World Briefing: February 7, 2025
The Trump administration plans to reduce the number of workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development from more than 10,000 to about 290 positions, three people with knowledge of the plans said on Thursday. The small remaining staff includes employees who specialize in health and humanitarian assistance, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly discuss the cuts. A spokeswoman for the State Department, whose umbrella the remnants of the agency have moved under, did not immediately return a request for comment. Officials at U.S.A.I.D. are pushing for less severe cuts, and they submitted significantly longer lists to the State Department of personnel they deemed essential to carry out lifesaving and other critical programs, according to two people with knowledge of their efforts. - NYT
The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development has left American workers in limbo and threatens billions of dollars the agency spends on American businesses and organizations, global development experts and industry representatives told The Washington Post. USAID oversees projects such as food aid, disaster relief and health programs in over 100 countries with a staff of more than 10,000 and a budget of around $40 billion. Billions of those dollars flowed back into the American economy until President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign-aid spending last month. Now U.S. businesses that sold goods and services to USAID are in limbo. That includes American farms, which supply about 41 percent of the food aid that the agency, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sends around the world each year, according to a 2021 report by the Congressional Research Service. In 2020, the U.S. government bought $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers. Purchases and shipments of U.S. food aid worth over $340 million — including rice, wheat and soybeans — have been paused during Trump’s foreign-aid freeze, according to officials and an email obtained by The Post. That has left hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat stranded in Houston alone, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Tuesday - Washington Post
Among the damaging impacts of severe cuts to USAID is suspension of the supply chain of electrical transformers to Ukraine, according to a source who belongs to a Kyiv-based organization which was one of the largest recipients of US aid to Ukraine. He said vital equipment to repair critical infrastructure damaged from Russian attacks is literally sitting on train tracks waiting to be deployed
Israeli forces and settlers have increased the use of extreme physical violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the all-out war on Gaza began in October 2023, according to a new report by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). In total, at least 870 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,100 injured between October 2023 and January 2025. According to the MSF report, Inflicting harm and denying care, the escalation of violence in the West Bank has severely hindered access to healthcare and is part of a pattern of systemic oppression by Israel, which has been described by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as amounting to racial segregation and apartheid. The report which covers a one-year period from October 2023 and 2024, provides in-depth interviews from 38 MSF patients and personnel, hospital staff, paramedics and volunteers supported by MSF who report prolonged and violent Israeli military incursions and stricter movement restrictions, all of which have severely hindered access to essential services, particularly healthcare. The situation has further deteriorated since the ceasefire in Gaza, and has exacerbated dire living conditions for many Palestinians who are paying an immense physical and psychological toll. “Palestinian patients are dying because they simply cannot reach hospitals,” says Brice de le Vingne, MSF emergency coordinator. “We're seeing ambulances blocked by Israeli forces at checkpoints while carrying critical patients, medical facilities surrounded and raided during active operations, and healthcare workers subjected to physical violence while trying to save lives.”
Gaza residents are determined to rebuild their homes after months of relentless Israeli bombing. Their main obstacle, however, is man-made: Israel’s restriction on the entry of heavy machinery needed to clear debris, along with essential building materials. The situation grew even more complex this week when US President Donald Trump suggested that his country could take over Gaza, depopulate it, and rebuild without specifying who would ultimately inhabit the Palestinian territory. Gazans swiftly rejected the idea, insisting on their right to remain. All they need, they said, are the necessary tools to rebuild. “The people of Gaza are being pressured, but more than that, they are being blackmailed: live in a tent or leave,” a Palestinian politician told The National on Thursday. “They are being denied the ability to rebuild their homes as a means of forcing them to leave. This is the clearest proof of ethnic cleansing.” The delayed entry of vital equipment has left thousands of displaced families exposed to harsh weather. The situation reached breaking point this week as powerful storms tore through the region, sweeping away tents and worsening already inhumane living conditions - The National
Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has rejected a report that he will reveal the White House's peace proposal while in Germany. Kellogg said he looks forward to speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference and discussing “Trump’s goal to end the bloody and costly war in Ukraine,” and that he also plans to “meet with America’s allies who are ready to work with us.” Since Kellogg revealed that he will speak at the conference, which is scheduled to take place February 14-16, there has been speculation that he will unveil Trump’s plan to end the war. Bloomberg news on February 5 quoted unidentified sources as saying that Kellogg would present the plan during the conference. Kellogg flatly rejected the report in an interview with the news outlet Newsmax, saying "No we're not…The person that's going to present the peace plan is the president of the United States, not Keith Kellogg. That (presenting the peace plan) is not going to happen next week at all." - RFE/RL
Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel". The measure places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies. Trump signed the measure as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting Washington. Last November, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies. The ICC also issued a warrant for a Hamas commander - BBC
Several governments, including the U.S., Taiwan and Australia, have banned the use of China’s AI software DeepSeek on official devices. Analysts say these restrictions are justified, as tests show DeepSeek not only collects excessive user data but also filters sensitive topics and promotes Chinese government narratives more aggressively than Baidu and WeChat. This raises concern that it could become a powerful tool for controlling speech and public opinion.
Vietnam formally approved a nuclear power development plan with the aim of having a reactor online in the next decade, an ambitious strategy to lift energy security and meet aggressive economic growth targets. The country launched a regulatory framework, and plans to establish human resources and research infrastructure needed to develop atomic energy by 2030, according to a statement on a government website. The Southeast Asian nation’s trade ministry proposed having at least one nuclear power plant operational between 2031 and 2035, under draft revisions to the Power Development Plan VIII, published on its website this week for consultation. The reworked version of PDP8 is due to be put forward for approval by Feb. 28 - Bloomberg
A coffee company in British Colombia is adding its jolt to the groundswell of Canadian pride brought on by trade tensions with the U.S. by calling on cafés across the country to abandon “Americano” and call it a “Canadiano” instead. That’s how the drink has been labelled on the menu at Kicking Horse’s café in Invermere since it was established in 2008 alongside their commercial roastery. “Now, more than ever we need to stick together and wear our Canadian pride on our (coffee) sleeves,” Chief Marketing Officer Lori Hatcher-Hillier stated in a press release. For the uninitiated, the traditional Americano is essentially an espresso shot further diluted by very hot water and it’s the go-to coffee beverage for many because of its high-caffeine potential and typically rich and smooth flavour - National Post
