Category: World

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday called for the shutdown of USAID, escalating his unprecedented push to dismantle the humanitarian agency. In a post on his Truth Social app, he claimed the agency was deeply corrupt, writing, “THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!” The move has sparked chaos across the agency’s global network and fuelled concerns over the decline of US influence on the international stage. In the three weeks since he began his new term, Trump has launched a crusade led by his top donor…

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Bangladesh has urged India to prevent ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from making “false and fabricated” statements during her stay in the country, the foreign ministry said. Hasina fled to India last year after violent protests erupted in Bangladesh, leaving over 1,000 people dead. In an online address on Wednesday, she urged her supporters to resist the interim government, accusing it of unlawfully seizing power. Thousands of protesters gathered in Dhaka before Hasina’s address and, an in effort to disrupt it, demolished and set fire to the home of…

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Iran on Friday condemned Washington’s move to impose sanctions related to shipping Iranian crude oil to China worth hundreds of millions of dollars, calling them as “illegal” and “unjustified”. “The decision of the new US government to exert pressure on the Iranian nation by preventing Iran’s legal trade with its economic partners is an illegitimate, illegal and violative measure,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement. The US move was “categorically unjustified and contrary to international rules”, Baqaei added. The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced…

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The Trump administration’s measures to cut and restructure American foreign aid is severely damaging the complex international system that attempts to avoid and respond to hunger. The international famine monitoring and relief system, which was already struggling to handle the food crises that were sweeping the developing world before US President Donald Trump returned to the White House, has taken several hits as a result of the abrupt halting of US foreign aid. The spending freeze, which Trump ordered upon taking office on January 20, is supposed to last 90…

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The Trump administration is working to identify and exempt specific USAID programmes from a sweeping freeze on foreign aid, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday. His remarks come after President Donald Trump’s decision last month to halt most US foreign assistance, a move that has already placed all directly hired USAID employees globally on leave and recalled thousands of overseas personnel as part of his “America First” policy. Trump and his aides have stated they aim to ensure that billions of dollars in US assistance, including humanitarian…

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A United States military plane carrying illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar, India on Wednesday, as part of US President Donald Trump’s stringent immigration policies. The military aircraft deported anywhere from 104 to 205 individuals, primarily hailing from the Punjab and Gujarat, according to an Reuters eyewitness. This operation marks a significant shift in the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement, as it increasingly relies on military resources, including the deployment of military aircraft for deportations and the use of military bases for housing migrants. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the C-17 aircraft…

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Sweden reeled Wednesday from the deadliest mass shooting in its history after 10 people plus the suspected gunman were killed in a shooting at an adult education centre in the central city of Orebro. Several media reported the suspected gunman turned his gun on himself — but police have not confirmed those reports. “Eleven people are dead, including the killer,” police told AFP about Tuesday’s massacre at Campus Risbergska, a secondary school for young adults. Local health authorities said Wednesday six people were being treated at Orebro’s university hospital. Five of them…

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The Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday offered buyouts to its entire workforce, citing an aim to bring the agency in line with US President Donald Trump’s priorities, according to two sources familiar with the matter. In a statement, a CIA spokesperson said the moves were meant to align the agency with the goals of new CIA Director John Ratcliffe. “Director Ratcliffe is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities. These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with…

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WASHINGTON: After Democratic lawmakers raised concerns and called for an investigation, the US Treasury revealed on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s government reform team is allowed to view data from its sensitive payment system, but they cannot make any changes to it. Musk, the world’s richest person, is leading President Donald Trump’s federal cost-cutting efforts under the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As part of that initiative, he reportedly pushed for a team led by IT executive Tom Krause to be given access to the Treasury Department’s closely guarded payment…

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The Aga Khan, imam of the Ismailis and head of a major development aid foundation, died Tuesday in Lisbon at the age of 88, his foundation announced. He was the founder and president of the Aga Khan Development Network, which employs 96,000 people and finances development programmes particularly in Asia and Africa. “His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), passed away peacefully in Lisbon on 4 February 2025, aged 88,…

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