The Pentagon has told Congress that it has authorised the transfer of $1 billion to begin the construction of the wall on the US-Mexico border.
This is the first money allocated through the national emergency Trump declared at the southern border in February, in order to obtain funding for his signature campaign pledge.
Kate Fisher reports from Washington:
US, South Korea to cut length, scope of military drills after Trump order
South Korea and the United States will cut short annual joint military drills to five days from 11 and scale back some field training, the allies said on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump ordered a substantial reduction in US participation.
Israeli airstrike kills nine Palestinians at Gaza police station
An Israeli airstrike killed nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza on Wednesday, medics said, two days after US envoy Jared Kushner ended a trip to the region that failed to push forward Donald Trump's plan to end the war in the enclave.
Thai schools hold shooting response drills after deadly school attack
Thai schools conducted active shooter drills on Wednesday, as authorities moved to strengthen security measures two weeks after a 14-year-old opened fire at a school and killed at least eight people.
Bus-truck head-on collision in Parana, Brazil kills at least 21
At least 21 people have died and four others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in the BR-373 highway in Brazil's southern state of Parana, the road operator said on Wednesday in an X post.
At least 9 killed in hotel fire in India's Kolkata
At least nine people have been killed, including a child, in a fire at a hotel in India's eastern city of Kolkata on Wednesday, local police said.
