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Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
US State Department draws criticism for shutting office that brings home deceased diplomats
The seal of the United States Department of State is shown in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON - Among the scores of offices the U.S. State Department eliminated last week in its dramatic revamp, the shuttering of one little-known office has raised particular alarm among U.S. diplomats. The small team at the Department's Office of Casualty Assistance, which supports U.S. diplomats and their families abroad in the event of death or serious injury, received termination notices last Friday along with more than 1,350 Department employees. The firings came as a surprise, sources familiar with their situation said. When the notices arrived by email on Friday, the team was working on repatriating the remains of a senior U.S. official who died in a car crash in Mexico last week. The U.S. Consulate in Monterrey said in a Facebook statement that Brian Matthew Faughnan, a member of its mission, died in a car accident in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila on July 9. Kirk Leash, the team leader at OCA, informed other U.S. officials at the U.S. mission in Mexico and his counterparts in different government agencies who were working on Faughnan's case that Leash was just removed from his job, and that he was no longer able to help, according to two sources familiar with the exchange. The elimination of the office was part of a major overhaul of the State Department by President Donald Trump, who aims to reshape the U.S. diplomatic corps to ensure it faithfully implements his "America First" policies. It is also part of an unprecedented push by the Republican president to shrink the federal government, which he says was misspending American taxpayers' money. The State Department said the agency continues to be "fully equipped" with casualty evacuations if there are employee deaths overseas. "There has been no interruption in our capabilities to carry out this mission," said a senior State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. TAKING CARE OF DIPLOMATS The State Department revamp drew intense criticism from Democratic senators, former diplomats and secretaries of state for what they said was the arbitrary way it was carried out. Critics said it involved the firing of experienced, specialized employees in far-flung parts of the world, and that such skilled staffers are difficult to replace quickly. A State Department memo to employees last week, seen by Reuters, said the moves were made in a "carefully tailored" way. But the shuttering of the bureau made some question that statement. "I don't think any sitting president or any secretary of state would not want their people, their personnel - the most valuable asset of their agency - to be taken care of," said Edith Bartley, who is a spokesperson for the families of the Americans killed in the 1998 al-Qaeda attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. "You want to know that your country does all that it can to take care of you, your remains and your family in the aftermath. That's critical. That is America First," Bartley said. Bartley lost her father, who was a career diplomat, and brother in the 1998 attacks, which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. OCA was established a year later, thanks in large part to her advocacy. The office is typically supported by volunteers from the Department's Human Resources bureau who can be mobilized on short notice following a mass casualty event. The teams were called upon after the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the death of four Americans including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. "OCA is in touch with the deceased employee's family within hours after the death, and provides support services as long as they are needed - for weeks, months, and in some cases, years," an undated article in the Department's magazine said, referring to the work of the office. A senior State Department official said on Wednesday that the agency transferred the functions of the OCA to the Office of Employee Relations. But that office has a much wider remit, supporting the agency's workforce, and lacks the specific knowledge and expertise in navigating the complicated procedures of repatriating a deceased diplomat, sources familiar with the matter said. "That function is being folded into another office," Michael Rigas, deputy secretary of state for Management and Resources, said on Wednesday, in response to a question about the closure of the office by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen at a hearing. Shaheen also asked Rigas to get back to her on how the department was handling the repatriation of the body of Faughnan, the U.S. official who died in Mexico. "I don't think the family thinks that that's a good firing," Shaheen said. Reuters was unable to reach Faughnan's family. REUTERS
The Standard
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Standard
Fed minutes show little support for interest rate cut later this month
The Federal Reserve building is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
Straits Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
US helped Americans leave Israel with flights over weekend
The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON - The United States helped around 170 U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and their immediate family members leave Israel on Saturday and Sunday, a U.S. State Department official said on Monday. The assisted departures from Israel come as tensions have risen in the Middle East, after U.S. President Donald Trump joined Israel's air war against Tehran by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear production sites on Sunday morning. Since then, Iran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. Iran's military said it carried out a missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. airbase in Qatar on Monday after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran's threat to retaliate for U.S. airstrikes on its nuclear sites. The State Department official said that on Sunday three flights departed Israel with approximately 100 U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and their accompanying immediate family members. The assisted departure flights began on Saturday, when the official said the State Department organized two flights that departed from Tel Aviv to Athens with approximately 70 U.S. citizens, their accompanying immediate family members, and lawful permanent residents. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
GMA Network
22-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Global carriers bypass Middle East; US airlines face heightened risks after Iran strikes
