military

US announces deal for Qatar air force facility in Idaho

  • "We're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho," Hegseth said at the Pentagon, with Qatari Defense Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at his side.
  • US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that Qatar will be allowed to build an air force facility at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho that will house F-15 fighter jets and pilots.
  • "We're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho," Hegseth said at the Pentagon, with Qatari Defense Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at his side.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that Qatar will be allowed to build an air force facility at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho that will house F-15 fighter jets and pilots.
The announcement comes soon after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to defend the Gulf Arab state against attacks, following Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha.
"We're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho," Hegseth said at the Pentagon, with Qatari Defense Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at his side.
"The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training" as well as "increase lethality, interoperability," he said.
"It's just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, your excellency, that you can count on us."
The Idaho base currently also hosts a fighter jet squadron from Singapore, according to its website.
Hegseth also thanked Qatar for its "substantial role" as a mediator in the talks that led to a truce and hostage-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, and its assistance in securing the release of a US citizen from Afghanistan.
The Qatari minister hailed the "strong, enduring partnership" and "deep defense relationship" shared by the two countries. 
The Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is Washington's largest military facility in the Middle East.
Trump's close relationship with the leaders of Qatar has raised eyebrows, especially over its gift to the US president of a Boeing 747 to be used as Air Force One.
Though the Idaho facility for Qatar had apparently been in the works since the last administration of Democrat Joe Biden, the deal prompted some hand-wringing on social media, including from far-right activist Laura Loomer, usually a Trump ally.
"Never thought I'd see Republicans give terror financing Muslims from Qatar a MILITARY BASE on US soil so they can murder Americans," Loomer wrote on X.
Hegseth, who never said it was a base, later wrote on the platform: "Qatar will not have their own base in the United States -- nor anything like a base. We control the existing base, like we do with all partners."
sst/tc

Trump

Trump, oldest elected US president, in 'excellent' health: doctor

BY DANNY KEMP

  • "President Trump continues to demonstrate excellent overall health," his doctor, Navy Captain Sean Barbabella, wrote in a letter released by the White House. 
  • Donald Trump is in "excellent overall health," his physician said Friday after the 79-year-old -- the oldest elected president in US history -- underwent his second medical checkup of the year.
  • "President Trump continues to demonstrate excellent overall health," his doctor, Navy Captain Sean Barbabella, wrote in a letter released by the White House. 
Donald Trump is in "excellent overall health," his physician said Friday after the 79-year-old -- the oldest elected president in US history -- underwent his second medical checkup of the year.
Trump saw physicians at Walter Reed military hospital on the outskirts of the capital Washington earlier in the day.
He gave reporters the thumbs-up on his return to the White House when they asked how the checkup had gone.
"President Trump continues to demonstrate excellent overall health," his doctor, Navy Captain Sean Barbabella, wrote in a letter released by the White House. 
"His cardiac age -- a validated measure of cardiovascular vitality via ECG -- was found to be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age. He continues to maintain a demanding daily schedule without restriction."
A battery of routine tests was conducted, and Trump received an updated Covid booster shot and his annual flu shot, Barbabella said.
The checkup comes three months after the White House announced that Trump had been diagnosed with a vein condition following speculation about frequent bruising on his hand and his swollen legs.
The White House had said earlier this week that Friday's checkup would be an "annual" one -- despite the fact that Trump had already undergone one of those in April.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he was "going to do a sort of semi-annual physical."
"I'm in great shape, but I'll let you know. But no, I have no difficulty thus far... Physically, I feel very good. Mentally, I feel very good."
The Republican billionaire then embarked on one of his trademark tirades comparing his health with that of former presidents, particularly his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.
Trump said that during his last checkup, "I also did a cognitive exam which is always very risky, because if I didn't do well, you'd be the first to be blaring it, and I had a perfect score."
Trump then added: "Did Obama do it? No. Did Bush do it? No. Did Biden do it? I definitely did. Biden wouldn't have gotten the first three questions right."

 Bruised hand

Trump has repeatedly been accused of a lack of transparency about his health despite huge interest in the well-being of the US commander-in-chief.
In September, he dismissed social media rumors swirling about his health -- including false posts that he had died.
In July, the White House said Trump was diagnosed with a chronic but benign vein condition -- chronic venous insufficiency -- following speculation about his bruised hand and swollen legs.
The hand issue, it said, was linked to the aspirin he takes as part of a "standard" cardiovascular health program.
Trump is regularly seen at public events with heavy makeup on the back of his right hand to conceal the bruising.
At his last checkup, the White House said Trump was in good health, saying he had a "normal cardiac structure and function, no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness."
dk/sst/aha

economy

White House says 'substantial' shutdown layoffs have begun

BY FRANKIE TAGGART AND DANNY KEMP

  • A US Treasury spokesperson told AFP the department had begun sending out notices of layoffs while the Health and Human Services Department said it had started firing nonessential workers "as a direct consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown."
  • The White House said Friday it had begun mass layoffs of federal workers as President Donald Trump sought to amp up pressure on opposition Democrats to end a government shutdown that has crippled public services.
  • A US Treasury spokesperson told AFP the department had begun sending out notices of layoffs while the Health and Human Services Department said it had started firing nonessential workers "as a direct consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown."
The White House said Friday it had begun mass layoffs of federal workers as President Donald Trump sought to amp up pressure on opposition Democrats to end a government shutdown that has crippled public services.
With the crisis set to go into a third week and no off-ramp in sight, Trump's budget chief Russ Vought announced on social media that the administration was following through on threats to fire some of the 750,000 public servants placed on enforced leave.
The Office of Management and Budget, headed by Vought, told AFP the layoffs would be "substantial," but gave no precise numbers or details of which departments would be most affected.
A court filing Friday said the government has fired more than 4,000 federal workers, including more than 1,000 each at the Treasury Department and Department of Health and Human Services. 
Trump reiterated his pledge to use the cutbacks as a way to inflict pain on Democrats, telling reporters the number of people fired would be "a lot and it'll be Democrat-oriented because we figure they started this thing."
Democratic leaders in Congress have dismissed the threats as an attempt at intimidation and say mass firings would not stand up in court.
"Russell Vought just fired thousands of Americans with a tweet," the party's leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said in a statement berating the White House for wreaking "deliberate chaos."
"Let's be blunt: nobody's forcing Trump and Vought to do this. They don't have to do it; they want to," he fumed.
Unions representing 800,000 government employees asked a federal judge in San Francisco for an emergency order to halt the firings, ahead of a hearing set for October 16 on their legality.
A US Treasury spokesperson told AFP the department had begun sending out notices of layoffs while the Health and Human Services Department said it had started firing nonessential workers "as a direct consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown."
Other departments firing people included the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Commerce, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Energy, according to the court filing.

