Will the English goalkeeper now be reevaluating his decision after sealing a long-awaited summer return to Manchester City?
The 22-year-old started in the City academy before making his first-team debut at Burnley in 2023, where he featured in their relegation and was instrumental in their return to the top flight last year.
At the start of the campaign, Trafford was expected to take on Ederson for the top shirt at City. In fact, he may have been in the lead with his first three Premier League starts.
However, the script was ripped up on deadline when Pep Guardiola’s successor sold Ederson to Fenerbahce, and the appeal to bring in Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain for £26m proved to be ineffective.
Trafford had the chance to join Newcastle earlier this summer, but he chose to switch to City instead. Just two months after Turf Moor sold him, he may now have doubts about the future.
Former City keeper Shay Given praised James Trafford as a “brilliant goalkeeper” on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Pep will have made the complete pitch that “you are coming in and the number one jersey is yours” during a World Cup year,” he said. You’ll be playing regular football, competing in the Premier League, and playing Champions League football, and you could even play for England in the World Cup in the summer.
The big man Donnarumma is parked up for the season after two weeks. I would be raging if it were me. Raging !
Trafford is described as “a fantastic goalkeeper.”
After agreeing to a five-year deal with Manchester City, Trafford said in July, “I always dreamed that I would be able to come back to Manchester City.” “This is where I call home,” I say.
There was misunderstanding about Trafford’s fee, with City sources reporting that it was worth £27 million plus add-ons, similar to how he may be right now.
However, according to sources from Burnley, the figure includes add-ons and a sell-on clause, making it a new record for a British goalkeeper.
If you think the Clarets, Trafford may have surpassed Jordan Pickford’s £30 million mark from 2017 when he left Sunderland for Everton, but he will struggle to remove his countryman from the top three for England.
He kept 29 clean sheets for Burnley last season and won the title of Championship Player of the Year at the PFA awards in August. He did it again.
He kept a remarkable clean sheet on his City debut against Wolves on Sunday, winning 4-1 in their Premier League opener, and despite making a mistake in the defeat by Tottenham, he was one of the few players to earn any credit after Brighton’s 4-0 victory.
He may have had an eye on joining Thomas Tuchel’s England first team with the arrival of World Cup qualifiers, but Donnarumma, the giant goalkeeper, made the transition.
With the Italian in goal, City are unbeaten in three games and Trafford has an “amazing” future, according to club insiders who said he had age on his side and had an “amazing” future at the club.
Guardiola has confirmed he will start for Wednesday’s EFL Cup third-round match against Huddersfield, giving the club plenty of first-team opportunities throughout the campaign.
Guardiola responded to Trafford with an “unbelievable” response. He’s a fantastic keeper and training is better than ever.
What opponents does Trafford face?
Newcastle’s Eddie Howe had long-standing ties to Trafford, and it is believed the player was “super excited” about joining the Magpies, but negotiations over a fee stalled.
When City sold Trafford to Burnley, they were given the option of having matching rights if another bid came in, which they activated once Newcastle and City agreed a fee. This was a sell-on clause in the contract.
Trafford made a wise decision by returning to City.
There are no guarantees that Nick Pope and his fellow Englishman, who has kept four clean sheets in five league games thus far, would have won if he had moved to St James’ Park.
After earning the Yashin award and placing ninth overall at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in France on Monday, Trafford faces a player from a different class who is officially the best goalkeeper in the world in Donnarumma.
Trafford hasn’t made his senior appearance for the Three Lions, and that task has grown even more challenging because Donnarumma has 76 caps for Italy and is currently the national team’s captain at the age of 26.
Donnarumma, who made his AC Milan debut at age 16, broke England’s hearts with his heroics in the penalty shootout at Wembley, broke the record for the youngster.
However, despite leading PSG to a treble of titles last season, including their first Champions League title, he was brutally replaced by Lille’s Lucas Chevalier in the place of his former manager Luis Enrique.
Guardiola saw a chance to sign a champion player who had already established himself as a world-class player, which reduced Trafford from serving as the team’s main man for a while and moving him to a supporting role.
On Wednesday night, Trafford travels to West Yorkshire, but he might be left wondering what might have happened if he had traveled there in the summer.
