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US President Donald Trump will sign an order Thursday to start dismantling the Department of Education, fulfilling an election campaign pledge and a long-held dream of American conservatives.The Republican will issue the order during a White House ceremony — one of the most drastic steps yet in the brutal overhaul of the government that he is carrying out with the help of tech tycoon Elon Musk.Trump has cast the move as necessary to save money and improve educational standards in the United States, saying they are lagging behind those in Europe and China.But education has been a battleground for decades in America’s culture wars, and Republicans have long wanted to remove control of it from the federal government.”He is saving America’s children with this action,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News ahead of the signing at 4:00 pm (2000 GMT).”The Department of Education has never educated a child. All it has ever done is stolen money from the taxpayers.”His order on Thursday directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States,” according to a draft obtained by AFP.Trump promised on the campaign trail to get rid of the department and devolve its powers to US states, in much the same way that has happened with abortion rights.Trump’s appointment of McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the department was widely seen as a sign that its days were numbered.Several Republican governors are expected to attend the signing ceremony.- ‘Final mission’ -By law, the Education Department — created in 1979 — cannot be shuttered without the approval of Congress, and Republicans do not have the votes to push that through.But Trump and his billionaire advisor Elon Musk have already dismantled several other agencies, effectively crippling them by slashing programs and employees.Educators and Democrats have slammed the move.”Education is our country’s future. Mr President, we will see you in court,” Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, said on X.Tina Smith, the Democratic senator for Minnesota, said in a post aimed at Trump: “You can’t shut down the Department of Education — and you know it.”But the Heritage Foundation — the right-wing think-tank that has seen many of its “Project 2025″ recommendations adopted by Trump, welcomed the signing.”It’s a beautiful day to dismantle the Department of Education,” it said on X.Efforts were already underway to drastically downsize the department.McMahon issued a memo shortly after her swearing in on March 3 saying the agency would be beginning its “final mission.” The next week, she moved to halve the department’s staff.Traditionally, the federal government has had a limited role in education in the United States, with only about 13 percent of funding for primary and secondary schools coming from federal coffers, the rest being funded by states and local communities.But federal funding is invaluable for low-income schools and students with special needs. And the federal government has been essential in enforcing key civil rights protections for students.Several key programs are to be spared, such as those providing grants to university students and funding for low-income schools across the country, US media reported.Trump’s radical crackdown on the government is being spearheaded by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose rapid actions have met pushback in courts for possibly exceeding executive authority.A similar move to dismantle the US Agency for International Development was halted on Monday by a federal judge, who said the push likely violated the Constitution.

A scathing book about Facebook parent company Meta, whose author has been barred from promoting her work, entered at the top of the New York Times bestseller list after its first week of release in the United States.The book also ranks fourth on Amazon’s bestseller list, the platform showed on Thursday.In “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism,” which was released on March 11, Sarah Wynn-Williams recounts working at the tech titan from 2011 to 2017.Wynn-Williams’s book includes claims of sexual harassment by longtime company executive Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican and ally of President Donald Trump who took over as head of Meta’s global affairs team this year.She also wrote of Meta, then known as Facebook, exploring the possibility of breaking into the lucrative Chinese market by appeasing government censors there. XXXMeta quickly took the matter to arbitration, contending the book violates a non-disparagement contract signed by Wynn-Williams when she worked with the company’s global affairs team.An arbitration court granted Meta’s request to bar Wynn-Williams from promoting the book or making derogatory statements about the company.She also must retract previous critical comments about Meta or its executives, according to the ruling, which remains in place until the dispute is settled in the private arbitration process. XXX”This ruling affirms that Sarah Wynn-Williams’ false and defamatory book should never have been published,” Meta communications director Andy Stone said at the time in a post on X, formerly Twitter.Stone said Wynn-Williams was “fired for poor performance and toxic behavior,” having made a series of unfounded allegations that the company investigated.Another book that is highly critical of Meta, “The Anxious Generation,” which paints a dark picture of social media’s effect on children, is currently fourth on the Times best-seller list a year after its release.

Taliban authorities on Thursday freed US citizen George Glezmann after more than two years of detention, in a deal brokered by Qatar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced.The release was announced after the Taliban government’s foreign minister hosted US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and other US officials in the Afghan capital.”Today, after two and a half years of captivity in Afghanistan, Delta Airlines mechanic George Glezmann is on his way to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra,” Rubio said in a statement.”George’s release is a positive and constructive step.  It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan,” he added.Glezmann was en route to Qatar, a source with knowledge of the release told AFP.Ahead of the announcement, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi hosted Boehler, who was accompanied by Washington’s former envoy to Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, the ministry said.”Today is a good day,” Khalilzad said on X. The Taliban authorities decided to free Glezmann on “humanitarian grounds” and as a “goodwill gesture”.The prisoner release reflects “Afghanistan’s readiness to genuinely engaging all sides, particularly the United States of America, on the basis of mutual respect and interests”, a foreign ministry statement said.The US delegation was the first from Washington since US President Donald Trump took office in January, foreign ministry spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad told AFP.Contacts between the two sides since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 has usually taken place in third countries.- ‘New chapter’ -Taliban authorities announced late last month the arrest of a Chinese-American woman on February 1 in the province of Bamiyan, a tourist attraction west of Kabul known for its giant Buddhas until they were destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban. Officials have refused to detail the reasons for her arrest. At least one other American, Mahmood Habibi, is detained in Afghanistan.In July, Kabul announced it was in discussions with Washington over a prisoner exchange.The talks took place in Qatar during an international conference that brought together UN representatives, Taliban authorities, and envoys for Afghanistan — generally those based in neighbouring countries or within the region.In January, two Americans detained in Afghanistan — Ryan Corbett and William McKenty — were freed in exchange for an Afghan fighter, Khan Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism in the United States. Two weeks later, a Canadian former soldier, David Lavery, was released after more than two months held in Afghanistan, in a deal brokered by Qatar.Trump signed a peace deal with the Taliban authorities during his first term in office and, following his re-election, the Kabul government expressed hopes for a “new chapter” with Washington.The government in Kabul is not recognised by any country, but several including Russia, China and Turkey have kept their embassies open in the Afghan capital.Delegations from these countries, both diplomatic and economic, make frequent visits to Kabul. The Taliban government also reports less frequent visits from Western officials, notably British and Norwegian.

Tesla is recalling more than 46,000 Cybertrucks because of a defect that can lead an exterior panel to detach, increasing the risk of a crash, according to a safety notice reviewed Thursday by AFP.The recall affects essentially all of the futuristic-looking vehicles delivered in the United States.The move is due to a part Tesla calls a “cant rail” — an exterior panel — that was affixed with an adhesive “susceptible to environmental embrittlement,” according to a company filing on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.Detachment of the part, which Tesla describes as “cosmetic,” poses the risk of creating a “road hazard for following motorists and increase their risk of injury or a collision,” according to the NHTSA document.The recall is the latest blemish on the stainless steel behemoths, a signature vehicle for Elon Musk’s electric auto company. It comes as the brand encounters consumer blowback in the wake of Musk’s key advisory role in President Donald Trump’s administration.Tesla received two field complaints in January about the issue, but company engineers determined there was no problem.Then in February, the NHTSA notified Tesla of another complaint.The company, which also cited social media postings on the issue, undertook another investigation that led to a voluntary recall, said Tesla, which will use a different adhesive to attach the part. As of March 14, Tesla had 151 warranty claims that may be related to the condition. The company said it knows of no accidents.Demand for the Cybertruck and other Tesla vehicles has tumbled in recent weeks in many consumer markets as Musk presses on with deep cuts in US government departments and staffing through his Department of Government Efficiency.Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities called for Musk to clearly define how he will balance his role with Trump and his duties as Tesla CEO.”Let’s call it like it is: Tesla is going through a crisis and there is one person who can fix it….Musk,” said Ives, who argued that Musk must provide details on when new vehicles will arrive in dealerships and about a plan for autonomous driving in Texas.”The violence at Tesla dealers, cars being keyed in parking lots, social movements against Musk around the globe…have all created a massive overhang for Tesla’s stock,” Ives said. “This is a moment of truth for Musk.”Tesla shares fell in early trade Thursday. 

