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The United States said Wednesday it was in talks with Argentina on a $20 billion program of economic support, buoying the South American nation’s markets and embattled leader Javier Milei.The right-wing Milei, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has been struggling to ease market jitters ahead of midterm elections, which could determine the future of his austerity agenda.The battered peso rebounded after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced his department was negotiating with Argentine officials on “a $20 billion swap line.”Argentina’s currency rose 1.8 percent to 1360 pesos to the dollar on the announcement, which came a day after Bessent and Trump held talks with Milei in New York.Since Friday, the peso has gained over 10 percent.Bessent added that Washington was also ready to buy Argentina’s dollar bonds, among other measures.”As President Trump has stated, we stand ready to do what is needed to support Argentina,” he wrote on X.Milei thanked the US president and Bessent for their “support and confidence.”In a later address to the UN General Assembly in New York, he lavished praise on Trump for saving the United States and the world from “catastrophe,” citing the Republican president’s migration and trade policies.”We are not…the only ones making the difficult decisions demanded by this historical moment,” he said. “President Trump, in the United States, also understands that it is time to reverse a dynamic that was leading the United States to a catastrophe, and we know that a catastrophe in the United States is a global catastrophe,” he added.- ‘Inherited a mess’ -Swap lines are transactions that usually involve two central banks agreeing to swap their currencies at a set exchange rate for a specified period.It is unclear, however, whether the talks with Argentina involve the US Federal Reserve.Bessent also said Washington was prepared to deliver “stand-by credit” from the Treasury’s exchange stabilization fund.Milei on Wednesday also met Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with which Argentina concluded a $20 billion loan agreement in April.”Very constructive meeting,” she wrote on X afterward.”We stand with Argentina as it implements policies to safeguard stability, reduce inflation, rebuild reserves, and boost growth prospects,” she added.During his talks with Milei on Tuesday, Trump had sought to downplay his ally’s woes, promising “help” while saying: “I don’t think they need a bailout.””He, like us, inherited a mess and what he’s done to fix it is good,” Trump told reporters.- Top Democrat against ‘bailout’ -Milei’s election was cheered by investors in 2023 but he has begun to hemorrhage support after two years of biting austerity and a corruption scandal involving his sister.His party was beaten by the center-left Peronist movement in Buenos Aires provincial elections on September 7.The vote, which sent the peso into a tailspin, was seen as a litmus test for national legislative elections scheduled for October 26.Milei has accused the opposition of deliberately stoking “panic” to weaken him.The Trump administration’s plans to use Treasury funds to smooth his path to the elections raised eyebrows domestically. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, wrote a letter dated Monday to Bessent seeking further information about a potential “bailout” of Argentina.”It is deeply troubling that the president intends to use significant emergency funds to inflate the value of a foreign government’s currency and bolster its financial markets,” she said.Bessent shot back at Warren’s criticism, saying she and others “failed to act when presented with a historic opportunity to stabilize Latin America economically and geopolitically during the Obama years.”

