Five men being investigated for possible terrorist attack near U.S.-operated base in England; Trump hints at weapons sale to China; and VA reopens food hub to combat food insecurity among veterans.
1. Police were holding five men on Monday and examining suspected explosives found near a U.S.-operated air force base in England, as counterterror detectives investigated whether the arrests foiled an attempted attack linked to Iran. The men were detained early Sunday after three vans were spotted near RAF Fairford, a U.K.-owned base that has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East. Investigators have not concluded whether the incident is a state-backed attack. They are investigating a possible link to Iran, Russia or non-state-backed militant groups. RAF Fairford has also been the focus of protests by anti-war campaigners. The five suspects, who have not been named, were initially held over suspected explosives offenses, and later also arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism. Police can hold them for up to 14 days before they must be charged or released.
2. President Donald Trump has justified the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan to Chinese President Xi Jinping by downplaying it as just one of many sales Washington makes around the world — even asking Xi if he’d be in the market for U.S. arms, Trump’s ambassador to China said on Sunday. David Perdue said Trump raised the prospect of the arms sales from the U.S. to its ascendant geopolitical rival, an unlikely offer that if consummated would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and potentially expose U.S. technology to a potential foe. Perdue, speaking to Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” days after Trump hosted Xi for a state visit in Washington, didn’t specify when the offer was made. Bream had cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over delayed aid packages and weapons orders to Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy, to defend itself from China’s threat to invade the island. Bream asked if the U.S. is denying arms to Taiwan to appease the Chinese president, who visited Trump last week.
3. Seoul has called for an official apology from Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed what it says was supposed to be a secret transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly last week that Ukraine had recently sent the men to South Korea, after capturing them on a Ukraine-Russia battlefield in early 2025. The two are among thousands of North Korean soldiers sent to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung quickly accused Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement about the transfer. Ukraine denied making such a deal. Late Sunday, Seong Ghi-hong, a senior presidential adviser for Lee on public relations, expressed “strong regret” over Ukraine’s latest actions and demanded an official apology and explanation.
4. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reopened a food hub as part of its pilot program it is running to combat food insecurity among the veteran population. The VA Memphis Healthcare System reopened its hub, Lt. Col. Luke Wathers Jr. VA Medical Center, last week through a partnership with Mid-South Food Bank, allowing veterans to access groceries and other supportive resources in Tennessee. It had initially opened in May as part of a soft opening before the recent full launch. “Because the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers Jr. VA Medical Center has the capacity to safely store and distribute food, Mid-South Food Bank is able to provide a variety of items for the food hub, including fresh produce, meat, poultry, frozen foods, and non-perishable items," Christina Drones, director of agency relations and program services for Mid-South Food Bank, said in a statement. Veterans are 7.4% more likely to experience food insecurity than non-veterans, according to VA's Office of Health Equity data.
5. The U.S. Army will temporarily store its mid-range missile system, Typhon, and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa starting in mid-October, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry. The rocket systems will be moved from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kanoya Air Base on Kyushu to Kadena via U.S. Air Force Globemaster III aircraft, according to an information sheet posted Friday on the Okinawa Defense Bureau’s website. The bureau is an arm of the Ministry of Defense. The Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force temporarily deployed an unspecified number of the systems to Kanoya during the biennial Valiant Shield exercise in June and July and the annual Orient Shield exercise, which concluded Thursday, according to the ministry.
- Security