World

Musk says he is working to shut down “beyond repair” USAID

Published

4 months ago

February 3, 2025

editor

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is heading U.S. President Donald Trump’s drive to shrink the federal government, gave an update on the effort early Monday, saying work is underway to shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID.

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, opens new tab and SpaceX, discussed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a social media talk on Monday on X, which he also owns. Trump has assigned Musk to lead a federal cost-cutting panel.

The conversation, which included former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Mike Lee, began with Musk saying they were working to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“It’s beyond repair,” Musk said, adding that President Trump agrees it should be shut down.

On Sunday Reuters reported the Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID during the weekend after they tried to stop representatives from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from gaining access to restricted parts of the building, three sources said.

USAID is the world’s largest single donor. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. disbursed $72 billion of assistance worldwide on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024.The website of USAID appeared to still be offline on Saturday and some users could not access it on Sunday. USAID has a staff of more than 10,000 people.

Trump has ordered a global freeze on most U.S. foreign aid as part of his “America First” policy which is already sending shockwaves around the world. Field hospitals in Thai refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the programs at risk of elimination.Speaking more broadly about cutting U.S. expenses and fraud, Musk estimated the Trump administration can cut $1 trillion from the U.S. deficit next year.

He asserted, for example, that “professional foreign fraud rings” are stealing vast sums by masquerading as or creating fake digital U.S. citizens.

Musk did not offer any evidence to support his fraud claim or explain how he reached the amount of $1 trillion.

The online chat comes amid concerns about Musk’s access to the Treasury system, first reported by the New York Times, that sends out more than $6 trillion per year in payments on behalf of federal agencies and contains the personal information of millions of Americans who receive Social Security payments, tax refunds and other monies from the government.Democrat Peter Welch, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, called for explanations as to why Musk had been handed access to the payment system and what Welch said included taxpayers’ sensitive data.

“It’s a gross abuse of power by an unelected bureaucrat and it shows money can buy power in the Trump White House,” Welch said in an emailed statement.Musk has Trump’s support. Asked Sunday if Musk was doing a good job, Trump agreed. “He’s a big cost-cutter. Sometimes we won’t agree with it and we’ll not go where he wants to go. But I think he’s doing a great job. He’s a smart guy. Very smart. And he’s very much into cutting the budget of our federal budget.”

Musk’s team has been given access to or has taken control of numerous government systems.

Reuters reported on Friday that aides to Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.

Musk has moved swiftly to install allies at the agency known as the Office of Personnel Management.

A team including current and former employees of Musk assumed command of OPM on Jan. 20, the day Trump took office, the sources added.

Since taking office 11 days ago, Trump has embarked on a massive government makeover, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants in his first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and installing more loyalists.

(Reuters)

News

Ukraine drones strike bombers during major attack in Russia

Published

9 hours ago

June 2, 2025

editor

A Ukrainian drone attack destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, a Ukrainian security official told The Associated Press on Sunday, while Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones a day before the two sides meet for a new round of direct talks in Istanbul.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose operational details, said the attack took over 18 months to plan and execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The operation saw drones transported in containers carried by trucks deep into Russian territory, he said. The drones reportedly hit 41 planes stationed at several airfields on Sunday afternoon, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22M aircraft, the official said. Moscow has previously used Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers to launch missiles at Ukraine, while A-50s are used to coordinate targets and detect air defenses and guided missiles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry in a statement confirmed the attacks, which spanned five airfields. The FPV drones damaged aircraft and sparked fires on air bases in the Irkutsk region, more than 2,500 miles from Ukraine, as well as Russia’s northern Murmansk, it said. Strikes were repelled in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East and in the western regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan, the ministry said.

The attack came the same day as MR. Zelenskyy said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday.

In a statement on Telegram, Mr. Zelenskyy said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place. Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.

(KYIV)

News

Thailand wins 72nd Miss World pageant

Published

2 days ago

May 31, 2025

editor

Miss Thailand – Opal Suchata Chuangsri has won the 72nd Miss World pageant, which was held in Hyderabad tonight (May 31).

Miss Ethiopia won 2nd place while Miss Poland won 3rd place . Miss Martinique won 4th place.

Despite making a marked presence in the Multimedia and Head-to-Head challenges with impressive performances, Sri Lanka’s Anudi Gunasekara fell short of the quarter finalist round, which selected the top 40 contestants in the competition.

World

Last hospital in North Gaza governorate evacuated after Israeli order

Published

2 days ago

May 31, 2025

editor

The last hospital providing health services in the North Gaza governorate is out of service after the Israeli military ordered its immediate evacuation, the facility’s director has said.

Dr Mohammed Salha told the BBC patients were evacuated from al-Awda hospital in Jabalia on Thursday evening after “two weeks of siege”, and there was now “no health facility working in the north”.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is yet to respond to enquiries.

It comes as efforts continue to secure a ceasefire. Hamas says it is “thoroughly reviewing” a US plan, which the White House has said has been “signed off” by Israel.US President Donald Trump said on Friday he believed a deal was “very close”. But Hamas has said the plan does not satisfy its core demands including Israel’s commitment to ending the war.

The deal would reportedly involve a 60-day pause in fighting, with Hamas releasing 28 hostages – alive and dead – in the first week, with the remaining 30 hostages freed once a permanent ceasefire is in place. More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners would be released, while humanitarian aid would be sent to Gaza via the United Nations and other agencies.

Israel has continued its military operation in the territory – at least 72 people were killed in strikes over the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said on Friday.

On Thursday evening, the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of areas including the al-Awda hospital, saying there was terrorist activity in the region which warranted the IDF to “expand its offensive activity”.

(BBC News)