Following a busy week of new collections from well-known and emerging fashion designers, London Fashion Week is now over. The power of the backstory is apparent in a new trend.
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A new fashion trend has emerged: fragile fashion(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
London Fashion Week returned with fresh creativity and new collections. Amid well-known designer brands and spectacular runways, one particular trend is gaining attention: fragile fashion.
Turkish designer Bora Aksu unveiled his Spring/Summer 2026 collection at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, beautifully decorated with rose bushes.
For this year’s collection, Aksu drew inspiration from his own archive of broken porcelain dolls. According to Fashionista, his intention was to embrace flaws and cracks. In his eyes, fragility is not weakness, but a new kind of strength, love, and survival.
The models donned a variety of lace, sheer fabrics, and hand-embroidered mesh in soft pastel hues like powder pinks, soft corals, peaches, and powdered blues as they walked the runway. Their appearances captured the significance of “fragile fashion,” telling a vulnerability story.
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Before the show, he said, “Broken dolls reminded me that beauty can be found in traces of love, time, and survival.” He explained that he wants the audience to see imperfections as signs of resilience and beauty rather than concealing them.
Additionally, this year’s collection intentionally left viewers to notice delicate details like visible loose threads and lace bonnets.
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Describe Fragile Fashion.
A new fashion trend emerges each year. There is always something new that captures the public’s obsession for months or even years, whether it’s baguette handbags, knee-length shorts, or pastel colors. Recently, social media and the fashion industry have been showing more interest in fragile fashion.
Fragile fashion praises delicate fabrics, pastel hues, and handcrafted details rather than bold statements. People seeking comfort and learning to love themselves as they are, with flaws and all, reflect a wider shift in the industry. It’s a movement to find strength in sensitivity rather than just a fashion trend.
READ MORE: ‘Controversial ads are more than just rage bait – they’re part of an ominous agenda’
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Social media has played a key role in popularising this trend, particularly on TikTok and Instagram under the hashtag #FragileFashion. Users have showcased outfits embracing softness, layering, and imperfection. Although fragile fashion remains an emerging term and trend, it has already gained significant traction.
Bora Aksu, a fashion designer, has undoubtedly been at the heart of this movement, demonstrating that fashion can be both powerful and inspiring through storytelling. Celebrating people’s inherent humanity in a beautiful way was a prime example of embracing the delicate and imperfect in this year’s collection.
With the recent upheaval of violence in the neighboring nation, Ranjeet Kumar, a resident of Raxaul, India, considers himself lucky to receive business from Nepal.
The 50-year-old runs the last market in the area, just 800 meters (roughly 2, 600 feet) from the country’s border with Nepal, in Raxaul, in eastern India, which is home to a century-old religious shop.
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In Hindu homes on both sides of the border, Kumar sells items like sacred thread and a ceremony fire pit. Since widespread anticorruption protests broke out in Nepal on September 8, sales have decreased across the border.
The Himalayan nation’s Gen Z led the protests, which resulted in 72 fatalities, including one for an Indian national, and more than 2, 000 injuries.
Residents close to the border could get permission to make quick shopping trips into India, helping to prevent Kumar’s business from being severely damaged, even though the border was closed for a week when violence broke out. He said, “They came and went back quickly.”
However, the majority of people have not had the same luck.
Arun Kumar Gupta, 55, a cloth trader in Raxaul, claimed his company was forced to shut down as a result of the violence, which made it difficult to raise money for his three employees.
According to Gupta, “Nepalese citizens make up over 90% of the businesses in the markets that border Nepal.”
The border between India and Nepal is roughly 1,750 kilometers long (1, 088 miles), and it passes through five Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim, which allow residents of both countries to cross freely across the open border without a passport.
Nepal’s biggest trading partner and main source of foreign investment is India. It also handles about one-third of Nepal’s services and two-thirds of its merchandise trade.
India delivers among other things petroleum products, chemical fertilizers, salt, sugar, rice, cars, copper, and cotton to Nepal. The smaller nation imports hydroelectric power, resin, yarn, and handmade items.
In 2024-2025, India and Nepal’s total trade totaled $ 8.5 billion, including imports of $1.2 billion and exports from India of $7.3 billion.
[Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] Ranjeet Kumar sells items for Hindu religious ceremonies close to the Nepalese border.
A major blow
After youth agitators ignited the government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government, setting the parliament building and several politicians’ homes on fire. After the Gen-Z movement chose her for the position, Nepal’s president has since announced elections for March and appointed 73-year-old Sushila Karki, a former Supreme Court chief justice, as interim prime minister.
The violence has subsided since that point, and border crossing has resumed.
However, traders criticized how things are far from normal.
People are too afraid to return to normal spending habits as a result of the political turmoil. They worry that the violence might return, according to Suresh Kumar, owner of a ladies’ clothing store in Raxaul. They have only covered daily needs when shopping.
Despite the fact that Dashain, Nepal’s biggest festival, is taking place, traders are concerned about losing out. It will be observed from October 2 through October 15 this year.
The current circumstances, according to Raj Kumar Gupta, secretary of the trade body Raxaul Chamber of Commerce and Industries, will likely lower the volume of the grand celebrations, which will have a negative impact on our company.
He continued, “The markets typically start bustling with buyers 15-20 days before the festival,” but it is currently completely empty.
Due to the violence there, lac bangle sales [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] have fallen.
Even far-away cities that sell goods to shopkeepers in border areas are feeling the effects of the violence.
The main attraction of lac bangles, or lahati, as they are known locally, is Muzzaffarpur in Bihar, which is 140 kilometers (88 miles) from the Raxaul border.
Businesses in border areas in Nepal receive these bangles, which are made of lac resin in a range of colors and patterns, in large quantities.
Since we haven’t sent any supplies to the border areas since the violence started, Ehtashamul Haque, a bangle trader in Muzzaffarpur, said, “The impact is 100%.” We had increased our production and had anticipated sales for the upcoming Dashain festival in that city, but our plans have gotten significantly shaky. Our investment has been hampered by our stock holdings, and it will take a while before they are cleared.
The upcoming festival in Nepal is a major event that draws a lot of visitors, according to Shyam Sundar Bhimseria, president of the North Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but the current political unrest has undoubtedly had an impact on those who depend on the neighboring nation’s economy.
Due to the tension, it’s difficult to calculate the total loss, but it would have a significant impact on the businesses that are completely dependent on it.
Tourism was severely affected.
Due to the turmoil, Nepal’s tourism is suffering greatly. It is the nation’s largest industry, employs about 1.2 million foreigners annually, and contributes about 8% to its economy. However, industry insiders predict that pictures of hotels like the Kathmandu Hilton being looted and vandalized along with hundreds of travelers who are stranded when the international airport temporarily closes will spook away travelers.
“The season was just beginning, and the bookings were already at their peak, and the violence couldn’t have come at a worse time.” Nepal joined the list last year because of political tension in Bangladesh, and it was already affected by the cross-border travel, according to Debjit Dutta, president of the West Bengal chapter of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IOT).
Dutta anticipates that the decline in travel activity will have an impact on both business and tourism in India, particularly Buddhist monks who visit the Gautam Buddha’s holy sites both in Nepal and India.
The damage has already been done, according to KP Singh, the founder of Uttar Pradesh’s travel company Pashupati Nath Tours and Travels.
Watch some of the key moments as Tommy Fleetwood, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, and Rory McIlroy claim the victory in the 2023 Ryder Cup.
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Mike Henson
Rugby Union News Reporter for BBC Sport
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Meg Jones is unquestionably the best player at this World Cup because of her speed, strength, industry, and uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right moment.
She was also one of Amazon’s best delivery drivers for a while during the initial stages of the Covid lockdown.
Besides, she has bladder control.
The England international praised her Barely Rugby podcast, saying, “I was really good, so good.
“I was very quick. They wished I had a documentary about me.
“Ok, but toilet breaks are not really a thing. You arrive at 5 am, and you’ll likely leave without getting wee until 4 pm.
Jones, age 23, had already attended a Rugby World Cup final while wearing her hi-viz vest as she delivered door to door.
She had been outside center when New Zealand defeated her in 2017. She had previously traveled to the Olympics as a teenager and played in the fourth-place British team’s absence.
But she believed her rugby career might be over because of the pandemic and her frozen Sevens contract.
According to Jones, “It was scary.”
“My livelihood had suddenly vanished because I’ve never had a job in your life.”
“I just assumed that I would spend the rest of my life working as an Amazon deliveryman.”
England vs. Canada rugby world cup final
Saturday, 27 September at 16: 00 BST
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Jones had exceptional talent. When she was six, her father Simon took her to Glamorgan Wanderers and she was born in Cardiff.
She was 11 years old when the Cardiff Schoolboys beat Bridgend in the DC Thomas Cup final at Principality Stadium.
Her performance in the Cardiff Blues under-15 girls team, which she had played a year ago, was still outstanding.
According to a report from the time, “her ball playing probably was only eclipsed by her kicking display.”
Danielle Waterman, the winner of the England World Cup, was impressed by her performance in one of her matches.
Picture agency Huw Evans
Waterman was watching because Jones had a future plan that would take her across the border despite her Welsh heritage, Welsh father, and native tongue. She had a plan in place.
Waterman ran the best program for teenage girls in the UK at Hartpury College, followed by Loughborough University, where young people had a direct chance to reach the top of women’s club rugby, and finally England, who was then only second to New Zealand in the women’s Test game at the time.
Jones’ plan for the journey came exactly as it was intended.
She made her England debut at age 18 when New Zealand defeated England 26-7 in July 2015.
However, the rise on the pitch was accompanied by domestic conflict.
Paula, Jones’ mother, had an alcohol problem.
On a neurology ward, she also served as the senior nurse.
She struggled for 20 years, according to Jones, who later admitted to being a functioning addict.
What I mean by that is that you drink in one day, then you go to work the following day, acting as though nothing ever happened.
It’s quite common, they say. However, over time, things only gradually got worse.
Less than seven months after being diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, Jones’ father, Simon, passed away in August of 2024.
While Paula’s condition worsened as a result of Jones’ parents’ spitting when she was 17 when she left for Hartpury, the shock of his death made matters worse.
“I believe my mother was grieving,” Jones said. “I think she was just grieving.”
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Jones took care of her mother while she was recovering from a serious ankle injury, giving her a bath and giving her food and a message that she had found hope.
Paula had been leaving the house, looking after her family for a while. However, Paula relapsed once Jones returned to her own life in Leicester. Another bout of drinking was caused by a missed bottle of amaretto in Jones’ housecleaning.
She was unable to be saved this time. She passed away in December.
In just four months, Jones lost both of his parents.
She claimed in a letter to her grief that “it’s never easy and it never really ends.”
You believe it will pass, but it simply catches you off guard.
“I always believe they’re present in the crowds.
I even feel like they’re all at home right now. In a few weeks, I’ll go see them.
“But generally speaking, I don’t think about anything else whenever I step on that pitch or whatever I’m training.” It almost seems like my safe haven.
Jones is a current patron of Cardiff and Carmarthen’s The Living Room, a charity that assists those who struggle with addiction.
She also gained something else from her loss.
A fearlessness that was born of bitter perspective fuels her stellar performance this year.
Nothing is as bad as hearing that news, she told the Guardian, “because it was the best rugby I’ve ever played.”
Losing my dad, one of my closest friends and the lifeblood of our family, is the worst thing that can make me sadder or lessen my worth.
She wept joy this week as her team-mates’ announcement of her nomination for world player of the year was met with cheers and hugs.
Regardless of the outcome, there will undoubtedly be more tears on Saturday.
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Donald Trump, the president of the United States, delivered a powerful speech that covered topics such as immigration, climate change, immigration, and more. He attacked friends and rivals alike, while making controversial – and often factually inaccurate – assertions.
Here are some of his most important statements and arguments, and how they compare to the facts.
Broken teleprompter
Trump opened his speech by making a lighthearted observation about a broken teleprompter, noting that he didn’t mind if it wasn’t functioning.
“I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working”, Trump said.
“I’m very happy to be here with you, but I’m not.” And that way, you speak more from the heart. Who is in charge of this teleprompter is in serious trouble, to my knowledge.
But a UN official said the teleprompter was being operated by the White House.
And as soon as Trump finished speaking, Annalena Baerbock, president of the UNGA, said, “I would like to assure you that, don’t worry, the UN teleprompters are working perfectly.”
Baerbock was Germany’s foreign minister until earlier this year.
Donald Trump addresses the UNGA [Timonthy A. Clary/AFP]
‘ You’re destroying your countries ‘
Trump claimed that under his administration, nations that welcomed immigrants more than the US were “destroying” their nations.
“They’re being destroyed. Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Immigration to Europe is rising rapidly.
Trump then referred to his administration’s policies towards migrants and asylum seekers.
I can tell you, “You must end it right away. I’m really good at this stuff. Your nations will end in a pit.
“Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border, and removing illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stopped coming”, he said.
He added that in his earlier speeches, there had been no illegal aliens admitted to and entering our country for the first four months in a row.
Trump’s claims about undocumented migrants – some of whom cross the border seeking asylum – whom he calls “illegal”, are an exaggeration.
Border crossing apprehensions across the country decreased from 60, 600 in August of this year to roughly 8, 200 in July of this year, according to US Customs and Border Protection. This is one of the lowest monthly totals in decades, but it is not close to zero.
Russia under pressure: “Europe has to step up.”
Trump criticised Washington’s NATO allies for continuing to buy Russian energy, while urging Europe to step up pressure on Moscow over its war on Ukraine.
Trump claimed that even NATO countries have not cut off much of Russian energy and Russian energy products, but that China and India continue to be the main donors of the ongoing conflict.
As Al Jazeera reported in August, after the US doubled its 25 percent tariffs on Indian imports to 50 percent as punishment for New Delhi’s continued oil purchases from Russia, the European Union actually trades even more with Moscow.
The current level of trade between the EU and Russia is about a quarter of what it was before Russia’s full-fledged conflict with Ukraine (257.5 billion euros ($297.5 billion) in 2024). But this is still more than India’s total trade with Russia in 2024-25, which was worth $68.7bn.
And in comparison to the year before, Europe’s imports of Russian LNG increased by 9% in 2024.
Meanwhile, the US also imports a range of chemicals from Russia. The US Trade Representative’s Office estimates that total Russian-US trade in 2024 was $5. 2 billion, but this figure is significantly lower than that of 2021, when trade in goods was $36 billion.
Trump warned that the US is prepared to impose a new round of tariffs on Russia if no agreement is reached to end the war.
“European nations – all of you are gathered here right now – would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures,” Trump said.
“I mean, you’re much closer to this. We have an ocean in between, you see. You’re right there, and Europe has to step it up. They are unable to continue doing what they are doing, he continued.
‘ The greatest con job ever ‘
Trump also brought up climate science, which he had previously criticized.
“If you look back years ago, in the 1920s and the 1930s, they said global cooling will kill the world”, Trump said.
They then claimed that global warming would end the world, but things started to get worse. So now, they just call it climate change because that way, they can’t miss. Because climate change is inevitable regardless of whether it rises or falls precipitously.
“It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. You are a participant in climate change, regardless of what transpires. No more global warming, no more global cooling. All of these predictions made by the UN and many others, often for false, were incorrect.
Trump at UNGA: Climate change— it’s the greatest con-job ever perpetrated on the world. pic . twitter.com/0vOknp9M2O
“If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail, and I’m really good at predicting things”, he added.
His remarks coincide with the UNGA’s call for countries to present updated decarbonization targets, which would rekindle the momentum of the global fight against climate change.
Scientific evidence – including that touted by parts of Trump’s own administration – shows that global warming, along with its impacts on rising temperatures, shifting oceans, extreme weather and wildfires, is unfolding faster than previously expected.
Trump addresses the UNGA on September 23, 2025 [AFP]
‘ I ended seven wars ‘
Trump portrayed himself as a global peacemaker.
“I ended seven wars. And they were always raging, killing countless thousands of people. This includes Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda – a vicious, violent war that was – Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan”, Trump said.
“That’s never existed before.” Very honoured to have done it. He said it was unfortunate that I had to do these things myself rather than the UN.
“And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them… All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle”.
Some nations have refuted Trump’s claims, despite the fact that he has been given credit for putting an end to the conflicts he listed. India, in particular, has publicly, and repeatedly, insisted that its May clash with Pakistan ended through bilateral conversations between the militaries of the South Asian neighbours, not any US mediation.
Trump’s supporters, however, have called him the “peace president” and argued that he merits a Nobel Peace Prize.
The UN has not been there for us as a country. Without any assistance, @POTUS has been negotiating peace for months in significant global conflicts.
The UN has tremendous potential, but it is not living up to it. Words that are frequently used are nothing more than empty words. Actions end wars. pic . twitter.com/fhvLmJceQK
On Iran strike and peace push
Trump cited the US’s military action against Iran’s nuclear sites as evidence of US strength, claiming that it had aided him in putting an end to the Israeli-Iranian military clashes in June.
“I extended a pledge of full cooperation in exchange for a suspension of Iran’s nuclear programme”, Trump said.
The regime responded by continuing to threaten their neighbors and US interests in the area.
“And three months ago in Operation Midnight Hammer, seven American B-2 bombers dropped the fourteen 30, 000-pound-each (13, 600kg) bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facility, totally obliterating everything”, Trump said.
We detest using them, but for 22 years people have wanted to do something. With Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity demolished, I immediately brokered an end to the 12-day war, as it’s called, between Israel and Iran, with both sides agreeing to fight… no longer”, he added.
Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to the Iranian parliament’s chairman at the time, claimed that the US attack was not unexpected and that no irreparable harm was caused by the strikes. He added that authorities had evacuated all three nuclear sites that were bombed, in advance.
Trump claims that Hamas benefits from acknowledging the Palestinian state.
Trump condemned mounting efforts to recognise a Palestinian state, accusing Hamas of blocking peace and demanding the release of captives being held in Gaza.
The state of Palestine has been recognized by Australia, Andorra, Belgium, Canada, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, and the United Kingdom as of this week.
“Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace”, Trump said.
He questioned “We can’t forget October 7th,” referring to the Hamas attack in southern Israel in 2023, which led to Israel’s brutal occupation of the Gaza Strip.
“Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state. Trump remarked that Hamas terrorists’ atrocities would be too much for them to bear.
“This could have been solved so long ago. But Hamas’s demands for ransom should be ignored by those who want peace, he continued, saying release the hostages right away.
Hamas on Tuesday refuted any responsibility for the failure to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza. In a statement, it stated that “we have never been a barrier to reaching an agreement.”
“The US administration, the mediators and the world know that Netanyahu is the sole obstructionist in all attempts to reach an agreement”, it added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has vowed to commit to a full withdrawal, despite Hamas’ declaration that it is ready for a truce that will result in the release of Palestinian prisoners and captives in Israeli jails.
This month, Israel launched a ground invasion to occupy Gaza City, killing hundreds of Palestinians and displacing tens of thousands. In total, more than 60, 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s war against Gaza since October 2023, and food and aid restrictions have been in place there.
On drug traffickers: ‘ We will blow you out of existence ‘
Trump defended the contentious US military’s recent attacks on boats carrying what he claimed were Venezuelan drug traffickers, which have resulted in at least 17 fatalities.
“Let’s put it this way: People don’t like taking big loads of drugs in boats any more”, Trump said.
“Venezuela is not using too many boats to travel on the seas.” They tend not to want to travel very quickly any more. And we’ve effectively stopped sea-based drug trafficking in our nation. We call them the water drugs”, he added.
Experts question whether US attacks on foreign ships in international waters are legal. Data from both the UN and the US itself suggest that Venezuela is not a major source of cocaine coming in the US, as Trump has claimed.
Trump continued, “I’ve also designated two bloody transnational gangs, probably the worst gangs anywhere in the world, MS13 and Tren de Aragua,” as separate terrorist organizations.
“They’re the enemies of all humanity. And for this reason, we’ve recently begun using the military’s top ranks to defuse Venezuelan terrorists and trafficking organizations under the leadership of [President] Nicolas Maduro.
The Trump administration has not provided evidence linking Maduro to Tren de Aragua or any other drug cartel, and the Venezuelan leader has denied the allegations. Additionally, claims that Venezuela’s government and the gang have ties to one another have been disproven by the US intelligence community.
]Angela Weiss/AFP]
“We don’t have a choice, and we can’t let it go.” They’re destroying – I believe we lost 300, 000 people last year to drugs – 300, 000 – fentanyl and other drugs. More than 25 000 Americans would be killed by the drugs that we ship each day. We will not let that happen”, Trump said.
According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Mexico is the source of the majority of fentanyl traffic in the US [PDF].
