World
U.S. Halt to Foreign Aid Cripples Programs Worldwide
Treating H.I.V. across dozens of nations. Stopping the forced labor of Chinese workers. Training Mexican and Colombian police in anti-narcotics enforcement.
Those are just a tiny sample of aid programs around the world operating with grant money from the U.S. government that could be permanently shut down under an executive order President Trump signed last week to halt foreign aid.
The sense of crisis among aid groups worldwide is surging, as American officials tell groups they must obey an almost universal stop-work order issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio after Mr. Trump’s directive.
The officials say the groups must freeze nearly all programs that have received any of the $70 billion of annual aid budget approved by Congress through bipartisan negotiations. They include programs that provide medicine, shelter and clean water in dire conditions and often make the difference between life and death.
Uncertain of whether they can pay salaries or get any future funding, groups around the world said they are starting to lay off employees or furlough them. In the United States alone, tens of thousands of employees, many of whom live in the Washington area and rely on contract work with U.S. agencies, could lose their jobs. Some have already been laid off.
Leaders of aid groups say they have never seen such an expansive and damaging directive, even during periods of aid reassessment by earlier administrations. Many of them are scrambling to contact lawmakers and other U.S. officials to get urgent messages to Mr. Rubio. They said some programs will be hard to restart after a temporary shutdown, and many could disappear.
The State Department said the move was aimed at ensuring that all foreign aid programs “are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.”
The crisis deepened on Monday evening, when Jason Gray, the acting head of the United States Agency for International Development, put about 60 top officials on paid leave. He wrote in an email that those officials had taken actions “designed to circumvent the president’s executive orders.” On Tuesday, office workers removed photographs of leaders from the walls. Contractors have also been fired or put on leave.
Mr. Rubio said in a cable to U.S. missions abroad that the halt would last at least through a 90-day assessment period. But U.S. officials have already told some aid groups that certain programs, including ones that promote diversity, women’s reproductive rights and climate resilience, will be permanently cut.
U.S. agencies will need to break contracts during the halt, and they will likely need to pay fees. Among the U.S.A.I.D. employees put on paid leave are three lawyers, including the lead ethics lawyer, according to one person briefed on the situation.
The executive order halting foreign aid was the president’s first major foreign policy action, and many aid groups are only now understanding its broad scope. Foreign assistance money generally supports humanitarian, development and security programs, and it makes up less than 1 percent of the government budget.
Two Democratic members of the House, Gregory Meeks of New York and Lois Frankel of Florida, sent Mr. Rubio a letter on Saturday saying that lives were being “placed at risk” because of the aid halt. “Congress has appropriated and cleared these funds for use, and it is our constitutional duty to make sure these funds are spent as directed,” they wrote.
The stop order applies to most military and security assistance programs, including in Ukraine, Taiwan and Jordan. Much of that aid is disbursed by the State Department. Military aid to Israel and Egypt is exempted, as is emergency food assistance.
Mr. Trump’s decision to halt foreign aid could cause long-term damage to U.S. strategic interests, critics of the action say. Policymakers from both parties have long regarded foreign aid as a potent form of American power, a way to increase U.S. influence overseas using a tiny budget compared with military spending. Many development programs support democracy, education and civil rights efforts.
In recent years, China has tried to win more global influence with development projects, and it could gain ground as the United States retreats.
“This 90-day stop-work is a gift to our enemies and competitors — with effects that go beyond the immediate harms to people,” said Dr. Atul Gawande, the assistant administrator at U.S.A.I.D. in the Biden administration.
“It trashes our alliances with scores of countries built over half a century, trashes our world-leading expertise and capacity and threatens our security,” he said.
Dr. Gawande noted that U.S.A.I.D. has the largest footprint abroad after the military, employing hundreds of thousands of contractors, who will now be dismissed or put on leave.
Some former officials say a goal of the action could be to dismantle U.S.A.I.D. and move its work to the State Department — while keeping the amount paltry. The Trump appointee at the State Department overseeing foreign aid is Pete Marocco, a divisive figure in the first Trump administration who worked at the Pentagon, State Department and U.S.A.I.D. At the aid agency, employees filed a 13-page dissent memo, accusing him of mismanagement. Senior State Department officials can exercise authority over U.S.A.I.D., though the agency usually operates autonomously.
Some of U.S.A.I.D.’s critical work is listed on its website. One document says that during the civil war in Sudan, a United Nations agency relied on U.S. government support to screen about 5.1 million children age 5 and under for malnutrition, and it provided about 288,000 children with lifesaving treatment last year between January and October.
