Headline

16 Things Trump And His Team Did In Three Weeks

Published

4 months ago

February 16, 2025

The third week of Donald Trump’s second term has been marked by more major action from the US president and his team.

From announcing US goals on the future of Gaza and massively slashing the US agency for foreign aid to intervening in a golf dispute and banning transgender women from female sports competitions, Trump, his adviser Elon Musk and the rest of his team have pressed on with their agenda.

There’s a lot to keep up with – so here’s a reminder of 16 moves this week.

1. Proposed the US ‘take over’ Gaza

At a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the US would “take over” and “own” Gaza, resettling its Palestinian population in the process.

Trump proposed developing the territory, devastated after 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” Trump repeated on social media on Thursday, reiterating the idea would mean resettling Palestinians who currently live there.

Trump suggested the displacement would be permanent, but administration officials later suggested any relocation would be only temporary.

Any forced deportation of civilians would be a violation of international law.

2. Planned to put thousands of USAID staff on leave

Thousands of employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the government’s main foreign aid agency, were expected to be placed on leave at midnight on Friday.

That was until a judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan, hours before it was due to happen.

Judge Carl Nichols issued a “limited” temporary restraining order, in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency.

The proposed cuts will affect the vast majority of the agency’s workforce, leaving only a few hundred essential staff out of a total of about 10,000 employees globally.

The move comes after workers were asked to stay out of the agency’s Washington DC headquarters earlier this week.

Cutbacks at the agency have upended the global aid system, with hundreds of programmes already frozen in countries around the world.

The Trump administration reportedly intends to merge the agency, which distributes billions of dollars in aid globally, with the State Department, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was now the acting head of the agency.

3. Imposed tariffs on China and pulled back threats on neighbours

Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports on Tuesday, but held off on his threat of implementing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for 30 days, after those countries’ leaders pledged to beef up border security.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to reinforce the US-Canada border to clamp down on migration and the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to bolster the country’s northern border with troops, and in return the US would limit the flow of guns into Mexico.

The tariffs, which some experts suggest could exacerbate inflation, were part of Trump’s campaign platform ahead of November’s election.

4. Pressed ahead with plan to incentivise federal workers to resign

The Trump administration had offered incentives to federal workers to voluntarily resign by a Thursday midnight deadline – part of an effort to slash the size of the government.

However, a US judge temporarily halted the plan hours before the deadline, pausing it until a hearing on Monday to determine the merits of a lawsuit filed by federal employee unions, CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported.

Some of the federal government’s more than two million civilian workers have voiced confusion about the terms of the deal, which the administration says would allow them to receive pay and benefits through September in exchange for resigning.

Critics have questioned the legality of the offer and some federal employee unions have advised members to exercise caution around accepting the deal.

5. Sanctioned the International Criminal Court

On Thursday, Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on some staff of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The sanctions place financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

The Hague-based court brings global prosecutions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Recently, it issued arrest warrants for a Hamas commander and Israel’s Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies.

Trump’s announcement came as Netanyahu was visiting Washington DC.

More than 120 countries, including the UK, are members of the ICC, though the US and Israel are not.

6. Ordered strikes against the Islamic State group in Somalia

Trump said he ordered military air strikes on a senior attack planner and others from the Islamic State (IS) group in north-east Somalia on 1 February.

He said “many terrorists” were killed “without, in any way, harming civilians”. The BBC could not independently verify reports of casualties.

The office of Somalia’s president on social media welcomed the “unwavering support of the United States in the fight against international terrorism”.

7. Withdrew from United Nations institutions

Trump also took action to end US involvement in several UN institutions.

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, of which Israel has been highly critical.

The same order said the US would no longer participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the US would conduct a review of its membership in the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) within 90 days.

8. Sent first plane of deportees to Guantanamo

The US sent the first group of migrants to Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday, after Trump announced plans to expand migrant detention at the US Navy base in Cuba.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the detainees were part of the Tren de Aragua – a gang that originated in Venezuela’s prisons. Ten detainees were sent, CBS reported, citing multiple US officials.

The move came after Trump ordered that an existing migrant detention facility at the base be expanded to hold some 30,000 people.

The Naval base has been used to house a small number of migrants – a few dozen at a time, in recent years – for decades.

Separately, nearly 800 people – most held on suspicions of terrorism – have been jailed at the base’s detention centre since it opened in 2002. About 15 people are still held there now, according to US media.

Deportation flights also carried migrants back to India this week.

9. Demanded Ukraine provide rare earth resources

On Monday, Trump said he wanted Ukraine to guarantee the supply of more rare earth metals in exchange for $300bn (£240bn) to support its fight against Russia.

