Musk says US government workers must explain their work week or lose jobs

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (AFP)

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Updated 23 February 2025

AFP

February 23, 2025 00:18

Musk says US government workers must explain their work week or lose jobs

Trump’s administration has already begun firing many other federal workers who are on probationary status

Updated 23 February 2025

AFP

February 23, 2025 00:18

WASHINGTON: Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to Donald Trump, said Saturday that all federal employees must submit an accounting of their work week or else lose their jobs, hours after the president pushed for “more aggressive” moves to slash government spending and waste.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” said a post on X from Musk, whom Trump tapped to head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk — the world’s richest person and Trump’s biggest donor — has led the effort to fire swaths of the federal workforce.
His X post did not elaborate on what was required in the work accounting, nor what the deadline would be.
Earlier Saturday, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that Musk was “doing a great job, but I would like to see him get more aggressive.”
“Remember, we have a country to save,” the Republican leader added.
Trump has put the tech entrepreneur in charge of DOGE, tasking him with slashing public spending and tackling waste and alleged corruption.
In the latest cuts announced Friday, the US Defense Department is to reduce its civilian workforce by at least five percent starting next week.
Trump’s administration has already begun firing many other federal workers who are on probationary status.
DOGE is a free-ranging entity run by Musk, though its cost-cutting spree has been met with pushback on several fronts and mixed court rulings.
A judge on Thursday denied a union bid to temporarily halt the firing of thousands of people.
Musk said this week he would work with Trump for as long as he “can be helpful,” as the pair dismissed concerns over possible conflicts of interest due to the tech tycoon’s government contracts.
Trump showered praise on Musk, the head of SpaceX and Tesla, in a Fox News interview, calling the billionaire “brilliant,” “honest” and a “very good, solid businessman.”
“If there’s any conflict, he will stop it. But if he didn’t, I’d stop it,” Trump said. “We’re talking about big stuff, but he’s under a pretty big microscope. I mean, everybody’s watching him.”
Musk said DOGE was publicizing its actions on its website and that the transparency would hold him accountable.
“The possibility of me getting away with something is zero percent,” Musk said. “I’m scrutinized to a ridiculous degree.”
Musk has also waded into the Ukraine conflict this week, attacking President Volodymyr Zelensky and claiming Ukrainians “despised” their president — reinforcing Trump’s criticism of the wartime leader.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge’s order on deportations to South Sudan

Updated 19 min 21 sec ago

May 28, 2025 01:49

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge’s order on deportations to South Sudan

This is the latest case where federal judges weighing in on the legality of the Trump administration’s sweeping agenda have used forceful, sometimes even scathing, language to register their displeasure

Updated 19 min 21 sec ago

May 28, 2025 01:49

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to halt an order allowing migrants to challenge their deportations to South Sudan, an appeal that came hours after the judge suggested the Trump administration was “manufacturing” chaos and said he hoped that “reason can get the better of rhetoric.”
Judge Brian Murphy found the White House violated a court order with a deportation flight bound for the chaotic African nation carrying people from other countries who had been convicted of crimes in the US He said those immigrants must get a real chance to raise any fears that being sent there could put them in danger.
The federal government argued that Murphy has stalled its efforts to carry out deportations of migrants who can’t be returned to their home countries. Finding countries willing to take them is a “a delicate diplomatic endeavor” and the court requirements are a major setback, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in an emergency appeal asking the court to immediately halt his order.
Murphy, for his part, said he had given the Trump administration “remarkable flexibility with minimal oversight” in the case and emphasized the numerous times he attempted to work with the government, according to an order published Monday night.
This is the latest case where federal judges weighing in on the legality of the Trump administration’s sweeping agenda have used forceful, sometimes even scathing, language to register their displeasure. The Trump administration has accused judges of thwarting the will of voters by stopping or slowing the White House agenda.
The judge said the men couldn’t advocate for themselves
In a hearing last week called to address reports that eight immigrants had been sent to South Sudan, Murphy said the men hadn’t been able to argue that the deportation could put them in danger.
But instead of ordering the government to return the men to the US for hearings — as the plaintiffs wanted — he gave the government the option of holding the hearings in Djibouti, where the plane had flown on its way to South Sudan, as long as the men remained in US government custody. Days later, the Trump administration filed another motion saying that Murphy was requiring them to hold “dangerous criminals in a sensitive location.”
Murphy, though, said it was the government’s “own suggestion” that they be allowed to process the men’s claims while they were still abroad.
“It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than Defendants anticipated,” the Boston-based Murphy, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, wrote.
The government has argued that the men had a history with the immigration system, giving them prior opportunities to express a fear of being deported to a country outside their homeland. And they’ve said that the men’s home countries — Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan — would not take them back.
“The district court’s invented process offers little but delay. While certain aliens may benefit from stalling their removal, the nation does not,” wrote Sauer. Keeping the migrants in Djibouti has also strained the US relationship with that country, officials have said.
The administration has also repeatedly emphasized the men’s criminal histories in the US and portrayed them as national security threats.
The administration is relying on third countries
The Trump administration has increasingly relied on third countries to take immigrants who cannot be sent to their home countries for various reasons. Some countries simply refuse to take back their citizens being deported while others take back some but not all of their citizens. And some cannot be sent to their home countries because of concerns they’ll be tortured or harmed.
Historically that has meant that immigration enforcement officials have had to release people into the US that it wants to deport but can’t.
But the Trump administration has leaned on other countries to take them. In the Western Hemisphere, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have all agreed to take some people being removed from the US, with El Salvador being the most controversial example because it is holding people deported from the US in a notorious prison.
The Trump administration has said it’s exploring other third countries for deportations.
Murphy said in his order that the eight men were initially told May 19 they’d be going to South Africa and then later that same day were told they were going to South Sudan. He noted that the US government “has issued stark warnings regarding South Sudan.”
He said the men had fewer than 16 hours between being told they were going to be removed and going to the airport, “most of which were non-waking hours,” and “limited, if any” ability to talk to family or a lawyer. “From the course of conduct, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Defendants invite a lack of clarity as a means of evasion,” the judge wrote.

Topics: Trump Returns South Sudan deportations

Trump says ‘Golden Dome’ free for Canada — if it joins US

Updated 50 min ago

AFP

May 28, 2025 01:35

Trump says ‘Golden Dome’ free for Canada — if it joins US

“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network

Updated 50 min ago

AFP

May 28, 2025 01:35

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Canada could join his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system for free — but only if it becomes part of the United States.
Otherwise it would cost Canada $61 billion to be part of the system, said Trump, who has repeatedly called for the United States’ northern neighbor to become the 51st state.
Canada has expressed interest in joining the missile system — plans for which Trump unveiled last week to defend against a wide array of enemy weapons — but has firmly rejected any loss of sovereignty.
“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network.
“But (it) will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!“
There was no immediate response from Canada to Trump’s claims.
Trump announced plans for the “Golden Dome” system a week ago, saying it would eventually cost around $175 billion and would be operational by the end of his term in 2029.
Experts say the scheme faces huge technical and political challenges, and could cost far more than he has estimated to achieve its goals.
Trump also said at the time that Canada was interested in joining the missile system. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney then confirmed that his country had held “high level” talks on the issue.
NATO members Canada and the United States are partners in continental defense through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
But the scheme now seems set to add to the tensions that Trump has sparked with Canada.
Carney politely but firmly dismissed Trump’s calls for Canada to become part of the United States when he visited the White House earlier this month, saying his country was “never for sale.”
The Canadian premier and Trump did however appear to smooth over some of the strains over the tariffs that the US president has slapped on Ottawa.

Topics: Trump Returns USA Canada Golden Dome

US suspends student visa processing as Trump ramps up social media vetting

Updated 28 May 2025

AFP

May 28, 2025 00:46

US suspends student visa processing as Trump ramps up social media vetting

The most visible targets have been students involved in activism over Gaza

Updated 28 May 2025

AFP

May 28, 2025 00:46

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered a suspension of student visa processing as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up vetting of their social media, according to an internal cable.
It is the latest move that takes aim at international students, a major source of revenue for US universities, after Rubio rescinded hundreds of visas and the Trump administration moved to bar Harvard University from admitting any non-Americans.
A cable signed by Rubio and seen by AFP orders embassies and consulates not to allow “any additional student or exchange visa... appointment capacity until further guidance is issued.”
It said the State Department “plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applications.”
The cable suggested that the suspension could be brief, telling embassies to receive new guidance in the “coming days,” although US missions already frequently see major backlogs in processing applications.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce did not comment directly on the cable but said that “we take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country.”
“It’s a goal, as stated by the president and Secretary Rubio, to make sure that people who are here understand what the law is, that they don’t have any criminal intent, that they are going to be contributors to the experience here, however short or long their status,” she said.
Asked if students seeking to study at US universities should expect visas to be ready before terms begin in the autumn, Bruce said only: “If you’re going to be applying for a visa, follow the normal process, the normal steps, (and) expect to be looked at.”
Rubio last week told a Senate hearing that he has revoked “thousands” of visas since Trump took office on January 20.
Rubio has used an obscure law that allows the secretary of state to remove foreigners for activities deemed counter to US foreign policy interests.
The most visible targets have been students involved in activism over Gaza. Trump administration officials accused students of anti-Semitism, charges strenuously denied by a number of the people targeted.

Topics: Trump Returns

Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories

Updated 27 May 2025

AFP

May 27, 2025 20:10

Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories

FM Spokesperson: ‘The government has agreed to advance legislation prohibiting trade in goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory’
FM Simon Harris: ‘When this small country in Europe makes the decision, I do hope it inspires other European countries to join us’

Updated 27 May 2025

AFP

May 27, 2025 20:10

DUBLIN: The Irish government approved Tuesday the drafting of a bill to ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law, an unprecedented move for a European Union member.

The move comes after the International Court of Justice last year said Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip was illegal under international law, in an advisory opinion the Irish government said guided its decision.

“The government has agreed to advance legislation prohibiting trade in goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP.

“It is the government’s view that this is an obligation under international law.”

The settlements include residential, agricultural and business interests that lie outside Israel’s internationally recognized borders.

Before the cabinet decision, Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters he hoped other EU countries would follow Ireland’s lead.

“What I hope today is when this small country in Europe makes the decision and becomes one of the first countries, and probably the first country, in the Western world to consider legislation in this space, I do hope it inspires other European countries to join us,” said Harris — also Irish deputy prime minister.

Last May, Ireland — along with Spain, Norway and, a month later, Slovenia — recognized the Palestinian state, drawing retaliatory moves from Israel.

Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris might move to recognize a Palestinian state as early as June.

Tuesday’s move by Dublin comes a week after the EU ordered a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a cooperation deal signed in 1995 that forms the basis for trade ties with Israel.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said “a strong majority” of the 27 member states at a foreign ministers’ meeting backed the move in a bid to pressure Israel.

An Irish import ban would be symbolic and of minimal economic impact, as trade volumes with the territories — limited to goods such as fruit, vegetables and timber — were worth less than one million euros ($1.1 million) between 2020 and 2024.

It “breaks a decades-long, failed deadlock at EU level of criticizing the settlements as illegal and a barrier to peace on the one hand, while providing them with crucial economic support on the other,” said Conor O’Neill, head of advocacy and policy at Christian Aid Ireland, who helped draft a previous version of the Irish legislation in 2018.

“After decades of saying and repeating that illegal settlements are totally illegal and that the EU is opposed to them, this is the first time that words are being matched with action,” O’Neill told AFP.

The foreign ministry spokesperson said an update on the draft legislation would be brought to the government “in the coming weeks.”

The bill is not expected to pass into law before autumn.

Topics: War on Gaza Ireland Simon Harris

17 bodies found in abandoned house in Mexico

Updated 27 May 2025

AFP

May 27, 2025 22:36

17 bodies found in abandoned house in Mexico

Ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs were used to locate the bodies last week in Irapuato
Knives, machetes, pickaxes, and shovels were also found

Updated 27 May 2025

AFP

May 27, 2025 22:36

MEXICO: Missing persons investigators found 17 bodies in an abandoned house in a central Mexican region plagued by criminal violence, the state prosecutor’s office said.

Ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs were used to locate the bodies last week in Irapuato in Guanajuato state, according to a statement released late Monday.

Knives, machetes, pickaxes, and shovels were also found.

Five of the victims — four men and one woman --- have been identified as missing persons, according to prosecutors.

“Their families are being informed,” a Guanajuato state official, Jorge Jimenez, told reporters.

Guanajuato is a thriving industrial hub and home to several popular tourist destinations, but it is also Mexico’s deadliest state due to gang turf wars, according to official homicide statistics.

Criminal violence, most of it linked to drug trafficking, has claimed around 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left more than 120,000 people missing.

Civil society groups formed by relatives who denounce government inaction risk their own lives searching for remains in unmarked graves, often in areas where cartel gunmen are active.

Much of the violence in Guanajuato is linked to conflict between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of the most powerful in the Latin American nation.

Guanajuato recorded more than 3,000 murders last year, the most of any Mexican state, according to official figures.

That was equivalent to just over 10 percent of the nationwide total.

Topics: Mexico Guanajuato bodies

Musk says US government workers must explain their work week or lose jobs

Musk says US government workers must explain their work week or lose jobs

Trump urges Musk to be more aggressive in bid to shrink US government

White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge’s order on deportations to South Sudan

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge’s order on deportations to South Sudan

Trump says ‘Golden Dome’ free for Canada — if it joins US

Trump’s immigration crackdown unnerves Cuban exiles long shielded from deportation

Trump says ‘Golden Dome’ free for Canada — if it joins US

Trump says ‘Golden Dome’ free for Canada — if it joins US

Trump selects concept for $175 billion ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system

US Congress Republicans seek $27 billion for Golden Dome in Trump tax bill

US suspends student visa processing as Trump ramps up social media vetting

US suspends student visa processing as Trump ramps up social media vetting

Trump defends block on foreign students at Harvard

Federal judge blocks Trump administration from barring foreign student enrollment at Harvard

Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories

Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories

Ireland joins ICJ genocide case against Israel

Ireland ‘won’t be silenced’ over Israel’s conduct in Gaza

17 bodies found in abandoned house in Mexico

17 bodies found in abandoned house in Mexico

Gunmen kill seven in central Mexico

Cartel recruitment at heart of Mexico’s missing persons crisis

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Musk says US government workers must explain their work week or lose jobs

Musk says US government workers must explain their work week or lose jobs

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