Trump was challenged after blaming DEI for the DC plane crash. Here’s what he said

Trump was challenged after blaming DEI for the DC plane crash. Here’s what he said
President Donald Trump holding a press conference in Florida on January 30, 2025. (AP photo)
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Updated 31 January 2025
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Trump was challenged after blaming DEI for the DC plane crash. Here’s what he said

Trump was challenged after blaming DEI for the DC plane crash. Here’s what he said
  • Trump on Thursday variously pointed the finger at the helicopter’s pilot, air traffic control, his predecessor, Joe Biden, and other Democrats

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida: President Donald Trump began his White House briefing Thursday with a moment of silence and a prayer for victims of Wednesday’s crash at Reagan National Airport. But his remarks quickly became a diatribe against diversity hiring and his allegation — so far without evidence — that lowered standards were to blame for the crash.
Trump on Thursday variously pointed the finger at the helicopter’s pilot, air traffic control, his predecessor, Joe Biden, and other Democrats including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom he labeled a “disaster.” Buttigieg responded by calling Trump “despicable.”
The cause of the crash is still unknown. Authorities are investigating and have not publicly identified the cause or said who might have been responsible for the collision of an American Airlines plane and a US Army helicopter.
Reporters on Thursday challenged Trump’s claims. Here’s a look at how Trump responded to some of their questions.
Placing blame on diversity hiring
Trump was asked repeatedly to explain why he was blaming federal diversity and inclusion promotion efforts for the crash, at one point alleging that previous leadership had determined that the Federal Aviation Administration workforce was “too white.” He did not back up those claims, while also declaring it was still not clear the FAA or air traffic controllers were responsible for the crash.
Q: “Are you saying this crash was somehow caused as the result of diversity hiring? And what evidence have you seen to support these claims?”
TRUMP: “It just could have been. We have a high standard. We’ve had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower. You have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various, very powerful tests that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that seeks the exact opposite. So we don’t know. But we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened. And, we’ll see. We’re going to look into that, and we’re going to see. But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior. And that’s what we’re going to have.”

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Q: “You have today blamed the diversity elements but then told us that you weren’t sure that the controllers made any mistake. You then said perhaps the helicopter pilots were the ones who made the mistake.”
TRUMP: “It’s all under investigation.”
Q: “I understand that. That’s why I’m trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash.”
TRUMP: “Because I have common sense. OK? And unfortunately, a lot of people don’t. We want brilliant people doing this. This is a major chess game at the highest level. When you have 60 planes coming in during a short period of time, and they’re all coming in different directions, and you’re dealing with very high-level computer, computer work and very complex computers.”
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Trump was challenged on his claim that the FAA under Democratic presidents had promoted the hiring of people with disabilities. The page Trump referenced has existed on the FAA’s website for a decade, including his first term.
Q: “The implication that this policy is new or that it stems from efforts that began under President Biden or the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is demonstrably false. It’s been on the FAA’s website — ”
TRUMP: “Who said that, you?”
Q: “No, it’s on the website, the FAA’s website. It was there from 2013 ... it was there for the entirety, it was there for the entirety of your administration, too. So my question is, why didn’t you change the policy during your first administration?”
TRUMP: “I did change it. I changed the Obama policy, and we had a very good policy. And then Biden came in and he changed it. And then when I came in two days, three days ago, I signed a new order, bringing it to the highest level of intelligence.”
Calling for fast confirmations
Trump agreed it was helpful to have Sean Duffy, his new transportation secretary, sworn and ready to respond when the major crisis hit.
Q: “Is it helpful to have your secretary of transportation confirmed and does this intensify your interest in getting other nominees confirmed quickly as well?”
TRUMP: “For sure, we want fast confirmations. And the Democrats, as you know, are doing everything they can to delay. They’ve taken too long. We’re struggling to get very good people that everybody knows are going to be confirmed. But we’re struggling to get them out faster. We want them out faster.”
Reassuring people it is safe to fly
Trump was asked if Americans should feel safe to fly after the crash.
According to the FAA, Trump is expected to fly to Palm Beach, Florida, where his Mar-a-Lago club is located, for the weekend on Friday.
Trump took another opportunity to criticize diversity hiring efforts for the crash as he wrapped up the news briefing.
Q: “Should people be hesitant to fly right now?”
TRUMP: “No. Not at all. I would not hesitate to fly. This is something that it’s been many years that something like this has happened, and the collision is just something that, we don’t expect ever to happen again. We are going to have the highest-level people. We’ve already hired some of the people that you already hired for that position long before we knew about this. I mean, long before, from the time I came in, we started going out and getting the best people because I said ‘It’s not appropriate what they’re doing.’ I think it’s a tremendous mistake. You know? They like to do things, and they like to take them too far. And this is sometimes what ends up happening.
“Now with that, I’m not blaming the controller. I’m saying there are things that you could question, like the height of the helicopter, the height of the plane being at the same level and going the opposite direction. That’s not a positive. But, no, we’re already hiring people.
“Flying is very safe. We have the safest flying anywhere in the world, and we’ll keep it that way.”
 


South Africa’s Ramaphosa tells G20 international law ‘critical’

South Africa’s Ramaphosa tells G20 international law ‘critical’
Updated 3 min 54 sec ago
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South Africa’s Ramaphosa tells G20 international law ‘critical’

South Africa’s Ramaphosa tells G20 international law ‘critical’
  • “It should be the glue that keeps us together,” Ramaphosa said

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told G20 foreign ministers on Thursday that multilateralism and international law were key to solving world crises, amid rising tensions over various conflicts and trade disputes.
“It is critical that the principles of the UN Charter, multilateralism and international law should remain at the center of all our endeavours. It should be the glue that keeps us together,” he said at the opening of a meeting of G20 foreign ministers.


Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital

Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital
Updated 20 February 2025
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Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital

Delhi swears in new chief minister as Modi’s party retakes India’s capital
  • Loyalist of Modi’s party, Rekha Gupta is the fourth woman to hold the capital region’s top office
  • BJP won Delhi election on promises to tackle air and river pollution, and subsidize poor women

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s loyalist and Delhi’s new chief minister, Rekha Gupta, was sworn in on Thursday, as India’s ruling party regained power in the national capital region after a 27-year gap.

The national vice president of the BJP’s women’s wing, Gupta had previously served as the party’s general secretary in Delhi.

She is the fourth woman to hold the office of Delhi’s chief minister.

“We will empower Delhi through modern infrastructure, excellent healthcare services, excellent education and new employment opportunities,” she said upon inauguration.

“Today, I took oath as the chief minister with the resolve to develop Delhi under the guidance of Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is not just a responsibility but an opportunity to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Delhi.”

A first-time legislator, Gupta won the capital’s Shalimar Bagh Assembly constituency in February’s assembly elections.

Modi’s party won 48 of the 70 assembly seats — over twice more than the opposition Aam Aadmi Party of the previous chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, Modi’s fierce critic.

The win was a boost for the Hindu-nationalist leader after last year’s general election saw him lose his parliamentary majority.

The BJP’s victory came on the promise of cleaning the capital’s Yamuna River, one of the most polluted waterways in the world. The Yamuna is particularly polluted downstream of New Delhi, which dumps about 60 percent of its waste into the river. At the same time, the river provides more than half of the Indian capital’s water.

Another promise was to tackle Delhi’s air pollution, which during winters soars to hazardous levels. In December, it was 35 times over the safe limit set by the World Health Organization, leaving residents complaining of breathing problems.

The toxic smog, which seasonally chokes the city for months, is caused by several factors, including construction activities, vehicle emissions, industrial pollutants and the seasonal burning of crop residue in neighboring states.

“The two biggest issues in Delhi are the river and the air. And I don’t see how they can do it,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst and the author of Modi’s biography “Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.”

While the farmers around Delhi have regularly been blamed for the pollution, the region’s air quality remained bad in February, even as there was no burning of paddy stubble to clear the soil for the next crops.

“So why is Delhi still so polluted at the moment? ... Automobile pollution is possibly one of the biggest things, but would the Indian government be doing anything to reduce the numbers of vehicles which have been sold in Delhi and the National Capital Region? No, it will not because it involves a lot of further financial matters,” Mukhopadhyay told Arab News.

Another promise was monthly payments of 2,500 Indian rupees ($28) to poor women, a one-time payment of 21,000 rupees to every pregnant woman, subsidized cooking gas, a monthly pension of 2,500 rupees for the elderly, and 15,000 rupees for youth preparing for competitive exams.

“Fiscally it is going to be a big challenge. I do not know from where they will provide this money,” Mukhopadhyay said.

“It is going to be very difficult, but they will have to do it otherwise within three months, there will be a backlash against the BJP. It is going to be fiscally mind-blowing.”


Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda

Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda
Updated 20 February 2025
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Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda

Kremlin says topic of another Russia-US prisoner swap is on the agenda
  • At least 10 Americans remain behind bars in Russia, including two who have been designated as “wrongfully detained” by Washington

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Thursday that the idea of a possible new prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States was on the agenda after Moscow and Washington agreed to start work on restoring relations at all levels.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked by reporters about the possibility of a new swap, said US-Russia talks in Riyadh had contributed to a general rapprochement between Russia and the US.
At least 10 Americans remain behind bars in Russia, including two who have been designated as “wrongfully detained” by Washington. Moscow freed an American citizen, Kalob Byers, days before the Russian and American delegations met in the Saudi capital.


G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US

G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US
Updated 20 February 2025
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G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US

G20 meeting of foreign ministers gets underway in South Africa amid tensions with US
  • Analysts say that Rubio and Bessent’s absence signalled the USwas pulling back from the G20 and demonstrated how strained relations are

JOHANNESBURG: A meeting of foreign ministers from G20 countries will get underway in Johannesburg on Thursday, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend amid diplomatic tensions between South Africa and the US.
Diplomats including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are expected to attend the gathering, while the US will be represented by acting ambassador to South Africa Dana Brown.
The European Union, the United Nations and the African Union, which is part of the G20, will also be in attendance.
Rubio snubbed the meeting after an executive order by US President Donald Trump stopped foreign aid to the country over a law that the White House said amounts to discrimination against the country’s white minority. The US is also displeased with South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has said that Rubio’s decision was “not a complete boycott of South Africa’s G20.” He said the US would be represented in Johannesburg this week “in one form or shape or another.”
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent has also confirmed his will not attend a meeting of G20 finance ministers scheduled to take place in South Africa next week.
Bessent said on the social media platform X that he would not participate in the event because of obligations in Washington. A senior Treasury official will attend in his place, he said.
Analysts say that Rubio and Bessent’s absence signalled the US was pulling back from the G20 and demonstrated how strained relations are.
“I think if we want to really know what message the US administration is trying to send, you have to know whether the treasury secretary will come next week or not. And if he chooses not to come as well, that’s a quite serious sign,” said political analyst Daniel Bradlow.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to officially open and address the gathering under the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability,” which Rubio has described as a diversity, equality and inclusion framework — one that the new Trump administration vocally opposes.
South Africa will host over 130 working group meetings and 23 ministerial-level meetings this year as part of their G20 presidency, which began in December last year.
The US is expected to take over the G20 presidency in 2026 after South Africa’s tenure.


China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia

China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia
Updated 20 February 2025
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China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia

China’s sprawling rail projects, from Pakistan to Indonesia
  • In Pakistan, railway linking Gwadar Port with China’s Xinjiang province has long been on the cards
  • If the project moves ahead, a 2023 Chinese study estimated an eyewatering price tag of $58 billion

TOKYO: Vietnam approved plans on Wednesday for a multi-billion-dollar railway with China, boosting links between the two communist countries.
Around the region, China has been financing railways under its Belt and Road Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects globally, but has come under fire with a number of plans stalled or mired in controversy.
Here are some of the key instalments in Asia’s China-backed railway network:
PAKISTAN
In Pakistan, a railway linking southwestern Gwadar Port with China’s northwestern Xinjiang province has long been on the cards but has yet to materialize.

