April 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan is holding talks with Afghanistan to end the worst conflict between the South Asian neighbours since ‌the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

The talks in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi were being held between senior officials of the two countries, the spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, writing by Shanima A; Editing by YP Rajesh)

By Alexander Dziadosz, Aaron McNicholas and Vinaya K

CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - Eastern Libya's military leader, Khalifa Haftar, has acquired what appear to be Chinese and Turkish combat drones, Reuters reporting has found, despite a long-standing U.N. embargo on supplying weapons to the divided North African country.

Commercial satellite images show at least three drones at Al Khadim airbase, located in the desert about 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of the city of Benghazi, between late April and December. Their arrival has not previously been reported.

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday urged parliament to promptly pass a 26.2 trillion won ($17.3 billion) supplementary budget to shore up the economy amid "the worst energy security threat" posed by the Middle East crisis.

"Even if the war ends tomorrow, it will take a considerable period of time for the destroyed energy infrastructure facilities in the Middle East to be restored and supplies to run as smoothly as before," Lee told parliament in a televised speech.

Parliament is expected to pass the extra budget by April 10.

Iran and its allies traded fire with Israel and the United States, as Washington-linked assets across the Middle East were targeted alongside civilian infrastructure -- with the month-long war on Friday showing little sign of easing.

Strikes have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies and deepening the conflict's impact beyond the battlefield.

Violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, denounced as "Jewish terrorism" by politicians and former Israeli security officials, has surged since the start of the war with Iran, with rights groups alleging that perpetrators operate in near-total impunity.

Assaults by violent settlers against Palestinians have persisted for years, often to the indifference of mainstream Israeli society.

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - Hopes for a swift end to the Middle East war faded on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, in an eagerly anticipated address that disappointed investors hoping for clearer signals of a way out.

Stocks slid and oil prices surged after Trump said military operations would be intensified in the next two to three weeks, offering no concrete timeline for ending a conflict that sparked global energy supply chaos and has threatened to send the world economy into a tailspin.

TAIPEI, April 2 (Reuters) - A delay in approving Taiwan's budget this year threatens T$78 billion ($2.44 billion) in weapons procurement, maintenance and training, a senior defence ministry official said on Thursday.

Defence spending is set to increase by 22.9% to T$949.5 billion in 2026, President Lai Ching-te's administration said in August. At 3.32% of gross domestic product, the figure will cross the 3% threshold for the first time since 2009, government figures showed.

"Is Netanyahu real or AI?" an internet headline blared, pointing to a video that supposedly showed the Israeli prime minister with six fingers.

But the clip was real.

Speculation spiraled online that Netanyahu might be dead or wounded in an Iranian strike and that Israel was covering it up with a double generated by artificial intelligence.

"Last time I checked, humans usually don't have 6 fingers... AI does," said one post on X, garnering nearly five million views. "Is Netanyahu no more?"

By Matt Spetalnick and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump staunchly defended his handling of the month-old, U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in a prime-time address on Wednesday, saying the U.S. military was nearing completion of its mission while also reinforcing his threats to bomb the Islamic Republic back to the Stone Age.

He delivered his 19-minute speech against a backdrop of high global oil prices and his own low approval ratings.

Here are some key takeaways:

LOOKING FOR AN EXIT - BUT NOT QUITE YET

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Washington will strike Iran "extremely hard" over the next two to three weeks and hit the country into the "Stone Ages."

"We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong," Trump said in a nationally televised address.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Michelle Nichols)