EU ministers vowed on Monday to explore ways to save Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after U.S. President Donald Trump cut its funding, but warned that replacing U.S. support would not be easy.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky urged his counterparts in Brussels to find solutions to keep the Prague-based broadcaster running. RFE/RL, a U.S.-funded outlet established during the Cold War to reach audiences in authoritarian states, provides news to countries with restricted press freedom, including Iran, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the station “a beacon of democracy” and expressed regret over the funding cut. “Can we come in with our funding to fill the void the U.S. is leaving? The answer to that question is not automatically, because we have many organisations requesting the same,” Kallas said. She confirmed that ministers had agreed to explore solutions but noted it would be difficult.
Over the weekend, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) terminated grants to RFE/RL as part of Trump’s broader effort to scale back federal funding. The move also affected Voice of America (VOA), where more than 1,300 employees were placed on leave on Saturday.
Despite the funding halt, RFE/RL journalists continued publishing on Monday. RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus warned that shutting down the service would be “a massive gift to America’s enemies.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw would consider how to assist both RFE/RL and VOA.
Trump’s executive order on Friday went beyond the broadcaster, dismantling programmes at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and cutting more than 80% of its operations. The decision sparked criticism from media and diplomatic circles.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, a vocal Trump ally, previously called for RFE/RL to be shut down, posting on X that it was “just radical left crazy people talking to themselves.”
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Leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and 22-member Arab League met in Doha on Monday, concentrating on the impact of recent attacks on Qatar and the wider Middle East, and calling for coordinated measures to preserve stability and support ongoing mediation efforts.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum establishing the “Memphis Safe Task Force,” which will deploy National Guard troops alongside federal agencies to tackle rising crime in Memphis, Tennessee.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, said the country will expand imports from the U.S. to further reduce tariffs on Bangladeshi goods, particularly textiles.
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a sharp warning to Hamas after reports that hostages in Gaza City have been moved above ground to serve as human shields against Israel’s ground offensive.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Finland is closely watching Russia’s ongoing Zapad-2025 military exercises in Russia, Belarus, and the Baltic and Barents Seas, Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) commander Janne Jaakkola said on Monday.
European authorities have intercepted more than 2,400 shipping containers at Greece’s port of Piraeus in the EU’s largest-ever container seizure, valued at around €250 million ($294m).
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israel will not carry out further strikes in Qatar following last week’s attacks on Doha, which targeted senior Hamas officials.
Leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and 22-member Arab League met in Doha on Monday, concentrating on the impact of recent attacks on Qatar and the wider Middle East, and calling for coordinated measures to preserve stability and support ongoing mediation efforts.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum establishing the “Memphis Safe Task Force,” which will deploy National Guard troops alongside federal agencies to tackle rising crime in Memphis, Tennessee.
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