• Trump says ready to impose fresh energy sanctions on Russia.
• Russia has twice passed Trump’s deadline to de-escalate in Ukraine.
• Officials warn curbs on Russian crude risk global oil price hike.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States is prepared to impose fresh energy sanctions on Russia, but only if all Nato nations cease purchasing Russian oil and implement similar measures.

“I am ready to do major sanctions on Russia when all Nato nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all Nato nations stop buying oil from Russia,” Trump said in a social media post.

In recent weeks, the United States has stepped up pressure on Nato countries to tighten energy sanctions on Russia in a bid to help end its war with Ukraine — a conflict Trump has struggled to bring to a close despite repeated threats of harsher penalties on Moscow and its partners.

Trump has also faced criticism at home for repeatedly setting two-week deadlines for Russia to de-escalate and allowing them to pass without concrete action.

An August Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 54% of Americans, including one in five of Trump’s Republicans, believe the president is too closely aligned with Russia.

The Group of Seven nations’ finance ministers in a Friday call discussed further sanctions on Russia and possible tariffs on countries they consider “enabling” its war in Ukraine.

Energy revenues remain the Kremlin’s single most important source of cash to finance the war effort, making oil and gas exports a central target of Western sanctions. But officials and analysts warn that aggressive curbs on Russian crude also carry risks of driving up global oil prices, a prospect that could strain Western economies and weaken public support for the measures.

Since 2023, Nato member Turkiye has been the third-largest buyer of Russian oil, after China and India, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Other members of the 32-state alliance involved in purchasing Russian oil include Hungary and Slovakia.

Trump, who is spending the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, said Nato, acting as a bloc, should impose tariffs of 50% to 100% on Chinese imports, a move he argued would weaken Beijing’s economic grip on Moscow.

Trump has imposed an extra 25% tariff on imports from India to pressure New Delhi to halt its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, bringing total punitive duties on Indian goods to 50% and souring trade negotiations between the two democracies.

But Trump has refrained from imposing additional tariffs on Chinese imports over China’s purchases of Russian oil, as his administration navigates a delicate trade truce with Beijing.

At least 193 people have died after an overloaded motorised boat capsized in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Equateur province, authorities confirmed on Saturday. According to international media reports, the ill-fated vessel was carrying far more passengers and cargo than its capacity when it overturned in a river late at night.

Officials said the boat suddenly lost balance and sank, triggering one of the deadliest river tragedies in recent years. Rescue workers have so far recovered over 100 bodies, while dozens remain missing.

Local officials warned that chances of survival for those still unaccounted for are slim, though search operations continue with the help of nearby villagers.

Tragically, the majority of those killed were students traveling from their villages to nearby towns for their studies.

Local media blamed poor navigation at night and improper cargo loading for the disaster. The provincial administration has called for stricter safety measures to prevent such accidents in the future.

Grieving families of those killed in Nepal’s anti-corruption demonstrations said they hope the deaths will not be in vain, as the protesters’ choice of interim prime minister took charge Saturday.

Among the dead was 30-year-old Santosh Bishwakarma, one of at least 51 people killed in two days of chaos this week— the worst unrest since the end of a decade-long civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.

His widow Amika, also 30, her eyes swollen with grief, recalled his “ultimate dream” to “die having contributed to the nation”.

Santosh was shot dead on Monday during the first wave of protests, led by the youth-driven “Gen Z” movement.

A temporary social media ban sparked the demonstrations, tipping longstanding frustration over entrenched corruption and economic malaise into wider anger.

“He used to say he wouldn’t die like a dog,” Amika told AFP in her modest Kathmandu home, clutching a framed photo of her late husband.

“His dream was to make Nepal known to the world — and he did.”

‘Just equality’

KP Sharma Oli, the 73-year-old leader of the Communist Party, quit as prime minister a day after Santosh’s death and as protesters torched parliament, ending his fourth term in the post.

On Friday, former chief justice Sushila Karki was sworn into office to lead a six-month transition to elections.

Thousands of young activists had used the app Discord to debate the next steps — and name Karki as their choice of next leader.

But Amika, now raising her 10-year-old son Ujwal and seven-year-old daughter Sonia alone, fears for the future.

“My husband would have done everything to fulfil their dreams, even at the cost of his life,” she said.

“But how am I supposed to manage everything on my own? He sacrificed his life for the country, and I hope the new government will help me.”

Family friend Solan Rai, 42, said he believed the protests marked a turning point.

“I hope we finally see real change this time,” he said, adding that the anger had been “more intense than anything we’ve seen before”.

The World Bank said a “staggering” 82% of Nepal’s workforce is in informal employment—among the highest rates in the world. Its GDP per capita stands at just $1,447.

At Kathmandu’s Pashupatinath temple on Friday, hundreds gathered for mass cremations.

Families wept over the bodies of loved ones, including young men shot dead in the clashes.

“I hope there is some justice— and our people finally get the change they so desperately seek,” said Ratna Maharjan, grieving for her son, breaking down into tears.

One mother refused to release her son’s body, wrapped in a shroud, clinging to him on the temple steps.

Nearby, police officers laid garlands of marigolds on their fallen colleague as a bugler played over the smoke-filled riverbank.

Amika’s plea was simple.

“What we seek isn’t too much to ask— just equality,” she said. “So the rich don’t thrive while the poor languish.”