10/06/2025

TUESDAY | JUNE 10, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

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Scuffles in Los Angeles as National Guard troops fan out

First detentions in border military zones NEW MEXICO: US troops have made their first detentions inside military areas set up on the US-Mexico border as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the US army said. The unprecedented military areas along 418km of the border in New Mexico and Texas were declared extensions of US army bases by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, allowing troops to temporarily detain migrants and other civilian trespassers. Three “illegal aliens” were detained by troops in the New Mexico area near Santa Teresa on June 3 before being handed over to US Border Patrol, said army spokesperson Major Geoffrey Carmichael. “This marks the first time Defence Department personnel have recorded a temporary detainment within either National Defense Area,” he said. US presidents have long used active-duty and reservist troops on the international boundary in support roles to US Border Patrol, such as surveillance and construction. President Donald Trump took military use a step further by giving troops the right to hold trespassers they catch in the zones until civilian law enforcement assumes custody. Federal troops can also search people and conduct crowd control measures within the areas, according to the army. Designation of the zones as military bases allow troops to detain migrants without the need for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act 1807, which lets a US president deploy federal troops domestically to suppress events such as civil disorder. Prosecution of dozens of migrants caught in the zones has faced setbacks in court after judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges and acquitted a Peruvian woman, ruling that they did not know they were entering restricted areas.– Reuters WASHINGTON: No one was killed but several were injured and taken to the hospital on Sunday when a skydiving plane carrying 20 passengers and crew crashed in the US state of Tennessee, authorities said. A twin-engine plane used for skydiving expeditions crashed at an airport shortly after midday in Tullahoma, south of Nashville, according to local and federal officials. City spokesperson Lyle Russell said: “Three were sent for medical treatment via helicopter and one sent by ground transport for more serious injuries to local hospitals. Other minor injuries were treated by first responders on scene. “No ground facilities or airport facilities were damaged and there were no injuries reported from the ground.” The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the crash while the Tennessee Highway Patrol said its troopers assisted police at the scene. – AFP Plane crashes in Tennessee

LOS ANGELES: Demonstrators torched cars and scuffled with security forces in Los Angeles on Sunday as police kept protesters away from the National Guard troops that President Donald Trump sent to the streets of America’s second-biggest city. Unrest broke out for a third day, with protesters angry at action by immigration officials that has resulted in dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members. Opponents say Trump, who has made clamping down on illegal migration a key plank of his second term, was deliberately stoking tensions with his deployment of California’s National Guard, a standby military usually controlled by the state’s governor Gavin Newsom. “We did not have a problem until Trump got involved,” wrote Newsom on X. “This is a serious breach of state sovereignty, inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they are actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California. “I have formally requested that the Trump administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles County and return them to my command.” At least three self-driving Waymo cars were burned on Sunday, with two others vandalised as protesters roamed around a limited area in downtown Los Angeles. Traffic was halted on a key freeway for over an hour while scores of people thronged the roadway. They were moved off by California Highway Patrol officers, o We did not have problem until Trump got involved: State governor

Police trying to clear demonstrators after they blocked a street with a barricade. – REUTERSPIC

In a preliminary phase, Freitas, who served as Bolsonaro’s infrastructure minister, testified for the defence, insisting that his boss had“never touched”on the subject of a coup or “mentioned any attempt at constitutional disruption”. But two former army commanders confirmed that Bolsonaro had hosted a meeting in which the declaration of a “state of siege” was discussed as a means to overturn Lula’s election victory. “Brazil’s history will be written,” said think tank Casa Politica head Marcio Coimbra, pointing out that the trial marks the first ever for an attempted coup under a democratic regime in the country. – AFP Trump to dismiss the pushback. “I have no concern about that at all,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing Newsom of “an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary”. Demonstrators told AFP that the purpose of the troops did not appear to be to keep order. “I think it is an intimidation tactic,” said Thomas Henning. “These protests have been peaceful. There is no one trying to do any sort of damage right now and yet you have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights.” – AFP

As night fell, a few dozen people, many wearing masks and hoodies, remained in hotspots, with some lobbing projectiles and fireworks. Law enforcement have arrested at least 56 people over two days, and three officers have suffered minor injuries, said the LAPD. When asked about the use of troops, Trump was unrepentant, hinting instead at a more widespread deployment in other parts of the country. The National Guard is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities. Republicans lined up behind

who

used

flash-bangs

and

smoke grenades. But after a limited early confrontation between federal agents from the Homeland Security Department and a few dozen protesters at a detention centre, the clashes all involved local law enforcement. By early afternoon, Los Angeles Police Department (LADP) officers established containment lines some distance from federal buildings, preventing contact between angry demonstrators and the scores of armed National Guardsmen from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, who had gathered in helmets and camouflage gear.

Brazil ex-president appears in court over coup bid BRASILIA: Brazil’s right wing former president Jair Bolsonaro appeared at the Supreme Court yesterday, facing charges of trying to stage a coup to retain power after losing the 2022 elections. Geraldo Alckmin and judge Alexandre de Moraes. Bolsonaro, who is hoping to make a comeback in the 2026 presidential elections despite being barred from running, denied the charges. and could last all week. Bolsonaro figures sixth on the list of witnesses and is expected to take the stand today or tomorrow.

The judicial process has been swifter than usual in this case, said Getulio Vargas Foundation criminal law expert Rogerio Taffarello. But the end is still a way off, with the court able to call new witnesses as the trial proceeds before getting to the closing arguments and sentencing deliberation. Since the alleged plot was conceived over a long period, and because some of the charges brought are new to the Brazilian system, “an extremely complex legal discussion” is expected, he told AFP.

He and seven former aides are facing sentences of up to 40 years’ jail if convicted. Bolsonaro told reporters last week that he plans to respond “without any problem” to questions from the court. “It is an excellent idea to speak openly about the coup. I will be very happy to have the opportunity to clarify what happened,” he said on Thursday. Testimonies will be broadcast live

In February, prosecutors accused the 70-year-old, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, of leading a “criminal organisation” plotting to overturn the election results and preventing the inauguration of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The plot failed, the charge sheet says, because of a lack of military backing. Bolsonaro also stands accused of having been aware of an alleged plot to assassinate Lula, his vice-president