The administration of US President Donald Trump has cut aid programs for several countries for which it had initially promised to maintain support, The New York Times reported, citing aid officials.
According to their information, the US will stop funding programs in Afghanistan, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, the Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Syria, Somalia, Chad and Ecuador.
The newspaper estimates that Washington's refusal to provide aid will have the greatest impact on Afghanistan, where about 2 million people, including 400,000 children, depend on food supplies. The population of Yemen, where 2.4 million people receive food through humanitarian programs, will also suffer.
Sources of the publication from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) emphasized that they often learn about the termination of other programs directly from humanitarian organizations that stop receiving funding.
In early February, Trump suspended the activities of USAID, which provided significant funding to international organizations. Later, the US administration announced its intention to cancel 92% of the agency's and the State Department's aid contracts. On March 10, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, previously appointed interim head of USAID, announced that the US government had officially terminated 83% of the agency's programs after a six-week review. According to him, tens of billions of dollars were spent not in the interests of the United States, and in some cases to its detriment.
77 Democratic congressmen have called on US President Donald Trump to announce the removal of Elon Musk from government service by May 30. This was reported by Texas Democrat Gregory Cassar to the Axios portal.
“We have made it very clear that public pressure on the Republican Party will only increase between now and May 30“, he said, explaining the demands set out in the letter to Trump. Democrats have "all legal and political tools" and "every bit of public pressure" to force Musk to leave office, Cassar said.
The reason for the dismissal, according to the Democrats, is the legal basis for Musk's work in the government. As head of the US Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he is not allowed to hold the post for more than 130 days.
In addition, the authors of the letter insist that Elon Musk will be eligible to return to government work only a year after resigning and must get rid of his assets in Tesla and SpaceX.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange opened up 1.29% and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange up 2.29% after the Chinese government announced that it would increase additional tariffs on imports from the US to 84%. This is evidenced by trade data.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose to 3327.84, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose to 9757.98.
Earlier, the Tariff Commission of the State Council of China announced that it would increase additional tariffs on imports from the US to 84%. This measure was taken in response to the increase in tariffs on Chinese products by US President Donald Trump.