Briefly

THAILAND

Cabinet appoints acting prime minister

Thailand's Cabinet appointed Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai to serve as acting prime minister on Saturday, following a constitutional court ruling that terminated Paetongtarn Shinawatra's premiership. Minister to the Prime Minister's Office Chusak Sirinil announced the appointment following a special Cabinet meeting, which also appointed Prommin Lertsuridej as prime minister's secretary-general. Chusak said the Cabinet approved a strict framework for its operations during this transitional period to ensure stability without exceeding its mandate. The move was a constitutional requirement following the court's ruling, that the existing Cabinet continue to govern in a caretaker capacity until a new administration takes office.

UNITED STATES

Plans afoot to rename Department of Defense

The Donald Trump administration is advancing plans to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a White House official. Restoring the Department of War name for the government's largest department would likely require congressional action, but the White House is exploring alternative methods to implement the change, the report said. Trump raised the idea of rebranding the Defense Department as the "Department of War" on Aug 25, saying it "just sounded to me better". "It used to be called the Department of War and it had a stronger sound," he said. "As Department of War we won everything, we won everything and I think we're going to have to go back to that."

PAKISTAN

Flood rescue efforts on as half a million stranded

Nearly half a million people have been displaced by flooding in eastern Pakistan following days of heavy rain that swelled rivers, relief officials said on Saturday, as they carried out a massive rescue operation. Three transboundary rivers that cut through Punjab Province have swollen to exceptionally high levels, affecting more than 2,300 villages. Nabeel Javed, head of the Punjab government's relief services, said 481,000 people stranded by the floods have been evacuated, along with 405,000 livestock. The senior minister for the province, Marriyum Aurangzeb, told a news conference on Sunday: "This is the biggest flood in the history of Punjab. The flood has affected 2 million people."

Agencies - Xinhua