In the US, a federal judge ruled that the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) must reverse its decision that sent more than 1,000 employees of the Voice of America on leave.
This is reported by NBC News and The Washington Post.
The decision states that the agency’s almost complete closure, which controls the Voice of America and finances several international broadcasters, violates federal administrative law. The judge ordered full-time employees to return to work by March 23 and instructed the agency to restore international broadcasting, which it had mostly suspended over the past year.
The decision was made in two separate but related lawsuits: one filed by the director of the Voice of America, Michael Abramowitz, and the other by a group of employees.
The decision reverses a three-page memorandum signed by USAGM officials last March that retained only 68 positions at the agency and eliminated all other roles.