Page 26 - Trump Administration

Trump plays nice with Asian allies stung by tariffs, repeated threats

The US president also sought to mend ties with Southeast Asian nations that have leaned closer toward Beijing as Trump took aim at their economic growth engines

Trump cuts US refugee limit to 7,500, mostly white South Africans

The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees it admits into the country to 7,500 and they will mostly be white South Africans, a dramatic drop after the US previously allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution from around the world. The administration published the news Thursday in a notice on the Federal Registry. No reason was given for the numbers, which are a dramatic decrease from last year's ceiling set under the Biden administration of 125,000. The Associated Press previously reported that the administration was considering admitting as few as 7,500 refugees and mostly white South Africans. The memo said only that the admission of the 7,500 refugees during 2026 fiscal year was justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.

'I got it done': Trump repeats claim of brokering India-Pakistan ceasefire

President Trump made these comments when asked about the possibility of resuming a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with plans for an earlier meeting currently suspended indefinitely

Trump pardons Binance's Changpeng Zhao: Who is he and why was he in jail

Changpeng Zhao, widely known as "CZ" served a four-month prison term in 2024, pleaded guilty to failing to implement adequate anti-money-laundering (AML) measures at Binance

Marco Rubio visits US-led coordination centre in Israel amid Gaza ceasefire

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured a US-led coordination centre in southern Israel Friday, as the Trump administration pushed forward with plans to set up an international security force in Gaza and shore up a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Rubio was the latest in a series of high-level US officials to visit the civilian military coordination centre and the country. US Vice President JD Vance was there earlier this week, where he announced its opening, and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, were also in Israel. Around 200 US troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries at the centre, planning the stabilisation and reconstruction of Gaza. On Friday, an AP reporter saw international personnel there with flags from Cyprus, Greece, France, Germany, Australia and Canada. Rubio had been expected to name a civilian coordinator who would work alongside a commander from the US Central Command, bu

Tech leaders, mayor changed mind about using troops in San Francisco: Trump

President Donald Trump was geared up for a show of federal force in San Francisco, a city he's blasted as everything wrong with liberal governance. Then conversations with some of the Bay Area's most prominent tech leaders and the mayor changed his mind. I got a great call from some incredible people, some friends of mine, very successful people, Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House, specifically referencing Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, one of the world's most valuable tech companies, and Marc Benioff, CEO of software company Salesforce. He said they told him San Francisco was working hard to reduce crime. So we are holding off that surge, everybody. And we're going to let them see if they can do it, Trump said. He said he could change his mind if it doesn't work out. Trump said the increased federal force had been planned for Saturday. He didn't specify whether he was just referring to National Guard troops, which he had threatened to send in, or if he would also ha

US eyes land strikes next after Venezuela drug boat attacks, says Trump

Striking targets on land would be a major escalation in tensions with Venezuela. In September, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ordered indefinite deployments of troops and assets across five state

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao granted pardon by Trump administration

The move marks the latest act of clemency the White House has granted to a crypto entrepreneur, underscoring how the Trump administration has positioned itself as a friend of the industry

Taliban govt urges US to reopen embassy, focus on economic, political ties

Despite repeated criticism from the US President regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the official stance of the US on the country's current leadership remains unclear

Trump to hold first in-person talks with Japan's new PM during 3-day visit

This will mark Trump's first trip to Japan in nearly six years. Takaichi, who secured the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election on October 4, became Japan's first woman PM

Trump names new Army vice chief with current general just 2 years into role

President Donald Trump has nominated Lt Gen Christopher LaNeve to serve as the Army's second-highest-ranking officer, according to congressional records. Gen James Mingus is currently vice chief of staff and has not publicly said he plans to step aside. He has been in the job less than two years, and it is typically a tenure that lasts at least three years. The move, which was posted in congressional records on Monday, is the latest in a series of surprise and unexplained firings, reassignments and promotions that have been transforming the senior ranks of the military under Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Officials in the Army and Hegseth's office would not offer any details on Mingus' apparent ouster and the effort to promote LaNeve, who is now Hegseth's top military aide. Maj Peter Sulzona, a spokesman for Mingus, told The Associated Press by email that he would not comment on pending nominations but that Mingus will continue to execute the duties and responsibilities

Musk criticises Nasa's Sean Duffy as Isaacman praises agency leader

The comments by Musk, the space industry's most prominent CEO, come a day after Duffy expressed frustration over the development by Musk's company of a lunar lander

Trump's pick for federal watchdog withdraws after offensive texts revealed

President Donald Trump's pick to lead a federal watchdog agency withdrew from consideration on Tuesday evening, after his offensive text messages were made public and GOP senators revolted. Paul Ingrassia, who was nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel, had been scheduled to have his confirmation hearing this week. On Monday, however, Politico reported on a text chat that showed him saying the Martin Luther King Jr holiday should be tossed into the seventh circle of hell. Ingrassia also described himself in the chat as having a Nazi streak at times. After the texts came to light, several Republican senators said they would not support his nomination. They included some of the most conservative and stalwart Trump allies in the Senate. I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday's HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time, Ingrassia posted in an online message. I appreciate the overwhelming ...

Trump puts meeting with Putin on hold, says it would be 'waste of time'

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his plan for a swift meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin was on hold because he did not want it to be a waste of time. It was the latest twist in Trump's stop-and-go effort to resolve the war in Ukraine. The decision to hold off on the meeting in Budapest, Hungary, which Trump had announced last week, was made following a call on Monday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. I don't want to have a wasted meeting, Trump said. I don't want to have a waste of time -- so we'll see what happens. Lavrov made clear in public comments on Tuesday that Russia is opposed to an immediate ceasefire. Trump, meanwhile, has been shifting his stance all year on key issues in the war, including whether a ceasefire should come before longer-term peace talks, and whether Ukraine could win back land seized by Russia during almost four years of fighting. Trump's hesitancy in meeting Putin will likely come as a reli

'No Kings' protests against Trump bring street party vibe to US cities

Large crowds of protesters marched and rallied in cities across the US Saturday for "No Kings" demonstrations decrying what participants see as the government's swift drift into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump. People carrying signs with slogans such as "Nothing is more patriotic than protesting" or "Resist Fascism" packed into New York City's Times Square and rallied by the thousands in parks in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. Demonstrators marched through Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outside capitols in several Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at hundreds of smaller public spaces. Trump's Republican Party disparaged the demonstrations as "Hate America" rallies, but in many places the events looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the US Constitution's "We The People" preamble that people could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged

'Unlawful': US Chamber of Commerce sues Trump admin over $100k H-1B visa fee

The lawsuit follows Trump's $100,000 fee hike for new H-1B applicants, which the White House defended as a move to protect American jobs from cheaper foreign labour

Chinese carriers challenge Trump's plan to restrict Russia airspace use

In a filing to the US Department of Transportation, Air China said it opposes the proposal, arguing that it would cause inconvenience to passengers

Indian-origin US strategic expert held over China links to contest charges

Ashley J Tellis, a former National Security Council member under George W. Bush and an unpaid State Department adviser, was arrested and charged with unlawfully retaining national defence information

Trump hosts glitzy dinner for wealthy donors to new White House ballroom

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed nearly 130 deep-pocketed donors, allies and representatives of major companies for a dinner at the White House to reward them for their pledged contributions to a massive new ballroom. The ballroom, whose price tag is now estimated at USD 250 million, is the most significant renovation that Trump, a former real estate mogul, is undertaking during his second term at the White House. All four sides of the ballroom -- which Trump said will be large and grand enough to hold even a presidential inauguration -- will be made of bulletproof glass, with its colour, window shape and molding keeping in character with the White House. Trump indicated that the fundraising and managing costs for the "phenomenal" ballroom were going well, predicting that he would have money left over after the project is done. "To me, there is nothing like the White House," Trump said, later adding, "It is just a special place so we have to take care of it." Men in

'Stopped 8 wars in 8 months, saved millions of lives', says Trump again

He suggested that his contributions toward global peace had not received due recognition