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Trump Launches 'Board of Peace' at Davos

President Donald Trump, center, holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
President Donald Trump, center, holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
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Trump Launches 'Board of Peace' at Davos

President Donald Trump, center, holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
President Donald Trump, center, holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

US President Donald Trump kicked off his new "Board of Peace" at Davos on Thursday, with a signing ceremony for a body with a $1 billion membership fee and a controversial list of invitees. 

A group of leaders and senior officials from 19 countries -- including Trump allies from Argentina and Hungary -- gathered on stage with Trump to put their names to the founding charter of the body, AFP said. 

Trump -- who is the chairman of the Board of Peace -- said they were "in most cases very popular leaders, some cases not so popular. That's the way it goes in life." 

Originally meant to oversee peace in Gaza after the war between Hamas and Israel, the board's charter envisions a wider role in resolving international conflicts, sparking concerns that Trump wants it to rival the United Nations. 

Trump however said the organization would work "in conjunction" with the UN. 

The Board of Peace's potential membership has however proved controversial, with Trump having invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine four years ago. 

Trump said Putin had agreed to join, while the Russian leader said he was still studying the invite. 

Permanent members must also pay $1 billion to join, leading to criticisms that the board could become a "pay to play" version of the UN Security Council. 

- UK, France snub signing - 

Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed skepticism, with the UK saying Thursday it would not attend the ceremony. 

The members on stage largely held close ties to Trump, including Hungary's Viktor Orban and Argentina's Javier Milei, or a wish to show their allegiance to the US president. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the war in Gaza, has said he will join but was not at the ceremony. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the ceremony that the board's focus was "first and foremost on making sure that this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring." 

Trump however said Hamas to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it will be the "end of them." 

The launch of the board comes against the backdrop of Trump's frustration at having failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his disputed claim to have ended eight conflicts. 

- Trump to meet Zelensky - 

The inclusion of Putin has caused particular concern among US allies, but especially in Ukraine as it seeks an end to Moscow's nearly four-year-old invasion. 

Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos after the "Board of Peace" ceremony to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine -- the major peace deal that continues to elude him. 

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is due to travel to Moscow to meet Putin later Thursday, said in Davos that talks to end the war had made a "lot of progress" and were down to one issue. 

"I think we've got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it's solvable," said Witkoff, without saying what the issue was. 

Zelensky has meanwhile voiced fears that Trump's push to seize Greenland -- which has dominated Davos so far and threatened to unravel the transatlantic alliance -- could divert focus away from Russia's invasion of his country. 

Trump however said late Wednesday he had reached a "framework of a future deal" after meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte, and that he would therefore waive tariffs scheduled to hit European allies on February 1. 

He gave no further details, leaving Europeans drawing only cautious sighs of relief. A source close to the talks told AFP that a 1951 Greenland defenسe pact would be renegotiated as part of the deal. 

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World

UN Warns Hormuz Standstill Will Hit World’s Most Vulnerable

The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)
The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)
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UN Warns Hormuz Standstill Will Hit World’s Most Vulnerable

The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)
The Parnassos crude oil tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Reuters)

The standstill in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the Middle East war could hammer some of the world's most vulnerable people, the United Nations warned Tuesday.

The strait is the only sea passage from the Gulf towards the Indian Ocean, through which nearly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil supplies pass, as well as a significant amount of cargo.

Iran has all but blocked the waterway following the launch of the February 28 US-Israeli airstrikes on the country that triggered the war.

"The current shock comes at a time when many developing economies struggle to service their debt, face a tightening of fiscal space and limited capacity to absorb new price shocks," the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD said.

"Higher energy, fertilizer and transport costs -- including freight rates, bunker fuel prices and insurance premiums -- may increase food costs and intensify cost-of-living pressures, particularly for the most vulnerable," it said.

UNCTAD added that, in terms of seaborne trade volume, in the week before the conflict 38 percent of crude oil, 29 percent of liquified petroleum gas, 19 percent of liquified natural gas and 19 percent refined oil products went through the strait.

But while an average of 129 ships transited daily through the passage between February 1 and 27, that number dropped to just three on March 3.

UNCTAD said the disruptions underscored the vulnerability of critical maritime chokepoints and their potential for disruption to them to send shocks across supply chains and commodity markets.

"Rising energy, transport and food costs could strain public finances and increase pressure on household budgets, potentially heightening economic and social pressures... particularly in economies heavily dependent on imported energy, fertilizers and staple foods," it said.

- Food aid hit -

UN rights chief Volker Turk echoed the alarm for the effect the plunge in commercial shipping activity could have, "particularly for the world's most vulnerable".

"The impact of an oil price surge will have a knock-on effect for macro-economic and social stability in many countries, particularly those already experiencing debt distress," he said.

The UN's World Food Program said the costs and time lost to the Strait of Hormuz disruptions were already impacting its humanitarian operations.

"This is nothing less than another seminal moment in global supply chain history," Jean-Martin Bauer, the director of WFP's food and nutrition analysis service, told reporters in Geneva.

Speaking from the WFP's Rome headquarters, he said shipping lines were diverting services and adding surcharges, leading to congestion "in places that are very far from Hormuz".

"We're seeing congestion in Asia. It's quite a severe disruption that's taking place right now," Bauer said.

"We're needing to go the long way around the Cape of Good Hope to reach some of our key geographies."

WFP's biggest operation is in Sudan, but now it is facing approximately 25 days of additional shipping time.

"It's basically 50 percent more than we would usually have. So that's really extending the supply chain and adding to cost," said Bauer.

World

Israel Says Iran Hacked Security Cameras

People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
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Israel Says Iran Hacked Security Cameras

People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)
People exercise on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel, 10 March 2026. (EPA)

Israel's cybersecurity directorate said it had identified "dozens of Iranian breaches into security cameras for espionage purposes" since the start of the war in the Middle East, urging the public to be vigilant.

"The directorate is working to alert hundreds of camera owners and calls on the public to change their passwords and update their software to prevent any security risk, whether national or personal," Cyber Israel wrote on X Monday.

Cyberattacks between Iran and Israel have been a frequent occurrence in recent years, as the two foes conducted a shadow war that culminated in open conflict last June and again on February 28.

In December 2025, former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett -- who is set to run against incumbent premier Benjamin Netanyahu in a general election this year -- said he had been the victim of a cyberattack targeting his Telegram account, after hackers claimed to have broken into his phone.

Private messages, videos and photographs said to be taken from Bennett's phone were published on a hacker site named after "Handala", a character symbolizing the Palestinian cause, and on an associated X account.

Iran-linked hackers have stepped up their operations in the region since strikes began on the country, an expert told AFP.

Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point said in a report that since the launch of the US-Israeli offensive on February 28, it has seen hackers accessing surveillance cameras, which are widely used but often poorly secured.

The images were likely used to assess damage caused by the attacks or "to gather the necessary information" on "the habits (of targeted individuals) or locations to hit", Gil Messing, head of cyberintelligence at Check Point, told AFP.

The hackers "are part of (Iran's) army" and "are largely supported by the state", notably by the Revolutionary Guards and the ministry of intelligence and security, he added.

Last week, the Financial Times reported that Israel had hacked nearly all of Tehran's traffic cameras for years in preparation for the operation that killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the offensive.

World

Israeli Army Says Half of Iranian Missiles Have Cluster Munitions

An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Army Says Half of Iranian Missiles Have Cluster Munitions

An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies toward Israel, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel's army estimated on Tuesday that around half of the missiles being fired at the country by Iran contained cluster munitions, posing an added danger to people on the ground.

"Approximately 50 percent of Iranian missiles fired toward Israel carry cluster warheads that disperse into smaller bombs in the air, creating additional falling debris hazards," a military official said, in comments shared by the defense ministry.

Cluster munitions explode in mid-air and scatter bomblets. Some of these submunitions do not explode on impact and can cause casualties over time, particularly among children.

"The radius of the impact is about ten kilometers. Although these contain less explosive material than a standard missile, the impact can still be lethal," the official said.

Two construction workers died from shrapnel wounds after missiles were fired at central Israel on Monday, with emergency workers at the site telling AFP the damage appeared to have been caused by a cluster munition.

Iran and Israel are not among the more than 100 countries that are party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits their use, transfer, production and storage.

Both have reportedly used the munitions in earlier conflicts.

During the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025, Amnesty International said Tehran used cluster munitions at least three times, based on analysis of photos and videos, as well as media reports.

In 2007, a US government investigation found that Israel had probably violated arms export agreements with Washington when it dropped US-made cluster bombs in Lebanon during its war with Hezbollah the previous year.