Headline

Trump Says US Aid Agency Should ‘Close’

Published

1 year ago

February 7, 2025

President Donald Trump on Friday said USAID should “close,” in an escalation of his already unprecedented campaign to dismantle the massive government aid agency.

“THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!” Trump wrote in a trademark all-caps statement on his Truth Social app.

Trump, who began his second term last month, has launched a crusade led by his top donor and world’s richest man Elon Musk to downsize or dismantle swaths of the US government.

The most concentrated fire has been on the United States Agency for International Development, the primary organization for distributing US humanitarian aid around the world.

The Trump administration has ordered thousands of foreign-based staff to return to the United States and frozen foreign aid.

On Thursday a report in The New York Times said the current USAID headcount of 10,000 employees would be reduced to around 300.

Labor unions are challenging the legality of the onslaught which includes offers of buyouts by Musk to federal workers across the entire government.

Democrats in Congress say it would be unconstitutional for Trump to shut down government agencies without the greenlight from the legislature.

Trump has also announced he wants to close the Department of Education.

The United States’ current budget allocates about $58 billion for international assistance.

However while Washington is the biggest aid donor in the world, the money has amounted to no more than 0.7 to 1.4 percent of total government spending in the last quarter century, according to the Pew Research Center.

USAID runs health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, including the world’s poorest regions.

It is seen as a vital source of soft power for the United States in its struggle for influence with rivals including China, where Musk has extensive business interests.

Hard-right Republicans and libertarians have long questioned the need for USAID and criticized what they say is wasteful spending abroad.

Those criticisms have been supercharged since Trump’s return with the administration demonizing USAID employees and claiming — without evidence — that the aid agency is rife with fraud.

“USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZY,” Trump wrote in his post. “SO MUCH OF IT FRAUDULENTLY, IS TOTALLY UNEXPLAINABLE. THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE.”

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

6 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

6 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.