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Nearly 900 Arrested At London Demonstration Backing Palestine Action: UK Police
British police reported on Sunday that they detained close to 900 individuals during a protest held the previous day in London in support of Palestine Action, while the government urged the public to refrain from demonstrating for the outlawed campaign group.
Britain proscribed Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes.
That followed vandalism and incidents targeting defence firms in Britain with links to Israel. The group accuses Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestine Action supporters have since been arrested at demonstrations, many of them over the age of 60. London police said 890 had been held following a protest near parliament in central London on Saturday, the highest number of detentions from a single such protest to date.
Of those, 857 were detained for showing support for a banned group, while 17 were arrested for assaults on officers after police said the protest turned violent.
“The violence we encountered during the operation was coordinated and carried out by a group of people … intent on creating as much disorder as possible,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart.
‘Mass Acts Of Defiance Will Continue’
The protest organisers, a group called Defend Our Juries, said that among those arrested were priests, war veterans and healthcare workers, and that they included many elderly and some disabled.
“These mass acts of defiance will continue until the ban is lifted,” a spokesperson said.
Palestine Action’s proscription puts the group alongside al Qaeda and Islamic State, making it a crime to support or belong to the organisation, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Human rights groups have criticised the ban as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
Defence minister John Healey said the firm action was needed to counter accusations by right-wing critics of “a two-tier policing and justice system”.
“Almost everyone shares the agony when we see the images from Gaza … and for people who want to voice their concern and protest, I applaud them,” he told Sky News. “But that does not require them to link it to support for Palestine Action, a proscribed group.”
Many of those arrested in recent weeks are released on police bail, and it was unclear how many were still in detention.
(With inputs from Reuters)
France Braces For Political Upheaval As Confidence Vote Threatens Government
François Bayrou, France’s fourth prime minister in just three years, is widely expected to lose Monday’s confidence vote — a setback that could plunge the euro zone’s second-largest economy deeper into political instability.
The government’s collapse looks set to deepen France’s paralysis at a critical time for Europe, which is seeking unity in the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine, an increasingly dominant China and trade tensions with the United States.
The turmoil also threatens France’s ability to rein in its debt, with the risk of further credit downgrades looming as bond spreads – a gauge of the risk premium investors demand to hold French debt – widen.
France faces acute pressure to repair its finances, with last year’s deficit nearly double the EU’s 3% limit of economic output and public debt at 113.9% of GDP.
The confidence vote is slated for Monday afternoon.
Despite a frenzy of talks and media appearances since his decision to throw his hat into the ring on August 25 amid tense debates over a budget bill, Bayrou appeared over the weekend to have failed to secure a majority.
Tilt To The Left?
Opposition leaders across the political spectrum made clear they would vote to oust Bayrou.
“The government will fall,” said Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leading figure of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, echoing similar comments from others on the left and right.
Should Bayrou fall, the president will likely face the task of finding yet another government chief capable of steering a budget through parliament, less than a year after the ouster of Bayrou’s conservative predecessor, Michel Barnier.
Macron has so far ruled out dissolving parliament, as he did last year.
France has been mired in a political crisis since Macron called the 2024 snap election, which resulted in a hung parliament.
His own alliance, already shorn of a majority since 2022, saw its numbers fall further, while the anti-immigration, far-right National Rally emerged as the biggest party. A loose coalition of left-wing parties, now deeply divided, came in as the largest bloc. No camp has a majority.
“This crisis was provoked and fuelled by President Emmanuel Macron and all those who have served him,” Marine Le Pen, head of the National Rally’s group of lawmakers, said on Sunday. “Today, the sick man of Europe, because of them, is France.”
Next Candidate
After the fall of a conservative and a centrist as prime minister, most observers expect Macron to next look for a candidate from the ranks of the centre-left Socialists (PS).
“He can’t go against the results of the polls a third time,” Marine Tondelier, head of the smaller Greens party, told broadcaster BFM on Saturday.
