Trump plans to cut 1,200 jobs from CIA, other US spy agencies: Report

According to The Washington Post, US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering making significant personnel cuts at key government departments like the CIA and other important US spy agencies.

The CIA plans to eliminate 1,200 positions in the US intelligence community, along with thousands more, according to a report released on Friday.

According to the report, members of Congress have been informed of the planned cuts, which will occur over a number of years and be primarily accomplished through hiring reductions rather than layoffs.

The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, “is moving quickly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the administration’s national security priorities,” a spokesperson for the organization said when asked about the report.

The spokesperson added that “these actions are a part of a holistic strategy to infuse the agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position CIA to fulfill its mission.”

Ratcliffe, a Trump appointee, sworn in as the agency’s director in January, previously promised lawmakers that the agency would “produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis without allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products.”

No matter how dark or difficult it may be, “we will gather intelligence, especially human intelligence,” he declared, as well as “conduct covert action under the president’s direction, going places no one else can go, and doing things no one else can do.”

When he addressed CIA officers, he said, “Belize and get ready to make a difference if all of this sounds like what you signed up for.” If not, then it’s time to start a new line of work.

As part of Trump’s government’s downsizing strategy, the CIA also announced in March that it would fire an undetermined number of junior officers.

Not everyone who demonstrates aptitude for the job will be able to handle the demands of the job, according to a spokesperson for the organization. Officers with behavioral issues or those who are deemed to be poor candidates for intelligence work will be fired.

Second US military zone along border with Mexico set up to deter migrants

Following the announcement last month that a second military zone belonged to New Mexico along the border, the US military has added a Texas area where troops can temporarily detain trespassers.

President Donald Trump has increased troop levels at the southern border, pledged to deport millions of Americans, and announced the creation of a new military camp as a result of his aggressive anti-immigration crackdown on immigration.

Children who are citizens of the United States were some of the people the Trump administration deported.

A 100-kilometer (63-mile) strip east of the Texas-New Mexico border in El Paso, the US military announced late on Thursday that it had established the “Texas National Defense Area.”

The detainees will then be handed over to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or another civilian law enforcement, which has authority over illegal border crossings, according to the Pentagon.

A 270km-long, 18-meter-wide (60 feet by 170 miles) strip along New Mexico’s base was designated a “National Defense Area” by the Trump administration in April.

According to the US Attorney’s Office, 82 people have been charged with entering the New Mexico military zone so far. None of them were detained by US forces, and CBP officials handled them.

Without violating the 1807 Insurrection Act, which allows a president to deploy the US military only to suppress civil unrest, the Trump administration is authorized to use its military forces to detain migrants in the military zones.

At the border with Mexico, about 11, 900 US soldiers are currently stationed. The number of migrants who were caught entering the US illegally in March was at its lowest level ever, according to government data.

Republican governor of Texas Gregg Abbott wrote, “Texas continues to work with the Trump Administration to stop illegal immigration,” on Thursday, posting images of a razor wire barrier construction on the border.

Abbott has border security deployed the state’s National Guard and police since 2021.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico has opposed what she has referred to as a “deportation buffer zone.”

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,164

On Saturday, May 3, 2018, this is the current situation:

Fighting

    A fallen attack drone detonated as a victim attempted to carry it away from a residential home, killing a resident in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine.

  • Eight of the injured, according to Terekhov, were receiving hospital treatment, including an 11-year-old child who was one of the injured in the most recent Russian attack.
  • After escorting Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region, which is located just across the border from western Russia, Russia claimed that its forces were still constructing a “security strip” in the Sumy region of Ukraine.
  • After Russian airstrikes struck Zaporizhzhia, a city in southern Ukraine, more than 20 people were hurt.
  • In a joint Russian drone and artillery attack on areas east of Nikopol city in the southeast of the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Ukrainian regional authorities, four people were also hurt.
  • According to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, its air defense units detonated ten Ukrainian drones in an hour. Eight drones were intercepted over Bryansk, a border region, and two over Crimea, which were both seized by Russia.
  • Russian air defense units reportedly detonated Ukrainian drones over five districts, according to Yury Slyusar, acting governor of the region of Rostov in the eastern border of Ukraine. He claimed that while some homes were harmed by the destroyed drones, there were no injuries.
  • The SBU, a top internal security agency in Ukraine, accused Russian intelligence of behind the failed gun attack that injured the target and injured prominent Ukrainian blogger Serhii Sternenko.

military assistance

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president, criticizes the most recent wave of drone strikes on Ukrainian civilian areas, and accuses the country’s allies of acting too slowly to improve its air defense capabilities.
  • According to the Pentagon, the US Department of State has approved the potential sale of F-16 training and sustainment for $ 310 million to Ukraine. The sale might include maintenance and upgrades to aircraft, as well as flight training.

Sanctions

diplomacy and politics

  • On Monday, to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end of fighting on the continent, Ukrainian armed forces will march in a British military procession.

Judge strikes down Trump’s executive order targeting law firm Perkins Coie

A district judge in the United States has overturned a president’s executive order that targeted Perkins Coie for its handling of Hillary Clinton, the attorney firm’s Democratic presidential rival.

Judge Beryl A. Howell declared the executive order unconstitutional on Friday in a five-page order issued in Washington, DC.

According to Howell, “Executive Order 14230 is unlawful, null, and void in its entirety, and should not be disregarded.”

One of the executive orders Trump has issued against a law firm is permanently invalid with the ruling. His administration is anticipated to file an appeal.

The Trump administration must resume its “ordinary course of business” with the government in accordance with Judge Howell’s order, which also requires the government to end any investigations into Perkins Coie.

Judge Howell outlined her justification in her full 102-page decision, stating that Trump’s executive order was an “unprecedented attack” on the country’s “foundational principles.”

In her opening statement, she said, “No American President has ever issued executive orders like the one that is in this lawsuit.” This action is inspired by a playbook as old as Shakespeare, which says, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

She continued, “Let’s kill the lawyers I don’t like,” in a fresh way by Trump’s executive order.

On March 6, Trump published Executive Order 14230 with the title “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP.”

The executive order, which cited the law firm’s cooperation with Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, placed restrictions on its access to government buildings, and mandated that organizations abide by Perkins Coie’s contract terminations whenever possible.

Executive orders also targeted a number of other law firms, including Jenner & Block, Paul Weiss, and WilmerHale. Many of the people had worked for Trump-affiliated organizations or had directly endorsed his policies.

However, it was questioned whether those orders were constitutional because the president had the power to revoke services, security clearances, and even building access because he had a disagreement with one law firm.

Critics argued that the US Constitution’s First Amendment shields individuals and businesses from being subject to reprisals for their free speech. The Fifth and Sixth Amendments, in contrast, safeguard the right to legal counsel from law offices like Perkins Coie.

Many of the clients of the law firm had cases with deep ties to the government’s internal operations. In its filings, Perkins Coie even stated that its attorneys “necessarily interact with the federal government on behalf of their clients.”

In light of the restrictions imposed by the executive order, some of its clients began to consider working with Perkins Coie.

More than 500 law firms signed an amicus brief in support of Perkins Coie in April, arguing that Trump’s actions “would threaten the survival of any law firm” and “would scare away clients.

Judge Howell’s ruling supported those concerns, stating that the law firm had “shown monetary harm sufficient to establish irreparable harm.” She referred to the executive order as an “overt attempt to suppress and punish certain viewpoints.”

However, several well-known law firms made the decision to break with the White House in order to avoid such punitive action.

Paul Weiss, who reportedly offered the administration $40 million in pro bono legal services, was the first to strike a deal. Following suit, firms Skadden, Milbank, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher each agreed to provide free legal services worth $100 million.

Judge Howell argued in her ruling that Trump’s executive orders against law firms could have a chilling impact on the entire field and were equivalent to a power grab.

She wrote that removing lawyers as the body of law’s guardians removes a significant barrier to gaining more authority.

According to her, the Constitution requires that the government “repairs” disputed speech or ideas with “tolerance, not coercion” in response.

Singapore election a test for ruling party against rejuvenated opposition

Singapore – David Wee has spent the majority of his life living in the same terraced house with his family in the east of Singapore.

But over more than 40 years, the Wee family have been a part of five different electoral constituencies.

Government critics have accused the Singaporean government of gerrymandering, which is deliberately bending constituency boundaries to favor a particular political party, since the election changes that took place shortly before every general election.

According to Singapore’s Elections Department, which is overseen by the Prime Minister’s Office, the latest boundary changes – the most extensive in years – were driven by voter growth and future housing developments.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) will take control of Singapore on Saturday despite criticism, which is expected to result in the election of 2.76 million voters.

The PAP has won every election in this prosperous global financial centre since declaring independence in 1965.

Elections in this country are seen as a test of public opinion of the ruling party, despite the PAP’s low chances of losing. This election is also seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took over from former premier Lee Hsien Loong last year.

Prior to the Singapore general election on April 26, 2025, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong attended a People’s Action Party (PAP) rally [Edgar Su/Reuters]

Voting is also compulsory in Singapore – where elections are held every five years, and though modelled after the United Kingdom’s Westminster parliamentary system, one of the quirks of Singapore is that voters are either part of a single-member voting constituency or a Group Representation Constituency (GRC).

People in a GRC cast ballots for teams of up to five politicians rather than just for one candidate. Within each team, at least one candidate must be from a minority ethnic group.

The team vote is supposed to ensure minority representation in the city-state’s parliament, but critics claim it is a group-to-group parachute maneuver.

The vote will see 97 members of parliament elected in 33 constituencies made up of 15 single-member constituencies and 18 GRCs. The PAP has already won a walkover for a five-member team, so only 92 seats will be contested today because one of the GRCs has no contest.

For David Wee, constituency boundaries are not really an issue.

He told Al Jazeera, “It’s something that can happen to anyone, especially if you live in a Single Member Constituency, which can be easily absorbed” into a GRC.

What is an issue though, he says, is the rising cost of living, inflation, and other concerns around life and work in one of the world’s richest nations.

He continued, “I will support anyone I believe can best serve the residents,” noting that Singapore’s voters are now more selective and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“Our voters have become more educated”, he said.

After all, he continued, “Singapore is a developed country, not a developing country.”

FILE - Merlion statue with the background of business district in Singapore, Saturday, Sept, 21, 2019. Singaporean man, Abdul Kahar Othman, 68, on death row for drug trafficking was hanged Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in the first execution in the city-state in over two years, rights activists said. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
The Merlion statue in front of Singapore’s business district in 2019]Vincent Thian/AP]

Singapore bling

Singapore is one of the world’s most expensive cities, with some of the highest living standards globally.

It has the most expensive cars in the world, along with a top-notch public transportation system, along with congestion pricing, road tax, and other costs. This is because owners must pay thousands of dollars for a vehicle’s ownership.

“If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it”, said Lim Meng Wee, 57, a consultant in the local real estate capital field who has owned several cars over the years.

“A car is a very expensive luxury,” says one author. It eats into your balance sheet and you will have to keep working harder. He said, “I know of people who bought cars and returned to public transportation after two to three years.

Singapore’s economic success, generally low crime and expectation of personal safety for citizens has come in tandem with a low tolerance for dissent.

That has been put into practice by a number of laws, including those that prohibit racial and religious feelings from being hurt, as well as detention without trial. Labour strikes are outlawed too, and a permit is required for demonstrations, which is strictly observed.

In an effort to make a point about the administration of justice, a prominent dissident was fined for assembly in 2020 for upholding a cardboard sign with a smiley face outside the State Courts.

In February, six people in their 20s were questioned by police and had their electronic devices seized over a protest at a local university against Israel’s war on Gaza.

Attendees hold signs during a protest against the death penalty at Speakers' Corner in Singapore on April 3, 2022. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
On April 3, 2022, speakers at Speakers’ Corner in Singapore protested the death penalty.

Critics and media outlets have been the subject of defamation lawsuits by government ministers, while many politicians and activists were imprisoned from the 1960s into the 1980s.

In addition, the majority of the media is unwaveringly pro-establishment, despite the country’s 123rd-placed status as the world’s second-largest press freedom. All media outlets must tread carefully with a government accustomed to taking matters to court when unhappy with coverage.

A defamation lawsuit against Bloomberg News, which is ongoing, was brought by two ministers over a report on multimillion dollar real estate transactions in the nation.

