Mahakumbh: 13 FIRs registered against 140 social media handles for misleading content
A large number of devotees took a holy dip at the sacred Triveni Sangam during the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj on Sunday.
Trump admin to slash 1,600 USAID positions just before midnight
The Trump administration is eliminating over a thousand positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while also placing the majority of the remaining staff members on administration leave globally, just before midnight Sunday. The Associated Press reported that it learned from the Trump administration that 1,600 posts would be eliminated after reviewing notices that were sent to USAID workers. “As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the notices read. The Trump administration intends on leaving fewer than 300 staffers on the job, out of the current 8,000 contractors and direct hires. USAID WORKERS SEND MESSAGE TO TRUMP ON BOXES WHILE LEAVING OFFICE FOR LAST TIME The less than 300 remaining staff, along with an unknown number of the 5,000 locally hired international staff members abroad, will run the few life-saving programs that the administration said it intends to keep in place for the time being. Sacked USAID staffers left their Washington, D.C., offices for the last time on Friday, with some carrying boxes scrawled with messages that seemed to be directed at Trump, who is slashing the agency’s workforce. “We are abandoning the world,” read one message on a box containing belongings being hauled out by a grinning staffer as she walked out of USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs office. ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS Another smiling staffer’s box had a more upbeat tone, with her message reading: “You can take the humanitarians out of USAID but you can’t take the humanity out of the humanitarians.” Thousands of staffers had been notified weeks ago of their pending dismissals, and on Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols lifted a temporary restraining order he had issued at the outset of a lawsuit filed by government employee unions seeking a stop to the mass layoffs. After lifting the temporary restraining order, Nichols declined to issue a longer-term order that would have kept the employees in their posts. Trump has moved to gut the agency after imposing a 90-day pause on foreign aid. He also appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the acting director of USAID. SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO CONFIRMS BECOMING ACTING USAID CHIEF The agency has come under fire by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for alleged wasteful spending. For instance, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, recently published a list of projects and programs she says USAID has helped fund over the years, including $20 million to produce a Sesame Street show in Iraq. Several more examples of questionable spending have been uncovered at USAID, including more than $900,000 to a “Gaza-based terror charity” called Bayader Association for Environment and Development and a $1.5 million program slated to “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.” Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump admin to slash thousands of USAID positions just before midnight
The Trump administration is eliminating thousands of positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while also placing the majority of the remaining staff members on administration leave globally, just before midnight Sunday. The Associated Press reported that it learned from the Trump administration that 1,600 posts would be eliminated, after reviewing notices that were sent to USAID workers. “As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” the notices read. The Trump administration intends on leaving fewer than 300 staffers on the job, out of the current 8,000 contractors and direct hires. USAID WORKERS SEND MESSAGE TO TRUMP ON BOXES WHILE LEAVING OFFICE FOR LAST TIME The less than 300 remaining staff, along with an unknown number of the 5,000 locally hired international staff members abroad, will run the few life-saving programs that the administration said it intends to keep in place for the time being. Sacked USAID staffers left their Washington, D.C., offices for the last time on Friday, with some carrying boxes scrawled with messages that seemed to be directed at Trump, who is slashing the agency’s workforce. “We are abandoning the world,” read one message on a box containing belongings being hauled out by a grinning staffer as she walked out of USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs office. ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS Another smiling staffer’s box had a more upbeat tone, with her message reading: “You can take the humanitarians out of USAID but you can’t take the humanity out of the humanitarians.” Thousands of staffers had been notified weeks ago of their pending dismissals, and on Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols lifted a temporary restraining order he had issued at the outset of a lawsuit filed by government employee unions seeking a stop to the mass layoffs. After lifting the temporary restraining order, Nichols declined to issue a longer-term order that would have kept the employees in their posts. Trump has moved to gut the agency after imposing a 90-day pause on foreign aid. He also appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the acting director of USAID. SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO CONFIRMS BECOMING ACTING USAID CHIEF The agency has come under fire by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for alleged wasteful spending. For instance, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman, recently published a list of projects and programs she says USAID has helped fund over the years, including $20 million to produce a Sesame Street show in Iraq. Several more examples of questionable spending have been uncovered at USAID, including more than $900,000 to a “Gaza-based terror charity” called Bayader Association for Environment and Development and a $1.5 million program slated to “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.” Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
80 years ago Marines raised flag over Iwo Jima in iconic moment
On Feb. 23, 1945, six Marines teamed up for what would become one of the most iconic photos in American history. Marines fighting on Iwo Jima scaled Mount Suribachi and worked together to push up an American flag, a moment that was captured by military photographers and later became an enduring symbol of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in World War II. Marines initially invaded Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, as part of the U.S. island-hopping campaign in the Pacific, and it took four days to gain the summit of Suribachi, according to a Department of Defense report. VANCE TOURS DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP AHEAD OF MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE: ‘WHAT UNSPEAKABLE EVIL’ “The taking of the 554-foot hill was significant, in that it suppressed the fire from Japanese who were dug in and who had prime vantage of much of the island,” the DOD report reads. Fighting continued on the island until March 26, resulting in the injury or death of about 27,000 Marines and sailors. The brutal fighting also led to the deaths of 21,000 Japanese soldiers, who defended the island through a series of caves, tunnels and pillboxes. WWII VETERAN TURNS 100, REVEALS THE SECRETS OF A LONG, HEALTHY LIFE Yet the photo from four days into the battle remains its enduring image, spreading rapidly throughout the world and becoming a powerful recruiting and morale tool for the U.S. government. “The photo was the centerpiece of a war-bond poster that helped raise $26 billion in 1945,” the Pulitzer Prize Board wrote in its online account of the image. While the identity of the men in the photo has been the subject of decades of debate, the most recent research suggests the men are, from left, Pfc. Ira Hayes, Pfc. Harold Schultz, Sgt. Michael Strank, Pfc. Franklin Sousley, Pfc. Harold Keller and Cpl. Harlon Block. Block, Sousley and Strank were later killed during the fighting on Iwo Jima. But the image has endured the test of time, being duplicated on everything from postage stamps to a memorial just north of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Trump celebrates conservative party win in Germany
President Donald Trump celebrated on Sunday after German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz claimed victory in a national election, ousting Social Democrat incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “LOOKS LIKE THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY IN GERMANY HAS WON THE VERY BIG AND HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ELECTION,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “MUCH LIKE THE USA, THE PEOPLE OF GERMANY GOT TIRED OF THE NO COMMON SENSE AGENDA, ESPECIALLY ON ENERGY AND IMMIGRATION, THAT HAS PREVAILED FOR SO MANY YEARS. “THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR GERMANY, AND FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF A GENTLEMAN NAMED DONALD J. TRUMP,” he added. “CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL — MANY MORE VICTORIES TO FOLLOW!!!” Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won Sunday’s national election, with the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) finishing a strong second, according to exit polls. TRUMP SET TO MEET WITH WORLD LEADERS IN DC DURING BUSY WEEK AS RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS CONTINUE The snap election came as the European nation grapples with illegal immigration and a souring economy. CDU leader Merz is expected to take a harder line than Scholz on immigration, though not as much as AfD supporters have called for. Merz, whose party got about 29% of the vote, must form a coalition with one or more of the other parties, but has said he will not do so with AfD. ECONOMY, IMMIGRATION, ELON MUSK AT CENTER OF GERMAN ELECTION; CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE FAVORED TO WIN Merz has said he will execute a 15-point plan to tackle immigration, including tightening the borders and deporting rejected asylum seekers. AfD wants to deport migrants en masse. While the AfD may be frozen out of the incoming coalition, it doubled its vote total from the last election. Endorsed by Trump and Elon Musk, and led by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, the party believes it has built momentum for the next election, expected in 2029.
