Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

Kuala lumpur. Thailand’s prime minister will travel to Malaysia to sign a ceasefire deal with Cambodia that US President Donald Trump is set to witness after he pulled out of the ASEAN Summit due to the death of the kingdom’s Queen Mother Sirikit on Saturday.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were meeting on Saturday to start a weekend of global diplomacy in Kuala Lumpur, with teams from the United States and China holding trade talks alongside the summit. Trump is due to arrive on Sunday morning for the first stop of his trip through Asia, and was set to watch Cambodia and Thailand sign a broader ceasefire deal after he helped broker an end to a deadly five-day border conflict in July.

Dozens of people were killed and around 300,000 were temporarily displaced in the most intense fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in recent history. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he had asked for the ceasefire ceremony to be held on Sunday morning, after which he would return to Thailand.

Anutin said he would also miss next week’s APEC Summit in South Korea. The Thai cabinet is scheduled to meet on Saturday morning to discuss the funeral arrangements.

At its annual meeting, ASEAN plans to press for trade multilateralism and deeper ties with new partners, while managing the fallout from Trump’s global tariff offensive. It will also welcome East Timor, Asia’s youngest nation, as its 11th member.

Alongside the regional talks, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will hold a round of trade talks with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. The world’s two biggest economies are looking to find a way forward after Trump threatened new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods and other trade curbs starting November 1 in retaliation for China’s vastly expanded export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals.

World leaders, including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, will join Trump at the summit on Sunday. The U.

S. president is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with Lula on the sidelines of the summit, although the talks are still unconfirmed.

Lula said he plans to argue that the 50% tariffs imposed by Washington on Brazilian goods were a “mistake”, citing a $410 billion US trade surplus with Brazil over 15 years. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Asia that he would consider reducing tariffs on Brazil under the right circumstances.

Trump stated that he does not intend to hold a similar meeting with Carney and that he is “satisfied with the deal we have” with Canada. .

Dar es Salaam. Leading media executives and editors across Tanzania have issued a joint commitment to ensure peace and professionalism in their coverage as the nation prepares for its general election on 29 October 2025. Speaking under the umbrella of the Tanzania Editors’ Forum (TEF) in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, October 25, 2025, the media chiefs announced a united stand designed to ensure the media serves as a tool for stability–not division–during the sensitive election period.

The declaration comes amid mounting concern over social media campaigns calling for public unrest and riots. The forum, which included the heads of major broadcasting and print outlets, stressed the critical need for responsible journalism in an increasingly charged digital environment, which they noted was marked by misinformation and incitement.

The Director General for Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), Dr Ayub Rioba, described the joint declaration as a historic moment for the country’s media fraternity. “Ordinarily, one would expect us to be competitors, but this time, we have chosen unity,” he stated.

“We held discussions and came to a shared resolution to promote peace and responsible journalism during the election period.” He said that the decision followed extensive consultations among editors and proprietors who agreed that national peace and unity must take precedence over promoting unrest.

Chief Executive Officer of ITV, Radio One and Capital TV, Ms Joyce Mhaville further emphasised that the media’s role extends beyond simply informing the public; it involves actively preserving the peace. “Many countries, including our neighbours Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and others such as Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan, still bear the scars of that ‘Collective Madness’,” she said.

“Even where peace has returned, those scars remain as monuments of regret.” Ms Mhaville attributed Tanzania’s long-standing stability to the foundations laid by the nation’s founders and a culture of resolving differences through dialogue, noting that the country has historically been a safe haven for refugees fleeing war and political turmoil elsewhere.

“As Tanzanians, all of us must reject the invitation to the feast of incitement–one that seeks to intoxicate us with ‘Collective Madness’ which could tear our nation apart, as has happened elsewhere,” she warned. The declaration comes as social media platforms have been inundated with calls for mass demonstrations following the elections.

Security agencies have, however, warned that such campaigns, often run by anonymous or foreign-linked accounts, could be attempts to destabilise the country during the democratic process. .

Songwe. Unknown individuals have set fire to the home of a ward police officer in Chitete Ward, Ileje District, destroying property valued at Sh2 million while the officer was away on official duty.

Songwe Regional Police Commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Agustino Senga, confirmed the incident, saying the house, which belongs to Ward Police Officer Nsajigwa Mwajeka, was burnt down on October 22, 2025. Commander Senga said he received a report from the Chitete Ward Executive Officer, Darkson Kamendu, while the house was still ablaze. The fire completely destroyed two rooms containing household items such as civilian clothing, kitchen utensils, maize, police uniforms, a bed, a mattress, and other belongings.

He added that the cause of the incident has not yet been established, but investigations have been launched to identify and apprehend those responsible. Commander Senga further cautioned the public against linking the incident to politics, emphasising that it should not be associated with any political motives.

