South Korea says it will hold its first search and rescue drill at sea with #Japan in nine years

#Trump set to headline 'Great American State Fair' after artists drop out over ties.

#WASHINGTON — An upcoming celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, “The Great American State Fair,” recently had several musical guests back out partly over the event’s ties to President Donald Trump. Now, Trump himself is slated to headline the festivities, the organizers said Saturday.

“I understand Artists are getting `the yips’ having to do with their performance,” Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social Saturday, adding that he was thinking of bringing “the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists.”’

The group organizing the June fair on Washington’s National Mall, Freedom 250, confirmed the billing in a statement, writing, “we are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24.”

Trump’s social media post twice referenced him holding a rally “Wednesday,” without a specific date. The White House did not immediately clarify the discrepancy.

Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, emphasized the broader fair that is scheduled from June 25 through July 10 includes an array of exhibits, family friendly attractions, musical performances, flyovers and more.

Trump was dismissive of the acts that backed out, suggesting in a follow-up post that the solution is to “Cancel it.”

“We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” Trump said on social media.

Freedom 250 is billed as nonpartisan, but was launched last year by Trump and is led by a former State Department appointee from Trump’s first term. Several artists, including Bret Michaels, the Commodores and Martina McBride dropped out last week.

Michaels and other artists have said that they were misled about the theme of the shows or were otherwise wary of being caught up in a political fight. McBride, in a statement on Instagram, said she had been “presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.”

Other artists plan to attend, including Flo Rida, Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice. The latter’s representative previously said that the “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was “proud to help celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!”

Jesse Bedayn and Collin Binkley, The Associated Press

‘A path forward’: Industry expert weighs potential changes to #CUSMA auto rules. Trade talks between the United States and Mexico are now officially underway, as the two sides held a first round of bilateral negotiations to review the Canada-U.S-Mexico agreement, on Friday.

Canada however, has not entered into negotiations with Washington yet, and was not part of Friday’s talks.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office says “automotive rules of origin, steel and aluminum, and economic security” were priorities in a first round of talks with Mexico.

Reuters reported that Trump’s negotiation team set out clear new expectations for the auto sector: that North #American vehicles would need to contain at least 50 per cent American content.

erupts during celebrations of #PSG's Champions League title

#PARIS — Paris police detained dozens of people after violence disrupted celebrations late Saturday of Paris Saint-Germain’s second Champions League title win and a group tried to storm a police station in the French capital.

Fans began celebrating in Paris after the final whistle earlier in the evening in Budapest, Hungary, where PSG won by beating Arsenal on penalties in a dramatic final.

Fans marched along the avenues near the Arc de Triomphe, with some setting off flares and blaring car horns. Around 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, with police working to contain the crowd.

The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires. Cars were also set ablaze. One police officer was injured. Those who attempted to storm a police station in the posh 8th Arrondissement neighborhood were dispersed, police said.

It said that by 10 p.m., 45 people were taken into custody.

The main ring road surrounding Paris was briefly blockaded by a crowd before police dispersed it. Police also said one bakery and a restaurant were damaged.

Officers also contained about 1,000 people gathered near the PSG stadium in the 16th Arrondissement and cleared barricades made from bicycles.

In May last year following PSG’s first title, when 201 people were injured in the French capital and police made more than 500 arrests across France, Paris was on high alert, with 8,000 police officers deployed across the city.

Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press

#Congolese authorities have identified 1,028 suspected cases of Ebola, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told reporters late Friday, up from 906 the day before.

#Myanmar president to embark on first India visit since taking over

U.S. arrests ex-CIA official with US$40 million in gold at home, The United States has arrested a former senior #CIA official after a search found US$40 million worth of #gold bars at his home.

FBI officers also seized $2 million in cash and around 35 luxury watches this month from the home of David Rush in the U.S. state of Virginia, according to court documents.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that he was a former senior #CIA official, quoting people familiar with the investigation.

An FBI probe found that Rush had provided false information about his education and military background in his job application, including lying about obtaining university degrees and serving as a pilot in the navy.

He also filled out fraudulent time sheets and obtained $77,000 in military leave pay by falsely claiming he was a member of the navy reserves, according to the affidavit.

The document describes Rush as a former senior employee at a U.S. government agency with top secret clearance and access to classified information.

He was arrested on May 19 and charged with theft of government money.

A lawyer for Rush declined to comment to the Times.

From last November to this March, Rush made several requests to his employer for “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses.”

The affidavit says that Rush received the cash and gold, without giving further information on why he needed them.

The #gold and most of the cash were later found to be missing from a storage space at the official’s workplace, triggering a search of his home which discovered around 303 gold bars -- worth over $40 million.

‘#Trump’ #buffalo spared sacrifice, sent to #Bangladesh zoo, A buffalo in Bangladesh nicknamed “Donald Trump” for its flowing blond hair has been spared from sacrifice after shooting to fame, and will instead be cared for at the national zoo.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of 170 million people, celebrates Eid al-Adha, the “feast of the sacrifice”, on Thursday.

The 700-kilogramme (1,500-pound) bull, a rare albino buffalo with a flowing helmet of light hair resembling the signature look of the US president, was due to be slaughtered to mark the day.

But hours before it faced the knife, the government stepped in to save the animal, which has become an online sensation.

Curator of the National Zoo, Atiqur Rahman, said the animal would be well looked after.

“We have designated a shed for the albino buffalo and assigned a caregiver,” Rahman told AFP on Wednesday. “He will be quarantined for two weeks.”

Crowds in Bangladesh had flocked to snap photographs with the unlikely social media star.

Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, the buffalo’s former owner, said his brother had named it “Trump” because of its “extraordinary hair”.

Mridha said a constant stream of curious visitors -- social media fans, onlookers and children -- came eager to see the animal.

However, he sold the bull ahead of Eid al-Adha.

But police has swooped after the government ordered that the buffalo be spared.

“The livestock department requested us to take the buffalo from the owner as it is a rare animal,” Mohammad Ruhul Quddus, officer-in-charge of Dhaka’s Keraniganj Police Station, where the buffalo was taken, told AFP.

“They said that the albino buffalo is still very young, and can be raised for a few years.”

More than 12 million livestock including goats, sheep, cows and buffaloes are expected to be sacrificed during the holiday, when many poorer families get a rare chance to feast on #meat.

By Sheikh Sabiha Alam

#Zelenskyy says he’s pressing U.S. for more Patriot missiles for Ukraine to counter Russian strikes.

Zelenskyy said he hasn’t yet received a reply to a letter he sent earlier this week to U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress asking for more of the American-made ammunition. He warned that deliveries to Ukraine are falling dangerously short as the Iran war diverts and depletes U.S. stocks.

“I believe (the U.S.) must act quicker. We are being very persistent,” Zelenskyy told reporters during a visit to Sweden.

Zelenskyy is keen to secure more deliveries of foreign weaponry that it can’t produce itself as it battles Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. In exchange, he’s offering to share the cutting-edge drone expertise that Ukraine has built up during the war.

Russia has used its long-range ballistic missiles to damage Ukraine’s power grid and hammer cities.

The Ukrainian capital is bracing for further heavy bombardments. But no foreign diplomats are known to have heeded Moscow’s recommendation to leave Kyiv before what the Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier this week would be upcoming “systemic strikes” on Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that all diplomatic missions in the capital have continued operations.
Sweden’s advanced fighter jets

Ukraine plans to buy 20 advanced Gripen fighter jets from Sweden for 2.5 billion euros (US$2.9 billion), with Sweden also donating 16 older Gripen models once the purchase goes through, Zelenskyy announced on his trip to Sweden.

The money for the jets will come out of a 90 billion-euro ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine that the European Union recently approved, Zelenskyy said during a trip to Sweden.

The combat aircraft will be especially helpful in stopping Russian planes that launch powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, he said at an aircraft hangar standing in front of Gripen jets alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Ukraine will get the older models early next year and the new models from 2030, Kristersson said. The planes will be equipped with weaponry, and Sweden will provide maintenance and training, he said.

Ukraine eventually wants 150 Gripen jets, Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, Sweden is “extremely eager” to learn from Ukraine’s drone warfare experience, Kristersson said.
Ukrainian drones limiting Russian advances, analysts say

Zelenskyy says Ukrainian specialists have helped countries in the Middle East — specifically the Gulf Arab region — strengthen their air defences during the Iran war. They have helped at American military bases in the Middle East as well, he says.

Ukraine has also entered into joint drone production agreements with countries in the European Union, which fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin has military ambitions beyond Ukraine.

Ukrainian drones that patrol the 1,250-kilometre (780-mile) front line and strike deeper at supply routes have pinned back Russia’s bigger army.

“Ukraine’s successful midrange and front-line drone strike campaigns are limiting Russia’s ability to transport personnel to the front line and to supply and sustain front-line positions,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said in an assessment late Wednesday.

Russia has occupied about 20 per cent of Ukraine so far. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014. The cost of capturing that land has been huge, with the head of the U.K. intelligence agency GCHQ saying Wednesday that almost 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict.

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The Associated Press

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent confirms limited steps toward a $250 bill featuring Donald Trump