The US State Department on Friday began laying off more than 1,300 diplomats and other employees, as part of an effort by President Donald Trump's administration to slash government spending and shrink the federal workforce.
The so-called reductions in force, or RIFs, include 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service employees based in the US, according to a State Department notice seen by The National.
Including voluntary departures and retirements, nearly 3,000 members of the workforce would leave the department as part of the move.
“The objective from the start was clear: focus resources on policy priority and eliminate redundant functions, empowering our people while increasing accountability,” Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas wrote in an email to State Department employees.
Mr Rigas said it was the “largest reorganisation” effort in the State Department in decades. Until the layoffs, the department had a domestic workforce of about 18,000 people.
A State Department employee who did not wish to be named said farewell emails were pouring in on Friday.
Diplomats-in-residence, many of them senior officers, have been let go, in addition to members of the Foreign Service Institute, the employee added.
The employee said they understood that staff at the Office of Global Women's Issues had been laid off as well.
The layoffs come after the Supreme Court this week ruled in favour of the Trump administration's plans for the mass firings of federal workers.
Mr Trump, who took office in January, campaigned on a promise to reduce the size of the federal government, a long-standing Republican goal.
The Republican Party as a whole sees a large federal government as a wasteful and bloated bureaucracy. Some far-right Republicans also accuse federal employees of being part of a “deep state” conspiracy working to undermine Mr Trump's agenda.
Representative Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, blasted the State Department layoffs.
“The mass firing of civil service and foreign service employees at the State Department is a reckless and unilateral disarmament of our national security toolbox,” he said in a statement. “Republicans claim to put ‘America First,’ but gutting our diplomatic and development corps does the opposite.”
Soon after taking office, Mr Trump enlisted the help of billionaire Elon Musk, his ally at the time, to slash federal jobs with the aim of reducing spending and eradicating alleged corruption in the federal government.
Under the Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, thousands of government projects and jobs were cut.
The US Agency for International Development was dissolved and folded into the State Department after the vast majority of its projects were cancelled.
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Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
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The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
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Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
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Metz v Dijon (10pm)
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Rennes v Lille (10pm)
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Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
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WOMAN AND CHILD
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- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
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- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
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If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
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SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