An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight approaches for landing in Washington DC, March 13, 2019. Safe Airspace said the US attacks on Iran may increase risks to US operators in the Middle East. REUTERS/ Joshua Roberts/ File photo An organization that monitors flight risks warned on Sunday that US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region, as airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East due to ongoing missile exchanges. But following a barrage of early morning Iranian missiles, Israel has reopened its airspace for six hours on Sunday to bring back those stranded abroad since the conflict with Iran began on June 13. Safe Airspace, a membership-based website run by OPSGROUP, said the US attacks on Iran may increase risks to US operators in the region. "While there have been no specific threats made against civil aviation, Iran has previously warned it would retaliate by attacking US military interests in the Middle East—either directly or via proxies such as Hezbollah," Safe Airspace said. Meanwhile, flight tracking website FlightRadar24, said airlines maintained flight diversions around the region. "Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, commercial traffic in the region is operating as it has since new airspace restrictions were put into place last week," it said on social media platform X. Its website showed airlines were not flying in the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. They have chosen other routings such as north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, even if these result in higher fuel and crew costs and longer flight times. Missile and drone barrages in an expanding number of conflict zones globally represent a high risk to airline traffic. Since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, carriers have suspended flights to destinations in the affected countries, though there have been some evacuation flights from neighboring nations and some bringing stranded Israelis home. In the days before the US strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar and United Airlines did the same with flights to Dubai. Safe Airspace said it was possible airspace risks could now extend to countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. "We continue to advise a high degree of caution at this time," it said. Rescue and evacuation flights Israel's carriers, El Al Israel Airlines, Arkia, Israir, and Air Haifa, said earlier on Sunday they had suspended rescue flights that allowed people to return to Israel until further notice. El Al said it would also extend its cancellation of scheduled flights through Friday and Israir said it had halted the sale of tickets for all flights through July 7. A spokesperson for Israel's airports authority said the country's main airport, Ben Gurion near Tel Aviv, was expected to reopen for rescue flight landings on Sunday between 1100 and 1700 GMT. Flag carrier El Al, along with Arkia, Air Haifa and Israir said they would operate at least 10 flights on Sunday starting at 1100 GMT. Tens of thousands of Israelis and others who had booked tickets to Israel are stuck abroad. At the same time, nearly 40,000 tourists in Israel are looking to leave the country, some of whom are going via Jordan's borders to Amman and Aqaba and others via Egypt and by boat to Cyprus. "In accordance with security directives, we are working to bring Israelis home as quickly as possible," Israel's Transport Minister Miri Regev said in a statement. Japan's foreign ministry said on Sunday it had evacuated 21 people, including 16 Japanese nationals, from Iran overland to Azerbaijan. It said it was the second such evacuation since Thursday and that it would conduct further evacuations if necessary. New Zealand's government said on Sunday it would send a Hercules military transport plane to the Middle East on standby to evacuate New Zealanders from the region. It said in a statement that government personnel and a C-130J Hercules aircraft would leave Auckland on Monday. The plane would take some days to reach the region, it said. The government was also in talks with commercial airlines to assess how they may be able to assist, it added. — Reuters
Japan Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Fulbright board resigns citing interference by Trump administration
FILE PHOTO: The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo/File Photo By Ryan Patrick Jones All members of the board that oversees the U.S. State Department's Fulbright Program, which facilitates international educational exchanges, have voted to resign over alleged political interference from President Donald Trump's administration, the board said on Wednesday. The Trump administration had unlawfully "usurped the authority" of the board by denying awards to a "substantial number" of people who had already been selected for the 2025-2026 academic year through a yearlong, merit-based process, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board said in a statement posted on the website Substack. The department is also putting another 1,200 Fulbright recipients through an "unauthorized review process" that could lead to more rejections, according to the statement. The board members chose to resign 'rather than endorse unprecedented actions that we believe are impermissible under the law, compromise U.S. national interests and integrity, and undermine the mission and mandates Congress established for the Fulbright program nearly 80 years ago," they said. A senior State Department official accused the board members of being partisan political appointees from the administration of former President Joe Biden and called their mass resignation a "political stunt" meant to undermine Trump. "It's ridiculous to believe that these members would continue to have final say over the application process, especially when it comes to determining academic suitability and alignment with President Trump's Executive Orders," the official said. The Fulbright program, which was established in 1946, sends U.S. graduate students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals abroad to study, conduct research or teach English in approximately 160 countries worldwide. The program awards approximately 8,000 competitive, merit-based grants each year in most academic disciplines and fields of study, according to its website. The New York Times reported the board had approved the applications of around 200 American professors and researchers who were set to work at universities and research institutions in other countries this summer, and the State Department was meant to send acceptance letters to the applicants in April. Instead, board members learned the department's Office of Public Diplomacy had begun sending rejection letters to the scholars based on the topics of their research. "The bipartisan Fulbright Board was mandated by Congress to be a check on the executive and to ensure that students, researchers and educators are not subjected to the blatant political favoritism that this Administration is known for," Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. "While I understand and respect the bipartisan Fulbright Board for resigning en masse rather than grant credibility to a politicized process, I'm painfully aware that today's move will change the quality of Fulbright programming and the independent research that has made our country a leader in so many fields," she added. Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump's administration has undertaken a major overhaul of the State Department, enacted massive funding cuts for academic research, and curbed visas for foreign students. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
