Foreign
Trump Withdraws U.S. From UN Human Rights Council, Prohibits Funding For UNRWA
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States will withdraw from the top U.N. human rights body and will not resume funding for the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees.
The U.S. left the Geneva-based Human Rights Council last year, and it stopped funding the agency assisting Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after Israel accused it of harboring Hamas militants who participated in the surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel, which UNRWA denies.
Trump’s announcement came on the day he met with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country has long accused both the rights body and UNRWA of bias against Israel and antisemitism.
Trump’s executive orders also call for a review of American involvement in the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO, and a review of U.S. funding for the United Nations in light of “the wild disparities in levels of funding among different countries.”
The United States, with the world’s largest economy, pays 22% of the U.N.’s regular operating budget, with China the second-largest contributor.
“I’ve always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s not living up to that potential right now. … They’ve got to get their act together.”
He said the U.N. needs “to be fair to countries that deserve fairness,” adding that there are some countries, which he didn’t name, that are “outliers, that are very bad and they’re being almost preferred.”
Before Trump’s announcement, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric reiterated the Human Rights Council’s importance and UNRWA’s work in delivering “critical services to Palestinians.”
Trump also pulled the U.S. out of the Human Rights Council in June 2018. His ambassador to the U.N. at the time, Nikki Haley, accused the council of “chronic bias against Israel” and pointed to what she said were human rights abusers among its members.
President Joe Biden renewed support for the Human Rights Council, and the U.S. won a seat on the 47-nation body in October 2021. But the Biden administration announced in late September that the United States would not seek a second consecutive term.
Trump’s order on Tuesday has little concrete effect because the United States is already not a council member, said council spokesperson Pascal Sim. But like all other U.N. member countries, the U.S. automatically has informal observer status and will still have a seat in the council’s ornate round chamber at the U.N. complex in Geneva.
UNRWA was established by the U.N. General Assembly in 1949 to provide assistance for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israel’s establishment, as well as for their descendants. It provides aid, education, health care and other services to some 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
Before the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, UNRWA ran schools for Gaza’s 650,000 children as well as health facilities, and helped deliver humanitarian aid. It has continued to provide health care and been key to the delivery of food and other aid to Palestinians during the war.
The first Trump administration suspended funding to UNRWA in 2018, but Biden restored it. The U.S. had been the biggest donor to the agency, providing it with $343 million in 2022 and $422 million in 2023.
For years, Israel has accused UNRWA of anti-Israeli bias in its education materials, which the agency denies.
Israel alleged that 19 of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff in Gaza participated in the Hamas attacks. They were terminated pending a U.N. investigation, which found nine may have been involved.
In response, 18 governments froze funding to the agency, but all have since restored support except the United States. Legislation ratifying the U.S. decision halted any American funding to UNRWA until March 2025, and Trump’s action Tuesday means it will not be restored.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has accused Russia of ongoing hostilities, stating that since the beginning of April, Russia has launched nearly 2,800 aerial bombs, over 1,400 Shahed drones, and approximately 60 missiles at Ukraine.
Zelensky’s statement, released on Monday, reads, “Currently, 38 people are receiving treatment inmedical facilities in Sumy following yesterday’s Russian ballistic strike — among them, 9 children. Eleven people, including 3 children, are in critical condition.”
“Every effort is being made to provide them with maximum assistance. Yesterday’s strike alone claimed 34 lives and left 119 people injured. Tragically, 2 children were killed, and another 15 were wounded.”
“Another 7 people were injured overnight in Odesa during a ‘Shahed’ drone attack. Last night, the Russians also struck Slovyansk, Uman, Kharkiv, Beryslav, and other cities and villages.”
“All the damaged sites are civilian: apartment buildings, stores, a car service station.”
“I thank all the services and everyone involved in rescuing people and defending lives. Russian terror continues every day and night. Since the beginning of April alone, the Russian army has used nearly 2800 aerial bombs, over 1400 attack drones — most of them ‘Shaheds’ — and nearly 60 missiles of various types, including ballistic ones.”
“Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. Tangible sanctions are needed against the sectors that finance Russia’s killing machine. The one who brought the war must be stopped and held accountable for what they have done; that is only fair,” Zelensky said.
In an earlier statement yesterday, Zelensky urged the world not to remain silent in the face of Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine: “As of now, 31 people are known to have been killed in Sumy by the Russian ballistic missile strike. Among those killed were two children. My condolences to the families and loved ones… More than 84 people have been wounded, including 10 children. All of them are receiving the necessary assistance.”
“It is crucial that the world does not stay silent or indifferent. Russian strikes deserve nothing but condemnation. There must be pressure on Russia to end the war and guarantee security for people. Without truly strong pressure, without sufficient support for Ukraine, Russia will continue dragging this war out.”
Zelensky also accused Russia of rejecting a potential peace opportunity involving U.S. President Donald Trump.
“It’s now the second month that Putin has been ignoring the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire. Unfortunately, there in Moscow they are convinced they can keep killing with impunity. Action is needed to change this situation.”
World leaders have condemned the latest wave of Russian attacks and pledged solidarity with Ukraine.
On Saturday, top diplomats from Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over breaches of a tentative ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. The deal aimed to halt attacks on critical energy infrastructure, signaling an attempt to ease tensions in the third year of the war.
However, Sunday’s strike underscored the fragility of such negotiations and the continued toll on Ukrainian civilians.
The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and millions displaced, with no comprehensive peace agreement in sight.
International observers have raised concerns that the missile strike may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.
Sumy, located near Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia, has faced repeated assaults since the war began but had seen a relative lull in recent months. Sunday’s bombing marks one of the deadliest strikes in the region in over a year.
Ukrainian officials have called on allies to increase military aid and intensify sanctions on Russia, warning that continued attacks on civilian areas threaten any hope for a negotiated resolution to the war.
By Francesca Hangeior
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a new rule requiring all foreign nationals who stay in the country for more than 30 days to register with the federal government.
The directive, introduced this week, is one of the strictest immigration measures in recent years.
In a post titled “Message to Illegal Aliens” and tagged to President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the agency stated,
“Foreign nationals present in the U.S. longer than 30 days must register with the federal government. Failure to comply is a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem have a clear message to Illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW and self-deport.”
Foreign nationals present in the U.S. longer than 30 days must register with the federal government. Failure to comply is a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem have a clear message to Illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW and self-deport. pic.twitter.com/FrsAQtUA7H
Non-compliance could lead to daily fines of $998, heavier penalties for those who promise to leave but don’t, imprisonment, and permanent bans from re-entry.
DHS warned that delaying registration will increase penalties and reduce the chances of returning legally.
“The longer you wait, the higher the penalty, and the slimmer your chances of returning,” the department said.
The agency also introduced a “safe exit” provision for undocumented individuals who choose to leave voluntarily.
Those who self-deport may be allowed to select their departure flight, keep their earnings if they haven’t committed any crimes, apply for subsidized travel if they can’t afford it, and stay eligible for future immigration pathways.
While the rule doesn’t currently apply to individuals on valid visas like H-1B or F-1, DHS emphasized that once a visa becomes invalid—due to expiration, job loss, or program termination—the individual is considered “unlawfully present” and subject to the same penalties.
Maintaining legal status, the agency noted, is more critical than ever.
By Francesca Hangeior
A Swiss citizen has been kidnapped in Niger, Switzerland’s foreign ministry told AFP, confirming information published by a Nigerien media outlet.
The foreign ministry said it had been “informed of the kidnapping of a Swiss citizen in Niger.
“The Swiss diplomatic mission in Niamey is in contact with the local authorities. Clarifications are under way.”
The governor of the Nigerien state of Agadez, General Ibra Boulama Issa, said the abduction happened in Agadez city, where an Austrian woman was kidnapped three months ago.
The general said “a foreign woman… of Swiss nationality” had been taken from her home there late Sunday.
In a statement, he also referenced the January 11 kidnapping of the Austrian.
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