This official route map, posted on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor website, presents a monographic study on transport planning for CPEC’s Railway Network, covering the period from 2014 to 2030. (Photo courtesy: CPEC)

If the project moves ahead, a 2023 Chinese study estimated an eyewatering price tag of $58 billion.
INDONESIA
Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway in October 2023, after years of delays. The $7 billion China-backed project links the capital Jakarta to the city of Bandung in 45 minutes — slashing the journey by about two hours.

A hi-speed train built in cooperation between Indonesia and China moves along its dedicated track, prior to a dynamic test, in Tegalluar on November 9, 2022. (AFP/File)

Built by a joint venture of four Indonesian state companies and Beijing’s China Railway International Co, it was initially set to cost less than $5 billion and be completed by 2019. But construction challenges and the pandemic led to delays and surging expenses.
Indonesia’s then-president Joko Widodo nevertheless hailed its opening as a symbol of modernization.
LAOS
Laos unveiled its $6 billion Chinese-built railroad in 2021, bringing hopes of an economic boost despite backlash after thousands of farmers had to be evicted to make way for construction.
The 414-kilometer (260-mile) route connects the Chinese city of Kunming to Laotian capital Vientiane, with plans for the high-speed line to ultimately reach Singapore.

This photo taken on October 12, 2024 shows passengers boarding a high-speed train in the railway station in Laos' capital Vientiane. (AFP/File)

Infrastructure-poor Laos, a reclusive communist country of about 7.4 million people, previously had only four kilometers of railway tracks.
It was hoped that the railway would boost the Southeast Asian country’s ailing tourism industry, which struggled to rebound from the pandemic.
But experts also raised concerns over whether cash-strapped Laos — where public debt made up 116 percent of GDP in 2023 — would ever be able to pay back Beijing.
THAILAND
After long delays, Thailand is pressing ahead with a Chinese-backed high-speed line set to partially open in 2028. The $5.4 billion project aims to expand the connection to Kunming, running to Bangkok via Laos by 2032.
Thailand already has nearly 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) of railway but the sluggish, run-down network has long driven people to favor road travel — despite extremely high accident rates.

In this photo taken on March 29, 2023 a train sits below an elevated track, still under construction as part of the Thai-Chinese Bangkok-Nong Khai high-speed railway project at Sung Noen Station in Nakhon Ratchasima province. (AFP/File)

When the new railroad is fully complete, Chinese-made trains will run from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the border with Laos, at up to 250 km/h.
Unlike Laos, Thailand signed a deal to cover project expenditures itself and has pitched it as a way to boost the economy through trade with China.
KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov inaugurated construction in December of a railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with hopes it will serve as a supply route to Europe.

In this handout picture taken and released by the Kyrgyz presidential press office on December 27, 2024, fireworks explode behind state flags during the commencement ceremony of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project in the settlement of Tash-Kitchu. (Photo courtesy: VCG/File)

“This route will ensure supply of goods from China to Kyrgyzstan and then onto Central Asia” and nearby countries “including Turkiye” and “even to the European Union,” he said.
The project, which Kyrgyz authorities estimate could cost up to $8 billion, includes construction through mountains and in areas of permafrost, where the ground never fully thaws.
VIETNAM
Vietnam this week approved an $8-billion railroad running from its largest northern port city to China. The line will operate through some of Vietnam’s key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn and Pegatron factories, many of which rely on components from China.

Railway workers guide a train at a railway crossing in Hanoi on February 18, 2025. (AFP/File)

Another yet-to-be-approved line to China would connect Hanoi to Lang Son province, traveling through more areas packed with manufacturing facilities.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia has revived construction of a nearly $17 billion railroad to carry passengers and freight between shipping ports on its east and west coasts. The China-backed, 665-kilometer project was originally launched in 2011 under ex-leader Najib Razak, but shelved due to a dispute about payments.
After blowing past several deadlines and budgets, it now looks set to be operational by 2027.
MYANMAR
In coup-hit Myanmar, talks on building a railway from Mandalay to China’s Yunnan province appear to have stalled.
And in the Philippines, plans for China to fund three railways flopped after Manila backed out of talks in 2023 as the South China Sea dispute heated up.