Pakistan says peace talks with Afghanistan ‘failed’

Pakistan said Wednesday that peace talks with Afghanistan had failed, in a blow to hopes for a lasting truce after the South Asian neighbours’ deadliest border clashes in years.The violence, which killed more than 70 people and wounded hundreds, erupted following explosions in Kabul on October 9 that the Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan.Both sides had been holding talks in Istanbul aimed at securing peace.”Regrettably, the Afghan side gave no assurances, kept deviating from the core issue and resorted to blame game, deflection and ruses,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X after four days of negotiations brokered by Qatar and Turkey.”The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution.”Tarar said Pakistan engaged with Afghanistan in the spirit of peace, but accused Kabul of “unabated support to anti-Pakistan terrorists”.”We will continue to take all possible measures necessary to protect our people from the menace of terrorism,” he added.Hours later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on X that “any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures”.Afghanistan has not commented so far.It is not clear whether negotiators from both sides remain in Istanbul, and the Turkish foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for Afghanistan’s interior ministry, told Afghan media outlet Ariana News on Tuesday that any attack would be met with a response “that will serve as a lesson for Pakistan and a message for others”.Relations between the one-time allies, who share a 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier, have soured in recent years over accusations from Islamabad that Afghanistan harbours militant groups which stage attacks in Pakistan.Of particular concern is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses the Taliban authorities of allowing to use Afghan territory as a “training-cum-logistic base and jump off point for terrorist activities”.The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations.- Border shut -A Pakistani security source, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said Tuesday the Afghan delegation initially agreed to take “credible and decisive action” against the TTP, but “reversed its position repeatedly after instructions from Kabul”.After the October 9 explosions in the Afghan capital, which coincided with a visit to New Delhi by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi, the Taliban launched a retaliatory border offensive. Pakistan responded with strikes. An initial 48-hour ceasefire lapsed before a second truce emerged on October 19 following talks in Doha, also brokered by Qatar and Turkey.The border between the two neighbours has been closed for more than two weeks, and news of the state of the talks was met with despair.Abdul Jabbar, a vehicle spare parts trader in the Pakistani border town of Chaman, told AFP the closure was “very concerning” for businesses.”Trade suffers greatly. Both countries face losses — both are Islamic nations,” the 40-year-old said.A resident, Ehsanullah, told AFP he was disappointed the talks had failed.”May God make the talks successful so that peace, brotherhood, and trade can be restored,” the 26-year-old said.In Spin Boldak on the Afghan side, a driver had told AFP that “fruit is rotting” in trucks.”There are 50 to 60 trucks, some with apples, others with pomegranates and grapes,” said 25-year-old Gul, who only gave his first name. The violence killed at least 50 Afghan civilians and wounded 447 others in one week, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told AFP on Monday.Pakistan’s military said on October 12 that 23 personnel had been killed and 29 wounded, without detailing civilian casualties.burs-abs/rsc

Protests erupt as Tanzania votes without an oppositionWed, 29 Oct 2025 11:25:30 GMT

Hundreds protested on Wednesday in Tanzania’s largest city, tearing down banners of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and burning a police station, as the East African country went to the polls in elections where the main challengers have either been jailed or barred from standing.Despite heavy security in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, with tanks …

Protests erupt as Tanzania votes without an oppositionWed, 29 Oct 2025 11:25:30 GMT Read More »

Rain washes out 1st Australia-India T20 match

Persistent rain forced the opening Twenty20 clash between Australia and India to be abandoned on Wednesday, leaving Suryakumar Yadav stranded on 39 and Shubman Gill on 37.After being sent in on a chilly Canberra night, the visitors raced to 97-1 off 9.4 overs before being forced off for a second time by the weather with no more play possible.India got off to a solid start with their newest T20 sensation Abhishek Sharma signalling his intent immediately, advancing down the wicket to Josh Hazlewood on his first ball.He clobbered four boundaries in a quick-fire 19, but the gung-ho innings came to an end against Nathan Ellis, deceived by a slower ball and caught by Tim David at mid-off.Skipper Yadav slammed a giant six off Hazlewood before they were forced off by drizzle on 43-1 from five overs.When they returned after 45 minutes and with the game reduced to 18 overs, the runs began flowing for Yadav and Gill as they upped the ante. But the rain came back and they went off again having reached 97-1 and that proved the end of the match.The second game is at a sold-out Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