Smaller groups will struggle to survive. China Labor Watch, a New York-based group with overseas offices that aims to end forced labor and trafficking of Chinese workers, is shutting down programs that rely on $900,000 of annual aid from the State Department, said Li Qiang, the organization’s founder. Seven staff employees will be placed on unpaid leave and could depart for good, Mr. Li said, adding that employees who lose their work visas might have to return to China, where they could be scrutinized by security officers.
Groups worldwide that have relied on U.S. funding are now “victims of this disruption, leading to distrust in the U.S. government,” he said.
He continued: “This will further isolate the U.S. internationally. Damaging national credibility and alienating allies for short-term gains will have lasting repercussions.”
The clampdown also cripples the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, the celebrated program started by President George W. Bush that is credited with saving more than 25 million lives. A shutdown of the program would likely cost millions of lives in the coming years, health experts said. The program’s work involves more than 250,000 health workers in 54 countries.
“When the funding stops before the epidemic is under control, you erode the investments you’ve made in the past,” said Dr. Linda-Gail Bekker, who heads the Desmond Tutu H.I.V. Center at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
Simultaneously, Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization has prompted that group to tighten its belt, curtailing travel and limiting operations on the ground.
On Sunday night, employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were instructed to immediately stop communicating with W.H.O. staff. and other international partners.
The blackout means American officials are likely to lose access to information about human outbreaks, including of mpox, polio and the emerging mosquito-borne disease Oropouche, and animal diseases, like swine flu, that could devastate the nation’s agricultural industry, Dr. Gawande said.
U.S.A.I.D. has helped to contain 11 serious outbreaks of Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers in the last four years. One such disease, Marburg, is smoldering even now in Tanzania, with 15 confirmed cases and eight probable cases. Ten people have died.
“This is a disease with no test, no treatment and no vaccine that’s been approved,” Dr. Gawande said.
On Monday, Trump administration officials instructed organizations abroad to stop distributing H.I.V. medications that were purchased with U.S. aid money, even if the drugs are already in clinics.
Separately, officials worldwide were told that PEPFAR’s data systems would be shut down on Monday evening and that they should “prioritize copying key documents and data,” according to an email viewed by The New York Times. The system was maintained by a contractor forced to stop work because of the aid freeze.
About 90 percent of Dr. Bekker’s work in South Africa is funded by PEPFAR and the National Institutes of Health. Her team has helped to test H.I.V. medications and preventive drugs, and vaccines for Covid and human papillomavirus, or HPV, all of which are used in the United States.
Shutting down PEPFAR, which accounts for 20 percent of South Africa’s H.I.V. budget, would add more than a half million new H.I.V. infections and more than 600,000 related deaths in the country over the next decade, Dr. Bekker and her colleagues have estimated. The effect is likely to be far worse in poorer countries, like Mozambique, where PEPFAR funds the bulk of H.I.V. programs.
Abruptly halting treatment can endanger patients’ lives, but it can also increase spread of the virus and lead to resistance to the available drugs.
The Trump administration’s actions will cause long-lasting harm, including to Americans, said Asia Russell, executive director of the advocacy group Health Gap.
“If you’re trying to achieve a review of all foreign assistance, including PEPFAR, you can do that without attacking the programs through stopping them,” Ms. Russell said.
“It’s extraordinarily dangerous and perhaps deadly to do it this way,” she said, “but it’s also wasteful and inefficient.”
World
Thai prime minister gets royal approval to dissolve Parliament and hold elections early next year
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul received royal permission Friday to dissolve Parliament, setting up general elections early next year.
The election for the House of Representatives would be held 45 to 60 days after the Royal Decree, a period while Anutin will head a caretaker government with limited powers and cannot approve a new budget.
Anutin posted on his Facebook late Thursday that “I’d like to return power to the people.”
The move comes at a tricky political moment, as Thailand is engaged in large-scale combat with Cambodia over long-disputed border claims. About two dozen people were reported killed in the fighting this week, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides.
Anutin has been prime minister for just three months, succeeding Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who served only a year in office.
Anutin won the September vote in Parliament with support from the main opposition People’s Party in exchange for a promise to dissolve Parliament within four months and organize a referendum on the drafting of a new constitution by an elected constituent assembly.
The issue of constitutional change appeared to trigger the dissolution, after the People’s Party threatened to call a non-confidence vote Thursday after Anutin’s Bhumjathai voted to retain one third of Senate votes in order to amend the constitution.
Anutin served in Paetongtarn’s Cabinet but resigned from his positions and withdrew his party from her coalition government in the wake of a political scandal related to border tensions with Cambodia.
