International
G7 leaders call for ‘de-escalation’ in the Middle East
G7 leaders call for ‘de-escalation’ in the Middle East
The leaders of G7 nations have called for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
In a joint statement, they also reiterated their “commitment to peace and stability” in the region, adding that within this context “Israel has a right to defend itself”.
US President Donald Trump left the summit in Canada early telling reporters: “I have to be back early for obvious reasons.”
His exit came as Israel and Iran attacked each other for a fifth consecutive day.
Reports circulated that Trump had instructed the White House National Security Council to meet upon his return.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the “deployment of additional capabilities” to the Middle East to enhance the Pentagon’s “defensive posture”. But American officials rejected suggestions the US was about to join the Israeli offensive on Iran.
The White House was at pains to emphasise that Trump had “a great day” at the summit, saying much was accomplished, including a trade deal between the US and UK.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was leaving the gathering of world leaders at Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies after dinner on Monday night because of “what’s going on in the Middle East”. She did not elaborate.
It means the US president will miss in-person meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that were scheduled for Tuesday, the final day of the summit.
At a photo session on Monday, Trump said it was important he return to Washington for “big stuff”.
Earlier the president posted on social media that Iran should have signed a deal that he put forward to them in the most recent round of US-Iran nuclear talks.
“Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” he wrote. “I said it over and over again!”
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Trump also urged Iranians on his social media platform Truth Social to “immediately evacuate” their capital, Tehran, a city of up to 17 million people. He did not offer further details.
Shortly afterwards, Iranian media reported explosions and heavy air defence fire in Tehran early on Tuesday. That came hours after Israel targeted Iran’s state broadcaster, forcing a presenter to flee mid-broadcast.
In Israel, air raid sirens wailed in Tel Aviv and an explosion was heard as Iranian missiles targeted the country again.
World leaders at the G7 summit said they understood Trump’s need to leave early.
“If the United States can achieve a ceasefire, that’s a very good thing,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Trump’s exit was “understandable”, despite the two being scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss tariffs.
There were signs of division earlier at the G7 over conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Iran.
Trump was planning to reject a summit statement on the Iran-Israel conflict, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS.
But the leaders ultimately agreed a statement, released on Monday night local time, which said they “reiterate our support for the security of Israel”.
“Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” the statement added.
We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
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Trump also said at the summit earlier that it had been a “big mistake” for the former G8 to expel Russia from the group in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.
“Putin speaks to me,” said the US president. “He doesn’t speak to anybody else… he’s not a happy person about it.”
But there was some progress as President Trump formally signed off a UK-US trade deal removing some trade barriers between the two countries.
Trump told reporters the UK was “very well protected” from future import taxes. “You know why? Because I like them.”
Monday also saw a bilateral between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump, after which Carney said a trade deal might be struck between the two countries within 30 days to resolve tit-for-tat import taxes.
This marks the second time that Trump had left the G7 summit early. In 2018, at a summit in Quebec, he exited the gathering to meet North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.
Israel has claimed control of Iranian airspace since launching its air war last Thursday with a surprise attack that it says has killed many top military commanders and atomic scientists.
However, Israel does not appear to have achieved its goal of destroying Iran’s nuclear development programme.
Military analysts say only the US has the bombers and bunker-busting bombs that can penetrate the deepest of Iranian nuclear facilities, especially that of Fordow.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran, according to the Iranian health ministry. In Israel, the government said at least 24 people had died.
G7 leaders call for ‘de-escalation’ in the Middle East
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International
18 Suspects Transferred to US Over 2021 Killing of Haitian President Moïse
18 Suspects Transferred to US Over 2021 Killing of Haitian President Moïse
Eighteen suspects accused of involvement in the 2021 assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise have been transferred from Haiti to the United States to face trial.
US officials said the suspects were transported to Florida on Sunday, as American authorities continue their prosecution of people allegedly connected to the plot.
Federal prosecutor Jason Reding Quinones said the suspects were flown from Haiti on a military aircraft to face proceedings in the Southern District of Florida.
He said US authorities had so far indicted 30 people in connection with the assassination and warned that the prosecutions were not over.
Among those transferred was Joseph Felix Badio, a former anti-corruption official with Haiti’s Ministry of Justice who has been identified as a major suspect in the investigation.
