TAIPEI — The top US diplomat in Taiwan on Monday pressed the island’s opposition-majority parliament to pass a “comprehensive” defense budget, saying integrated air and missile defense systems and drones are critically important and in high demand globally.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te last year proposed $40 billion in supplemental defense spending, covering not only new US weapons but also homemade weapons like drones, saying Taipei needs to more effectively deter the threat from China, which views the island as its own territory.

Mr. Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide the island’s future.

But talks in parliament to advance the proposal have stalled, with the main Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party saying while they support defense spending, they won’t sign “blank cheques” and want more details from the government.

In an interview with Taiwanese newspaper the China Times, Raymond Greene, the de facto US ambassador in Taipei, said it was vital for Taiwan to pass a “comprehensive budget package.”

“This would not only send a critical signal to the international community, but is also essential for ensuring Taiwan acquires the full range of defense capabilities it has requested,” he said.

While the US has already announced the sale of weapons including the Lockheed Martin-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, Taiwan’s special defense budget also seeks integrated air and missile defense systems and drones, among other things, Mr. Greene added.

“As evidenced on the battlefields of the Middle East and Ukraine, these systems are not only critically important but are also in extremely high demand worldwide,” said Mr. Greene, who is head of the American Institute in Taiwan, which handles the unofficial relations between Washington and Taipei.

Taiwan’s government has said delays to passing the budget could mean Taiwan risks losing its place in the production and delivery queue for US weapons.

THREAT IS NOT ‘RANDOM TALK’
Speaking at parliament on Monday, Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the threat Taiwan faced was not just “random talk,” pointing to Chinese warships spotted in recent days in waters to the southwest of Taiwan’s Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait.

“This is a matter that bears on the very survival of our country,” he said, referring to the need to pass the defense spending legislation.

KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month on what she called a journey of peace, is planning to visit the US in June.

Taiwan should not have to choose between China and the US but the world is worried about the possibility of war between China and Taiwan, she told a local radio show on Monday.

The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier and in December it unveiled an $11 billion arms package, the largest ever for Taipei.

China has repeatedly demanded that the US stop selling weapons to Taiwan. — Reuters

LONDON — King Charles’ state visit to the US will go ahead as planned on Monday despite a shooting at a White House dinner attended by President Donald Trump, Buckingham Palace said after discussions with US officials.

Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, are due to arrive on Monday for a four-day state visit, but questions arose after a man opened fire on security personnel near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, prompting Secret Service agents to rush Mr. Trump from the venue.

“I think it’s great; he’ll be very safe,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.” “The White House grounds are really safe.”

Mr. Trump also said there was no indication from authorities that there were additional threats to himself or other officials.

US authorities believe the shooting likely targeted the president and administration officials, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Mr. Blanche also said he was confident Charles would be safe during this week’s visit to the US.

The four-day trip – which is to include a private meeting with Mr. Trump and an address to Congress marking 250 years since US independence — is intended to reinforce the strained US-British relationship amid differences over the Iran war.

KING AND QUEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO VISIT
“Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, and acting on advice of government, we can confirm the state visit by their majesties will proceed as planned,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.

“The king and queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the visit getting underway tomorrow.”

A palace source said there might be small operational changes to one or two engagements.

Earlier, the spokesperson said Charles was being kept fully informed of developments and was relieved that Mr. Trump, his wife and all guests had been unharmed.

Charles and Camilla have also privately reached out to Mr. Trump and his wife – first lady Melania Trump – to express their sympathies, a palace source said.

British senior minister Darren Jones said earlier on Sunday that the government would continue to cooperate closely with US security services ahead of Charles’ visit and that extensive discussions already under way would continue in the coming days.

“In respect of His Majesty’s visit to the United States next week … our security services obviously remain in close cooperation in advance of that,” Mr. Jones told Sky News. — Reuters

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD — President Donald Trump said on Sunday Iran could telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to their two-month war and stressed it can never have a nuclear weapon, after Tehran said the US should remove obstacles to a deal, including its blockade of Iran’s ports.

Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded on Saturday when Mr. Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shuttled to and from mediators Pakistan and Oman on Sunday before heading to Russia, where he is due to meet President Vladimir Putin.

Oil prices rose, the dollar inched higher and US stock futures wobbled lower in early Asia trade on Monday after US-Iran peace talks stalled over the weekend, leaving Gulf shipping blocked.

“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Mr. Trump told “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News.

“They know what has to be in the agreement. It’s very simple: They cannot have a nuclear weapon, otherwise there’s no reason to meet,” Mr. Trump said.

Iran has long demanded Washington acknowledge its right to enrich uranium, which Tehran says it only seeks for peaceful purposes, but which Western powers say is aimed at building nuclear weapons.

Although a ceasefire has paused full‑scale fighting in the conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, no agreement has been reached on terms to end a war that has killed thousands, driven up oil prices, fuelled inflation and darkened the outlook for global growth.

TRUMP FACES DOMESTIC PRESSURE TO END WAR
With his approval ratings falling, Mr. Trump faces domestic pressure to end the unpopular war. Iran’s leaders, though weakened militarily, have found leverage in negotiations with their ability to stop shipping in the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of global oil shipments.

Tehran has largely closed the strait while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports.

Mr. Araghchi returned to Islamabad after holding talks on Sunday in Oman, another mediator in the war, and then headed to Russia.

Iran’s envoy in Russia, Kazem Jalali, said in a post on X that Mr. Araghchi would meet with Mr. Putin “in continuation of the diplomatic jihad to advance the country’s interests and amid external threats.”

“Iran and Russia are present in a united front in the campaign of the world’s totalitarian forces against independent and justice-seeking countries, as well as countries that seek a world free from unilateralism and Western domination,” Mr. Jalali said.

Iranian state media said Mr. Araghchi discussed security in the strait with Omani leader Haitham bin Tariq al-Said and called for a regional security framework free of outside interference.

Mr. Araghchi said on X that the focus of his Oman talks “included ways to ensure safe transit that is to benefit of all dear neighbors and the world.”

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said topics for Mr. Araghchi’s talks with Pakistani officials included “implementing a new legal regime over the Strait of Hormuz, receiving compensation, guaranteeing no renewed military aggression by warmongers, and lifting the naval blockade.”

Mr. Trump, speaking in Florida on Saturday, said he canceled his envoys’ visit due to too much travel and expense for what he considered an inadequate Iranian offer. Iran “offered a lot, but not enough,” he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone on Saturday that Tehran would not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, an Iranian statement said.

He said the United States should first remove obstacles, including its maritime blockade, before negotiators could begin laying the groundwork for a settlement.

US AND IRAN HAVE EXTENSIVE DISAGREEMENTS
Disagreements between the US and Iran extend beyond Tehran’s nuclear program and control of the strait.

Mr. Trump wants to limit Iran’s support for its regional proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, and curb its ability to strike US allies with ballistic missiles. Iran wants a lifting of sanctions and an end to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah.

In talks in Islamabad earlier in April, US Vice President JD Vance led the US delegation opposite Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. They ended without agreement.

After the latest diplomatic trip was called off, two US Air Force C-17s carrying security staff, equipment and vehicles used to protect US officials flew out of Pakistan, two Pakistani government sources told Reuters on Sunday.

Mr. Trump said on Saturday there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.

Mr. Pezeshkian said last week there were “no hardliners or moderates” in Tehran and that the country stood united behind its supreme leader.

The war has destabilized the Middle East. Iran has struck its Gulf neighbors and conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has been reignited.

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed 14 people and wounded 37 on Sunday, the health ministry said. The Israeli military warned residents to leave seven towns beyond the “buffer zone” it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the suspect accused of trying to attack administration officials at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was a “pretty sick guy” who had an anti-Christian manifesto.

Mr. Trump said in TV interviews that the suspect’s family previously expressed concerns about him to law enforcement officials. The suspect, whom an official identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, was arrested at the scene of the event in Washington, DC.

“He was a Christian, believer, and then he became an anti-Christian, and he had a lot of change,” Mr. Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes” program. “He was probably a pretty sick guy.”

The manifesto was sent to members of Mr. Allen’s family shortly before the attack, a law enforcement official told Reuters. In it, the suspect called himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin,” the official said.

“Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes,” the manifesto read, according to the official.

Targets listed in the manifesto included administration officials — although not FBI Director Kash Patel — prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest, the official said.

The manifesto mocked the “insane” lack of security at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was held, the official added.

“Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance,” the manifesto’s author reportedly wrote. “I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat.”

The chaotic events raised fresh questions about the security of top US officials, many of whom were gathered in the hotel’s expansive ballroom. Mr. Trump seized on the attention brought by the incident to promote his planned White House ballroom as a safer venue for such events.

“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough!” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The suspect traveled by Amtrak train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, checking into the Hilton on Friday, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said on multiple Sunday talk shows, adding that Mr. Trump and top members of his administration were the likely targets. Train passengers in the United States are not required to pass through airport-style metal detectors.

Amtrak said it is cooperating with the investigation.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE
Officials have said that the suspect fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being tackled and arrested.

Mr. Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and cabinet officials were rushed out as the incident unfolded. The Secret Service agent who was shot escaped serious injury because the bullet struck his protective vest, Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump, who had boycotted the media gala in the past, has requested that the dinner be rescheduled within 30 days. White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang of CBS said the group’s board would determine their next steps.

The suspect will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Mr. Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack. Further federal indictments will be coming later, Mr. Blanche said.

Saturday’s incident was another reminder of a rising tide of political violence in the United States in recent years. Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a rally last September, just months after the June 2025 slaying of Democratic Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and the wounding of a Minnesota state senator.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the days following Mr. Kirk’s murder found that Americans believe increasingly harsh rhetoric surrounding politics is encouraging violence in the US.

A White House official said law enforcement officials who interviewed Mr. Allen’s sister were told he had a tendency to make radical statements, had attended an anti-Trump “No Kings” protest and referred to a plan to do “something” to fix issues with today’s world.

Mr. Trump suggested the protest might have spurred the suspect to action. “Part of the reason you have people like that is you have people doing No Kings,” he told CBS. “I’m not a king.”

Around the world, leaders condemned the attack and expressed relief that Mr. Trump and all present were safe.

A planned US visit by King Charles of Britain scheduled to start on Monday will proceed, Mr. Trump and British officials said.

Little was immediately known about the alleged shooter’s background, but social media posts indicated he had worked at C2 Education, a national private test preparation and tutoring service. C2 Education said in a statement that it was cooperating with law enforcement investigators.

Washington Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.

Mr. Allen had purchased two handguns and a shotgun and stored them at his parents’ home, the White House official said.

The suspect lived with his parents in a two-story house on a tree-lined street with picket fences and craftsman-style homes in the historic district of Torrance, a seaside town in the South Bay area of greater Los Angeles.

Neighbors in the middle-class neighborhood on Sunday said they were only casually acquainted with him and his parents, with most saying they never spoke to him beyond a brief hello or waving to them as they gave Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters. — Reuters