International Funding

Amnesty International has also sounded the alarm, calling on donor countries to step up financial support. According to UNHCR, 95 per cent of Rohingya households depend on humanitarian aid, and food ration reductions will push them deeper into hunger and insecurity.

The United States currently pays about 22 per cent of the United Nations’ regular budget and 27 per cent of the peacekeeping budget. As of now, the United States owes $1.5 billion to the UN’s regular budget.

The Taliban, long known for maintaining a united front and keeping internal conflicts out of public view, is now exhibiting unprecedented internal discord.

The number killed in violence last year was the highest since the military coup in 2021. Over 1,800 civilians were killed in 2024, many in indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery shelling, with attacks on schools, places of worship and healthcare facilities having become routine.

During a fiery exchange in the Oval Office, Trump accused Zelensky of “overplaying his hand” and dismissed Ukraine’s appeals for defined security guarantees.

In contrast, when Trump had said on Wednesday in Miami that USAID had spent $21 million in India, most papers not only latched on to the news but also displayed it well on Page 1.

The decision to terminate these grants reportedly came after a suggestion from Trump’s close aide, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk advised the administration to cut down on what he described as unnecessary foreign aid spending.

In August 1971, President Richard Nixon, without any international consultations, launched what became known as the Nixon Shock. He broke the link between gold and the US dollar, thereby ending the international monetary system established in 1944.