'Tired of the chaos'

Public servants who hang onto their jobs still face the misery of going without pay while the crisis remains unresolved, with the standoff expected to drag on until at least the middle of next week.
Adding to the pain, 1.3 million active-duty military personnel are set to miss their pay due next Wednesday -- something that has not happened in any of the funding shutdowns through modern history.
"We're not in a good mood here in the Capitol -- it's a somber day," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference marking the 10th day of the shutdown.
Nonessential government work stopped after the September 30 funding deadline, with Senate Democrats repeatedly blocking a Republican resolution to reopen federal agencies.
The sticking point has been a refusal by Republicans to include language in the bill to address expiring subsidies that make health insurance affordable for 24 million Americans.
With a prolonged shutdown looking more likely each day, members of Congress have been looking to Trump to step in and break the deadlock.
But the president has been largely tuned out, with his focus on the Gaza ceasefire deal and sending federal troops to bolster his mass deportation drive in Democratic-led cities such as Chicago and Portland.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) meanwhile announced it had rescheduled publication of key inflation data due next week to October 24, with the shutdown logjamming government data releases.
The consumer price index data is being published to allow the Social Security Administration to "ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits," it said. 
ft/aha/bjt

diplomacy

Trump announces new 100 percent China tariff, threatens to scrap Xi talks

BY DANNY KEMP AND BEIYI SEOW

  • Trump had threatened the tariffs hours earlier in a lengthy surprise post on his Truth Social network that said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on rare earth minerals.
  • US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China Friday and threatened to cancel a summit with Xi Jinping, reigniting his trade war with Beijing in a row over export curbs on rare earth minerals.
  • Trump had threatened the tariffs hours earlier in a lengthy surprise post on his Truth Social network that said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on rare earth minerals.
US President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China Friday and threatened to cancel a summit with Xi Jinping, reigniting his trade war with Beijing in a row over export curbs on rare earth minerals.
Trump said the extra levies, plus US export controls on "any and all critical software," would come into effect from November 1 in retaliation for what he called Beijing's "extraordinarily aggressive" moves.
"It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History," he said on Truth Social.
Stock markets fell as the simmering trade war between the United States and China reignited, with the Nasdaq down 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 down 2.7 percent.
Chinese goods currently face US tariffs of 30 percent under tariffs that Trump brought in while accusing Beijing of aiding in the fentanyl trade, and over alleged unfair practices.
China's retaliatory tariffs are currently at 10 percent.
Trump had threatened the tariffs hours earlier in a lengthy surprise post on his Truth Social network that said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on rare earth minerals.
Rare earth elements are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology. China dominates global production and processing of these materials.
"There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World 'captive,'" Trump wrote, describing China's stance as "very hostile".
The US president then called into question his plans to meet Chinese president Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month.
It was to be the first encounter between the leaders of the world's two largest economies since Trump returned to power in January.
"I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so," he wrote.
Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office that he hadn't canceled the meeting.
"I haven't canceled, but I don't know that we're going to have it. But I'm going to be there regardless, so I would assume we might have it," he said.

'Lying in wait'

The US president said he did not understand why China was choosing to act now. "Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile," he said.
Trump said other countries had contacted the United States expressing anger over China's "great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere."
He also accused Beijing of "lying in wait" despite what he characterized as six months of good relations, which has notably seen progress on bringing TikTok's US operations under American control as required by a law passed by Congress last year.
His outburst comes just weeks after he had spoken of the importance of meeting Xi at the APEC summit and said that he would travel to China next year.
Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war earlier this year that threatened to effectively halt trade between the world's two largest economies.
Both sides eventually agreed to de-escalate tensions but the truce has been shaky.
Trump said last week that he would push Xi on US soybean purchases as American farmers, a key voting demographic in his 2024 election win, grapple with fallout from his trade wars.
China had said earlier Friday that it would impose "special port fees" on ships operated by and built in the United States after Washington announced charges for Chinese-linked ships in April.
In a further development, the US communications watchdog said it had successfully managed to get "millions" of listings for banned Chinese items removed from commerce platforms.
"The Communist Party of China is engaged in a multi-prong effort to insert insecure devices into Americans' homes and businesses," Brendan Carr, head of the Federal Communications Commission, said on X.
dk-bys

conflict

Melania Trump says Putin talks secured return of Ukraine war kids

BY DANNY KEMP

  • "Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children."
  • US First Lady Melania Trump said Friday she had secured the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia after establishing an extraordinary back channel of communication with President Vladimir Putin.
  • "Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children."
US First Lady Melania Trump said Friday she had secured the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia after establishing an extraordinary back channel of communication with President Vladimir Putin.
In a rare public announcement at the White House, she revealed weeks of behind the scenes diplomacy with the Kremlin chief after he held a summit in Alaska with her husband, US President Donald Trump.
Eight children displaced by Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine had been returned to their homes in the last 24 hours, she said.
The 55-year-old said that Putin had agreed to help after she passed him a letter through Trump at the summit, a meeting which otherwise ended without a breakthrough in resolving the war now in its fourth year.
"Much has unfolded since President Putin received my letter last August. He responded in writing signalling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia," she told reporters.
"Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children."
The Slovenian-born former model said that both sides had also had "several back channel meetings and calls, all in good faith."
"My representative has been working directly with President Putin's team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine," she said.
"In fact, eight children have been rejoined with their families during the past 24 hours." 

Elusive figure

Seven of them were returned to Ukraine from Russia, she said, while one young girl went back to Russia from Ukraine. 
Three were separated from their parents and "displaced to the Russian Federation by frontline fighting," she said.
The others including the girl returned to Russia were "separated from family members across borders" by the conflict. 
Kyiv has accused Moscow of abducting almost 20,000 children from parts of the east and south of Ukraine after Moscow's troops invaded in February 2022. 
Ukraine has made the issue of the abducted children a diplomatic priority.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin and his children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the allegations of child abductions.
Russia has said it moved some Ukrainian children from their houses or orphanages for protection due to the threat of hostilities.
Melania Trump said in her announcement that Russia had "demonstrated a willingness" to share details to identify abducted children, including biographies and photos.
She said she would continue to work for more children to return to their homes.
"This is an important initiative for me. It is built on shared purpose and lasting impact," she added.
The announcement marked a rare glimmer of progress in the Ukraine war, which Trump vowed to solve within 24 hours of taking office but now admits is the most difficult conflict he has tried to solve.
It was also a rare solo appearance by Melania Trump, who has been an elusive figure at the White House since her husband's return to power in January, preferring to spend her time in New York or Florida.
But she has highlighted a number of initiatives, often involving children.
Melania also accompanied her husband on his state visit to Britain in September, making a joint appearance with Princess Catherine, wife of heir to the throne Prince William.
dk/des

