US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would work to help end the war in Sudan after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to get involved in the matter.

“We’ve already started working on that,” Trump said at a Saudi investment conference a day after he met with Saudi Arabia’s ruler at the White House.

Trump told the gathering, which was attended by bin Salman and his delegation, that his administration began working on the issue half an hour after the crown prince requested Tuesday’s meeting.

The US will work with the Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries to end atrocities in the region and stabilise Sudan, Trump later said in a social media post.

The Sudan conflict erupted in 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. It has caused ethnically charged bloodletting, widespread destruction and mass displacement, drawing in foreign powers and threatening to split Sudan.

The Saudi crown prince believes Trump’s direct pressure is needed to break a logjam in talks to end more than two and a half years of war, pointing to his work to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza last month, five people familiar with the matter said.

The Saudi ruler appeared to appeal to the US president’s view of himself as a peacemaker, according to Trump’s account.

“He mentioned Sudan yesterday, and he said, ‘Sir, you’re talking about a lot of wars, but there’s a place on Earth called Sudan, and it’s horrible what’s happening,'” Trump said.

For Saudi Arabia, a resolution to the conflict is linked to national security, given hundreds of miles of Sudanese coastline lying opposite the kingdom’s Red Sea coast.

“Tremendous atrocities are taking place in Sudan,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “It has become the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis. Food, doctors, and everything else are desperately needed.”

• British minister says lasers at RAF pilots “deeply dangerous”.
• John Healey says Britain poised to react to Yantar’s move.
• Russian embassy denies threat, rejects UK accusations.
  

LONDON: British defence minister John Healey said on Wednesday that “military options” are ready should the Russian spy ship Yantar become a threat after it directed lasers at British pilots sent to monitor it.

Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force routinely shadow potential threats to national security, and such missions to monitor Russian vessels and submarines have become more frequent since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Healey said directing lasers at RAF pilots was “deeply dangerous” and Britain was poised to react depending on the Yantar’s next move.

“We have military options ready should the Yantar change course,” Healey said.

Responding to what it described as “endless accusations”, the Russian embassy in London said: “Our country’s actions do not affect the interests of the United Kingdom and are not aimed at undermining its security.

“We are not interested in British underwater communications,” it said, urging the British side to refrain from destructive steps that exacerbate the crisis phenomena on the European continent.”

The Yantar, designed for intelligence gathering and mapping undersea cables, is currently on the edge of British waters, north of Scotland, Healey said.

He added, “This is the first time we’ve had this action from Yantar directed against the British RAF. We take it extremely seriously.”

“I have changed the navy’s rules of engagement so that we can follow more closely, monitor more closely, the activities of the Yantar when it’s in our wider waters.”

KABUL/NEW DELHI: Afghanistan’s Taliban trade minister arrived in India on Wednesday on a maiden visit to draw greater investments and goods as both countries consider ways to enhance their relations in the backdrop of souring ties with neighbouring Pakistan.

India last month upgraded its ties with the Taliban by reopening its embassy in Kabul that was shut after the group seized power in 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces. New Delhi is also ramping up its aid to the country as it competes with China for influence.

Minister Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi will hold talks with his Indian counterpart and the foreign minister, as well as with traders and investors, Afghanistan’s commerce ministry said in a statement.

“These meetings will focus on expanding economic cooperation, facilitating trade relations, creating joint investment opportunities, and strengthening Afghanistan’s role in regional transit routes,” it added.

Landlocked Afghanistan is seeking access to grains, medicines and industrial goods following the closure of its border with Pakistan in recent weeks after armed clashes last month between the neighbours killed dozens.

India operates the Iranian port of Chabahar with land links to Afghanistan and last month received a six-month sanctions waiver from the US to continue its operations, reducing Kabul’s reliance on the Karachi port.

In the past six months, Afghanistan’s trade through Iran has reached $1.6 billion, higher than the $1.1 billion exchanged with Pakistan, Afghanistan’s commerce ministry told Reuters.

“Advancing bilateral trade and investment ties are the key focus of the visit,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry, wrote on X, along with a photograph of Azizi’s arrival in Delhi.

India and Afghanistan have historically had friendly ties, but not under the previous Taliban regime, and New Delhi does not recognise the present Taliban government.

Analysts say New Delhi and the government in Kabul are recalibrating their ties because of deteriorating relations with Islamabad.