“We want what we put up to go in terms of a guarantee… we’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where we’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth (minerals) and other things,” Trump said.

Ukraine has large deposits of uranium, lithium and titanium, which can be used for defence and electronics manufacturing, CBS reported.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was open to investment by American companies.

10. Banned transgender competitors from women’s sports

Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.

The order outlines guidance, regulations and legal interpretations largely around high school, university and grassroots sports.

However, Trump said the order would include the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, adding he would deny visas for transgender Olympic athletes trying to visit the US to compete.

11. Released water from dams in California

Trump on Monday ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California’s Central Valley after deadly wildfires in Los Angeles in January.

Trump had claimed California withheld water supplies that could have made a difference in fighting the fires, which the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials disputed, CBS reported.

The water was released into a dry lakebed more than 100 miles (160km) away from the fires. Experts and officials told CBS the water could not flow to Los Angeles and would likely go to waste.

US Congressman Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, said that before the water in the dams was released, it was being “saved for the farmers for the summer season when they needed the water” in the state’s agricultural region.

12. Announced taskforce to tackle ‘anti-Christian bias’

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that aimed “to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government”.

He appointed newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bond to lead a task force to eradicate what he called “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government.

Trump signed the order after giving remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC. 13. Intervened in a dispute in the golf world

Trump, an avid golf player who owns courses around the world, reportedly intervened in a dispute between championship organiser PGA Tour and its rival series LIV Golf.

After the launch of LIV Golf led to a rift, the rivals entered negotiations and announced a “framework agreement” for a merger, but a deadline to complete that deal passed.

This week, PGA Tour said it was “closer to a deal” with LIV Golf after calling on Trump to step in.

“We asked the president to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved,” said the statement. “We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”

13. Removed climate change mentions from government websites

Starting last week, the Trump administration reportedly ordered some US government agency websites to remove references to climate change.

It has affected the websites of the departments of transportation, defence, state and agriculture, which manages the forest service, the Guardian reported.

Some climate content remained on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nasa and Energy Department’s sites.

This week, some employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were also ordered to temporarily stop communicating with foreign nationals, US media reported.

The change came after reports that staff from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – which is not an official government department – entered the offices of NOAA and took over the agency’s internal websites, removing pages devoted to diversity-focused employee affinity groups.

14. Increased access for Musk’s Doge

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had directed Musk’s Doge, a cost-cutting initiative to shrink the federal government, to “check out” spending at the Defence Department among other agencies.

“Pentagon, education, just about everything,” Trump said during a news conference with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The Trump administration also gave members of Doge access to a US treasury department payments system that controls the flow of trillions of dollars in funds every year, US media reported.

But on Saturday, a federal judge blocked Doge from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records.

US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit access, ordering Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records.

Musk’s newly created Doge, which is not an official federal department, has been heavily involved in government upheaval.

15. Joe Biden’s security clearance revoked

Trump revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings on Friday – something Biden did to Trump four years ago.

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“JOE, YOU’RE FIRED,” the Republican added in a reference to his catchphrase on the reality TV show, The Apprentice.

It came among a flurry of other announcements on Friday, which included an executive order freezing financial assistance to South Africa and announcing that he would fire the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC and name himself chairman.

16. Scraps task force that seized assets of Russian oligarchs

Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi this week disbanded a force designed to combat foreign interference in elections, as well as another initiative which targeted Russian oligarchs.

In an order signed on Bondi’s first day in office, she disbanded the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force – which aimed to prevent foreign meddling in US elections – to reassign its staff to focus instead on drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations.

The order stated it would “free resources to address more pressing priorities, and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion”.

Bondi also disbanded Task Force KleptoCapture, which was launched after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It had been tasked with seizing yachts and other assets from Russian oligarchs.
(Tribune)

Headline

Israel-Iran War: Stranded Nigerians Cry For Help From Underground Shelters

Published

47 minutes ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

Nigerians caught in the hostilities between Israel and Iran have called for help from underground shelters amid heavy exchange of missiles between the two countries.

Those who spoke to Saturday PUNCH slammed the Nigerian government for not doing enough, adding that other countries had started evacuating their citizens.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it was awaiting border clearance to rescue over 1,000 Nigerians in the warring countries.

Rising casualties

According to reports, no fewer than 264 people, including 70 women and children, have died in the two countries since the war started.

The war began last Friday when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, with guided missiles and air raids pounding suspected Iranian nuclear and military sites, including air-defence installations, as well as residential areas in eastern Tehran, notably the Shahrak-e-Mahallati neighbourhood, home to senior IRGC commanders, and targets in Tabriz and other cities.

High-ranking Iranian military figures, including General Mohammad Bagheri and IRGC commander Hossein Salami, were among those killed in the Israeli offensive.

In a statement, Tehran described the strikes from Israel as “the most direct act of war” in decades of covert hostilities.

In a retaliatory response on June 13, 2025, Iran launched a large-scale missile barrage, firing over 100 ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, where the Nigerian embassy is located.

Checks by The PUNCH revealed that most Nigerians living in Israel are based in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Sources confirmed that nearly all economic, social, and religious activities have been suspended in major Israeli cities.

Nigerians recount ordeal

In separate interviews with our correspondents, some Nigerians living in major Israeli cities recounted their ordeals.

A Nigerian in Tel Aviv, Ekene Abaka, said since the onslaught began, members of the Nigerian community in the city had joined other foreigners to take cover in underground shelters provided by the Israeli military, pending an opportunity to escape the country.

“We are in an Israeli bomb shelter and I can’t answer calls right now,” Abaka said in a hasty Facebook message to The PUNCH.

A software engineer living in Jerusalem, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Nigerians in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem had been scrambling for the past few days since the face-off between the two nations started.

The source, who also claimed to be speaking from a bomb shelter, said though many Israelis had died, no casualties had been recorded among Nigerians so far.

He, however, lamented that the Nigerian embassy had closed all official and diplomatic activities without supporting distressed Nigerians in the country.

“Most of the areas where Nigerians live in Israel are in Tel Aviv. As a matter of fact, that is the main area where most of the missiles are going. I live in Jerusalem.

“There are about three families in Jerusalem from Nigeria, but the majority of Nigerians live in Tel Aviv. We are on the run.

“The Nigerian embassy is situated in Tel Aviv. It has shut down. It’s not doing anything about the issue at the moment. We ran into a bomb shelter to protect ourselves from missiles coming from Iran,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a video shared on Tuesday by Travels Vlog, a Facebook page documenting the daily experiences of Nigerians in Israel and other parts of the Middle East, some Nigerians were seen scrambling into a bomb shelter after the Israeli government sounded the security alarm, warning of incoming Iranian missiles.

“Everybody is running helter-skelter now. I didn’t grab my water. Oh! Those are the missiles there. They have fallen now,” one of them cried out in fear.

But as they approached one of the shelters, they found it locked.

“Oh! It’s closed. Why did they lock this place? Let’s go, there is another one over there. We can’t stay here. This place is not safe,” another voice urged as the group rushed off in search of an open shelter under the night sky.

When they finally reached a covered spot, they sat on the ground, visibly shaken, waiting as the blaring alarm slowly faded and the missiles vanished from sight.

The Travels Vlog host, identified as one Solomon, explained in a live video on Wednesday that people were informed about incoming Iranian missiles through a text message from the government.

“There are missiles coming in, but 10 minutes before they hit, the Israeli government detects them and sends us a direct message to immediately leave our homes and run to the shelter. A few minutes afterwards, the security siren starts blaring, and that’s when panic sets in,” he said.

Countries move to evacuate citizens

The situation in the Middle East has prompted governments around the world to evacuate their nationals from both Iran and Israel, where airspace closures and missile fire have made civilian travel dangerous or impossible.

No fewer than 12 countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Greece, and Bulgaria, have contacted their citizens in the warring nations and repatriated hundreds by air, sea, and road.

Many evacuees crossed land borders on foot before boarding repatriation flights from neighbouring countries.

Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday that the Czech Republic and Slovakia flew home 181 people on government planes, while Greece returned home 105 of its citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt.

The United States announced plans on Wednesday to evacuate Americans by air and sea, while China evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel.

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Tuesday night, revealed that the Nigerian Embassies in Israel and Tehran (Iran) were actively reaching out to affected citizens and coordinating efforts to ensure their safe return.

However, as of Thursday night, the Federal Government had yet to evacuate any Nigerian trapped in the countries.

A woman, identified as Hope Omobeauty, during Solomon’s Vlog podcast, said some of her people had been trying to leave Israel but had found no way.

“I have people in Israel who are trying to leave, but there is no way,” she said.

Collapse of businesses

The Israeli government has shut down all activities until at least Sunday at 8pm, further worsening conditions for Nigerians in the country.

Israel announced that all educational institutions, including kindergartens, daycare centres, schools, special education programmes, summer camps, youth organisations, and higher education facilities, had been closed.

Speaking about this, the engineer told The PUNCH that the closures had negatively affected the livelihoods of Nigerians.

He lamented the “indifference and insensitivity” of the Nigerian embassy to their predicament.

