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USAID staff will be put on leave starting on Friday

Published

1 year ago

2025/02/6

Priyan

Thousands of employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be placed on leave from Friday night, the agency says.

A USAID statement said the order would affect all “direct-hire personnel” except those on “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs”.

It’s unclear exactly which jobs are affected. The statement, posted on the agency’s website, said employees would be notified by Thursday afternoon.

The Trump administration has said USAID is wasting money and needs to align with the president’s policy priorities. Agency staff, backed by Democratic lawmakers, have protested over the cuts, saying they will put lives in danger and hamper national security.

President Donald Trump’s earlier decision to freeze foreign assistance has upended the global aid system, with effects already felt in multiple countries.

The agency, which provides humanitarian aid to more than 100 countries, employs 10,000 people worldwide. Two-thirds of those people work overseas, according to the Congressional Research Service.

USAID, founded in 1961, has a budget of around $40bn (£32.25bn) per year, amounting to roughly 0.6% of federal spending, according to official figures.

In a statement on its website on Tuesday, USAID said it would work with the US Department of State to arrange and pay for return travel for personnel posted outside the US within 30 days.

Those employees who are part of the exceptions will be told by 15:00 EDT (20:00 GMT) on Thursday, it said.

The statement concluded with the message: “Thank you for your service.”

Given that some USAID staff work in active conflict zones, it was not immediately clear how they would be withdrawn.

The measures are part of a string of cuts that Trump has enacted since returning to office last month through co-ordination with Elon Musk’s unofficial Department of Government Efficiency.

Among the countries affected by the aid freeze is Haiti. The United Nations said Tuesday that it had been notified by the US that it was freezing $13.3m in aid destined for the country.

But on Wednesday the US state department issued a waiver exempting $40.7m of foreign assistance for Haiti’s national police and the UN-backed international security support mission.

Earlier this week, the White House put out a statement listing a number of projects that it called evidence of “waste and abuse”, including a grant of $1.5m to an LGBTQ group in Serbia and $2.5m for electric vehicles in Vietnam.

However critics have called the moves to close the agency an illegitimate power grab spearheaded by Musk, an unelected billionaire.

Earlier this week, Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, became the acting head of USAID as part of its reported merger into the state department.

Closing USAID altogether would require an act of Congress.

[BBC]

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Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal

Published

15 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

Salman Agha reacted furiously after his controversial dismissal [BBC]

Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.

Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.

Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.

“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”

Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.

“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”

Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”

He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.

“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.

Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.

[Cricinfo]

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US embassy in Baghdad hit by strike as Trump says military targets ‘obliterated’ on Iran’s key oil island

Published

16 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, has been hit by a missile – video shows fire and smoke rising in the aftermath.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says “every military target” on Iran’s key oil island has been “totally obliterated”, but there was no damage to oil infrastructure.

Kharg Island is a tiny but strategic terminal in the northern Gulf, 22 miles off the coast of Iran In response, Tehran warns oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms that co-operate with the US will be “turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s energy facilities are attacked

Elsewhere in the Middle East: Israel and Iran both warn of fresh attacks, and at least 12 medical staff have been killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon

Meanwhile, more US Marines and warships are expected to be deployed to the Middle East, two officials tell BBC’s partner CBS News

[BBC]

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Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be cancelled

Published

1 day ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were scheduled for next month (BBC)

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.

Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.

The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.

Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.

But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.

The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.

(BBC)