Kenya Insights

Tag: Donald Trump

  • Zelensky Accuses US Envoy Witkoff of Spreading ‘Russian Narratives’

    Zelensky Accuses US Envoy Witkoff of Spreading ‘Russian Narratives’

    Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused US special envoy Steve Witkoff of “disseminating Russian narratives” after he appeared to suggest that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine hinged on the status of five Ukrainian regions.

    After holding a five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Witkoff told Fox News that a deal to end the war was “about these so-called five territories”.

    “I think that Mr Witkoff has taken the strategy of the Russian side,” Zelensky told a Kyiv press conference on Thursday.

    “I think it’s really dangerous, because consciously or unconsciously he is disseminating Russian narratives”.

    Witkoff appeared to be referring to the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in eastern Ukraine, much of which are under Russian military occupation after Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022 with the aim of taking control of the whole country.

    The fifth region is believed to be Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move not recognised internationally.

    “The territories are ours, they belong to our people and not only us but the future Ukrainian people… So I don’t understand what he’s talking about,” said Zelensky.

    In his interview with Fox News, Witkoff said: “This peace deal is about these so-called five territories. But there’s so much more to it… I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very important for the world at large.”

    “On top of that, I believe there’s a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too,” he added.

    The US and Russia have been holding talks aimed at restoring diplomatic relations.

    Zelensky’s intervention is not the first time he has criticised Witkoff.

    In March, he said: “He doesn’t look like a military man. He doesn’t look like a general, and he doesn’t have such experience. As far as I know, he is very good at selling and buying real estate. And this is a little different.”

    The Ukrainian leader’s comments came after top US, Ukrainian and European diplomats met in Paris to discuss the war – a group that included Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

    Meanwhile Donald Trump renewed his own criticisms of Zelensky on Thursday. He appeared to row back on earlier comments accusing the Ukrainian leader of starting the war but said he was “not a big fan”.

    “I don’t hold Zelensky responsible but I’m not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started,” Trump said.

    “I’m not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn’t say he’s done the greatest job, OK? I am not a big fan.”

    Zelensky also told journalists that he had “information” China was supplying weapons to Russia.

    “We have finally received information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation,” he said.

    “We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on Russian territory,” he added.

    China has not yet responded but has previously portrayed itself as a neutral party in the war.

    Beijing did respond to an assertion last week by Zelensky that Chinese nationals were fighting for Russia by advising “relevant parties to correctly and soberly understand China’s role and not to make irresponsible remarks”.

    (BBC)

  • US To Screen Immigrants’ Social Media For ‘Antisemitic’ Activity

    US To Screen Immigrants’ Social Media For ‘Antisemitic’ Activity

    The US will begin screening social media activity of immigrants for “antisemitic” content as part of a new policy that could lead to visa or residency denials, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Wednesday.

    Effective immediately, the screenings will apply to individuals applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and those affiliated with educational institutions that US authorities say are linked to alleged antisemitic activity.

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the measure is to bolster national security and combat a growing threat from individuals who support “antisemitic” violence or “terrorist organizations”.

    “There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” said DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.

    “Sec. (Kristi) Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-Semitic violence and terrorism – think again. You are not welcome here.”

    The department identified groups including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Houthis as “antisemitic” terror organizations. Activity supporting those groups may trigger immigration consequences, it said.

    The move follows a series of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, including one aimed at combating antisemitism, which laid the groundwork for deporting foreign students engaged in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

    It also comes amid a wider crackdown by the Trump administration on pro-Palestinian students and academics, including the recent detention of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University and Fulbright scholar, and Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia University graduate.

    Rights groups and legal advocates said the actions violate First Amendment protections, arguing that the administration is targeting individuals for their political speech.

  • Why Trump is Hitting China on Trade – and What Might Happen Next

    Why Trump is Hitting China on Trade – and What Might Happen Next

    Suddenly, Donald Trump’s trade war is in much sharper focus.

    Rather than a fight on all fronts against the world, this now looks far more like a fight on familiar Trumpian territory: America v China.

    The 90-day pause on the higher “retaliatory” tariffs levied on dozens of countries still leaves a universal across-the-board tariff of 10% in place.

    But China – which ships everything from iPhones to children’s toys and accounts for around 14% of all US imports – has been singled out for much harsher treatment with an eye-watering rate of 125%.

    Trump said the increase was due to Beijing’s readiness to retaliate with its own 84% levy on US goods, a move the president described as showing a “lack of respect”.

    But for a politician who first fought his way to the White House on the back of an anti-China message, there is much more to this than simple retaliation.

    For Trump, this is about the unfinished business of that first term in office.

    “We didn’t have the time to do the right thing, which we’re doing now,” he told reporters.

    The aim is nothing less than the upending of an established system of global trade centred on China as the factory of the world, as well as the once widely held view that underpinned it – the idea that more of this trade was, in and of itself, a good thing.

    To understand just how central this is to the US president’s thinking, you need to go back to the time before anyone ever thought of him as a possible candidate for office, let alone a likely winner.

    In 2012, when I first reported from Shanghai – China’s business capital – increased trade with the country was seen by almost everyone – global business leaders, Chinese officials, visiting foreign governments and trade delegations, foreign correspondents and learned economists – as a no brainer.

    China now produces 60% of the world’s electric cars – a large proportion of them made by its own homegrown brands

    It was boosting global growth, providing an endless supply of cheap goods, enriching China’s army of new factory workers increasingly embedded in global supply chains, and providing lucrative opportunities to multinational corporations selling their wares to its newly minted middle classes.

    Within a few of years of my arrival, China had surpassed the US to become the world’s biggest market for Rolls Royce, General Motors and Volkswagen.

    There was a deeper justification, too.

    As China got richer, so the theory went, Chinese people would begin to demand political reform.

    Their spending habits would also help China transition to a consumer society.

    But the first of those aspirations never happened, with China’s ruling Communist Party only tightening its grip on power.

    And the second one didn’t happen fast enough, with China not only still dependent on exports, but openly planning to become ever more dominant.

    Its infamous policy blueprint – published in 2015 and entitled Made in China 2025 – set out a huge state-backed vision of becoming a global leader in a number of key manufacturing sectors, from aerospace to ship building to electric vehicles.

    And so it was that just one year later, a complete political unknown began an outsider-run for US president, making the case repeatedly on the campaign trail that China’s rise had hollowed out the American economy, driven rustbelt decline and cost blue-collar workers their livelihoods and dignity.

    Trump’s first-term trade war broke the mould and shattered the consensus. His successor, President Joe Biden, kept much of his tariffs on China in place.

    And yet, even though they have undoubtedly caused China some pain, they have not done much to change the economic model.

    China now produces 60% of the world’s electric cars – a large proportion of them made by its own homegrown brands – and 80% of the batteries that power them.

    So, now Trump is back, with this tit-for-tat escalation on levies.

    It would, arguably, be the biggest shock ever delivered to the established global trading system, were it not for all the other on-again off-again tariff measures the US president has rolled out in recent days.

    What happens next depends on two key questions.

    Firstly, whether China takes up that offer to negotiate.

    And secondly, assuming it eventually does, whether China is willing to make the kind of major concessions that America is looking for, including a complete overhaul of its export driven economic model.

    In answering them, the first thing to say is that we are in completely unchartered territory, so we should be wary of anyone who says they know how Beijing is likely to react.

    But there are certainly reasons to be cautious.

    China’s vision of its economic strength – one based on strong exports and a tightly protected domestic market – is now closely bound up with its idea of national rejuvenation and the supremacy of its one-party system.

    Its tight control over the information sphere means it will be unlikely to drop its barriers to American technology companies, for example.

    But there is a third question, and it is one for America to answer.

    Does the US still believe in free trade? Donald Trump often suggests that tariffs are a good thing, not merely as a means to an end, but as an end in themselves.

    He talks about the benefit of a protectionist barrier for America, in order to stimulate domestic investment, encourage American companies to bring those foreign supply chains back home, and raise tax revenues.

    And if Beijing believes that is indeed the primary purpose of the tariffs, it may decide there is nothing to negotiate anyway.

    Rather than championing the idea of economic co-operation, the world’s two biggest superpowers may find themselves locked in a fight for winner-takes-all economic supremacy.

    If so, that really would mark a shattering of the old consensus, and a very different, possibly very dangerous, future.

    (BBC)

  • Trump Suggests JFK’s Assassin Did Not Act Alone

    Trump Suggests JFK’s Assassin Did Not Act Alone

    US President Donald Trump said he believes Lee Harvey Oswald, the man charged with assassinating President John F. Kennedy in 1963, did not act alone, a press report said Sunday.

    In an interview with radio host Clay Travis, Trump was asked directly: “Do you think Oswald killed JFK personally?” He replied, “I do, and I always felt that. Of course he was… helped,” according to The Hill newspaper.

    Trump also commented on the recent release of declassified files related to the case.

    “I don’t think there’s anything that’s earth-shattering,” he said, describing the content as “somewhat unspectacular.”

    He added that individuals could make their own “determination” about the events.

    The FBI and Justice Department have long maintained that Oswald acted alone, but public skepticism has persisted for decades.

    Oswald denied responsibility and was killed two days after the assassination by Jack Ruby.

    The Hill also noted that while the newly released files do not confirm any conspiracy, they have reopened the debate surrounding one of the most scrutinized events in American history.

    The assassination of former US President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, remains a defining moment in US history.

    Over the decades, the case has fueled widespread speculation and public demand for government transparency.

    Last week, the Trump administration released approximately 80,000 pages of previously classified documents related to the Kennedy assassination.

    The release aimed to promote transparency and provide the public with a more comprehensive understanding of the events surrounding Kennedy’s death.

    However, many historians and experts remain skeptical about uncovering any groundbreaking revelations from these files.

  • Trump Signs Order To Dismantle US Education Department

    Trump Signs Order To Dismantle US Education Department

    US President Donald Trump has signed an executive orderto dismantle the Department of Education, fulfilling a campaign pledge and a long-cherished goal of some conservatives.

    Accusing the agency of “breath-taking failures”, the Republican president vowed to return the money it controls to individual states.

    “We’re going to shut it down as quickly as possible,” Trump said, although the White House acknowledged that closing the agency outright would require an act of Congress.

    The move is already facing legal challenges from those seeking to block the agency’s closure as well as sweeping cuts to its staff announced last week.

    Surrounded by children seated at school desks in the White House on Thursday, Trump said “the US spends more money on education by far than any other country”, yet he added that students rank near the bottom of the list.

    The White House stated that his administration would move to cut parts of the department that remain within legal boundaries.

    The executive order is likely to face legal challenges, like many of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal government.

    At the signing ceremony, Trump praised Linda McMahon, whom he appointed to lead the department, and expressed his hope she would be the last secretary of education.

    He said he would find “something else” for her to do within the administration.

    After Trump signed the order, Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy announced plans to bring legislationaimed at closing the department.

    But Republicans hold a slim 53-47 majority in the Senate, and closing a federal department would require 60 votes, making such a goal a longshot.

    But even if the department is not formally closed, the Trump administration could decimate its funding and staff as it has done with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which subsequently stopped many of its programmes and humanitarian work.

    The text of the executive order does not include specifics on what actions the administration will take and which programmes might be axed.

    It orders McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of the department and give authority of such matters to state and local governments.

    It also directs her to ensure “the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely”.

    Established in 1979, the education department administers student loans and runs programmes that help low-income students.

    But Trump has accused it of indoctrinating young people with racial, sexual, and political material.

    Most US children attend public schools, which are free and run by local officials. A common misconception is that the federal education department operates US schools and sets curriculum, but that is primarily done by states and local districts.

    And a relatively small percentage of funding for primary and secondary schools – about 13% – comes from federal funds. Most of the money comes from state and local taxes.

    The agency also plays a prominent role in administering and overseeing the federal student loans used by millions of Americans to pay for higher education.

    Soon after she was sworn in, McMahon sent the department’s 4,400 employees a memo titled “Our Department’s Final Mission”, a possible reference to Trump’s aim to shut the department.

    “This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students,” she wrote.

    “I hope you will join me in ensuring that when our final mission is complete; we will be able to say that we left American education freer, stronger, and with more hope for the future.”

    Earlier reports suggested Trump would look to end some of the department’s programmes and send others to different departments, such as the Treasury, something that still may happen but wasn’t made clear in his executive order.

    America’s largest teachers’ union recently decried Trump’s plans, saying he “doesn’t care about opportunity for all kids”.

    In its statement, the American Federation of Teachers said: “No-one likes bureaucracy, and everyone’s in favour of more efficiency, so let’s find ways to accomplish that.

    “But don’t use a ‘war on woke’ to attack the children living in poverty and the children with disabilities.”

    For more than 40 years, conservatives have complained about the department and floated ideas to abolish it.

    Just two years after it was established by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, his Republican replacement, Ronald Reagan, led calls to undo it.

    It is the smallest agency in the president’s cabinet and takes up less than 2% of the total federal budget.

    Some of those staff have already been affected by the Trump administration’s sweeping workforce cuts, led by the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

    Nearly 2,100 people at the agency are set to be placed on leave from Friday.

    Efforts by Doge to slash federal spending and radically restructure – or simply abolish – many government agencies have been overseen by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

  • Zelensky Says Ukraine Ready To Sign Minerals Deal with United States

    Zelensky Says Ukraine Ready To Sign Minerals Deal with United States

    Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal with the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told UK media on Sunday.

    “The agreement that’s on the table will be signed if the parties are ready,” he told a late-night huddle with some UK media after a landmark summit in London.

    The deal, which was supposed to be a step towards helping to end the conflict in Ukraine, fell through on Friday after a televised Oval Office clash with US President Donald Trump.

    “It is our policy to continue what happened in the past, we’re constructive,” Zelensky said, quoted by the BBC.

    “If we agreed to sign the minerals deal, we’re ready to sign it.”

    Zelensky had travelled to Washington for a full White House visit on Friday to sign a US-Ukrainian deal for the joint exploitation of Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, as part of a post-war recovery in a US-brokered peace deal.

    But in their Oval Office meeting, Trump berated Zelensky, telling him to be more “thankful” for US support in the three-year war and that without US assistance Ukraine would have been conquered by Russia.

    “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,” Trump added. “And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”

    The US leader had previously said the proposed minerals deal would be “very fair”.

    The proposal was to give Washington financial benefits for helping Ukraine in a truce, even if Trump has repeatedly refused to commit any US military force as a back-up to European troops who might act as peacekeepers.

    After the heated exchange, Zelensky drove off in his motorcade shortly after having been asked to leave, without holding a planned joint press conference. The resources deal was left unsigned, the White House said.

    Ukraine’s allies rallied around Zelensky on Sunday at a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer who said many European leaders had pledged to spend more on security and assemble a coalition to defend any truce.

