33 h. ago ‘No one came’: Myanmar volunteers dig with bare hands to save earthquake victims

The military junta is calling for foreign aid but agencies and rescuers must navigate crumbling roads, an overwhelmed health system and ongoing fighting• Scramble to free survivors as death toll passes 1,600 after Myanmar earthquakeThe children at Bright Kids nursery in Kyaukse, a town south of Mandalay, were taking a nap when the earthquake struck on Friday afternoon. The two-storey building collapsed with dozens of children aged between two and four trapped inside. For hours, rescuers sifted through the rubble, searching desperately for survivors.“We were clearing the building using diggers and rescuing people with manual tools,” said Thar Nge, a volunteer. They needed better equipment – metal cutters and generators – but made use of what they had. Thar Nge helped carry a four-year-old girl to safety. She pleaded, over and over, for him to save her, he said. He held a bottle of water to her mouth before her dusty body was freed. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Trump administration to cut vaccine aid to developing countries

Administration plans to end funding to Gavi, a global health organization that helps provide life-saving care for childrenThe Trump administration is planning to end funding for Gavi, a global health organization that helps provide vaccines and other life-saving care to developing countries.A 281-page spreadsheet obtained by the New York Times lists the Trump administration’s plans for thousands of foreign aid programs, including financial cuts to the organization that buys vaccines for children, as well as scaling back on programs that combat malaria in developing countries. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Australia focuses foreign aid spending on Pacific region as US slashes aid programs

Australia plans to spend a larger share of its foreign aid on its near neighbors in Asia and the Pacific islands after the United States announced major cuts to development and humanitarian aid abroad

Politics

5 d. ago Teenage Migrant Injured Turtle! Hurt young sea creature from the US is stranded in Wales after Trump foreign aid freeze

The Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Rhossi, washed up on Anglesey at the end of 2023 but was slowly nursed back to health and had been poised to return to the wild.

Events

1 week ago Here’s how some human rights and LGBTQ+ groups prepared for major foreign aid cuts under Trump

The Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid have defunded groups that campaign for LGBTQ+ communities and for democracy around the world

Politics

1 week ago Bill Gates warns he can’t make up funding difference after US government stripped global health payments: report

Cuts to foreign aid have resulted in disruptions to life-saving health care in multiple countries

Events

2 w. ago Trump administration briefing: US president to speak to Putin this week; Democrats train fire on Musk

Russian president ‘accepts the philosophy’ of US’s Ukraine ceasefire terms, says US envoy; Musk’s popularity falls – key US politics stories from Sunday at a glanceUS president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he expected the US president to speak with Vladimir Putin this week, adding that the Russian president “accepts the philosophy” of Trump’s ceasefire and peace terms.Witkoff told CNN that discussions with Putin over several hours last week were “positive” and “solution-based”. He declined to confirm when asked whether Putin’s demands included the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Kursk; international recognition of Ukrainian territory seized by Russia as Russian; limits on Ukraine’s ability to mobilise; a halt to western military aid; and a ban on foreign peacekeepers. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump and Putin expected to speak this week about ceasefire terms, envoy says

Steve Witkoff says US discussions with Russian president ‘positive’ and ‘solution-based’ and leaders likely to speakDonald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he expected the US president to speak with Vladimir Putin this week, saying that the Russian president “accepts the philosophy” of Trump’s ceasefire and peace terms.Witkoff told CNN that discussions with Putin over several hours last week were “positive” and “solution-based”. He declined to confirm when asked whether Putin’s demands included the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Kursk; international recognition of Ukrainian territory seized by Russia as Russian; limits on Ukraine’s ability to mobilize; a halt to western military aid; and a ban on foreign peacekeepers. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago US aid deliveries to Ukraine back to previous levels, Polish foreign minister confirms, as Kyiv agrees to 30

US aid deliveries arriving through Polish logistics hub back to previous levels after US-Ukraine talks towards peaceUkraine agrees to 30-day ceasefireFrench European Affairs minister, Benjamin Haddad, said the European Union could go further in its response to US tariffs, though a trade war was in no-one’s interest, Reuters reported.“We have the means to go further, if we want,” Haddad told TF1 TV. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Suspension of USAID funding by Trump administration likely violated Constitution, judge says

For the second time, a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to pay out money Congress appropriated to foreign aid partners

Politics

2 w. ago Ed Miliband on net zero in the age of Trump – Politics Weekly Westminster

Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey are joined by Ed Miliband, the energy security and net zero secretary, to discuss Labour’s plans to tackle the climate crisis, the third runway at Heathrow and how secure the path to a greener future looks in the age of Trump. Plus, are cuts to welfare and foreign aid the best way to balance the budget? Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago From staff cuts to aid reductions, UN humanitarian agencies scramble in wake of US funding freeze

Trump administration freezes on U.S. foreign aid have led many United Nations organizations to cut staff, budgets and services in places as diverse as Afghanistan, Sudan, Ukraine and even the United States

Politics

3 w. ago China vows action over ‘arbitrary’ tariffs as Trump pauses measures against Canada and Mexico – US politics live

Foreign minister calls measures ‘two-faced acts’ Staff on hundreds of foreign aid projects left in limbo by the Trump administration’s funding freeze have received a survey that asks them to justify their work under an eccentric list of criteria that meet the White House’s new national security priorities.The survey, copies of which have been obtained by the Guardian, asks foreign aid programme staff to detail whether they contribute to limiting illegal immigration or securing US borders, “combatting Christian prosecution”,and whether they help the US secure access to rare earth minerals.Trump told his cabinet secretaries that they are in charge of hiring and firings at their agencies, not Elon Musk.The House has voted to censure Democratic congressman Al Green for disrupting Trump’s address to this week’s joint session of Congress. The motion was approved with 224 votes in favor and 198 opposed, with 10 Democrats in support.In an escalation of his pressure campaign, Trump said the ...

Politics

3 w. ago US foreign aid projects asked to justify their work in White House survey

Staff questioned on eccentric list of criteria that meet Trump administration’s new national security prioritiesStaff on hundreds of foreign aid projects left in limbo by the Trump administration’s funding freeze have received a survey that asks them to justify their work under an eccentric list of criteria that meet the White House’s new national security priorities.The survey, copies of which have been obtained by the Guardian, asks foreign aid programme staff to detail whether they contribute to limiting illegal immigration or securing US borders, “combatting Christian prosecution”,and whether they help the US secure access to rare earth minerals. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Is Trump’s America still an ally to the UK? – Politics Weekly UK

The news that the US had suspended military aid to Ukraine stunned world leaders and led to a rapid reassessment of how much we can really rely on our American ally. Is this the end of the western alliance? John Harris asks our diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour. Plus, as the UK pledges to boost defence spending by slashing our foreign aid budget, ActionAid’s CEO, Taahra Ghazi, tells John about the fallout for organisations working on the ground.Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Hundreds of US diplomats decry dismantling of USAid in letter to Rubio

Officials say slashing of US Department for International Development leaves power vacuum for adversariesHundreds of diplomats at the state department and US Agency for International Development have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, protesting against the dismantling of USAid, saying it undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill.In a cable expected to be filed with the department’s internal “dissent channel”, which allows diplomats to raise concerns about policy anonymously, the diplomats said the Trump administration’s 20 January freeze on almost all foreign aid also endangers American diplomats and forces overseas while putting at risk the lives of millions abroad that depend on US assistance. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago UK, France and Germany say Gaza aid freeze could breach international law

Ministers issue joint statement after Israel cuts off supplies in effort to push Hamas to accept change in ceasefire dealBritain has joined Germany and France to warn that Israel could be in breach of international law by halting the entry of aid into Gaza, which is facing a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis.The foreign secretary, David Lammy, signed a joint statement with his French and German counterparts to urge Israel and Hamas to engage constructively to get ceasefire talks back on track. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Supreme court rejects Trump request to continue freezing $2bn in foreign aid

John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett join liberal justices to leave in place lower-court order on USAid cutsUS politics live – latest updatesA divided US supreme court has rejected the Trump administration’s request to continue freezing nearly $2bn in foreign aid, marking a setback for the White House and the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tasked with slashing the size of the US government and its spending.In a 5-4 decision released on Wednesday, Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joined the liberal justices in leaving in place a ruling from a US district judge last month, which ordered the administration to unfreeze the nearly $2bn in aid for work that had already been done, and that had been approved by Congress. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer's aid cut will be 'music to the ears of terrorists' claim as anger grows

Former Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the decision to cut international aid by £6billion a year would be a 'clarion call to terrorists' as Keir Starmer faces a growing backlash

Events

3 w. ago Supreme Court tells Trump to pay out $2 billion to USAID after rejecting his bid to pause spending

High court’s ruling clears the way for nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding to be released

Economics