Qatari delegation visited White House for several hours: Report
The news was reported by Axios.
Qatar, alongside Egypt, is a mediator for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
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ARN News Center
an hour ago
- ARN News Center
Trump visits Texas flood zone, defends government's disaster response
US President Donald Trump defended the state and federal response to deadly flash flooding in Texas on Friday as he visited the stricken Hill Country region, where at least 120 people, including dozens of children, perished a week ago. During a roundtable discussion after touring Kerr County, the epicentre of the disaster, Trump praised both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their response, saying they both did an "incredible job." The Trump administration, as well as local and state officials, has faced mounting questions over whether more could have been done to protect and warn residents ahead of the flooding, which struck with astonishing speed in the pre-dawn hours on July 4, the US Independence Day holiday. Trump reacted with anger when a reporter said some families affected by the floods had expressed frustration that warnings did not go out sooner. "I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances," he said. "I don't know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask a question like that." Some critics have questioned whether the administration's spending cuts at the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates the US government's disaster response efforts, might have exacerbated the calamity. Trump officials have said that cuts had no impact on the NWS's ability to forecast the storms, despite some vacancies in local offices. But the president has largely sidestepped questions about his plans to shrink or abolish FEMA and reassign many of its key functions to state and local governments. "I'll tell you some other time," Trump said on Tuesday, when asked by a reporter about FEMA. Before the most recent flooding, Kerr County declined to install an early-warning system after failing to secure state money to cover the cost. Lawrence Walker, 67, and a nearly three-decade veteran resident of Kerrville, said the county and state had not spent enough on disaster prevention, including an early-warning system. Asked about the quality of the government response, he said, "It's been fine since the water was at 8 feet." The Texas state legislature will convene in a special session later this month to investigate the flooding and provide disaster relief funding. Abbott has dismissed questions about whether anyone was to blame, calling that the "word choice of losers." DOZENS STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR Search teams on Friday were still combing through muddy debris littering parts of the Hill Country in central Texas, looking for the dozens still listed as missing, but no survivors have been found since the day of the floods. Heavy rains sent a wall of water raging down the Guadalupe River early on July 4, causing the deadliest disaster of the Republican president's nearly six-month term in office. As sun poked through dark clouds on Friday morning, search crews in hard hats painstakingly walked inch-by-inch along the ruined banks of the river, marking damage and looking through wreckage. After the president arrived in Kerr County in the early afternoon, Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott drove to an area near the river, where Trump received a briefing from first responders amid debris left in the wake of the flood. The county is located in what is known as "flash flood alley," a region that has seen some of the country's deadliest floods. More than a foot of rain fell in less than an hour on July 4. Flood gauges showed the river's height rose from about a foot to 34 feet (10.4 metres) in a matter of hours, cascading over its banks and sweeping away trees and structures in its path. Kerr County officials say more than 160 people remain unaccounted for, although experts say that the number of people reported missing in the wake of disasters is often inflated. The dead in the county include 67 adults and at least 36 children, many of whom were campers at the nearly century-old Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer retreat on the banks of the river. Jon Moreno, 71, a longtime Kerrville resident whose property on high ground was spared, praised the government response - local and federal. He has heard the debate about what more could have been done - including sirens - but said he did not think it would have made much difference, given people's desire to build along the flood-prone riverbanks. "It's unavoidable," he said. "All those people along the river - I wouldn't want to live there ... It's too dangerous." At Stripes, a gas station in Kerrville, the building was tagged in large white letters, accusing "Trump's Big Beautiful Bill" of cutting "our emergency funding." The president's massive legislative package, which cut taxes and spending, won approval from the Republican-controlled Congress last week and was signed into law by Trump on the same day that the flooding hit Texas.
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump job cuts: State Department starts firing over 1,350 US-based workers
The State Department began firing more than 1,350 US-based employees on Friday as the administration of President Donald Trump presses ahead with an unprecedented overhaul of its diplomatic corps, a move critics say will undermine U.S. ability to defend and promote US interests abroad. The layoffs, which affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers based in the United States, come at a time when Washington is grappling with multiple crises on the world stage: Russia's war in Ukraine, the almost two-year-long Gaza conflict, and the Middle East on edge due to high tension between Israel and Iran. "The Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities," an internal State Department notice that was sent to the workforce said. "Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices, and offices where considerable efficiencies may be found," it added. The total reduction in the workforce will be nearly 3,000, including the voluntary departures, according to the notice and a senior State Department official, out of the 18,000 employees based in the United States. The move is the first step of a restructuring that Trump has sought to ensure US foreign policy is aligned with his "America First" agenda. Former diplomats and critics say the firing of foreign service officers risks America's ability to counter the growing assertiveness from adversaries such as China and Russia. "President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio are once again making America less safe and less secure," Democratic senator Tim Kaine from Virginia said in a statement. "This is one of the most ridiculous decisions that could possibly be made at a time when China is increasing its diplomatic footprint around the world and establishing an overseas network of military and transportation bases, Russia is continuing its years-long brutal assault of a sovereign country, and the Middle East is careening from crisis to crisis," Kaine said. 'Separation checklist' Dozens of State Department employees crowded the lobby of the agency's headquarters in Washington, holding an impromptu "clap-out" for their colleagues who have been fired. Dozens of people were crying, as they carried their belongings in boxes and hugged and bid farewell to friends and fellow workers. Outside, dozens of others were lined up, continuing to clap and cheer for them with some holding banners that read, 'Thank you America's diplomats.' Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen attended the demonstration. Several offices were set up inside the building for employees who are being laid off to turn in their badges, laptops, telephones and other property owned by the agency. The offices were marked by posters that read "Transition Day Out Processing". One counter was labeled an "Outprocessing service center" with small bottles of water placed next to a box of tissue. Inside one office, cardboard boxes were visible. A five-page "separation checklist" that was sent to workers who were fired on Friday and seen by Reuters tells the employees that they would lose access to the building and their emails at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday. Many members of a State Department office overseeing the US resettlement of Afghans who worked for the US government during the 20-year war have also been terminated as part of the overhaul.
Al Etihad
3 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Trump thanks first responders during visit to Texas flood zone
12 July 2025 09:22 WASHINGTON (AGENCIES)US President Donald Trump on Friday thanked emergency responders and volunteers during a visit to the Texas flood zone, one week after the onset of flash floods killed 120 people, including 36 in Kerr County, one of the hardest-hit areas, Trump expressed his condolences to those affected: "The first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really horriffic and deadly flood."Trump added that the search for missing people continued, saying "the people that are doing it are unbelievable people.""I want to thank all of these great first responders who raced into very grave danger," he media have reported, citing local officials, that at least 120 people have died in the flash flood disaster in central Texas, which started early on July 4, the US Independence Day holiday. In Kerr County alone, sheriff Larry Leitha on Thursday confirmed at least 95 deaths, including 36 children. More than 160 people are still missing in the region.