    French President Emmanuel Macron, flying back from the London summit, said in a newspaper interview that France and Britain wanted to propose a partial one-month truce with Russia.

    (AP)

  • Gold Card vs Green Card: All You Need To Know About Trump’s New Residency Permit

    Gold Card vs Green Card: All You Need To Know About Trump’s New Residency Permit

    United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Feb 25) unveiled a new residency permit for wealthy foreigners—a ‘Gold Card’.

    The president announced that he would sell this new ‘Gold Card’ to rich foreign nationals, allowing them a right to live and work in the US, similar to the coveted ‘green card’.

    What is Gold Card and how is it different from Green Card?

    While the Green Card grants people permanent residency in the US, usually through employment, family sponsorship, or investment (via EB-5), the Gold Card offers the same benefits for a whopping $5 million purchase price to help fast-track US citizenship for wealthy applicants.

    The Green Card offers US residency on the basis of merit or relationship criteria. However, a Gold Card will serve as a direct route for wealthy foreigners to obtain residency.

    The Gold Cards would replace the government’s EB-5 immigrant investor visa programme. This route allowed foreign investors to pump money into US projects that create jobs and then apply for visas to immigrate to the US. Currently, the programme issues green cards to immigrants who invest at least $1,050,000, or $800,000 in economically distressed zones called targeted employment areas to create jobs for American workers.

    Who can purchase the ‘Gold Card’?

    The president announced that the ‘Gold Card’ would be available for anyone who can afford it, provided they clear the vetting process. The cost of securing US citizenship through this method would be $5 million.

    “You have a green card. This is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and that’s going to give you green card privileges, plus it’s going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people would be coming into our country by buying this card,” Trump announced, speaking from the Oval Office at the White House.

    According to Trump, even Russian oligarchs—usually heavily sanctioned by the US—could buy this gold card and US citizenship.

    The sale of these ‘gold cards’ would begin in the next two weeks, said the US president, adding that millions of such cards could be sold to the highest bidders.

    Why did Trump introduce ‘Gold Card’?

    Trump claimed that the new programme would generate significant revenue that would help in paying back the national debt. He further predicted strong interest from wealthy individuals and suggested selling one million gold cards.

    Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was standing alongside Trump as the announcement was made, said that the EB-5 visa programme was being exploited and has been priced too low.

    “The EB-5 program … it was full of nonsense, make believe and fraud, and it was a way to get a green card that was low price. So the president said, rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 program, we’re going to end the EB-5 program. We’re going to replace it with the Trump gold card,” he said.

    (With inputs from agencies)

  • Who Is Dan Bongino? Everything About the Media Personality Appointed as FBI Deputy Director

    Who Is Dan Bongino? Everything About the Media Personality Appointed as FBI Deputy Director

    Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent turned conservative firebrand, is now the FBI’s deputy director—a surprising pick for a role typically held by career agents.

    Known for his fierce loyalty to Donald Trump and his no-holds-barred media presence, Bongino built a massive following through his podcast and outspoken political commentary.

    His appointment signals a major shift in FBI leadership, sparking both praise and controversy.

    Will he bring a fresh perspective or deepen political divides? Here’s a closer look at the man now shaping America’s top law enforcement agency.

    Dan Bongino

    Introducing Dan Bongino: Podcaster Appointed as FBI Deputy Director

    Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino is Trump’s choice for FBI deputy director. Bongino, now a conservative commentator, strongly supports Trump.

    His views have earned him a huge following but also got him banned from YouTube for spreading misinformation.

    Bongino, 50, hosts The Dan Bongino Show, a popular radio and podcast program. In January, industry analyst PodTrac ranked it the 7th most-listened-to podcast in the U.S.

    Trump said Bongino is “willing and prepared” to leave his show for the FBI role.

    The deputy director oversees domestic and international operations, a position usually held by career FBI agents.

    Bongino has never worked for the FBI, though he previously served in the New York police department.

    Early Life

    Daniel John Bongino was born on December 4, 1974, in Queens, New York City. He is of Italian descent.

    Bongino is an American conservative commentator, radio host, author, and former law enforcement officer.

    Since 2025, he has served as the deputy director of the FBI. He currently hosts The Dan Bongino Show on Rumble. Previously, he hosted Unfiltered with Dan Bongino on Fox News until April 2023.

    He started his career as a New York City police officer from 1995 to 1999. He then joined the U.S. Secret Service, serving from 1999 to 2011.

    Bongino later ran for Congress three times as a Republican but lost each time. On February 23, 2025, President Donald Trump announced Bongino as the next FBI deputy director.

    Education and Career Beginnings

    Bongino graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School, a Catholic all-male school in Jamaica, Queens, in 1992.

    He then attended Queens College, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology. He later earned an MBA from Pennsylvania State University.

    From 1995 to 1999, Bongino worked as a police officer for the New York City Police Department.

    In 1999, he joined the U.S. Secret Service as a special agent. In 2002, he left the New York Field Office to teach at the Secret Service Training Academy in Beltsville, Maryland.

    In 2006, he joined the Presidential Protection Division during George W. Bush’s second term.

    He continued serving under President Barack Obama until May 2011, when he left to run for the U.S. Senate.

    Media Career

    After his failed congressional run in 2015, Bongino started a podcast in his basement called The Renegade Republican, later renamed The Dan Bongino Show.

    By 2016, his episodes—covering topics like media bias and liberal policies—were reaching millions.

    In 2018, his bold style landed him a contract with NRATV, the National Rifle Association’s short-lived online channel.

    That year, he declared, “My entire life right now is about owning the libs.” Trump took notice, often sharing Bongino’s comments on social media.

    According to the Daily Beast, Trump once told a confidant, “He’s so right, he’s just so right about it all.”

    In 2019, Bongino launched Bongino Report, a right-wing news aggregator meant as a pro-Trump alternative to Drudge Report.

    His Facebook page soon gained more engagement than The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN combined, according to a 2020 New York Times report.

    In 2021, Cumulus Media chose Bongino to replace the late Rush Limbaugh’s talk radio slot.

    He also began hosting Unfiltered with Dan Bongino on Fox News and a five-part Fox Nation series on cancel culture called Canceled in the USA.

    He left Fox News in April 2023 after failed contract negotiations.

    Bongino still hosts his podcast and radio show, though Trump announced that Bongino is “willing and prepared” to leave them for his new role as FBI deputy director.

    Personal Life

    Bongino is married to Paula Andrea Martínez, who was born in Colombia. They have two daughters.

    In 2012, he and his wife ran three home-based businesses. They sold martial arts apparel, designed websites, and provided security and risk management consulting.

    While campaigning in 2016, Bongino avoided discussing his businesses. He claimed that he and his wife had already shut them down.

    He lived in Severna Park, Maryland, from 2002 until 2015. That year, he moved to Palm City, Florida.

    In June 2020, Bongino announced that he had bought an ownership stake in Parler, a social media platform. However, he did not reveal how much he invested.

    Was Dan Bongino diagnosed with cancer?

    On September 23, 2020, Bongino announced that doctors had found a seven-centimeter tumor in his throat.

    He did not know if it was cancerous or benign but planned to fly to New York on September 25 for more tests.

    On October 2, he shared that he had received bad news from his doctors and would undergo surgery on October 7.

    After the surgery, he tweeted that doctors had removed the entire tumor but suspected he had lymphoma. He said he would need further treatment.

