Author: AFP

The World Health Organization is facing a gaping deficit this year and through 2027 following the US decision to withdraw, even after dramatically slashing its budget, a media report indicated Wednesday. As the United Nations health agency has been bracing for the planned full US withdrawal next January, it has gradually shrunk its two-year budget for 2026-2027 from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion. But even after the dramatic scaling back, it remains $1.9 billion short towards that budget, Health Policy Watch reported Wednesday. That figure, which the publication said had been provided to staff during a town hall meeting on…

The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that health authorities acted properly when they blocked e-cigarette companies from marketing fruit- and dessert-flavored flavors. The court’s six conservative and three liberal judges upheld the Food and Drug Administration’s argument that these products could be addictive for young people who like sweet flavors in vaping devices. Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered gadgets that produce an inhalable vapor by heating a nicotine-laden liquid. Unlike tobacco, they do not contain cancer-causing tar or carbon monoxide. But the World Health Organization and anti-smoking advocates refuse to consider them less harmful than smoking cigarettes. The country’s highest…

Amazon has made a last-minute bid to buy TikTok, which faces a US ban if not sold by its Chinese owner, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. The offer arrived in a letter to officials involved in talks regarding the sale of TikTok to appease US national security concerns, according to the New York Times. Amazon declined to comment on the report. President Donald Trump has downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger of being banned in the United States, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business by a Saturday deadline. US media…

US President Donald Trump vowed Monday that strikes on Yemen’s Huthis will continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping, warning the rebels and their Iranian backers of “real pain” to come. “The choice for the Huthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Huthis and their sponsors in Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Shortly after Trump’s threat, Yemeni rebel media said two US strikes Monday hit the island of Kamaran,…

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Monday of a forceful retaliation if the United States or its allies bomb the Islamic republic, following a threat by President Donald Trump. “They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei said of Trump’s latest threat, during a speech on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. “If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack.” In an interview on Saturday, Trump said “there will be bombing” if Iran does not agree to a deal to curb its nuclear programme. “If they don’t make a…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday received the wanted leader of Bosnia’s ethnic Serbs, Milorad Dodik, in the Kremlin, Russian news agencies reported. The TASS state news agency, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, said the Russian leader had met with Dodik, who had announced a day earlier that he was in Moscow.

Donald Trump on Monday said he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin “to fulfill his part” of a deal to end the Ukraine war, after the US president voiced doubts over Moscow’s commitment. “I want to make sure that he follows through,” Trump told reporters in the White House. “I think he’s going to live up to what he told me, and I think he’s going to fulfill his part of the deal now.” Trump on Sunday criticized both Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, as he pushes to end more than three years of conflict in Ukraine. Trump told NBC he…

Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza has reportedly left at least 322 children dead and 609 wounded in the Palestinian territory in the past 10 days, UNICEF said Monday. The figures include children who were reportedly killed or wounded when the surgical department of Al Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza, was hit in an attack on March 23, the UN children’s agency said in a statement. UNICEF said most of these children were displaced, and sheltering in makeshift tents or damaged homes. Ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas, Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza on March 18…

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday the bloc still hopes for a “negotiated solution” to US tariffs looming this week, but that “all instruments are on the table” to hit back if necessary. “We are open to negotiations,” the European Commission chief told a European Parliament session, “but we have a strong plan to retaliate if necessary.” US President Donald Trump is set to announce a new raft of tariffs against multiple countries as early as Tuesday night, in what he has dubbed a “Liberation Day” to redress supposedly unfair trade imbalances. “We will assess tomorrow’s announcements carefully…

US President Donald Trump said Monday he would be “very kind” to trading partners when he unveils further tariffs this week, risking global turmoil to address what he says are unfair trade imbalances. Trump — who has been making unprecedented use of presidential powers since taking office in January — said he could announce as early as Tuesday night exactly what “reciprocal tariffs” will be imposed. The Republican billionaire insists that reciprocal action is needed because the world’s biggest economy has been “ripped off by every country in the world,” promising “Liberation Day” for the United States. He could also…