economy

White House says 'substantial' shutdown layoffs have begun

BY FRANKIE TAGGART AND DANNY KEMP

  • But the president has been largely tuned-out, with his focus on the Gaza ceasefire deal and sending federal troops to bolster his mass deportation drive in Democratic-led cities such as Chicago and Portland.
  • The White House said Friday it had begun mass layoffs of federal workers as President Donald Trump sought to amp up pressure on opposition Democrats to end a government shutdown that has crippled public services.
  • But the president has been largely tuned-out, with his focus on the Gaza ceasefire deal and sending federal troops to bolster his mass deportation drive in Democratic-led cities such as Chicago and Portland.
The White House said Friday it had begun mass layoffs of federal workers as President Donald Trump sought to amp up pressure on opposition Democrats to end a government shutdown that has crippled public services.
With the crisis set to go into a third week and no off-ramp in sight, Trump's budget chief Russ Vought confirmed on social media that the administration had begun following through on its threat to begin firing some of the 750,000 public servants placed on enforced leave.
The Office of Management and Budget, headed by Vought, told AFP the layoffs would be "substantial," but gave no precise numbers or details of which departments would be most affected.
The announcement came days after Trump said he was meeting Vought to determine which agencies "he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent."
The president has repeatedly emphasized that he views cutbacks as a way of increasing pain on Democrats.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his House counterpart Hakeem Jeffries have dismissed the job cuts threat as an attempt at intimidation and said mass firings would not stand up in court.
Those public servants who hang onto their jobs still face the misery of going without pay while the crisis remains unresolved, with the standoff expected to drag on until at least the middle of next week.
Adding to the pain, 1.3 million active-duty service military personnel are set to miss their pay due next Wednesday -- something that has not happened in any of the funding shutdowns through modern history.
"We're not in a good mood here in the Capitol -- it's a somber day. Today marks the first day federal workers across America will receive a partial pay check," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference marking the 10th day of the shutdown.
Rising tensions between the two parties have been on full display this week, with Johnson and Democratic senators clashing over the shutdown in front of the gathered press.
There was a fiery exchange after a House Democratic leadership press conference when Republican Congressman Mike Lawler needled Jeffries over his role in the crisis.
Jeffries told Lawler to "keep your mouth shut" as the two traded barbs and later called the Republican a "malignant clown."

'Tired of the chaos'

Nonessential government work stopped after the September 30 funding deadline, with Senate Democrats repeatedly blocking a Republican resolution to reopen federal agencies.
The sticking point has been a refusal by Republicans to include language in the bill to address expiring subsidies that make health insurance affordable for 24 million Americans.
With a prolonged shutdown looking more likely each day, members of Congress have been looking to Trump to step in and break the deadlock.
But the president has been largely tuned-out, with his focus on the Gaza ceasefire deal and sending federal troops to bolster his mass deportation drive in Democratic-led cities such as Chicago and Portland.
"Donald Trump can find the time to play golf, but he can't be bothered negotiating a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government... and House Republicans remain on vacation for three weeks," Jeffries told a news conference.
"The American people are sick and tired of the chaos, crisis and confusion that has been visited upon the country by Donald Trump and Republican complete control of Congress."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) meanwhile announced it would delay publication of key inflation data due next week to October 24, despite the ongoing shutdown, which has halted the release of most government data. 
The consumer price index data is being published to allow the Social Security Administration to meet its statutory deadlines "to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits," the BLS said Friday in a statement. 
ft/des

Antifa

Antifa expert flees US for Europe after death threats: interview

BY VICTORIA LAVELLE

  • After those social media posts, Bray began receiving death threats, he said, including one "saying that someone was going to kill me in front of my students," and a threatening email with his home address.
  • Mark Bray, a US university professor and expert on the loosely organized left-wing Antifa movement says he has fled the country after receiving death threats, amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on opponents.
  • After those social media posts, Bray began receiving death threats, he said, including one "saying that someone was going to kill me in front of my students," and a threatening email with his home address.
Mark Bray, a US university professor and expert on the loosely organized left-wing Antifa movement says he has fled the country after receiving death threats, amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on opponents.
Bray, 43, has written several books on the nebulous, self-described "anti-fascist" movement, which the Trump administration has classified as a terrorist group.
"The whole thing has been very stressful, even more stressful having small children -- my whole life has been turned on its head," Bray, a history professor at New Jersey's Rutgers University, told AFP in an interview.
Fearing for their safety, Bray and his family flew to Spain on Thursday evening.
Trump and his supporters "are trying to expand this term 'Antifa'... and they're trying to apply this to basically anyone they don't like," Bray said.
"It is particularly easy to try and label me... the guy who wrote the book about it."

'I'm a researcher'

Bray acknowledged his history with the left-wing Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City in 2011, but stressed that he had "never been part of an anti-fascist group."
"I'm not now, and I don't intend to be. I support anti-fascism, broadly construed, I detest fascism, but in this capacity, I'm a researcher," he said.
Bray said he was first targeted on X following the September 10 murder of pro-Trump conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Far-right activist Jack Posobiec labeled him online a "domestic terrorist professor," while Andy Ngo, a conservative content creator, accused him of being a "militant anti-fascist activist." Both took part in a White House round table discussion on the "Antifa threat" this week.
After those social media posts, Bray began receiving death threats, he said, including one "saying that someone was going to kill me in front of my students," and a threatening email with his home address.
"At that point, I decided I wanted to leave the country for the safety of my family," he said.

'Without fear'

A petition calling for Bray's dismissal was launched last week by the Rutgers University chapter of Turning Point USA, the right-wing organization founded by Kirk, and has gained more than 1,000 signatures.
Bray also appears on a "watch list of professors" maintained by Turning Point USA.
In a statement, a Rutgers University spokesperson said the "institution is committed to providing a secure environment -- to learn, teach, work, and research, where all members of our community can share their opinions without fear of intimidation or harassment."
Turning Point USA and the student behind the petition have not responded to AFP's request for comment.
Since his return to power in January, Trump has launched an offensive against universities, with a series of shock decisions that have unsettled the scientific and academic community, pushing some professors to announce plans to move abroad.
vla/ane/ami/md/

economy

No end in sight to US shutdown despite Trump pressure

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • But his attempts to pressure Democrats to back the Republican bill -- which would open the government through late November as negotiations continue -- have so far fallen on deaf ears.
  • The US government shutdown looked set to extend into a third week as senators again rejected a Republican funding bill Thursday despite President Donald Trump's attempts to turn the thumbscrews on opposition Democrats.
  • But his attempts to pressure Democrats to back the Republican bill -- which would open the government through late November as negotiations continue -- have so far fallen on deaf ears.
The US government shutdown looked set to extend into a third week as senators again rejected a Republican funding bill Thursday despite President Donald Trump's attempts to turn the thumbscrews on opposition Democrats.
Federal agencies have been out of money since October 1 and public services have been crippled amid stalled talks between the two sides that have led to a series of near-daily failed votes to turn the lights back on.
With no sign of a breakthrough, the Senate adjourned until next Tuesday -- meaning no votes will be held during that time.
Trump repeated his threats to slash government programs popular with Democrats as he berated the party over the shutdown at a cabinet meeting.
"The Democrat shutdown is causing pain and suffering for hardworking Americans, including our military, our air traffic controllers and impoverished mothers, people with young children, people that have to live not the greatest of lives," he said. 
But his attempts to pressure Democrats to back the Republican bill -- which would open the government through late November as negotiations continue -- have so far fallen on deaf ears.
Democrats are privately preparing for a shutdown lasting several more weeks, CNN reported, if Republicans do not agree to their demands to extend health care subsidies due to expire on December 31.
With some 750,000 federal workers "furloughed" -- placed on enforced leave without pay -- both sides have voiced concerns about the likelihood of military personnel missing their paychecks next Wednesday.

'Every day gets better'

A bipartisan House bill that would guarantee the pay of 1.3 million active-duty servicemembers through the shutdown has around 150 co-sponsors.
But Republican leaders oppose bringing it to the floor for a vote -- insisting that the armed forces will be paid if Democrats simply provide the votes to end the shutdown.
"The President has made it clear: we must pay our troops," the bill's author, Republican congresswoman Jen Kiggans, posted on X.
Democrats -- emboldened by polling showing voters mostly blaming the shutdown on Republicans -- are banking on increasing public support in a prolonged standoff.
"Every day gets better for us," Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Punchbowl News.
"It's because we've thought about this long in advance and we knew that health care would be the focal point on September 30 and we prepared for it. Their whole theory was threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two."
As well as widespread cuts, Trump's "maximum pain" campaign to force Democrats to fold has included threats fire thousands of furloughed workers.
"We'll be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren't popular with Republicans, frankly, because that's the way it works," Trump said at his cabinet meeting. 
"They wanted to do this, so we'll give them a little taste of their own medicine."
ft/rle-sst/sla

diplomacy

Venezuela ask for UN Security Council meet over US 'threats'

  • Washington has made Venezuela the focal point of its fight against drug trafficking, even though most of the illegal drugs entering the United States originate in, or are shipped through, Mexico.
  • Venezuela on Thursday asked the UN Security Council to hold emergency talks over what it said were "mounting threats" from the United States, which has sent warships to the Caribbean to fight drug trafficking.
  • Washington has made Venezuela the focal point of its fight against drug trafficking, even though most of the illegal drugs entering the United States originate in, or are shipped through, Mexico.
Venezuela on Thursday asked the UN Security Council to hold emergency talks over what it said were "mounting threats" from the United States, which has sent warships to the Caribbean to fight drug trafficking.
At UN headquarters in New York, diplomats told AFP the talks would take place on Friday at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT).
The foreign ministry said in a statement that US strikes in international waters -- which have killed at least 21 people in recent weeks -- endangered "peace, security and international and regional stability."
Caracas said it wanted the UN Security Council -- on which the US is a permanent veto-wielding member -- to debate the issue and "make recommendations to curb any plans of aggression" on Washington's part.
Diplomats told AFP that Venezuela's request for a meeting was backed by Russia and China, who also have Council veto power.
The United States is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels, President Donald Trump said last week in a letter to Congress, asserting legal authority for the deadly strikes so far.
The US military bombed several small boats off the coast of Venezuela, which it says were carrying drugs bound for the United States, leading to the 21 deaths.
Along with a small Navy armada in the Caribbean, the United States has deployed F-35 war planes to Puerto Rico.
Washington has made Venezuela the focal point of its fight against drug trafficking, even though most of the illegal drugs entering the United States originate in, or are shipped through, Mexico.
The US accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel, and does not recognize him as the country's legitimate leader, claiming that he fraudulently retained power after elections last year.
Maduro says Trump's true goal is regime change.
Thousands of Venezuelans have joined a civilian militia in response to Maduro's call for bolstering the cash-strapped country's defenses.
Caracas and Washington severed diplomatic ties in 2019.
pgf/sst/sla

immigration

Fear and fury at ICE facility protest near Chicago

BY MICHAEL MATHES

  • The crackdown "has nothing to do with immigrants," she insisted.
  • The language was foul, the rage abundant: Thursday's scene outside an ICE facility near Chicago reflected the anguish gripping some Americans as their government unfurls its crackdown on immigrants.
  • The crackdown "has nothing to do with immigrants," she insisted.
The language was foul, the rage abundant: Thursday's scene outside an ICE facility near Chicago reflected the anguish gripping some Americans as their government unfurls its crackdown on immigrants.
The Midwestern city of 2.7 million, the country's third largest, has become a key target in President Donald Trump's campaign pledge to carry out the largest deportation in US history. 
Tensions have boiled over recently as demonstrators clash with authorities near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in the Illinois town of Broadview.
And Trump's deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in the Chicago area -- purportedly to protect ICE agents and buildings -- has raised the temperature further.
On Thursday, roughly two dozen people hurled insults at those soldiers and the immigration staff. 
"Go home Nazis!" yelled 37-year-old Kate Madrigal at ICE agents and National Guard members through the fence. 
"Enough talking. It's time to put some action behind the words and the anger that I have," Madrigal, a stay-at-home mom who drove 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the Indiana state line to Broadview, told AFP.
"We have listened to so much bigotry and racism and overreach of power, that everyone is here to stand up and use our First Amendment right and protest against what's happening," Madrigal explained.
For Madrigal, the conditions are personal. She is married to a Mexican immigrant who recently became a US citizen. 
"We're scared," she said.
The crackdown "has nothing to do with immigrants," she insisted. "They're targeting brown people."
Immigration agents have conducted violent arrests -- including deploying Black Hawk military helicopters in one raid -- while using tear gas in confrontations with protesters.

'We know what's next'

Near the roadway leading into the ICE processing facility and detention center, three women prayed in Spanish.
Steps away, a cluster of surveillance cameras on a pole monitored the protesters.
Among them was Lee Goodman, whose attire -- a replica of a Nazi concentration camp prisoner's uniform -- stood out. 
So did his sign: "We know what's next."
His breast pocket features a sewn blue triangle, the symbol that migrants in the camps in Germany were required to wear.
It proved to be quite a conversation starter. 
"They understand the parallels to today, so it's been very effective," said the 72-year-old retired lawyer from nearby Northbrook.
As for ICE, Goodman remained unapologetic.
"This facility is part of the apparatus of putting people in concentration camps," he said. "We know from history what's next when you start putting migrants in concentration camps just because they're migrants."
Chicagoan Ryan Cuellar, 28, said the "use of force" deployed by ICE is "definitely scaring people away" and suppressing the number of protesters.
"People go to war and die for these liberties, so exercising them shouldn't be a crime. Exercising them shouldn't be at the cost of you being pepper-sprayed, tear-gassed, pepper-balled," he said.
Among the anti-ICE protesters stood one open supporter of Trump's immigration crackdown.
"He's doing the right thing," said Ali Wiegand, 45, who held a "We (heart) ICE" sign.
She said she has had "great conversations" with those who oppose the raids, and that they agree to disagree.
But oftentimes, tempers soar.
"I've had people scream two inches from my face and call me every name in the book," Wiegand said.
mlm/bjt

