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(AWP Alliance News) - US President Donald Trump cancelled his envoys' trip to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran on Saturday, saying there was no point 'sitting around talking about nothing' but adding the war would not immediately resume.

Trump said he scrapped the visit after being unimpressed with Tehran's negotiating position, adding that a revised proposal followed within minutes of his decision.

'They gave us a paper that should have been better and - interestingly - immediately, when I cancelled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better,' he told reporters, without elaborating.

The White House had said Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff were heading to Pakistan for talks with Iran aimed at moving 'towards a deal,' but Trump told Fox News he had scrapped the trip.

'We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing,' the president said he had told his team.

Asked separately whether the cancellation meant a return to hostilities, Trump said: 'No, it doesn't mean that. We haven't thought about it yet.'

Shortly beforehand, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrapped up a visit to Islamabad after meeting Pakistan's military chief Asim Munir, a key mediator, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Iran said Araghchi had left for Muscat and would return to Pakistan after meetings in Oman before travelling on to Russia for talks on ending the war launched by the US and Israel on February 28.

Araghchi described his Pakistan trip as 'very fruitful' but signalled scepticism over Washington's intentions.

'Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,' he said.

Even before Trump's move, prospects for talks were uncertain, with Iranian state television saying Araghchi had no plans to meet US officials and that Islamabad would act as a conduit for proposals.

Sharif said he had spoken to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and reiterated Islamabad's commitment to facilitating 'durable peace'.

Pressure to end the war has intensified as the Strait of Hormuz - a vital oil and gas route - remains closed.

But Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said they had no intention of lifting their blockade, which has roiled energy markets.

'Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House's supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran,' the Guards said on their official Telegram channel.

The US has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports in retaliation.

In a statement carried by state media, Iran's military warned that continued US 'blockading, banditry and piracy' would draw a response.

Efforts to resume US-Iran talks have stalled, with Tehran refusing to engage while the naval blockade remains. Iran has allowed only limited shipping through the strait.

European Council President Antonio Costa said the waterway 'must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling,' insisting that it was 'vital for the entire world.'

On the war's Lebanese front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on Hezbollah after accusing the Iran-backed group of violating a ceasefire extended earlier this week.

Lebanese state media reported Israeli attacks in at least four locations in the south - a pair of strikes in quick succession in a town in the Bint Jbeil district, another on a town in the Tyre district, and strikes on two more towns in the Nabatieh district.

The strikes in Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil killed six people, according to the health ministry.

Israel's military said it 'eliminated' three Hezbollah operatives who were driving 'a vehicle loaded with weapons,' as well as another one riding a motorcycle, and two more armed members of the group elsewhere.

Trump had announced the three-week truce extension on Thursday and voiced optimism about peace after meeting Israeli and Lebanese envoys.

But Mohammed Raad, the head of the parliamentary bloc for Hezbollah, urged Lebanon to withdraw from talks and warned any deal would lack national consensus.

Netanyahu has accused Hezbollah of trying to 'sabotage' the peace process.

In the coastal city of Sidon, Ahmad Shumar and his family were preparing to head back to their hometown in the south, after giving up on a previous attempt due to fears of Israeli attacks. 

'We are going home now, not knowing whether there will be war or peace,' the 74-year-old said, surrounded by bags and mattresses.

By AFP teams in Islamabad, Washington, Tehran, Beirut and Jerusalem

source: AFP

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(AWP Alliance News) - US Secret Service agents bundled Donald Trump from the stage as shots rang out Saturday evening at a media gala, in what the president later described as an attack by a 'would-be assassin.'

Armed guards opened fire at the gunman who charged through a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom of the hotel where Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, senior government officials and hundreds of other black-tie guests had gathered.

People dived under tables in chaotic scenes as Secret Service teams swarmed into the glitzy White House Correspondents' Association dinner held annually at the Washington Hilton in the US capital.

'A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service,' Trump told a press conference at the White House shortly after the incident.

'They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too,' he said, after posting video of the gunman sprinting past security as guards drew their weapons. The man was detained at the scene.

Trump said one officer was shot at close range but appeared not to be critically injured. He added that the venue was 'not a particularly secure' facility as questions swirled about the president's safety.

Trump said at the hastily arranged news conference that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped before he realised it was gunfire. He said he planned to reschedule the media gala within a month despite the security scare.

City officials said the suspect, who will be arraigned in court on Monday on firearm and assault charges, appeared to have been a guest at the hotel. He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives.

'Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual,' Washington police chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters. 'A US Secret Service uniformed division officer was struck in his vest. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He appears to be in good spirits.'

Trump told reporters that the authorities have gone to the suspect's apartment and 'I guess he lives in California.'

FBI agents were seen outside a residence in Torrance, California, late on Saturday, according to an AFP photographer.

The area near the two-story, brown house was blocked off by police tape.

Multiple US news outlets identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, in the southwest of Los Angeles County.

Asked about Allen late Saturday, the FBI did not confirm his identity and told AFP it had nothing to add beyond what was disclosed in news conferences.

A LinkedIn profile with the name 'Cole Allen' showed a picture of a man which appeared to match a photo of the suspect shared by Trump.

The social media profile said Allen was a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, game developer and teacher.

During the chaotic incident, tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Trump had been sitting during dinner before he was evacuated.

Police surrounded the hotel, and helicopters hovered overhead.

The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Trump was due to speak.

Cabinet members were evacuated first as confusion and concern spread through the partying guests.

One administration official, Mehmet Oz, told journalists that 'shots fired upstairs' as he was rushed out by security.

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member and lightly wounding the president in the ear.

A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.

The Washington Hilton, where Saturday's gala was taking place, was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.

The White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.

Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended while in office.

The 'Nerd Prom' - as attendees dub it - brings together journalists and the who's who of Washington to raise funds for scholarships and awards.

The event often has a comedian joking about the president, who traditionally makes a few cracks of his own, though no comedian was booked this year.

By Danny Kemp

source: AFP

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(AWP Alliance News) - UniCredit Spa is expanding its Assicurazioni Generali Spa stake in part to 'strengthen [its] hand' in potential future deals, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.

Milan-based banking group UniCredit disclosed on Thursday that it had increased its stake in Generali to around 9%.

Bloomberg, citing 'people familiar with the matter,' said that this decision 'is meant to support its commercial ties and strengthen the bank's hand in any potential deals involving the insurer pursued by other players'.

The sources said it underpins ongoing talks over wider commercial agreements between UniCredit's Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel and Generali CEO Philippe Donnet. The two have discussed expansions to the firms' existing partnerships in various areas such as insurance and asset management.

They added that UniCredit also wishes to signal to any third parties that may wish to acquire parts of Generali, or the whole company, that the bank 'would need to be considered'.

Bloomberg said that UniCredit and Generali representatives declined to comment.

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.