Australia and Singapore boost energy security ties as Middle East tensions strain fuel supplies
Australia and Singapore have agreed to deepen cooperation on energy security as global fuel markets come under strain from disruption linked to the...
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order authorizing the Department of Defence to adopt the historic title “Department of War,” reviving a name last used in 1947.
The White House confirmed the move, which was first reported by Fox News, saying the rebranding reflects Trump’s effort to restore a “warrior ethos” to the military under Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The order designates “Department of War” as an official secondary title for Defence officials, giving Hegseth and his deputies new titles such as “Secretary of War” and “Deputy Secretary of War.” A full legal renaming would still require an act of Congress.
On Friday, Republican lawmakers introduced the Department of War Restoration Act of 2025 to make the change permanent.
“Defence is too defencive. We want to be offensive too if we have to be,” Trump said during an Oval Office signing ceremony. He has previously argued that America “won everything” when the military operated under the War Department name.
The Pentagon has already embraced the shift, with Hegseth reportedly renaming his main conference space the “W.A.R. Room.” Hegseth defended the change as more than symbolic:
“The War Department is going to fight to win — not just to avoid losing,” he said.
The original War Department was established in 1789 to oversee the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. It was reorganized under the 1947 National Security Act, which created the Department of Defence, the Air Force, and the CIA.
If made permanent, the change would mark the first major rebranding of the Pentagon in more than 75 years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has given an instruction for Israel to begin peace talks with Lebanon that would also include the disarming of Hezbollah.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to continue dialogue and avoid steps that could worsen tensions after China-hosted talks in Urumqi, with Kabul and Beijing saying the meetings focused on easing differences and improving relations.
Amid fragile calm, António Guterres urged constructive U.S.- Iran talks, while Pope Leo XIV warned violence is spreading. Lebanon's President said an Israeli strike killed 13 security personnel in Nabatieh.
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died during U.S.-Israeli attacks on 28 February.
Dubai has restricted foreign airlines to one daily flight to its airports until 31 May due to the Iran crisis, raising fears of significant revenue losses for Indian carriers, industry letters show.
Australia and Singapore have agreed to deepen cooperation on energy security as global fuel markets come under strain from disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
Donald Trump’s flagship plan for post-war Gaza has come under scrutiny after reports that its financing is falling short of expectations, claims firmly rejected by the White House-backed Board of Peace.
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, is suing him for libel at the High Court in London, according to a court record published on Friday (10 April).
The European Union and Washington are nearing an agreement to coordinate the production and security of critical minerals, Bloomberg News reported on Friday (10 April).
In a forceful rebuke to Washington’s foreign policy in the Americas, a senior Russian diplomat has declared that Moscow will never abandon Cuba, pledging ongoing support to help the Communist-run island overcome a severe energy crisis linked to the United States embargo.
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