Singapore at 60 – the social compact going strong

This island nation, which has about six million people and is multicultural and multilingual, celebrates its 60th anniversary in August.

It turns 60 as an economic heavyweight, and one of the cleanest, safest, least corrupt places in the world. In 1965, the GDP per person was about $500. Last year, figures from the International Monetary Fund showed the figure was about $93, 000.

All of this has been accomplished under the leadership of Singapore under the leadership of the PAP, which Lee Kuan Yew co-founded and is still the only governing body that the country has ever had a history with.

Over those six decades, Singapore’s version of the social compact has seen its citizens accepting fewer freedoms in exchange for the PAP ensuring stable economic growth and the availability of good jobs. However, it seems to be changing.

The PAP has held a parliamentary supermajority for decades, though the 10 opposition politicians elected at the last election in 2020 represented an all-time high in parliament and forced some soul-searching among the governing party’s leadership.

Political analyst and former newspaper editor PN Balji said, “Lee Kuan Yew’s generation delivered everything that we see here in Singapore.”

“He was a great statesman”, he told Al Jazeera.

A People's Action Party (PAP) supporter wearing a T-shirt showing Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, attends a lunchtime rally ahead of the general election, in Singapore's central business district, April 28, 2025. REUTERS/Edgar Su
On April 28, 2025, a People’s Action Party (PAP) supporter in Singapore’s central business district attends a lunchtime rally in advance of the general election.

However, increasingly, Singaporean voters want a greater say in governance and eschew the “fist in velvet glove” approach to government, along with the authorities ‘ willingness to intervene in citizens ‘ lives, leading to the label of “nanny state”.

Social housing, according to Balji, is an illustration of the PAP’s gloved-fist strategy.

For years, the PAP openly told voters that their residential public housing properties would not be prioritised for upgrading if they voted for the opposition.

All of these policies were put in place when the leadership’s attitude was to “we’ll just push it through.” You don’t vote PAP, you don’t get upgrading? Let’s try this right away, Balji said.

Social media has emboldened Singaporeans to the point where the “fear factor” no longer exists, he said.

In high-tech Singapore, bread-and-butter issues are also dominant, along with the long-standing argument that more opposition voices are required.

Cost-of-living concerns, exacerbated by a two-step rise in a goods and services tax (GST) – now at 9 percent – since 2023, have dominated the political debate.

In response to a $4.9 billion fiscal surplus for 2024, authorities have already allocated just under $1 billion in handouts and rebates to help cover the cost of daily expenses.

But the larger-than-expected surplus led many to question the government’s need for the GST hike, with the main opposition Workers ‘ Party (WP) asserting that it had “turbocharged” inflation.

Workers' Party supporters attend a final rally ahead of the general election in Singapore May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Workers’ Party supporters attend a rally in Singapore on May 1, 2025 [Edgar Su/Reuters]

United States-imposed tariffs have also heightened economic unease.

The PAP has less frequently cited the claim of Singaporean exceptionalism, according to former WP lawmaker Leon Perera, as a result of slower economic growth in recent years.

“Three generations of Singaporeans grew up with an exceptional leadership that delivered outcomes of a higher standard than other developed countries”, Perera said.

He claimed that other developed nations are increasingly becoming aware of the issues that we face, whether it be inflation, sluggish real wage growth, or high levels of inequality.

“The PAP is at an inflection point because it is the transition to the new prime minister that I think is a catalyst for voters”, he added.

Inderjit Singh, a former PAP lawmaker who served in parliament for almost 20 years, claimed that prior to that time, people “saw their lives improve enormously” and that they “were willing to allow the government to play a dominant role” in their lives.

But Singh acknowledged that the cracks have been showing, with a cross-section of Singaporeans who feel they are “sliding backwards” in terms of the cost of living and the affordability of public housing.

According to Singh, “the younger Singaporeans have had a good life, and they think the future will be more difficult than the present.”

He also pointed to the “huge surge” of new immigrants at a rapid pace that has diluted national identity.

He remarked that all Singaporeans should take pride in the fact that the country has always had a cohesion and prosperity.

Singapore’s ‘ 4G ‘ generation v the founding fathers

Neophyte Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took office in May, is a member of the “4G” leadership, which still reigns in Lee Kuan Yew’s shadow.

“One of the biggest issues for Singapore at 60 is leadership”, said Balji, who believes the current PAP leaders cannot be compared with Lee’s generation.

Many Singaporeans appear to agree with online chatter, based on the conversation.

A long-running public dispute between Lee’s children, including Wong’s predecessor as PM Lee Hsien Loong, also continues to divide Singaporeans and generate international headlines. A former transport minister was imprisoned in a high-profile corruption case, which hasn’t improved things.

Another point of contention for many: Singapore has the highest-paid ministers in the world, thanks to the PAP’s insistence that competitive salaries were essential for guarding against corruption.

Wong is the highest-paid global leader with a salary of almost $ 1.69 million annually. A junior minister gets about $845, 000 while a backbencher is paid about $148, 000.

Wong co-chairs the government’s COVID task force, despite not being Lee’s replacement as finance minister.

While the 52-year-old has enjoyed high approval ratings and there is little danger of the PAP losing power in this election, he is expected to improve on or maintain the party’s vote share of more than 61 percent from the last election in 2020 – which was one of its worst performances ever.

A slate of young, highly qualified WP candidates is also facing resurgent opposition, and the ruling party has appeared agitated and vulnerable during the campaign.

The former PAP lawmaker Singh said that while Singapore’s management of the COVID pandemic was exemplary compared with many other countries, the jury is still out on Wong and his peers.

“I believe the 4G leaders haven’t yet demonstrated their ability to solve these problems to Singaporeans’ satisfaction,” he said. Some of the trust in the PAP has eroded in the last 10 years or so”, he said.

He said, “Simply saying, “Feel me,” will not suffice; it will be important to present a compelling plan that people can believe will be successful.

“If the PAP can do it, they should be able to win a good mandate. If not, we can anticipate even more voter eroding.

A Singaporean rides his motorcycle pass a workers' party board at Hougang area in Singapore, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian
A Singaporean rides his motorcycle past a Workers ‘ Party board in the Hougang area in Singapore on May 2, 2025]Vincent Thian/AP]

Former Tunisian PM handed 34-year sentence, rejects ‘terrorism’ charges

A Tunisian court has sentenced former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh to 34 years in prison over accusations he facilitated the departure of fighters to Syria – a charge the opposition figure strongly denies.

“I was neither sympathetic, nor complicit, nor neutral, nor lenient towards violence, terrorism,” Larayedh told the judge on Friday, rejecting what he and his Ennahdha party have called a politically motivated prosecution.

The ruling is the latest blow to the Ennahdha party, a major opposition force to President Kais Saied.

Larayedh, who served as prime minister from 2013 to 2014, has been in detention since 2022.

His sentencing comes just a week after the arrest of vocal Saied critic Ahmed Souab and new prison terms handed down to political opponents, media figures and businesspeople on various conspiracy charges.

According to state news agency TAP, the sentences apply to eight individuals, with prison terms ranging from 18 to 36 years. The court did not name those convicted alongside Larayedh.

Ennahdha denies all terrorism-related allegations, arguing that the case is part of a broader campaign against dissent that has intensified since Saied suspended parliament and assumed sweeping powers in 2021. The government maintains that Tunisia’s judiciary is independent, rejecting claims of political interference.

Human rights groups, however, say the crackdown on opposition voices – including the jailing of Souab – marks a dangerous escalation. Many warn that democratic gains in the birthplace of the Arab Spring in the years since the 2011 revolution are being steadily rolled back.

Growing protests against Tunisian president

Saied faced protests on Thursday as opponents took to the streets of Tunis, accusing him of using the judiciary and police to silence dissent.

The demonstration, the second in a week, comes amid growing alarm over what critics see as an authoritarian drift in the country that sparked the Arab Spring.

Marching down Habib Bourguiba Avenue, anti-Saied protesters chanted slogans including “Saied go away, you are a dictator” and “The people want the fall of the regime” – echoing the calls that fuelled the 2011 uprising that ousted former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Supporters of Saied held a counter-rally on the same boulevard, shouting, “No to foreign interference” and “The people want Saied again”.

The opposition accuses Saied of undermining the democracy won in the 2011 revolution, since he seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary.