live U.S. President Trump asks NATO allies for urgent support in Hormuz, diplomats say - Thursday 9 April
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace d...
The United States is pulling out of UNESCO once again under President Donald Trump, citing anti-Israel bias, rising Chinese influence, and what the White House calls a 'woke agenda.'
President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will withdraw from UNESCO, accusing the UN cultural agency of promoting 'anti-American, anti-Israel views and a woke agenda.'
The decision follows a 90-day internal review and reverses President Biden’s 2023 move to rejoin the organization and repay more than $600 million in back dues.
White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly stated, “President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO — which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes.”
UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay said she deeply regretted Trump's decision, but that it was "expected, and UNESCO has prepared for it".
The agency had diversified its sources of funding, receiving only about 8% of its budget from Washington, she said.
The administration also objected to initiatives like the 2023 'anti-racism toolkit' and the 2024 'Transforming MEN’talities' campaign, which they claimed “promote divisive social causes.”
Concerns were also raised about China’s growing influence within UNESCO. “China has leveraged its influence over UNESCO to advance global standards that are favorable to Beijing’s interests,” an official said, pointing to Chinese nationals in senior leadership and funding contributions.
This marks the third U.S. exit from UNESCO, following previous withdrawals under Ronald Reagan in 1983 and Donald Trump in 2017, both times citing politicization and anti-Western bias.
China and Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday aimed at coordinating defensive efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving no agreed international framework for securing the vital route.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had stopped firing on northern Israel and Israeli forces on Wednesday as part of a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East brokered between the United States and Iran. However, a Hezbollah lawmaker warned that the pause could collapse if Tel Aviv does not adhere to it.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate two-week ceasefire covering all areas, but Israel says the deal excludes Lebanon. Tel Aviv says the U.S. is committed to achieving shared goals in upcoming negotiations.
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the U.S. after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people. The warning came from Iran's lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bager Qalibaf.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. attacks on its civilian infrastructure.
Three Russian submarines were detected near British waters, the UK Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, announced on Thursday (9 April). Speaking at a press briefing in Downing Street, he said an attack submarine and two specialist vessels were being monitored by the Ministry of Defence.
More than a million Sudanese refugees now face drastic cuts to life-saving aid, including food and water, after major funding shortfalls have left humanitarian agencies struggling to cope.
Russia will see revenue from its biggest single oil tax double to $9 billion in April, driven by the oil and gas crisis triggered by the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
At least four people died after a small dinghy carrying migrants to Britain sank in the English Channel, French authorities announced on Thursday.
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday declined to block the Pentagon’s national security blacklisting of Anthropic for now, handing a win to the Trump administration after a separate appeals court reached the opposite conclusion.
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