WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (today) will preside over the first meeting of his “Board of Peace,” an initiative that has drawn praise from Trump allies but also criticism from countries worried that it will undermine the United Nations.

What is ‘Board of Peace’?

Trump first proposed the board last September when he announced his plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza. He later made clear the board’s remit would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide, with Trump as its chair.

Such efforts have traditionally been a role for the United Nations.

Member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and earn permanent membership, its charter said.

The White House in January named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as members of the initiative’s founding Executive Board.

Which countries have joined so far?

The board’s official X account has listed over two dozen countries as founding members of the initiative, including Washington’s main Middle Eastern allies.

They include Israel and Saudi Arabia, along with Egypt and Qatar, which helped mediate talks for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Others in the region include Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

From elsewhere in the world, there are Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Remaining nations

Washington’s key Western allies, as well as major powers of the Global South such as Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa, have not accepted an offer to join.

Leaders of Britain, the European Union, France, Germany, Norway and Sweden have said they will not join the board.

President Trump rescinded an invitation for Canada last month after he took issue with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech in Davos.

Brazil and Mexico have said they will not join the initiative, citing the Palestinian absence from the board. The Vatican has not joined, saying efforts to handle crisis situations should be managed by the United Nations.

China and Russia, both veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council, have not joined.

Board’s powers

The UN Security Council passed a US-drafted resolution recognising the board in November, welcoming it as a transitional and temporary administration “that will set the framework, and coordinate funding for the redevelopment of Gaza” under Trump’s plan until the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily reformed.

The resolution authorised the board to deploy a temporary International Stabilisation Force in Gaza, while limiting its scope to only Gaza and only through 2027.

The board is required to report on its progress to the 15-member Security Council every six months.

China and Russia abstained, saying the resolution did not give the US a clear role in Gaza’s future.

Beyond Gaza, it remains unclear what legal authority or enforcement tools, if any, the board will have or how it will work with the US and other international organisations.

Under the board’s charter, it will undertake “peace-building functions in accordance with international law.” Its chairman, Trump, will have extensive executive power, including the ability to veto decisions and remove members, subject to some constraints.

Critics take

Rights experts said that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s affairs resembles a colonial structure, and have criticised the board for not including a Palestinian representative, even though it is meant to supervise the temporary governance of a Palestinian territory.

Critics also pointed out Blair’s inclusion, given his role in the Iraq war and the history of British imperialism in the Middle East.

The board has drawn scrutiny for including countries whose human rights track records have been widely condemned by rights groups, such as some Middle Eastern powers, as well as Belarus and El Salvador.

There has been particular criticism over the inclusion of Israel on a board meant to oversee Gaza’s temporary governance, given that  the Palestinian territory has been left devastated by an Israeli military assault that killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and led to accusations of war crimes and genocide.

Inaugural meeting

Almost all nations that have joined the board will be at Thursday’s meeting.

More than 20 other nations will attend as observers, a senior US official said. These include close Asian allies Japan and South Korea, along with India and Thailand from elsewhere in the region.

Other observers include Britain and the EU, along with individual member states Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

Norway and Switzerland will also participate in that capacity, as will Mexico and Oman.

Topics to be discussed include Gaza’s reconstruction, humanitarian assistance efforts and deployment of a stabilisation force.

• Trump to make final decision about striking Iran.
• White House briefed on military buildup in Middle East.
• Iran to submit written proposal to ease tensions with US.

The United States military is ready to carry out possible strikes on Iran as early as this weekend, CNN reported citing familiar sources, as Tehran and Russia announced fresh joint naval exercises in regional waters.

However, the international media report said, US President Donald Trump will make the final decision on whether to strike Iran.

The report comes amid Omani-mediated talks between the two countries in Geneva, with White House confirming a “little bit of progress” but saying distance remained on some issues. It added that Tehran was expected to come back with more details in a couple of weeks.

The second round of negotiations was held on Tuesday, after talks last year collapsed following Israel’s attack on Iran in June, which started a 12-day war. The talks were aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, while Tehran is demanding the lifting of US sanctions.

Iran has insisted that the discussions be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for Tehran’s ballistic missiles programme.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily against Iran, first over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month and then more recently over its nuclear programme.

According to the CNN report, the White House has been briefed that the military could be ready for a strike by the weekend, after a sufficient air and naval resources buildup in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the media outlet, quoted another source and claimed that Trump has privately argued both for and against military action and polled advisers and allies on what the best course of action is.

However, Reuters, citing an unnamed senior US official, reported that top US national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran and were told all US military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said.

‘Written proposal’

Reuters, quoting a US official, also reported that Tehran is expected to submit a written proposal on how to resolve its standoff with the United States in the wake of US-Iran talks in Geneva.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss Iran on February 28, the official said.

Tuesday’s indirect discussions in Geneva between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, were aimed at heading off a mounting crisis between the two countries.

Iran agreed to make a written proposal on how to address US concerns during the Geneva talks, the senior US official said. “We are currently waiting for that from the Iranians,” the official said.

Trump has ordered a major military buildup in the region as he contemplates the use of force with a second aircraft carrier group en route. “The president has ordered the continued buildup in the region, including the arrival of the second carrier group. Full forces should be in place by mid-March,” the senior US official said.

‘Naval drills’

Amid the negotiations with the US, Iran has announced conducting joint navy drills with Russia in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday, the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency reported, a few days after Revolutionary Guards conducted military drills in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Creating convergence and coordination in joint measures to counter activities threatening maritime security and safety…as well as combating maritime terrorism, are among the main goals of this joint exercise,” an Iranian navy commander, Hassan Maghsoodloo said according to Fars news.

Moreover, Iran issued a notice to airmen (Notam) that it plans rocket launches in areas across its south on Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration website showed.

The notice was issued amid heightened tensions with the US, which has deployed warships near Iran, as US Vice President JD Vance said Washington was weighing whether to continue diplomatic engagement with Tehran or pursue other options.

The Notam system provides pilots, flight crews and other users of airspace with critical safety notices.

— With additional details from Reuters

Canada introduced new immigration priority categories on Wednesday to bring in skilled workers in fields ranging from research and health care to aviation, and to include certain military recruits.

The new categories align with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s goals of broadly reducing the number of new permanent residents in Canada while recruiting skilled workers and scholars and boosting defence capabilities to lessen dependence on the United States.

The government said the shift was aimed at restoring immigration to sustainable levels while finding workers for key industries. Canada’s government in recent years has sought to reduce the number of immigrants to ease strains on housing and social services.

Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said the 2026 changes to the Express Entry system will help to attract talent that can “contribute from day one” as Canada faces labour shortages in critical sectors.

The new categories include researchers, senior managers, transport‑sector workers such as pilots and aircraft mechanics, and foreign medical doctors with Canadian experience. They will also include highly skilled foreign military applicants recruited by the Canadian Armed Forces, including military doctors, nurses and pilots.

“Canada’s future depends on a workforce ready for a changing economy,” Diab said in a statement.

Carney, seeking to reduce reliance on the United States, announced a new defence strategy on Tuesday that aims over the next decade to lift government investment in defence-related research and development by 85%, boost defence industry revenues by more than 240%, increase defence exports by 50% and create up to 125,000 quality new jobs.

Like other Nato members, Canada has pledged to raise defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035.

Invitation rounds in existing Express Entry categories — including French-language candidates, health-care workers and skilled trades — will continue alongside the new targeted streams.