As Pakistan prepares to host the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy starting on Wednesday, it has implemented extensive security measures. It anticipates that a successful tournament will inspire nation confidence.
As the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory panel led by billionaire Elon Musk, moves closer to the FAA’s headquarters on Monday as it fights to slash federal workers and access government data.
Despite recent efforts to increase hiring, hundreds of probationary employees were among the FAA’s fired. The FAA’s current workforce is stretched thin, according to insiders, and there is a chronic underresourcing of the air traffic control system.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) union said in a statement on Saturday that the administration’s decision to fire FAA probationary employees “represents without cause nor based on performance or conduct.”
The union pointed out that the termination notices appeared to have been sent from outside the government’s official communications systems, which are used to ensure email security and transparency when records requests are made.
“Several hundred employees have been impacted with messages being sent from an ‘ exec order ‘ Microsoft email address, not an official.gov email address”, the union explained.
On February 14, messages started arriving at 7 p.m. ET and continued through the night.
The firings occurred a few weeks after a fatal midair collision near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, occurred.
On January 29, that collision between a passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter sparked debates about air traffic control personnel’ safety and conditions.
All passengers on both aircraft were killed: 64 civilians and three soldiers.
On the day of the crash, a controller was in charge of overseeing both commercial and helicopter flights. Trump and his allies attributed the incident to unconfirmed diversity initiatives. The collision remains under investigation.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated in a social media post on Sunday that DOGE staff will visit FAA headquarters to “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can create a new, better, modern, and safer system.”
A quarter of all international flights arrive or depart from US airports, according to the FAA, which handles an average of 45, 000 flights per day.
The PASS union criticized the firings, claiming that “draconian action will increase the workload and impose new duties on a workforce that is already stretched.”
Since late last month, Rwanda-backed rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have tightened their hold on Bukavu, the second major city to fall under the control of the country’s east.
On Sunday, M23 rebels seized the city’s 1.3 million-person population after Congolese forces abandoned it.
The capital of the DRC’s South Kivu province, Bukavu lies 101km (63 miles) south of Goma, which was captured by the rebels in late January.
Residents of Bukavu tried to leave, but looters filled the streets with what they could find as the rebels made their way into the city.
Residents and business owners sat in silence as M23’s entrance to the city center was anticipated.
As the rebels scurried through major city intersections on Monday morning, people gradually started to leave.
On Monday morning, most stores and stores in Bukavu were closed as were most of the country’s border crossing to Rwanda as traffic grew more and more congested.
In the eastern DRC, M23 is the most active of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control of trillions of dollars worth of minerals. Those minerals are critical for much of the world’s technology.
The rebels are supported by about 4, 000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, according to United Nations experts.
The M23’s push has drawn international concern, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying that a “regional escalation must be avoided at all costs”.
The transboundary Teesta River’s distribution has been the subject of a decades-old conflict between India and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is pushing for the completion of a billion-dollar megaproject and wants a larger share than it currently does.
Since the resignation of Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August, however, relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have been at an all-time low.
So what’s holding up the project? Why does West Bengal, an Indian state, oppose it? And how is China involved?
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Taqbir Huda, a former South Asian regional researcher at Amnesty International and a human rights lawyer from Bangladesh, is a former Amnesty International researcher in South Asia.
Filippo Menga, an associate professor of geography at the Italian university of Bergamo, is
Since Washington’s top diplomat was in Saudi Arabia to push the plan, which Arab states opposed, Netanyahu has declared he is “committed” to the United States’ proposal to occupy the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian residents.
Netanyahu pledged to support US President Trump’s plan to establish a different Gaza in a statement released on Monday.
At the conclusion of the 15-month conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 48, 000 Palestinians and caused a severe humanitarian crisis, the Israeli leader added that “neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” would rule the enclave.
Netanyahu’s remarks come a day after he hailed “Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future” during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem.
The Trump administration’s attempts to occupy Gaza and forcefully relocate Palestinians are condemned by human rights organizations as violating international law and causing ethnic cleansing.
Arab nations have also criticized the proposal, but it is expected to be on Rubio’s agenda this week during his visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Rubio on Monday in Riyadh, making it the top US diplomat’s most recent stop in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is leading Arab efforts to come up with a plan to stop Hamas from attacking the Gaza Strip that may include a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal.
Any Palestinians who attempt to relocate from their land are deposed by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
Rubio asserted in a recent interview that the US was still open to alternatives from Arab governments, but that for the time being, “the Trump plan is the only plan.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet was expected to discuss the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire on Monday.
There is still not a consensus on the second phase, which will see Hamas release dozens of captives in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting truce, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Far-right members of the Israeli government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have said they would quit Netanyahu’s coalition if the war does not resume.
19 Israelis who were held hostage have been freed so far as part of the first stage of the ceasefire agreement, which started on January 19. At this point, 33 captives are expected to be released on staggered intervals.
If all captives aren’t freed, Netanyahu has declared that “the gates of hell will be opened” on Gaza.
Nour Odeh, a journalist from Amman, Jordan, reported on the Israeli premier’s report that relatives and supporters of the prisoners held in Gaza have been protesting for ever.
The Israeli prime minister has been accused of trying to stall negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza, of trying to avoid phase two, partly because he is attempting to keep his coalition partners content, Odeh said.
The Trump administration’s top officials have also urged the transaction to proceed.
Trump “wants to see” the second stage of the agreement, according to US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who stated on Sunday that it is “absolutely going to begin.”
“We are not leaving anybody behind”, he said, referring to the remaining captives.
Meron Rapoport, an editor for Israeli news outlet Local Call, said that while Netanyahu’s government has little desire to move to the second stage of the ceasefire, it is being pressured on two fronts.
Rapoport from Tel Aviv told Al Jazeera that “Netanyahu is seeing in Trump’s plan the fulfillment of the dream to leave Gaza for Palestinians.”
“He is] being pressured by the US and the hostage’s families, who have not yet been released, to enter the second stage at the same time.”
The second stage of the agreement, he added, “would lead to the end of the war” and the possibility of Marwan Barghouti’s release as prominent Palestinian political prisoners.
Kyiv, Ukraine – Ahead of the emergency summit in Paris on Europe’s response to being excluded from US-Russia peace talks, Ukraine’s president warned of his country’s bleak future if US military aid is cut.
In an interview with the NBC news program Meet the Press, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “We will have a low chance of surviving without the support of the United States.”
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, expressed his willingness to reduce military aid to Ukraine in December.
Zelenskyy rejected a proposed US agreement that would grant Washington access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military support, which could strain relations even more.
The refusal, along with Trump’s recent statements and private calls with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have raised fresh uncertainty about Washington’s long-term support for Kyiv.
With US support uncertain, Europe faces mounting pressure to fill the gap.
Zelenskyy raised the issue of Europe developing its “own military” during the Munich Security Conference on February 14 and 16 in response to Trump’s comments and actions.
“Let’s be honest. We can’t rule out the possibility that America might reject Europe on a security-related issue, Zelenskyy said.
Former deputy commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ General Staff, Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, stated to Al Jazeera that Ukraine will require more assistance than Europe can provide.
“Europe can’t possibly replace American aid,” he said, adding that Ukraine won’t survive long without US military aid and predicting, “We will last six months. ”
Political turbulence could stymie European support.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico, both sceptical of military aid to Kyiv, could block EU-wide decisions. Meanwhile, Germany’s far-right AfD party is surging in the polls, further complicating Europe’s ability to act decisively.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) is anti-immigration, anti-European Union, and often pro-Putin. It raises the possibility of forcing Berlin to stop supporting Kyiv and deport Ukrainian refugees.
Ukraine has faced difficulties in increasing its production of weapons and ammunition, despite the possibility of a military aid agreement between Europe and the United States. Russia’s defense sector produced more weapons than NATO, underscoring the need for the EU to revigorate its defense sector for Ukraine.
North Korea has also offered assistance to Russia, with Ukrainian intelligence reporting that thousands of troops have been dispatched by Pyongyang to Russian-held areas. According to South Korea, North Korea has also provided millions of artillery shells to Moscow.
Without US military assistance, Ukraine already had a glimpse of life, according to Romanenko.
A bill passed in April 2024 that would provide for more than $60 billion in desperately needed funding for Ukraine had been delayed for months by Republican hardliners under the influence of former president Donald Trump.
“We’ve already seen what a six-months-long suspension of aid resulted in,” Romanenko said.
According to Romanenko, Ukraine lost a number of strategic strongholds in the southeast Donbass region before the package was approved, losing “thousands of lives.”
During the delay in providing military aid, Bohgan, a military officer stationed in Donbas, claimed that fighting there quickly became much riskier.
“It was lousy, we could fire only five shells a day, while the [expletive] Russians could fire hundreds at us without counting,” said Bohgan, who could not give his last name due to Ukraine Ministry of Defence regulations.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Russia began in February 2022, Washington has so far provided $175 billion in aid to Kyiv through five separate bills that have been approved by the US Congress.
According to researcher at the German University of Bremen, Nicholas Mitrokhin, how quickly Ukraine will use its US-funded military supplies will depend on how quickly its soldiers are forced to use them.
He claimed that Kyiv’s reliance on missiles for the US-made Patriot air defense system is due to constant Russian air raids. Patriot missile costs several million dollars, and they are often spent on expendable targets such as Iranian-made Shahed drones or their Russian-made replicas.
“That’s why my assumption is that the current and upcoming US supplies will definitely last until mid-summer [July], if not until autumn [September], provided they are spent moderately,” Mitrokhin said.
He claimed that Europe cannot make up for the loss of US military supplies, especially when it comes to Patriot missiles, light-armed vehicles, and 155mm shells used to thwart Russian infantry.
According to Mitrokhin, how long before Russia-US ties start to deteriorate and whether Ukraine would need to survive without US military assistance would be a factor.
“Trump’s and Putin’s relationship will turn sour, and we will soon see a decisive increase in US supplies,” he told Al Jazeera.
Kyiv-based analyst Alexey Kushch said that Zelenskyy was right to decline Trump’s deal that tied military aid to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
If Washington writes off half of the debt and schedules the remainder to be paid back by the end of the century, he told Al Jazeera, the US should treat Ukraine like an ally and that it would be fair.
No one questioned whether the USSR should make up for the military aid by dispensing with its natural resources, according to Kushch, referring to the billions of dollars in military equipment that Russia purchased in the 1990s from Washington.
“Why should Ukraine, an ally, do it? ” Kushch asked Al Jazeera.
Some Ukrainians are upset about the most recent developments, regardless of whether the US stops providing military aid.
“As usual, somebody else will decide our fate,” Vsevolod Boyko, a retired school principal whose son Ihor is fighting in Donbas despite two wounds, told Al Jazeera.