A detainee was killed and two were wounded in a sniper attack Wednesday on a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Texas city of Dallas, officials said.The gunman, who opened fire “indiscriminately” on the ICE field office from the roof of a nearby building, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.The shooter’s precise motive was still under investigation, but the FBI said he appears to have been directly targeting ICE, the agency chiefly responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s pledge to expel millions of undocumented migrants.”Early evidence that we’ve seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature,” FBI special agent Joe Rothrock told a press conference.FBI Director Kash Patel published a photo on X of five unspent bullets — one of which was marked with the words “ANTI-ICE” — and denounced what he called “despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement.”Trump, in a post on Truth Social, blamed the attack on “Radical Left Democrats constantly demonizing Law Enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished, and comparing ICE Officers to ‘Nazis’.””The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped,” he said in a reference to the conservative influencer murdered earlier this month.DHS said the shooter “fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot.”DHS initially said two detainees were killed and a third wounded but later issued a statement saying that one detainee was killed and two critically wounded.The Mexican foreign ministry said one of those wounded is a Mexican citizen.The gunman’s name has not been released by the authorities, but multiple media reports identified him as Joshua Jahn, 29.The ICE facility where the shooting occurred processes detainees before they are transferred to a long-term detention center.Like Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also blamed the attack on rhetoric directed at ICE.”For months, we’ve been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed,” Noem said. “These horrendous killings must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences.”- Other recent attacks -There have been calls to tone down the political rhetoric from both Democrats and Republicans following Kirk’s September 10 assassination.ICE’s prominent role in the Trump immigration crackdown has sparked widespread criticism over its use of armed, masked agents to conduct raids in public places against undocumented migrants.After ICE immigration raids in Los Angeles spurred unrest and protests earlier this year, Trump dispatched the National Guard and US Marines to the California city.Another ICE facility in Texas was the target of an attack in July that left a police officer wounded in the neck.At least 10 people have been charged for their roles in the attack on the ICE center in the town of Alvarado.According to a criminal complaint, the assailants, dressed in black military-style clothing, shot fireworks at the ICE facility and spray-painted “Traitor” and “ICE Pig” on cars and a guard structure.The Alvarado incident came just days before a man armed with an assault rifle opened fire at a US Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas.The 27-year-old man fired dozens of rounds from an assault rifle at the entrance of the Border Patrol annex before being shot dead.Two police officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured.

US Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday that Donald Trump was “growing incredibly impatient” with Moscow as Washington’s stance on Russia hardens after diplomatic efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine stalled.Trump performed a stunning about-turn at the UN on Tuesday, suggesting that Ukraine could not only retake all of the territory it lost to Russia militarily, but take even more. Trump “doesn’t feel like they’re putting enough on the table to end the war…If the Russians refuse to negotiate in good faith, I think it’s going to be very, very bad for their country,” Vance said in North Carolina.In a meeting earlier Wednesday in New York, top US diplomat Marco Rubio apparently clashed with his Russian counterpart, calling for the “killing to stop” and demanding Moscow “take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution.”Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov fired back and “stressed the unacceptability of the schemes promoted by Kyiv and some European capitals aimed at prolonging the conflict,” according to a readout of their conversation supplied by the Russian side.Ukrainian President Voldodymyr Zelensky praised Trump following the US president’s unexpected turn against Russia, but cautioned that NATO alone could not underwrite his country’s security.”Because international institutions are too weak, this madness continues. Even being part of the long-standing military alliance doesn’t automatically mean you are safe,” Zelensky told the UN General Assembly.Zelensky said he had a “good meeting” with Trump, who has ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv and berated the Ukrainian leader at a February encounter at the White House before warming to him.”Of course we are doing everything to make sure Europe truly helps and of course, we count on the United States,” Zelensky said.Trump’s suggestion Tuesday that Kyiv could win, with support from the European Union and NATO, marked an extraordinary shift after months of saying Ukraine would not get back swaths of territory taken by Russia.Trump said Ukraine could regain all its land and suggested, without elaborating, that Kyiv could “maybe even go further than that!”The US leader’s comments marked his latest in a series of policy switches on Ukraine, and come just weeks after hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.