Donald Trump was embroiled in controversy Wednesday after a report that his entourage shoved staff during a politicized visit to the United States’s most hallowed resting place for its war dead.
International News
Trump Entourage Accused Of Shoving Staff At Hallowed US Military Cemetery
National Public Radio reported late Tuesday that an Arlington National Cemetery official tried to prevent the Republican’s aides from filming and photographing in a section reserved for those killed in recent wars — and where filming is banned.
Trump staffers responded by shoving and verbally abusing the employee, the report said.
Arlington National Cemetery confirmed on Wednesday there had been an “incident” at the location, after the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate’s visit on Monday.
Accompanied by top election aides, Trump was taking part in a wreath-laying with family members of some of the 13 service members killed three years ago in Kabul during the desperate last hours of the US pull-out from Afghanistan, ending a 20-year war against the Taliban.
Trump was invited to the ceremony by the families. He has criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of the final US retreat from Afghanistan a key note of his reelection campaign, arguing that he would have managed the withdrawal in the face of a sudden and complete Taliban victory better.
The withdrawal was made as part of a peace deal signed by the Trump administration with the Taliban in Doha in February 2020.
After the visit to Arlington cemetery, Trump’s campaign posted a photo of the former president standing with the relatives and giving a thumbs-up gesture.
Arlington National Cemetery, just outside Washington, said “Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign.”
The cemetery “reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants,” it said.
Trump’s campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita issued a very different interpretation of the dispute, saying a “despicable individual” had blocked the former president’s team.
It is “a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery,” he said.
Trump also posted a statement on social media attributed to relatives of victims of the 2021 bombing, which said they had approved having Trump’s media team present.
The Abbey Gate suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport killed scores of local people and 13 American troops — the last US troops to die in the war.
The uproar over the Arlington incident is the latest in a long line of controversies over Trump’s relationship with the military.
While often touting his support for the armed forces, he privately mocked the war dead while president and did not want to be seen near military amputees, according to his former chief of staff.
AFP
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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