CIA lays off some recruits as Trump shakes up intelligence community
Washington, March 7: The Central Intelligence Agency will fire an unreleased number of junior officers as President Donald Trump’s efforts to downsize and reshape the federal government reverberate through America’s intelligence community. The agency will review personnel hired within the past two years, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, and those officers with behavioral issues or who are deemed a poor fit for intelligence work will be laid off. The spokesperson said not everyone proves to be able to handle the pressures of the job. The cuts are part of sweeping staffing reductions at agencies across the federal government made by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. (AP)
Court orders S Korean Prez Yoon released from jail
Seoul, March 7: A South Korean court on Friday ordered impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to be released from jail, a move that would allow him to stand trial for his rebellion charge. Yoon was arrested and indicted in January over his short-lived imposition of martial law late last year. The hearings in his separate impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court concluded in late February, and that court is expected to rule soon on whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him. (AP)
WWII bomb causes transportation chaos in Paris
Paris, March 7: The discovery of a huge unexploded World War II-era bomb caused transportation chaos in Paris on Friday that included the suspension of high-speed rail links with London and Brussels and the closure of a vital road artery in the French capital, hobbling France’s busiest train station, dashing travellers’ weekend getaway plans and giving commuters a major headache. The cascade of transport woes spread from the rail to the road network, with Paris police announcing the closure of the A1 highway and sections of the capital’s always-busy ring road around the city, as bomb-disposal experts worked to make the half-ton explosive safe. Eurostar, operator of sleek high-speed trains through the Channel Tunnel that links England with the European continent, announced the cancellation of all its services to and from its Paris hub at Gare du Nord, France’s busiest rail station, and the UK and Belgian capitals. (AP)
Portugal braces for possible 3rd election in 3 yrs
Lisbon, March 7: Portugal could be headed for its third general election in three years after parliament on Friday scheduled a confidence vote on the centre-right minority government, which has been under pressure for weeks over the business ties of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro. A large majority of opposition lawmakers say they will vote to remove the government from power. The government, made up of the Social Democratic Party and its smaller ally the Popular Party, has just 80 seats in the 230-seat legislature. It has been in office for less than a year. (AP)