    On October 16, Bongino confirmed he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and would continue treatment with his doctors.

    In a July 2021 interview, he announced that he had “beaten” cancer.

  • US Threatens To Shut Off Starlink If Ukraine Won’t Sign Minerals Deal, Sources Tell Reuters

    US Threatens To Shut Off Starlink If Ukraine Won’t Sign Minerals Deal, Sources Tell Reuters

    U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine’s critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country’s access to Elon Musk’s vital Starlink satellite internet system, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

    Ukraine’s continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned down an initial proposal from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the sources said.

    Starlink provides crucial internet connectivity to war-torn Ukraine and its military.

    The issue was raised again on Thursday during meetings between Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special Ukraine envoy, and Zelenskiy, said one of the sources, who was briefed on the talks.

    During the meeting, Ukraine was told it faced imminent shutoff of the service if it did not reach a deal on critical minerals, said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss closed negotiations.

    “Ukraine runs on Starlink. They consider it their North Star,” said the source. “Losing Starlink … would be a massive blow.”

    Zelenskiy has rejected demands from President Donald Trump’s administration for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for wartime aid, saying the U.S. has offered no specific security guarantees.

    On Friday, the Ukrainian president said the U.S. and Ukrainian teams were working on an agreement and Trump said he expects a deal will be signed soon.

    Musk rushed thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to replace communications services destroyed by Russia after its February 2022 invasion. Hailed as a hero in Ukraine, Musk later curtailed access at least once before in the fall of 2022 as he became more critical of Kyiv’s handling of the war.

    U.S. lawmakers are divided over Trump’s efforts to find a quick end to the Ukraine war and some have raised questions about Musk’s rapid-fire efforts to cull thousands of federal workers and shut down Federal agencies.

    Melinda Haring, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, said Starlink was essential for Ukraine’s operation of drones, a key pillar of its military strategy.

    “Losing Starlink would be a game changer,” Haring said, noting that Ukraine was now at 1:1 parity with Russia in terms of drone usage and artillery shells. Ukraine has a wide range of different drone capabilities, ranging from sea drones and surveillance drones to long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

    The Ukrainian embassy in Washington, the White House and the U.S. Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    SpaceX, which operates Starlink, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Last fall, Ukraine floated the idea of opening its critical minerals to investment by allies. This was part of a “victory plan” that sought to put it in the strongest position for talks and force Moscow to the table.

    Trump has embraced the idea, saying he wants Ukraine to supply the U.S. with rare earths and other minerals in return for financially supporting its war effort.

    Zelenskiy rejected a detailed U.S. proposal last week that would have seen Washington and U.S. firms receiving 50% of Ukraine’s critical minerals, which include graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium, a key component in electric car batteries.

    Since then a rift has emerged between the leaders, with Trump denouncing Zelenskiy as “a dictator without elections” on Wednesday after Zelenskiy said Trump was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble, a response to the U.S. president suggesting Ukraine started the war.

    (Reuters)

  • Five takeaways from the Munich Security Conference

    Five takeaways from the Munich Security Conference

    In Summary

    • US and Russian officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia next week to begin negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
    • However, Ukraine and European politicians have not been invited to attend, despite insisting they must be involved for any ceasefire to be credible.

    A series of US declarations rocked last week’s Munich Security Conference and caused discord among the European politicians in attendance.

    Now US and Russian officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia next week to begin negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.

    However, Ukraine and European politicians have not been invited to attend, despite insisting they must be involved for any ceasefire to be credible.

    Instead, they will meet in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit to discuss the conflict and the continent’s security.

    Here are five takeaways from Munich.

    1. End of an era

    Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed in 1949 with the primary aim of blocking expansion in Europe by the former Soviet Union.

    Now numbering 32 members, including several Eastern European countries, members agree that if one of them is attacked, the others should help defend it.

    But after this week the post-World War Two security architecture for Europe is no more. America is still in Nato but Europe can no longer automatically rely on the US to come to its aid.

    In Brussels, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Nato’s European members to spend much more on defence, saying they would have to provide the “overwhelming” share of military funding for Ukraine.

    2. Ukraine policy upended

    The US and Russia are going to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine, whether Europe and Ukraine like it or not.

    The talks in Saudi Arabia will end a three-year freeze in talking to Vladimir Putin, despite urgent warnings by Kyiv that the Russian leader is not to be trusted.

    They follow a phone call between Donald Trump and Putin on Wednesday.

    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be joined by national security adviser Mike Waltz and the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, US officials said.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly said he would not accept any deal struck without his country’s input, said Kyiv had not been invited to the talks.

    3. Spend more now

    Europe, everyone agrees, needs to rapidly raise its defence spending if it has any hope of deterring a newly emboldened Russia.

    The current Nato-mandated minimum of 2% of GDP is likely to rise to 3%. Russia currently spends more than twice that on defence in percentage terms.

    In January, Trump urged Nato’s European members to spend 5% of their national income on defence. Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has also urged member states to boost their defence spending.

    But Europe as a whole has already overtaken the US in terms of aid to Ukraine. In total, it has allocated €70bn ($73bn; £58bn) in financial and humanitarian aid as well as €62bn in military aid. This compares to €64bn in military aid from the US as well as €50bn in financial and humanitarian allocations.

    4. That JD Vance speech

    US Vice President JD Vance’s blistering attack on Europe’s policies on Friday was called “ill-judged” and “insulting” by many of the delegates at the Munich Security Conference.

    They had hoped he would reassure them the US was not abandoning Ukraine.

    Instead, he spent the majority accusing European governments – including the UK’s – of retreating from their values, and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech.

    The address was met by silence in the hall, and later denounced by several politicians at the conference.

    But the speech appealed to others on both sides of the Atlantic and Donald Trump called it “brilliant”.

    5. Disunity and discord

    While the Munich conference was occupied by the geopolitical, Donald Trump announced plans to bring in a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports from March.

    It was evidence there are now very obvious rifts between Washington’s positions and Europe’s on several issues, from trade to dealing with Russia.

    It is a divide that the UK is struggling to bridge, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer telling reporters both relationships were important and Britain was “not choosing between the US and the EU”.

    But the Trump team’s own messaging is sometimes contradictory, rowing back on grand pronouncements the day after they have been made.

    (BBC)

  • Marco Rubio Net Worth, Politics and Financial Struggles

    Marco Rubio Net Worth, Politics and Financial Struggles

    Marco Rubio net worth has been a topic of interest, especially given his financial struggles, including debt and mortgage issues.

    Many know him as a seasoned American politician, serving as a U.S. Senator from Florida and previously as Florida House Speaker at just 34. He even ran for president in 2016 and was later nominated as U.S. Secretary of State.

    This article explores his net worth, career milestones, and personal life, highlighting both the successes and setbacks in his financial and political journey.

    Marco Rubio Net Worth

    What is Marco Rubio’s Net Worth?

    Marco Rubio is a Republican politician and lawyer with a net worth of $400,000. He has served as Florida’s senior U.S. senator since 2011.

    Before that, he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008.

    In 2016, he ran for the Republican presidential nomination but lost. Donald Trump later nominated him for Secretary of State during his second presidential term.

    Rubio’s Financial Woes

    Between 1998 and 2008, Marco Rubio earned $2.38 million from his law career and House salary. However, he saved very little of this income.

    When he joined the Florida House in 2000, his reported net worth was zero. By 2009, his financial statement showed a negative net worth of $37,000, due to student debt and multiple mortgages.