An Indian researcher at a top university in the United States with a valid visa has been arrested and is under threat of expulsion, according to his employer and US authorities, who accuse him of ties to Hamas.The arrest of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the US capital, comes as fears mount in the scientific world that freedom of research is being challenged two months into US President Donald Trump’s new term.On Wednesday, the French government condemned the expulsion of a French space scientist meant to attend a conference in Houston, after officials searched his smartphone and found what they called “hateful” messages against US policy.”Dr Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Georgetown University said in a statement.”We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention.”Suri — a fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, according to the university website — was arrested Monday at his home in Arlington, Virginia, according to Politico, which first reported on the story. His lawyer told Politico he had demanded his release, but did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said on X that Suri was “a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.”McLaughlin accused him of having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”The State Department decided the researcher was subject to deportation under a provision of immigration law that allows for expulsion if the visa holder’s presence in the United States is determined to threaten US foreign policy, she added.Hamas is a US-designated terror organization.Georgetown University said it backs its “community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable.”Citing a petition filed by Suri’s lawyer, Politico reported that Suri’s wife is a US citizen of Palestinian descent, and that the couple believes they are being targeted because the government suspects they oppose US policy on Israel.

The NBA’s Boston Celtics are being sold to the head of a California private equity firm for $6.1 billion, a record price for a US sports franchise, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.The newspaper, citing a league source, said the Celtics ownership had agreed to sell the iconic team to William Chisholm, managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group.It said the $6.1 billion purchase price is the highest ever offered for a North American sports team, surpassing the $6.05 billion paid for the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023.The sale of the Celtics, the current NBA champions, still requires the approval of the NBA Board of Governors.The team is one of the most storied in the league’s history, with a record 18 championships.Chisholm, a Massachusetts native, is a longtime fan of the team, according to the Globe.It said the new ownership group also includes current Celtics co-owner Robert Hale; Bruce Beal Jr, president of Related Companies; and the global investment firm, Sixth Street.The newspaper said three other buyers had been under consideration: Steve Pagliuca, a Celtics co-owner; Stan Middleman, a co-owner of MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies; and The Friedkin Group.The Grousbeck family and Pagliuca purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002.Three NBA teams were sold in 2023: the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion, the Milwaukee Bucks for $3.5 billion and the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion.

A jury in North Dakota on Wednesday ordered Greenpeace to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in a closely watched lawsuit brought by a US pipeline operator, raising serious free speech concerns.The verdict delivers a stunning legal blow to the environmental advocacy group, which Energy Transfer (ET) accused of orchestrating violence and defamation during the controversial construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline nearly a decade ago.ET, which denies any intent to stifle speech, celebrated the verdict. The jury awarded more than $660 million in damages across three Greenpeace entities, citing charges including trespass, nuisance, conspiracy, and deprivation of property access.”We would like to thank the judge and the jury for the incredible amount of time and effort they dedicated to this trial,” the company said.”While we are pleased that Greenpeace will be held accountable for their actions, this win is really for the people of Mandan and throughout North Dakota who had to live through the daily harassment and disruptions caused by the protesters who were funded and trained by Greenpeace.”- Greenpeace vows appeal -Greenpeace vowed to appeal the verdict and continue its environmental advocacy.”The reality is you can’t bankrupt a movement,” Greenpeace USA interim executive director Sushma Raman told AFP.”This movement exists all around the world: individuals who want a cleaner, greener planet, more vibrant and inclusive democracy, protection of oceans, forests, and land. The people who power organizations like Greenpeace — you can’t bankrupt them, and the work will continue.”Greenpeace International is counter-suing ET in the Netherlands, accusing the company of using nuisance lawsuits to suppress dissent. A hearing is set for July 2.At the heart of the North Dakota case was the Dakota Access Pipeline, where from 2016 to 2017, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe led one of the largest anti-fossil fuel protests in US history.The demonstrations saw hundreds arrested and injured, drawing the attention of the United Nations, which raised concerns over potential violations of Indigenous sovereignty.Despite the protests, the pipeline — designed to transport fracked crude oil to refineries and on to global markets — became operational in 2017.- ‘Send a message’ -ET, however, continued its legal pursuit of Greenpeace.Initially, ET sought $300 million in damages through a federal lawsuit, which was dismissed. It then shifted its legal strategy to North Dakota’s state courts — one of the minority of US states without protections against so-called “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” or SLAPPs.Throughout the years-long legal fight, ET’s billionaire CEO Kelcy Warren, a major donor to President Donald Trump, was open about his motivations.His “primary objective” in suing Greenpeace, he said in interviews, was not just financial compensation but to “send a message.” Warren went so far as to say that activists “should be removed from the gene pool.”The trial began in late February in Mandan, North Dakota, and after more than two days of deliberation, the jury delivered its verdict.- Free speech impact – Critics call the case a textbook SLAPP, designed to silence dissent and drain financial resources.”This kind of lawsuit, which can have the effect of crushing lawful protest and chilling free speech, should be subjected to the higher levels of scrutiny that come with anti-SLAPP legislation,” said Michael Burger, a lawyer and scholar at Columbia University, told AFP.However, Michael Gerrard, an environmental law professor at the same university, did not go quite so far.”This verdict will chill protests that physically obstruct fossil fuel projects,” he said, “but it shouldn’t affect peaceful, non-obstructive demonstrations and certainly won’t stop litigation against such projects.”Greenpeace maintains that it played only a small and peaceful role in the movement, which was led by Native Americans.But in his closing arguments, ET’s lead attorney Trey Cox accused Greenpeace of “exploiting” the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to advance its anti-fossil fuel agenda, according to the North Dakota Monitor.

