The United States Department of Defense has barred journalists from its press office, the latest move by the Pentagon to restrict media access since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez said on Monday that the administration had re-designated the office as a “Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility” due to its use by speechwriters with access to classified government information.

“These speechwriters routinely handle classified material and require SIPRNet access,” Valdez said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera, referring to the secure computer network used by the Pentagon to share classified information.

“As a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. Access to the office of the Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and to the Press Secretary remains available by appointment only,” Valdez added, using the Trump administration’s preferred title for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The Washington Post first reported the change.

The move follows a slew of steps by the Trump administration to curtail the ability of US media outlets to report on the military and other areas of the government.

In March, the Defense Department said it would no longer allow media outlets to maintain offices at the Pentagon after a judge sided with The New York Times in a lawsuit challenging the imposition of new rules for obtaining press credentials.

The Pentagon also announced that journalists would require an official escort while inside the complex, a policy that The New York Times is seeking to overturn in a separate lawsuit filed in May.

The National Press Club, the main professional organisation for journalists in the US, condemned the latest restrictions as a “troubling escalation” in the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail media scrutiny of the Pentagon.

“Independent reporting on the US military is not optional,” National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr said in a statement.

“When journalists are pushed farther from the institutions they cover, the American people are left with less information, less transparency, and less oversight. Any effort to restrict that access should alarm everyone who values a free and informed society.”

The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy organisation, also criticised the move.

“It’s rare for anything other than disingenuous spin and outright lies to come out of the Pentagon’s press office these days, so it’s hard to imagine what basis they have to call the space classified,” Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the organisation, told Al Jazeera.

“The only thing sensitive or confidential about the information released by Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon is that it’s not true.”

[Aljazeera]

It has been reported that six persons, have died while several others are injured after a vehicle crashed into a crowd of people near a Vesak Dansala in the Meegoda Junction.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi has won the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Orange Cap (most runs), and Emerging Player awards in IPL 2026 after amassing 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30.

Gujarat Titans (GT) quick Kagiso Rabada won the Purple Cap for topping the wickets chart. He took 29 wickets from 17 games at an economy rate of 9.68. This was the second time he won the Purple Cap, having done so previously in IPL 2020 when he took 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Bhuveneshwar Kumar was a close second with 28 wickets.

Sooryavanshi, 15, is the first player to win both the MVP and Emerging Player awards in the same season. He was the first since Chris Gayle in 2011 to top both the runs and strike rate charts (min. 20 balls faced) in the same season. Sooryavanshi hit 72 sixes in IPL 2026, breaking Gayle’s record of most sixes (59) in an IPL season, and played a key role in RR making it to the playoffs. They eventually lost to GT in Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh.

“It feels nice, but there is pressure because I am doing interviews. It is a proud moment and I will try and do well next season too,” Sooryanvashi said after collecting his awards at the end of the final. “I try to back my game and if the ball is there to be hit, I go all out for it and just try to play that way.

“How to play the pressure game, how to change myself every game, you can’t play every game in one mode, you need to read the game situation and play according to the team’s requirements. These are my learnings from this season. [On fitness] Yes, my focus is on that. If I have to play long, I have to stay clear of injuries and work on my fitness and have to focus more.”

GT captain Shubman Gill was second on the Orange Cap list with 732 runs. He was followed by his team-mate and opening partner B Sai Sudharsan, who finished with 722.

At the Cricinfo Honours awards on the eve of the IPL final, Sachin Tendulkar had said Sooriyavanshi was “truly special”.

“Everyone is talking about Sooryavanshi, and I watched him bat – it was magnificent. I mean he is something truly special. And not just the ability to hit the ball, but what also fascinated me was the wrist work that he has. To be able to play in all directions of the ground, you need good wrist work. And he is not slogging the ball. He is just picking the line and length earlier than the rest of the guys and he is able to clear the rope comfortably.”

[Cricinfo]