US State Department fires more than 1,300 staff
The firings will affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers in Washington, DC, an internal notice seen by CNN said. It comes as the State Department implements a drastic reorganization as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to shrink the federal government, CNN reports.
Those fired on Friday worked on issues like countering violent extremism; helping Afghans who fled after the Taliban takeover; educational exchanges; and issues related to women’s rights, refugees and climate change.
Hundreds of offices and bureaus are being eliminated or altered as a result of the restructuring that began to be implemented on Friday. The layoff notices, issued via email, came out as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was of Washington, DC, on a flight back from an overseas trip to Malaysia.
“Nearly 3,000 members of the workforce will depart as part of the reorganization,” the notice said. That number includes people who are being fired as well as those leaving voluntarily.
As the layoffs happened Friday, notes of support popped up around the halls of the Washington, DC, headquarters, thanking fired employees for their service. Signs calling on remaining colleagues to “resist fascism” and “remember the oath you vowed to uphold” were also seen in the building.
At the end of the day, employees lined around the entrance lobby and the sidewalks outside of the State Department to “clap out” their fired coworkers. Those who lost their jobs emerged from the building, some crying, some holding boxes, to steady applause from colleagues and a growing crowd of supporters and demonstrators gathered for a rally outside.
“These firings were not done with dignity and respect, but I have walked out of the State Department with my head held high, alongside my civil service and foreign service colleagues,” said Olga Bashbush, a career diplomat who was fired Friday. She told CNN she had served as a diplomat for 20 years and just happened to have started last October in an office in DC that is being eliminated.
“Without our diplomacy professionals, we are going to have those forever wars that Congress and the United States and the president have said that they don’t want to be in,” she said. “We are here to serve and protect, and I’m still willing to serve and all of my colleagues here today are willing to serve.”
Former State Department officials and Democratic lawmakers who spoke at the rally condemned the firings, echoing that they will take a toll at a time when the role of diplomats and foreign affairs experts is particularly important as the Trump administration tries to broker ends to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
They also leveled sharp criticisms of the broader reorganization, which includes sweeping changes to focus on the Trump administration’s priorities, such as reducing immigration to the US and promoting the administration’s worldview, with less emphasis on protecting and promoting human rights across the globe.
Source: Marzieh Rahmani
N. Korea, Russia reaffirm strong ties in top diplomats” talks
In opening remarks, Lavrov reaffirmed Choe”s earlier description of their bilateral ties as an “invincible military brotherhood,” citing North Korean troops who fought alongside Russian soldiers against Ukrainian forces in Russia”s western region of Kursk.
He also pledged to make efforts so that more Russian tourists will visit the resort city, such as increasing flights, TASS reported.
Choe reaffirmed her country”s support for Russia, describing their ties as rising to an “unbreakable” level.
“The strategic choice and will of the DPRK government is to defend, unconditionally and consistently support Russia”s policy of protecting state sovereignty and territorial integrity,” TASS quoted her as saying.
DPRK stands for North Korea”s official name — the Democratic People”s Republic of Korea.
Lavrov”s trip to the North will last until Sunday, when he is set to fly to China to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states.
His trip comes as Moscow and Pyongyang have been reinforcing their broad-based cooperation since Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty during a summit in Pyongyang in June last year.
Source: Marzieh Rahmani
Iran Leader’s aide slams “peace through power” doctrine, labels it archaic and dangerous
Speaking Friday at a memorial ceremony for the IRGC’s late Major General Mohammad Saeed Izadi, Larijani said, “This outdated theory means: ‘surrender or fight me.’ It is a mindset pursued by aggressors like Hitler, Napoleon, and the Mongols. Now, leaders like Trump and Netanyahu echo the same rhetoric.”
He argued that the US and its allies have failed to achieve stability in regions such as Ukraine and Gaza through force, saying, “They inflicted destruction, but the Palestinian people did not surrender.”
Larijani emphasized that a “new, resilient Middle East” is emerging, shaped by the sacrifices of resistance fighters like General Izadi and others recently assassinated.m, by Israel.
“They think with terror and noise they can redraw the region. But the blood of our martyrs will fortify the resistance,” he stated.
He condemned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks comparing himself to Cyrus the Great, and reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to supporting Palestinian resistance.
Source: IFP Editorial Staff
Israeli settlers beat American citizen to death in West Bank
Settlers attacked and killed Sayfollah Musallet in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, on Friday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Relatives of Musallet, who was from Tampa, Florida, were also quoted by The Washington Post as saying he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers.
“We are aware of reports of the death of a US citizen in the West Bank,” Reuters reported a State Department spokesperson as saying. The official declined to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones” of the reported victim.
Musallet, also known as Saif al-Din Musalat, had travelled from his home in Florida to visit family in Palestine, his cousin Fatmah Muhammad said in a social media post.
Another Palestinian, identified by the Health Ministry as Mohammed Shalabi, was fatally shot by settlers during the attack.
Rights advocates have documented repeated instances where Israeli settlers in the West Bank ransack Palestinian neighbourhoods and towns, burning homes and vehicles in attacks sometimes described as pogroms.
The Israeli military often protects the settlers during their rampages and has shot Palestinians who show any resistance.
The United Nations and other prominent human rights organisations consider the Israeli settlements in the West Bank violations of international law, as part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians.
While some Western countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers, attacks have increased since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
When President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, his administration revoked sanctions on settlers imposed by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Israeli forces have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
But none of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges.
The US provides billions of dollars to Israel every year. Advocates have accused successive US administrations of failing to protect American citizens from Israeli violence in the Middle East.
The Palestinian group Hamas has also condemned the murder of Musallet, describing it as “barbaric”, and called on Palestinians across the West Bank to rise up to “confront the settlers and their terrorist attacks”.
Source: Ifp Media Wire