Headline

US: Trump’s Inauguration Moved Indoors Due To Extreme Cold

Published

10 months ago

January 18, 2025

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Friday that his inauguration ceremony would be relocated indoors because of dangerously cold temperatures predicted for Washington, D.C. on Monday, January 20, 2025.

The event will now take place in the US Capitol Rotunda, a decision reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inauguration, which was also moved indoors due to severe weather conditions.

“I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump also revealed plans to accommodate the public in a separate venue. “We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade. I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In,” he added.

Reports earlier in the day suggested that Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance would take their oaths of office in the Rotunda. Discussions were also underway to move portions of the celebration to Capital One Arena, where Trump is scheduled to hold a rally on Sunday.

In a statement, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies confirmed Trump’s request to relocate the event. “The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies will honour the request of the President-elect and his Presidential Inaugural Committee to move the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies inside the US Capitol to the Rotunda,” the committee said.

The move indoors poses logistical challenges, especially for accommodating the thousands of ticketed guests who were originally expected to attend the outdoor ceremony. The committee stated in a notice to ticket holders, “The vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person.”

While designated viewing areas are being arranged, most attendees will need to watch from other indoor locations. Only ticket holders for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be allowed to attend the Rotunda event.

The relocation of the inauguration and parade has prompted law enforcement and security agencies, including the Secret Service, DC Police, and US Capitol Police, to revise plans that had been in development for months. These agencies now have just three days to finalize security measures for the updated venues.

The Capitol Rotunda, where the ceremony will take place, can hold approximately 700 people. Attendance will be restricted to members of Congress, their spouses, and VIPs, with final plans still being worked out. Security protocols will be similar to those used for State of the Union addresses, with the Capitol and its surroundings closed off to the public.

Meanwhile, Capital One Arena, which has a capacity of just over 20,000, has been chosen to host the public. However, this venue will not fully accommodate the over 200,000 individuals who had initially secured tickets. Congressional offices have been informed that commemorative tickets will still be issued to those unable to attend the event in person.

Health Concerns Over Extreme Cold
Trump expressed his concerns about the impact of the extreme weather on attendees, including law enforcement and first responders. “I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” Trump posted.

The last indoor inauguration took place in 1985, during Ronald Reagan’s second term, when bitterly cold temperatures forced the ceremony indoors. President William Henry Harrison’s outdoor inauguration in 1841, held in similar weather, is widely believed to have contributed to his death a month later from pneumonia.

This year’s Inauguration Day is shaping up to be one of the coldest on record, with temperatures expected to hover in the low 20s at noon—nearly 20 degrees below average. Winds of 10 to 20 mph, with gusts reaching up to 30 mph, will make it feel even colder, with wind chills dropping to around 10 degrees during the day and into the single digits after sunset.

While Monday is expected to remain dry, forecasters warn of a possible mix of rain and snow on Sunday, just before the inauguration.

(CNN)

Headline

FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

3 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Headline

Romanian Defence Minister Quits After Admitting Error In Academic Record

Published

4 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

Romania’s defence minister resigned on Friday after saying he made a “mistake” on his CV about his university education, as controversy swirled over alleged lies on his resume.

Ionut Mosteanu – who has admitted to writing on his CV that he graduated from a university he never attended – said he did not want the row “to distract” the NATO member at a time when it and Europe are “under attack from Russia”.

Romania has repeatedly seen drone fragments fall on its soil since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and reported a number of drone incursions.

On Tuesday, a drone crashed in eastern Romania, which borders Ukraine.

Romania has also accused Moscow of “hybrid attacks”, including meddling in presidential elections last year that were subsequently annulled.

“Today, I resigned from my position as minister of national defence,” Mosteanu said in a Facebook post, adding he wanted the country to be focused on its “difficult mission”.

“Romania and Europe are under attack from Russia. Our national security must be defended at all costs,” he added.

Mosteanu had come under pressure after a media investigation published on Thursday revealed that he wrote in a CV that he graduated from a university which he did not actually attend.

That same day he apologised for what he called “a mistake”.

“In a CV I quickly put together in 2016 using a template I found online, there is a mistake that I admit embarrasses me. I didn’t pay much attention to these details at the time,” he said on Facebook.

Mosteanu was appointed defence minister in June of this year, when a new pro-European government was formed after months of political turmoil.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said in a press release that he would propose economy and tourism minister Radu Miruta take over the defence portfolio in the interim.

AFP

Headline

Russia Insists Ukraine Must Cede Land Or Face Continued Military Push

Published

1 day ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own — otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”

Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.

Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.

Washington’s original plan — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.

Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.

“Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the US is thought to have shortened to about 20 points.

US negotiator Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.

– ‘Little can be done’ –

In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.

“Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded,” he said, using the Russian names for the cities.

Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.

The Russian offensive “is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it”, Putin said.

Ukraine has denied Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally “almost impossible” at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.

According to data analysed by AFP from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have conquered an average of 467 square kilometres (180 square miles) each month in 2025 — a step up from 2024.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.