The Trump administration has directed federal agencies to stop using statistics related to race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in the hiring process. This move is part of a broader effort to scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The directive was part of a broader set of guidelines sent to human resources leaders at government agencies fleshing out an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January aimed at restoring merit to the center of the hiring process. All hiring and promotion decisions must be based “solely on merit, qualifications and job-related criteria and not race, sex,…
Author: Fatimah Idera
The Trump administration on Thursday backed away from plans to immediately revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students and would instead give it 30 days to contest those plans through a lengthier administrative process. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent Harvard a notice of intent on Wednesday to withdraw the school’s certification under a federal program to enroll non-U.S. students. The Justice Department filed the notice in court ahead of a hearing before the U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston over whether to extend a temporary order blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from revoking the Ivy League…
Chevron will lay off nearly 800 employees in Texas, according to a notice on Wednesday to the Texas Workforce Commission, which is part of the U.S. oil producer’s plan to cut up to 20 per cent of its global workforce by the end of 2026. The job cuts will be in Midland County, where Chevron has large operations in the Permian Basin, the top U.S. oilfield, and the layoff date is July 15, according to the notices. The company previously gave notice that it would lay off at least 600 employees in California effective June 1, according to a filing…
Israel’s government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that could deepen divisions with some allies who have threatened sanctions over such moves, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Thursday. Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist advocating for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, wrote on X that the settlements would be in the northern West Bank, without specifying where. Israeli media cited the Defence Ministry as saying that among the new settlements, existing outposts would be legalised and new settlements would also be built. A spokesperson for Defence Minister Israel Katz did comment on the…
A U.S. Trade Court blocked most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs in a sweeping ruling on Wednesday that found the president overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners. The Court of International Trade said the U.S. Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries that is not overridden by the president’s emergency powers to safeguard the U.S. economy. “The court does not pass upon the wisdom or likely effectiveness of the President’s use of tariffs as leverage,” a three-judge panel said in the decision to issue a permanent injunction on the…
Elon Musk has stepped down as a senior advisor to US President Donald Trump, ending his role as a Special Government Employee with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The X CEO’s departure follows a public disagreement with Trump over the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” a spending bill that Musk believes would increase the federal deficit and undermine the mission of DOGE. The Tesla boss criticised the spending bill, stating it would worsen the national deficit and hinder DOGE’s progress in reducing bureaucracy. Read also: Trump’s spending bill ‘undermines’ DOGE’s work – Elon Musk Musk conceded that DOGE fell…
Canada’s main stock index is set to largely consolidate its recent gains through the rest of 2025 and could be at risk of another correction as the domestic economy shows signs of a slowdown due to U.S. tariffs. The S&P/TSX composite index has rebounded nearly 16% from its lowest closing level in April to post a record closing high on Monday at 26,073.13. Since the start of the year, the index has gained 5.4%, outperforming major U.S. indexes such as the S&P 500. It has been helped by a heavy weighing in metal mining shares as safe-haven demand lifted the…
Thames Water has been fined £122.7m for breaching rules relating to its wastewater operations and dividend payments. It is the biggest ever penalty issued by the water regulator Ofwat. The regulator said the fines followed its biggest and most complex investigation and confirmed it would be paid by the company and its investors, not by customers. A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility towards the environment very seriously.” The fine issued by the water industry watchdog has ordered Thames Water to pay a £104.5m penalty for breaches of rules connected to its wastewater operations. That is on top…
According to a U.S. State Department cable issued on Tuesday, embassies and consulates worldwide, including those in Nigeria, have been instructed to pause scheduling any new appointments for student (F, M) and exchange visitor (J) visas until further notice. “The department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor visa applicants,”the statements reads. With new guidelines on expanded vetting expected within days. This development comes at a time when Nigerian students already endure notoriously long wait times for U.S. visa interview dates, some delayed by months or even over a…
A bill requiring Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores could become law in Texas.
