CNA938 Rewind - Los Angeles protests: Trump's motive behind his deployments
CNA938 Rewind
U.S President Donald Trump's move to federalize the National Guard and deploy troops to Los Angeles without the approval of California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked debate over whether the White House could actually be fueling the unrest. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman look at whether the move has in fact escalated the situation, rather than de-escalate it. For that, they speak with Rick Mullaney, Shircliff Executive Director, Public Policy Institute, Jacksonville University.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
US State Department resumes processing Harvard student visas after judge's ruling
WASHINGTON: The United States State Department directed all US missions abroad and consular sections to resume processing Harvard University student and exchange visitor visas after a federal judge in Boston last week temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's latest ban on foreign students at the Ivy League institution. In a diplomatic cable sent last Friday (Jun 6) and signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department cited parts of the judge's decision, saying the fresh directive was "in accordance with" the temporary restraining order. Under that order granted to Harvard late last Thursday, US District Judge Allison Burroughs blocked Trump's proclamation from taking effect pending further litigation of the matter. Trump had cited national security concerns as justification for barring international students from entering the United States to pursue studies at Harvard. The Trump administration has launched a multi-pronged attack on the nation's oldest and wealthiest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding and proposing to end its tax-exempt status, prompting a series of legal challenges. Harvard argues that the administration is retaliating against it for refusing to accede to demands to control the school's governance, curriculum and the ideology of its faculty and students. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the cable, the State Department added that all other guidance regarding student visas remained in effect, including enhanced social media vetting and the requirement to review the applicants' online presence.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump's cuts are ‘devastating' for vulnerable women worldwide: UN
The withdrawal of the US from the funding arena for reproductive health has been devastating, said UNFPA chief Natalia Kanen. PHOTO: AFP NEW YORK - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has faced budget cuts before, but the impact of US President Donald Trump's policies has been even more 'devastating' for reproductive health worldwide, chief Natalia Kanem told AFP. The agency has been targeted by US conservatives since the Kemp-Kasten Amendment's enactment in 1985 by Congress, when the administration of then president Ronald Reagan rallied against China's population policies, accusing Beijing of promoting forced abortions and sterilisations. All subsequent Republican presidencies have cut US funding to UNFPA, and the second Trump administration is no exception. 'We've had over US$330 million (S$424.78 million) worth of projects ended,' virtually overnight, in 'some of the hardest hit regions of the world' like Afghanistan, Ms Kanem said in an interview coinciding with the release of the UNFPA's annual report on June 10. 'So yes, we are suffering.' Ms Kanem pointed to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan as an example, where over the years more than 18,000 pregnancies were delivered by 'heroic midwives' who 'conducted these over 18,000 deliveries without a single maternal death, which you know, in a crisis situation is extraordinary.' 'Those maternity wards today have closed. The funding cuts immediately have meant that those midwives are no longer able to do their jobs,' Ms Kanem said. Although it is too soon to estimate the precise impacts of the US cuts, they will inevitably result in increased maternal mortality and more unintended pregnancies, according to Ms Kanem. 'What's different this time for UNFPA is that our ecosystem of other reproductive health actors who might be able to fill in for us,' Ms Kanem said, adding they are 'reeling from huge impact of having their funding denied.' The Trump administration has slashed many such external aid programmes. 'So it is very lamentable that this year, to me, has been drastically worse than ever before, precisely because now everybody is caught up in the whirlwind.' 'The withdrawal of the United States from the funding arena for reproductive health has been devastating,' Ms Kanem said. Desire and rights American policy is not only marked by funding cuts, but also a challenge to gender equality matters. 'There will be debates about concepts, but there shouldn't be any debate about the non-negotiability of the rights and choices of women and adolescent girls,' Ms Kanem emphasised. 'We always embrace change, but we should not compromise on these common values which spell the difference between life and death for women and girls all around the world,' she continued. 'Women deserve support. Adolescent girls deserve to finish their schooling, not become pregnant, not be bartered or sent off into marriage as a non-solution to issues that families may face.' The UNFPA's annual report, published on June 10 and based on the results of a survey of 14,000 people from 14 countries – nations which represent over a third of the world's population – also underscores concerns that millions of people around the world cannot create the families they desire. More than 40 per cent of those over the age of 50 reported not having the number of children they wanted – with 31 per cent saying they had fewer kids than they desired and 12 per cent saying they had more than they wanted. More than half of respondents said economic barriers prevented them from having more children. Conversely, one in five said they were pressured into having a child, and one in three adults reported an unintended pregnancy. The majority of people 'live in countries where fertility rates have fallen so far and so fast that they are below replacement,' Ms Kanem said. 'We know that the issue of population pressure takes almost like a headline drastic view. Some people think there are way too many people. Others are saying we don't have enough, women should have more babies,' Ms Kanem said. 'What UNFPA really cares about is a woman's true desire, rights and choices,' she said. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
4 hours ago
- Business Times
Asia: Markets extend gains as China-US talks head into second day
[HONG KONG] Asian stocks squeezed out more gains on Tuesday as the latest round of China-US trade talks moved into a second day, with one of Donald Trump's top advisers saying he expected 'a big, strong handshake'. There is optimism the negotiations - which come after the US president spoke to Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week - will bring some much-needed calm to markets and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. The advances in Asian equities built on Monday's rally and followed a broadly positive day on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 edged closer to the record high touched earlier in the year. This week's meeting in London will look to smooth relations after Trump accused Beijing of violating an agreement made at a meeting of top officials last month in Geneva that ended with the two sides slashing tit-for-tat tariffs. The key issues on the agenda at the talks are expected to be exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things including smartphones and electric vehicle batteries. 'In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy,' Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up But even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, 'it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal', he added. Still, he said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks. 'Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,' Hassett added. He also said the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs on tech exports. The president told reporters at the White House: 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy. 'I'm only getting good reports.' Tokyo led gains in Asian markets, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington and Jakarta also well up. 'The bulls will layer into risk on any rhetoric that publicly keeps the two sides at the table,' said Pepperstone's Chris Weston. 'And with the meeting spilling over to a second day, the idea of some sort of loose agreement is enough to underpin the grind higher in US equity and risk exposures more broadly.' Investors are also awaiting key US inflation data this week, which could impact the Federal Reserve's monetary policy amid warnings Trump's tariffs will refuel inflation strengthening the argument to keep interest rates on hold. However, it also faces pressure from the president to cut rates, with bank officials due to make a decision at their meeting next week. While recent jobs data has eased concerns about the US economy, analysts remain cautious. 'Tariffs are likely to remain a feature of US trade policy under President Trump,' said Matthias Scheiber and John Hockers at Allspring Global Investments. 'A strong US consumer base was helping buoy the global economy and avoid a global recession.' However, they also warned: 'The current global trade war coupled with big spending cuts by the US government and possibly higher US inflation could derail US consumer spending to the point that the global economy contracts for multiple quarters.' AFP
