DC gun permit wait slashed from months to days as Trump’s crime crackdown continues
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump‘s crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., includes streamlining the gun permitting process for law-abiding residents looking to protect themselves, Fox News Digital has learned. The concealed carry permitting process and firearm registration process in the deep blue city have been slashed from months down to days via Trump’s Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which was established via an executive order in March to revitalize the nation’s capital. The working group’s work to clean up the city did not include changing local gun laws, but instead streamlines the city’s already established process, so law-abiding residents can more easily navigate the firearms system. “President Trump is not only stopping violent crime in Washington, D.C., he is also streamlining the permitting process for law-abiding residents who want the ability to protect themselves and their families,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. “The Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force has been working with local officials to eliminate longstanding obstacles and successfully reduced the average permit processing time from several months to just five days.” Under the task force’s efforts, locals are able to book next-day appointments to register their firearms with the Metropolitan Police Department, while walk-in appointments are now available and advertised on the police department’s website. Previously, applicants typically waited four months for a firearms registration appointment, a White House official told Fox Digital. ‘RADICAL’ DC OFFICIALS TREATED OFFICERS ‘LIKE CRAP,’ POLICE LEADER SAYS – 7 ATTACKS THAT LED TO TRUMP TAKEOVER The concealed carry permit process also has been streamlined, Fox Digital learned. What used to take “several months” to obtain a concealed carry permit, has been cut down to 4.6 days, according to data compiled during the month of May by the task force, which the White House shared with Fox News Digital. Appointments for firearm registration and conceal carry licenses also have been combined into one category to cut back on confusion over which option to choose when beginning the gun process. While the District will soon use third-party finger printers, in addition to Metropolitan Police Department machines, after the D.C. City Council voted to broaden where people can get fingerprinted July 28. Washington, D.C., has some of the most strict gun laws in the nation, including requiring permitted concealed carry holders to re-apply for their license every two years, a ban on most semi-automatic rifles, and ammunition restrictions that ban an individual from possessing ammo for a firearm not registered with the Metropolitan Police Department. The District also has an extensive list of gun-free zones, including public memorials on the National Mall, public transportation, government buildings, schools and colleges, hospitals and medical offices, stadiums and anywhere alcohol is sold. WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES FEDERAL SECURITY BLITZ AS PRESIDENT VOWS TO END DC ‘CRIME PLAGUE’ Those registering firearms and applying for concealed carry permits will need to complete D.C.’s requirements to obtain the documents, including completing a firearms training course to obtain a concealed carry license. The Metropolitan Police Department published a lengthy list of reasons an individual’s firearm registration application would be denied, including refusing to be fingerprinted, refusing to be photographed, refusing to pay fees for the application process or attempting to register a banned firearm, such as a short-barreled shotgun and so-called “assault weapons.” I SUPPORT TRUMP TAKING CONTROL OF DC POLICE — THE CONSTITUTION IS ON HIS SIDE The working group established by the executive order is exploring options to broaden firearm access in the city, such as permitting female concealed carry holders to carry firearms in their handbags as opposed to rules requiring firearms be strapped to a person’s body, Fox Digital learned. The working group is also looking at options that would permit concealed carry on public transit, and to kick off reciprocity for concealed carry permits from other states, but such changes would require the D.C. City Council approval. Trump’s Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force includes members from federal agencies such as the Department of the Interior, the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The task force is directed, consistent with applicable law, to make D.C. “safe, beautiful, and prosperous by preventing crime, punishing criminals, preserving order, protecting our revered American monuments, and promoting beautification and the preservation of our history and heritage.” PRESIDENT TRUMP INCREASES FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESENCE IN DC FOLLOWING VIOLENT CRIME SURGE Trump’s March executive order establishing the task force was followed months later by Trump federalizing the D.C. police department Monday, ordering hundreds of National Guard troops to sweep the streets, while law enforcement officials from agencies such as the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Department of Homeland Security have assisted with arrests and cracking down on crime in the district. Trump federalized the city under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital’s police force for 30 days. Trump described the federalization of the police as “Liberation Day in D.C.,” declaring, “We’re going to take our capital back.” “We’re taking it back under the authority vested in me as the president of the United States, I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act,” he said Monday. “You know what that is. And placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control. … In addition, I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, D.C. And they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly.”
Bondi puts sanctuary cities nationwide on notice after DC police federal takeover
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, temporarily leading Washington, D.C.’s police at President Donald Trump’s request, announced Thursday that she had sent letters giving sanctuary jurisdictions nationwide one week to comply with federal immigration laws or face Department of Justice action, contrasting South Carolina with Democratic states like New York and California. Bondi was in Greenville, South Carolina, on Thursday for a panel discussion with state Attorney General Alan Wilson, several members of Congress and local law enforcement agencies. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital moments before the announcement, Bondi responded to whether temporary federalization of local police departments could be done beyond D.C., such as in New York or elsewhere. “Oh, let’s wait and see what’s going to happen,” Bondi told Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace. “But I just sent sanctuary city letters to 32 mayors around the country and multiple governors saying, ‘you better be abiding by our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement, because if you aren’t, we’re going to come after you.’ And they have, I think, a week to respond to me, so let’s see who responds and how they respond.” Bondi announced on social media that the DOJ has sent “demand letters” to sanctuary cities, counties and states as “a key step in our strategic effort to eradicate sanctuary policies from California to New York.” Threatening lawsuits, she said that “any sanctuary jurisdiction that continues to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens can either come to the table or see us in court.” FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES TRUMP DOJ LAWSUIT AGAINST SANCTUARY POLICIES IN CHICAGO After Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s primary win in June, the New York City Police Department reportedly saw retirement filings surge. Bondi, who criticized incumbent Mayor Eric Adams over the city’s sanctuary status in the past, told Fox News Digital on Thursday it’s crucial for officers’ safety for them to have strong leadership. Adams has cooperated with border czar Tom Homan on federal immigration enforcement. “It starts at the top and our leaders have to support our law enforcement,” Bondi told Fox News Digital. “They risk their lives every single day to keep us safe. There’s no ordinary day in the life of a police officer nor for their families, because they leave the house every day, and they don’t know what to expect. And our government, our leaders, have got to back them and that’s got to happen in New York. We have got back our law enforcement. We’ve got to back the NYPD. We have to back all of our federal, state and local officers around this country.” Wilson, meanwhile, noted that slain Georgia nursing student Laken Riley’s killer had been arrested in New York City and was released under the sanctuary policies there. “Obviously, here in South Carolina, we have excellent relationships, but it’s also important that we support them in other states,” Wilson told Fox News Digital. “Obviously, we all remember Laken Riley, a young woman in Georgia who was murdered. That individual had been arrested and released in New York state and then came to Georgia and committed that crime. So it affects us all when other states don’t step up and are able to enforce the laws, it could have impacts on law enforcement in other states as well.” Bondi highlighted one letter she sent to California Gov. Gavin Newsom in which she warned that “individuals operating under the color of law, using their official position to obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts and facilitating or inducing illegal immigration may be subject to criminal charges.” The letter, which was shared on social media, said cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including on immigration enforcement, “is vital to enforce federal law and protect national security.” “Under President Trump’s leadership, full cooperation by state and local governments in immigration enforcement efforts is a top priority,” Bondi wrote, saying Trump directed her to “identify sanctuary jurisdictions and notify them of their unlawful sanctuary status and potential violations of federal law.” LOUISVILLE MAYOR SHIFTS DOJ POLICY AFTER LEGAL THREAT FROM DOJ In Greenville on Thursday, Bondi pointed to South Carolina as a model of federal, state and local law enforcement “working hand in hand.” Thanking Wilson for advocating for increased partnerships with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Marshals, Bondi told Fox News Digital a member of the Sinaloa Cartel was recently busted after “massive amounts” of cocaine were seized in Myrtle Beach. Wilson credited such strong cooperation to law enforcement recently being able to make the largest fentanyl seizure in South Carolina’s history. Last month, DEA agents, Lexington County Sheriff’s deputies, and South Carolina State Transport Police made two coordinated traffic stops in two South Carolina counties, resulting in 156 pounds of fentanyl being seized. Two brothers from California were arrested and indicted in connection with the case. The Justice Department said that seized fentanyl had the potential to kill 36 million people and a street retail value of $1.7 million. In her letter to Newsom, Bondi said Trump also directed federal agencies to evaluate their authority to issue grants, contracts and federal funds “to determine where immigration-related terms and conditions may be added to combat sanctuary policies.” Noting that Congress has “codified the duty of states and local governments to cooperate in immigration enforcement efforts,” the letter said Bondi ordered investigations to identify “any such potential unlawful conduct.” Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Bondi’s letter comes roughly a week after the DOJ identified nearly three dozen cities, states and counties across the country that it said were sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. Bondi said in a statement at the time that the cities and states, which mostly lean blue, have immigration policies that “impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design.” “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department
DC sues Trump administration over ‘unlawful’ federal takeover
The D.C. attorney general on Friday sued the Trump administration over its federal takeover of the D.C. police force and its deployment of national guard troops into the city, arguing that the effort is “unlawful” and exceeds Trump’s authority as commander in chief. The lawsuit, filed Friday by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, challenges Trump’s executive order to temporarily federalize D.C. under Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act, and Attorney General Pam Bondi’s more recent order Thursday that seeks to install the DEA head as the emergency commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force — arguing the moves are both unprecedented and “brazenly unlawful.” In the filing, submitted to federal court in D.C., Schwalb urged the court to block both of the administration’s orders, stating that the Trump administration’s temporary takeover of D.C. police under Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act “does not authorize this brazen usurpation of the District’s authority over its own government.” “They infringe on the District’s right to self-governance and put the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk.” he said. TRUMP IS THREATENING TO ‘FEDERALIZE’ DC WITH NATIONAL GUARD AND MORE. HERE’S HOW THAT COULD PLAY OUT The lawsuit comes five days after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to temporarily federalize D.C., which he described as an effort to “reestablish law order and public safety” and temporarily federalize the city, which he described Monday as “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world.” That order included deploying hundreds of D.C. National Guard troops into the city, and temporarily taking federal control of D.C.’s police force. On Thursday, Bondi expanded on that effort by ordering the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Terry Cole, be installed as the “emergency” commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force, sidelining current Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith. “By declaring a hostile takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District’s right to self-governance and putting the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk,” Schwalb said in a statement Friday. “The Administration’s unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home,” he added. “This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it.” EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP-ALIGNED LEGAL GROUP FILES FOIA REQUEST FOR DC CRIME DATA, CITING ALLEGED MANIPULATION The lawsuit caps a heated week in the nation’s capital, as President Donald Trump and White House officials have assailed what they describe as a “ridiculous” amount of crime in D.C. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told NewsNation in an interview earlier this week that Washington, D.C., “is more violent than Baghdad.” They have alleged recent data — which found a 26% decline in violent crime between 2023 and 2024 — has been “manipulated” or underreported. Just hours earlier, the Trump-linked America First Legal Foundation (AFL) filed a FOIA request seeking all crime records and data compiled by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, as part of an effort to scrutinize information and crime statistics at issue. Meanwhile, critics have excoriated Trump’s executive order, which they argue is not based on an uptick in crime or an “emergency” — but rather, serves as justification for the administration to push through its sweeping executive action outside the normal policymaking process. Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics czar under President Barack Obama, told reporters Thursday that Trump’s order in D.C. is the latest in a “pattern of assaults on the rule of law” in his second term as president. Trump “has declared a fake emergency” in D.C., Eisen said. “There is no ‘emergency’ upon which this action with MPD or the federal military is predicated” in D.C., Eisen said. “In fact, crime has been dropping in D.C.” Trump in March signed an executive order, “Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force,” designed to address issues with a city he has long derided as “filthy,” “horribly run” and “crime-ridden,” among other things. “We want to have a great, safe capital,” he told reporters earlier this year. “And we’re going to have it. And that includes cleanliness, and it includes other things.”
SC Republican mounts bid for House seat currently occupied by gubernatorial hopeful Nancy Mace
South Carolina Republican state Rep. Mark Smith launched a bid for U.S. Congress. He is running for the seat in the Palmetto State’s 1st Congressional District, which is currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for governor. FIRST ON FOX: REPUBLICAN FIREBRAND NANCY MACE LAUNCHES BID FOR SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR Mace launched a gubernatorial bid earlier this month, leaving her House seat up for grabs in the 2026 election. “In the State House, I fought for the largest tax cut in South Carolina history, backed the blue, cracked down on illegal immigration, and defended our values without apology,” Smith declared in a Thursday post on X. Smith has served in the state House of Representatives since late 2020. “In South Carolina’s 1st District, we need a proven conservative leader who will fight for President Trump’s America First agenda and deliver results — not drama,” he said in the X post. “The Lowcountry needs a fighter who will stand with President Trump and puts South Carolina first. That’s exactly what I’ll do in Washington,” he asserted.
Virginia school districts support for transgender students’ rights in governor’s race spotlight
A move this week by the Loudon County, Virginia, school board to continue to support allowing transgender children to use facilities that do not match their biological sex is front-and-center in the state’s gubernatorial election. “This is absolutely unacceptable,” Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee for governor in this year’s election, said in a Fox News Digital interview on Thursday. “Our girl children are simply not safe. Are we erasing women now?” The Justice Department in President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding that Loudon County’s school district repeal the policy, and is threatening to pull $50 million in federal funding if the school board doesn’t act by Friday. But the school board, at a meeting Tuesday evening, voted 6-3 to continue to defy the Justice Department by continuing to support Policy 8040, which provides protections for transgender students. VIRGINIA GOVERNOR’S RACE: SPANBERGER UNVEILS EDUCATION PLAN The Justice Department argues that the policy is in violation of Title IX, which is a half-century-old federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal funding. Loudon County is one of five northern Virginia school districts that face the Friday deadline, along with Alexandria City Public Schools, Arlington Public Schools, Prince William County Public Schools, and Fairfax County Public Schools. POTENTIAL YOUNGKIN SUCCESSOR FOCUSED ON MESSAGE IN TOUGH RACE TO KEEP SWING-STATE ‘RED’ The Justice Department charges that the school districts’ policies, which give students the option to use school bathrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity and not their biological sex, violate Title IX. Sears, pointing to the Republican sweep of statewide offices in Virginia elections four years ago, said that the school districts have “gone rogue and apparently, they have learned no lessons since 2021, when we first ran, and they must not understand that parents still matter.” Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin spotlighted parents’ rights in their children’s education in his 2021 gubernatorial victory in a state that had tilted blue for a dozen years. The Democratic Party 2025 nominee for Virginia governor, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, took to social media on Wednesday in the wake of the Loudon County school board meeting, to write that “as a mom, I’m so grateful for the hardworking, dedicated Virginians who make sure our children have a safe, positive, and productive school day.” “As Governor, I’ll make sure our educators get the support they need to continue providing a world-class education for our Commonwealth’s kids,” Spanberger, a former CIA officer, pledged. But Sears charged that Spanberger, who is the polling frontrunner in November’s election, is playing both sides of the issue. “What she’s trying to do is have it both ways, because she has supported and voted for biological men in girls’ sports and bathrooms,” as she pointed to a past vote in Congress by Spanberger. “I want parents to know—‘I’m in your corner,’” Sears told Fox News. And she argued that “Abigail Spanberger won’t even step in the ring to fight for you.”
Top Trump official vows to end ‘cycle of government dependency’ in homeless crackdown
EXCLUSIVE: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner wants to stop “the cycle of government dependency” for homelessness following President Donald Trump’s order for a federal takeover of Washington, D.C. “President Trump is the law-and-order President and now he is taking necessary action to restore law and order to our nation’s capital,” Turner said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “Americans who live and work in D.C., and families touring the district, should be able to walk the streets without fear of getting mugged or gunned down.” “Years of failed policies and weak leadership in the district have led to chaos, crime, violence, and homelessness. President Trump is bringing back peace and stability for hardworking, law-abiding Americans,” the secretary continued. TRUMP VOWS TO MAKE DC ‘SAFER’ AND ‘BEAUTIFUL’ AS CAPITAL BATTLES CRIME AND HOMELESSNESS “As part of this vision, HUD is committed to bringing back order by ending the cycle of government dependency that has enabled perpetual homelessness. Helping our nation’s most vulnerable starts with giving them the tools they need to achieve self-sufficiency, not endless government handouts,” he added. In a post earlier this week, Turner noted that “crime halts revitalization in its tracks.” A major part of the federal government’s crackdown in the city is clearing out homeless encampments on land throughout Washington, D.C., that falls under the National Park Service’s purview. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained in a briefing on Tuesday that the options are for people to agree to get assistance, or face time behind bars. “Seventy homeless encampments have been removed by the U.S. Park Police,” Leavitt said. I SUPPORT TRUMP TAKING CONTROL OF DC POLICE — THE CONSTITUTION IS ON HIS SIDE “There are only two homeless encampments remaining in D.C. federal parks under the National Park Service’s jurisdiction, and the removal of those two remaining camps is scheduled for this week,” she added. Meanwhile, there’s been a noticeable increase in federal officers around the capital city in recent days amid the hotly debated effort to curb crime in the area. While many Republicans and others have praised the move, many Democrats have said it’s an overstep in authority. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said that juvenile disorder has been an issue, but has also criticized the federal takeover method. “This is a time where community needs to jump in. We all need to, to do what we can in our space, in our lane, to protect our city and to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule, and get to the other side of this guy, and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push,” Bowser said during town hall on Tuesday, which was livestreamed on X. DC MAYOR REVERSES COURSE ON TRUMP INTERVENTION, DOWNPLAYS CITY CRIME “You’ve heard me talking about youth a lot in the last several months, especially youth who are participating in really destructive, disruptive behavior with these kind of youth takeovers,” the mayor also said this week. “Some of them are our kids. Some of them are coming across the region to descend on places like the Navy Yard. So parents — this is not the first time you’ve heard me say this — so parents, you really need to know where your kids are. I think we really have some kids that are, you know, not criminals, but they are getting together in big groups and causing some really — they’re causing destruction.” The D.C. Police Union backed the Trump administration’s latest actions, saying it could serve as a critical turning point for the city on crime. “Last night, DC suffered the grave milestone of its 100th homicide for 2025. Let’s hope this federal intervention leads to real change to the laws in DC that allow this to happen year after year,” the group posted on August 12.
As Trump splits from India, is the US abandoning its pivot to Asia?
New Delhi, India – When United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, their summit will be followed closely not only in both those countries, Europe and Ukraine – but also more than 10,000km (6,200 miles) away, in New Delhi. Since the end of the Cold War, India has juggled a historically strong relationship with Russia and rapidly blossoming ties with the US. New Delhi’s relations with Washington grew particularly strong under the presidencies of George W Bush and Barack Obama, and remained that way during Trump’s first term and under Joe Biden. At the heart of that US warmth towards India, say analysts, was its bet on New Delhi as a balancing force against Beijing, as China’s economic, military and strategic heft in the Asia Pacific region grew. With Soviet communism history, and China, the US’s biggest strategic rival, Washington increased its focus on Asia – including through the Quad, a grouping also including fellow democracies India, Australia and Japan. But a decade after Obama famously described the US and India as “best partners”, they appear to be anything but. Trump has imposed a 50 percent tariff on Indian imports, among the highest on any country’s products. Half of that penalty is for India’s purchases of Russian oil during its ongoing war with Ukraine – something that the Biden administration encouraged India to do to keep global crude prices under control. Meanwhile, China – which buys even more Russian oil than India – has received a reprieve from high US tariffs for now, as Washington negotiates a trade deal with New Delhi. Advertisement That contrast has prompted questions over whether Trump’s approach towards China, on the one hand, and traditional friends like India on the other, marks a broader shift away from the US pivot to Asia. President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, DC, on Thursday, February 13, 2025 [Alex Brandon/AP Photo] Troubles for India, and Modi Since the early 2000s, successive governments in New Delhi have embraced closer ties with Washington, with its stocks rising in the US as an emerging strategic partner in security, trade and technology. Trump made that relationship personal – with Modi. During Trump’s first term, he shared the stage twice in public rallies with Modi, as they also exchanged frequent bear hugs and described each other as friends. But none of that could save New Delhi when Trump hit India with tariffs only matched by the levies issued against goods from Brazil. “The tariff moves have triggered the most serious rupture in the US-India relations in decades,” said Milan Vaishnav, the director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. For months after Trump threatened tariffs on Indian imports, New Delhi tried to placate the US president, refusing to get drawn into a war of words. That has now changed, with India accusing the US of hypocrisy – pointing out that it still trades with Russia, and that Washington had previously wanted New Delhi to buy Russian crude. “One thing is clear: Trust in the United States has eroded sharply in recent days, casting a long shadow over the bilateral relationship,” Vaishnav told Al Jazeera. To Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, the crisis in the relationship also reflects a dramatic turn in the personal equation between Modi and Trump. The state of ties, he said, is “a result of a clash of personalities between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi”. India has previously faced the threat of US sanctions for its close friendship with Russia, when it decided to buy S-400 missile defence systems from Moscow. But in 2022, under the Biden administration, it secured a waiver from those proposed sanctions. “Not long ago, India could avoid sanctions despite purchasing S-400 weapon systems from Russia. However, now, India’s policy of multi-alignment clashes with President Trump’s transactional approach to geopolitics,” said Donthi. To be sure, he pointed out, America’s Cold War history of bonhomie with Pakistan has meant that “a certain distrust of the US is embedded in the Indian strategic firmament”. The Trump administration’s recent cosiness with Pakistan, with its army chief visiting the US this year, even getting a rare meeting with the president at the White House, will likely have amplified those concerns in New Delhi. Advertisement But through ups and downs in India-US ties over the years, a key strategic glue has held them close over the past quarter century: shared worries about the rise of China. “A certain bipartisan consensus existed in the US regarding India because of its long-term strategic importance, especially in balancing China,” said Donthi. Now, he said, “the unpredictable Trump presidency disrupted the US’s approach of ‘strategic altruism’ towards India”. It is no longer clear to Asian partners of the US, say experts, whether Washington is as focused on building alliances in their region as it once said it was. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walk around NRG Stadium waving to the crowd during the ‘Howdy Modi: Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’ event in Houston, the US, September 22, 2019 [Evan Vucci/AP Photo] Turn from Asia Under the Obama administration in 2011, the US adopted what was known as the “Rebalance to Asia” policy, aimed at committing more diplomatic, economic and military resources to the Asia Pacific region, increasingly seen as the world’s economic and geopolitical centre of gravity. This meant deeper engagement with treaty allies like Japan, South Korea, and Australia, strengthening security ties with emerging partners such as India and Vietnam, and pushing forward trade initiatives like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The idea was to shape a regional order that could balance China’s rise. During Trump’s first term, the economic leg that gave the pivot its weight hollowed out. The US withdrawal from the TPP in early 2017 removed the signature trade pillar,
Australia finds record meth, cocaine, heroin use in wastewater analysis
Australians consumed drugs with a street value of about $7.5bn, representing a 34 percent rise in annual consumption. There has been a sharp rise in drug use among Australians, with cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin consumption all hitting record levels, according to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission’s (ACIC) latest wastewater analysis. Published on Friday, the ACIC’s annual report revealed that Australians consumed an estimated 22.2 tonnes of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and MDMA (commonly known as “ecstasy”) between August 2023 and August 2024. This represents a 34 percent increase on the previous year’s findings, with marked increases in the consumption of cocaine (69 percent), MDMA (49 percent), methamphetamine (21 percent), and heroin (14 percent). The drugs had a combined estimated street value of 11.5 billion Australian dollars (about $7.5bn), according to the ACIC. Meth alone accounted for 8.9 billion Australian dollars (about $5.8bn) – or 78 percent – of that total. Wastewater analysis, the process of testing sewage water for contaminants, is a widely used tool to measure drug use within national populations. The data was collected from Australia’s capital cities and regional sites, covering some 57 percent of the country. The increase in drug consumption reflects the “recovery of these illicit drug markets following the impact of COVID-19 restrictions”, the ACIC report said. It added that “transnational and domestic serious and organised crime groups have rapidly re-established and expanded their operations” following the pandemic. ACIC chief Heather Cook said crime groups are exploiting high demand for illicit drugs in Australia, where they are “maximising profit at the expense of the community’s security and wellbeing”. Advertisement “The 2.2 tonne increase in national meth consumption is concerning because 12.8 tonnes is the highest annual level recorded by the programme and the drug causes significant community harm,” she said. “Similarly, there has been a large increase in national cocaine consumption, also to the highest annual level recorded by our wastewater programme,” Cook added. Wastewater was also tested for alcohol and nicotine – which remained the most consumed lawful drugs – as well as cannabis and ketamine. Cannabis remained the most consumed illicit drug among Australians, with higher average consumption in regional areas than in capital cities. Capital cities, however, recorded higher consumption of cocaine, MDMA, heroin and ketamine. The Northern Territory saw the highest increase in meth, cocaine and MDMA consumption, according to the report, while Tasmania recorded the highest increase in heroin. The increases in meth, cocaine and MDMA consumption are likely to continue up to 2027, according to ACIC data modelling. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump promises to ‘save’ jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai
Closing arguments are due to begin in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai, 77, a fierce critic of China’s Communist Party. United States President Donald Trump has renewed his promise to “save” jailed Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai, who is on trial for alleged national security crimes over his pro-democracy activism and antipathy towards China’s Communist Party. “I’m going to do everything I can to save him. I’m going to do everything … His name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do,” Trump told Fox News Radio in the US. Trump’s remarks came as closing arguments in Lai’s high-profile trial. Closing arguments have been pushed from Friday to Monday after Lai’s lawyer said he had experienced heart palpitations. The delay marks the second in as many days, after Hong Kong courts were closed due to bad weather. Trump previously pledged to rescue Lai during an interview last October, just weeks before his election as president, and had said he would “100 percent get him out”. Lai is one of the most prominent Hong Kongers to be charged under the city’s draconian 2020 national security law, and his cause has made international headlines. The 77-year-old is a longtime opponent of China’s Communist Party thanks to his ownership of Apple Daily, a now-shuttered pro-democracy tabloid newspaper. Thank you, President Trump, for your support for Jimmy Lai at this critical time. “I’m going to do everything I can to save [Jimmy Lai]. I’m going to do everything…His name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do. I… pic.twitter.com/EmscQHYQmX — #FreeJimmyLai (@SupportJimmyLai) August 14, 2025 Advertisement He is facing two counts of “colluding with foreign forces” and a separate charge of sedition in the long-running national security trial that began in December 2023. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. He has always protested his innocence. Lai was first arrested in 2020, just months after Beijing imposed the new national security law on Hong Kong, which criminalised the city’s pro-democracy movement and categorised public protests as acts of secession, subversion and terrorism. The law was later expanded in 2024 to include further crimes such as espionage and sabotage. Lai has been in detention continuously since December 2020 and is serving separate prison sentences for participating in a banned candlelight vigil and committing “fraud” on an office lease agreement. He has spent more than 1,600 days in solitary confinement, according to the United Kingdom-based Hong Kong Watch, despite his age and health complications. Lai was also denied the lawyer of his choice during trial and access to independent medical care. A verdict in his trial is expected within days. Adblock test (Why?)
J-K Kishtwar cloudburst: Death toll rises to 45, over 100 injured on Machail Mata pilgrimage route
The cloudburst occurred on Thursday in Chesoti village of Paddar along the Machail Mata Yatra route, which had drawn a large number of devotees.