Federal authorities in the US state of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula detained two firefighters who were members of a team attempting to contain a wildfire, according to federal authorities.
Border Patrol and the US Department of Homeland Security both stated in a statement on Thursday that border patrol agents discovered that two of the workers had been working without authorization in the country while they were being detained while the operation was being conducted.
Federal agents reportedly held crews from private fire contractors for several hours on Wednesday as they prepared to tackle the state’s 9, 000-acre (3, 600-hectare) Bear Gulch Fire.
According to reports, the immigration raid was unusual because, according to reports, such operations have traditionally been carried out in the middle of natural disasters or at places of emergency.
Forest rangers requested the names on contractor firefighter rosters, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Two individuals were discovered to be living illegally in the United States, one of whom had a prior removal order, according to a statement from CBP.
Additionally, the US Bureau of Land Management allegedly escorted its 42 firefighter employees off federal land after terminating contracts with two contractor firms at the site.
On suspicion of illegal entry and re-entry into the US, the two firefighters were detained and taken into custody.
The 44 firefighters were reportedly lined up and given the order to produce identification during the arrests, with crew members claiming that they were prevented from filming the incident, according to The Seattle Times.
One firefighter, who was unnamed, told the paper, “You risked your life out here to save the community.”
“They treat us in this manner,” they say.
Oregon’s Democratic Senator Ron Wyden denounced the immigration arrest, saying it made communities less safe, by posting the news on social media site X.
Bob Ferguson, the Democratic governor of Washington, stated that he was looking for information on the immigration operation.
He wrote on social media that he was “deeply concerned about this situation with two people helping to fight fires in Washington state.”
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US Open 2025
Dates: August 24 through September 7 in Flushing Meadows, New York
Naomi Osaka, the ex-world number one, claims that Jelena Ostapenko’s statement to Taylor Townsend, “one of the worst things you could say to a black tennis player,” was “one of the worst things you could say to a black tennis player.”
After Townsend beat Latvia’s Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday in the US Open second round, the Latvian fought back with her.
The comments made by Ostapenko, who claimed Townsend did not apologize after a net cord blew in her favor, have drawn criticism.
Ostapenko’s comments have a racial undertone, according to Townsend, who added, “I didn’t take it that way, but it has also had a stigma in our community of being not educated, when it’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
In a Wednesday Instagram post, Ostapenko, who won the French Open, denied any racism.
Japan’s four-time major champion, Osaka, responded, “I think it’s ill timing and the worst person you could have ever said it to.”
She said, “I don’t know if she is familiar with its history in America. But I am certain that she will never repeat that statement in her lifetime. Simply put, terrible.
In a sport with a majority of white players, “I think it’s one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player.”
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American third-seed Coco Gauff, who has frequently spoken out against racism, claimed Ostapenko was wrong to use those words in reference to Townsend.
“I believe it was a moment-sensitive situation. Jelena, who is now 21 years old, added Gauff, adding that she was probably feeling emotions after losing.
Given that, I do believe that shouldn’t have been said, regardless of how you feel, especially given that she stated those things.
She is the opposite of Taylor, according to Taylor’s personal experience.
Ostapenko lost on Thursday in the women’s doubles, but organizers blamed illness for her inability to media.
Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s number one, claimed she had spoken with Ostapenko to “help her face it more in a mature way” after winning on Wednesday night.
She “can lose control,” according to Sabalenka. She has challenges and struggles in life.
She simply needed someone to talk to and let go of her feelings, as I did when she first started to settle down.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are said to have already made important decisions regarding their upcoming wedding, with the singer reportedly urging her husband-to-be to “take the lead.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s intimate wedding plans revealed: Close friends and family only(Image: TNS)
Newly engaged Taylor Swift is said to want her husband-to-be to “take the lead” when it comes to their wedding as details about their big day are leaked.
The Shake It Off hitmaker and Travis Kelce, both 35, are reportedly said to have already finalised some key details for planning their nuptials.
“It will just be close friends and family,” a source close to the happy couple reveals when discussing Taylor and Travis will tie the knot after announcing their engagement on Tuesday night.
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(Taylorswift/Instagram)
The proposal, which featured Taylor and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, featured them embracing in a pink and white flower garden, according to Taylor and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married, the two women, who have been dating since 2023, wrote in the post.
The lovers are already working hard to ensure that their union turns out to be “the wedding of the century” despite only having just announced their happy news.
An insider claims the guest list will “just be close friends and family” and will be a “traditional” affair despite the bride and groom having a number of showbiz pals.
She would want the entire thing to be traditional, he said, and that’s what he’s told me. When it comes to the couple’s upcoming wedding, a source close to Travis told the Mail. “She wants him to take the lead.
Taylor and Travis’ engagement reveal appeared to have surprised their friends, according to friends of the couple. Our insider claimed that Travis literally always said she’s the girl he’s going to marry. They add to the publication by adding, “He has] been saying that for a long time, really since the beginning.”
Travis’ mother has publicly shown her support for her son and future daughter-in-law amid the engagement buzz still sweeping the world.
Donna Kelce, 72, has marked the occasion by changing her Facebook cover photo to side-by-side childhood pictures of Travis and Taylor.
Travis was featured in Taylor’s post, which quickly went viral. After months of speculation, the couple first became public in September of that year when Donna and Taylor shared a private box at a Chiefs game.
Ed Kelce, 73, Travis’ father, also spoke about the wedding in an interview with News 5 Cleveland. When reporter John Kosich asked if he would be paying for the rehearsal dinner, Ed responded, “I think he’ll help me out on that one.”
Travis and Taylor were close to two weeks apart when the proposal was revealed at his Lee’s Summit, Missouri, home.
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He said, “He got her out there, and they were about to have dinner,” and he said, “Let’s go out and have a glass of wine.” They did, and it was beautiful. They began making sure everyone was aware of me and their mother. Therefore, it’s wonderful to see them together.
Before the proposal, Ed also gave his son some advice. When you kneel down and ask her to marry you, he said, “I told him repeatedly, you could do it on the side of the road, do it anywhere that makes it special.”
Anuj Gupta sits in a corner of his shop in the middle of a crowded market in the Indian capital as the silence lingers over it.
Gupta purchases and exports laces and buttons for clothing and supplies them to major global companies. Gupta’s business has been torn down by the punishing tariffs that Donald Trump has imposed.
After the Trump administration threatened to double the levies from 25% over India’s purchase of Russian oil, the country was awakened to 50% tariffs on its goods sold to the US on Wednesday morning. According to the White House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is financing Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine from Russia, which is one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude. Washington has been accused of having two standards by Indian officials, citing both how Russia and the EU both buy more from each other and how Moscow still trades.
According to Gupta, the cycle repeats year after year in the fashion industry: clothing is currently being created and designed for the fall of 2026. Therefore, he claimed, the market’s “hugging uncertainty” has “hampered the work severely” and caused a “big dent.” His US-based business accounts for 40% of its revenue.
Gupta claimed he was still hopeful even up until Wednesday morning. He speculated that Trump may be just bullying us for optics, or that Modi’s positive relationship with the US might help. “But we received the worst treatment.”
Five negotiations have failed to produce a trade agreement between Washington and New Delhi, according to Gupta, and exporters are now concerned that their customers will abandon India altogether. Buyers would look for alternative markets for sourcing, he said, “If these tensions continue to grow.”
Analysts and economists fear that the tariffs will devastate key export-driven sectors of the Indian economy, with hundreds of thousands of jobs in danger as New Delhi grapples with Trump’s actions, which turn the US away from two decades of diplomatic and strategic investments in India.
[Adnan Abidi/TPX Images of the Day/Reuters] A worker measures dresses at a Noida, India, garment manufacturing facility on August 7, 2025.
It’s so helpless, they say.
After meeting the nation’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, and other party leaders on Thursday, Ajay Sahai, the CEO of the largest government-backed body of Indian exporters, was cautiously optimistic of assistance from the Modi administration.
Sahai told Al Jazeera, “The government has fully assured us that they will provide all kinds of support needed to solve this problem, perhaps even an economic package.”
He claimed that the government had requested that we prepare a report and that they would then develop a scheme. Sitharaman has assured us that there won’t be layoffs, which we should respect.
That’s still simpler to say than to do, though.
Some of India’s biggest exports to the US are expected to include shrimp, textiles, gems, jewelry, carpets, and other items that are likely to suffer the most from the tariffs.
In a coastal town in Andhra Pradesh’s state on the Bay of Bengal, K. Anand Kumar, the head of Sandhya Marines, which exports shrimp and employs nearly 3,500 workers, claimed that his company is in danger of dissolving.
The US market is where his company’s cargoes are more than 90% of.
India exported a record-breaking 1.78 million tonnes of seafood worth $7.38 billion last year. Shrimp accounts for 92% of the overall value. Additionally, US shrimp shipments account for more than 40% of India’s total.
Small farmers make up the shrimp industry, according to Kumar, who also serves as the chapter leader of the seafood export association in Andhra Pradesh. Nearly two million people are connected to shrimp exports, according to Kumar, taking everyone into account.
More than 50% of those workers, according to Kumar, will bear the brunt of Trump’s tariffs directly.
According to Kumar, “We are already laying off because we can’t keep paying our salaries without receiving any orders,” Because there is no work available to them right now, “the small farmers who peel the shrimp will be the worst affected.”
Exporter associations believe that the tariffs could have an impact on nearly 55 percent of India’s $87 billion in-exports of goods and hurt rivals like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and China, who have experienced lower tariffs.
According to Moody’s Ratings, Trump’s import tariffs may stymie India’s economic growth. The significantly larger tariff gap than other Asia-Pacific nations, according to the ratings agency, would severely impede India’s efforts to grow its manufacturing sector and possibly stifle some of the recent gains in attracting related investments.
It’s like being in a nightmare, according to Kumar, where you can’t predict what new, random tariff number to pick up next.
According to Kumar, the crisis feels uncharted in the last 30 years of business in the US. He claimed that “the US is toying with us” and that they could pursue any of their interests. And we must adjust, too. It seems so helpless.
This illustration, taken on August 27, 2025, features an Indian flag, a 3D-printed miniature model of President Donald Trump, and the phrase “50% tariffs.”
Embargo on Indian goods
Tiruppur, a town in Tamil Nadu’s southern state, is home to the country’s garment exporting industry, which is nearly 1, 000 kilometers (620 miles) away from Kumar’s factory.
Tiruppur, which is situated along the Noyyal River and close to rocky hillocks, accounts for nearly a third of the total $ 16 billion in ready-to-wear exports. The name “Dollar City” comes from Tiruppur’s US earnings, which it has earned. The top fashion houses in the world, including Gap and Zara, come from here.
However, a prolonged crisis could cripple some businesses, according to V Elangovan, managing director of SNQS International Group, an exporter of clothing, while higher margins in the case of big brands give them temporary breathing room.
The production has completely been stopped, he said, “wherever margins are lower.” Elangovan’s business has 1,500 employees worldwide. According to him, due to Trump’s tariffs in Tiruppur, about 150 000 workers are likely to lose their jobs.
In this economy, he said, “It’s very challenging to find new customers.” Customer diversification is not a switch that we can turn on and off, but rather a switch. We will soon be looking at cash flow issues and there will be a lot of employee turnover.
Modi’s stance on the US trade war has meanwhile been defiant.
In his Independence Day speech from New Delhi’s Red Fort on August 15, Modi declared that India “should become self-reliant.” “Economic selfishness is on the rise globally, and we mustn’t sit and cry about our difficulties,” he said.
“Modi will oppose any policy that threatens their interests like a wall.” The prime minister made a pledge to India to protect the interests of its farmers, indirectly referring to trade frictions with the US, which demands greater market access for India’s dairy and agricultural sectors. Nearly half of India’s 1.4 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
However, traders worry that the deal could leave them bleeding.
Elangovan claimed that the government allows us to be slashed in one eye to save the other. A 50% tariff on Indian goods is essentially an embargo.
According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s statement to Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira, China is willing to improve cooperation with Brazil.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang made the pledge to Vieira in a phone call as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration considers imposing retaliatory trade sanctions against the country in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on a range of Brazilian goods.
Wang stated to Vieira during the phone call that the China-Brazil relationship is “at its best in history,” according to Wang, according to China’s state-run Global Times.
Wang also vowed that China would join forces with the BRICS trading bloc to defend “the legitimate rights and interests” of developing nations while noting that the current international situation “isundergoing complex changes.”
The emerging economies like Brazil and the BRICS are seen as opposing the Western-led APEC and G7 organizations in terms of their political and economic stances.
Beijing’s offer comes as a result of concerns that Brazil and China are considering working together to combative US trade sanctions.
Wang also recalled the phone call between Brazilian President Lula and Chinese President Xi Jinping two weeks ago, when the two leaders “forged solid mutual trust and friendship” to create a China-Brazil community “with a shared future.”
Lula visited China for a five-day state visit in May.
In recent years, Beijing has attempted to win over Latin America in order to oust Washington, which has historically been the region’s most powerful major power.
However, China has surpassed the US as Brazil’s largest trading partner, and a large portion of Latin American nations have also partnered with Xi to build the Belt and Road infrastructure.
As the world’s largest consumer of soya beans, Brazil relies heavily on imports for its supply because of its large-export volumes of the ingredient.
Since Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee and other products, which went into effect on August 6, strained relations between the US and Brazil.
While Trump’s trade war primarily targeted nations that have a significant trade surplus with the US, Brazil imports from the US far outweigh its exports, and Washington had a $ 28.6 billion trade surplus with Brazil in 2024.
Trump’s economic hostility toward Brazil was used as retribution for the so-called domestic legal “witch-hunt” against Brazil’s ex-favorable president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup.
Trump has demanded that Bolsonaro’s accusations of being an ally be dropped, and he has also imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for overseeing the case against the former leader.
Former prime minister Han Duck-soo and Kim Keon-hee, the ex-president’s wife, have been charged with bribery and other crimes in separate cases.
Han, 76, was charged on Friday, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. Perjury and falsifying official documents are additional offenses.
According to media reports, Han had been the subject of a team of special prosecutors’ inquiries for a while.
Among other things, former First Lady Kim was charged with accepting gifts from the contentious Unification Church and participating in a stock manipulation scheme.
Kim’s attorneys have refuted the allegations made against her and said that rumors about some of the gifts she allegedly received were fabricated.
According to assistant special counsel Park Ji-young, Han was the highest official who could have prevented Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law.
Park claimed that Han continued to play an “active” part in Yoon’s declaration of martial law by attempting to pass the decree through a Cabinet Council meeting in order to “proceed procedurally legitimacy.”
Han has maintained that he told Yoon that he opposed his martial law plan.
Yoon is currently facing charges including insurrection for his attempt to impose military rule, while Kim and her ex-president husband have been detained and are currently incarcerated.
His wife had been the target of numerous high-profile scandals, some of which had lasted for more than 15 years, which hampered his turbulent presidency and caused political unrest for him and his moderate People’s Party (PPP) candidates.
In April, Yoon was formally impeached.
During the post-martial law quake between December and May, former prime minister Han stepped in twice to serve as acting president before quitting.