Germany’s CDU ahead in election exit poll, strong support for far right
Germany’s opposition conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has been projected to win the national election, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor, exit polls show. On Sunday, the first exit polls said Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance had won at least 28.5 percent of the votes, crushing the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) of the outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, with SPD looking at around 16 percent. Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) also roughly doubled its score to at least 19.5 percent and were in second place, the exit polls said. Germany’s election authority noted that 52 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots four hours before the closure of polling stations in Sunday’s high-stakes snap election, which took place due to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition government collapsing last November. “Tonight we will celebrate and from tomorrow we start working,” Merz said in a first reaction to the exit polls in Berlin, surrounded by supporters. Advertisement “The world out there is not waiting for us.” Merz – a longtime party rival of ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel – has vowed to crack down on irregular immigration and remedy Germany’s economic policies. Reporting from Berlin, Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen said that the CDU leader has already delivered a message to Germans, saying it was time for the country to have a “solid government” and show it is “present in Europe”. She noted that “Merz is known to be much more conservative” than Merkel. “He has a very tough stance against immigration, and he has been working together recently with the far-right AfD on anti-migration policies,” Vaessen said, adding that he has been heavily criticised for working together with the far right.” But 69-year-old Merz has reiterated in the past that he is not aligned with the AfD’s anti-migration rhetoric and also hopes to halt its rise, which has stunned many in a country still seeking to atone for its dark Nazi history. For now, the AfD – basking in the vocal support of key allies of US President Donald Trump – is set to stay in opposition. All other parties have vowed to keep it out of power and behind a “firewall” of non-cooperation. On Sunday, AfD’s jubilant leader Alice Weidel hailed the “historic” result and said her party was ready to govern with the CDU and Christian Social Union (CSU). Meanwhile, Scholz has acknowledged his “election defeat”. “This is a bitter election result for the Social Democratic Party,” the incumbent chancellor said in his first remarks after the polls closed. Advertisement “It is also an election defeat, and I think that needs to be made clear at the outset.” Directing his comments towards Merz, the conservative party leader, Scholz added: “Congratulations on the election result.” What next? Before Merz takes over from the now caretaker chancellor Scholz, he will have to forge a new coalition government in Europe’s top economy, an often drawn-out process he has vowed to complete by Easter, April 20. This threatens to leave Berlin paralysed for weeks to come as the Trump administration has forced head-spinning change on the world scene and among European allies, especially over the Ukraine war that has raged for three gruelling years. To build a majority, Merz would be expected to reach out first to the SPD, though without Scholz, who has led Germany’s traditional workers’ party to a historically poor result. To gain enough seats, he may also reach out to the Greens, who scored at least 12 percent in the exit polls, although the CDU’s Bavarian sister party the CSU has so far rejected this. Reporting from the German capital Berlin, Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane said that Merz will have to make some “compromises and concessions”. “Mr Merz is very clearly saying that there need to be quick negotiations, but with which specific parties? Because, obviously, the Social Democrats have been repudiated, their vote dropping to the sort of level which is one of the worst performances they’ve ever had since the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany,” Kane said. Advertisement “We know that some of Merz’s allies in Bavaria have said they do not want to govern with the Greens,” he added. “So actually, forming a coalition is going to be particularly difficult for Mr Merz, and he is going to have to make compromises, concessions insofar as some key policies are concerned.” Adblock test (Why?)
Why has Israel suspended the release of Palestinian prisoners?