“In Israel, rent is paid every month. At workplaces, you’re paid per hour. But all business activities have been shut down, so there is no income for anyone at the moment. We are scared because we don’t even know how we will pay our next rent or feed our children,” he said.

“There is an announcement that everything will reopen on Sunday, schools, markets, and places of worship, but it is not guaranteed. It all depends on how Iran continues the war, whether they will carry on with the bombardment or not. We don’t sleep at night because that’s when the missiles fall.

“What the officials at the Nigerian embassy do is perform their formal obligations, grant visas and handle diplomatic or travel assignments. They don’t engage in the welfare of Nigerians. If anything happens, you are on your own. They don’t do anything to help Nigerian citizens here.”

FG awaits border clearance

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 Nigerians stranded in Iran have remained in limbo, as the Federal Government awaits final border clearance from Armenia to begin their evacuation.

According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the Nigerian Embassy in Tehran has completed logistical arrangements to move citizens to Armenia, the nearest border country, where they are to be airlifted home from the capital, Yerevan.

He told The PUNCH that embassy officials were in close talks with Armenian authorities to finalise the movement of evacuees across the Iran-Armenia border.

While bus transport has been secured, approval from Armenia to allow Nigerians to cross the border is still pending.

“The Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy met officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Armenia, which is the nearest border, to discuss modalities of moving stranded Nigerians via buses to Yerevan, while waiting to be airlifted to Nigeria.

“The Embassy has also advised Nigerians to stay away from demonstrations, remain in safe areas, and stay glued to their phones for evacuation messages once arrangements are concluded.

“At the moment, the Embassy has concluded arrangements with bus companies to hire buses that will convey us all to the transit country, Yerevan, Armenia. However, we are awaiting permission from the transit country before moving from locations already earmarked for evacuation,” Ebienfa said.

He said to prevent complications at the crossing, the embassy was coordinating with Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs by submitting updated lists of evacuees, including personal details.

“This is to ensure a smooth passage through the border and avoid any bottlenecks.

“All hands are on deck to get permission, including for transit and final airlifting to Abuja from Yerevan, Armenia,” he stated.

Headline

Egypt, South Africa Universities Beat Nigeria At Global QS Rankings

Published

1 hour ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

For the third year in a row, no Nigerian university has made it into the top 1,000 of the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, with the 2026 edition released on June 19, 2025, once again excluding all 297 Nigerian universities from the global elite list.

Only three Nigerian institutions were ranked at all, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

UI and UNILAG were ranked in the 1,001–1,200 band for both the 2025 and 2026 editions, while ABU appeared for the first time in the 1,201–1,400 range.

The QS World University Rankings are compiled annually by Quacquarelli Symonds and assess institutions based on eight key performance indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international research network, employment outcomes, and sustainability.

Despite longstanding reputations and a high number of graduates annually, Nigerian universities continue to underperform in areas such as research output, international collaboration, and employability metrics, factors that heavily influence global rankings.

Across Africa, Egypt led the continent with 20 universities on the 2026 list, followed by South Africa with 11, and Tunisia with four.

Ghana and Morocco each had two universities listed, while Kenya, Libya, Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia had one each.

Notably, the only African universities to break into the top 300 are from South Africa with University of Cape Town ranking 150th and University of Witwatersrand ranking 291st

QS World University Rankings 2026: Global Top 10

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – United States
2. Imperial College London – United Kingdom
3. Stanford University – United States
4. University of Oxford – United Kingdom
5. Harvard University – United States
6. University of Cambridge – United Kingdom
7. ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Switzerland
8. National University of Singapore – Singapore
9. University College London – United Kingdom
10. California Institute of Technology – United States

These institutions not only lead in research output and faculty reputation but also boast substantial international partnerships and high graduate employability scores.

Headline

Iran Nabs 22 Suspected Israeli Spies Amidst Escalating Conflict

Published

2 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

Police in Iran’s Qom province said Saturday that 22 people “linked to Israeli spy services” had been arrested since June 13, Fars news agency reported.

“22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime’s spy services, disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime,” the agency said, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran’s Qom province.

It came after Iranian police announced the arrest on Thursday of 24 people accused of spying for Israel and of seeking to tarnish the country’s image, according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.

A European national was also arrested for spying, Tasnim reported on Friday, without giving their nationality or the date of the arrest.

Anambra CP seeks community cooperation to nab Oko attack hoodlums
Iran regularly announces arrests of suspected spies. Several have been executed in recent weeks.

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 223 people have been arrested nationwide on charges related to collaboration with Israel, cautioning that the actual figure was likely higher.

AFP