- Zelensky warning -Zelensky warned Wednesday that Europe could not afford to lose strategically located Moldova to Russian influence and let it follow Belarus and Georgia into Moscow’s orbit.”Russia’s trying to do to Moldova what Iran once did to Lebanon and the global response again, (is) not enough. We have already lost Georgia in Europe…and for many, many years, Belarus has also been moving toward dependence on Russia. Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova too,” he said at the UN General Assembly.Moldova, a former Soviet republic, goes to the polls on Sunday with pro-EU President Maia Sandu facing a barrage of deep-fake videos and other disinformation linked to Russia.Zelensky also sounded the alarm over the development of autonomous drones and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of shooting down other drones and targeting critical infrastructure.”We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, because this time it includes artificial intelligence,” he said, adding that the only real security guarantees are “friends and weapons.””If the world can’t respond even to all threats, and if there is no strong platform for international security, will there be any peace left on earth?”The wartime leader, who has a packed itinerary of meetings with world leaders while in New York for the UN’s signature diplomatic week, stressed that Ukraine had been forced to ramp up its military production.”Ukraine doesn’t have the big fat missiles dictators love to show off in parades, but we do have drones that can fly up to 2,000, 3,000 kilometers,” he said.”We had no choice but to build them to protect our right to life.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and a US envoy said Wednesday that Iran still had a last chance to avoid deep UN sanctions if it addresses concerns on its nuclear program.France, Britain and Germany have set the clock through the UN Security Council to reimpose sweeping sanctions at the end of Saturday on Iran, which they say has not cooperated on the long-running nuclear row.Macron met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and urged him to reverse a series of steps taken by Tehran following an Israeli and US attack in June.Iran must allow full access to UN nuclear inspectors, immediately resume nuclear negotiations and offer transparency on highly enriched uranium whose whereabouts have been the subject of speculation, Macron said.”An agreement remains possible. Only a few hours are left. It’s up to Iran to respond to the legitimate conditions we have raised,” Macron wrote on X after meeting Pezeshkian.Steve Witkoff, Trump’s real-estate friend and roving envoy who had been negotiating with Iran until Israel attacked, said without further elaboration that he was still in touch with Iran.Witkoff said that Iran was in a “tough position” ahead of the return of the so-called snapback sanctions.”I think that we have no desire to hurt them. We have a desire, however, to either realize a permanent solution and negotiate around snapbacks,” Witkoff told the Concordia summit on the sidelines of the General Assembly.”If we can’t, then snapbacks will be what they are. They’re the right medicine,” Witkoff said.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Tuesday with his European counterparts, leading to no clear progress other than an agreement to keep talking.- Iran denies bomb pursuit -Ahead of meeting Macron, Pezeshkian insisted before the annual UN gathering that Iran was not at fault.”I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb,” he said.”The one disturbing peace and stability in the region is Israel, but Iran is the one that gets punished,” he said.Iran has long contended that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, pointing to an edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and US intelligence has not concluded that the country has decided to build a nuclear weapon.But Israel, the United States and European countries have long been skeptical due to the country’s advanced nuclear work, believing it could quickly pursue a bomb if it so decided.The snapback sanctions would restore wide-ranging UN economic measures that had been suspended under a 2015 nuclear deal that was negotiated by former US president Barack Obama.Trump withdrew from the deal in his first term and imposed major unilateral US sanctions.Pezeshkian accused the Europeans of bad faith, saying that Iran’s lack of cooperation was in response to Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).”They falsely presented themselves as parties of good standing to the agreement, and they disparaged Iran’s sincere efforts as insufficient,” Pezeshkian said.”All of this was in pursuit of nothing less than the destruction of the very JCPOA which they themselves had once held as a foremost achievement.”Standing at the General Assembly rostrum, Pezeshkian showed pictures of people killed in the 12-day Israeli military campaign against Iran in June, which Tehran says killed more than 1,000 people.The United States joined in the campaign on June 22, striking several of Iran’s nuclear facilities.”Aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran’s cities, homes and infrastructure at the very time we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy,” he said.

The top US diplomat Marco Rubio issued a blunt call to his Russian counterpart to halt the “killing” in Ukraine Wednesday, as Washington’s stance on Moscow hardens.Rubio “reiterated President (Donald) Trump’s call for the killing to stop and the need for Moscow to take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.Lavrov fired back and “stressed the unacceptability of the schemes promoted by Kyiv and some European capitals aimed at prolonging the conflict,” according to a readout of their conversation supplied by the Russian side.Rubio’s comments came after President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Trump following the US president’s unexpected turn against Russia Tuesday, in which he suggested that Kyiv could not only win the war and re-take its territory — but could even expand it.  But the Ukrainian leader cast doubt Wednesday on NATO’s ability to guarantee Kyiv’s security.”Because international institutions are too weak, this madness continues. Even being part of the long-standing military alliance doesn’t automatically mean you are safe,” Zelensky told the UN General Assembly.Zelensky said he had a “good meeting” with Trump, who has ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv and berated the Ukrainian leader at a February encounter at the White House before warming to him.”Of course we are doing everything to make sure Europe truly helps and of course, we count on the United States,” Zelensky said.Trump’s suggestion Tuesday that Kyiv could win, with support from the European Union and NATO, marked an extraordinary shift after months of saying Ukraine would not get back swaths of territory taken by Russia.Trump said Ukraine could regain all its land and suggested, without elaborating, that Kyiv could “maybe even go further than that!”- ‘Big fat missiles’ -The US leader’s comments marked his latest in a series of policy switches on Ukraine, including a sudden pivot to peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin early this year that stunned allies.Zelensky warned Wednesday that Europe could not afford to lose strategically located Moldova to Russian influence and let it follow Belarus and Georgia into Moscow’s orbit.”Russia’s trying to do to Moldova what Iran once did to Lebanon and the global response again, (is) not enough. We have already lost Georgia in Europe… and for many, many years, Belarus has also been moving toward dependence on Russia. Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova too,” he said at the UN General Assembly.Moldova, a former Soviet republic, goes to the polls on Sunday with pro-EU President Maia Sandu facing a barrage of deepfake videos and other disinformation linked to Russia.Zelensky also sounded the alarm over the development of autonomous drones and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of shooting down other drones and targeting critical infrastructure.”We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, because this time it includes artificial intelligence,” he said, adding that the only real security guarantees are “friends and weapons.””If the world can’t respond even to all threats, and if there is no strong platform for international security, will there be any peace left on earth?”The wartime leader, who has a packed itinerary of meetings with world leaders while in New York for the UN’s signature diplomatic week, stressed that Ukraine had been forced to ramp up its military production.”Ukraine doesn’t have the big fat missiles dictators love to show off in parades, but we do have drones that can fly up to 2,000, 3,000 kilometers.”We had no choice but to build them to protect our right to life.”

Two detainees were killed and one wounded in a sniper attack Wednesday on a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Texas city of Dallas, officials said.The gunman, who opened fire “indiscriminately” on the ICE field office from the roof of a nearby building, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.The shooter’s precise motive was still under investigation, but the FBI said he appears to have been directly targeting ICE, the agency chiefly responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s pledge to expel millions of undocumented migrants.”Early evidence that we’ve seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature,” FBI special agent Joe Rothrock told a press conference.FBI Director Kash Patel published a photo on X of five unspent bullets — one of which was marked with the words “ANTI-ICE” — and denounced what he called “despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement.”DHS said the shooter “fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot.”Two detainees were killed and a third is in critical condition, it said.The ICE facility which came under attack processes detainees before they are transferred to a long-term detention center, according to US media reports.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Vice President JD Vance condemned rhetoric directed at ICE since Trump’s return to office.”For months, we’ve been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed,” Noem said on X. “These horrendous killings must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences.”- Other recent attacks -“The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop,” Vice President JD Vance said on the social media platform.ICE’s prominent role in the Trump immigration crackdown has sparked widespread criticism over its use of armed, masked agents to conduct raids in public places against undocumented migrants.After ICE immigration raids in Los Angeles spurred unrest and protests earlier this year, Trump dispatched the National Guard and US Marines to the California city.Another ICE facility in Texas was the target of an attack in July that left a police officer wounded in the neck.Ten people have been charged for their roles in the attack on the ICE center in the town of Alvarado.According to a criminal complaint, the assailants, dressed in black military-style clothing, shot fireworks at the ICE facility and spray-painted “Traitor” and “ICE Pig” on cars and a guard structure.The Alvarado incident came just days before a man armed with an assault rifle opened fire at a US Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas.The 27-year-old man fired dozens of rounds from an assault rifle at the entrance of the Border Patrol annex before being shot dead.Two police officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured.

President Volodymyr Zelensky cast doubt Wednesday on NATO’s ability to guarantee Ukraine’s security but praised Donald Trump after the US president unexpectedly flip-flopped to say he thinks Russia can be defeated.Addressing the United Nations, Zelensky suggested that even NATO membership — which Trump has ruled out for Ukraine — might not be enough.”Because international institutions are too weak, this madness continues. Even being part of the long-standing military alliance doesn’t automatically mean you are safe,” he told the UN General Assembly.But Zelensky praised Trump after their meeting Tuesday.”We had a good meeting with President Trump, and I also spoke with many other strong leaders, and together, we can change a lot,” he said. “Of course we are doing everything to make sure Europe truly helps and of course, we count on the United States.”Trump’s suggestion Tuesday that Kyiv could win, with support from the European Union and NATO, marked an extraordinary shift after months of saying Ukraine would not get back swaths of territory taken by Russia.Trump said Ukraine could regain all its land and suggested, without elaborating, that Kyiv could “maybe even go further than that!”The US leader’s comments marked the latest in a series of his policy switches on Ukraine, including a sudden pivot to peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin early this year that stunned allies.Washington’s top diplomat Marco Rubio met with his Russian opposite number Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, although no details about their talks were immediately made available.- ‘Big fat missiles’ -Zelensky warned Wednesday that Europe could not afford to lose strategically located Moldova to Russian influence and let it follow Belarus and Georgia into Moscow’s orbit.”Russia’s trying to do to Moldova what Iran once did to Lebanon and the global response again, (is) not enough. We have already lost Georgia in Europe… and for many, many years, Belarus has also been moving toward dependence on Russia. Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova too,” he said at the UN General Assembly.Moldova, a former Soviet republic, goes to the polls on Sunday with pro-EU President Maia Sandu facing a barrage of deepfake videos and other disinformation linked to Russia.Zelensky also sounded the alarm over the development of autonomous drones and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of shooting down other drones and targeting critical infrastructure.”We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, because this time it includes artificial intelligence,” he said, adding that the only real security guarantees are “friends and weapons.””If the world can’t respond even to all threats, and if there is no strong platform for international security, will there be any peace left on earth?”The wartime leader, who has a packed itinerary of meetings with world leaders while in New York for the UN’s signature diplomatic week, stressed that Ukraine had been forced to ramp up its military production.”Ukraine doesn’t have the big fat missiles dictators love to show off in parades, but we do have drones that can fly up to 2,000, 3,000 kilometers.”We had no choice but to build them to protect our right to life.”

One person was killed and two were wounded in a shooting at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the US city of Dallas on Wednesday, officials said.The gunman, who opened fire on the ICE field office from the roof of an adjacent building, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, they said.FBI special agent Joe Rothrock told a press conference that the shooting was being investigated as an “act of targeted violence.””Early evidence that we’ve seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature,” Rothrock said.ICE is the government agency chiefly responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s controversial campaign pledge to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the United States.FBI Director Kash Patel published a photo on X of five unspent bullets — one of which was marked with the words “ANTI-ICE” — and denounced what he called “despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement.”Rothrock declined to confirm press reports that the three people who were shot were detainees but said “no members of law enforcement were hurt.”The ICE facility which came under attack processes detainees before they are transferred to a long-term detention center, according to US media reports.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Vice President JD Vance condemned violence directed at ICE.”ICE law enforcement is facing unprecedented violence against them,” Noem said on X. “It must stop.””The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop,” Vice President JD Vance said on the social media platform.After ICE immigration raids in Los Angeles spurred unrest and protests earlier this year, Trump dispatched the National Guard and US Marines to the California city.Another ICE facility in Texas was the target of an attack in July that left a police officer wounded in the neck.Ten people have been charged for their roles in the attack on the ICE center in the town of Alvarado.According to a criminal complaint, the assailants, dressed in black military-style clothing, shot fireworks at the ICE facility and spray-painted “Traitor” and “ICE Pig” on cars and a guard structure.The Alvarado incident came just days before a man armed with an assault rifle opened fire at a US Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas.The 27-year-old man fired dozens of rounds from an assault rifle at the entrance of the Border Patrol annex before being shot dead.Two police officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured.ICE’s role in the Trump crackdown has sparked widespread criticism over the organization’s use of heavily armed, masked agents to conduct raids in public places against suspected illegal migrants.

TV host Jimmy Kimmel defended free speech when he returned to US screens on Tuesday, calling government pressure on his late-night talk show “anti-American” as critics decried his suspension as an attack on constitutional rights.In his opening monologue, an emotional Kimmel praised the public outrage — which came from both left and right — over his suspension, as President Donald Trump once again threatened to sue ABC, the TV network that carries the show.”A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American,” Kimmel said to wild applause.”Our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television.”Kimmel, who frequently skewers Trump and his inner circle, raised the ire of conservatives last week when he said “the MAGA gang” was trying to exploit the college campus murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.On Tuesday he struck a conciliatory note. “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said, his voice cracking.Kimmel’s suspension last week was praised by Trump and the 79-year-old Republican swiftly attacked ABC for allowing the comedian’s return.”I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative,” he wrote on social media shortly before the show aired.It was not immediately clear what legal grounds Trump might think he has.Previous suits against media firms — including the one against ABC — were largely viewed as meritless, but settled seemingly as a way to appease the president.Chuck Schumer, the senior Democratic senator, called the row “a test of democracy” and said Trump “wants to be king.””Trump seems to have this penchant — anyone he doesn’t agree with, he wants to shut up,” he said Wednesday. “That’s a dagger to the heart of America.”Audience members who had watched the Hollywood taping told AFP that Kimmel had struck the right tone.”He spoke really eloquently and he gave like a lot of love to everyone who’s been hurt,” said Katie Persico, 34.”I felt like I was part of history a little bit for free speech.”- Boycott -The latest bust-up between the Trump administration and critics in the media unfolded last week when Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr appeared to threaten the licenses of ABC affiliates broadcasting the show unless they demanded Kimmel’s removal.Two companies that own dozens of those affiliates — Nexstar and Sinclair — then announced they would be removing the show from their schedules, prompting Disney to suspend the show nationwide.Sinclair — which last week demanded Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family and make a donation to his right-wing activist group Turning Point USA — said Monday that its affiliates would still not be broadcasting the show when it resumed.On Tuesday, Nexstar followed suit.This meant the show remained off the air in several of the largest US television markets, including Washington DC, New Orleans, Nashville and Seattle.Kimmel’s abrupt disappearance from the airwaves sparked fury in liberal circles, with opponents saying he had been targeted because of his criticism of Trump.Opponents saw it as the latest step in creeping government control of free speech, a right enshrined in the country’s constitution.Some on the political right were also uneasy, including Trump allies such as Senator Ted Cruz and firebrand broadcaster Tucker Carlson.Trump often complains about negative coverage of him, going so far last week as to call it “illegal,” and has sued several media organizations.Disney, which owns ABC, faced backlash after suspending Kimmel. A rash of consumer cancellations followed along with a wave of reproach from creators and Hollywood insiders over what many saw as a spineless response to government bullying.By Monday, Disney had backtracked, saying the suspension had been an effort to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation” but adding it would bring back the show after “thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.”

Iran’s president repeated Wednesday that his country is not seeking nuclear weapons, after military strikes by Israel and the United States earlier this year, and impending sanctions triggered by European powers.”I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb,” President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly.”The one disturbing peace and stability in the region is Israel, but Iran is the one that gets punished,” he said.Iran has long contended that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, pointing to an edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and US intelligence has not concluded that the country has decided to build a nuclear weapon.But Israel, the United States and European countries have long been skeptical due to the country’s advanced nuclear work, believing it could quickly pursue a bomb if it so decided.Britain, France and Germany have moved to reimpose UN sanctions that had been suspended under a 2015 nuclear deal that was negotiated by the United States and then torn up by US President Donald Trump.The sanctions are set to go into effect on Saturday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Tuesday with his European counterparts, leading to no clear headway other than an agreement to keep talking.Pezeshkian accused the Europeans of bad faith, saying that Iran’s lack of cooperation was in response to Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).”They falsely presented themselves as parties of good standing to the agreement, and they disparaged Iran’s sincere efforts as insufficient,” Pezeshkian said.”All of this was in pursuit of nothing less than the destruction of the very JCPOA which they themselves had once held as a foremost achievement.”Standing at the General Assembly rostrum, Pezeshkian showed pictures of people killed in the Israeli military campaign against Iran, which Tehran says killed more than 1,000 people.”Aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran’s cities, homes and infrastructure at the very time we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy,” he said.