WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Friday that Elon Musk should not be allowed to see top secret US plans for any war with China, in a rare admission that his billionaire ally’s business links raised potential conflicts of interest.
Trump strongly denied media reports that the world’s richest man, who is now leading the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), would receive a classified Pentagon briefing on its war strategy.
Tesla and Space X boss Musk has major business interests in China but also has huge US defense contracts, while his status as an unelected adviser to Trump has raised concerns about his influence.
“I don’t want to show it to anybody. You’re talking about a potential war with China,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“Certainly you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much... Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible perhaps to that.”
Trump, who was unveiling a contract for Boeing to build the next-generation F-47 fighter jet, described Musk as a “patriot” and hailed his efforts to slash back the US federal government, including the Defense Department.
Musk was at the Pentagon on Friday, but Trump attacked reports, first published in the New York Times, about the visit.
“They really are the enemy of the people,” Trump said of the Times, which reported Musk was to receive a briefing in a secure room dubbed “The Tank” on maritime tactics and targeting plans.
The paper said the briefing was called off after it was publicized.
The US increasingly sees China as its biggest rival and tensions have soared since Trump’s inauguration as the world’s two largest economies hit each other with tariffs.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed the “amazing visit” by Musk to the Pentagon.
“I look forward to continuing our work together,” Hegseth said on X.
Musk joined the chorus of criticism of the Times, labeling it “pure propaganda” on his social media platform X.
“I’ve been to the Pentagon many times over many years. Not my first time in the building,” he wrote.
Musk has long-standing business ties to China, however.
His automaker Tesla produces some of its electric vehicles at a huge so-called gigafactory in Shanghai and is trying to compete with fast-growing Chinese manufacturers.
The entrepreneur has become a cult figure in China and has fostered ties with its leadership. He has also suggested the self-ruled island of Taiwan should become part of China.
In the US, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Musk has no conflicts of interest, even as Musk leads a harsh overhaul of US government agencies that in some cases his companies have dealings with.
Musk’s SpaceX has US government defense contracts worth billions of dollars, including for launching rockets and for the use of the Starlink satellite service.
Trump has recently further blurred the line by promoting Tesla cars after attacks by vandals over Musk’s links to the White House. Trump suggested Friday that such vandals could be deported to prisons in El Salvador.
Democrats have meanwhile blasted Trump for handing administration policy to Musk despite him undergoing no background checks and heading companies with government contracts.
Chinese premier says to pursue ‘correct’ path of globalization
Updated 14 sec ago
AFP
BEIJING: China’s number two leader said Sunday that the country would “adhere to the correct direction of economic globalization” in the face of “fragmentation,” as a renewed trade war with Washington heats up.
“As a responsible major country, China will firmly stand on the correct side of history... (practicing) true multilateralism,” Premier Li Qiang said at a gathering with global business executives in Beijing.
The Pentagon’s DEI purge: Officials describe a scramble to remove and then restore online content
Overall, tens of thousands of online posts that randomly mention dozens of key words, including “gay,” “bias” and “female” — have been delete
Overall, tens of thousands of online posts that randomly mention dozens of key words, including “gay,” “bias” and “female” — have been deleted
Updated 36 min 59 sec ago
AP
WASHINGTON: Every day over the past few weeks, the Pentagon has faced questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages after it purged online content that promoted women or minorities.
In response, the department has scrambled to restore a handful of those posts as their removals have come to light. While the pages of some well-known veterans, including baseball and civil rights icon Jackie Robinson, are now back up on Pentagon websites, officials warn that many posts tagged for removal in error may be gone forever.
The restoration process has been so hit or miss that even groups that the administration has said are protected, like the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military pilots who served in a segregated World War II unit, still have deleted pages that as of Saturday had not been restored.
This past week chief, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a video that mistaken removals will be quickly rectified. “History is not DEI,” he said, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion.
But due to the enormous size of the military and the wide range of commands, units and bases, there has been an array of interpretations of what to remove and how as part of the Pentagon directive to delete online content that promotes DEI. Officials from across the military services said they have asked for additional guidance from the Pentagon on what should be restored, but have yet to receive any.
The officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations, said, for example, they were waiting for guidance on whether military “firsts” count as history that can be restored. The first female Army Reserve graduate of Ranger School, Maj. Lisa Jaster, or the first female fighter pilot, Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, both had their stories deleted.
Maj. Lisa Jaster, center, the first Army Reserve female to graduate the Army's Ranger School, stands in formation with other Rangers during school graduation ceremony on Oct. 16, 2015, in Fort Benning, Gaeorgia. (AP Photo/File)
Some officials said their understanding was it did not matter whether it was a historic first. If the first was based on what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth found to be a disqualifying characteristic, such as gender or race, it had to go, they said.
One Army team has taken a very deliberate approach.
According to the officials, the team took down several major historical heritage sites that had many postings about women and various ethnic or racial groups. They are now going through them all and plan to rework and repost as much as possible on a new website focused on Army heroes. The process, the officials said, could take months.
Overall, tens of thousands of online posts that randomly mention dozens of key words, including “gay,” “bias” and “female” — have been deleted. Officials warn that the bulk of those images are gone for good. Even as complaints roll in, officials will be careful about restoring things unless senior leaders approve.
The officials described the behind-the-scenes process as challenging, frustrating and emotionally draining. Workers going through years of posts to take down mentions of historic accomplishments by women or minorities were at times reduced to tears or lashed out in anger at commanders directing the duty, the officials said.
Others were forced to pull down stories they were proud of and had worked on themselves. They were often confused about the parameters for removal once a key word was found, and they erred on the side of removal, according to the officials.
Not complying fully with the order was seen as dangerous because it could put senior military service leaders at risk of being fired or disciplined if an errant post celebrating diversity was left up and found. Officials said the department relied in large part on a blind approach — using artificial intelligence computer commands to search for dozens of those key words in online department, military and command websites.
If a story or photo depicted or included one of the terms, the computer program then added “DEI” into the web address of the content, which flagged it and led to its removal.
Purging posts from X, Facebook and other social media sites is more complicated and time intensive. An AI command would not work as well on those sites.
So military service members and civilians have evaluated social media posts by hand, working late into the night and on weekends to pore over their unit’s social media pages, cataloging and deleting references going back years. Because some civilians were not allowed to work on weekends, military troops had to be called in to replace them, as the officials described it.
The Defense Department is publicly insisting that mistakes will be corrected.
As an example, the Pentagon on Wednesday restored some pages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans. That step came days after tribes condemned the removal. Department officials said the Navajo Code Talker material was erroneously erased,
The previous week, pages honoring a Black Medal of Honor winner and Japanese American service members were also restored.
Navajo Code Talker Thomas Begay salutes during the national anthem at the Arizona State Navajo Code Talkers Day celebration on Aug. 14, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/File)
The restorations represent a shift from early, adamant denials that any deletion of things such as the Enola Gay or prominent service members was happening at all. At least two images of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II, are still missing.
“This is fake news and anyone with a pulse knows it!” the Defense Department’s new “Rapid Response” social media account asserted March 7. “We are NOT removing images of the Enola Gay or any other pictures that honor the legacy of our warfighters.”
Over time, the Pentagon has shifted its public response as more examples of deleted pages came to light.
On Thursday, Parnell acknowledged in a video posted online that: “Because of the realities of AI tools and other software, some important content was incorrectly pulled off line to be reviewed. We want to be very, very clear: History is not DEI. When content is either mistakenly removed, or if it’s maliciously removed, we continue to work quickly to restore it.”
But others have seen the widespread erasure of history.
“Most female aviator stories and photographs are disappearing— including from the archives. From the WASPs to fighter pilots, @AFThunderbirds to @BlueAngels — they’ve erased us,” Carey Lohrenz, one of the Navy’s first female F-14 Tomcat pilots, posted to X. “It’s an across the board devastating loss of history and information.” Among the webpages removed include one about the Women Air Service Pilots, or WASPs, the female World War II pilots who were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military, and the Air Force Thunderbirds.
Parnell, Hegseth and others have vigorously defended the sweeping purge despite the flaws.
“I think the president and the secretary have been very clear on this — that anybody that says in the Department of Defense that diversity is our strength is, is frankly, incorrect,” Parnell said during a Pentagon media briefing. “Our shared purpose and unity are our strength.”
