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PM Shehbaz to meet Trump at White House today, US official confirms

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PM Shehbaz to meet Trump at White House today, US official confirms


(From left to right) PM Shehbaz Sharif, US President Donald Trump and Field Marshal Asim Munir. — Radio Pakistan/Reuters/ISPR/File
  • US-Pakistan ties have warmed under Trump.
  • Trump has already hosted Field Marshal Asim Munir.
  • US ties with India have been tested since Trump took office.

US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, a Trump administration official told Reuters on Wednesday, with the meeting coming weeks after the two countries agreed to a trade deal.

The prime minister and the US president are expected to hold detailed talks on global and regional issues, with Field Marshal Asim Munir also likely to join the meeting.

US-Pakistan ties have warmed in recent months under Trump after Washington had for years viewed Pakistan’s rival India as a counter to China’s influence in Asia.

Washington’s relations with New Delhi have been tested under the Republican leader over issues such as visa hurdles for Indians, high tariff rates imposed by Trump on goods from India and Trump’s repeated claims that he brokered an India-Pakistan ceasefire in May after the South Asian neighbours engaged in their latest hostilities.

The United States and Pakistan announced a trade deal on July 31 with a 19% tariff rate imposed by Washington. Trump has yet to reach a trade deal with India.

Officials and analysts have noted that after tensions with Washington, New Delhi is recalibrating relations with China as a hedge.

Trump welcomed army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir earlier this year, the first time a US president hosted the head of Pakistan’s army – widely regarded as the most powerful figure in the country – at the White House, unaccompanied by senior Pakistani civilian officials.

“We’re working through a number of issues when it comes to counter-terrorism, when it comes to economic and trade ties,” a senior State Department official told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday when asked about Pakistan.

“And so the president remains focused on advancing US interests in the region, that includes through engaging with Pakistan and their government leaders,” the official said.

When asked about frictions with India, the official said Trump believed in being frank about frustrations in ties, but the relationship was strong. Washington viewed New Delhi as a good friend and partner and believed their relationship would define the 21st century, the official said.

They added that Washington had been working on planning for a summit of the Quad grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States that India had been expected to hold in November. That would happen, “if not this year, early next year,” the official said.

Pakistan has backed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, although Islamabad has condemned US ally Israel’s bombardments in Gaza, Qatar and Iran.

Shehbaz was part of a meeting Trump had on Tuesday with leaders of many Muslim-majority countries, where the US president discussed Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Washington says the US shared peace proposals with leaders from those countries in the meeting held on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly.





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Gordon Ramsay reveals ‘most important thing in life’

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Gordon Ramsay reveals ‘most important thing in life’


Gordon Ramsay reveals ‘most important thing in life’

Gordon Ramsay may have built his reputation on Michelin stars and television fireworks, but when it comes to raising his six children, the lesson he holds above all others is a rather simpler one.

Speaking to Fox News Digital in an interview published on Sunday, 24 May, the 59-year-old chef revealed what he considers the single most important thing he has instilled in his kids. 

“The one thing I’ve taught them all, brilliantly, are manners,” he said, adding with characteristic directness: “The most important thing in life, but they cost zero.”

Ramsay shares his six children, Megan, 28, Holly, 26, Jack, 26, Matilda, 24, Oscar, 7, and Jesse, 2, with his wife Tana. 

On the professional front, one of his children appears to be following closely in his footsteps. 

Ramsay spoke to PEOPLE in February about his daughter Matilda, known as Tilly, who has chosen to pursue a career in food, a decision that clearly delights him. 

Ramsay spoke to PEOPLE again at the Fox Upfront event on 11 May, where he was celebrating the renewal of several of his shows including Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Next Level Chef, Next Level Baker, Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service and Gordon Ramsay’s Being Gordon Ramsay

Asked which of his six shows currently on air is his favourite, he reached for a familiar metaphor. 

“I have six shows on air right now. That’s like saying, I have six kids as well, what’s my favourite kid? It depends, it’s the one that least pisses me off at the moment.”

Six kids, six shows, and a firm belief in the power of a please and a thank you. Not a bad philosophy, all things considered.





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Patti LaBelle on being called a legend: “I have earned it”

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Patti LaBelle on being called a legend: “I have earned it”


Patti LaBelle has been singing for six decades, earning hit records, Grammys and the nickname the “Godmother of Soul.” As she celebrates her 82nd birthday on Sunday, she said she’s “having fun living it down.” 

“At 82, I am really living it down, not up. But having fun living it down. I play cards. We have card games on Saturday nights,” LaBelle said. “How easy is it to play cards and take other folks’ money? That’s what I do, and I love it.”

Just like her high notes, she has staying power. LaBelle is still professionally singing, something she said she has to do.

“Singing is my life,” she said, adding that her voice is “big. It’s loud. It’s soft. It can rap. It can do opera, on a good day.” 

LaBelle spent her childhood in Philadelphia, a place she still calls home. Back then, she was a shy girl named Patsy Holt.

“My mother had to pay me to go outside. I was very, very, very shy. I would sing in my bedroom with the broom as a microphone. So I knew I had a voice and my mother and father loved my voice,” LaBelle said. 

At age 10, she joined a church choir where a duet unlocked the magic of performing. She said she still remembers getting the chills the moment when everyone stood up and said, “Hallelujah.”

As a teen, she started singing with a group. A record label executive suggested she change her name to LaBelle, which means beautiful, but with that advice came a nasty assessment. He called her “quite ugly.” 

“It gave me hurt, just total, total hurt, because I knew how much he loved my voice. And I knew, no matter what anyone said about me, I am who I am, I’m not gonna change. The only thing that changed was my nose. I had a huge nose, so I had it done,” she said. “And that’s all I’ve ever had done. My nose, because it was not pleasing to me.” 

When Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles became simply Labelle, they changed their style to what the singer described as “outrageous crazy outfits.” They turned “Lady Marmalade,” a song about a Creole prostitute, into a classic hit.

“We were singing about the revolution and sexual things before any Black girl or White girl group sang,” LaBelle said. 

“When we sang [Lady Marmalade], we didn’t know what ‘voulez-vous coucher avec moi’ meant. It means, ‘Will you sleep with me tonight?’ So we got a lotta flak from the nuns and different people. And I was saying, at that time, ‘Well, a hooker has to make money too,'” she laughed. 

The group split in 1977 but stayed friends. LaBelle said she was petrified when she stepped out as a solo artist for the first time. Getting therapy “helped a whole lot,” she said. 

“I learned that I’m never gonna stop singing. And if it’s with a group or alone, that’s what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life,” LaBelle said. 

LaBelle’s other talent is cooking. She’s written several bestselling cookbooks and has her own line of food and houseware products, Patti’s Good Life. Her hometown is filled with fans, and even visiting a Philadelphia ShopRite to hand out pancake mix caused quite a stir.   

LaBelle isn’t planning to give up singing anytime soon. 

“It’s never my last show. I’ll be singing until I can’t no more,” she said. 

And on her 82nd birthday, maybe the real gift is that LaBelle knows exactly who she is — a mother, grandmother, and yes, a legend.

“I love it. I should be called, ‘Legend, legend, legend, legend.’ Yes. I love it,” she laughed. “I have earned it. Yes, I have.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Patti LaBelle (Video)



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Drake sets new record at ‘Iceman,’ ‘Habibti’ and ‘Maid of Honour’

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Drake sets new record at ‘Iceman,’ ‘Habibti’ and ‘Maid of Honour’


Drake sets new record at ‘Iceman,’ ‘Habibti’ and ‘Maid of Honour’

Drake has made Billboard chart history, becoming the first artist ever to simultaneously occupy the top three positions on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Iceman, the album he had been building towards for nearly two years, debuted at number one with 463,000 equivalent album units in its first week. 

Behind it, Habibti landed at number two with 114,000 units and Maid of Honour at number three with 110,000, all three released on the same night in a surprise triple drop that caught even the most devoted fans off guard.

The number one position alone would have been a landmark. 

Iceman gives Drake his 15th chart-topping album, surpassing Jay-Z’s previous record for the most number ones among solo male artists and R&B and hip-hop acts. 

It also draws him level with Taylor Swift for the most number ones among solo acts overall, a list only the Beatles sit above, with their record of 19.

In terms of raw numbers, Iceman‘s opening week is the second biggest of 2026 so far, behind only BTS’ Arirang, which moved 641,000 units. It is, however, the biggest opening week of the year for any R&B or hip-hop record.

The rest of the Billboard 200 reshuffled accordingly. 

Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide, previously sitting at number one, dropped to four. 

Ella Langley’s Dandelion holds at five, followed by Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem, two Michael Jackson titles, Lucki’s Dr*gs R Bad, and BTS’ Arirang rounding out the top ten.

For Drake, it is a statement of intent, and one that lands in the record books before the conversation has even fully begun.





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