Israeli hostages may be released as early as Saturday
Israeli hostages may be released as early as Saturday (11 October) under a U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza and the country's military will complete t...
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who leads President Donald Trump's federal cost-cutting initiative, announced plans to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of a broader effort to shrink the government.
Speaking on a social media talk on X early Monday, Musk described USAID as "beyond repair" and confirmed that President Trump supports the decision. Musk, who also heads Tesla and SpaceX, was joined in the discussion by former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Senators Joni Ernst and Mike Lee.
The move comes as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the panel Musk leads to identify federal budget cuts. USAID, the world’s largest single donor, disbursed $72 billion in global assistance in fiscal year 2023, supporting programs ranging from women’s health and clean water to HIV/AIDS treatment and anti-corruption efforts.
Musk claimed the administration could cut $1 trillion from the U.S. deficit next year, citing alleged fraud in foreign aid, though he provided no evidence to support his claims.
The announcement follows reports that the Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID over the weekend after they resisted DOGE representatives' attempts to access restricted areas within the agency.
USAID’s website remains offline, and concerns are mounting over the fate of critical humanitarian programs. Trump's "America First" policy, which includes a global freeze on most U.S. foreign aid, has raised alarms internationally, with refugee aid, landmine clearance, and HIV treatments at risk of elimination.
Musk’s expanding influence over government systems, including reported access to the U.S. Treasury’s payment infrastructure, has sparked criticism from lawmakers. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, condemned Musk's access as a "gross abuse of power" and called for greater transparency.
Despite the backlash, Trump continues to back Musk's leadership. "He's a big cost-cutter," Trump said on Sunday. "Sometimes we won't agree with it... but I think he's doing a great job. He's a smart guy. Very smart."
Musk’s team has also reportedly taken control of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), locking career civil servants out of systems containing sensitive data on millions of federal employees.
Since returning to office 11 days ago, Trump has initiated a sweeping overhaul of the federal government, dismissing hundreds of civil servants and installing loyalists across key agencies.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Russia’s central bank has ruled the state violated minority shareholders’ rights in seized assets, signalling rare pushback against nationalisation.
A newly elected German mayor survived multiple stab wounds in a family attack.
Cristiano Ronaldo has become football’s first billionaire player, according to Bloomberg, which tracks the world’s richest individuals.
Germany has ended its fast-track citizenship programme, reflecting a shift in public attitudes toward migration and integration.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of the U.S.-proposed Gaza deal, which will see the release of all Israeli hostages, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday.
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