Haitian government and police sources said the other suspects included Colombian nationals who were allegedly part of the group involved in the operation.
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Colombian Nationals Among Suspects
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that 17 of its citizens had been transferred from Haiti to the United States.
The ministry said the Colombian government was monitoring the development but had not participated in the decision or process that led to the transfer.
Moise was killed at his private residence in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. Investigators said a group of about 20 Colombian military-trained mercenaries had been hired in connection with the operation.
The president’s security detail came under scrutiny after failing to prevent the attack.
In May, four men were convicted in a Miami federal court over charges connected to the plot, including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moise and providing material support for the operation. They could face life imprisonment.
US prosecutors said the men were linked to CTU Security, a Florida-based private security company, and had allegedly been attracted by the prospect of lucrative contracts after Moise was removed from power.
The assassination plunged Haiti further into political and security turmoil. The country has since struggled with gang violence and remains without a president, while preparations continue for elections scheduled for December, subject to security conditions.
18 Suspects Transferred to US Over 2021 Killing of Haitian President Moïse
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International
Trump Bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico From White House Over ‘Fake News’
Trump Bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico From White House Over ‘Fake News’
WASHINGTON — United States President Donald Trump has announced restrictions barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing the three media organisations of repeatedly publishing what he described as “fake news” about his administration.
Trump announced the decision on Friday, September 18, 2026, in a post on his Truth Social platform, declaring that the restrictions were effective immediately.
The president accused the organisations of reporting what he called “fiction and lies” about him, his administration and the United States, while warning that other media outlets could also face similar restrictions.
The announcement has opened another confrontation between the Trump administration and the American media, with press-freedom advocates and journalists raising questions about the constitutional limits of presidential control over access to the White House.
The dispute also escalated on Saturday after journalists working for MS NOW were denied entry to the White House grounds, providing the clearest indication that the administration had begun enforcing at least part of Trump’s announced restrictions.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after making the announcement, defended the decision and said the three organisations had engaged in what he regarded as deliberately negative coverage of his administration.
“They’re fake news,” Trump said when asked about the decision, adding that other media organisations could also be affected if they continued with what he described as unfair reporting.
Trump did not identify a single report that prompted the action. Instead, he pointed to what he characterised as the organisations’ overall coverage of his presidency.
He also criticised other major American news organisations, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, suggesting that additional outlets could face restrictions.
However, no ban on either newspaper was immediately announced.
The White House action initially created uncertainty because journalists from the three targeted organisations remained on the White House grounds after Trump’s announcement on Friday.
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CNN journalists were still working from the network’s White House workspace, while CNN also had personnel involved in the television pool covering Vice President JD Vance.
The situation changed on Saturday when MS NOW journalists were denied access to the White House grounds.
The development raised fresh questions about whether the administration intended to apply the restrictions to physical access, press credentials, White House workspaces, presidential events and media pools, or all forms of coverage from the presidential complex.
It was not immediately clear whether CNN journalists had also been denied entry on Saturday, while Politico journalists are generally not based at the White House during weekends.
Trump was spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
The president’s action has drawn a strong response from the affected organisations.
CNN rejected the move and said it stood behind its White House reporting team. The network maintained that journalists should be able to report from the White House without government interference and indicated that it would challenge any formal restriction that violated its constitutional protections.
Politico also rejected the president’s allegations and said it would continue covering the Trump administration and future administrations.
The organisation said it would defend its First Amendment rights against attempts to restrict its access to government officials and presidential activities.
MS NOW also condemned the restriction after its journalists were denied entry, saying it would pursue available measures to protect its constitutional rights and the public’s access to information about government activities.
The White House Correspondents’ Association also criticised the administration’s decision.
The association argued that freedom of the press should not depend on whether a president agrees with the coverage produced by a particular news organisation or approves of questions asked by its journalists.
The controversy has also attracted the attention of major press-freedom organisations, which have warned that excluding news organisations because of dissatisfaction with their reporting could raise serious constitutional questions.
The First Amendment protects freedom of the press in the United States, although the government also has authority to regulate access to secure government facilities.
The central legal question is therefore likely to concern whether the White House can selectively exclude particular news organisations because the administration objects to their reporting or perceived editorial position.
The latest dispute follows an earlier confrontation between the Trump administration and the Associated Press over White House access.
In 2025, the White House restricted AP journalists from certain presidential events after the news organisation declined to adopt Trump’s preferred name, “Gulf of America”, for the body of water traditionally known as the Gulf of Mexico.
The AP challenged the restrictions in court, turning the dispute into a wider legal battle over presidential control of press access.
Trump has also had a previous major confrontation with CNN over White House access.
During his first presidency, the White House revoked CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press credentials following a contentious exchange between Acosta and Trump at a November 2018 press conference.
CNN challenged the decision in court, and a federal judge temporarily ordered the restoration of Acosta’s access. The White House later restored his credentials permanently.
The latest dispute is therefore occurring against the background of several years of tension between Trump and major American news organisations.
Trump has repeatedly criticised media outlets whose reporting he considers unfair or inaccurate, while journalists and press-freedom groups have argued that government officials should not determine access to the presidency according to whether they approve of news coverage.
Another issue raised by Trump’s latest announcement is the absence of specific reports identified by the president as the basis for the restrictions.
Rather than pointing to one article or broadcast, Trump referred broadly to what he described as the organisations’ continued publication of negative and false reports.
The president also raised the issue of government spending on Politico subscriptions while defending his decision.
Politico has rejected suggestions that its government subscriptions amounted to improper financial support, arguing that such claims were misleading.
Trump’s warning that other media organisations could also be targeted has added another dimension to the dispute.
The president has suggested that additional outlets could be excluded from the White House if he believes they continue to engage in what he considers unfair reporting.
That possibility has heightened concerns among journalists about the future of White House press access and whether the administration could establish different levels of access for media organisations based on their editorial coverage.
The immediate focus, however, is on how the restrictions against CNN, MS NOW and Politico will be implemented.
Questions remain over whether the administration will issue formal rules covering press credentials, presidential events, White House workspaces and press pools.
The organisations affected have indicated that they intend to continue covering the Trump administration and defend their rights to do so.
The confrontation could consequently develop into another major legal battle over the relationship between the White House and the American press, with the outcome potentially affecting how journalists gain access to the presidency.
For now, the denial of entry to MS NOW journalists represents a significant development from Friday’s announcement, when the precise scope of the proposed ban remained unclear.
The unfolding dispute places White House press access, media freedom and First Amendment protections at the centre of another major confrontation between President Trump and the American news media.
Trump Bans CNN, MS NOW, Politico From White House Over ‘Fake News’
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International
Asian Games Organisers Apologise After Blunder Broadcasts North Korean Anthem for South Korea
Asian Games Organisers Apologise After Blunder Broadcasts North Korean Anthem for South Korea
A mistaken stadium audio track following South Korea’s 5-0 hockey win over Bangladesh triggers protests amid wider logistical issues in Japan.
Organisers of the Asian Games in Japan issued a formal apology on Friday after mistakenly playing the North Korean national anthem for South Korea’s men’s hockey team.
The embarrassing mix-up occurred shortly after South Korea secured a commanding 5-0 victory over Bangladesh, leaving players standing perplexed on the pitch as the wrong national anthem echoed through the stadium speakers.
Following the initial blunder, venue operators played the national anthem of Bangladesh before finally broadcasting South Korea’s proper anthem, prompting a stadium announcer to issue an immediate apology over the public address system.
However, South Korea coach Min Tae-seok condemned the oversight as an inexcusable operational failure. Min stated that while tournament officials blamed an individual operator for selecting the wrong audio file, an international competition must never tolerate errors of such sensitive political magnitude.
Furthermore, the anthem blunder compounds wider operational difficulties facing Japanese host venues ahead of Saturday’s official opening ceremony. Several delegations have voiced strong frustration over logistical arrangements, with visiting teams reporting airport delays lasting up to six hours.
In addition, members of South Korea’s basketball squad published videos showing water pouring from broken pipes into their athlete village rooms, intensifying pressure on local organisers to resolve village infrastructure and technical coordination before mainstream competitions begin.
Asian Games Organisers Apologise After Blunder Broadcasts North Korean Anthem for South Korea
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