    At one point, he missed five months of mortgage payments on a property in Tallahassee, which nearly led to foreclosure. He eventually sold the home in 2015, taking an $18,000 loss.

    In 2012, he received an $800,000 book advance for his biography. Afterward, he spent lavishly, including buying an $80,000 speedboat.

    By 2018, his financial statement estimated his net worth had dropped to negative $1.3 million.

    Early Life and Education

    Marco Rubio was born on May 28, 1971, in Miami, Florida, to Cuban immigrants Oriales and Mario Rubio. His parents moved to the U.S. in 1956, before the Cuban Revolution.

    He is the third of four children, with an older brother, Mario Jr., an older sister, Barbara, and a younger sister, Veronica.

    During his childhood, Rubio lived in Las Vegas, where his father worked as a bartender and his mother as a housekeeper.

    Back in Miami, he attended South Miami Senior High School and graduated in 1989.

    He first studied at Tarkio College in Missouri for a year, then transferred to Santa Fe Community College in Florida.

    Rubio later earned a BA in political science from the University of Florida in 1993 and a JD from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996.

    Careers and Rise in Political Spheres

    Marco Rubio interned for U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen while still in law school.

    In 1998, two years after earning his law degree, he won a seat as a city commissioner for West Miami.

    Florida House of Representatives

    In 1999, Rubio ran in a special election for the 111th House District in Florida. He came in second in the Republican primary but won the runoff election and then defeated Democrat Anastasia Garcia.

    He was reelected unopposed in 2000 and 2002 and won again in 2004 and 2006.

    From 2006 to 2008, he served as House Speaker.

    Teaching Career

    After leaving the Florida Legislature in 2008, Rubio became an adjunct professor at Florida International University.

    In 2011, after joining the U.S. Senate, he returned to teach Florida legislative politics.

    U.S. Senate

    In 2009, Rubio announced his run for the U.S. Senate, seeking the seat vacated by Mel Martínez.

    He initially trailed Charlie Crist but later won the Republican nomination and defeated Democrat Kendrick Meek in the general election.

    After suspending his 2016 presidential campaign, he ran for reelection to the Senate and won a second term.

    In 2022, he defeated Democrat Val Demings to secure a third term.

    Early in his Senate career, Rubio defended the U.S. embargo against Cuba and supported military action in Libya to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

    He voted against the Budget Control Act of 2011, opposed expanding background checks for gun purchases, and rejected publishing the Senate Intelligence Committee’s CIA torture report.

    In 2013, he was part of a bipartisan effort for immigration reform.

    2016 Presidential Campaign

    In 2014, Rubio announced his run for president in 2016. After losing the Florida primary, he suspended his campaign in March 2016.

    Despite previously calling Donald Trump a con artist, he later endorsed him for president.

    Political Views

    As a conservative Republican, Rubio prioritizes defense spending and supported the 2003 Iraq invasion.

    Personal Life

    Marco Rubio is Catholic and attends Mass at the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables, Florida. He previously attended Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist Church in West Kendall, Florida.

    In 1998, Rubio married Jeanette Dousdebes, a former bank teller and Miami Dolphins cheerleader, in a Catholic ceremony at Church of the Little Flower. They have four children and live in West Miami, Florida.

    Marco Rubio Net Worth and Real Estate

    In 2001, Marco Rubio earned $90,000, but his family spent too much money. They had to move in with his wife’s mother.

    In 2003, Marco bought his mother-in-law’s house in West Miami for $175,000. Two years later, he purchased a new home in West Miami for $550,000.

  • Trump Says He and Putin Have Agreed To Begin ‘Negotiations’ On Ending Ukraine War

    Trump Says He and Putin Have Agreed To Begin ‘Negotiations’ On Ending Ukraine War

    US President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday about starting negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine.

    US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to start negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine immediately in an hour-and-a-half phone call Wednesday.

    Donald Trump discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the new US president’s first big step towards diplomacy over a war he has promised to end.

    In a post on his social media platform, Trump said he and Putin had “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelensky, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now.”

    Zelensky’s office said Trump and Zelensky had spoken by phone for about an hour.

    The Kremlin said Putin and Trump had agreed to meet, and Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow.

    Trump has long said he would quickly end the war in Ukraine, without saying how he would accomplish this.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Trump’s Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, said a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the US administration did not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war.

    Speaking at a meeting of Ukraine’s military allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Hegseth delivered the clearest and bluntest public statement so far on the new US administration’s approach to the nearly three-year-old war.

    “We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth told a meeting of Ukraine and more than 40 allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

    “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”

    No peace talks have been held since the early months of the war, now approaching its third anniversary. Former US President Joe Biden and most Western leaders held no direct discussions with Putin after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    Ukraine succeeded in the war’s first year in pushing Russian forces back from the outskirts of Kyiv and recapturing swathes of Russian-occupied territory.

    But Moscow has mostly had the upper hand on the battlefield since a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023, making slow but steady gains in intense fighting that has killed or injured hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides and laid Ukrainian cities to waste.

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    Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and has demanded Kyiv cede more territory and be rendered permanently neutral under any peace deal. Ukraine demands Russia withdraw from captured territory and wants NATO membership or equivalent security guarantees to prevent Moscow from attacking again.

    In recent interviews, Kyiv appears to have accepted that it will not be admitted to NATO soon but has emphasised its need for military support under a peace deal.

    “If Ukraine is not in NATO, it means that Ukraine will build NATO on its territory. So we need an army as numerous as the Russians have today,” Zelensky said in an interview with The Economist published on Wednesday.

    “And for all this, we need weapons and money. And we will ask the U.S. for this,” Zelensky said, describing that as his “Plan B”.

    Hesgeth, in his comments in Brussels, said the bulk of future military support for Ukraine would have to come from European allies.

    (Reuters)

  • Trump Signs Order To Pause Enforcement Of Foreign Bribery Law

    Trump Signs Order To Pause Enforcement Of Foreign Bribery Law

    US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday, instructing the Justice Department to pause the enforcement of a law that bans US companies and foreign businesses from bribing foreign officials to secure business deals.

    The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to suspend prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) until new guidelines are prepared.

    According to a White House factsheet, US companies are “harmed by FCPA over-enforcement because they are prohibited from engaging in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field.”

    The FCPA, passed in 1977, bans Americans and certain foreign companies from bribing foreign officials. In 1998, it was expanded to include foreign entities involved in bribery in the US.

    “It sounds good, but it hurts the country,” Trump said of the FCPA, as he signed the executive order at the White House.

    Trump stated that US anti-corruption laws are blocking deals because businesses “don’t want to feel like every time they pick up the phone, they’re going to jail.”

  • PAULINE NJOROGE: With USAID Fund Freeze, America Must Forget About Its Decades-Long Global Influence

    PAULINE NJOROGE: With USAID Fund Freeze, America Must Forget About Its Decades-Long Global Influence

    President Donald Trump’s decision to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will have a similar if not greater damaging impact on the US as the countries that have benefited from the generosity and solidarity of the American people since 1961 when President J.F Kennedy established the USAID.

    You see, USAID has not only been a mechanism for the US to support development and humanitarian causes in developing countries around the world, but as America’s most powerful soft power tool, it has also been at the forefront of promoting America’s global dominance in the last 63 years.

    USAID has helped advance America’s security and commercial interests with greater success than similar agencies have done for their countries, in ways that Trump or his MAGA base cannot grasp.

    In 2017, USAID reported that America has benefitted from the aid it extends to countries in significant ways. The agency described how US taxpayer dollars spent through foreign aid had contributed to America’s economic success at home and abroad.

    A worker removes the signage outside of the USAID headquarters in Washington, DC, on Friday. Photo: CNN

    As aid dollars developed the the people and economies of these countries, they had in turn become critical export markets for American goods, and sources of raw materials for key American value chains such as aviation and telecommunications.

    The agency thus concluded that without these countries, America’s economy would have at some point slid into recession.

    Trump may erroneously think that shutting down USAID will save America the $64B that the agency gave out in 2023, but unknown to him, he is partly putting America’s export market that accounts for 27% of America’s GDP and responsible for creation of more than 11 million jobs at risk.

    Power abhors a vacuum. Countries that have been relying on USAID’s financial support will survive, by either finding resources locally to plug the funding deficit or by turning to old and new allies like France, Germany, Japan and the U.K.

    But as they do this, America must forget her influence as it has been for the last six (6) decades that USAID has been the star of global humanitarianism.

    And it does not help matters that on top of pulling America from global humanitarianism, he is actively undermining other foreign policy pillars such as trade through imposition of unnecessary trade tariffs on important trade partners like China, Japan, Canada and Mexico.

    The writer is a Kenyan political strategist and a communications specialist.

  • Trump says Hamas Should Free All Hostages By Midday Saturday Or ‘Let Hell Break Out’

    Trump says Hamas Should Free All Hostages By Midday Saturday Or ‘Let Hell Break Out’

    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out.”

    Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    But in a wide-ranging session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with the condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement by the militant group that it would halt further releases.

    “As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” Trump said.

    He said he wanted the hostages released en masse, instead of a few at a time. “We want ’em all back.”

    Trump also said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if they don’t take Palestinian refugees being relocated from Gaza. He is to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday.

    The comments came on a day of some confusion over Trump’s proposal for a U.S. takeover of Gaza once the fighting stops.

    He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to the Gaza Strip under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, contradicting his own officials who had suggested Gazans would only be relocated temporarily.

    In an excerpt of an interview with Fox News channel’s Bret Baier broadcast on Monday, Trump added that he thought he could make a deal with Jordan and Egypt to take the displaced Palestinians, saying the U.S. gives the two countries “billions and billions of dollars a year.”

    Asked if Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza, Trump said: “No, they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing.”

    “I’m talking about building a permanent place for them,” he said, adding it would take years for Gaza to be habitable again.

    In a shock announcement on Feb. 4 after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Trump proposed resettling Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinians and the U.S. taking control of the seaside enclave, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

    IGNITE THE REGION

    Trump’s suggestion of Palestinian displacement has been repeatedly rejected by Gaza residents and Arab states, and labeled by rights advocates and the United Nations as a proposal of ethnic cleansing.

    Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s statement that Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza was “irresponsible.”

    “We affirm that such plans are capable of igniting the region,” he told Reuters on Monday.

    Netanyahu, who praised the proposal, suggested Palestinians would be allowed to return. “They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back. But you have to rebuild Gaza,” he said the day after Trump’s announcement.

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will depart later this week for his first visit to the Middle East in the office, said on Thursday that Palestinians would have to “live somewhere else in the interim,” during reconstruction, although he declined to explicitly rule out their permanent displacement.

    The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the disparity between Rubio and Trump’s most recent remarks on the plan.

    Trump’s comments come as a fragile ceasefire reached last month between Israel and Hamas is at risk of collapse after Hamas announced on Monday it would stop releasing Israeli hostagesover alleged Israeli violations of the agreement.
    Israel’s Arab neighbors, including Egypt and Jordan, have said any plan to transfer Palestinians from their land would destabilize the region.

    Rubio met Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Washington on Monday. Egypt’s foreign ministry said Abdelatty told Rubio that Arab countries support Palestinians in rejecting Trump’s plan. Cairo fears Palestinians could be forced across Egypt’s border with Gaza.

    Trump said in the Fox News interview that between two and six communities could be built for the Palestinians “a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is.”

    “I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent,” he said.

  • No Right Of Return For Palestinians Under Gaza Plan: Trump

    No Right Of Return For Palestinians Under Gaza Plan: Trump

    US President Donald Trump said in comments aired Monday that Palestinians who leave the besieged Gaza Strip under his widely panned ownership plan for the coastal enclave will not be allowed to return.

    “We’ll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is. In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future, it would be a beautiful piece of land,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News.

    Asked directly by the interviewer if Palestinians would “have the right to return,” Trump said flatly, “No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing.”

    “In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them, because if they have to return now, it will be years before you could ever… it’s not habitable. It will be years before it could happen. I’m talking about starting to build and I think I could make a deal with Jordan, I think I could make a deal with Egypt, you know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year,” he added.

    Trump rolled out his proposal in the midst of an ongoing ceasefire that has halted Israel’s war on Gaza after 15 months. His plan to take ownership of Gaza has been roundly rejected on the world stage, but Trump has insisted that he will see it through, repeatedly claiming he can force Egypt and Jordan to settle Palestinian refugees — claims they have publicly rebuffed, as have the Palestinians.

    Jordan’s King Abdullah is slated to visit the White House this week.

    Trump’s plan shares strong similarities to one publicly put forward by his son-in-law Jared Kushner in March 2024, when the president’s one-time advisor lauded the Palestinian territory’s “very valuable” Mediterranean property.

    “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable if people would focus on building up livelihoods,” Kushner said during an interview at Harvard University. “It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.”

    Israel’s war on Gaza has left the besieged enclave in ruins, with half of its housing damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced amid severe shortages of sanitation, medical supplies, food, and clean water. Over 47,000 people have been killed.

    In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Separately, Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

  • FBI Discovers Around 2,400 Secret JFK Assassination Records: Report

    FBI Discovers Around 2,400 Secret JFK Assassination Records: Report

    The FBI discovered about 2,400 records tied to US President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination, according to a report by Axios on Monday.

    The still-secret records are contained in 14,000 pages of documents the FBI found in a review prompted by President Donald Trump’s Jan. 23 executive order to release all of JFK’s assassination records. The records were never provided through a task force that was supposed to review and disclose the documents, Axios reported.

    Conspiracy theories about Kennedy’s Nov. 22, 1963 assassination at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas have been talked about for 61 years, fueled by the government’s reluctance to release all of the documents.

    The existence of the new JFK documents was disclosed to the White House on Friday, and a further review of those records could reveal more information as to what happened in one of the most scrutinized tragedies in American history. The release of the new documents could also change the federal procedures for vetting and releasing information related to government events.

    “This is huge. It shows the FBI is taking this seriously,” assassination expert Jefferson Morley told Axios.

    Morley is also the vice president of the nonpartisan Mary Ferrell Foundation, the nation’s largest source of online records of Kennedy’s killing.

    “The FBI is finally saying, ‘Let’s respond to the president’s order,’ instead of keeping the secrecy going,” added Morley.

    Under the 1992 JFK Records Act, assassination records were supposed to be handed over to the JFK Assassination Records Review Board and then to the National Archives, which were to be fully disclosed in 2017 during Trump’s first term in the White House. However, the Axios report revealed that the newly discovered records had not been submitted or vetted by either of those entities.

    At the advice of the CIA in 2017, Trump delayed disclosure of the records that the government had identified. President Joe Biden then ordered a limited release of the records, which continued to promote the public’s view of the government’s shroud of secrecy.

    Experts say that the remaining records to be disclosed are unlikely to definitively prove whether Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole gunman who pulled the trigger or if he was part of a broader conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy, but it could put to rest the cover-up of documents that critics have blamed on the government for more than a half century.

    Despite Trump’s order to release all of the JFK assassination records, sources told Axios that the various intelligence agencies with records of the assassination are still recommending redactions.

    “When POTUS hears about this stonewalling, he’s gonna hit the roof,” a White House official told Axios.

    Trump’s order also calls for the release of records related to the June 5, 1968 assassination of JFK’s brother, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), as well as the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) on April 4, 1968. The records of both RFK and MLK are expected to be released by March 9.

  • Trump Sanctions South Africa

    Trump Sanctions South Africa

    US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa, after threatening to do so earlier this week.

    Trump said he was bringing in the order because of South Africa’s new land law, which he says is violating people’s rights, and also because of its international court case accusing Israel of genocide.

    It escalates a dispute between the two countries nearly a week after Trump threatened to cut funding without citing evidence, that “South Africa is confiscating land” and “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly”.

    Trump’s close adviser Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, also joined in the criticism asking on X why Ramaphosa had “openly racist ownership laws”.

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has not yet commented but previously defended South Africa’s land policy after Trump’s threat on Sunday.

    He said the government had not confiscated any land and the policy was aimed at ensuring equitable public access to land.

    President Ramaphosa’s law was signed last month, and allows land seizures without compensation in certain circumstances.

    Land ownership has long been a contentious issue in South Africa with most private farmland owned by white people, 30 years after the end of the racist system of apartheid.

    There have been continuous calls for the government to address land reform and deal with the past injustices of racial segregation.

    South Africa’s new law allows for expropriation without compensation only in circumstances where it is “just and equitable and in the public interest” to do so.

    This includes if the property is not being used and there is no intention to either develop or make money from it, or when it poses a risk to people.

    The order said the US “cannot support the government of South Africa’s commission of rights violations in its country”, and as long as it “continues these unjust and immoral practices” then the US will not provide aid or assistance.

    The White House said Washington will also formulate a plan to resettle South African farmers and their families as refugees.

    It said US officials will take steps to prioritise humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program for Afrikaners in South Africa, who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers.

    The executive order also references South Africa’s role in bringing accusations of genocide against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

    The order said: “In addition, South Africa has taken aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the ICJ, and reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.”

    On Sunday, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social: “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”

    He later said, in a briefing with journalists, that South Africa’s “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things”.

    “So that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing – they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”

    But, on Monday, Ramaphosa moved to defuse the row with Trump’s new US administration over the new land law by speaking to Musk on the phone.

    Ramaphosa’s office said, in that call to Musk the president “reiterated South Africa’s constitutionally embedded values of the respect for the rule of law, justice, fairness and equality”.

  • FACTBOX – USAID Cuts: Why Trump’s Funding Freeze Threatens Millions Worldwide

    FACTBOX – USAID Cuts: Why Trump’s Funding Freeze Threatens Millions Worldwide

    • Funding freeze raises concerns about future of global programs, including PEPFAR that allegedly saved over 25M lives

    The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is under political scrutiny as the Trump administration considers merging it with the State Department in an effort to streamline federal bureaucracy.

    As the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid, the United States allocated $13.9 billion in 2024, accounting for 42% of all UN-tracked assistance. However, on Jan. 20, the White House announced a freeze on USAID’s budget, citing concerns over misaligned priorities.

    President Donald Trump suspended development assistance for 90 days to evaluate its alignment with his “America First” policy, a move that has sparked concern among global aid organizations.

    A White House statement asserted that USAID’s initiatives “do not align with American interests” and, in some cases, “destabilize world peace.”

    On Feb. 4, USAID announced that all direct-hire personnel, except those in mission-critical roles, would be placed on leave by Feb. 7. Additionally, overseas staff are set to be repatriated within 30 days.

    “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out,” Trump told reporters.

    Meanwhile, on Feb. 3, Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, confirmed his involvement in the decision, stating: “I reviewed it thoroughly with (the president), and he concurred that we should shut it down.”

    What is USAID?

    Founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy under the Foreign Assistance Act, USAID is the US government’s primary agency for international humanitarian and development efforts.

    Its alleged aim is to reduce poverty, combat disease, provide humanitarian aid, and foster economic growth in developing nations, while advancing US foreign policy objectives.

    Operating in over 130 countries, USAID runs more than 60 regional missions and employs over 10,000 staff, with two-thirds based overseas.

    Most of its programs are executed through grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts with nonprofit organizations, universities, international groups, and foreign governments.

    How much is USAID’s budget and where does it go?

    In Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023), the latest data existing, USAID-managed combined fund had a budget of over $40 billion, making up more than one-third of the total US foreign aid budget, according to a Congressional Research Service Report updated this January.

    USAID’s funding was primarily allocated across three key sectors: $16.8 billion to governance, $10.5 billion to humanitarian assistance, and $7.0 billion to health.

    Other key areas included administrative costs ($3.5 billion), agriculture ($1.3 billion), education ($1.1 billion), infrastructure ($0.7 billion), and economic growth ($0.7 billion).

    In FY2023, governance received the largest share, driven by substantial financial support for Ukraine, while humanitarian assistance surpassed the amount of health funding in FY2022.

    Health, historically the largest sector, continued to receive significant funding, largely supported by initiatives like PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and COVID-19 relief efforts.

    Who gets the most support from USAID?

    According to the Congressional report, approximately 70 out of the 77 countries that the World Bank classifies as low and lower-middle-income nations received USAID assistance in 2023.

    On a regional basis, around 40% of USAID-managed funds for 2023 were allocated to Europe and Eurasia ($17.2 billion), followed by Sub-Saharan Africa ($12.1 billion), Middle East and North Africa ($3.9 billion), South and Central Asia ($1.9 billion), and other regions ($8.4 billion), according to an analysis of data from USASpending.gov.

    In FY2023, USAID-managed funds supported approximately 130 countries, with the top 10 recipients being Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria, in descending order of funding.

    Focusing solely on USAID funds for these countries, the disparity is stark, as Ukraine alone received $16 billion, the top beneficiary in FY2023, followed by Ethiopia with $1.6 billion and Jordan with $1.2 billion. Afghanistan received $1.08 billion, while Somalia was allocated $1 billion.

    The Democratic Republic of Congo received $0.9 billion, followed by Yemen, Nigeria, and Syria, each receiving $0.8 billion. South Sudan received the lowest among the top recipients, with $0.7 billion.

    What is the global impact of USAID freeze?

    The freeze on USAID funding is significantly impacting critical humanitarian and health programs across the globe.

    Ukraine’s military funding remains unaffected, but the funding freeze will impact infrastructure rebuilding, power generation, railway modernization (e.g., Mostyska–Lviv), border improvements with the EU, and agricultural support.

    NGOs countering Russian disinformation and monitoring human rights will also be affected, according to a report by the Center for Eastern Studies.

    Another major program disrupted by Trump’s orders is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), including countries such as South Africa, where the government has warned that nearly 20% of its $2.3 billion annual HIV/AIDS program could be at risk.

    PEPFAR is the US government’s largest global health initiative aimed at combating HIV/AIDS. With over $110 billion invested, it is the biggest single-disease effort by any country. As of 2023, it has saved over 25 million lives, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to USAID.

    The funding freeze also poses a serious threat to HIV services in Ethiopia, potentially affecting 503,000 patients across 1,400 facilities, with risks of treatment disruptions, according to UNAIDS. The possible termination of 5,000 health workers and 10,000 data clerks, along with supply chain delays, could undermine critical diagnostics and HIV progress.

    A PEPFAR-funded program in Kenya has been suspended as well. Launched in 2022, the $32.5 million initiative aimed to provide HIV treatment, prevention, and support in Nairobi, Kajiado County, and beyond. The suspension has closed 150 clinics, affecting 72,000 HIV patients.

    The USAID funding freeze under the Trump administration is exacerbating Uganda’s Ebola outbreak, delaying critical aid and disrupting response efforts. The suspension has led to understaffed contact tracing and inadequate screening of departing international travelers, as reported by CBS News.

    The freeze on US foreign aid has also led to the suspension of many humanitarian programs in Latin America and Central America.

    In Colombia, at least three humanitarian organizations have suspended support operations for more than 41,000 people displaced by recent guerrilla violence, according to a report by The Guardian. A program aimed at integrating hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants into Colombian society by providing job opportunities has also been paralyzed.

    In Brazil, two organizations assisting Venezuelan refugees have shut down their operations, and a program targeting the commercial sexual exploitation of children has been ordered to stop.

    In South Asia, the Trump administration’s aid freeze will cut off health services for 1.7 million people in Pakistan, including 1.2 million Afghan refugees, due to the closure of 60 facilities, according to the UN.

    In Bangladesh, around 600,000 people, including Rohingya refugees, risk losing maternal and reproductive health services, while UN officials have warned that Afghanistan could see “1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 unintended pregnancies” from 2025 to 2028.

    What are Trump’s concerns about USAID?

    President Trump and his administration have voiced strong opinions against USAID, criticizing its foreign aid efforts for being “not aligned with American interests” and often “destabilizing world peace.”

    A White House statement criticized several USAID-funded projects, deeming them controversial or wasteful.

    These included $1.5 million for advancing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in Serbia’s workplaces, $70,000 for a “DEI musical” in Ireland, and $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam.

    Additionally, $47,000 was allocated to a “transgender opera” in Colombia, and $2 million was spent on sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala.

    The statement also criticized $6 million for a tourism fund in Egypt, and claimed that USAID funds were used to support “al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria.”

    Further, the statement criticized a spending on “personalized” contraceptives and millions used for “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and fertilizer” in Afghanistan, which the statement suggested “supported the Taliban’s poppy cultivation and heroin production.”

    The White House argued these examples were indicative of waste, fraud, and misuse of funds.

    Echoing these criticisms, Elon Musk described USAID as “beyond repair,” adding: “We don’t have ‘an apple with a worm in it,’ we have a ball of worms.”

     ⁠USAID’s funding of LGBTQ+ worldwide

    USAID has allocated substantial funds to various LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, sparking criticism from the Trump administration.

    For example, Asociacion Lambda, based in Guatemala, has been allocated $1.9 million according to USASpending.gov.

    The organization’s official website describes its work as “Since its inception, it has fought for the equality, dignity and participation of LGBTIQ+ people,”

    In South Africa, OUT LGBT Well-Being is allocated $3.1 million. According to the organization’s official website, it works on promoting the well-being of the LGBTQ+o be able to secure “the empowerment, human rights and access to equitable services,”

    Another group that received criticism is Grupa Izadji, a Serbian NGO, another organization which the Biden administration allocated $1.5 million to.

    The organization states on their website thata “Our vision is a society in which LGBTI individuals have the opportunity to fully realize their potential,”

    However, Trump’s foreign aid freeze has halted funding for the group, cutting off expected support through the end of FY 2025.

    In India, USAID partnered with Johns Hopkins University to establish the country’s first transgender clinic, Mitr, providing health care services to the transgender community.

    (Anadolu Agency)

  • Trump, Swift Join Super Bowl Party As Chiefs Chase ‘Three-Peat’

    Trump, Swift Join Super Bowl Party As Chiefs Chase ‘Three-Peat’

    In a first for a sitting US President, Donald Trump will be among an array of VIPs and celebrities in a sell-out crowd of around 74,000 who will be packed into the Caesars Superdome for the biggest annual event in the American sporting calendar.

    Pop superstar Taylor Swift will also be in attendance to watch as her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his Chiefs team-mates bid to win an unprecedented third straight Vince Lombardi Trophy, and a fourth in six seasons.

    There is a heavy police presence in the city and blanket security around the event after the New Year’s Day attack which saw 14 people killed and many more injured in the Big Easy’s famous Bourbon Street district.

    A US army veteran, who the FBI say was motivated by loyalty to the jihadist Islamic State group, used a pickup trick to kill and wound revelers in the crowded French quarter.

    Authorities expect over 100,000 visitors to the city for the game which the Department of Homeland Security has assigned a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 designated event, the highest classification level of public safety risk.

    “I’m confident the safest place this weekend will be under the security umbrella we have in place around [the Superdome],” Cathy Lanier, the NFL’s chief security officer, said this week. “We have reviewed, and re-reviewed, all the events of January 1.”

    Trump’s presence will only increase the security effort with the President going beyond the traditional pre-game televised interview to attend in person.

    Trump has had a strained relationship with the NFL in the past — he was part of an anti-trust lawsuit against the league in the 1980s when he owned a club in the rival USFL league.

    In 2017, Trump criticised NFL players who knelt during the playing of the US national anthem to draw attention to issues of racial injustice, prompting strong criticism from some players.

    Trump then cancelled a planned White House reception for the Eagles after large numbers of players had made it clear they would not attend.

    But there has been no objection from players to Trump attending Sunday’s game with Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is seeking his fourth Super Bowl ring, describing the prospect as “cool”.

    As always, the Super Bowl crosses over into popular culture and the half-time show this year will feature hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, who had a clean sweep at last Sunday’s Grammys, winning in all five categories for which he received nominations.

    Bookmakers and casinos meanwhile are taking odds on whether Chiefs star Kelce will propose to pop icon Swift after the game.

    American sportsbooks, now legal in 38 states, could take an estimated $1.39 billion in bets on the Super Bowl according to an annual report from the American Gaming Association (AGA).

    Chiefs favourites

    Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (right) and tight end Travis Kelce (left) practice ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans © Gregory Shamus / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

    For the more serious punters, the oddsmakers have the Chiefs as slight favourite for the game which is a rematch of the Super Bowl from two years ago which the Chiefs won by three points.

    The Chiefs defended their title last year, beating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas and putting them one win away from an unprecedented ‘three-peat’.

    The 29-year-old Mahomes will become one of just four quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to have won more than three Super Bowls should he triumph again.

    But the Eagles have added serious offensive firepower since their defeat two years ago with mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts joined by the game-changing speed and power of running back Saquon Barkley.

    While the Super Bowl regularly draws the biggest television audience of the year in the USA, interest in the NFL is growing outside of it’s stronghold.

    There is international involvement in this year’s game with Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata looking to become the first Australian to play in and win a Super Bowl.

    Having played in Brazil this year, the NFL is rapidly expanding their presence globally and next season regular season games will be held in London, Berlin and Madrid with Melbourne, Australia, to host a game in 2026.

    In this week’s build-up, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell floated the idea that the Super Bowl itself might one day be held outside the USA.

    “I do think there’s potential that someday we will have an international franchise. If we do, it would not surprise me at all if a Super Bowl follows and is played there,” he said.

    (AFP)