Trump

Arc de Trump? New monument model sits on US president's desk

  • But the "Donald Trump for President" Facebook page, which has more than six million followers, posted a drawing in September with a virtually identical design in the same spot, linking it to celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.
  • US President Donald Trump is no stranger to ambitious construction projects but could he be eyeing one of his biggest yet? 
  • But the "Donald Trump for President" Facebook page, which has more than six million followers, posted a drawing in September with a virtually identical design in the same spot, linking it to celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.
US President Donald Trump is no stranger to ambitious construction projects but could he be eyeing one of his biggest yet? 
A mock-up of a triumphal arch sat on Trump's Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as he met Finnish President Alex Stubb on Thursday, an AFP journalist and photographer saw.
The plan, featuring small models on a map, shows the arch sitting on a traffic circle near Arlington Cemetery, on the other side of the Potomac River from the white marble Lincoln Memorial.
A second, larger model arch sat on the desk, on which details could be seen more clearly, including a winged golden angel holding aloft a torch, flanked by two white eagles on either side.
Both models resembled the famed Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was commissioned by the French emperor Napoleon in the early 19th century to commemorate fallen soldiers during his military campaigns.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plan.
But the "Donald Trump for President" Facebook page, which has more than six million followers, posted a drawing in September with a virtually identical design in the same spot, linking it to celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.
Since returning to power in January, former real estate developer Trump, 79, has enthusiastically embarked on a series of renovation and building projects.
For example, he has covered the walls of the previously spartan Oval Office with gold, paintings and ornaments. 
And he once interrupted a meeting to wax lyrical about the changes he had made to the White House Cabinet Room, including a long aside about the new drapes.
He is also building a huge ballroom next to the White House, a model of which appeared to be on Trump's desk in a photo shared by his Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino on Wednesday.
The brash Republican has converted parts of the White House to resemble his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, particularly the newly paved-over Rose Garden with its picnic tables and yellow and white umbrellas.
The Republican leader signed an executive order at the end of August to promote "classical" architecture, inspired by ancient Rome and Greece. 
He has also repeatedly expressed his desire to further celebrate the power and military victories of the United States.
dk/aha

politics

US finalizes $20 bn economic lifeline for Argentina, buys pesos

  • IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva praised the US move in a post on X, saying her agency -- which agreed in April to a $20 billion loan to Buenos Aires -- was "fully aligned in support" of Argentina's "strong economic program."
  • US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington had bought Argentine pesos and finalized a $20 billion economic support program to help prop up the South American nation's faltering finances.
  • IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva praised the US move in a post on X, saying her agency -- which agreed in April to a $20 billion loan to Buenos Aires -- was "fully aligned in support" of Argentina's "strong economic program."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington had bought Argentine pesos and finalized a $20 billion economic support program to help prop up the South American nation's faltering finances.
Argentina's right-wing President Javier Milei, a close ally of Donald Trump, swiftly thanked the American leader for his "vision and powerful leadership" following the announcement.
Milei had been struggling with market turbulence after a defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections seen as a bellwether for crucial mid-terms later this month.
"Argentina faces a moment of acute illiquidity," Bessent wrote on social media Thursday, adding that Washington was well-positioned to act quickly.
"To that end, today we directly purchased Argentine pesos," the Treasury chief said. "Additionally, we have finalized a $20 billion currency swap framework with Argentina's central bank."
Bessent stressed that the US Treasury is "prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets."
His comments on X came after four days of meetings with Argentina's Economy Minister Luis Caputo in Washington.
Bessent added that Trump and Milei are expected to meet next week, just weeks before the October 26 midterm votes in Argentina.
The US treasury secretary said he plans to see Caputo again next week on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva praised the US move in a post on X, saying her agency -- which agreed in April to a $20 billion loan to Buenos Aires -- was "fully aligned in support" of Argentina's "strong economic program."

'Systemic importance'

The Trump administration's pledge to support Argentina has faced criticism, with Democratic lawmakers calling on Trump last month to halt his plan.
In a letter, they pointed to Argentina's recent decision to temporarily suspend soybean export taxes, a move that they said undercut US farmers -- who are already facing multiple challenges -- in the global market.
Bessent has previously defended the plans.
He told CNBC in early October that "as far as what the US is doing, just to be clear, we are giving them a swap line. We are not putting money into Argentina."
Bessent added Thursday that "the success of Argentina's reform agenda is of systemic importance" as well.
He said "a strong, stable Argentina which helps anchor a prosperous Western Hemisphere is in the strategic interest of the United States," arguing that its success should be a bipartisan priority.
At the start of the month, Bessent told CNBC that many governments in South America "moved from far-left to center-right. We did not support them, and then they took a hard lurch to the left."
At the time, he called Argentina a "beacon," adding that other countries could follow its lead.
In his statement to Trump and Bessent on X, Milei wrote Thursday that "as the closest of allies, we will make a hemisphere of economic freedom and prosperity."
bys/sst/des/sla

immigration

Judge halts Trump's Chicago troop deployment as Portland decision looms

BY MICHAEL MATHES

  • The deployment in Chicago involves 200 National Guard troops from Texas and 300 from Illinois, the US Army Northern Command said.
  • A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to President Donald Trump's deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in the Chicago area as part of his sweeping crime and immigration crackdown.
  • The deployment in Chicago involves 200 National Guard troops from Texas and 300 from Illinois, the US Army Northern Command said.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to President Donald Trump's deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in the Chicago area as part of his sweeping crime and immigration crackdown.
Trump's administration has argued the troops are necessary to protect immigration agents and facilities in America's third largest city, falsely depicting it as a "war zone."
But local Democratic officials have said police and other law enforcement are perfectly sufficient, while arguing that Trump is purposefully provoking protests with its heavy handed operations.
In her ruling from the bench, District Judge April Perry said she had doubts about the Trump administration's reliability and worried the troops' presence would "only add fuel to the fire," the Chicago Tribune reported.
She ordered an immediate halt to the troop deployment, lasting until October 23, rejecting the government's argument that Trump cannot be second-guessed over such matters.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has accused Trump of unconstitutional authoritarianism, hailed the ruling, saying on X: "Donald Trump is not a king -- and his administration is not above the law."
At the same time, a three-judge appeals court panel in San Francisco was expected to rule on whether to lift another judge's temporary block of a similar deployment in Democratic-ruled Portland, Oregon.
Illinois and Oregon are not the first states to file legal challenges against the Trump administration's extraordinary domestic use of the National Guard.
Democratic-ruled California filed suit after the Republican president first sent troops to Los Angeles earlier this year to quell demonstrations sparked by a crackdown on undocumented migrants.
A district court judge ruled it unlawful but an appeals court panel allowed the deployment to temporarily proceed.
An AFP journalist who visited the Broadview facility on Thursday saw a few National Guard members and ICE personnel milling about on the other side of the fence.
About 15 protesters hurled insults, calling the agents "human traffickers" and "Nazis."
"Show your faces, you cowards!" they yelled. "Are your mommies proud of you?"
The deployment in Chicago involves 200 National Guard troops from Texas and 300 from Illinois, the US Army Northern Command said. They have been mobilized for an initial period of 60 days.

Insurrection Act

Trump has said he could invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act -- which allows the president to deploy the military within the United States to suppress rebellion -- if courts or local officials continue "holding us up."
At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump repeated his claims that crime is rampant in Chicago and Portland.
"We've launched a historic campaign to take back our nation from the gangs and the street criminals, violent repeat offenders, illegal alien law breakers, domestic extremists and savage, bloodthirsty cartels," he said.
The Republican has been accused by critics of growing authoritarianism as he tries to fulfill his campaign promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants.
Raids by armed and masked federal agents have sparked allegations of rights abuses and illegal detentions.
Local officials argue that city and state law enforcement are sufficient to handle protests against ICE agents and street crime.
Pritzker, seen as a potential Democratic candidate in the 2028 presidential election, has called Trump "unhinged."
"He's a wannabe dictator. And there's one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump: if you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me," the governor said Wednesday.
mlm-cl/dw/des/sla

politics

NY Attorney General Letitia James, a Trump foe, indicted

  • "President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the 'crime' of prosecuting him for fraud -- and winning," the senator from New York said.
  • New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Donald Trump, was indicted on Thursday, the second foe of the US president to be slapped with criminal charges in recent weeks.
  • "President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the 'crime' of prosecuting him for fraud -- and winning," the senator from New York said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Donald Trump, was indicted on Thursday, the second foe of the US president to be slapped with criminal charges in recent weeks.
James, 66, a Democrat, was indicted by a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution.
The charges against James were brought one day after another prominent Trump critic, former FBI director James Comey, pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
The cases against James and Comey were filed by Trump's handpicked US attorney, Lindsey Halligan, after the previous prosecutor resigned saying there was not enough evidence against them.
The case against James concerns allegedly false statements she made to obtain favorable loan terms for a property she purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020.
In a statement, James rejected the charges as "baseless" and said they are "nothing more than a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system."
"The president's own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution," she said.
Trump recently publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against James, Comey and others he sees as enemies in an escalation of his campaign against political opponents.
After Trump left the White House in 2021, James brought a major civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his real estate company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms.
A New York state judge ordered Trump to pay $464 million, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment.

Vindictive prosecution

In addition to James and Comey, Trump has also publicly called for the prosecution of Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and his own former National Security Advisor, John Bolton.
The indictments of James and Comey came after the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, stepped down after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge them.
Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
The 64-year-old former FBI chief is accused of falsely stating that he had not authorized another FBI employee to be an anonymous source in news reports.
The judge scheduled a trial date of January 5. Comey faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
Comey's lawyer, Patrick Fitzgerald, said he intends to file a motion seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds it is a vindictive and selective prosecution.
Appointed to head the FBI by then-president Barack Obama in 2013, Comey was fired by Trump in 2017 amid the probe into whether any members of the Trump presidential campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 vote.
Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was among a number of prominent Democratic politicians who came out in defense of James.
"What we're seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable," Hochul said on X.
Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer said "this is what tyranny looks like."
"President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the 'crime' of prosecuting him for fraud -- and winning," the senator from New York said.
In a statement, however, US Attorney Halligan defended the prosecution of James, saying she had committed "intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public's trust."
bur-cl-aha/sla

conflict

Trump says 'stepping up pressure' to end Ukraine war

  • Trump hosted Putin in Alaska in August but failed to achieve a breakthrough, and since then Russia's attacks on Ukraine have escalated.
  • US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington and NATO allies were "stepping up the pressure" to end the war in Ukraine, after his outreach to Russia's Vladimir Putin failed to achieve a ceasefire.
  • Trump hosted Putin in Alaska in August but failed to achieve a breakthrough, and since then Russia's attacks on Ukraine have escalated.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington and NATO allies were "stepping up the pressure" to end the war in Ukraine, after his outreach to Russia's Vladimir Putin failed to achieve a ceasefire.
"Yeah, we are stepping up the pressure," Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb when asked by an AFP reporter if he would increase efforts for a deal.
"We're stepping it up together. We're all stepping it up. NATO has been great," he added.
Trump this week brokered a peace deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, but has said that the war sparked by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine was proving even harder to solve.
Trump hosted Putin in Alaska in August but failed to achieve a breakthrough, and since then Russia's attacks on Ukraine have escalated.
Russia said Wednesday that momentum towards reaching a peace deal in Ukraine had largely vanished following the meeting.
Stubb said he was confident that Trump would be able to push through a deal on Ukraine following the Gaza deal between Israel and Hamas.
"I think this one will be the next big one," Stubb told reporters.
dk/bjt

execution

Texas appeals ourt halts execution of man in 'shaken baby' case

  • The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution to Roberson so a lower court can consider a challenge to his conviction and the evidence of shaken baby syndrome.
  • A Texas appeals court on Thursday halted the scheduled execution of an autistic man convicted in a problematic "shaken baby" case.
  • The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution to Roberson so a lower court can consider a challenge to his conviction and the evidence of shaken baby syndrome.
A Texas appeals court on Thursday halted the scheduled execution of an autistic man convicted in a problematic "shaken baby" case.
Robert Roberson, 58, had been scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection next week for the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution to Roberson so a lower court can consider a challenge to his conviction and the evidence of shaken baby syndrome.
Gretchen Sween, Roberson's attorney, welcomed the decision, which comes after another Texas man convicted in a shaken baby case was exonerated.
"We are confident that an objective review of the science and medical evidence will show there was no crime," Sween said in a statement.
A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers has urged clemency for Roberson, citing "voluminous new scientific evidence" that casts doubt on his guilt.
Roberson would be the first person executed in the United States based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, according to his lawyers.
His case has drawn the attention of not only Texas lawmakers but also best-selling American novelist John Grisham, medical experts and the Innocence Project, which works to reverse wrongful convictions.
Also among his supporters is the man who put him behind bars -- Brian Wharton, the former chief detective in the town of Palestine -- who has said "knowing everything that I know now, I am firmly convinced that Robert is an innocent man."
Roberson has always maintained his innocence and his lawyers maintain his chronically ill daughter died of natural and accidental causes, not abuse.
The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, made at the hospital where Roberson's daughter died, was erroneous, they say, and the cause of death was pneumonia, aggravated by doctors prescribing improper medication.
Roberson's autism spectrum disorder, which was not diagnosed until 2018, also contributed to his arrest and conviction, according to his lawyers.
There have been 34 executions in the United States this year.
cl/dw

immigration

Trump calls for jailing of Illinois Democrats as troops arrive

BY DANIEL STUBLEN

  • Trump's attacks on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, follow similar extraordinary public calls by the president for his political opponents to face legal charges.
  • US President Donald Trump called Wednesday for the Democratic governor of Illinois and mayor of Chicago to be jailed for resisting his mass deportation campaign, a day after armed troops from Texas arrived in the state.
  • Trump's attacks on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, follow similar extraordinary public calls by the president for his political opponents to face legal charges.
US President Donald Trump called Wednesday for the Democratic governor of Illinois and mayor of Chicago to be jailed for resisting his mass deportation campaign, a day after armed troops from Texas arrived in the state.
Chicago, the largest city in Illinois and third-largest in the country, has become the latest flashpoint in a crackdown by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents that has sparked allegations of rights abuses and myriad lawsuits.
Masked ICE agents have surged into several Democratic-led cities to conduct raids, stoking outrage among many residents and protests outside federal facilities.
"Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker also!" Trump posted Wednesday on his social media platform.
Trump's attacks on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, follow similar extraordinary public calls by the president for his political opponents to face legal charges.
Trump later hosted an event at the White House regarding left-wing Antifa groups which focused on Portland, another Democratic-run city on the US west coast which has also become a flashpoint.
The roundtable featured a number of right-wing independent journalists who said they had been assaulted by left-wing demonstrators from Antifa, which Trump recently classified as a terrorist group despite its ill-defined nature.
"We have a very serious left-wing terror threat in our country," Trump said.
His Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was in Portland a day earlier, said Antifa protesters were "just as dangerous" as the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"They have an agenda to destroy us just like the other terrorists," Noem said.

'Full-blown authoritarianism'

Local officials argue that city and state law enforcement are sufficient to handle the protests, but Trump claims the military is needed to keep federal agents safe, heightening concerns by his critics of growing authoritarianism.
After National Guard deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, 200 troops arrived in Illinois on Tuesday.
"Elements of the Texas National Guard, under Title 10 authority and command and control of U.S. Northern Command, are employed in the greater Chicago area," US Northern Command posted on X.
"These soldiers are employed to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property."
Chicago Governor Pritzker, seen as a potential Democratic candidate in the 2028 presidential election, has become one of Trump's most fiery critics.
He pledged Wednesday to "not back down," listing a litany of grievances against Trump's immigration crackdown.
"What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?" he wrote on X. "We must all stand up and speak out."
Chicago Mayor Johnson has announced "ICE-free zones" where city-owned property will be declared off-limits to federal authorities, following raids, including one in which Black Hawk helicopters descended on a housing complex.
Johnson accused Republicans of wanting "a rematch of the Civil War."
Trump's call for the arrests of the Illinois Democrats came on the same day that former FBI director James Comey was arraigned on charges of lying to Congress.
Comey's indictment came just days after Trump urged his attorney general to quickly take action against him and others.
Trump's immigration crackdown is aimed at fulfilling a key election pledge to rid the country of what he called waves of foreign "criminals."
But he has also faced some legal setbacks, including a judge in Oregon temporarily blocking his bid to deploy troops in Portland.
Trump said this week he could invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to force deployments of troops around the country if courts or local officials are "holding us up."
bur-dk/ane/lb

media

Trump hosts roundtable accusing 'sick' media of backing Antifa

BY AURéLIA END

  • "I think they [Antifa] work in conjunction with some of the media," Trump told the roundtable, which was also attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials.
  • Seated in the White House State Dining Room, US President Donald Trump called on far-right content creators to name and shame backers of Antifa, leading a roundtable discussion that quickly devolved into media bashing. 
  • "I think they [Antifa] work in conjunction with some of the media," Trump told the roundtable, which was also attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials.
Seated in the White House State Dining Room, US President Donald Trump called on far-right content creators to name and shame backers of Antifa, leading a roundtable discussion that quickly devolved into media bashing. 
The president had invited "independent journalists" to the White House on Wednesday to share their experiences with the nebulous left-wing antifascist movement that his administration accuses of inciting violence against conservatives.
But Trump and his guests largely used the event to pile on mainstream media, blaming one of his favorite scapegoats for inflaming left-wing "anti-fascist" activists who have increasingly clashed with far-right groups. 
"I think they [Antifa] work in conjunction with some of the media," Trump told the roundtable, which was also attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials.
Trump recently classified Antifa as a terrorist group, despite its amorphous and leaderless nature, and has pledged to dismantle it.  
The 79-year-old Republican, who has launched multiple lawsuits against the media, also called MSNBC "sick," and ABC and NBC "very bad." 
He encouraged participants to continue the tirade against the press corps. 
"What network would you say is the worst, if I could ask?"
Seated at a large, U-shaped table, many of the assembled guests joined in.
"The same media that's sitting in this room with us has declared all of us at this table Nazis and fascists, and they've been doing this for years," said Savanah Hernandez a representative of youth conservative organization Turning Point USA, whose founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
"This is why Antifa feels emboldened to attack us."

'Garbage'

Conservative influencer Nick Sortor accused the press of lying about the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
"People genuinely believe, based on what comes out of the garbage standing over here, that you guys are deporting US citizens," he said, pointing at the press box, cordoned off by a velvet rope. 
Sortor brought a partially burned American flag to the event, saying he had recovered it from Portland.
The Democratic-run city on the US West Coast has emerged as a flashpoint, with Trump declaring it under attack from Antifa and sending troops to quell demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. 
Trump asked Sortor to give Attorney General Pam Bondi the name of the man who burned the flag so she could file charges.
Trump signed a decree in August that makes burning the American flag punishable by up to a year in prison. 

