arrive

Italy is welcoming 19 children who were evacuated from Gaza by the World Health Organization. They’ll receive advanced medical treatment in several hospitals across the country.

US, China officials begin trade talks in Kuala Lumpur to pave way for high-stakes meeting between Trump and Xi.

United States President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Malaysia for the first leg of a five-day trip that spans Japan and South Korea, his first to a region reeling from his aggressive trade tariffs since taking office in January.

Top economic officials from the US and China kick-started talks in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, in a bid to chart a path forward after Trump threatened new 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing expanded export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals.

The talks aim to pave the way for a high-stakes meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, which could bring some deals on tariffs, technology controls and Chinese purchases of US soya beans.

Trump will arrive on Sunday morning for his longest trip abroad since returning to the White House in January.

As he left the White House on Friday evening, Trump expressed confidence that he would have a “good meeting” with the Chinese leader. “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us,” he told reporters.

Trump-Xi meeting

On Thursday, Trump will meet Xi for the first time since his return to office in South Korea’s Busan.

Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to a total of some 155 percent from November 1 if a deal is not found. That would almost certainly provoke a reaction from Beijing and end a truce that paused tit-for-tat hikes.

Beyond trade, the two leaders are expected to discuss Taiwan, a long-running point of contention, and Russia, a Chinese ally now subject to expanded US sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Trump also said he will likely raise the issue of releasing Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. Lai is serving a prison sentence in Hong Kong under Beijing-imposed national security laws.

“It’s on my list. I’m going to ask … We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters.

Ahead of Trump’s visit for the APEC summit, thousands of South Korean protesters are holding a rally in downtown Seoul, condemning his tariff policies and pressure on South Korea to invest in the US.

ASEAN summit

After skipping ASEAN summits in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Trump, whose disdain for multilateralism is well-documented, will attend the gathering of Southeast Asian nations for the second time.

Several other high-profile leaders from non-ASEAN countries will also be present in Malaysia, including Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This year’s ASEAN summit comes as Malaysia and the US have been working to address a deadly border conflict that fully erupted between Thailand and Cambodia in July before a ceasefire calmed hostilities.

On Sunday, Trump is scheduled to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has been central in guiding and hosting Thai-Cambodian talks,  and they may oversee the signing of a ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia.

The deal would formalise an agreement that ended the worst fighting in years between the two countries, though it falls short of a comprehensive peace deal.

Trump threatened earlier this year to withhold trade deals with the countries if they didn’t stop fighting, and his administration has since been working with Malaysia on an expanded ceasefire.

The president credited Anwar with working to resolve the conflict. “I told the leader of Malaysia, who is a very good man, I think I owe you a trip,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One.

The US leader on Sunday may also have a significant meeting with Lula, who wants to see the US cut a 40 percent tariff on Brazilian imports. The US administration has justified the tariffs by citing Brazil’s criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.

Lula on Friday criticised the US campaign of military strikes off the South American coast in the name of fighting drug trafficking and said he planned to raise concerns with Trump in Malaysia. The White House has not yet publicly confirmed whether a meeting is taking place.

National Guard troops from Texas have arrived in the US state of Illinois, ahead of a planned deployment to Chicago that is strongly opposed by local officials.

The arrival of the troops on Tuesday is the latest escalation by the administration of United States President Donald Trump in its crackdown on the country’s third-largest city, and comes despite active legal challenges from Chicago and the state of Illinois making their way through the courts.

The Guard’s exact mission was not immediately clear, though the Trump administration has an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, and protesters have frequently rallied at an immigration building outside the city in Broadview, Illinois.

The president repeatedly has described Chicago in hostile terms, calling it a “hellhole” of crime, although police statistics show significant drops in most crimes, including homicides.

“If you look at Chicago, Chicago is a great city where there’s a lot of crime, and if the governor can’t do the job, we’ll do the job,” Trump said on Tuesday of his decision to send the National Guard to the city against the wishes of state leadership. “It’s all very simple.”

There were likely “50 murders in Chicago over the last 5, 6, 7 months”, the president has claimed – although, according to government data, Chicago saw a 33 percent reduction in homicides in the first six months of 2025 and a 38 percent reduction in shootings.

Trump has also ordered Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, following earlier deployments to Los Angeles and Washington, DC. In each case, he has done so despite staunch opposition from mayors and governors from the Democratic Party, who say Trump’s claims of lawlessness and violence do not reflect reality.

A federal judge in September said the Republican-led administration “willfully” broke federal law by putting Guard troops in Los Angeles over protests about immigration raids.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the president’s strategy is “unconstitutional, it’s illegal and it’s dangerous”.

Illinois and Chicago sued the Trump administration on Monday, seeking to block orders to federalise 300 Illinois Guard troops and send Texas Guard troops to Chicago. During a hearing, US Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge that Texas Guard troops were already in transit to Illinois.

The judge, April Perry, permitted the deployment to proceed for now, but ordered the US government to file a response by Wednesday.

Separately, a federal judge in Oregon on Sunday temporarily blocked the administration from sending any troops to police Portland, the state’s largest city.

The Trump administration has portrayed the cities as war-ravaged and lawless amid its escalation in immigration enforcement.

“These Democrats are, like, insurrectionists, OK?” the president said Tuesday. “They’re so bad for our country. Their policy is so bad for our country.”

Officials in Illinois and Oregon, however, say military intervention isn’t needed and that federal involvement is inflaming the situation.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, accused Trump of intentionally trying to foment violence, which the president could then use to justify further militarisation.

“Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarise our nation’s cities,” Pritzker said on Monday.

“There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security,” Democratic Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has said.

What is the Insurrection Act, and can Trump invoke it?

When speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump made it clear that he’s considering invoking the Insurrection Act to clear the way for him to send soldiers to US cities.

“We have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I’d do that,” Trump said on Monday.

The federal law dates back to 1807 and gives the US president the power to deploy the military or federalise National Guard troops anywhere in the US to restore order during an insurrection.

Constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein told Al Jazeera that presidential powers under the act apply only in cases of major rebellion, equivalent to the US Civil War, where normal law enforcement and courts can’t function. However, Fein added that it is unclear whether a president’s declaration of insurrection can be challenged in court.

“Congress, however, could impeach and remove Trump for misuse of the act in Portland,” Fein said, adding that military law obligates personnel to disobey orders that are clearly unlawful.

He said Trump’s use of the act in Portland would be “clearly illegal” even if it cannot be challenged in court.

The Insurrection Act has been invoked in response to 30 incidents, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The last time it was invoked was in 1992, in response to riots in Los Angeles by Republican President George HW Bush.

Sept. 16 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump was due to touchdown in Britain later Tuesday as he embarks on an unprecedented second state visit to the United States’ closest ally as the guest of King Charles.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump will be met from Air Force One by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Warren Stephens and Viscount Hood, King Charles’ lord-in-waiting, before being whisked off to Windsor Castle, their main base for a packed schedule of events.

The visit gets underway in earnest Wednesday morning when the Trumps will be formally welcomed with a gun salute fired from the east lawn of Windsor Castle and the Tower of London, 25 miles away, simultaneously.

They will then ride a carriage through the estate in the company of the king, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Catherine along a route lined with military personnel and music provided by the bands of the Royal Marines, army and Royal Air Force.

They will be greeted by a honor guard on arrival at the castle before lunch in the state dining room, followed by a tour of the royal art collection.

After lunch, the president and first lady will lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II in St. George’s Chapel, which is in the grounds of the castle, followed by a tour and a recital by the chapel choir.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria Starmer, will join the group to view the “beating retreat,” a military ceremony involving the beating of drums and parading of Post Guards that dates back to the 17th century, followed by a fly past of the Red Arrows and U.S. and British F-35s, weather permitting.

The main event, the state banquet, comes up on Wednesday evening, a traditional white-tie event at which the king and Trump will deliver speeches.

Trump will begin the final day of his visit on Thursday by traveling to Chequers, Starmer’s country residence, 40 miles northwest of London.

This will be the business part of his visit, although there will still be a full honor guard complete with bagpipers — a nod to Trump’s Scottish roots — when he is greeted by Starmer ahead of bilateral talks.

Afterward, they will host a reception with executives from British and American companies, including GSK, Microsoft and Rolls-Royce, followed by lunch, before wrapping up their mini-summit with a news conference at which they will announce deals on technology and financial services.

Investment in AI and super and quantum computing is expected to be the focus of the tech agreement.

While a second visit is unknown for a non-royal, it will differ from Trump’s first visit in 2019 — which attracted both large protests and controversy after he walked ahead of Queen Elizabeth and intervened in domestic politics — in that there will be no public appearances or events.

He will not be able to address Parliament as Tuesday was the last day it sits before a month-long recess for party conferences.

At least one demonstration, however, is expected to be held on Windsor’s main street on Tuesday.

Security will be tight across the three days the Trumps are on the ground, with British authorities expected to mount one of the largest ever operations for a visiting foreign leader with a price tag running into the tens of millions of dollars.

A flight of six F-35B stealth fighters landed in Puerto Rico Saturday afternoon to take part in the Trump Administration’s enhanced operation against narcotraffickers, also aimed at Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. They will join one of the largest U.S. military deployments to the Caribbean in years.

Video emerged of the jets landing at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. A U.S. defense official told The War Zone that “[w]e have no force posture changes to announce currently.”

Interestingly, the F-35s seen landing at the base have no unit markings on their tails. This could be force protection/security tactic, it isn’t clear at this time.

The fifth-generation jets originated at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma and did a stopover at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, according to open source flight trackers on social media.

🚨| URGENTE: Aviones F35 de los Estados Unidos fueron filmados saliendo a Puerto Rico desde la Base de la Fuerza Aérea MacDill, una instalación militar de EE. UU. ubicada en Tampa, Florida 🇺🇸🇻🇪 El fin del régimen de Maduro es cada vez más real. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SU4oyRv7nF

— Eduardo Menoni (@eduardomenoni) September 13, 2025

They were photographed being refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker near Miami.

Imágenes del 🇺🇲KC-135T, reg 58-0094, sobrevolando Miami y reabasteciendo los F-35B🚀 que van rumbo a Puerto Rico🇵🇷 en una de las imágenes se logra distinguir 5 F-35 lightning II pic.twitter.com/DRQrnuStYk

— *honda de david* (@luiscarrasquelR) September 13, 2025

Earlier this month, Trump ordered 10 F-35s to take part in a mission that the Trump administration has made the centerpiece of its foreign policy and power projection. The White House considers Maduro a narco-terrorist tied to a Venezuelan drug cartel. He is also a fugitive with a $50 million bounty on his head.

The jets join an armada that includes 4,500 Marines and sailors, at least eight ships, including a nuclear-powered Los Angeles class fast attack submarine, and many other military assets. The Air Combat Element (ACE) that’s part of the amphibious group have AV-8B+ Harriers deployed to the USS Iwo Jima, as well. A second flight of four F-35s from MCAS Yuma is also headed toward Puerto Rico, according to open source flight spotters.

MAZDA21 flight (4x F-35Bs) departed MCAS Yuma (KNYL) 🇺🇸 and are en route to Roosevelt Roads (NRR/TJRV) 🇵🇷.

Supporting tankers are GOLD61 (59-1460 #AE0596) from MCAS Yuma (KNYL) 🇺🇸 and GOLD62 (59-1453 #AE0362) from Key Field (KMEI) 🇺🇸. pic.twitter.com/muIY0rSqiO

— LatAmMilMovements (@LatAmMilMVMTs) September 13, 2025

Deadly force has already been used in this mission. Trump said 11 smugglers were killed in an attack on a cartel boat were killed in attack11 smugglers tied to Tren de Aragua (TD) drug cartel. Venezuela responded by flying two F-16s near the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham.

It is unclear what missions the fighters will perform. We’ve reached out to the White House and Pentagon for more details.

It is not unusual to have high-end aircraft join the fight against narcotics trafficking.

The F-35s bring a wide array of capabilities wherever they are deployed. While best known for its kinetic capabilities, including striking targets and taking on enemy aircraft, the Joint Strike Fighter is an extremely powerful intelligence gathering tool, with its highly capable radar and electro-optical systems. Yet its electronic intelligence gathering ability is perhaps its most potent reconnaissance asset. You can read more about that here. In addition, the B model is capable of operating on the Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, that is, as we noted earlier, currently off the coast of Puerto Rico. Launching and recovering from a ship as an option provides commanders with extra flexibility when planning operations.

This is a developing story.

Contact the author: [email protected]

SIR Keir Starmer was under fresh fire last night after it emerged 3,567 dinghy migrants have arrived since he signed a “one-in, one-out” deal with France — but NONE have been kicked out.

The news overshadowed the Government’s latest attempt to get a grip on the illegal migration crisis.

5

5

5

Yesterday, ministers put a temporary halt on refugees bringing in partners and children.

Sir Keir also said he wanted to bring forward his 2029 deadline for closing asylum hotels because he “completely gets” the public’s anger.

But his positive slant was derailed by the news of the failure of the “one-in, one-out” deal with France’s Emmanuel Macron.

More than 100 people are understood to have been detained — with videos shared by No10 showing people being escorted by staff after arriving across the Channel.

Yet none has actually gone yet, officials confirmed.

The PM and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had gone on the offensive yesterday after a summer of dismal headlines.

Sir Keir slammed Reform leader Nigel Farage’s sweeping deportation plans.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five, the PM said: “It’s a really serious issue. We have to have control of our borders, and I completely get it.

“I’m determined that whether it’s people crossing in the first place, people in asylum hotels, or it’s returning people, we absolutely have to deal with this.”

Pressed on when illegal migrant hotels will finally shut, Sir Keir replied: “We’ve said we’ll get rid of them by the end of the Parliament. I would like to bring that forward, I think it is a good challenge.”

Nationwide protests over the summer pushed the PM to finally act as public anger over hotel use reached boiling point.

The Home Office currently houses around 32,000 asylum seekers in over 200 hotels across Britain.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said accommodation for illegal migrants would be dealt with “not just by shifting individuals from hotels to other sites, but by driving down the numbers in supported accommodation overall”.

Hotels would be “reconfigured” to increase room-sharing and the test for accommodation would be “tightened”.

She said the Home Office would try to “identify alternative cheaper and more appropriate accommodation”.

Last month, Mr Farage unveiled his radical mass deportation blueprint, dubbed “Operation Restoring Justice”, aiming to expel up to 600,000 undocumented migrants over five years.

Scrap ECHR

His plan includes withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights and scrapping the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

He also wants to establish detention centres with compulsory deportations, even for women and children.

Sir Keir said: “The difference here is between an orderly sensible way of actually fixing a problem we inherited from the Tories or fanciful arrangements that are just not going to work.

“Nigel Farage and Reform are just the politics of grievance. They feed on grievance. They don’t want the problem solved because they’ve got no reason to exist if the problems are solved.”

The PM added that Mr Farage’s plan is “not fair to put forward to the public” because it is an idea that “just isn’t going to work”.

It came as Ms Cooper announced refugees will be banned from bringing their families to the UK as part of “radical” asylum reforms announced by the Home Secretary yesterday.

5

The Home Secretary vowed that new immigration rules will temporarily suspend new applications from dependents of refugees already in Britain.

She also said that the controversial Article 8 of the ECHR — which guarantees a right to family life — should be interpreted differently.

Around 20,000 people come to the UK on refugee family reunion visas per year, according to Home Office figures.

Ms Cooper told the House of Commons yesterday: “Our reforms will also address the overly complex system for family migration, including changes to the way Article 8 of the ECHR is interpreted.

“We should be clear that international law is important.

“But we also need the interpretation of international law to keep up with the realities and challenges of today’s world.”

‘Living in a parallel universe’

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Ms Cooper of “living in a parallel universe”.

Labour’s own Graham Stringer said the measures “don’t really deal with the fact that many migrants are not coming from war-torn countries, they’re coming from France, which isn’t persecuting them”.

And Reform MP Lee Anderson said: “Starmer continues to open the floodgates for hundreds of illegals each day.”

The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, became a flash point for discontent this summer after two of its guests were charged with sexual offences.

Epping Forest District Council won a bid at the High Court to block migrants from being housed at the hotel.

But the Court of Appeal last week overturned the injunction after an Home Office appeal.

Lee Anderson added: “Starmer makes hollow claims while refusing to close Epping. Hypocrite.”

Carpenter Jimmy Hillard, 52, of Loughton, Essex, has been handed an eight-week suspended prison sentence by Chelmsford JPs after admitting assaulting a police officer at a Bell Hotel demo on Friday.

PM’S ‘PRIDE’ IN FLAG

PM SIR Keir Starmer yesterday declared himself a “supporter of flags” — and revealed he still proudly displays a St George’s Cross in his flat.

He dismissed claims that showing off England’s ensign should be seen as racist, telling BBC Five Live: “I am the leader of the Labour Party who put the Union Jack on membership cards.

“I always sit in front of the Union Jack. I’ve been doing it for years, and it attracted a lot of comment when I started doing it.” He said he bought his England flag for last year’s Euros football.

The flag debate reignited after councils in the West Midlands and Tower Hamlets tried to remove the St George’s Cross from lamp posts and motorway bridges over claims they intimidated minorities.

The PM added: “They’re patriotic and a great symbol of our nation. I don’t think they should be devalued and belittled.”

Murder accused can stay

EXCLUSIVE by MIKE SULLIVAN

A CAKE shop owner can remain in Britain despite being wanted for murder in his home country.

Carlos Kassimo Dos Santos, 33, was jailed for 14 years in his absence in 2016 over a gang killing in Portugal.

5

An extradition bid failed when the High Court upheld a decision by a district judge to allow Santos to remain here.

It was deemed Santos, who denies involvement in the 2010 murder, could not be guaranteed a retrial and it could not be proved he fled justice to come here.

He is now co-owner of Kings & Queens Dessert outlet, set up three years ago in Leeds.

It recently won The Best Dessert Shop in West Yorkshire award.

Santos was 18 when he was accused of being part of a group who killed a gang rival near Lisbon.

He then spent two years in the army before coming to Britain, where his dad lives.

He said he was unaware he was jailed and did not know he had to notify authorities of his address change.

He refused to comment when approached.