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Pakistan wins big in Washington; India feels Trump’s fury
In a surprising turn, Pakistan has gained favour and influence in Washington in recent months, despite President Donald Trump’s reelection in November last year sparking deep concern in Islamabad, where officials feared strained relations ahead.
During his first term, Trump favoured New Delhi while accusing Islamabad of “deceit” and of providing safe haven to “terrorists” — an allegation Pakistan has categorically rejected.
Following a recent severe military confrontation between India and Pakistan in decades — the nuclear-armed neighbouring countries have undergone a striking role reversal, The Washington Post reported.
Currently, US-India relations are at the lowest level, strained by rising trade tensions and an increasingly personal spat between President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the other hand, Pakistani officials have quietly and successfully navigated Trump’s political world, fostering closer ties with the White House at a moment of global upheaval.
In August, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir visited the US for the second time within a span of just two months, highlighting the strengthening ties between Islamabad and Washington. The army chief described his recent visits to the US as “a sign of a new dimension” in the relationship.
Pakistan has recently secured one of the lowest US tariffs among major Asian economies, at 19% — well below the 29% rate initially threatened by US officials and far lower than the 50% tariff imposed on India for buying Russian oil.
Trump has boasted about joint plans to explore Pakistan’s “massive” oil reserves, and Pakistani officials have offered to partner with America on cryptocurrency ventures and the development of rare minerals.
Last week, the US vowed closer counterterrorism cooperation with Islamabad and designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a “foreign terrorist” organisation.
Senate Defence Committee former chairman Mushahid Hussain Syed said: “We couldn’t ask for more.”
At a time when other countries are being forced to make concessions, he continued, “our legitimate interests are being preserved, protected and promoted”.
In response to questions from The Washington Post, the White House press office said the president “is effective because he is able to maintain relationships while advocating for America First policies — such as reducing the massive trade deficit between the United States and India”.
The economic stakes for Trump are low — Pakistan’s trade volume with the US amounts to about 5% of India’s. Pakistan’s pitches to the president could fall apart in the face of a fragile economy and manifold security threats.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company backed by the Trump family, signed a letter of intent with Pakistan’s Crypto Council in April, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The statement highlighted that the American delegation included Zachary Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, the New York real estate developer now serving as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.
US-Pakistan relations gained further momentum in May, analysts said: When the president announced his administration had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after days of military escalation.
Officials in Islamabad were quick to give Trump credit and announced they would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
India, however, denied that US mediation had sealed the truce, contributing to the falling-out between Trump and Modi.
“President Trump leaned on his relationships with both India and Pakistan to secure a ceasefire in a deadly conflict that could have gone nuclear without his involvement,” the White House said in its statement to The Post.
Weeks after the ceasefire, Trump invited Field Marshal Munir to have lunch with him at the White House — a highly unusual private meeting between a US president and a foreign military chief, as well as a tacit acknowledgement of COAS Munir’s growing clout.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have released a major statement to mark a big day amid reports of new family tension at home.
According to royal expert Rob Shuter, Prince Harry is fuming over Meghan Markle’s decision to post new photos of their 4-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet, on Instagram.
Meghan’s tribute for International Day of the Girl might have won hearts online, but it reignited one of the couple’s oldest arguments — privacy.
Amid this development, Meghan and Harry shared a joint statement to mark the day.
They shared the statement via their Archewell Foundation.
They said, “Last year, in celebration of International Day of the Girl, The Archewell Foundation joined Pivotal Ventures and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation to support a partnership between Girls Inc. and #HalfTheStory: an initiative designed to provide digital wellness programming for young girls in underserved communities across America.
“On this International Day of the Girl, The Archewell Foundation is proud to see #HalfTheStory continue to expand this work. Over the summer, #HalfTheStory, launched the New York State x #HalfTheStory Teen Tech Council, ensuring youth voices are represented in shaping what healthy educational environments look like in a digital age.”
They continued the Archewell Foundation uplifts organizations like #HalfTheStory, “today and every day”, that empower young people and young girls to shape their digital futures and to ensure that every child has the tools, confidence, and support to thrive both online and offline.
King Charles is reportedly in a difficult position after a newly uncovered email between Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein raised fresh concerns about the Duke’s past statements.
The newly discovered email was sent shortly after a photo was published of Andrew with Virginia Giuffre, which suggests he was still in contact with Epstein at a time despite claiming that their ties had ended.
Speaking on the matter, royal commentator Ingrid Seward said that the message paints a troubling picture of Andrew’s involvement with Epstein.
She told People’s Channel that the situation reflects poorly on the Duke of York and the royal family, putting King Charles in a tough spot.
“It’s very damning. And it just looks like he was in total cahoots with Epstein. And unfortunately for him and for the Royal Family, I don’t think this is the end of it, I think.
“There’s a lot more to come out. That’s the trouble. It’s an ongoing situation.”
The expert further noted that the email “just looks appalling for the Yorks,” adding that it puts pressure on Charles as “everyone’s asking” what he is going to do.
“Now, I think his hands are quite tied because – it is my opinion only – I don’t know this, but his mother obviously wanted Charles to look after Andrew,” she continued,
“The Queen knew that he was had a lot of problems and she must have entrusted his care to his elder brother.
“Because otherwise I can’t imagine that Charles wouldn’t have felt obliged to get Andrew out of there.
“But I think he’s tied between his mother’s wishes and his situation is as King and Head of State.”
HUAUCHINANGO: Standing near the lifeless body of her sister, Rosalia Ortega was grateful to have found her in the river of mud that suddenly swept away her house as torrential rains pounded her Mexican mountain town.
At least 47 people have died since Thursday as floods have wreaked a trail of destruction in the hardest-hit states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Queretaro and Veracruz.
“We’re sad, but at least we’re going to give her a Christian burial,” Ortega, 76, told AFP in the town of Huauchinango, in Puebla, a state east of Mexico City that according to official reports saw nine deaths and substantial damage.
The disaster zone is the Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range that runs parallel to Mexico’s east coast and is dotted with villages where telecommunications and other services have yet to be restored.
On Thursday, well after dark, a rain-swollen mountain river overflowed its banks in Huauchinango and within minutes robbed local residents of their homes and, in some cases, their loved ones.
That’s what happened to Maria Salas, a 49-year-old cook sheltering from the rain with an umbrella, watching two soldiers guarding the entrance to her neighbourhood.
Salas lost five relatives when their house collapsed, and her own home was destroyed by a landslide.
“I can’t get my belongings, I can’t sleep there,” she said. “I have nothing.”
The grieving families are struggling to pay for funerals and, if anything is left over, to recover something from lost or damaged homes.
Huauchinango, with 100,000 residents, is one of the largest communities in the disaster zone and one of a very few that could be accessed Saturday.
Rivers of mud
The floodwaters swept away everything in their path, forming heavy rivers of mud that even rendered intact homes unusable.
“It was knee-deep,” says Petra Rodriguez, a 40-year-old domestic worker whose house was surrounded by water on both sides.
She, her husband and two sons managed to escape, holding hands so that if the water took one of them, “it would take us all,” she said.
In another part of town, teacher Karina Galicia, 49, showed AFP her mud-damaged, musty house. She and her family were able to run out; had they not, “we would have been buried,” she said.
In less damaged houses, neighbours worked to remove water with plastic bottles, brooms and shovels.
Adriana Vazquez, 48, climbed a rough path strewn with stones and mud to see if anything was left of a relative’s house.
What she found was a jumble of wood and tin houses levelled by a landslide. Soldiers were using a backhoe to remove a pile of debris from the street.
Her relative “answered the telephone,” Vasquez said, but she could hardly hear anything and hoped that was due to a poor connection.
About 100 small communities are uncontactable due to road closures and power outages that have complicated telephone services and travel.
Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains throughout 2025, with a rainfall record set in the capital, Mexico City.
Meteorologist Isidro Cano told AFP that the intense rainfall since Thursday was caused by a seasonal shift and cloud formation as warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico rises to the mountaintops.
Trump’s 100% tariff row: China urges US to correct ‘wrong practices’; warns of corresponding measures – The Times of India
ASEAN+3 growth outlook upgraded to 4.1% for 2025: AMRO
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry break silence amid new family rift: ‘today and every day’
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