US President Donald Trump called for an end to religious persecution at a US event on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations featuring a woman whose Uighur father has been imprisoned in China. Trump announced at the event on Monday a US pledge of $25 million to protect religious freedom sites and relics globally and the formation of a coalition of US businesses for the protection of religious freedom. “As president, protecting religious freedom is one of my highest priorities and always has been,” Trump said. “The United States of America calls upon the nations of the world to end religious persecution.”