Iain Marlow

The Trump administration has dismantled the United States Agency for International Development, eliminating the vast majority of the agency’s programs while preparing to fold the remainder into the State Department. The sweeping cuts will slash tens of billions of dollars in assistance that the US provides to developing nations, from efforts to combat malaria in Africa to farming assistance in Ukraine.

Staff at USAID were ordered to destroy classified documents and personnel records, according to a memo from a top official, prompting fresh legal challenges as well as alarm from the union that represents foreign service officers.

Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, says a summit will soon be held with real estate developers and planners from the region to discuss the administration’s controversial plan for Gaza.

Top US and Russian officials started meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine, without anyone from Kyiv taking part and as Europe struggles to respond to the rapid pace of events.

In a warehouse in the East African port of Djibouti, USAID estimates there’s roughly 40,000 metric tons of food aid procured from American farmers worth about $40 million at risk of spoiling in the heat and humidity.

If the Trump administration significantly reduces foreign assistance, there is a risk that the US presence in large swathes of the developing world will dry up.

President Donald Trump has boasted about bringing a more transactional approach to his relationship with world leaders. Just over a week into his second term, many have shown they’re eager to make the deals he treasures.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has approved some waivers for emergency food aid and some salaries after President Donald Trump’s executive order to halt and reevaluate all foreign development assistance prompted an outcry among aid groups around the world.

Senator Marco Rubio is Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of state, but in the weeks running up to Inauguration Day, the president-elect’s special envoys have been getting most of the attention.

Israel reached a deal for a 60-day cease-fire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah after weeks of talks mediated by the US, a first step toward ending a conflict that’s killed thousands of people and opening the door to fresh peace initiatives in the Gaza Strip.