US judge temporarily halts mass layoff of Voice of America employees | International

WASHINGTON, Sept 30, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A US federal judge temporarily blocked a move by President Donald Trump's administration to lay off more than 500 Voice of America employees, according to a court order on Monday. Kari Lake, a senior advisor to the US Agency for Global Media, has spearheaded the Trump's effort to gut government-funded media, despite legal disputes and criticism that US adversaries will benefit. Hundreds of VOA employees received termination notices in June, following a Trump order that froze the outlet for the first time since it was founded in 1942. But US District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled against Lake and blocked the terminations, which were meant to take effect on September 30. "The Reduction in Force...