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.”
U.S. President Donald Trump faced pointed criticism over the Iran war on Wednesday in a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, shortly before hi...
Brazil moved closer to the World Cup 2026 knockout stage with a Vinícius Jr double, while Morocco fought back in a six-goal thriller against Haiti, a...
Villagers took part in Dragon Boat Festival celebrations on 24 June in Foshan, Guangdong province, where traditional racing was held on the narrow, wi...
A cemetery in the Gaza Strip containing the remains of 22 Canadian soldiers killed during a 1956 United Nations peacekeeping mission has been destroye...
Tesla has been sued by the family of a 76-year-old Texas woman who was killed when a driver using the company’s Model 3 driver-assistance system cra...
Brazil moved closer to the World Cup 2026 knockout stage with a Vinícius Jr double, while Morocco fought back in a six-goal thriller against Haiti, as Scotland’s campaign suffered a setback after another difficult attacking display.
Tehran has agreed to let the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommence inspections of its nuclear programme, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said. The U.S. and Iran have settled on a 60-day roadmap aimed at reaching a final deal, according to mediators Qatar and Pakistan.
Villagers took part in Dragon Boat Festival celebrations on 24 June in Foshan, Guangdong province, where traditional racing was held on the narrow, winding Diejiao River.
A cemetery in the Gaza Strip containing the remains of 22 Canadian soldiers killed during a 1956 United Nations peacekeeping mission has been destroyed, according to media reports citing families of the deceased.
Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, highlighting a hurdle to Iran-U.S. peace talks, as the top U.S. diplomat tours the Middle East to win over allies sceptical about a proposed deal.
A Ukrainian strike has damaged a school building in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to local authorities cited by the TASS news agency. No injuries were reported in the incident.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into "infinity, despite Tehran's denials, and that unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to buy humanitarian supplies from the United States.
Authorities in France are reporting that about 20 people have died over the weekend while swimming in unsupervised areas of rivers, lakes and coastal waters as they tried to escape the heatwave.
Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surpassed 1,000, with health officials warning that the outbreak is spreading rapidly through displacement camps and across borders.
A cemetery in the Gaza Strip containing the remains of 22 Canadian soldiers killed during a 1956 United Nations peacekeeping mission has been destroyed, according to media reports citing families of the deceased.
Tesla has been sued by the family of a 76-year-old Texas woman who was killed when a driver using the company’s Model 3 driver-assistance system crashed into her suburban Houston home, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday (23 June).
Extreme heat in France has killed hundreds of thousands of poultry and overwhelmed carcass disposal systems, agricultural organisations said. A severe heatwave continues to disrupt farming, energy supplies and daily life across Western Europe.
Israeli forces issued stop-work orders for 15 Palestinian homes in the village of Al-Walaja in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday (24 June), citing a lack of building permits, according to a local official.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he will “most likely” hold bilateral talks with U.S. President Donald Trump during next month’s NATO summit in Ankara, where the American leader is expected to attend.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment