District judge orders administration to restore the capacity of broadcaster shuttered over claims of ‘leftist bias’. A federal judge has stated that US President Donald Trump illegally halted the operation of the Voice of America (VOA), a federally funded international news service created by Congress. In a ruling on Tuesday, US District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the Trump administration to restore the 83-year-old broadcaster’s capacity to the levels before Trump slashed funding and laid off scores of personnel. In a March court filing stating that all 1,300 employees had been placed on administrative leave, lawyers for VOA said that the broadcaster seeks to report the news “truthfully, impartially, and objectively”, pushing back against claims from the Trump administration that it promotes a “leftist bias” and is insufficiently “pro-American”. Judge Lamberth also ordered the administration to restore the capacity of two other broadcasters also funded by the federal Agency for Global Media, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, while those lawsuits progress. The judge also denied a similar request for two additional networks, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Open Technology Fund. Trump and his allies have wielded federal funds to dismantle programmes and agencies within the government that they dislike and compel greater ideological compliance from media organisations and universities under the premise of combatting what the administration portrays as “left-wing” views. Kari Lake, a close Trump ally, was also placed in charge of the Agency for Global Media. The administration shuttered VOA in March, instituting funding cuts that Lamberth said reflected a “hasty, indiscriminate approach”. A labour union representing workers at the Agency for Global Media celebrated the ruling as a “powerful affirmation of the role that independent journalism plays in advancing democracy and countering disinformation”. VOA was first founded during World War II in an effort by the US government to counter Nazi propaganda and was later used to project pro-US views to countries around the world during the Cold War, a history that has led some to criticise the network as a means of promoting US interests around the world. “That simple mission [delivering impartial news] is a powerful one for those living across the globe without access to a free press and without the ability to otherwise discern what is truly happening,” lawyers for VOA wrote. Many other institutions created during the post-war era to project US political and cultural influence around the world, such as the humanitarian assistance agency USAID, have also come under attack by a Trump administration that sees them as ideological enemies or sources of bureaucratic bloat. After largely gutting USAID, tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk said that the international assistance group had been a “viper’s nest of radical left Marxists who hate America”. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

Truck drivers and owners under the Ikorodu-Ketu Truck Owners and Drivers Association, Lagos State, staged a protest on Monday against the recent hike in the price of sharp sand by the Dredgers Association. The protest, held at the association’s operational base in Ikorodu, was triggered by a sharp price increase—from N126,000 to N178,500—for 30 tons of sharp sand, which the protesters described as unsustainable for their business. Chairman of the truck drivers’ association, Mr Sikiru Aderoju, said the price of sharp sand had been raised twice in the past two months, leaving drivers unable to operate profitably. “We are protesting the Dredgers Association’s indiscriminate increase in the price of sharp sand. Just two months ago, we agreed to a new price of N126,000 after an earlier increment. Now, they have added N52,000, bringing the price to N178,000. Our customers can no longer afford it, and they’ve stopped patronising us,” Aderoju said. Also speaking, truck owner Mr Oluwaseun Adelaja alleged that the constant price hikes appeared to be a deliberate attempt to push independent truck drivers out of the market. “As of July 2024, 30 tons of sharp sand cost N85,000. It rose to N110,000 in November and then N126,000 in January 2025. We accepted those increases, citing the rising costs of diesel, maintenance, and spare parts. But last week, it jumped again to N178,500, effective from April 14. Customers can’t cope,” he said. “We believe the dredgers are trying to dominate the market with their own trucks. Their pricing and rotation policies are affecting our access to customers.” A truck driver, Mr Sodiq Owolabi, also claimed he was assaulted during a previous protest. “I was trying to protect my boss when some thugs and security personnel working with the dredgers attacked me. They held me down, took me to their barracks, and beat me up,” he alleged. The protesters called on the Lagos State Government to intervene and compel the Dredgers Association to review the pricing in the interest of economic fairness and public affordability. Responding to the protest, the Chairman of the Dredgers Association in Ikorodu, Mr Tunde Adigun, said the price increases were a direct result of worsening economic conditions. “The truck drivers are our customers. I also own trucks. I bought my last one for ₦39 million; now, it costs ₦100 million. The cost of operations keeps rising. We used to pump sand from 100–200 meters offshore; now we go as far as four kilometres. That significantly increases expenses,” he explained. Mr Adigun said that each increment was preceded by meetings with tipper associations where agreements were reached. “Whenever we adjust prices, we meet with their executives and explain our challenges. We don’t just impose new prices. Five dredging sites have shut down because operations are no longer profitable. Even some of our Chinese partners have pulled out.” He also addressed the allegations of violence during protests. “The security officers were deployed to maintain order. The clash was not with truck drivers but with community members who insisted that tippers be allowed to operate. The security personnel intervened to restore peace,” he stated. On accusations of undermining tipper drivers by operating his own trucks, Adigun said: “I bought trucks after they stopped carrying sand from my site. I’m trying to sustain my business. Just as some truck drivers own dredging operations, I’m free to do the same.”