France has expressed concern after US border agents read the contents of a visiting French space scientist’s smartphone and deported him after accusing him of “hateful” messages against US policy.Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, his government has cut federal research funding and sought to dismiss hundreds of federal workers pursuing health and climate research.”I learned with concern that a French researcher who was heading to a conference near Houston was forbidden from entering US territory before being expelled,” Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste told AFP on Wednesday.”This measure was taken by the US authorities because the researcher’s phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed his political opinion on the policies of the Trump administration on research,” he said.A diplomatic source said a space scientist was stopped at the US border on March 9, with officials combing through the contents of his work laptop and phone during a “random” security check.US agents found messages about the treatment of scientists under the new US administration that “showed hatred towards Trump and could be qualified as terrorism”, the same source said.They seized his equipment and sent him back to Europe on March 10, they said.Another source with knowledge of the case said the scientist was accused of owning “hateful and conspiratorial messages” and was told the FBI would investigate, though they then dropped the case.Baptiste emphasised the importance of “freedom of opinion, free research and academic freedoms” and said he would defend these as long as they were “within the limits of the law”.The French foreign ministry said that its consular services had been informed of the incident, and that the United States was “sovereign” in deciding who could enter and remain on its territory. But it said it “deplored the situation”.The US Embassy in Paris redirected an AFP request for comment to the US customs, but the latter did not immediately reply.According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the US government believes its border agents are entitled to examine the contents of people’s electronic devices as part of random security checks.Rights groups including the ACLU sued the US government in 2017 over the increasing use of warrantless searches of cellphones and computers at the border, saying they were “unconstitutional”.According to the ACLU, it won the case in an initial federal court ruling but it was later overturned on appeal in 2021, prompting it to ask the US Supreme Court to hear the case.Baptiste this month urged French research institutions to consider welcoming scientists abandoning the United States because of Trump’s funding cuts.burs-ah/as/js

To sow or not to sow? Canola farmers in Canada’s vast western Prairies region have found themselves in the crossfire of trade wars with both the United States and China.”We have two economic superpowers of the world having a trade war with us at the same time,” Rick White, head of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, told AFP.”We’ve had our challenges but nothing of this magnitude. This is the worst of all scenarios,” he said, weeks before planting is to begin.Canada, a major agricultural economy, is among the world’s top producers of canola — an oilseed crop that is used to make cooking oil, animal meal and biodiesel fuel.But the bulk of canola exports go to just two customers, the United States and China, two countries with which Ottawa is now in standoffs over tariffs.A few days ago, Beijing announced 100 percent tariffs on canola oil and meal in response to Ottawa’s levies on Chinese electric vehicles, which align with those imposed on China by the United States under former president Joe Biden.Meanwhile, since coming to office in January, US President Donald Trump has threatened widespread tariffs on imports of Canadian goods into the United States.The price of canola has plunged as a result of the Chinese tariffs, dragging the price of European rapeseed down with it.- Seeding soon -All of this must be sorted out in the coming weeks, fumes Jason Johnson, a farmer from Manitoba province in Canada’s agricultural heartland.”We’re going to be seeding in about a month and once we do, we can’t change crops,” he said, while waiting for a call from a seed dealer about possible alternative crops.China accounts for nearly one third of Canadian canola exports, mainly canola seeds, while the United States is the largest market for canola oil and meal.Johnson believes it was wrong for Canada to impose tariffs on China.”We should go back to China and say, ‘We’ll lift our tariffs if you lift yours,’ basically doing a Trump by threatening tariffs and then retracting them,” he told AFP.On his 2,500-acre farm just north of the Canada-US border, he grows canola each year on about 1,000 acres, and feels certain the United States will ramp up tariffs against Canada that will be widespread and hit hard.Those tariff threats have already sent shockwaves through Canada, as more than 75 percent of its exports go to the United States. A trade war between the two neighbors, with Canada retaliating, would cause significant damage to the Canadian economy.- ‘Engage with China’ -Canola Council of Canada chief executive Chris Davison is urging the Canadian government “to immediately engage with China, with a view to resolving this issue.”Ottawa and Beijing have been at loggerheads for several years, relations having soured after Canada detained a senior Huawei executive on a US warrant in December 2018 and Beijing retaliated by holding two Canadians. A deal was reached that saw all three detainees released in September 2021, but bad blood remains, with Beijing criticizing Ottawa for aligning itself with Washington’s China policies and Canadian authorities regularly accusing China of interference.As this goes on Canadians wonder if bright yellow fields of canola will be seen in the Prairies this spring.Johnson says switching from canola to alternative crops at the last minute wouldn’t be easy. Markets for other crops are mostly smaller and if canola farmers switch to cultivating them it would lead to an oversupply and a drop in prices for those agricultural commodities too.He noted also that Canada has “invested a lot in the last 20 years in infrastructure” to crush canola into oil and meal.

Donald Trump promised a new “Golden Age” for America. In the Oval Office, at least, he has lived up to his promise with a blingy makeover.The Republican has decked out the inner sanctum of the US presidency with gilded trophies and gold-plated, Trump-branded coasters, and filled almost every available inch of wall space with portraits of his predecessors.Almost every day seems to bring something new. This week Trump installed a copy of the Declaration of Independence — the historic document triggering America’s freedom from the British monarchy 250 years ago.Far more than during his first term, it’s as if the 78-year-old former reality TV star and billionaire property mogul is creating something that is part-studio and part-exclusive real estate.”President Trump is very good at playing the role of Donald Trump,” Peter Loge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media, told AFP.”The show is the point. Part of the show is the bling. It would be surprising if Trump did not remake the Oval Office into a TV set that reflected his brand.”- Presidential portraits -But there’s also a serious political message behind Trump’s frenetic redecoration.The Oval Office is the most potent symbol of American power, a backdrop to his frequent news conferences and televised meetings with foreign dignitaries — including a recent meltdown between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.It was, therefore, no coincidence when the gallery of presidential portraits got a new addition: the 19th-century president James Polk.Under Polk, the 11th US president, the United States saw its biggest period of territorial expansion by taking in huge swaths of the west coast, the southwest and Texas. It was a clear piece of political symbolism at a time that Trump is alarming allies by openly talking about annexing Greenland, reclaiming the Panama Canal and taking over Gaza.- ‘Would Biden do this?’ -Each president picks most of their decor from similar sources including the White House art collection, but they still manage to stamp a very personal touch on the Oval.The difference from Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden could hardly be greater — as the 47th president himself is well aware.”Do you think Joe Biden would do this? I don’t think so,” Trump said Tuesday as he pulled back light-protecting drapes on the Declaration of Independence in an interview with Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle.”Biden’s Oval was a relative model of restraint with five portraits around the famed fireplace, including wartime president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s directly above the hearth.Trump has nine — and that doesn’t count others near his desk, including Republican icon Ronald Reagan’s.While Biden had a sprawling Swedish ivy plant that reputedly dated back to John F. Kennedy on the mantelpiece, Trump has seven ornate gilded vessels, some of which are more than 200 years old.And while both Trump and Biden had a bust of civil rights leader Martin Luther King on display, Trump has brought back the bust of Britain’s World War II prime minister Winston Churchill that he had during his first term.- Framed mugshot -The ostentatious display should probably not come as a surprise for a man who announced his first presidential run by descending on a golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York. The billionaire has long branded everything he can with his name, from buildings to bibles.And Trump’s makeover rarely shies away from promoting both his own brand and an image of strength that has been central to his political career.Recently, one item that has been on permanent display is a large map identifying the “Gulf of America,” which the Trump administration has renamed from the Gulf of Mexico.Trump is even reportedly planning to pave over the famed Rose Garden that the Oval Office overlooks, to give it the patio-like feel of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.One of Trump’s proudest touches, though, is a very unconventional portrait that hangs near those of his illustrious forebears.Right outside the Oval Office in a gold frame hangs a photo of Trump — his 2023 mugshot, as featured on the cover of a tabloid newspaper, from when he was booked in Georgia for alleged attempts to interfere with the 2020 election.