Trump signs new executive orders seeking to restrict US birthright citizenship

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday while leading a protest march towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence in New Delhi. His detention came as opposition parties intensified their campaign over the government’s handling of student protests and alleged examination irregularities. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were also taken into custody during the demonstration. The opposition leaders were demanding Prime Minister Modi’s resignation following the police crackdown on students protesting for education reforms. Before his detention, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of refusing to take responsibility for the crisis. He said the administration was avoiding accountability and was unwilling to hold a parliamentary debate on the issue. He also alleged that the future of India’s youth had been damaged due to repeated failures in the education system. Videos from the protest showed Gandhi resisting detention as police officers attempted to remove him from the protest site. Reports said he suffered minor injuries during the scuffle with security personnel. The protest followed large-scale demonstrations in New Delhi a day earlier. Thousands of students and activists gathered to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and called for major reforms to India’s examination system. The protests were organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a movement that has gained massive popularity through social media since its launch earlier this year. The group says it will continue nationwide demonstrations until its demands are accepted. Police used tear gas and batons to stop protesters from marching towards parliament on Monday. Violent clashes broke out between demonstrators and security forces. Authorities said more than 170 people were injured during the unrest, including over 100 police personnel. Dozens of protesters also sustained injuries. Police accused some protesters of violent behaviour during the clashes. Protest organisers strongly rejected the allegations. They claimed security forces used excessive force against peaceful demonstrators and injured hundreds of students. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urged supporters not to lose hope despite the crackdown. He said the movement would continue peacefully and would not end until the education minister stepped down and meaningful reforms were introduced. Many protesters remained at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Tuesday. They pledged to continue demonstrations until the government addressed their concerns. The issue also disrupted parliament. Opposition lawmakers demanded an immediate discussion on the police action against students, forcing the proceedings to be temporarily adjourned.

US President Donald Trump has publicly rejected the findings of his own Justice Department after federal prosecutors concluded that construction problems, rather than vandalism, were responsible for damage to the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said he strongly disagreed with US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro and insisted that vandals were responsible for the damage. He argued that although there may have been issues with the construction work, the main cause of the deterioration was deliberate vandalism. The disagreement follows a court filing submitted on Friday by Jeanine Pirro and Assistant US Attorney Michael Spence, who asked a judge to dismiss the government’s case against David Hearn, a 67 year old former Olympian. Hearn had been accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool, an allegation that became part of a wider debate over the Trump administration’s renovation project in the nation’s capital. According to the filing, newly received documents from the Department of the Interior showed that the problems were linked to a rushed and defective installation process. Prosecutors said the pool’s lining experienced repeated failures during construction and that extensive peeling occurred across the surface because of installation defects rather than intentional damage. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool underwent a renovation costing around 14.7 million dollars. Soon after the project was completed, the site experienced several problems, including algae growth that turned the water green and sections of the blue lining peeling away. The issues attracted public criticism and raised questions about the quality of the renovation work. Throughout the controversy, Trump repeatedly claimed that vandals had deliberately damaged the pool. Following the Justice Department’s decision to withdraw the case, he continued to defend that position. In another social media post, the president shared previously released video footage from the US Park Police that he said supported his claim. He argued that the footage showed people damaging the Reflecting Pool while maintenance workers were cleaning algae from the water. However, the video does not clearly show acts of vandalism. It remains unclear whether the individuals seen in the footage were intentionally damaging the lining or simply handling material that had already begun peeling because of the reported construction flaws. The Justice Department has not publicly responded to Trump’s criticism. Jeanine Pirro’s office also did not immediately comment on the president’s remarks. The dispute highlights a rare public disagreement between President Trump and his own administration’s legal team. While federal prosecutors have concluded that faulty construction caused the damage, the president continues to argue that criminal vandalism was primarily responsible, keeping the controversy surrounding the renovation project in the public spotlight.