Trump honours veterans and fallen soldiers in Memorial Day ceremony
A memorial was held in Arlington, Virginia on Memorial Day to honour fallen US troops and commemorate their sacrifice. The ceremony was attended by US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The ceremony was held at Arlington National Cemetery, where more than 400,000 people, many of them soldiers, have been laid to rest.
Trump placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a sombre tradition for US presidents. The president paused after placing the wreath, then stepped back before being joined by Vance and Hegseth in a salute.
The US president then delivered an address where he called US troops 'great, great warriors', and singled out several families and relatives of late soldiers to tell their stories.
'We just revere their incredible legacy," Trump said. 'We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory. And we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer and greater than ever before.'
'Their valour," he said, 'gave us the freest, greatest and most noble republic ever to exist on the face of the earth. A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard four years.'
He told the story of Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, killed along with three other Americans by a suicide bomber in 2019 in Syria, leaving behind her husband, 3-year-old son and 18-month-old son.
The New York native was on her fifth deployment, embedded with a team where she served as a linguist, translator and cryptologic technician working alongside special forces in a mission targeted at hunting down Islamic State group militants.
'She was among the first women ever to do it, and she did it better than anyone,' Trump said, calling out Kent's family for applause at the ceremony.
It didn't take long for the address to veer into politics as Trump took the opportunity to criticise his predecessor Joe Biden, adding that his term as president was one filled with errors and failures, which his administration is working on fixing.
'A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard four years. That was a hard four years we went through,' said the US president. 'People pouring through our borders unchecked. People doing things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss,' he added.
Though the holiday is one that US presidents usually treat with pure solemnity, Trump began the day with a fiery all-caps social media post on his social media platform, Truth Social, aimed at Biden.
'SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY."
Meanwhile, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also attended the ceremony. In a post on X, Metsola also paid her respects to fallen US soldiers, acknowledging their sacrifice for Europe and expressing her gratitude.
'On Memorial Day, we honour the courage of all the fallen heroes whose sacrifice meant peace and freedom in Europe,' said Metsola 'Europe is forever grateful. We remember them. We honour them.'
A state of high alert has been issued in India's southern state of Kerala after a container ship carrying hazardous cargo sank in the Arabian Sea.
The Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3 was sailing between the Indian ports of Vizhinjam and Kochi when it sank about 38 nautical miles (70 kilometres) off Kerala early on Sunday morning due to flooding in one of its compartments.
All 24 crew members were rescued, India's defence ministry said.
The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with an unspecified "hazardous cargo" and 12 containing calcium carbide.
"As the oil slick can reach anywhere along the Kerala coast, an alert has been sounded across the coastal belt," the chief minister's office said in a statement.
It also had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil in its tanks.
Authorities fear that some of the harmful substances the ship was carrying may have leaked into the sea, posing a risk to local residents and marine life.
The Kerala chief minister's office on Monday urged people to stay away from some of the containers that began washing ashore.
It also advised fishermen not to venture too close to the sunken ship.
The Indian Coast Guard said it had sent an aircraft with an oil spill detection system to survey the area.
It also deployed a ship carrying pollution control equipment to the site of the accident.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Philip Gordon, former Kamala Harris adviser: 'Netanyahu called Trump's bluff' by striking Iran
Philip Gordon, former national security adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, is a committed Europhile and fluent French speaker who was considered for a key position in her future administration, had the Democrats won. In April, Gordon joined the Brookings Institution think tank. He spoke with Le Monde about the early months of Donald Trump's second term. The Trump administration seemed to be pursuing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, but then Trump expressed support for Israeli military strikes. Did he just run out of patience with Iran? I am skeptical of the notion that Trump masterfully lulled Iran into complacency with diplomacy and then decided to enforce his "redline" with military force. Trump desperately wanted a nuclear deal with Iran and publicly and privately told Israel not to strike. But a confident Netanyahu called Trump's bluff, told him Israel needed to act, and Trump felt no choice but to go along. He now has to act as if this was his call, but in so doing finds himself having to defend Israel in a war he did not want but could not prevent.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Ukraine warns against drop in aid due to Israel-Iran escalation
Israel unleashed large-scale attacks on Iran on Friday, targeting nuclear and military facilities, high-ranking generals and atomic scientists. Iran in return launched barrages of drones and missile at Israel. The escalation sparked international calls for restraint as fears of broader conflict grow. In Kyiv it also sparked anxiety about future supplies of military aid, fearing Washington might relocate more resources to beef up the defence of its close ally Israel. "We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine." The Ukrainian leader warned that Europe's support was already stalling without Washington's engagement. "Europe has not yet decided for itself what it will do with Ukraine if America is not there," he said. The return to the White House of US President Donald Trump has upended the West's provision of aid to Kyiv. It has left Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support. Zelensky urged the United States to "shift tone" in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was "too warm" and would not help to end the war. Trump has sought rapprochement with Moscow and held three phone calls with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin so far this year. He has stunned NATO allies with the stark change in policy from that of the previous US administration, which aborted almost all contacts with Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Israeli attacks on Iran also drove oil prices up, which Zelensky said would benefit Russia. "The attacks led to a sharp rise in oil prices. This is bad for us," he added, reiterating a call for the West to introduce price caps on Russian oil exports. The Ukrainian leader said he hoped to raise the issue of price caps at a possible meeting with Trump in the near future. He added, however, that the Israeli strikes might prove favourable for Kyiv if they lead to a drop in Iranian supplies of military equipment to Russia, which has relied heavily on Iranian-made attack drones. More soldiers return home Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners on Saturday, the fourth such swap this week, under agreements clinched in Istanbul earlier this month. Kyiv also said it had stopped Russian advances in the northeastern Sumy region. The deals to hand over killed soldiers and exchange captured ones are the only agreements to have come out of two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul. Russia has rejected calls to halt its three-year invasion. It has demanded Ukraine cede even more territory and renounce Western military support if it wants peace. Since Russia invaded in February 2022, the war has forced millions of people to flee their homes as towns and cities across eastern Ukraine have been flattened by heavy bombardments. As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv also said it had received another 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia. It said Moscow had said they were those of "Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel" Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia. Meanwhile, Russia intensified its offensive along the front line, especially in the northeastern Sumy region, where it seeks to establish a "buffer zone". This zone is designed, ostensibly, to protect the Russian border region of Kursk, previously partly occupied by Ukraine. Zelensky said Russia's advance on Sumy was stopped and that Kyiv's forces had managed to retake one village. He said 53,000 men Russian soldiers were involved in the Sumy operation.
Euronews
6 hours ago
- Euronews
Europe left on diplomatic ‘sidelines' in Israel Iran conflict
European leaders voiced alarm over the military attacks and called for a diplomatic solution to avoid an all-out war that could spiral across the Middle East and beyond, but security expert Claude Moniquet told Euronews that Europe has been left 'sitting on the sidelines'. This was already true of negotiations taking place between the Americans and the Iranians. US President Donald Trump's attempt to reach an agreement with Iran to halt uranium enrichment was scheduled to run to a sixth round of talks in Oman on Sunday. Those talks may now be in doubt, but 'the Europeans were excluded' from them anyway, Moniquet pointed out. 'Europeans have been pretty much excluded from all major diplomatic manoeuvres around the war in Gaza or the war in Lebanon,' the former French intelligence officer and author said. 'Diplomatic efforts are crucial to preventing further escalation,' European Commission President posted on X late on Friday after speaking to Israel's President Isaac Herzog concerning the escalating situation. Moniquet said that the European Union has lost influence in the region and has no say in diplomacy over the future of the Middle East, however. Europe's ambivalent support for Israel's attacks likely meant its governments were not forewarned of the details, in sharp contrast with the US. French President Emmanuel Macron's press conference on Friday neatly encapsulated the tightrope walk of strictly conditional support for Israel that Europe's leaders are offering. "We support Israel's security and if Israel were to be attacked, France would take part in operations to defend Israel if it is in a position to do so," Macron said, though he made clear that France wouldn't participate "in any offensive operation". "We have always favoured the diplomatic route [on the issue of Iranian nuclear and ballistic missiles] rather than military intervention, so France did not recommend attacks by Israel," he said, underlining that France "didn't plan this decision with Israel". Macron also addressed the situation in Gaza, saying: "These attacks must not distract us from the need to establish a ceasefire there," the President added, describing the humanitarian blockade imposed in the Palestinian enclave as "unjustifiable". Similarly UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that 'now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.' But the UK's failure to be informed about Israel's attack on Iran before it happened, and failure to support the mission, highlights 'the deteriorating relationship between the two countries,' the Times of London reported today. Diplomats told the newspaper it appeared Israel no longer considered the UK to be a 'reliable partner' after Starmer placed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers. 'Military planners inside the Ministry of Defence were braced for the strikes on Thursday night. However, the UK appeared to have been cut out of the loop on the operation, despite being involved in previous strikes,' the paper reported. Von der Leyen similarly reiterated Israel's right to defend itself and protect its people, adding: 'At the same time, preserving regional stability is vital. I urge all parties to act with maximum restraint and work to de-escalate the situation.' By contrast, after months of urging Israel not to strike Iran while he worked toward a nuclear deal, President Donald Trump told Reuters in a phone interview on Friday that he and his team knew the attacks were coming, and proffered no call for restraint. "We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out," Trump said, adding: "They can still work out a deal, however, it's not too late." 'We've been very close to Israel. We're their number one ally by far," Trump told Reuters, adding, "We'll see what happens." The main reason behind Europe's loss of influence, Moniquet believes, is to be found in Europe's dwindling military power. If true, the situation builds on the existential questions about its security future that have faced Europe and the EU in the wake of the Oval office blow-up in February between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump. Since then, Europe has wrestled with and begun to take on board the need to take more responsibility for its own security. It has also found itself left on the side-lines of Trump's attempted ceasefire brokering between Zelenskyy and Putin. Being left on the side-lines now might carry more risk however. Moniquet told Euronews Iran could respond with attempted terrorism on the continent. "They may well ask a Hezbollah cell or an Iranian cell like the one that was dismantled in London a few weeks ago to strike somewhere in Europe,' he said, adding: 'This is an important possibility, and it means that Jewish communities, Israeli diplomatic and commercial interests, Israeli boats, Israeli planes, but probably also American interests, are now in a position of risk in Europe and could be hit."