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Bukoba. The Kagera Regional Police Commander, Mr Brasius Chatanda, has confirmed the detention of several Chadema opposition leaders, following the circulation of a letter on social media alleging that five senior party officials had been arrested.

Speaking on Saturday, October 25, 2025 Commander Chatanda clarified that police were currently holding four party leaders and three members on allegations of inciting and mobilising illegal demonstrations. “It is true that we are holding these leaders along with three other party members.

They are accused of inciting public unrest by organising protests. They are among 17 individuals we have detained during this entire election campaign period,” said Commander Chatanda.

He added that, so far, his office had not received any court directive ordering the suspects to be produced before a magistrate, noting that the matter was still under police jurisdiction. “Our role as the police is to make arrests, conduct investigations, and prepare case files.

Court proceedings follow once the process is complete,” he explained. According to the letter circulating online, those arrested on October 16, 2025 include Mr Chief Kalumuna, the Chadema Municipal Chairman for Bukoba and member of the Victoria Zone Committee; Mr Paulo Musisi, a National Congress delegate; Mr Daniel Lwebugisa, the Kagera Regional Secretary; Mr Egbert Kikulega; Mr Ramadhan Fadhili; Mr Revocatus Willison; and Mr Baziri Waziri, the Kyerwa Constituency Secretary.

The police statement comes a day after the High Court issued an order directing that the detained individuals either be released from custody or, if necessary, brought before a court of law to face the charges levelled against them. .

Washington/Bogota/Mexico city. The US on Friday imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, as President Donald Trump sharply escalated a feud with Washington’s longtime Latin American ally over accusations that Petro has refused to stop the flow of cocaine into the United States.

Tensions between Washington and many countries in the region have been mounting for weeks. The US military has ratcheted up activity in the southern Caribbean, striking vessels in international waters that it has alleged without evidence are carrying drugs.

Trump this week called Petro an “illegal drug leader” after the leftist president accused the US of committing “murder” with the strikes. Petro, whose term will end in 10 months, has always opposed the strikes.

He has attempted to end Colombia’s six-decade conflict through peace and surrender deals with rebels and crime gangs, but those efforts have borne little fruit. “Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.

” Petro disputes the basis for the US allegations, saying his government has seized cocaine at unprecedented rates and that expansion of coca crops – the base ingredient for cocaine – has slowed every year since 2021. “What the US Treasury says is a lie,” Petro said on X on Friday afternoon. “My government did not increase cocaine, it did the opposite, my government has seized more cocaine than in the whole history of the world.

” Petro, who first rose to prominence as a senator by exposing links between some of his fellow lawmakers and paramilitary groups involved in cocaine trafficking, earlier called the sanction “a complete paradox”. He said he had hired a US lawyer to defend him and spoke to thousands of supporters in central Bogota on Friday evening, saying he has no money in the United States.

While rare, the imposition of sanctions on a head of state is not unprecedented. The move adds Petro to a short list that includes the leaders of Russia, Venezuela and North Korea.

Petro’s wife and son as well as Armando Benedetti, Colombia’s interior minister, were also hit with sanctions on Friday under the authority that allows Washington to target those it accuses of being involved in the global illicit drug trade. On X, Benedetti said he had been penalized for merely stating that Petro was not a drug trafficker and that the sanctions proved the US anti-drug fight was a “sham.

” Former lawmaker Nicolas Petro, who is already facing corruption charges in Colombia, said on X he was targeted for being his father’s son and that his pending case has nothing to do with drug trafficking. Friday’s action freezes any US assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

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Washington. When President Donald Trump met with donors for his new ballroom at the White House earlier this month, he relayed a story that thrilled his real estate mogul heart.

“I said, ‘How long will it take me?’ ‘Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals,'” Trump said on October 15, describing a conversation he’d had about the project. “I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.

‘ They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want.'” Days later, demolition crews bulldozed the East Wing of the White House, reducing decades of history at one of the country’s most famous landmarks to a pile of rubble and drawing outrage from historians, preservationists, Democrats and the public.

Trump had gotten what he wanted: a clean slate for his new $300 million ballroom. It was an action that seemed to symbolize, in physical form, a presidency that has taken a wrecking ball to national norms, international institutions and the world order itself.

Historians, largely aghast at the move, saw the thinking of a developer at work rather than the keeper of a sacred trust. “I think this is the developer’s mentality again of building something big that has your name on it and that everyone remembers you for.

A Trump Tower,” said Jeremi Suri, a University of Texas historian. “He’s building a tower for himself.

This is a ballroom tower.” Indeed, Trump himself, at the dinner with executives from Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin and Meta Platforms, all of whom the White House says have pledged to help fund the ballroom, marveled at the opportunity the project presented.

