U.S. Diplomatic Footprint Set for Major Retrenchment
Trump Administration Draft E.O. Moves to Gut State Department Operations - NYT
A draft White House executive order proposes a drastic restructuring of the State Department, including eliminating almost all of its Africa operations and shutting down embassies and consulates across the continent. The draft also calls for cutting offices at State Department headquarters that address climate change and refugee issues, as well as democracy and human rights concerns. The purpose of the executive order, which could be signed by President Trump this week, is to impose “a disciplined reorganization” of the State Department and “streamline mission delivery” while cutting “waste, fraud and abuse,” according to a copy of the 16-page draft order obtained by The New York Times. The department is supposed to make the changes by Oct. 1. The signing of the executive order would be accompanied by efforts to lay off both career diplomats, known as foreign service officers, and civil service employees, who usually work in the department’s headquarters in Washington, said current and former U.S. officials familiar with the plans. The department would begin putting large numbers of workers on paid leave and sending out notices of termination, they said. Elements of the executive order could still change before Mr. Trump signs it. The proposed reorganization would get rid of regional bureaus that help make and enact policy in large parts of the globe. One of the most drastic proposed changes would be eliminating the bureau of African affairs, which oversees policy in sub-Saharan Africa. It would be replaced by a much smaller special envoy office for African affairs that would report to the White House National Security Council. The office would focus on a handful of issues, including “coordinated counterterrorism operations.” The draft also said all “nonessential” embassies and consulates in sub-Saharan Africa would be closed by Oct. 1. Diplomats would be sent to Africa on “targeted, mission-driven deployments,” the document said. Canada operations would be put into a new North American affairs office under the Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s authority, and it would be run by a “significantly reduced team,” the draft said. The department would also severely shrink the U.S. embassy in Ottawa - NYT
Volodymyr Zelenksy has said that Vladimir Putin either “does not fully control his army” or that the Easter truce was a PR stunt, as he accused Russia of stepping up attacks. The Ukrainian president said that Russia had launched dozens of assaults from midnight up until midday local time, despite Putin ordering a 30-hour temporary truce on Saturday. “Either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favourable PR coverage,” Mr Zelensky said. Meanwhile, Russia said Ukraine had broken the Easter ceasefire “more than a thousand times”. The Russian defence ministry said that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times while it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks. Vladimir Putin ordered the truce on Saturday, in what would have been the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict. Analysts warned that the Russian president was attempting to gain an easy diplomatic victory and positioning himself as the leader who most wants peace - Telegraph
B-roll video from Easter Sunday celebrations in Odesa, Ukraine - April 20, 2025
Deadly Israeli attacks have taken place across the Gaza Strip today, from Rafah in the south to Beit Lahiya in the very north of the Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, Israel has imposed severe restrictions on Palestinians trying to attend Easter Sunday mass in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledges to intensify the war on Gaza after Hamas rejects an Israeli proposal for a temporary truce. The Palestinian group demands a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of remaining captives - Al Jazeera
A Boeing jet intended for use by a Chinese airline landed back at the planemaker's U.S. production hub on Sunday, a victim of the tit-for-tat bilateral tariffs launched by President Donald Trump in his global trade offensive. The 737 MAX, which was meant for China's Xiamen Airlines, landed at Seattle's Boeing Field at 6:11 p.m. (0111 GMT), according to a Reuters witness. It was painted with Xiamen livery. The jet, which made refueling stops in Guam and Hawaii on its 5,000-mile (8,000-km) return journey, was one of several 737 MAX jets waiting at Boeing's Zhoushan completion center for final work and delivery to a Chinese carrier. Trump this month raised baseline tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. In retaliation, China has imposed a 125% tariff on U.S. goods. A Chinese airline taking delivery of a Boeing jet could be crippled by the tariffs, given that a new 737 MAX has a market value of around $55 million, according to IBA, an aviation consultancy. It is not clear which party made the decision for the aircraft to return to the U.S. Boeing did not immediately respond to request for comment. Xiamen did not respond to request for comment - Reuters
Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U.S. on Saturday, decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals. The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House to a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of “the shot heard ’round the world” on April 19, 1775, marking the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago. In Denver, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Colorado State Capitol with banners expressing solidarity with immigrants and telling the Trump administration: “Hands Off!” People waved U.S. flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. Thousands of people also marched through downtown Portland, Oregon, while in San Francisco, hundreds spelled out the words “Impeach & Remove” on a sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean, also with an inverted U.S. flag. People walked through downtown Anchorage, Alaska, with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!” - AP
Thai authorities said they have arrested a Chinese executive at a company that was building a Bangkok skyscraper, which collapsed in a major earthquake, leaving dozens dead. The 30-storey tower was reduced to an immense pile of rubble when a 7.7-magnitude quake struck neighbouring Myanmar last month, killing 47 people at the construction site and leaving another 47 missing. Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong told a news conference on Saturday (Apr 19) that a Thai court had issued arrest warrants for four individuals, including three Thai nationals, at China Railway No.10 for breaching the Foreign Business Act. The Department of Special Investigation, which is under the justice ministry, said in a statement Saturday that one of the four had been arrested – a Chinese "company representative" who they named as Zhang. China Railway No.10 was part of a joint venture with an Italian-Thai firm to build the State Audit Office tower before its collapse - CNA
In a rare diplomatic intervention of this scale, Beijing has directly asked Rwanda on at least two occasions so far this year to end its backing of the M23 rebel group and pull Rwandan troops out of the DR Congo. Beginning in 2022, the crisis in the eastern Congo is rooted in ethnic tensions and a struggle over the control of mineral resources. So far, thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced. M23 rebels have also seized vital towns, including Bukavu and Goma, both near the Rwandan border and home to many Chinese-run gold mines. China has vast mining interests throughout the DR Congo. The central African nation supplies more than 40 per cent of the world’s tantalum, which is processed from coltan ore and used in the electronics and aerospace industries. Most of the DR Congo’s tantalum is exported to China. Rwanda is also a major supplier of the mineral but Kinshasa claims that most of it is from Congo. Observers have attributed China’s recent attempts to help end the conflict to its bid to protect eastern Congo’s massive mineral reserves, which include gold and the three “Ts”: tin, tungsten and tantalum.
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