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Trump to send National Guard to Memphis to address crime concerns

Trump to send National Guard to Memphis to address crime concerns
Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, Donald Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities. (Reuters)
Updated 5 min 2 sec ago

Trump to send National Guard to Memphis to address crime concerns

Trump to send National Guard to Memphis to address crime concerns
  • Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities

NEW YORK: President Donald Trump said Friday he’ll send the National Guard to Memphis to address crime concerns there with the support of the mayor and the governor.
Trump, a Republican, said on Fox News Channel “the mayor is happy” and “the governor is happy” about the pending deployment. The mayor is a Democrat, and the governor is a Republican.
He said the city is “deeply troubled” and “we’re going to fix that just like we did Washington,” where he’s sent National Guard and surged federal law enforcement.
Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities – including Chicago and Baltimore – claiming they are needed to crack down on crime.
Trump said he “would have preferred going to Chicago,” where local politicians have fiercely resisted his plans, but he suggested it was a “hostile” place with “professional agitators.”
Trump first deployed troops to Los Angeles in early June over Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections by putting the California National Guard under federal jurisdiction, known as Title 10, to protect federal property from protests over immigration raids.
Besides 4,000 guard members, Trump later sent 700 active duty Marines, and California sued over the intervention. The guard went on to help protect officers during immigration arrests.
Meanwhile, the unique status of the District of Columbia National Guard – Trump is its commander in chief – means he has been able to use it for everything from armed patrols to trash cleanup without any legal issues. Because it is on state and not federal orders, legal restrictions on law enforcement don’t come into effect.


New labor agreement boosts protection of Filipino domestic workers in Qatar

New labor agreement boosts protection of Filipino domestic workers in Qatar
Updated 5 sec ago

New labor agreement boosts protection of Filipino domestic workers in Qatar

New labor agreement boosts protection of Filipino domestic workers in Qatar
  • Philippine, Qatari officials agree to establish a unified contract for Filipino workers
  • Labor deal prohibits salary deduction, guarantees rest days and leave, ensures fair wages

MANILA: The Philippines has signed a new labor agreement with Qatar to protect the rights and welfare of Filipino domestic workers, its Department of Migrant Workers said on Friday.

The majority of over 2 million overseas Filipinos live and work in Gulf countries, most of whom are based in ֱ and the UAE. Qatar employs around 250,000, who contribute about $900 million in annual remittance inflows to the Philippines.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac was in Doha earlier this week to discuss labor cooperation and the recruitment of Filipino workers with Qatari Minister of Labor Dr. Ali bin Samikh Al-Marri.

“An agreement for a unified contract for domestic workers has been reached. This is the first of its kind in Qatar,” Cacdac said on Friday.

Under the agreement, Filipino domestic workers in Qatar will be employed under a unified contract, in which employment terms are jointly recognized by both governments to ensure stronger protection and fair treatment.

“The Qatari and Philippines sides will honor only one contract, and this one lays down the terms and conditions of employment: humane treatment of our OFW household service workers, with annual leave, weekly rest day, daily rest period, fair wages and access to justice or a complaints mechanism if, unfortunately, problems arise for our domestic workers,” Cacdac said.

The new deal also reduces the probationary period for Filipino domestic workers, strictly prohibits any salary deduction and requires employers to shoulder the cost of workers’ return travel from Qatar to the Philippines after two years of service.

The Philippines is committed “to continue constructive dialogue and cooperation” in developing additional agreements, the DMW added.

“These efforts aim to further strengthen bilateral labor relations, safeguard the rights and welfare of workers, and promote a transparent, fair and mutually beneficial partnership,” it said.

The unified contract agreement is a “positive development” in Philippine-Qatar labor relations, especially in addressing long-standing issues of substituted contracts, said Arnold Mamaclay, president of the Philippine Employment Agencies and Associates for Corporate Employees in the Middle East.

“It’s a significant step forward in safeguarding the rights and welfare of our household service workers. This way, at least we can eliminate substitution of contract and exploitation. That’s usually where the problems come from — contract substitution,” he told Arab News.

“This way, there won’t be any confusion if there’s a labor complaint, because it’s the unified contract that will be followed. Right now, there are conflicts in Qatar and Philippine laws, especially when it comes to certain termination clauses and things like that. So it’s really good that we now have a unified contract.”


Trump says suspect in Kirk killing taken into custody

Trump says suspect in Kirk killing taken into custody
Updated 1 min 32 sec ago

Trump says suspect in Kirk killing taken into custody

Trump says suspect in Kirk killing taken into custody
  • “I think we have him,” Trump told Fox News

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday said law enforcement had taken a suspect into custody in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university.
“I think we have him,” Trump told Fox News in an interview, adding that a person who knows the suspect had turned him in.


Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine in support of wounded troops

Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine in support of wounded troops
Updated 12 September 2025

Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine in support of wounded troops

Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine in support of wounded troops
  • This is the second time Harry has visited Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022
  • Prince Harry’s last trip to Ukraine included a visit to the Superhumans Center, an orthopedic clinic in Lviv

LONDON: Britain’s Prince Harry has arrived in Ukraine for a surprise visit in support of wounded service members.
Harry’s representatives confirmed they were in the capital, Kyiv, on Friday, though they declined to discuss the prince’s schedule for security reasons.
This is the second time Harry has visited Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022. He made a trip to the western city of Lviv in April.
“We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process,” Harry told the Guardian newspaper while on an overnight train to Kyiv.
Harry, a British Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, is the founder of the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event designed to inspire military veterans around the world as they work to overcome battlefield injuries. Ukraine is bidding to host the games in 2029.
The Archewell foundation set up by Harry and his wife Meghan announced this week that it had donated $500,000 to projects supporting injured children from Gaza and Ukraine. The money will be used to help the World Health Organization with medical evacuations and to fund work developing prosthetics for seriously injured young people.
The Guardian said that Harry will visit the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, spend time with 200 veterans and meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
His visit coincided with a trip to Ukraine by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who announced a new set of UK sanctions targeting Russia’s oil revenues and military supplies.
Cooper said the visit is a show of solidarity with Ukrainians facing intensified assault from Russia – including 6,500 drones and missiles in July, 10 times the level of a year ago.
Harry’s appearance in Ukraine follows a four-day trip to the UK, where he met his father, King Charles III, for the first time in 19 months. The meeting was seen as a first step in repairing frigid relations between Harry and other members of the royal family, which deteriorated after he and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, gave up royal duties and moved to California in 2020.
Harry and his father last met in February 2024, when the prince flew to London after receiving news that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer. Harry spent about 45 minutes with Charles before the king flew to his Sandringham country estate to recuperate from his treatment.
Prince Harry’s last trip to Ukraine included a visit to the Superhumans Center, an orthopedic clinic in Lviv that treats wounded military personnel and civilians. The center provides prosthetic limbs, reconstructive surgery and psychological help free of charge.
Harry’s visit Friday come as Russia escalates its war against Ukraine.
It is less than a week after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since its all-out invasion began more than three years ago – an attack in which the main Ukrainian government building was hit. It also comes just days after numerous Russian drones entered the airspace of NATO member Poland – the country Harry traveled through to reach Ukraine.


Congo’s Ebola outbreak can be contained if support increases, WHO official says

Congo’s Ebola outbreak can be contained if support increases, WHO official says
Updated 12 September 2025

Congo’s Ebola outbreak can be contained if support increases, WHO official says

Congo’s Ebola outbreak can be contained if support increases, WHO official says
  • It is the country’s 16th outbreak overall and the first in Kasai province since 2008
  • WHO plans to request an additional 40,000-50,000 Ebola vaccine doses for Congo

GENEVA: It is possible to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in Congo, but it will be difficult unless the right steps are taken within the next two weeks, a World Health Organization official said on Friday.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry last week declared the country’s first Ebola outbreak in three years. It is the country’s 16th outbreak overall and the first in Kasai province since 2008.
The latest data from the health ministry in Kinshasa said there were 32 suspected cases, 20 confirmed cases and 16 deaths.
Containing the outbreak is “possible, but it will be challenging if we miss the window of opportunity,” WHO Programme Area Manager Patrick Otim told a Geneva briefing, calling for more support for the government and other partners.
“We have the expertise, DRC has the expertise, but we need to be able to get the people and supplies into place and we need to be able to pay for the operations.”
The WHO said last week that Congo had a stockpile of treatments as well as 2,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which would be transported to Kasai to vaccinate frontline health workers and people who came into contact with patients.
Otim said on Friday that 400 doses had arrived at the outbreak’s epicenter in the city of Bulape, and that the campaign could begin on Saturday.
He said the WHO plans to request an additional 40,000-50,000 Ebola vaccine doses for Congo.
Several aid workers have said that Congo could struggle to mount an effective response given recent cuts to foreign assistance and the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development under President Donald Trump.
There is limited capacity to respond to the outbreak in Kasai and new treatment facilities need to be set up there “as the outbreak may expand,” Otim said, noting that one new case was confirmed 70 kilometers from the current epicenter.
There is moderate risk of the outbreak spreading to other countries “with the most prioritized country being Angola,” Otim said.


Indian forces kill Maoist commander, nine others in gunbattle

Indian forces kill Maoist commander, nine others in gunbattle
Updated 12 September 2025

Indian forces kill Maoist commander, nine others in gunbattle

Indian forces kill Maoist commander, nine others in gunbattle
  • India is waging an all-out offensive against the last vestiges of the Naxalite rebellion
  • More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have been killed since 1967

RAIPUR, India: Indian security forces shot dead a top Maoist commander and nine other guerrillas in a gunbattle, an official said on Friday, as they ramp up efforts to crush the long-running conflict.
India is waging an all-out offensive against the last vestiges of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago.
More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have been killed since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords there in 1967.
The latest gunbattle took place late on Thursday along the forested border between the states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, senior police officer Vivekanand Sinha said.
“Among those killed is Modem Balkrishna, who was in charge of the Maoist organization in Odisha and is also known by many other names,” Sinha said.
A bounty of $114,000 had been issued for Balkrishna’s capture.
Home Minister Amit Shah, who has vowed to crush the Maoist rebellion by the end of March next year, hailed the latest operation.
“The remaining Naxalites should also surrender in time,” he said in a post on social media.
The rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s.
A crackdown by Indian troops across the “Red Corridor” has killed more than 400 rebels since last year, according to government data.
The group’s chief, Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, was gunned down in May, along with 26 other guerrillas.
The conflict has also seen several deadly attacks on government forces. A roadside bomb killed at least nine Indian troops in January.