“It’s exciting as a person in real estate, ’cause you’ll never get a location like this again,” he said. As a businessman, Trump put his name on buildings, steaks and ties.

Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday the ballroom would be named, too, but declined to say what it would be. Trump told reporters late Friday that he didn’t plan to name it after himself.

But the 90,000-square-foot structure will be forever associated with him. “Everybody’s going to look at it and they’re going to see now an edifice that overshadows the executive mansion, and that edifice has one man’s name on it,” said Edward Lengel, a former chief historian at the White House Historical Association.

“I believe that’s intentional.” Well before the ballroom project became a reality, Trump had made his mark on the White House with gold decorations in the Oval Office, a paved-over Rose Garden reminiscent of his Florida Mar-a-Lago club, portraits of himself throughout the property and giant American flags on new flagpoles on the north and south lawns.

The Republican president has also sought to remake Washington, D.C.

, taking over control of the Kennedy Center and planning an Arc de Triomphe-style monument to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Taylor Budowich, a former senior adviser to the president, said Trump was the nation’s “greatest builder” with a vision for the White House and beyond. “The president is a visionary, whether it be in politics, business or life.

He is able to see things not just for what they are, but for what they could be,” he said. “This is just another wonderful example of Trump being Trump.

” ‘Little public disclosure, consultation’ Trump’s team and allies have dismissed criticism of the ballroom project as manufactured outrage. “All of his properties are first class.

And he doesn’t spare expenses, and he has an eye for it. This will be a wonderful addition,” said Armand Grossman, a Florida-based real estate investor who worked for Trump for four years, about the ballroom.

“It will be around for a long time for many generations to enjoy.” The president followed his own unique style and belief in expansive executive power in making the ballroom project happen.

While previous renovations were funded and approved by Congress, this one will be paid for by private donors, reducing oversight restrictions. And while the White House says it plans to submit designs for the ballroom to the National Capital Planning Commission, it says that body only oversees construction, not demolition.

“I think it’s very clear that the administration studied those weaknesses and, with much greater care than they’re letting on, that they then very ruthlessly exploited those weaknesses,” Lengel said. White House officials and Trump himself have said that they were transparent about the work, showing pictures of the proposed ballroom and talking openly about his intentions.

But officials have not been able to identify any oversight body with authority over demolition, in what became an apt metaphor for Trump’s broader stamp both on governing and federally owned and operated real estate. Said historian Ellen Fitzpatrick: “It certainly is in keeping with President Trump’s very expansive view of executive power that requires little public disclosure, consultation or explanation prior to such a dramatic event.

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Arusha. The East African Community (EAC) has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Tanzania in advance of the country’s General Elections scheduled for October 29, 2025. The deployment follows an official directive from the EAC Council of Ministers, instructing the Secretariat to monitor elections across all Partner States.

The move highlights the regional bloc’s commitment to promoting democracy, peace, and stability in East Africa. The Mission is led by former Vice President of Uganda and a distinguished advocate for public health and gender equality, Dr Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe.

class=”article-picture” 7 class=”article-picture_caption” 9 Former Vice President of Uganda and a distinguished advocate for public health and gender equality, Dr Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe Dr Kazibwe is the first woman in Africa to serve as Vice President of a sovereign state and previously held the role of UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. “As a Community founded on the principles of good governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, the EAC regards credible elections as the cornerstone of democracy and regional integration,” Dr Kazibwe said during the flag-off ceremony at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha on October 24, 2025. The EAC Election Observation Mission comprises 67 experts drawn from all Partner States, including Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), officials from National Electoral Commissions, Human Rights Commissions, Civil Society Organisations, and the EAC Secretariat.

Observers have been deployed across Tanzania to assess the electoral process in line with national laws, the EAC Principles for Election Observation and Evaluation, and other international standards. EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva said that the Mission will issue a preliminary report shortly after the polls, followed by a comprehensive final report with recommendations to strengthen future electoral processes in the region.

“Our observers will engage with key stakeholders, monitor campaign activities, and oversee polling, counting, and the transmission of results to ensure transparency and credibility,” she said. The Deputy Head of Mission, Maina Karobia, a Member of EALA, emphasised that the Mission’s role is strictly impartial.

“We are here in solidarity with the people of Tanzania, not to interfere, but to observe and report objectively,” he said, urging all electoral actors to uphold peace and integrity during the polls. The EAC’s deployment complements similar initiatives by other regional and international bodies, including the African Union (AU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Commonwealth, all of which have dispatched observer missions to Tanzania.

Grounded in Article 6(d) of the EAC Treaty, the Mission reinforces Partner States’ commitment to democratic governance, accountability, gender equality, and human rights — key values enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. .