Vietnam flood death toll rises to 13, with 11 others missing
The death toll from the heavy floods in central Vietnam has risen to 13, with 11 others still missing, the government said on Friday....
U.S.-funded health projects around the world, including those providing lifesaving care, received termination notices from Washington on Thursday as President Donald Trump's administration neared completion of a review to ensure grants are aligned with its "America First" policy.
Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid in January pending assessments of how projects were consistent with this foreign policy.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed concerns that Washington is ending foreign aid, saying waivers had been provided to life-saving aid.
Only weeks later, the administration decided to terminate more than 90% of the programs globally, according to a February 25 court document, including many that were initially covered by waivers such as work tackling HIV as well as wider health programs.
Several of the largest U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS programmes in South Africa were told that their funding would not resume, according to three senior leaders at health organizations, while a global non-profit that works on malaria and maternal and newborn health had the majority of its contracts cancelled.
UNAIDS, the United Nations agency tackling HIV and AIDS, had its contract with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) cancelled, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.
Khana in Cambodia, an HIV and TB organisation, also got a termination notice, according to a source familiar with its work.
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the U.S. State Department.
Reuters was not immediately able to determine how many organisations worldwide were affected, or exactly what the criteria were for termination.
"Secretary Rubio and (USAID) Deputy Administrator (Peter) Marocco have determined your award is not aligned with Agency priorities and made a determination that continuing this program is not in the national interest," said the notice received by organisations, which was seen by Reuters.
International AIDS Society President Beatriz Grinsztejn, referring to cuts worldwide, said: "The U.S. funding cuts are dismantling the system. HIV treatment is crumbling. TB services are collapsing... Lives are on the line." Her organisation is not affected directly.
Others provided HIV testing and services to the general population, said Francois Venter, executive director of the Ezintsha Research Centre in Johannesburg, which is not funded by USAID.
South Africa has the world's largest number of people living with HIV, at around 8 million.
"The programmes who received their termination letters this morning were among the most efficient, effective health delivery programmes in the country," said Venter, calling it a "devastating blow" for South Africa's HIV response.
Reliable sources have confirmed to AnewZ that the United States has asked Azerbaijan to join a Stabilisation Force in Gaza, as part of a proposed international mission to secure the territory.
Centrist liberal party D66, led by 38-year-old Rob Jetten, has made sweeping gains in the Dutch election, emerging neck and neck with Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV) in early results — a stunning reversal just two years after D66 ranked sixth.
U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with President Xi Jinping to trim tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade, Trump said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that the most difficult situation on the front line remains the eastern city of Pokrovsk, where fighting continues to be most intense due to a strong concentration of Russian forces.
Police in Dar es Salaam fired gunshots and tear gas on Thursday to break up renewed protests following a disputed general election, a Reuters witness said.
Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of Peru's late former President Alberto Fujimori, said on Thursday she will run for president in the April election, days after Peru's constitutional court dismissed a money-laundering case against her.
Britain's King Charles has stripped his younger brother Andrew of his title of prince and forced him out of his Windsor home, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday, seeking to distance the royals from him over his links to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Hurricane Melissa has left at least 49 people dead across the Caribbean, including 30 in Haiti and 19 in Jamaica, after tearing through the region as a record-breaking Category 5 storm before moving north past Bermuda.
Chinese President Xi Jinping took centre stage at an annual gathering of Pacific Rim leaders in South Korea on Friday, holding or preparing for talks with Canadian, Japanese and Thai counterparts after securing a fragile trade truce with U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday warned that a prolonged government shutdown could cause severe disruptions to air travel during the busy Thanksgiving holiday period, urging Democrats to help pass legislation to reopen the government.
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