Category: 2. World

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 17 (APP):The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Islamabad held a ceremony on Sunday morning, 17 August 2025, to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence.

The ceremony was led by H.E. Chandra Warsenanto Sukotjo, Ambassador-designate of the Republic of Indonesia to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The event was attended by the Guests of Honor, Major General (R) Asrobudi, Advisor of the Indonesia Big Wall Expedition (IBEX) and six mountain climbers who successfully reached the peak of Trango Tower in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan, a couple of days ago.

In addition, among the attendees were the Indonesian Embassy officials and the Indonesian community in Pakistan, including students, professionals, pilots, and UN/IO staff. Indonesian nationals were dressed up in red and white outfits or traditional Indonesian attire, reflecting the spirit of unity in diversity, nationalism, and patriotism.

Following the ceremony, Ambassador Chandra warmly welcomed all Indonesian nationals and Pakistani counterparts. “Your presence here today, even on a Sunday when you would otherwise be enjoying your leisure time, reflects the love and commitment you hold in your hearts for Indonesia.

I extend my deepest appreciation to all of you for joining us on this very special occasion of Indonesia’s Independence Day. The Ambassador appreciated all participants while further adding that may the bond of friendship between Indonesia and Pakistan continue to grow stronger. “Pakistan-Indonesia Dosti Zindabad!” He concluded his remarks.

Cultural performances were among the major attractions during the celebration, including singing in various languages, both local languages in Indonesia and English, traditional dances, playing the traditional instrument of angklung, and even a martial arts performance.

The performers were diverse, covering children, students, members of the Embassy’s women’s Association and Pakistani nationals who have been in partnership with the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad.

As part of the celebration, in line with a special initiative by the Indonesian President, Ambassador Chandra presented Certificates of Appreciation to Indonesian female coordinators across various cities in Pakistan, recognizing their commitment to supporting and assisting Indonesian nationals.

In cooperation with GAK Healthcare International, they were also offered complimentary medical check-ups as a token of gratitude for their service.

The Ambassador additionally commended the IBEX Team for their successful expedition to the world’s tallest vertical rock face in Gilgit Baltistan, acknowledging their remarkable achievement.

“Conquering Trango Tower has been a long-standing dream of ours. We’re so grateful to have succeeded! Although one of us was hit by a rock and required treatment, the expedition has successfully reached its summit,” explained Freden Sembiring, Team Leader of the Trango Tower Red and White Expedition (EMPTT) 2025, accompanied by other members Deden Wahyudin, Iqbal Kemal, Nazib Fadlullah, Iqbal Ramadhan, and Asep Tatang.

“At the Summit of Trango Tower, they raised the Indonesian Red and White flag, as well as spread out the banners commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia and the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Pakistan,” explained Major General (Ret.) Asrobudi, while showing photos and videos of the 2025 EMPTT Team at an altitude of 6,251 meters above sea level.

“We are honored to be part of Indonesia’s Independence Day celebration. We deeply admire Indonesia’s culture and values of mutual respect, and we look forward to witnessing even stronger bonds of friendship between our two brotherly countries in the years ahead,” Ms Rabia Raheel, CEO of Bia’s Interior Islamabad.

All attendees were also treated to a mouth-watering Indonesian cuisine, featuring authentic archipelagic delicacies and refreshing traditional drinks.

The culinary showcase reflected Indonesia’s cultural vibrancy and warm hospitality, leaving a lasting impression on attendees.

At the end of the event, the Ambassador expressed his sincere gratitude and high appreciation to all the Embassy’s staff, partners, and individuals for making the independence celebration this year successfully possible and more colorful.

US President Donald Trump said that Russia has lost India as an oil client, while also suggesting that the United States may not immediately impose secondary sanctions on China.In an interview with Fox News aboard Air Force One, Trump remarked, “Well, they lost an oil client so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40% of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot…And if I did what’s called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I’ll do it. Maybe I won’t have to do it.”
Trump’s comments come after he recently threatened to take the total tariffs on India to 50% after imposing an additional 25% tax on imports from New Delhi starting August 27.
The White House cited national security and foreign policy concerns, stating that India’s imports of Russian oil pose an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States.

The order covers all Indian goods imported into the US, except items already in transit or meeting specific exemptions.

India’s response
New Delhi has strongly objected to the move. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in its statement said, “The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India.”“It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest. We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests,” the MEA added.Secondary sanctions debate
While speaking about the potential of broader penalties, Trump hinted that Washington could extend similar measures to China as well. “Could happen. Depends on how we do. Could happen,” he said when asked if tariffs could be raised against Beijing.Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had warned that if talks between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not yield results, secondary sanctions on India could be expanded. In his words, “We put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up.”

Bessent also noted that sanctions could be increased, relaxed, or extended indefinitely depending on future developments.

Trump made the remarks while travelling to Alaska for a summit meeting with Putin. The talks concluded without any agreement on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

India’s oil imports from Russia
India’s crude oil imports from Russia rose to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first half of August, up from 1.6 million bpd in July, reported PTI, citing energy data provider Kpler. The increase lifted Russia’s share to 38% of India’s overall 5.2 million bpd crude imports in the period.

The higher intake came largely at the cost of supplies from Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Imports from Iraq declined to 730,000 bpd in August from 907,000 bpd in July, while Saudi volumes dropped to 526,000 bpd from 700,000 bpd. The US ranked fifth with supplies of 264,000 bpd.

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, has sharply increased purchases from Russia since the Ukraine war in February 2022. Russian oil, which earlier accounted for less than 0.2 per cent of India’s imports, now makes up 35–40% of crude intake.

While discounts had previously touched as high as USD 40 per barrel, they narrowed to USD 1.5 last month. Discounts this month have improved slightly to over USD 2 per barrel, according to Kpler data.

(With inputs from agencies)

That was the moment he knew it was true love.

Donald Trump turned to gaze at Vladimir Putin as the Russian president publicly endorsed his view that, had Trump been president instead of Joe Biden, the war in Ukraine would never have happened.

“Today President Trump was saying that if he was president back then, there would be no war, and I’m quite sure that it would indeed be so,” Putin said. “I can confirm that.”

Vladimir, you complete me, Trump might have replied. To hell with all those Democrats, democrats, wokesters, fake news reporters and factcheckers. Here is a man who speaks my authoritarian alternative facts language.

The damned doubters had been worried about Friday’s big summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a cold war-era airbase under a big sky and picturesque mountains on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska.

They feared that it might resemble Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of Adolf Hitler in Munich 1938, or Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin carving up the world for the great powers at the Yalta Conference in 1945.

It was worse than that.

Trump, 79, purportedly the most powerful man in the world, literally rolled out the red carpet for a Russian dictator indicted for alleged war crimes over the abduction and transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children. Putin’s troops have also been accused of indiscriminate murder, rape and torture on an appalling scale.

In more than 100 countries, the 72-year-old would have been arrested the moment he set foot on the tarmac. In America, he was treated to a spontaneous burst of applause from the waiting Trump, who gave him a long, lingering handshake and a ride in “the Beast”, the presidential limousine.

Putin could be seen cackling on the back seat, looking like the cat who got the cream. As a former KGB man, did he leave behind a bug or two?

Three hours later, the men walked on stage for an anticlimactic 12-minute press conference against a blue backdrop printed with the words “Pursuing peace”. Putin is reportedly 170cm (5.7ft) tall, while Trump is 190cm (6.3ft), yet the Russian seemed be the dominant figure.

Curiously, given that the US was hosting, Putin was allowed to speak first, which gave him the opportunity to frame the narrative. More curiously still, the deferential Trump spoke for less time than his counterpart, though he did slip in a compliment: “I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin – with Vladimir.”

The low-energy Trump declined to take any questions from reporters – a rare thing indeed for the attention monster and wizard of “the weave” – and shed little light on the prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Perhaps he wanted to give his old pals at Fox News the exclusive. Having snubbed the world’s media, Trump promptly sat down and spilled the beans – well, a few of them – to host Sean Hannity, a cheerleader who has even spoken at a Trump rally.

The president revealed: “Vladimir Putin said something – one of the most interesting things. He said: ‘Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting … No country has mail-in voting. It’s impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections.’

“And he said that to me because we talked about 2020. He said: ‘You won that election by so much and that’s how we got here.’ He said: ‘And if you would have won, we wouldn’t have had a war. You’d have all these millions of people alive now instead of dead. And he said: ‘You lost it because of mail-in voting. It was a rigged election.’”

In other words, the leader of one of the world’s oldest democracies was taking advice from a man who won last year’s Russian election with more than 87% of the vote and changed the constitution so he can stay in power until 2036. In this warped retelling of history, the insurrectionists of January 6 were actually trying to stop a war.

Evidently Putin knows that whispering Trump’s favourite lies into his ear is the way to his heart. It worked. The Russian leader, visiting the United States for the first time in a decade, got his wish of being welcomed back on the world stage and made to look the equal of the US president.

He could also go home reassured that, despite a recent rough patch, and despite Trump’s brief bromance with Elon Musk, he loves you yeah, yeah, yeah.

“Next time in Moscow,” he told Trump in English. “Oh, that’s an interesting one,” the US president responded. “I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”

Trump’s humiliation was complete. But all was not lost. At least no one was talking about Jeffrey Epstein or the price of vegetables.

United States President Donald Trump failed to secure a Ukraine war ceasefire at a high-stakes summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, but insisted on Saturday that he would now target a full peace agreement to end the conflict.

Three hours of talks between the White House and Kremlin leaders at an Alaska air base produced no breakthrough, but Trump and European leaders said they wanted a new summit that includes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking to top officials in Moscow a day after the talks in Alaska, Putin said he discussed ways of ending the conflict “on a fair basis” during the meeting. He also said the summit with Trump had been “timely” and “very useful”, according to images published by the Kremlin.

Zelensky said he will now go to Washington on Monday, while European leaders said they were ready to intensify sanctions against Russia after Trump briefed them on the summit and they held their own protracted talks. European leaders have also been invited to attend Monday’s meeting.

Trump remained upbeat about meeting Putin in a post on his Truth Social platform. “A great and very successful day in Alaska!” he proclaimed, adding that European leaders backed his plan for a three-way meeting with Putin and Zelensky.

“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up,” he added, confirming his meeting with Zelensky on Monday.

“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved.”

Meanwhile, The Financial Times, citing four people with direct knowledge of the talks, reported that Putin demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region as a condition for ending the war, but told Trump he could freeze the rest of the frontline if his core demands were met.

In exchange for the Donetsk region, Putin said he would freeze the frontline in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the report added.

After the summit, Trump spoke first with Zelensky, the White House said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later joined the call, officials said.

The European leaders, who had been wary of being left out of the Alaska meeting, held their own talks on Saturday and said they supported the proposed three-way summit.

“We are also ready to work with President Trump and President Zelensky towards a trilateral summit with European support,” they said in a joint statement that added that pressure must be maintained on Russia.

“As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” they said.

Russia could not have a “veto” on Ukraine joining the European Union or Nato, they added.

In a separate statement, Starmer praised Trump’s efforts as bringing “us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine”.

But Macron, writing on X, cautioned against what he said was Russia’s “well-documented tendency to not keep its own commitments”. He called for any future peace deal to have “unbreakable” security guarantees.

He also argued for increased pressure on Russia until “a solid and durable peace” had been achieved. The European leader welcomed what they called “security guarantees” made by Trump without giving details.

A diplomatic source told AFP that Trump had offered Ukraine guarantees similar to Nato membership, but without it joining the alliance.

Later today, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told German public broadcaster ZDF said the US is ready to be part of security guarantees for Ukraine.

The war, which has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of Ukraine, went on despite the summit. Ukraine announced that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night. Russia said it had taken two more villages in Ukraine.

Zelensky said Trump had laid out the “main points” of the summit and that he would go to the White House on Monday “to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war”.

Trump and Putin emerged from their talks at a Cold War-era air base to offer warm words at a press briefing but took no questions from reporters.

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.

He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, but did not offer specifics.

“There are just a very few that are left; some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.

‘Next time in Moscow’

Putin also spoke in general terms of cooperation at the joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.

“We hope that the understanding we have reached will … pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.

As Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: “Next time in Moscow”.

The former KGB agent tried to flatter Trump, who has voiced admiration for the Russian leader in the past.

Putin told Trump he agreed with him that the Ukraine war, which Putin ordered, would not have happened if Trump were president instead of Joe Biden.

Trump, for his part, again complained of a “hoax” that Russia intervened to help him in the 2016 election — a finding backed by US intelligence.

Before the summit, Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire.

But when asked about those consequences during a Fox News interview after the talks, Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now”.

Putin warns Western allies

Trump, whose tone with Zelensky has changed since he berated the Ukrainian president at the White House in February, told Fox that “Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done.”

Trump could not get the Russian agreement to get Zelensky into Friday’s talks.

But Zelensky, who has rejected suggestions that Ukraine give up territory, said on Saturday that he supported the American efforts.

“It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” he said.

Putin warned Ukraine and European countries to “not create any obstacles” and not “make attempts to disrupt this emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigues”.

Trump invited Putin just a week ago and ensured there was some carefully choreographed drama for their first in-person meeting since 2019.

The two leaders arrived in their respective presidential jets and descended on the tarmac of an air base, with Trump clapping as Putin appeared.

US military might was on display with a B-2 stealth bomber flying overhead, as a reporter shouted audibly to Putin, “Will you stop killing civilians?”

Putin, undaunted, grinned widely as Trump took the unusual step of escorting him into “The Beast”, the secure US presidential limousine, before a meeting in a room before a screen that said — in English only — “Pursuing Peace”.

Putin smiled and joked with Russian reporters on the visit, a landmark for a leader who is facing an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court related to the Ukraine war, which has killed tens of thousands of people.

Battlefield gains

Russia, in recent days, has made battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin’s hand in any ceasefire negotiations.

Although Ukraine announced as Putin was flying in that it had retaken several villages, Russia’s army on Saturday claimed the capture of Kolodyazi in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and Vorone in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.

Trump had insisted he would be firm with Putin, after coming under heated criticism for appearing cowed during a 2018 summit in Helsinki.

While he was travelling to Alaska, the White House announced that Trump had scrapped a plan to see Putin alone and he instead held the talks alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his roving envoy Steve Witkoff.

Zelensky was not included and has refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia.

“It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,” Zelensky said in a social media post.

GENEVA: Delegates discussing the world’s first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution failed to reach consensus, with diplomats voicing disappointment and even rage that the 10-day talks produced no deal.

Participants had been seeking a breakthrough in the deadlocked United Nations’ talks in Geneva, but states pushing for an ambitious treaty said that the latest text released overnight failed to meet their expectations.

The chair of the negotiations, Ecuador’s Luis Vayas Valdivieso adjourned the session with a pledge to resume talks at an undetermined later date, drawing weak applause from exhausted delegates who had worked into the early hours.

French ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told the meeting’s closing session that she was “enraged because despite genuine efforts by many, and real progress in discussions, no tangible results have been obtained”.

In an apparent reference to oil-producing nations, Colombia’s delegate Haendel Rodriguez said a deal had been “blocked by a small number of states who simply did not want an agreement”.

Diplomats and climate advocates had warned earlier this month that efforts by the European Union and small island states to cap virgin plastic production — fuelled by petroleum, coal and gas — faced opposition from petrochemical-producing countries and the US under President Donald Trump.

US delegate John Thompson from the State Department declined to comment as he left the talks.

The path forward for the negotiations is uncertain.

UN officials and some countries, including Britain, said that negotiations should resume but others described a broken process.

“It is very clear that the current process will not work,” South Africa’s delegate said.

More than 1,000 delegates have gathered in Geneva for the sixth round of talks, after a meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) in South Korea late last year ended without a deal.

Negotiations had gone into overtime on Thursday as countries scrambled to bridge deep divisions over the extent of future curbs. Many, including Danish environment minister Magnus Heunicke, who negotiated on behalf of the EU, were disappointed that the final push did not yield any results.

“Of course, we cannot hide that it is tragic and deeply disappointing to see some countries trying to block an agreement,” he told reporters while vowing to keep working on the treaty necessary to tackle “one of the biggest pollution problems we have on earth”.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, also pledged to continue work. “We did not get where we want but people want a deal,” she said.

The most divisive issues include capping production, managing plastic products and chemicals of concern, and financing to help developing countries implement the treaty.

Anti-plastics campaigners voiced disappointment at the outcome but welcomed states’ rejection of a weak deal that failed to place limits on plastics production. “No treaty is better than a bad treaty,” said Ana Rocha, Global Plastics Policy Director from environmental group GAIA.