Panama City, May 28: Jose Raul Mulino Quintero, the President of Panama and a member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), has expressed “support for India’s fight against terrorism,” Congress MP Sashi Tharoor said after a delegation of members of Parliament met him.

At their “constructive and productive” meeting in the Presidential Palace, Mulino “expressed his understanding and support for India’s fight against terrorism,” Tharoor, who heads the delegation, said in a post on X on Wednesday (local time).

Panama’s Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha Vasquez, who hosted a lunch for the delegation, was at the meeting with the President along with several senior officials.

Martinez-Acha “extended full support understanding of Panama on terrorism for India,” Taranjit Singh Sandhu, a former ambassador to the US who is accompanying the delegation, said in an X post.

They were joined by Vice-Minister Carlos Hoyos, as well as two members of Panama’s National Assembly, which was “a tribute to the regard in which India is held here,” Tharoor said.

During the meeting, Tharoor passed around pictures of Pakistani officials at the funeral of Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a senior leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and a designated a terrorist by the United Nations Sanctions Committee.

“There is no greater proof of official complicity” of Pakistan with terrorism, he told them.

Pakistan military’s top brass, including Lt Gen Fayyaz Hussain Shah and Maj Gen Rao Imran, and Punjab Police Inspector General Usman Anwar were among those who attended the funerals of Rauf and other terrorists killed in the Operation Sindoor hits on terrorism centres.

The parliamentary delegation was visiting this influential Central American country that is an elected member of the UN Security Council to make clear India’s policy of zero-tolerance for terrorism in the aftermath of the religiously motivated massacre of 26 people at Pahalgam by Pakistan-linked terrorists.

India launched Operation Sindoor to hit the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan and the areas of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Islamabad launched attacks on targets in India, including temples, gurdwaras, and a convent, escalating the conflict.

Reflecting a broad national consensus on the issue, the delegation included parliamentarians from across party lines Shambhavi of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Sarfaraz Ahmad of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Milind Murli Deora of the Shiv Sena, and BJP leaders Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya, along with GM Harish Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party.

The delegation, which has visited New York and Guyana, is to visit Colombia and Brazil and head to Washington in the quest to rally support for India against terrorism.

Brussels, May 29: The European Union (EU) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have formally launched negotiations for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), marking a potential breakthrough towards the EU’s first comprehensive trade deal in the Gulf region, said the European Commission.

This initiative also aims to expand further the EU’s global trade network, which currently comprises 44 agreements with 76 countries, said the Commission on Wednesday.

According to a press release of the Commission, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi met in Dubai to reaffirm their shared vision for the agreement and agree on a roadmap, with substantive work expected to begin as early as June.

The first meetings of negotiating teams will focus on reducing tariffs on goods and facilitating services, digital trade and investment flows media reports.

Talks will also explore ways to boost trade in strategic sectors, such as renewable energy, green hydrogen and critical raw materials.

Sefcovic emphasized that a bilateral FTA would unlock “tremendous business opportunities” for both European and Emirati enterprises, while also bolstering the EU’s regional engagement with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the launch of the talks as a “significant milestone,” noting that the agreement would deepen EU-Gulf ties, create new opportunities for European businesses, and strengthen cooperation in key areas such as renewable energy and digital technologies.

To address the uncertainty of US trade policy, the EU is strengthening cooperation with other economies to promote trade diversification and reduce its reliance on the United States.

Last Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that he is “recommending a straight 50 per cent Tariff on the EU, starting on June 1, 2025.” But after a phone call with von der Leyen on Sunday, he agreed to postpone the planned tariff increase until July 9. On Tuesday, Trump welcomed the EU’s decision to proceed with negotiations, calling it a positive step, but he again warned that he would enforce trade measures if a deal is not reached.

Washington, May 26: US President Donald Trump on Monday slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming that the ongoing war between the two countries would never have erupted had he been in office at the time.

Trump’s remarks come in the wake of Russia’s latest massive air assault on Ukraine over the weekend, which resulted in several civilian casualties, including children.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump lashed out at Putin, labelling him “crazy” despite claiming they once shared a good relationship.

“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever,” Trump wrote.

He further added, “I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”

Trump didn’t spare Ukrainian President Zelensky either, responding to the latter’s recent statement accusing “America’s silence” of emboldening Putin.

Trump criticised Zelensky’s rhetoric, saying, “Likewise, President Zelensky is doing his country no favours by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop. This is a war that would never have started if I were President.”

The US President had remained silent on Russia’s airstrike until Sunday evening, when he finally addressed the matter while speaking to reporters.

“He’s killing a lot of people. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him, right? He’s killing a lot of people. I’m not happy about that,” Trump said, referring to Putin.

Trump attempted to distance himself from the conflict, reiterating that the responsibility lies with Zelensky, Putin, and his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

“This is Zelensky’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s war, not ‘Trump’s.’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires that have been started through gross incompetence and hatred,” Trump asserted.

The deadly strikes by Russia came just after the two warring nations carried out their largest prisoner exchange since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, with around 1,000 prisoners on each side being released.

Ukrainian officials confirmed that among those killed in the latest attacks were two children, aged eight and 12, along with a 17-year-old, in the northwestern Zhytomyr region.

Trump also suggested he is considering imposing tougher sanctions on Russia in light of the recent escalation in violence.

However, his stance appears to diverge from that of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told Congress earlier this week that Trump believes threatening sanctions at this point might discourage Russia from engaging in talks.