'Worst network'

Reality TV personality Trump pivoted during his reelection campaign to relying on social media influencers and podcasters to amplify his views. 
Once back at the White House, he has granted them significant access, inviting them to attend his addresses in the Oval Office and to travel aboard Air Force One.
At the same time, he has escalated his war on legacy media, often calling outlets "fake news" and "enemy of the people", at a time of already record-low public trust.
He has moved to exclude major news outlets from the press pool and suggested TV networks critical of his policies should have their licences revoked.
The American Civil Liberties Union, a rights advocacy group, has accused the Trump administration of autocratic retaliation against the press, likening its targeting of opponents to the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s under senator Joseph McCarthy.
During a Q&A session on Wednesday, Trump lashed out at a journalist attempting to question him about the Middle East: "That's CNN, by the way. She's one of the worst journalists... I don't even want to take that question."
However, Trump said he was optimistic about CBS, where Bari Weiss, a noted critic of mainstream media, was recently appointed editor-in-chief.
"We have hope for CBS," he said.
aue/lb/pbt

politics

US federal workers apply for loans as shutdown hits military morale

BY DANIEL AVIS

  • The first test will come next week, when federal workers will start seeing their paychecks affected.
  • Now into its second week, the US government shutdown has started impacting federal workers, prompting some to take out new loans to help make ends meet. 
  • The first test will come next week, when federal workers will start seeing their paychecks affected.
Now into its second week, the US government shutdown has started impacting federal workers, prompting some to take out new loans to help make ends meet. 
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed since the shutdown began on October 1, while others deemed essential -- including some military personnel -- have been required to turn up to work without receiving a paycheck.
"We kind of feel like we're like a bargaining chip to an extent," a long-serving US Air Force employee told AFP. "We're not getting paid because people in D.C. who are getting paid can't get on the same page."
"Not only are we working without pay, we're actually doing more without pay, because our civilian teammates have all gone home on furlough," added the man, who was not authorized to speak publicly. "That's not good for troop morale."
The first test will come next week, when federal workers will start seeing their paychecks affected.
But if no deal is reached by the end of this month, federal workers will receive nothing in the following paycheck. 
"It's very stressful," said Marilyn Richards, a 46-year-old Air Force and Navy veteran in Missouri, who has been furloughed -- forced to take leave -- from her job as an administrative support worker at a federal agency.
Richards, who is the main breadwinner at home, told AFP that she was concerned about how the shutdown could affect her finances. 
"For most of us who live paycheck to paycheck, you're counting on your next paycheck to continue to keep the lights on," she told AFP. "And that's what I do."

Bridging the gap

The uncertainty unleashed by the shutdown is pushing some federal employees to make use of paycheck protection programs being rolled out by credit unions across the country. 
The Navy Federal Credit Union -- which helped around 19,000 people with loans totaling more than $50 million during the last shutdown in 2018-2019 -- has already seen applications for its program this time around, according to a spokesperson. 
These loans are designed to help federal workers get through a few weeks without pay and "bridge the gap" until the shutdown ends and they receive their back pay, Haleigh Laverty, a spokesperson for the Defense Credit Union Council, told AFP. 
Many of their members are offering short-term, interest-free loans of a few thousand dollars for between 90 days and six months, helping to protect consumers -- and their credit scores -- during the shutdown.   
Among them is the Cobalt Credit Union, which serves around 120,000 members with ties to Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base, home to the headquarters of the US Strategic Command.
"We still have active duty and a lot of essential positions on the base that have to report due to missions all over the world," Cobalt Credit Union president and CEO Robin Larson told AFP. 
The credit union helped thousands of its members get through the last shutdown, and has received several applications for new loans since October 1. 

Mortgage challenges?

While federal workers are the most affected by the shutdown, many in the private sector could also soon feel its effects, according to mortgage brokers who spoke to AFP. 
The biggest impact of the shutdown on the mortgage market is likely to be a slowing down of the lending process, said Alex St. Pierre, a Charleston, South Carolina-based broker. 
Flood insurance -- which is vital in some coastal areas of the United States -- is also likely to be affected, as many state-run lenders are currently shuttered, potentially pushing borrowers to look at more expensive options in the private sector, he told AFP.  
Government workers looking for a mortgage face additional pressures, including the very real threat of dismissal by the Trump administration, and delays to identity verification checks while their departments are closed, he said. 
da/dw

conflict

How Donald Trump pulled off his Gaza deal

BY DANNY KEMP

  • "BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"
  • It was a typically theatrical moment for the man who loves to publicly boast of being the "peacemaker-in-chief." 
  • "BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"
It was a typically theatrical moment for the man who loves to publicly boast of being the "peacemaker-in-chief." 
Donald Trump's top diplomat interrupted a televised meeting at the White House to hand the US president a note and whisper in his ear that a Gaza deal was imminent.
Shortly afterwards he announced the agreement on his Truth Social network. "BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!" he posted.
But while the climax played out in front of reporters, including AFP journalists in the room, most of Trump's efforts had been behind the scenes, as he sought to pressure a reluctant Benjamin Netanyahu and win Arab support.
- Pressure on Netanyahu - 
Seeking an unlikely Nobel Peace Prize and keen to bolster his legacy, Trump's approach has been different to the blank check he has previously been regarded as giving key ally Israel. 
When Trump hosted Netanyahu at the White House on September 29 to unveil his 20-point peace plan, he publicly gave the appearance of being fully behind the Israeli prime minister.
Trump said that if Hamas did not accept the plan then Israel would have his "full backing to finish the job" and destroy the Palestinian militant group.
But in private, Trump was putting on the thumbscrews.
Firstly, the plan he laid before Netanyahu and Israeli officials had already been drafted following extensive consultations with Arab and Muslim leaders at the United Nations the previous week.
When Netanyahu was confronted with it, he found there were key areas in it that he had sworn not to accept, especially on his refusal to allow a Palestinian state.
- Arab unity over Qatar attack  - 
Trump was also privately incensed by Israel's attack on Hamas members in fellow US ally Qatar while negotiations were at a sensitive stage. He used Arab unity against the attack to get them all to agree to the plan.
He then ambushed Netanyahu, making him call Qatar's leader from the Oval Office to apologize. Trump even sat holding the phone for Netanyahu while the Israeli leader read from a piece of paper, a photo released by the White House showed.
Politico reported that a senior Qatari official was also in the room for the call to make sure Netanyahu stayed on-script. Trump later signed an extraordinary order giving Qatar US security guarantees.
The shift also reflected the close ties that Trump has fostered with Arab states during both his presidencies.
In his first term the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco signed the Abraham Accords recognising Israel.
This time around, Trump's first major foreign trip was to the Gulf states of Qatar, Egypt and Abu Dhabi -- with no stop in Israel.
- Seizing on Hamas offer - 
Trump piled on the pressure, giving Hamas a deadline of October 5 to make a deal or face "all hell."
Hamas responded cunningly, playing on Trump's well-documented pledge to win the release of all the hostages held in Gaza. Trump has repeatedly met relatives of the hostages at the White House.
Trump quickly seized it as a win. 
He issued a video message and, in an unprecedented step for a US president, reposted the statement by the group that Washington has designated a terrorist organization.
There was no mention of the fact that Hamas had not fully agreed to most of the other points in his plan.
But instead of quibbling over the details, Trump pushed Israel, Hamas and their mediators to quickly thrash out a deal.
Trump told the Axios news outlet that he had said to Netanyahu: "'Bibi, this is your chance for victory.' He was fine with it. He's got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine."
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