NEW YORK: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for an immediate end to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Addressing the 80th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, the US president said that Washington would continue playing its role in promoting peace worldwide.

He said that recognition of a Palestinian state would be too great a reward for Hamas, repeating his call for the release of hostages, dead or alive.

“Those who supported peace should united in demanding the release of the hostages, he added.

“As if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise the Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas,” he said.

During his address, Trump pledged that his administration will lead an international effort to enforce a biological weapons convention by pioneering an AI verification system

“I’m … calling on every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons once and for all,” he said.

Trump said that Iran can never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

“My position is very simple: The world’s number one sponsor of terror cannot be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon,” Trump added.

This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.  

French President Emmanuel Macron was left waiting roadside to clear the way for United States President Donald Trump’s motorcade in New York City.

The French president announced the recognition of a Palestinian state at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday — in defiance of the US.

In his speech at the UN, President Macron also outlined a framework that France is advancing in parallel.

However, he found himself stranded on the streets of New York City after his speech, as police stopped his vehicle and forced him to let Trump’s motorcade pass, British media outlets reported.

Videos showed the French president arguing with the police officials to let him pass through the barricades placed along the road.

However, officials refused to let Macron pass, saying: “I’m really sorry, Mr President, everything is frozen.”

At this moment, the French president took matters into his own hands and called the US president, asking him to “clear the road”.

Video footage showed the 47-year-old telling Trump over the phone, “I’m waiting in the street right now because everything is frozen for you.”

His phone call with Trump bore no fruit, and he was forced to walk down the streets as police officials initially opened the roads just for pedestrians.

The French president was then seen walking down the New York City streets, still talking to Trump over the phone.

Macron, however, made light of the situation and posed for photos with passersby and shared laughs with them.

The incident comes at a time when the US is at odds with its Western allies over recognition of a Palestinian state.

US President Trump criticised Western nations’ decision to recognise a Palestinian state as a “reward to Hamas”, said White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

“He feels this does not do anything to release the hostages, which is the primary goal right now in Gaza, does nothing to end this conflict and bring this war to a close,” Leavitt told reporters.

She added that Trump believed recognition of Palestinian statehood amounted to “more talk and not enough action” from US allies.

NEW DELHI: India’s military will test drone and counter drone systems next month in a major exercise to toughen its air defences, a senior officer said on Tuesday, months after a conflict with Pakistan saw the large-scale use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Since the four-day clash, both neighbouring countries have ramped up drone development in what analysts describe as a drone arms race. India has also announced plans to build an indigenous air defence system, dubbed ‘Sudarshan Chakra’, by 2035 — an initiative officials have likened to Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’.

The Indian military will hold exercise ‘Cold Start’, its biggest ever drone war games, in the first week of October in the presence of defence industry officials and researchers, said Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha, deputy chief of the Integrated Defence Staff.

“We will be testing some of our drones and counter-drone systems during this exercise … so that we can make our air defence system and counter-UAS completely robust,” he said on the sidelines of an industry event in New Delhi.

An Indian official described it as the biggest such domestic exercise since the Pakistan conflict, and said it would involve recreating some of the drone warfare that took place in May.

Drones and counter-drone systems will also be the baseline elements of the Sudarshan Chakra air defence system, which would also include aircraft and counter hypersonic systems, said Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, chief of the Integrated Defence Staff.

“They (Pakistan) are also working and becoming better. So, we have to go one step ahead,” he added.