After breaking fast, volunteers use Ramadan as an opportunity to give in Detroit
Daoud said the group’s efforts are emblematic of Islam’s emphasis on respecting and valuing resources such as food and matches Ramadan’s focus on “self-discipline and empathy toward those less fortunate”
Updated 23 March 2025
AP
DEARBORN, Michigan: After a nightly iftar meal with family members breaking fast together during Ramadan, Nadine Daoud noticed full pots and trays of untouched leftover food lining the shelves of her grandmother’s refrigerator. Too often, she felt the food was quickly forgotten and then wasted.
The observations inspired her 2017 creation of The Helping Handzzz Foundation that brings volunteers together each year during the Islamic holy month. They round up spare food from families in Dearborn — where nearly half the 110,000 residents are of Arab descent — and bring it to people without homes in neighboring Detroit.
Daoud said the group’s efforts are emblematic of Islam’s emphasis on respecting and valuing resources such as food and matches Ramadan’s focus on “self-discipline and empathy toward those less fortunate.”
The Helping Handzzz team goes through the same process six nights each week during the sacred month, taking off Sundays. (Photo/Instagram)
“Every family cooks a lot of food to end the night when you’re breaking your fast,” Daoud said. “And a lot of food gets left over. And we noticed that a lot of this food was just getting stored in the fridge and forgotten about the next day.
“What I decided to do was instead of sticking it in the fridge and forgetting about it or throwing it in the trash, I said, ‘Let me take it. I always see people on the corners. Let me help out and give it to them instead with a drink and a nice treat on the side.’“
One recent night, Helping Handzzz board members Hussein Sareini and Daoud Wehbi and four others enjoyed an iftar prepared by Sareini’s mother.
When the meal ended, several attendees said some of the daily prayers. Then, Wehbi hopped in Sareini’s truck, and they stopped at several area homes to pick up untouched dishes. From there, they drove to the parking lot of a nearby mosque, where Nadine Daoud and others organized the food.
A caravan of vehicles then visited several spots in Detroit where people without housing regularly can be found.
Board member Mariam Hachem approached a man bundled up in blankets and lying on the sidewalk.
“Hi, we have a meal for you,” she said. “We’re going to set it right here, OK?”
“OK,” came the response.
Other volunteers added bottled water and a sweet treat alongside the food container.
The Helping Handzzz team goes through the same process six nights each week during the sacred month, taking off Sundays. And it comes after going without food or water from sunrise to sunset.
Wehbi, 27, is a design engineer at Toyota. Sareini demolishes bathrooms and kitchens and rebuilds them as part of his residential remodeling business.
The 25-year-old Dearborn resident said he gladly stays out until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. each day to put some “good out into the world.”
“It’s all about appreciating what you have,” he said.
Wehbi said it’s no coincidence he and his friends undertake their annual effort during Ramadan.
“It’s not just a ‘no food, no drink’ time,” he said. “It’s a lot about growing and coming together as a community and bettering ourselves and bettering each other.”
Trump targets lawyers in immigration cases, lawsuits against administration
The Trump administration has been hit with more than 100 lawsuits challenging White House actions on immigration, transgender rights and other issues since the start of the president’s second term
Updated 23 March 2025
Reuters
WASHINGTON: Legal advocacy groups sounded alarms on Saturday after US President Donald Trump threatened new actions against lawyers and law firms that bring immigration lawsuits and other cases against the government that he deems unethical.
In a memorandum to US Attorney General Pam Bondi late on Friday, Trump said lawyers were helping to fuel “rampant fraud and meritless claims” in the immigration system, and directed the Justice Department to seek sanctions against attorneys for professional misconduct.
The order also took aim at law firms that sue the administration in what Trump, a Republican, called “baseless partisan” lawsuits. He asked Bondi to refer such firms to the White House to be stripped of security clearances, and for federal contracts they worked on to be terminated.
Ben Wizner, a senior lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the new directive sought to “chill and intimidate” lawyers who challenge the president’s agenda. Trump has separately mounted attacks on law firms over their internal diversity policies and their ties to his political adversaries. “Courts have been the only institution so far that have stood up to Trump’s onslaught,” Wizner said. “Courts can’t play that role without lawyers bringing cases in front of them.”
The ACLU is involved in litigation against the administration over immigrant deportations, including the expulsion of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
The Trump administration has been hit with more than 100 lawsuits challenging White House actions on immigration, transgender rights and other issues since the start of the president’s second term. Legal advocacy groups, along with at least 12 major law firms, have brought many of the cases.
A White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, said “President Trump is delivering on his promise to ensure the judicial system is no longer weaponized against the American people.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the memorandum, which directed Bondi to assess lawyers and firms that brought cases against the government over the past eight years.
Law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters, which is working with the ACLU in an immigrant rights case against the administration, said in a statement that it was “inexcusable and despicable” for Trump to attack lawyers based on their clients or legal work opposing the federal government.
Representatives from other prominent law firms that are representing clients in cases against Trump’s administration, including Hogan Lovells, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie and WilmerHale, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump issued executive orders this month against law firms Perkins Coie and Paul Weiss, suspending their lawyers’ security clearances and restricting their access to government buildings, officials and federal contracting work.
The president also last month suspended security clearances of lawyers at Covington & Burling, in each case citing the firms’ past work for his political or legal opponents.
The Keker firm on Saturday called on law firms to sign a joint court brief supporting a lawsuit by Perkins Coie challenging the executive order against it.
Paul Weiss on Thursday struck a deal with Trump to rescind the executive order against it, pledging to donate the equivalent of $40 million in free legal work to support some of the administration’s causes such as support for veterans and combating antisemitism.
Lawyers are bound by professional ethics rules that require them to investigate allegations before filing lawsuits and not deceive the courts. Imposing disciplinary sanctions on lawyers who violate such rules falls on the court system, not federal prosecutors, though prosecutors can charge lawyers with criminal misconduct.
Some lawyers aligned with Trump faced professional discipline over claims that they violated legal ethics rules in challenging Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win over Trump.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who later was an attorney for Trump, was disbarred in New York and in the District of Columbia over baseless claims he made alleging the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Lawyers for Civil Rights, a legal advocacy group suing the administration over deportations, called Trump’s sanctions threat hypocritical in a statement to Reuters, saying Trump and his allies “have repeatedly thumbed their noses at the rule of law.”
Japan, China, and South Korea agree to promote peace
Seoul and Tokyo typically take a stronger line against North Korea than China, which remains one of Pyongyang’s most important allies and economic benefactors
Updated 23 March 2025
AFP
TOKYO: Japan, South Korea and China agreed Saturday that peace on the Korean Peninsula was a shared responsibility, Seoul’s foreign minister said, in a meeting of the three countries’ top diplomats in which they pledged to promote cooperation.
The talks in Tokyo followed a rare summit in May in Seoul where the three neighbors — riven by historical and territorial disputes — agreed to deepen trade ties and restated their goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula.
But they come as US tariffs loom over the region, and as concerns mount over North Korea’s weapons tests and its deployment of troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“We reaffirmed that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is a shared interest and responsibility of the three countries,” South Korea’s Cho Tae-yul told reporters after the trilateral meeting.
Seoul and Tokyo typically take a stronger line against North Korea than China, which remains one of Pyongyang’s most important allies and economic benefactors.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said he, Cho, and China’s Wang Yi “had a frank exchange of views on trilateral cooperation and regional international affairs ... and confirmed that we will promote future-orientated cooperation.”
“The international situation has become increasingly severe, and it is no exaggeration to say that we are at a turning point in history,” Iwaya said at the start of Saturday’s meeting.
This makes it “more important than ever to make efforts to overcome division and confrontation,” he added.
Wang noted this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, saying “only by sincerely reflecting on history can we better build the future.”
At two-way talks between Iwaya and Wang on Saturday, the Japanese minister said he had “frankly conveyed our country’s thoughts and concerns” on disputed islands, detained Japanese nationals and the situation in Taiwan and the South China Sea, among other contentious issues.
Ukraine was also on the agenda, with Iwaya warning “any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force will not be tolerated anywhere in the world.”
Climate change and aging populations were among the broad topics officials had said would be discussed, as well as working together on disaster relief and science and technology.
Iwaya said the trio had “agreed to accelerate coordination for the next summit” between the countries’ leaders.