Israël annonce reprendre le cessez-le-feu à Gaza après des frappes meurtrières

Israël a annoncé mercredi reprendre le cessez-le-feu dans la bande de Gaza, après y avoir mené pendant la nuit des dizaines de frappes qui ont fait plus de cent morts, selon des sources palestiniennes, en représailles à la mort d’un soldat.Mercredi matin, des panaches de fumée noire s’élevaient dans plusieurs endroits du territoire palestinien après ces frappes, les plus meurtrières depuis le début du cessez-le-feu le 10 octobre, qui ont ravivé chez les habitants la peur d’une reprise de la guerre. “Les bombardements n’ont pas cessé, il y a eu des explosions toute la nuit”, a témoigné Khadija al-Housni, une femme de 31 ans qui vit dans une tente dans le camp de réfugiés d’al-Chati, dans le nord de Gaza.”Nous venions tout juste de commencer à respirer à nouveau, à essayer de reconstruire nos vies, quand les bombardements ont repris, ramenant la guerre, les explosions et la mort”, dit-elle.”Nous sommes épuisés”, a réagi Jalal Abbas, 40 ans, installé sous une tente à Deir el-Balah, dans le centre du territoire. “Le retour de la guerre est ce que nous craignions le plus”.”Au moins 101 morts ont été transportés dans les hôpitaux, dont 35 enfants, plusieurs femmes et personnes âgées, à la suite des frappes aériennes israéliennes en moins de 12 heures”, a déclaré le porte-parole de la Défense civile, une organisation de secours opérant sous l’autorité du Hamas, Mahmoud Bassal, faisant état aussi de plus de 200 blessés.Des sources dans cinq hôpitaux, qui ont reçu les victimes, ont confirmé ce bilan.Le principal hôpital du territoire, Al-Chifa, a fait état d’une frappe dans sa cour arrière.- “Des dizaines de cibles” -L’armée israélienne a annoncé mercredi matin un retour au cessez-le-feu après avoir mené des frappes contre “des dizaines” de cibles et visé 30 chefs de mouvements armés opérant dans le territoire.Le président américain Donald Trump avait assuré plus tôt que “rien” ne compromettrait l’accord de cessez-le-feu qu’il a négocié entre Israël et le Hamas. “Ils ont tué un soldat israélien. Donc les Israéliens ripostent. Et ils devraient riposter”, a-t-il jugé.Le ministre israélien de la Défense, Israël Katz, a affirmé mercredi qu’il n’y aurait “aucune immunité pour quiconque dans la direction de l’organisation terroriste Hamas – ni pour ceux en costume ni pour ceux cachés dans les tunnels”, en faisant référence notamment aux dirigeants politiques du mouvement islamiste présents au Qatar.Il a déclaré que les frappes menées depuis mardi ripostaient à “l’attaque contre des soldats” israéliens et à “la violation flagrante de l’accord prévoyant la restitution” des dépouilles d’otages.Un soldat israélien, Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37 ans, a été tué mardi dans la bande de Gaza.Selon une source militaire, des tirs “ennemis” ont provoqué la mort de ce soldat dans la zone de Rafah (sud), où l’armée opère pour démanteler les infrastructures et tunnels du Hamas qui restent à l’est de la “ligne jaune”.Cette ligne délimite la zone au-delà de laquelle s’est retirée, dans le cadre du cessez-le-feu, l’armée israélienne, qui dit contrôler désormais environ la moitié du territoire.Le Hamas, qui a pris le pouvoir par la force à Gaza en 2007, a démenti mardi avoir attaqué les troupes israéliennes.- “Complexe et difficile” -Le mouvement palestinien avait aussi annoncé le report de la remise, initialement prévue mardi soir, d’une nouvelle dépouille d’otage.En vertu de la première phase de l’accord de cessez-le-feu, le Hamas a libéré le 13 octobre l’ensemble des 20 otages vivants qu’il retenait à Gaza depuis son attaque contre Israël le 7 octobre 2023. Il devait aussi rendre à cette date les 28 derniers corps mais n’en a restitué que 15 jusque-là.Le mouvement assure que les localiser est “complexe et difficile” dans le territoire en ruines.  Mardi, il a dit avoir retrouvé deux corps d’otages, sans préciser quand il comptait les restituer.Le même jour, Israël a accusé le Hamas d’avoir mis en scène la découverte supposée d’un corps d’otage, diffusant des images pour étayer ses dires. La Croix-Rouge, réagissant aux images, a jugé “inacceptable” une telle mise en scène, en précisant que ses collaborateurs avaient agi en “toute bonne foi” en récupérant le corps.Les représentants du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge se sont vu interdire mercredi de rendre visite aux prisonniers palestiniens détenus en Israël, en vertu d’un décret de M. Katz évoquant “la sécurité nationale”.  L’attaque du 7 octobre a entraîné côté israélien la mort de 1.221 personnes, en majorité des civils, selon un bilan établi par l’AFP à partir de chiffres officiels.L’offensive israélienne menée en représailles a fait 68.531 morts à Gaza, en majorité des civils, selon les chiffres du ministère de la Santé du Hamas.

Trump expects ‘great meeting’ with Xi

US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Wednesday on the eve of crunch trade talks with China’s Xi Jinping, while also announcing that a deal with South Korea was “pretty much” finalised.Agreeing a truce in the US-China trade war in the meeting with Xi on Thursday in South Korea would mark a fitting grand finale to Trump’s Asia tour marked by praise, pomp and presents.But a new meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the close of the marathon voyage looked unlikely, with the US president saying “timing” didn’t work out.Beijing said the talks between Xi and Trump would take place in South Korea’s Busan, with the US leader telling reporters “a lot of problems are going to be solved” at the “great meeting”.Global markets will zero in on the outcome to determine whether Trump and Xi can draw a line under a tussle that has snarled supply chains and unsettled businesses the world over.Negotiators from both sides have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed leading up to Trump and Xi’s first face-to-face meeting during the US president’s second term.”We are willing to work together with the US side to ensure that this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance, and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.Trump indicated that the agreement would include lowering 20 percent tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans.Other burning issues include Chinese imports of US soybeans, export controls on rare earths, semiconductors for artificial intelligence, and the fate of TikTok.- Golden touch -Trump’s three-country Asia tour has seen Malaysia, Japan and South Korea lavishing the US president with praise and showering him with gifts.New Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter owned by assassinated ex-leader Shinzo Abe, a close friend of the US president, plus a gold-plated golf ball.Not to be outdone, the US leader disembarked in South Korea to the strains of 1970s disco anthem and Trump rally standard “Y.M.C.A.”, which was thumped out by a military band.President Lee Jae Myung — sporting a golden tie — conferred upon Trump South Korea’s highest order and gave him a replica of an ancient golden crown.”It’s a great honour,” the US president said of the award. “I’d like to wear it right now.”South Korea’s presidential office said Wednesday’s state dinner for the APEC summit in Gyeongju would feature a golden citrus dessert and a gold-adorned brownie.In July, Trump said Washington had agreed to cut tariffs on South Korean imports to 15 percent in exchange for a $350-billion investment pledge.Steep auto tariffs had remained in place, and the two governments were still divided over the structure of the investment pledge.But Trump said at the APEC dinner that the deal had been “reached” before appearing to walk back to say that it was “pretty much” finalised.South Korean presidential aide Kim Yong-beom said the two sides had “reached an agreement on the details of the tariff negotiations”.”South Korea’s financial investment package for the United States, worth $350 billion, consists of $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation,” Kim added.Kim also said they had agreed to maintain reciprocal tariffs at 15 percent and cut auto tariffs to 15 percent.- ‘Enemies’ -North Korea meanwhile announced hours before Trump’s arrival that it test-launched sea-to-surface cruise missiles in a show of strength against Pyongyang’s “enemies”.Trump had extended an invitation to North Korea’s Kim to meet while the US leader was on the peninsula, but Trump said on Wednesday that it would not take place this time around.He said he expected to meet with Kim in the “not too distant future”.Trump added he would aim to “straighten out” tensions between North Korea and South Korea, which technically remain at war.Trump and Kim last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the fraught Cold War frontier that has separated North and South Korea for decades.Kim has since been emboldened with crucial backing from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces.Gi-Wook Shin, a Korea expert and sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP that Kim would likely seek to “maximise his leverage with Trump”.”Still, a future meeting remains possible, as Kim likely sees Trump as his best chance to secure the kind of deal he wants, including recognition as a nuclear state,” Shin said.

Trump expects ‘great meeting’ with Xi

US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Wednesday on the eve of crunch trade talks with China’s Xi Jinping, while also announcing that a deal with South Korea was “pretty much” finalised.Agreeing a truce in the US-China trade war in the meeting with Xi on Thursday in South Korea would mark a fitting grand finale to Trump’s Asia tour marked by praise, pomp and presents.But a new meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the close of the marathon voyage looked unlikely, with the US president saying “timing” didn’t work out.Beijing said the talks between Xi and Trump would take place in South Korea’s Busan, with the US leader telling reporters “a lot of problems are going to be solved” at the “great meeting”.Global markets will zero in on the outcome to determine whether Trump and Xi can draw a line under a tussle that has snarled supply chains and unsettled businesses the world over.Negotiators from both sides have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed leading up to Trump and Xi’s first face-to-face meeting during the US president’s second term.”We are willing to work together with the US side to ensure that this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance, and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.Trump indicated that the agreement would include lowering 20 percent tariffs on Chinese goods related to fentanyl, which has killed tens of thousands of Americans.Other burning issues include Chinese imports of US soybeans, export controls on rare earths, semiconductors for artificial intelligence, and the fate of TikTok.- Golden touch -Trump’s three-country Asia tour has seen Malaysia, Japan and South Korea lavishing the US president with praise and showering him with gifts.New Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi said she would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and gave him a putter owned by assassinated ex-leader Shinzo Abe, a close friend of the US president, plus a gold-plated golf ball.Not to be outdone, the US leader disembarked in South Korea to the strains of 1970s disco anthem and Trump rally standard “Y.M.C.A.”, which was thumped out by a military band.President Lee Jae Myung — sporting a golden tie — conferred upon Trump South Korea’s highest order and gave him a replica of an ancient golden crown.”It’s a great honour,” the US president said of the award. “I’d like to wear it right now.”South Korea’s presidential office said Wednesday’s state dinner for the APEC summit in Gyeongju would feature a golden citrus dessert and a gold-adorned brownie.In July, Trump said Washington had agreed to cut tariffs on South Korean imports to 15 percent in exchange for a $350-billion investment pledge.Steep auto tariffs had remained in place, and the two governments were still divided over the structure of the investment pledge.But Trump said at the APEC dinner that the deal had been “reached” before appearing to walk back to say that it was “pretty much” finalised.South Korean presidential aide Kim Yong-beom said the two sides had “reached an agreement on the details of the tariff negotiations”.”South Korea’s financial investment package for the United States, worth $350 billion, consists of $200 billion in cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation,” Kim added.Kim also said they had agreed to maintain reciprocal tariffs at 15 percent and cut auto tariffs to 15 percent.- ‘Enemies’ -North Korea meanwhile announced hours before Trump’s arrival that it test-launched sea-to-surface cruise missiles in a show of strength against Pyongyang’s “enemies”.Trump had extended an invitation to North Korea’s Kim to meet while the US leader was on the peninsula, but Trump said on Wednesday that it would not take place this time around.He said he expected to meet with Kim in the “not too distant future”.Trump added he would aim to “straighten out” tensions between North Korea and South Korea, which technically remain at war.Trump and Kim last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the fraught Cold War frontier that has separated North and South Korea for decades.Kim has since been emboldened with crucial backing from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces.Gi-Wook Shin, a Korea expert and sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP that Kim would likely seek to “maximise his leverage with Trump”.”Still, a future meeting remains possible, as Kim likely sees Trump as his best chance to secure the kind of deal he wants, including recognition as a nuclear state,” Shin said.