Paetongtarn, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was dismissed from office after being found guilty of ethics violations over a politically compromising phone call with Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen ahead of July’s armed conflict.
The People’s Party said it would remain part of the opposition, leaving the new government potentially a minority one. The party, which runs on progressive platforms, has long sought changes to the constitution, imposed during a military government, saying they want to make it more democratic.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro warned that his country must “stand like warriors … ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire” Wednesday, a moment that coincided with the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
Maduro delivered the remarks while holding the sword of Simón Bolívar at a rally where video showed him singing and dancing to a recording of American singer Bobby McFerrin’s late-80s hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Maduro told supporters that Venezuelans must stay alert as tensions with Washington escalate.
“In these times, things have to be different, but we must always stand like warriors, women and men,” he said in a translated interpretation. “With one eye wide open — and the other one too — working, producing, building, keeping everything running, and ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary, from Bolivar’s homeland.”
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, sharply escalating tensions with Caracas. The tanker was taken for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER MACHADO REAPPEARS IN NORWAY AFTER MONTHS IN HIDING
Maduro issues a fierce warning after the U.S. seizes a tanker near Venezuela, triggering accusations of piracy and intensifying a rapidly escalating standoff. (Reuters and APTN)
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move in an official statement, calling it “a brazen robbery and an act of international piracy” and accusing Trump of openly pursuing a plan to “take Venezuelan oil without paying anything in return.”
The ministry said the action fits into what it described as a longstanding U.S. effort to plunder the country’s natural resources and compared the episode to the loss of Citgo Petroleum Corp., which Caracas claims was seized through “fraudulent judicial mechanisms.”
The statement argued that “the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela” have nothing to do with migration, drug trafficking, democracy, or human rights, insisting “it has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy.”
MADURO BRANDISHES SWORD AT RALLY AS HE RAILS AGAINST ‘IMPERIALIST AGGRESSION’ AMID RISING TENSIONS WITH US
Maduro issues a fierce warning after the U.S. seizes a tanker near Venezuela, triggering accusations of piracy and intensifying a rapidly escalating standoff. (Reuters and APTN)
It also accused Washington of using the tanker incident to distract from what it described as the failure of political efforts in Oslo by groups seeking Maduro’s removal.
Caracas urged Venezuelans to “remain firm in defense of the homeland” and called on the international community to reject what it described as “vandalistic, illegal and unprecedented aggression.”
The government said it will take its complaint to all available international bodies and vowed to protect the country’s sovereignty and control over its energy assets, declaring that “Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to seize from the Venezuelan people what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right.”
MARCO RUBIO SAYS TRUMP WILL NOT BE ‘SUCKERED’ BY MADURO LIKE BIDEN
Maduro issued a warning after the U.S. seized a tanker near Venezuela, triggering accusations of piracy and intensifying a rapidly escalating standoff. (Reuters and APTN)
Tensions between the two countries have grown following months of U.S. maritime strikes that Washington says targeted vessels used by drug traffickers to transport narcotics.
Reuters has reported that more than 80 people have been killed since September, and a separate Reuters report detailed heightened surveillance and security crackdowns in coastal communities affected by the strikes.
Late last month, Maduro appeared at a mass rally in Caracas holding the sword of Simón Bolívar as he warned supporters to brace for “imperialist aggression,” delivering a defiant address after Trump said the U.S. will “very soon” begin stopping suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land.
BONDI SHARES HEART-POUNDING FOOTAGE OF US SEIZING VENEZUELAN OIL TANKER IN RARE ACTION LAST SEEN IN 2014
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was questioned about the U.S. seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters )
Trump said he had not ruled out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela as part of the administration’s crackdown on criminal networks tied to senior figures in Caracas.
“No, I don’t rule out that. I don’t rule out anything,” he said.
He also left room for potential talks.
“We may be having some conversations with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,” Trump told reporters over the weekend.
Since early September, U.S. strikes across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have destroyed dozens of vessels. U.S. officials say many were linked to Venezuelan and Colombian criminal groups.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Maduro appeared at last month’s rally holding the sword of Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century independence leader regarded as the liberator of much of South America. He told supporters the country was facing a decisive moment.
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
Members of the “Coalition of the Willing” for Ukraine called for continued transatlantic unity as Europeans seek to exert greater influence in the peace talks with Moscow as Washington ups pressure for a quick deal.
“We are working to ensure that the security guarantees include serious components of European deterrence and are reliable, and it is important that the United States is with us and supports these efforts,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after the virtual meeting attended by 34 mostly European countries.
Zelenskyy also said he had had “a constructive and in-depth discussion with the American team” that comprised Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Generals Keane and Grynkewich, and Josh Gruenbaum from the Federal Acquisition Service, on the topic of security guarantees.
“Security guarantees are among the most critical elements for all subsequent steps,” he wrote on X, adding: “It was agreed that the teams will work actively to ensure that, in the near future, there will be a clear understanding of the security guarantees. I thank everyone who is helping!”
Other European leaders who attended the meeting also offered words of support to Ukraine, stressing the need for transatlantic unity and to continue to exert pressure on Russia.
US President Donald Trump has made it clear he expects European allies to shoulder most of the burden when it comes to security guarantees, with 26 countries already declaring they will provide equipment and assistance post-truce. France and the UK, which co-chair the Coalition of the Willing format, are also among those ready to take part in a so-called reassurance force.
But many of the plans are dependent on a US backstop, mainly in the form of air protection and intelligence sharing.
‘The coming week will be decisive’
One card the Europeans are holding close to their chest to exert influence in the negotiations they have been largely excluded from is the issue of the €210 billion inRussian sovereign assets they have immobilised within their jurisdictions and which they plan to use to fund Ukraine’s financial needs over the coming two years.
On Thursday, the European Union agreed to indefinitely immobilise the assets of the Russian Central Bank, a central element of the reparations loan to Ukraine, still under intense negotiations ahead of a make-or-break summit next week.
By doing so, the EU will lock the assets under its jurisdiction amid concerns that the US would seek control of the frozen assets and use them in a future settlement with Moscow as it negotiates an end to the war.
This is part of efforts made to assuage Belgium, where the bulk of the assets are held, which has rejected the creation of the loan over fears of retaliation from Russia and over unequal burden sharing.
“I updated the leaders on our work to secure financing for Ukraine for 2026-2027,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said after attending the Coalition of the Willing meeting.
“Our proposals are on the table, and the sense of urgency is clear to everyone. The coming week will be decisive,” she added on X.
A potential Europe-Ukraine-US meeting this weekend
The meeting on Thursday came a day after France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Keir Starmer talked on the phone with Trump to discuss the latest developments in the peace talks following a meeting in London with Zelenskyy.
“The main issue here is what territories and concessions Ukraine is prepared to make. That is a question that must be answered primarily by the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people. We made that clear to President Trump as well,” Merz told reporters on Thursday.
“And if we now proceed with this process as we envisage, there will be talks with the American government over the weekend. And then there may be a meeting here in Berlin at the beginning of next week, whether the American government participates or not.That also depends very much on the joint drafting of the papers that are currently being worked on,” he also said.
Earlier in the day, Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told a conference that the initial 28-point plan drafted by Washington and Moscow that was seen to heavily favour Russia as it included a demand for Ukraine to cede the entire region of the Donbas, “is no longer existing”.
“We had some influence on it,” he said. “We have a new plan, which is a 20-point plan, and which has really changed. So do we have to be engaged with the United States more than before? Yes. Is it possible to find a common ground? Yes.”
Speaking alongside him, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte concurred.
“Do I think that when it comes to Ukraine, the US and Europe can get to one page? Yes, I’m positive. I think we can. Am I sure that the Russians will accept? I don’t know,” he said.
“So let’s put Putin to the test. Let’s see if he really wants peace or if he prefers the slaughter to continue. It is essential that all of us keep up the pressure on Russia and support the genuine effort to bring this war to an end.”
Trump announces pardon for Tina Peters, increasing pressure to free her though he can’t erase state charges | CNN Politics
Alaska school district erases Veterans Day from official calendar: ‘Absolutely unacceptable’
Expert reveals key factor that led to massive Minnesota fraud scheme
Republicans protest double standard after judges call Texas redistricting plan ‘racially gerrymandered’
Barefoot father and son airlifted from Everglades mudhole after ATV runs out of gas: ‘Alligators are hungry’
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Trump announces pardon for Tina Peters, increasing pressure to free her though he can’t erase state charges | CNN Politics
Video: Hiker Rescued From Quicksand in Arches National Park
The Speaker’s Lobby: What Congress’ December script means for healthcare next year
Coalition of the Willing calls for transatlantic unity for Ukraine
In a setback for Trump, Indiana lawmakers defeat redistricting plan
-
Alaska6 days agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Politics1 week agoTrump rips Somali community as federal agents reportedly eye Minnesota enforcement sweep
-
Ohio1 week agoWho do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
Texas6 days agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
News1 week agoTrump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US
-
World1 week agoHonduras election council member accuses colleague of ‘intimidation’
-
Washington3 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa5 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire