US’s Rubio hails Syria deal with Kurds, calls for non-sectarian governance
Top US diplomat endorses agreement to integrate Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into state institutions. The United States has welcomed Syria’s agreement to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into state institutions. Washington’s endorsement comes after the Syrian presidency and the US-backed SDF announced a deal granting the Syrian central government full control of a semi-autonomous region that has been administered by the Kurdish-led alliance since 2015. “The United States reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates credible, non-sectarian governance as the best path to avoid further conflict,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Tuesday. “We will continue to watch the decisions made by the interim authorities, noting with concern the recent deadly violence against minorities.” On Monday, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said they had struck a deal to merge “all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria” into the national administration, including an airport and oil and gas fields. Advertisement The agreement has been viewed as one of the most significant political developments in the country since the fall of longtime President Bashar al-Assad at the hands of Syrian opposition forces led by al-Sharaa in December. The accord comes at a critical juncture for Damascus as it grapples with the fallout of a wave of violence that erupted last week in the heartland of the Alawite minority. The deal includes a ceasefire in all of Syria, SDF support in combating pro-Assad fighters, and an affirmation that the Kurdish people are integral to Syria and have a right to citizenship and guaranteed constitutional rights. While discussions about integrating the SDF into the Syrian state had been ongoing since the fall of al-Assad, efforts to reach an agreement were hampered by perceptions that the group was less committed to opposing the deposed regime than other opposition forces. The US partnered with the SDF in its fight against the ISIL (ISIS) armed group, whose so-called caliphate in Syria was overthrown in 2019. Washington’s support for the SDF has placed a strain on its relations with Turkiye, which views the group as an extension of the Kurdish nationalist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Ankara considers a “terrorist” organisation. Adblock test (Why?)
EPA terminates Biden admin’s green grants worth $20B, Zeldin says
The Environmental Protection Agency is terminating $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean-energy projects, Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Tuesday. In a video posted to X, Zeldin said $20 billion in U.S. tax dollars were “parked at an outside financial institution in a deliberate effort to limit government oversight, doling out your money through just eight pass-through, politically connected, unqualified, and in some cases brand-new NGOs.” The money has since been frozen, he said, noting that the Department of Justice and FBI are investigating. STACEY ABRAMS SLAMMED AFTER DEFENDING $2 BILLION IN BIDEN-ERA EPA FUNDS TO BUY GREEN ENERGY APPLIANCES The program, approved by Congress under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, was formerly known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund but is more commonly referred to as the green bank. Two initiatives, worth $14 billion and $6 billion, respectively, aimed to offer grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups for projects focusing on disadvantaged communities. The eight nonprofits that were awarded the money included the Coalition for Green Capital, Climate United Fund, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv and the Justice Climate Fund. These organizations have partnered with various groups, including Rewiring America, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Preservation Corporation. The EPA “just notified 8 recipients of $20 BILLION in Biden EPA ‘gold bars’ that their grants have been TERMINATED!” Zeldin wrote on X. LEE ZELDIN LIKENS BIDEN ENERGY ‘SCHEME’ CONNECTED TO STACEY ABRAMS TO ‘THROWING GOLD BARS OFF THE TITANIC’ In his video, Zeldin cited reports that Power Forward Communities, a group linked to Democrat Stacey Abrams, received $2 billion after reporting just $100 in total revenue the year before. He also said the founding director of the EPA’s program allocated $5 billion to his former employer after working on the legislation that created the program from his role in the White House. “These two examples have only been the tip of the iceberg,” Zeldin said. “I’m here to report back to the American people that, as of today, I have officially terminated these grant agreements entirely. Not only does the EPA have full authority to take this action, but frankly, we were left with no other option.” BIDEN SENT $2 BILLION TO STACEY ABRAMS-LINKED GROUP IN GREEN ENERGY ‘SCHEME,’ EPA SAYS “This termination is based on substantial concerns regarding program integrity, objections to the award process, programmatic fraud, waste and abuse and misalignment with the agency’s priorities, which collectively undermine the fundamental goals and statutory objectives of the awards,” he continued. Zeldin said the “only way” to reduce waste, increase oversight and meet the intent of the law as it was written is by terminating the grants. He said it is his “unwavering commitment” to President Donald Trump, Congress and the American people. “The EPA will once again be an exceptional steward of your tax dollars. I will have it no other way,” Zeldin said.
Portugal’s government loses confidence vote, setting stage for new election
Portugal’s centre-right government has lost a confidence vote in parliament, potentially pushing the European Union (EU) country towards its third general election in three years. The government “tried everything right up to the last minute to avoid snap elections”, Portugal’s centre-right prime minister, Luis Montenegro, told reporters after the vote on Tuesday evening. Lawmakers voted 142-88, with zero abstentions, against the motion of confidence that Montenegro presented after the opposition questioned the integrity of his dealings related to a consultancy firm he founded. Portuguese media reported allegations that the firm, which is now run by Montenegro’s sons, had contracts with several private companies that rely on government contracts. Montenegro, who had already survived two censure votes, denies any wrongdoing. “The insinuation that I mixed my business and political activity is completely abusive, and even insulting. A repeated falsehood does not become the truth, but it contaminates the political environment… this is what populism feeds on,” he told parliament before the vote. Advertisement Pedro Nuno Santos, the leader of the Socialist Party, the country’s largest opposition party, described the government’s conduct as “shameful”, saying it resorted to “manoeuvres, games, tricks” to survive. Montenegro became prime minister after socialist Antonio Costa resigned in November 2023 under the shadow of a corruption probe. Costa, who denies accusations of influence peddling levelled against him, was elected head of the EU’s European Council in June 2024. Montenegro’s administration will now assume a caretaker role. Following the vote, it is now up to Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, whether to call a parliamentary election after he consults the main political parties on Wednesday and his advisory Council of State on Thursday. De Sousa has said a new ballot could be held in mid-May. Minority governments and rising far-right Montenegro’s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition won elections in March 2024, but held just 80 seats in the country’s 230-seat legislature. The Socialist Party, who had previously held government, won 78 seats. By contrast, Portugal’s hard-right Chega party gained 50 seats, more than four times the 12 seats it held previously. At the time, Montenegro ruled out working with Chega, saying “no means no” to forming a government with the party, which has gained votes campaigning on an anti-immigration platform. Political scientist Adelino Maltez of Lisbon University said opinion polls showed very little change in voter preferences from the March 2024 election. The AD and the Socialists are neck-and-neck in most surveys. Advertisement “The problem is that the new election will not be conclusive… The AD and the Socialists are tied. It is a situation that will be difficult for them to navigate,” Maltez said. A centrist pact between Montenegro’s Social Democrats and the Socialists was the only solution, despite the differences in their policy proposals, he said. The two main rivals only had such an accord in parliament once, between 1983 and 1985. “If they don’t do it, it will be more of the same instability,” Maltez said. Tuesday’s no-confidence vote points to the worst spell of political instability since Portugal adopted a democratic system more than 50 years ago in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which ended a four-decade dictatorship. An early election is all but inevitable now but voters are already showing election fatigue and disillusionment with politicians. “This seems like a joke, no one understands why there’s a new election so soon. Politicians blame each other, but all of them are being irresponsible,” said Joao Brito, a 70-year-old retired civil servant in downtown Lisbon. Adblock test (Why?)
US Education Department to halve staff as Trump pushes for elimination
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon says administration will work with the US Congress to abolish department. The United States Department of Education has announced it will lay off almost half of its employees as President Donald Trump moves to fulfil his campaign promise to dismantle the agency. The department said on Tuesday that it would reduce the size of its workforce to roughly 2,183 employees by placing staff on administrative leave from March 21. It said it would continue to provide “all statutory programs” falling under its purview, including student loans and funding for special needs students. The cuts follow similar rounds of firings undertaken as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s drive to radically streamline the federal bureaucracy. “Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.” Advertisement In an interview with Fox News later on Tuesday, McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, confirmed that the layoffs were a step towards abolishing the department. “Actually, it is because that was the president’s mandate,” she said. “His directive to me clearly is to shut down the Department of Education, which we know we will have to work with Congress to get that accomplished.” McMahon said that the cuts took aim at “bureaucratic bloat” and that the department’s “outward facing programs”, such as grants, would be preserved. Trump campaigned on abolishing the Department of Education, which he claimed had been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists”, and passing responsibility for education to individual states and local school districts. In an exchange with reporters last month, the US president said that he had told McMahon that he wanted her to “put herself out of a job”. Education in the US is already mostly provided by states and local communities, with the federal government only providing about 8 percent of the total funding for elementary and secondary schooling. ‘Wrecking ball’ Established in 1979 by the US Congress and former President Jimmy Carter, the department’s primary functions include providing financial aid to schools, overseeing student loan programmes, and enforcing civil rights protections. Republicans have railed against the department since its inception, arguing that education policy should be handled at the state and local level. Advertisement Former US President Ronald Reagan repeatedly called for the dismantling of the department but ultimately failed to win the backing of Congress before leaving office in 1989. The National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the US, condemned the Trump administration’s move, accusing it of taking a “wrecking ball” to the futures of some 50 million students. “The real victims will be our most vulnerable students,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement. “Gutting the Department of Education will send class sizes soaring, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections.” Adblock test (Why?)
Police say surfer ‘taken by shark’ in Western Australia
Search for missing surfer now a recovery operation after evidence of bite marks found on surf board. Australian police have confirmed that a surfer who went missing was “taken by a shark” after search and rescue teams recovered a surfboard scarred with “bite marks” from the area of the attack. The victim – identified by Australian media as 37-year-old Steven Payne – was mauled by a shark while surfing at Wharton beach in a remote area of Western Australia, police said late on Tuesday. It marks Australia’s fourth reported fatal shark attack in recent months. “I can confirm that our search is a recovery, not a rescue,” Western Australia Police Force Senior Sergeant Christopher Taylor said, noting that the surfer’s body has not been recovered. “A surfboard with evidence of bite marks was recovered from the water,” Western Australia Police said in a separate statement on Tuesday. According to media reports, a shark was spotted just moments before the attack in the water off Wharton beach and screams were heard coming from the area where the man was surfing at about midday. Australia’s 7News network said the victim was in chest-deep water about 50 metres (164 feet) from the shore with two other surfers when he was attacked. Police said the other surfers were unable to do anything to help. Advertisement In February, a shark killed a 17-year-old girl swimming off an eastern Australian island, while a 28-year-old surfer was fatally bitten in South Australia a month earlier. On December 28, a shark fatally bit a 40-year-old man in the neck as he was spearfishing off Queensland. Surfers walk along a beach in Sydney, Australia, in April 2020 [Rick Rycroft/AP Photo] Adblock test (Why?)
US Vice President JD Vance to visit India with second lady Usha Vance this month
JD Vance had earlier visited France and Germany last month as the US Vice President.
Debate on House’s school voucher bill centers on a question: Should wealthy Texans be included?
In a hearing on House Bill 3, Republicans argued the program should be open to all students while Democrats criticized outcomes in other states.
This is India’s fastest Rajdhani Express, travels distance of 1384 km in just 15 hours 32 minutes, its route is…
Even today, Rajdhani Express is being considered as one of the premium trains on the Indian Railways network.
Sean Duffy proposes big plans to upgrade air traffic control systems, use AI to find ‘hot spots’
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans to bolster airport air traffic control systems with the latest technology over the next four years, while also using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify “hot spots” where close encounters between aircraft occur frequently. The announcement came after an update on an investigation into a crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, when a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines-operated passenger jet collided over the Potomac River Jan. 29. “We’re here because 67 souls lost their lives on Jan. 29,” Duffy told reporters Tuesday, noting that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) unveiled its preliminary findings into the crash earlier in the day. The findings noted that, over the last 2½ years, there have been 85 near misses or close calls at Reagan National. Close calls were identified as incidents when there are less than 200 feet of vertical separation and 1,500 feet of lateral separation between aircraft. VP VANCE CALLS ON US ‘TO DO A BETTER JOB’ WITH AVIATION SAFETY AFTER ‘INCREDIBLY HEARTBREAKING’ DC PLANE CRASH Appearing shocked at the findings, Duffy questioned how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not know about the “hot spot,” where near misses happen frequently. “We’re having near misses, and if we don’t change our way, we’re going to lose lives,” he said. “That wasn’t done. Maybe there was a focus on something other than safety, but in this administration, we are focusing on safety.” The FAA has deployed AI tools to sift through data and find additional hot spots in U.S. airspace near airports to find similar situations to what has been happening at Reagan National. REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH: MILITARY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER COLLIDES MIDAIR WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES JET Once the hot spots are identified, Duffy’s team will implement changes to reduce the close encounters between aircraft. Duffy also said he has learned that air traffic control systems across the country are 25 to 30 years old, and some of them even use floppy disks as if they were stuck in the 1980s. While the system is antiquated, the secretary stressed it was safe. Despite the system being safe, Duffy said it needs to be upgraded. “This should have happened four years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago,” he said. “But, right now, we’re at a point where we can actually do it. And we can do it really fast.” NTSB CALLS FOR BAN ON SOME HELICOPTER ROUTES NEAR REAGAN AIRPORT AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION THAT KILLED 67 PEOPLE Duffy said the task could take up to four years to complete. The job entails bringing in a brand-new air traffic control system, switching from copper wires to a combination of fiber, wireless and satellite systems. The current radar system from the 1970s or early 1980s works, but Duffy wants to put state-of-the-art radar in place and terminals with the right screens and the best technology. ‘GATE LICE’ RUN-INS HAVE FLYERS DEMANDING MORE AIRLINES ‘CRACK DOWN’ ON PESKY TRAVEL TREND “We’re going to deploy resources for runway safety — new technology that will allow our air traffic controllers not to use binoculars in the tower to see where aircraft are at, but to actually have ground radar sensors at our airports that will allow air traffic controllers to see where airplanes are at,” he said. “We’ve heard a lot of new stories of just near misses on the tarmac. And how do you alleviate that? Take away the binoculars and give them technology so they can see on their screens where every aircraft is located. “By doing this, we are going to greatly improve our safety in the system.” Technology, on the other hand, is not cheap, which the secretary acknowledged. In an environment in which the Department of Government Efficiency is looking for ways to cut costs and save money, Duffy explained making upgrades in the name of safety is worth the investment. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Over the next couple of weeks, Duffy said, he plans to introduce his plan to Congress and take in their feedback. Once he goes through the feedback, Duffy said he plans to return to Congress and ask for the money up front to expedite the process of upgrading the air traffic control systems. “It’s not that the FAA didn’t want to do the upgrades,” he said. “It just takes too long. So, they have to give us the money. We’re going to later lay out our plan to actually do it really quickly.”
Stay granted for Texas death row inmate two days before scheduled execution
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did not clarify why it halted the execution of David Wood in its order granting the stay.