عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Trump Meets With Argentina's President, the First Foreign Leader He's Met With Since Election

Argentine President Javier Milei walks past US President-elect Donald Trump as they attend the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
Argentine President Javier Milei walks past US President-elect Donald Trump as they attend the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
TT
TT

Trump Meets With Argentina's President, the First Foreign Leader He's Met With Since Election

Argentine President Javier Milei walks past US President-elect Donald Trump as they attend the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
Argentine President Javier Milei walks past US President-elect Donald Trump as they attend the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

Donald Trump met Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago club with Argentine President Javier Milei, the first foreign leader to meet with the president-elect since his victory in last week's election.
The meeting was confirmed by a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss an event that hadn't yet been announced publicly. The person said the meeting went well and said Milei also met with investors.
A short time later, Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” and frequent recipient of Trump praise, addressed the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago. He spoke briefly in English, then gave a longer speech in Spanish, pausing to allow an interpreter to translate, in which he slammed left-wing ideologies and saluted Elon Musk, the owner of X, saying his social media site is helping to “save humanity.”
Milei criticized a political ruling class that he said was responsible for a system that used unfair tax systems to force “the redistribution of wealth at gunpoint.”
The president of Argentina also congratulated Trump on his “resounding victory” in the election, saying, “Today the winds of freedom are blowing much stronger” and calling the victory “proof positive that the forces of heaven are on our side.”
Trump also spoke to the gala crowd, congratulating Milei “for the job you've done for Argentina” and saying it was an “honor” to have Argentina's president at his club.
“The job you've done is incredible. Make Argentina Great Again, you know, MAGA. He's a MAGA person,” Trump said to applause. “And you know, he's doing that.”
Shortly after Milei’s election in November 2023, Trump posted on social media, “You will turn your country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!”
Milei first met Trump in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in the Washington area. He has openly declared his admiration for Trump and when he saw him, he rushed to him screaming “president!” and gave him a close hug before they posed for pictures.
The Argentine president is known for his eccentric personality and first made a name for himself by shouting against Argentina’s “political caste” on television. The right-wing populist campaigned with a chainsaw as his prop to symbolize his plans to slash public spending and scrap government ministries.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

China Accuses US of Trying to Thwart Improved China-India Ties

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
TT
TT

China Accuses US of Trying to Thwart Improved China-India Ties

FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and US flags flutter in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song

China accused the US on Thursday of distorting its defense policy in an effort to thwart an improvement in China-India ties.

Foreign ministry ‌spokesperson Lin ‌Jian was ‌responding ⁠to a question ‌at a press briefing on whether China might exploit a recent easing of tensions with India over disputed border areas to keep ⁠ties between the United States ‌and India from ‍deepening.

China views ‍its ties with ‍India from a strategic and long-term perspective, Lin said, adding that the border issue was a matter between China and India and "we object to ⁠any country passing judgment about this issue".

The Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday that China "probably seeks to capitalize on decreased tension ... to stabilize bilateral relations and prevent the deepening of US-India ties".

World

UN Experts Slam US Blockade on Venezuela

US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
TT
TT

UN Experts Slam US Blockade on Venezuela

US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP
US forces have launched dozens of deadly air strikes on boats that Washington alleges were transporting drugs. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP

Four United Nations rights experts on Wednesday condemned the US partial naval blockade of Venezuela, determining it illegal armed aggression and calling on the US Congress to intervene.

The United States has deployed a major military force in the Caribbean and has recently intercepted oil tankers as part of a naval blockade against Venezuelan vessels it considers to be under sanctions, AFP said.

"There is no right to enforce unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade," the UN experts said in a joint statement.

A blockade is a prohibited use of military force against another country under the UN Charter, they added.

"It is such a serious use of force that it is also expressly recognized as illegal armed aggression under the General Assembly's 1974 Definition of Aggression," they said.

"As such, it is an armed attack under article 51 of the Charter -- in principle giving the victim state a right of self-defense."

US President Donald Trump accuses Venezuela of using oil, the South American country's main resource, to finance "narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murders, and kidnappings".

Caracas denies any involvement in drug trafficking. It says Washington is seeking to overthrow its president, Nicolas Maduro, in order to seize Venezuelan oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Since September, US forces have launched dozens of air strikes on boats that Washington alleges, without showing evidence, were transporting drugs. More than 100 people have been killed.

Congress should 'intervene'

"These killings amount to violations of the right to life. They must be investigated and those responsible held accountable," said the experts.

"Meanwhile, the US Congress should intervene to prevent further attacks and lift the blockade," they added.

They called on countries to take measures to stop the blockade and illegal killings, and bring perpetrators justice.

The four who signed the joint statement are: Ben Saul, special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism; George Katrougalos, the expert on promoting a democratic and equitable international order; development expert Surya Deva; and Gina Romero, who covers the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

UN experts are independent figures mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.

On Tuesday at the UN in New York, Venezuela, having requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council, accused Washington of "the greatest extortion known in our history".

World

North Korea's Kim Visits Nuclear Subs as Putin Hails 'Invincible' Bond

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
TT
TT

North Korea's Kim Visits Nuclear Subs as Putin Hails 'Invincible' Bond

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine capable of launching surface-to-air missiles in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on December 25, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a nuclear submarine factory and received a message from Russia's Vladimir Putin hailing the countries' "invincible friendship", Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.

North Korea and Russia have drawn closer since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, and Pyongyang has sent troops to fight for Russia, AFP said.

In return, Russia is sending North Korea financial aid, military technology and food and energy supplies, analysts say.

The "heroic" efforts of North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk region "clearly proved the invincible friendship" between Moscow and Pyongyang, Putin said in a message to Kim, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Their work demonstrated the nations' "militant fraternity", Putin said in the message received by Pyongyang last week.

The provisions of the "historic treaty" the two leaders signed last year, which includes a mutual defense clause, had been fulfilled "thanks to our joint efforts", Putin wrote.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have estimated that the North has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, primarily to Kursk, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.

Around 2,000 troops have been killed and thousands more have been wounded, according to South Korean estimates.

North Korea acknowledged this month that its troops in Kursk had been assigned to clear mines and that some had died on deployment.

KCNA reported Putin's letter on the same day that it published details of Kim's undated recent visit to a manufacturing base for nuclear-powered submarines.

There, the North Korean leader vowed to counter the "threat" of South Korea producing its own such vessels.

US President Donald Trump has given the green light for South Korea to build "nuclear-powered attack submarines", though key details of the project remain uncertain.

Photos published by KCNA showed Kim walking alongside a purportedly 8,700-tonne submarine at an indoor assembly site, surrounded by officials and his daughter Kim Ju Ae.

In another image, Kim Jong Un smiles during an official briefing as Kim Ju Ae stands beside him.

Pyongyang would view Seoul developing nuclear subs as "an offensive act severely violating its security and maritime sovereignty", Kim Jong Un said, according to KCNA.

It was therefore "indispensable" to "accelerate the radical development of the modernization and nuclear weaponization of the naval force", he said.

Kim clarified a naval reorganization plan and learned about research into "new underwater secret weapons", KCNA said, without giving details.

Pyongyang's defense ministry said it would consider "countermeasures" against US "nuclear muscle flexing", a separate report said Thursday.

- Help from Russia? -

Only a handful of countries have nuclear-powered submarines, and the United States considers its technology among the most sensitive and tightly guarded military secrets.

In the North's first comments on the US-South Korea deal, a commentary piece by KCNA last month said the program was a "dangerous attempt at confrontation" that could lead to a "nuclear domino phenomenon".

Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP the submarine photos raise "considerable speculation" over whether Russia helped North Korea assemble a nuclear-powered submarine "within such a short time frame".

Kim also reportedly oversaw the test launch on Wednesday of "new-type high-altitude long-range anti-air missiles" over the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

The projectiles hit mock targets at an altitude of 200 kilometers (124 miles), KCNA said. That height, if correct, would be in space.

One photo showed a missile ascending into the sky in a trail of intense orange flame, while another showed Kim walking in front of what appeared to be a military vehicle equipped with a vertical missile launcher.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had been aware of the launch preparations and had braced for the firing in advance.

"South Korean and US intelligence authorities are currently closely analyzing the specifications," it said.