Any such candidate would still need to forge a delicate alliance with the president’s liberal bloc, which opposes many of the left’s ideas, including raising taxes for the wealthiest to plug the country’s financial holes. They would also have to convince the moderate right to tolerate yet another minority government.
Laurent Wauquiez, leading lawmaker for the conservative Les Republicains (LR) party, signalled he would not call for ousting a socialist prime minister.
Party chief and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, however, disagreed.
“There is no way we will accept a socialist prime minister”, Retailleau said in a speech on Sunday.
Like many in France, Mohamed, 80, who sells produce on the Aligre market in Paris, doesn’t think the politicians will find a way out.
“Come back in 10 days and you’ll see nothing will have changed. There won’t be a majority, there will be no budget.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
Brazil: Supporters Of Bolsonaro Stage Protests Ahead Of Coup Trial Verdict
Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets in multiple cities on Sunday, just days before the expected verdict in his trial over allegations of orchestrating a coup following his 2022 election defeat.
Demonstrators in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo waved Brazilian flags alongside some U.S. flags, in what appeared to be a nod to President Donald Trump, who has called the legal proceedings against Bolsonaro a “witch hunt.” Trump also has imposed high tariffs on Brazilian products as well as sanctions on the justices presiding over Bolsonaro’s trial.
Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest, is facing criminal charges for attempting to cling to power after losing his reelection bid to leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. If convicted, the 70-year-old former army captain, who denies all accusations, could face years in prison.
Brazil’s Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling by Friday.
‘Justice Is Actually Injustice’
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son, told supporters who gathered at Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, that his father will face the situation head-on “to demonstrate yet again that he will not give up on Brazil”.
“What we call justice today is actually injustice,” said 80-year-old Delorges Pavoni, who attended the demonstration in Brasilia, the country’s capital, wearing a shirt that read “In 2026, I would only vote for Bolsonaro.”
Some critics of Bolsonaro, however, met in a different part of Brasilia, demanding his conviction. “I want to see Bolsonaro in jail,” said 59-year-old Laura Lima, who carried a flag bearing messages against the former leader.
The country is also watching leaders of centrist and opposition parties work in Congress on a broad amnesty project for all those involved in the alleged coup plot, including Bolsonaro himself.
“History has already shown that amnesty and forgiveness are the best remedies to pacify the country,” said Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, one of the champions of the amnesty movement, in a recent social media post.
The governor’s efforts to advance the amnesty project are widely viewed as a strategic move to secure the former leader’s endorsement for a potential run as a right-wing candidate in the 2026 presidential election, a prospect Freitas has so far denied.
On January 8, 2023, supporters of Bolsonaro who refused to accept his election defeat stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace, an action that mimicked the attack on the U.S. Capitol two years earlier.
Bolsonaro has been barred from running for office again until 2030. The former president, however, has consistently expressed his desire to run in the 2026 presidential election.
(With inputs from Reuters)
The Rise And Rise Of Cai Qi: Xi’s Right Hand, Not Successor?
Chinks in the bamboo curtain have been increasingly obvious as China’s commercial, technological and other interactions with the world increased over the last two decades. But the decision making at the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have always been opaque, including and especially appointments.
At the SCO summit, Cai Qi the fifth-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee drew attention with a notable one-on-one meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This came after Modi’s bilateral talks and pull-asides with President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Cai also held meetings with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Putin, further underscoring his growing diplomatic profile. He personally welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his arrival, signalling the importance attached to his role.
Cai Qi was appointed CCP committee secretary of Beijing in 2017. Normally, such jobs go to members of the politburo, so in that sense he had broken a lot of conventions and clearly had high level backing. Five years later he made the big jump into the powerful General Office as its director.
What is the general office? It basically oversees the party’s internal machinery, from circulating decisions to ensuring the president’s instructions are enforced across ministries and provinces. It is like a command centre that can make things happen, whether it is resumption of civil flights between India and China, or border trade or even tackling China’s $100 billion trade surplus with India.
He can be seen as Xi’s chief of staff, so does that make him Xi’s potential successor? The pundits say no although they acknowledge Cai Qi’s proximity to China’s supreme leader.
Ratish Mehta of the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA) says “At 69, Cai will be too old by the next Party Congress to be considered a long-term successor. His role is about stability and continuity reminding domestic audiences that while others have fallen in anti-corruption drives, Xi’s most loyal confidants remain.”
“As Director of the General Office and first-ranked member of the Secretariat, Cai controls access to Xi and runs the Party’s internal machinery. His presence at the SCO reflects that institutional weight and signals the importance Beijing attaches to these meetings,” he said.
Manoj Kewalramani of the Takshashila Institution, argues that “His presence in Tianjin shows he enjoys Xi’s trust. This is a signal to Party leaders. It is less about grooming Cai for foreign policy and more about showing who has Xi’s ear.”
Cai Qi was present during Xi Jinping’s interaction with Narendra Modi at the SCO in Tianjin, and although India declined an invitation to a banquet that would be hosted by the former, he is a man to watch.
Prof. Jabin Jacob of Shiv Nadar University, says “Cai Qi is well known for his closeness to Xi Jinping and, therefore, will enjoy greater credibility when meeting with foreign leaders as someone who has Xi Jinping’s ear. From a foreign policy point of view, Cai can get things done for China.”
By sending a Politburo Standing Committee member, who ranks higher than the foreign minister, Beijing signals how seriously it takes the relationship. But there are other implications.
James Gethyn Evans, a China analyst at Harvard University, believes that “Dispatching Cai Qi instead of Premier Li Qiang or other senior Standing Committee members may be Xi’s way of making them compete for his favour. It helps Xi maintain power, but it could also upset those whose support he still needs. That said, Cai is also the ‘doer’ of the CCP.”
Cai’s rise also reflects another trend, says Prof Jacob, that of the party eclipsing state institutions.
“In the Chinese system, the ministry of foreign affairs has always been weaker than party organs. Under Xi Jinping, this party-state fusion has only intensified. The United Front Work Department has held ambassadorial postings in several countries, and the International Department has been particularly active meeting with foreign political parties and running training sessions on Xi Jinping Thought. Cai Qi’s activity can be seen as a natural step in this fusion.”
Ukrainian Woman Who Took Refuge In US Stabbed To Death Aboard Train
Seeking refuge from the war at home, 23-year-old Ukrainian woman Iryna Zarutska was killed in a knife attack while travelling on a Charlotte light rail train, according to the New York Post.
Zarutska, who had been working at a local pizzeria, was still dressed in her uniform when she stepped onto the Lynx Blue Line at 9:46 pm on August 22.
Footage released by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) shows her quietly scrolling through her phone, unaware of the threat lurking behind her.
Only minutes later, investigators say, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr., a homeless ex-convict, pulled out a folding knife and stabbed her three times, striking her in the neck at least once.
Video captures Brown removing his sweatshirt and standing near the doors as passengers began noticing blood on him.
Zarutska clutched her neck as blood spread across the train floor before collapsing in her seat. She was declared dead on board.
Brown left the train at the next station, where police later recovered a folding knife. He was treated for a hand injury before being booked on a charge of first-degree murder.
Court records show Brown’s offences date back to 2011, including robbery with a dangerous weapon and making threats.
He served five years in prison and was taken into custody again in January after misusing 911, claiming that a “man-made” material inside his body was controlling him.
Despite transit security guards being present in another carriage, the assault went unchecked.
Spectrum News reported that officers arrived at the scene within six minutes.
The killing has intensified concerns about safety on Charlotte’s transit network.
At a September 2 meeting, CATS officials said a chief safety and security officer had been appointed, the safety budget tripled, and outdated cameras were being replaced with advanced systems.
The Charlotte City Council is due to consider extending police patrols on trains and buses on September 22.
Her family has since launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $38,000.
“She had recently arrived in the United States, seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning,” the fundraiser read. “Tragically, her life was cut short far too soon.”
Police said the motive behind the stabbing remains under investigation.
(With inputs from IBNS)
Russia’s Largest Air Attack On Ukraine Sets Kyiv Government Building Ablaze
Russia’s largest air strike was launched overnight, igniting a fire at Ukraine’s main government building in Kyiv and killing three people, including an infant whose body was recovered from the rubble, officials said Sunday.
Kyiv Fire
“For the first time, the government building was damaged by an enemy strike — its roof and upper floors,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Rescuers are extinguishing the fire.”
Reuters’ witnesses saw the top floor of the main building of the Ukrainian government, located in the historic Pecherskyi district, burning, with thick smoke rising into the clear blue sky just after sunrise.
Russia Air Strike
Ukraine’s Air Force said on Telegram that Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles into Ukraine overnight, with Ukrainian defence units downing 751 drones and four missiles.
That was the highest number of drones Russia has used to attack the country since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Timur Tkachenko, the head of the capital’s military administration, said that the infant’s body was pulled from the rubble in the Darnytskyi district where a four-storey apartment building was damaged.
A young woman also died as a result of the attack on the district, which lies to the east of the Dnipro River, Tkachenko said.
State emergency officials said that 18 people were injured in the overnight attack that sowed fires throughout the city.
Moscow did not immediately comment on the attacks. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the strikes, but thousands have died in the war Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Earlier, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an elderly woman died in a bomb shelter in Darnytskyi and a pregnant woman was among those injured.
State emergency officials said a fire broke out in two of the four stories of a residential building in the district that was hit in the drone attack, with its structure partially destroyed.
Drone Debris
In the western district of Sviatoshynskyi, several floors of a nine-storey residential building were partially destroyed, Klitschko and emergency officials said.
Falling drone debris set off fires in a 16-storey apartment building and two more nine-storey buildings, the mayor added.
Svyrydenko called for more weapons for Ukraine and for the world to respond to the Russian attacks.
“We will rebuild the buildings,” Svyrydenko said. “But lost lives cannot be brought back. The enemy terrorises and kills our people across the country every day.”
Smoke billowed out of apartment buildings, some with floors partially collapsed and facades crumbled, photographs on social media posted by emergency officials showed.
Russia was “deliberately and consciously striking civilian targets”, said Tkachenko, the Kyiv military administrator, on Telegram.
Dozens of explosions also shook Ukraine’s central city of Kremenchuk, cutting power to some areas and damaging a bridge across the Dnipro River, the city’s mayor, Vitalii Maletskyi, said on Telegram.
Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rih, also in central Ukraine, targeted transport and urban infrastructure, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the military administration for the city, said on Telegram, but no injuries were reported.
In the southern city of Odesa, civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged, with fires breaking out in several apartment blocks, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
With western Ukraine facing the threat of air attacks, Poland activated its own and allied aircraft to ensure air safety, the operational command of the Polish armed forces said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Israelis Urge U.S. President Trump To Help End Gaza War, Free Hostages
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to push for an end to the Gaza war and secure the release of hostages.
Protesters packed a public square outside the military headquarters, waving Israeli flags and holding placards with images of the hostages. Some carried signs, including one that read, ‘Trump’s legacy crumbles as the Gaza war persists.’
Another said, “PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAVE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
“Only Trump Has Authority Over Bibi”
“We think that Trump is the only man in the world who has authority over Bibi, who can force Bibi to do this,” said Tel Aviv resident Boaz, 40, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
There is growing despair among many Israelis at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ordered the military to capture a major urban centre where hostages may be held.
Families of the hostages and their supporters fear the assault on Gaza City could endanger their loved ones, a concern the military leadership shares, according to Israeli officials.
Orna Neutra, the mother of an Israeli soldier who was killed on October 7, 2023, and whose body is being held in Gaza by militants, accused the government of abandoning its citizens.
“We truly hope that the United States will push both sides to finally reach a comprehensive deal that will bring them home,” she told the rally. Her son, Omer, is also American.
Tel Aviv has witnessed weekly demonstrations that have grown in size, with protesters demanding that the government secure a ceasefire with Hamas to obtain the release of hostages. Organisers said Saturday night’s rally was attended by tens of thousands. A large demonstration was also held in Jerusalem.
There are 48 hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials believe that around 20 are still alive. Palestinian militants abducted 251 people from Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led its attack. Most of the hostages who have been released were freed after indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
“Very Deep” Negotiations With Hamas
Trump had pledged a swift end to the war in Gaza during his presidential campaign, but nearly eight months into his second term, a resolution has remained elusive. On Friday, he said that Washington was engaged in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas.
Israeli forces have carried out heavy strikes on the suburbs of Gaza City, where, according to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing famine.
Israeli officials acknowledge that hunger exists in Gaza but deny that the territory is facing famine. On Saturday, the military warned civilians in Gaza City to leave and move to southern Gaza.
There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in the city that was home to around a million before the war.
A video released by Hamas on Friday featured Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, saying that he was being held in Gaza City and feared being killed by the military’s assault on the city. Rights groups have condemned such videos of hostages as inhumane. Israel says that it is psychological warfare.
The war has become unpopular among some segments of Israeli society, and opinion polls show that most Israelis want Netanyahu’s right-wing government to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Hamas that secures the release of the hostages.
“War has No Purpose”
“The war has no purpose at all, except for violence and death,” said Boaz from Tel Aviv. Adam, 48, said it had become obvious that soldiers were being sent to war for “nothing”.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since it launched its retaliatory war after Hamas fighters attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in that attack on southern Israel.
Hamas has offered to release some hostages for a temporary ceasefire, similar to terms that were discussed in July before negotiations mediated by the U.S. and Arab states collapsed.
The militant group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.
The prime minister has said Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold and capturing it is necessary to defeat the Palestinian militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel led to the war.
Hamas has acknowledged it would no longer govern Gaza once the war ends but has refused to discuss laying down its weapons.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba To Resign To Avoid Party Split, Source Says
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to step down to prevent divisions within the ruling party, a source close to him said Sunday, deepening political uncertainty in the world’s fourth-largest economy.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately have a comment when contacted by Reuters, but the government said Ishiba would hold a press conference at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT).
Since the former defence minister came to power in September last year, his coalition has lost its majorities in elections for both houses of parliament amid voter anger over rising living costs.
He had refused calls from within his Liberal Democratic Party – which has ruled Japan for almost all of the post-war era – to step down and take responsibility for the upper house loss in July.
Instead, he has focused on trying to iron out the final details of a deal with the United States on trade tariffs that have roiled its critical automotive industry.
Concern over political uncertainty led to a sell-off in the yen and Japanese government bonds last week, with the yield on the 30-year bond hitting a record high on Wednesday.
Speculation over Ishiba’s fate increased when the LDP scheduled a vote for Monday on whether to hold an extraordinary leadership election.
While a fresh leadership race could add pain for an economy hit by U.S. tariffs, markets are focusing more on the chance of Ishiba being replaced by an advocate of looser fiscal and monetary policy, such as Sanae Takaichi, who has criticised the Bank of Japan’s interest rate hikes.
Ishiba narrowly defeated Takaichi in last year’s LDP leadership run-off. Shinjiro Koizumi, the telegenic political scion who has gained prominence as Ishiba’s farm minister tasked with trying to cap soaring prices, is another possible successor.
“Given the political pressure mounting on Ishiba after the LDP’s repeated election losses, his resignation was inevitable,” said Kazutaka Maeda, economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute.
“As for potential successors, Koizumi and Takaichi are seen as the most likely candidates. While Koizumi is not expected to bring major changes, Takaichi’s stance on expansionary fiscal policy and her cautious approach to interest rate hikes could draw scrutiny from financial markets,” Maeda said.
If Ishiba resigns, his last act as premier will have been to finalise details of a trade deal with the United States last week, under which Japan pledged $550 billion of investments in return for lower tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump on Japan’s key autos sector.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Trump Renames Pentagon, Restores Historic ‘Department Of War’ Title
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday renaming the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” reviving the title used until after World War II, when U.S. officials sought to stress the Pentagon’s role in preventing conflict.
Trump’s move represented his latest effort to rebrand the U.S. military, which has included his decision to preside over an extraordinary military parade in downtown Washington, D.C., and to restore the original names of military bases that were changed after racial justice protests in 2020.
Trump has also challenged conventional norms over domestic deployment of the U.S. armed forces, creating military zones along the southern U.S. border with Mexico to aid an immigration crackdown as well as deploying troops in cities like Los Angeles and Washington.
The Pentagon moved swiftly to change signs at the U.S. military’s five-sided headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, switching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s title on his door to “Secretary of War” and the title of his No. 2, Steve Feinberg, to the “Deputy Secretary of War”.
“Really About Winning”
“It’s a very important change, because it’s an attitude,” Trump said as he signed the executive order at a ceremony in the Oval Office. “It’s really about winning.”
The move would instruct Hegseth to recommend legislative and executive actions required to make the renaming permanent.
Department name changes are rare and have required congressional approval. Still, Trump questioned whether he really needed a nod from Congress, even though his fellow Republicans hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Two Republican senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida, and one Republican House member, Greg Steube of Florida, introduced legislation on Friday to make the change.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, introduced as the Secretary of War by Trump, cheered the change, which he has long advocated.
“We’re going to go on the offence, not just on defence. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality,” Hegseth said.
The U.S. Department of Defense was called the War Department until 1949, when Congress consolidated the Army, Navy and Air Force in the wake of World War Two. Historians say the name was chosen in part to signal that in the nuclear age, the U.S. was focused on preventing conflict.
Changing the name again will be costly and require updating signs and letterheads used not only by officials at the Pentagon but also military installations around the world.
An effort by former President Joe Biden to rename nine bases that honoured the Confederacy and Confederate leaders was set to cost the Army $39 million. Hegseth reversed that effort this year.
Critics have said the planned name change is not only costly but an unnecessary distraction for the Pentagon.
Hegseth has said that changing the name is “not just about words — it’s about the warrior ethos.”
This year, one of Trump’s closest congressional allies, Republican U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, introduced a bill that would make it easier for a president to reorganise and rename agencies.
“We’re just going to do it. I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that … Defense is too defensive. We want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be,” Trump said last month.
Trump also mentioned the possibility of a name change in June, when he suggested that the name was originally changed to be “politically correct”.
But for some in the Trump administration, the effort goes back much further.
During Trump’s first term, current FBI Director Kash Patel, who was briefly at the Pentagon, had a sign-off on his emails that read: “Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense & the War Department.”
“I view it as a tribute to the history and heritage of the Department of Defense,” Patel told Reuters in 2021.
(With inputs from Reuters)
‘Lost To Deepest, Darkest China’: Trump Slams India, Russia After Xi Meetings
President Donald Trump said Friday that India and Russia appear to have been “lost” to China after their leaders met with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, voicing frustration as Beijing advances its push for a new world order.
“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote in a social media post accompanying a photo of the three leaders together at Xi’s summit in China.
Later on Friday, however, he told reporters he didn’t think the U.S. had lost India to China.
“I don’t think we have,” he said. “I’ve been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil, as you know, from Russia. And I let them know that.”
Asked about Trump’s social media post, India’s foreign ministry told reporters in New Delhi that it had no comment. The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment and representatives for the Kremlin could not be immediately reached.
Xi hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Putin and Modi were seen holding hands at the summit as they walked toward Xi before all three men stood side by side.
“I’ll always be friends with Modi,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “He’s a great prime minister. He’s great. I’ll always be friends, but I just don’t like what he’s doing at this particular moment. But India and the United States have a special relationship. There’s nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion.”
“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties,” the Indian PM said in an X post early Saturday.
India and the U.S. have a “very positive … forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership”, Modi said.
Trump has chilled U.S.-India ties amid trade tensions and other disputes. Trump this week said he was “very disappointed” in Putin but not worried about growing Russia-China ties.
Trump has been frustrated at his inability to convince Russia and Ukraine to reach an end to their war, more than three years after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
He told reporters on Thursday night at the White House that he planned to talk to Putin soon.
(With inputs from Reuters)