Future of Gaza ceasefire at risk after Israel suspended the release of Palestinian prisoners. Israel has postponed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners despite Hamas setting free six Israeli captives on Saturday. The group says Israel’s far-right government is “playing dirty games and sabotaging” the agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the captive handover ceremonies in Gaza, “humiliating” and is accusing Hamas of using the captives for “propaganda”. But aid groups are questioning Israel’s unkept promises under the first phase. It has yet to allow delivery of 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents, desperately needed by millions of displaced Palestinians. And Israeli negotiators have not joined discussions for the second phase of the deal. So, what’s behind Netanyahu’s dramatic turnaround? And how will it affect the hard-fought ceasefire agreement? Presenter: Cyril Vanier Guests: Alon Liel – Former director, Israel’s Foreign Ministry Xavier Abu Eid – Political analyst, a former PLO adviser and author of the book Rooted in Palestine Akiva Eldar – Contributor to Haaretz and author of Lords of the Land Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
German election 2025 live results: By the numbers
About 59 million Germans were eligible to vote in snap elections to decide who will govern the eurozone’s largest economy. Votes are now being counted across Germany where about 59 million citizens were eligible to vote in snap elections to decide who will govern the eurozone’s largest economy for the next four years. Polls opened at 8am (07:00 GMT) and closed at 6pm (17:00 GMT). Here are the latest results from the federal returning officer, who oversees the elections: Germany’s election authority says 52 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots four hours before the closure of polling stations. When will we know the final results? The first local constituencies started reporting results at about 9:00pm (20:00 GMT). The overall outcome should become clear quickly with the final official results expected early on Monday. Who are the major candidates and parties? This year, 29 political parties are participating in the elections, a decrease from the 47 that contested in 2021. (Al Jazeera) The main parties are: CDU/CSU – The Christian Democratic Union is led by Friedrich Merz, who is also the bloc’s chancellor candidate. The Christian Social Union, the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, is led by Markus Soder. AfD – The Alternative for Germany is co-led by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla with Weidel as the AfD’s chancellor candidate. SPD – The Social Democratic Party is co-led by Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil. Olaf Scholz serves as the party’s chancellor candidate and is the incumbent chancellor. Alliance 90/The Greens – It is co-led by Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak, and Robert Habeck is its chancellor candidate and the current vice chancellor. The Left – The party is co-led by Ines Schwerdtner and Jan van Aken with Heidi Reichinnek and van Aken as the chancellor candidates. BSW – The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance is led by Sahra Wagenknecht, who is also the party’s chancellor candidate. FDP – The Free Democratic Party is led by Christian Lindner, who also serves as the party’s lead candidate. Advertisement What do the latest polls indicate? The conservative CDU tops the polls with 30 percent support. The far-right AfD is predicted to win about 20 percent of the votes while the SPD, which led the previous coalition government, sits in third place with 15 percent support. (Al Jazeera) How does voting work? German citizens will vote twice: once for a local member of parliament and second for a party. A party must receive at least 5 percent of the national vote to enter the Bundestag, the elected chamber of the bicameral parliament. The second vote is considered the most important and is most widely reported on election night because it determines the number of seats a party will receive overall in the Bundestag and a party’s strength within a coalition government it might be part of. Whichever party secures the most seats will nominate a candidate as chancellor, and the new Bundestag will vote. The candidate must secure an absolute majority to be sworn in as the country’s new leader. (Al Jazeera) Germany’s current distribution of seats The Bundestag has a base of 598 seats, but it can expand, reaching 733 seats in 2021, the largest in its history. A 2023 reform now limits it to 630 seats. (Al Jazeera) What are the key issues? A sluggish economy, immigration and the Ukraine war have been the top issues in the campaign. Surveys suggested many voters want to pay less in taxes, but doing that will be hard. Germany has been in recession for the past two years, and its key industries are struggling to remain competitive. Advertisement Unemployment is at more than 6 percent, and the debt brake, which limits government borrowing, is also causing problems. Who could be Germany’s next chancellor? A coalition government will likely be formed because no one party has ever won an absolute majority. The only time a single parliamentary group secured a majority was for the parliamentary term of 1957 to 1961 when the CDU/CSU won elections in West Germany. Whichever party secures the most votes will nominate a candidate as chancellor, and the new Bundestag will vote on the person. The candidate must secure an absolute majority to be sworn in as leader. Here are the chancellor candidates of the top four parties: Merz, 69, is the frontrunner, according to the polls. He became the leader of the CDU after former Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped down in 2021. Weidel, 46, has co-led the anti-immigration AfD since 2017. Scholz, 66, from the SPD has been chancellor since December 2021. Habeck, 55, is the candidate representing the Greens. He is the current vice chancellor as well as economy and climate minister. Adblock test (Why?)
Texas A&M regents may soon decide the university system’s next leader
Regents are scheduled to meet in Houston on Monday to discuss the search in executive session and potentially vote on a finalist. Their pick will replace outgoing Chancellor John Sharp.
Trump set to meet with world leaders in DC during busy week as Russia-Ukraine peace talks continue
President Donald Trump is set to have another busy week meeting with foreign leaders in the nation’s capital as administration leaders continue working out a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Trump will meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in his fifth week back in the Oval Office, national security advisor Mike Waltz said on Fox News’ “America Reports.” The announcement follows Macron calling for an emergency meeting of world leaders after the Trump administration excluded Europe from sitting at the negotiating table to settle the war between Ukraine and Russia. “Just a few months ago, everyone was talking about this war as though it would never end,” Waltz said on “America Reports” after confirming Starmer and Macron will visit Washington, D.C. “In just a very short amount of time, President Trump has us, everyone – the Ukrainians, the Russians, the Europeans – talking about it now and debating.… Only President Trump could drive that shift in conversation. And we have to acknowledge that that’s happened.” TRUMP SOUNDS OFF ON ZELENSKYY’S INSULTS AS US WORKS TO BROKER UKRAINE PEACE DEAL WITH RUSSIA: ‘I’VE HAD IT’ Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met in Riyadh last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov to hash out ways to end the conflict. Ukraine was absent from the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. RUSSIA, UKRAINE TAKE ‘SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP TOWARD PEACE’ AFTER RUBIO-LED NEGOTIATIONS, WHITE HOUSE INSISTS Ukraine’s lack of involvement sparked President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy to double down on the stance that his nation will not accept a peace deal unless they are a part of the negotiation process. Zelenskyy told reporters Tuesday in Turkey that “nobody decides anything behind our back,” after stressing in recent days that Kyiv will not agree to a peace negotiation without Ukraine’s input. Trump amplified his rhetoric against Zelenskyy last week, including arguing Zelenskyy is a poor negotiator and that he’s “sick of it.” “I’ve been watching this man for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated,” Trump told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade last week. “I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it,” he continued. “You just get sick of it, and I’ve had it.” TRUMP’S FRUSTRATIONS WITH ZELENSKYY ESCALATE AS US TURNS UP PRESSURE ON UKRAINE TO REACH PEACE DEAL “I get tired of listening to it,” Trump responded. “I’ve seen it enough, and then he complains that he’s not at a meeting that we’re having with Saudi Arabia trying to intermediate peace. Well, he’s been at meetings for three years with a… president who didn’t know what the hell he was doing. He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done, so I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you. He’s been there for three years. He’s he makes it very hard to make deals.” Trump added on Friday that Macron and Starmer “haven’t done anything” since 2022 to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s recent remarks on Zelenskyy have apparently alarmed European leaders who have backed Ukraine throughout the war. Macron previewed in remarks on Thursday that he will reportedly take a tough tone with Trump during their meeting. TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE “Trump, I know him. I respect him and I believe he respects me,” Macron, who will meet with Trump on Monday, said during a question-and-answer session on social media. “I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of President (Vladimir Putin). It’s not you, it’s not what you’re made of, and it’s not in your interests.” Starmer, who is slated to meet with Trump on Thursday, said on Sunday in Scotland that there cannot be peace talks without Ukraine’s input. “Nobody wants the bloodshed to continue. Nobody, least of all the Ukrainians,” he said Sunday, according to Reuters. “But after everything that they have suffered, after everything that they have fought for, there could be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine, and the people of Ukraine must have a long-term secure future.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke to members of the media on Saturday following CPAC, saying a peace deal could be reached as soon as this week. “The president, his team are very much focused on continuing negotiations with both sides of this war to end the conflict, and the president is very confident we can get it done this week,” she said. Fox News Digital’s Bailee Hill, Morgan Phillips and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.