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Hi, this is Michelle. Donald Trump’s dramatic policy shifts continue to have ripple effects in Geneva. At a key meeting, the UN’s health boss defended the organisation before other states against US accusations that led to their breakup. The Human Rights Council and the UN Palestinian aid agency have become the latest addition to the US leader's blacklist.

Tensions over US tariffs freshly imposed on China, Canada and Mexico are starting to boil at the World Trade Organization, though they will probably not go further than that. Plus, the fate of US aid is now under threat.

photo journaliste

Michelle Langrand

04.02.2025


Today’s top headlines


Photo article

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference organised by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents, 10 December 2024. (Keytone/Salvatore Di Nolfi)

🫸WHO chief counters Trump criticisms behind US pullout. Opening the health agency’s executive meeting on Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denied the US accusations of impartiality.

AFP via France24 (EN)

🇺🇳US to again withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, stop UNRWA funding. The moves, expected to be made official through an executive order on Tuesday, came as president Trump was set to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

Politico (EN)

🚧Musk says USAID to shut down as employees told to stay home. Attempts to dismantle or restructure the agency responsible for distributing US foreign aid will likely have far-reaching consequences for organisations worldwide that depend on it.

BBC (EN)

💱Are Trump tariffs legal? It may not matter. China has already threatened to file a complaint at the WTO over Trump’s decision to impose 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese exports. But a frozen appellate body leaves it with limited powers to handle legal challenges.

Politico (EN)

🎙️Can the WTO stay relevant? With Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The world trade chief discusses her accomplishments so far and her plans for dealing with the Trump administration.

Financial Times (EN)

🙏Members of US Congress urge Trump to reconsider WHO withdrawal. Forty-three elected officials underscored the vital relationship between the US and the UN agency and warned about the risk that halting coordination would pose for US citizens.

Devex (EN)

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