcher, which earlier this year launched a so-called Humanitarian Reset to improve efficiency and accountability. The US funds will then be distributed to more than a dozen selected countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Sudan. &quot;It is an initial anchor commitment,&quot; Jeremy Lewin, the senior US official for foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom, told reporters. &quot;There are other countries that we will add as we continue to get more funding into this mechanism.&quot; He challenged other countries to match or beat US funding for UN aid. &quot;This new model will better share the burden of UN humanitarian work with other developed countries and will require the UN to cut bloat, remove duplication, and commit to powerful new impact, accountability, and oversight mechanisms,&quot; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X. According to UN data, the United States remained the top humanitarian aid donor in the world in 2025, but that amount fell significantly to $2.7 billion, down from around $11 billion in 2023 and 2024, and from over $14 billion in 2022. Other key donor countries have also been tightening their belts, triggering major upheaval in the global aid sector. &quot;Individual UN agencies will need to adapt, shrink, or die,&quot; a State Department statement said. Hard priority choicesFletcher, who is British, said the US pledge was an &quot;extraordinary&quot; commitment. &quot;The US has long been the world&#39;s humanitarian superpower,&quot; he said in a statement. &quot;Hundreds of millions of people are alive today because of American generosity&mdash;and many millions more will survive in 2026 because of this landmark investment in humanity.&quot; Fletcher said reform of the humanitarian system was in the pipeline, and US taxpayers would be able to see how their money was delivering life-saving impacts. &quot;The US is also placing a significant and encouraging vote of trust and confidence in the Humanitarian Reset, through which we are making humanitarian action faster, smarter and closer to the people on the front lines of emergencies,&quot; he said. &quot;We&#39;re cutting red tape, eliminating duplication, and prioritizing hard.&quot; When Fletcher launched the UN&#39;s annual Global Humanitarian Appeal for 2026 earlier this month, he requested $23 billion to provide assistance to 87 million of the world&#39;s neediest people, with a heavy focus on dire conflicts like those in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar. The amount and number of people covered by the appeal has been dramatically reduced over recent years, as the UN strives to adapt to a new reality after President Donald Trump slashed US foreign aid spending. The United Nations has stressed that the smaller appeal does not mean needs have shrunk. It estimates that some 240 million people&mdash;in conflict zones, suffering from epidemics, or victims of natural disasters and climate change -- are in need of emergency aid. In 2025, the UN&#39;s appeal for more than $45 billion was only funded to the $12 billion mark, the lowest in a decade. That only allowed it to help 98 million people, 25 million fewer than the year before.&nbsp;

The United States will pledge $2 billion for UN humanitarian aid in 2026, far below past levels, as funding declines strain UN appeals seeking $23 billion to assist millions amid global conflicts and disasters worldwide

US to pledge $2B for UN humanitarian aid in 2026, lower than previously

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces on Monday killed five terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the northwestern district of Bajaur, following reports of militant presence in the area, the military said in a statement. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an operation in Khar after receiving intelligence about the presence of terrorists belonging to Indian-proxy &quot;Fitna al-Khawarij.&quot; Pakistan uses the term &ldquo;khawarij&rdquo; to refer to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella network of Indian-backed armed terrorist groups. During the operation, five terrorists were killed, but in the intense&nbsp;exchange of fire, a senior officer, Major Adeel Zaman, embraced martyrdom. The officer was leading his troops from the front and rendered the ultimate sacrifice, the statement added. During the operation, weapons and ammunition were also recovered, which were being used in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as in the killing of innocent civilians, according to ISPR. The military said follow-up sanitization operations were conducted to eliminate any remaining militants in the area. The statement emphasized that counterterrorism efforts would continue under the Azm-e-Istehkam framework, adding that forces would operate &ldquo;at full pace to wipe out the threats of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.&rdquo;

Security

Pakistan security forces killed five Indian-sponsored terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province; Major Adeel Zaman was martyred in the line of duty; weapons were recovered, and sanitization operations continue, ISPR said.

Pakistan forces kill five terrorists, soldier embraces martyrdom in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Army

KYIV: The US has offered Ukraine &quot;solid&quot; security guarantees for 15 years with a possibility of an extension but Kyiv is seeking a longer period, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday after meeting Donald Trump. Zelensky held talks with Trump in Florida, where the US leader said a deal to end almost four years of war with Russia was closer than ever. The wartime president said the issue of territory and the future of Ukraine&#39;s Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were the remaining unresolved parts of a plan to end the war. But Zelensky added that he considered the presence of international troops in Ukraine a necessary part of the guarantees, which Russia has rejected in the past. Still, the Kremlin agreed with Trump&#39;s assessment that talks were in their final stages while repeating its maximalist demand for Kyiv to withdraw from eastern Ukraine. Kyiv was hoping for a meeting with European and American officials in Ukraine in the &quot;coming days&quot; to work on documents to end the conflict, Zelensky said. Any deal to end Europe&#39;s worst conflict since WWII &quot;must be signed by Ukraine, Russia, the US and Europe&quot;, he said. Security guarantees were a priority for Kyiv. &quot;Without security guarantees, this war cannot be considered truly over. We cannot acknowledge that it has ended, because with such a neighbour there remains a risk of renewed aggression,&quot; Zelensky said. He had told Trump the 15-year offer was too short a period for Kyiv. &quot;I told him that we really want to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years,&quot; he added. &quot;The president said he would think about it.&quot; Strikes us with missilesZelensky spoke as Russia continued its relentless attacks into the holiday season and pressed on with its maximalist demands in Ukraine. Zelensky repeated that Kyiv was ready for &quot;any&quot; format of meetings -- including with Putin if necessary -- but said he still did not think the Kremlin chief wanted peace. He accused Putin of misleading Trump. &quot;On the one hand, he tells the president of the United States that he wants to end the war and that this is his desire,&quot; Zelensky said. &quot;And on the other hand...he strikes us with missiles (and) gives instructions to his generals about where to advance.&quot; Putin has for weeks told Russians Moscow was intent on achieving its aims in Ukraine by force if diplomacy fails. Moscow wants to keep all the territory it occupies in Ukraine as well as be handed lands in eastern Ukraine still controlled by Kyiv. The Kremlin on Monday again called for Ukraine to withdraw from unoccupied parts of Donbas, warning that &quot;Ukraine is losing territory and will continue to do so.&quot; It said it expected Putin and Trump to speak by phone in the &quot;very near future.&quot; Territory issue unresolved&nbsp;Trump on Sunday acknowledged the issue of territories were unresolved between the warring countries, showing little sign of a breakthrough. &quot;It&#39;s unresolved, but it&#39;s getting a lot closer. That&#39;s a very tough issue, but one that I think will get resolved,&quot; Trump said. Zelensky also said it was a remaining issue and offered little detail, only saying: &quot;We will act in accordance with the interests of Ukraine.&quot; The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and set up a demilitarized area, while Russia has long demanded territorial concessions. But the Kremlin has shown no sign of compromise, with Putin repeatedly saying his troops will seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian. Outnumbered and exhausted Ukrainian troops have struggled to hold back a Russian advance, which picked up pace since autumn. Moscow on Monday said it took another village, Dibrova, in the Donetsk region.

US has offered Ukraine "solid" security guarantees for 15 years with a possibility of an extension, but Kyiv is seeking a longer period, President Volodymyr Zelensky said after meeting Donald Trump

US offered Kyiv 15 years of security guarantees, Zelensky says

PALM BEACH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Donald Trump in Florida on Monday, with the US president pushing to move to the next stage of his fragile Gaza truce plan.&nbsp;Netanyahu is also expected to try to shift some focus onto Iran, amid reports he will call for more US strikes on the Islamic republic.&nbsp;The meeting at Trump&#39;s lavish Mar-a-Lago resort the fifth between the two leaders to be held in the United States this year comes as some White House officials fear both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the second phase of their ceasefire.&nbsp;Trump, who said Netanyahu had asked for the talks, is reportedly keen to announce as soon as January, a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force.&nbsp;The two leaders are to meet at 1 pm (1800 GMT), the White House said.&nbsp;In recent months, Israeli officials and media have expressed concern that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal after it came under attack during the 12-day war with Israel in June.&nbsp;But Sina Toossi, a researcher at the Center for International Policy (CIP) in Washington, said Trump&#39;s insistence that US strikes in June destroyed Tehran&#39;s nuclear program had &quot;removed Israel&#39;s most powerful historical justification for US support for war with Iran&quot;.&nbsp;Netanyahu&#39;s new focus on Iran&#39;s missiles is &quot;an effort to manufacture a replacement casus belli,&quot; Toossi told AFP.&nbsp;Iran on Monday denounced the reports as a &quot;psychological operation&quot; against Tehran, emphasizing it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warning renewed aggression would &quot;result in harsher consequences&quot; for Israel.&nbsp;Phase two has to beginNetanyahu&#39;s visit caps a frantic few days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday for talks on ending Russia&#39;s invasion.&nbsp;The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major achievements of Trump&#39;s first year back in power, but his administration and regional mediators want to keep up the momentum.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s global envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner hosted senior officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Miami earlier this month.&nbsp;The timing of the Netanyahu meeting is &quot;very significant,&quot; said Gershon Baskin, the co-head of peacebuilding commission the Alliance for Two States, who has taken part in back-channel negotiations with Hamas.&nbsp;&quot;Phase two has to begin,&quot; he told AFP, adding that &quot;I think the Americans realize that it&#39;s late because Hamas has had too much time to re-establish its presence.&quot;&nbsp;The first phase of the truce deal stipulated that Hamas release the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, taken during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The group has so far returned all the living captives and the remains of all but one.&nbsp;Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas is supposed to lay down its weapons.&nbsp;An interim authority is meanwhile meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the international stabilization force (ISF) is to be deployed.&nbsp;Both sides, however, have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.&nbsp;Frustrated with NetanyahuThe Axios news outlet reported on Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new Gaza &quot;Board of Peace&quot; that he will chair at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January.&nbsp;But it said that senior White House officials were growing exasperated with what they viewed as efforts by Netanyahu to stall the peace process.&nbsp;&quot;There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,&quot; said Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think-tank Chatham House.&nbsp;&quot;The question is what it&#39;s going to do about it,&quot; he added, &quot;because phase two is right now going nowhere.&quot;&nbsp;Israel is continuing to strike Hamas targets in Gaza, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon despite another ceasefire there. Syria will also be on the agenda.&nbsp;Mekelberg said Netanyahu could be attempting to shift attention from Gaza onto Iran as Israel enters an election year.&nbsp;&quot;Everything is connected to staying in power,&quot; he said of the long-time Israeli premier.

Netanyahu meets Trump in Florida as the US urges progress on the Gaza ceasefire, while Washington grows frustrated with delays and Netanyahu shifts attention toward Iran as Israel continues military strikes.

Netanyahu to meet Trump in Florida for talks on Gaza, Iran

BANGKOK: Thailand&#39;s army on Monday accused Cambodia of violating a newly signed ceasefire agreement, reached after weeks of deadly border clashes, by flying more than 250 drones over its territory.&nbsp;Thailand and Cambodia agreed to the &quot;immediate&quot; ceasefire on Saturday, pledging to end renewed border clashes that killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million this month.&nbsp;But the fresh allegation from Bangkok and its threat to reconsider releasing Cambodian soldiers held by Thailand left a sustained truce in doubt -- even as the two nations&#39; foreign ministers wrapped up two days of talks hosted by China aimed at rebuilding trust and improving relations.&nbsp;The Thai army said Monday &quot;more than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected flying from the Cambodian side, intruding into Thailand&#39;s sovereign territory&quot; on Sunday night, according to a statement.&nbsp;&quot;Such actions constitute provocation and a violation of measures aimed at reducing tensions, which are inconsistent with the Joint Statement agreed&quot; during a bilateral border committee meeting on Saturday, it added.&nbsp;The reignited fighting this month spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce for which US President Donald Trump took credit.&nbsp;Under the truce pact signed on Saturday, the Southeast Asian neighbours agreed to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts and combatting cybercrime.&nbsp;They also agreed to allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, while Thailand was to return 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July within 72 hours, if the ceasefire held.&nbsp;Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn described the drone incident as &quot;a small issue related to flying drones seen by both sides along the border line&quot;.&nbsp;In remarks aired on Cambodian state television on Monday, he said the two sides had discussed it and agreed to investigate and &quot;resolve it immediately&quot;.&nbsp;Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree, however, said in its statement that the drone activity reflected &quot;Cambodia&#39;s continued provocative actions and hostile stance toward Thailand&quot;, which could affect the security of military personnel and civilians in border areas.&nbsp;Thailand&#39;s army &quot;may need to reconsider its decision regarding the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers, depending on the situation and the behaviour observed&quot;, the statement added.&nbsp;Five days of border clashes in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and the chair of ASEAN regional bloc Malaysia.&nbsp;Trump witnessed the signing of a follow-on declaration between Thailand and Cambodia in October, but it was broken within months, with each side blaming the other for instigating the fresh fighting.&nbsp;The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the 800-kilometre (500-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, where both sides claim centuries-old temple ruins.&nbsp;While both sides agreed Saturday to stop fighting, they will still need to resolve the demarcation of their border.&nbsp;At the end of talks in China&#39;s Yunnan province on Monday, Cambodia, Thailand and China issued a statement, saying the three sides had discussed &quot;working step by step through mutual efforts to resume normal exchanges, rebuild political mutual trust, improve Cambodia-Thailand bilateral relations, and safeguard regional stability&quot;.&nbsp;Cambodia also said Monday it had called on Thailand to join another bilateral meeting in Cambodia in early January to &quot;to discuss and continue survey and demarcation work&quot; at the border.

Thailand accused Cambodia of violating a new ceasefire by flying 250 drones across the border, threatening to delay releasing captured soldiers, as both sides dispute responsibility while China-hosted talks seek to restore trust and stability.