International News
Musk Blasts Trump Mega-Bill Days After Farewell
Tensions between Elon Musk and Donald Trump erupted Tuesday as the world’s richest man derided the president’s key piece of economic legislation in a startling rupture just days after exiting a controversial job in the White House.
Musk was lauded by the Republican leader as he left his advisory role atop Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” last week, despite criticism over his failure to deliver on promises of radical spending cuts.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk posted on X as he followed its progress from the sidelines, in by far his most caustic remarks on Trump’s agenda.
“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.”
It was not Musk’s first comments on Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” which is set to add $3 trillion to US deficits over a 10-year horizon, despite deep cuts to health and food aid programs.
But Musk’s previous criticism was more restrained, with the Tesla and SpaceX magnate offering only that it undermined his cost-cutting efforts.
On Tuesday he said the bill — being considered by Congress — would burden “citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
His post laid bare an increasingly tense relationship between the White House and Musk, who donated almost $300 million to Trump’s 2024 election campaign.
Musk has become disillusioned, US media reported, as his goals for White House action that would benefit him personally have gone unrealized.
The bill he was criticizing cuts the electric vehicle tax credit — bad news for Tesla — while Axios reported that Musk was rebuffed in his efforts to extend his role beyond the statutory 130-day limit.
He also failed to have his Starlink satellite system used for air traffic control, according to Axios, and was angered by Trump withdrawing the nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to be NASA chief.
The normally pugilistic Trump has pulled his punches, aware of his biggest backer’s enormous influence over young, tech-savvy and historically apathetic voters — a key Trump constituency in 2024.
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill, it doesn’t change his opinion,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a rapid response to Musk’s tweet.
The spat came with House Republicans set to pass legislation sent from the White House to enshrine into law $9.4 billion of DOGE’s cuts, mostly money destined for public broadcasting and foreign aid.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called Musk’s comments “disappointing,” adding that he had walked the entrepreneur through the bill on Monday, and that he “seemed to understand.”
Burgeoning debt
As the world’s richest person bowed out of his role as Trump’s cost-cutter-in-chief, their relationship appeared on an even keel as the Republican hailed his fellow billionaire’s “incredible service.”
Trump even insisted that Musk was “really not leaving” after a turbulent four months in which the South African born tycoon cut tens of thousands of jobs, shuttered whole agencies and slashed foreign aid.
DOGE led an ideologically driven rampage through the federal government, with its young “tech bros” slashing tens of thousands of jobs.
But its achievements fell far short of Musk’s original boast that he could save $2 trillion — more than the government’s entire discretionary spending budget for 2024.
The DOGE website claims to have saved taxpayers less than a tenth of that total — just $180 billion — and fact checkers even see that claim as dubious, given previous inaccuracies in its accounting.
Senate Democrats released a report Tuesday itemizing 130 examples of “unethical or potentially corrupt” administration actions they say have helped Musk dodge regulation and add $100 billion to his wealth.
The report came as senators began what is expected to be a fraught month of negotiations on Trump’s mammoth policy package, expected to add between $2.5 trillion and $3.1 trillion to deficits over a decade.
Trump said on Monday it was “the single biggest Spending Cut in History,” although he added: “The only ‘cutting’ we will do is for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse.”
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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