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Elon Musk's DOGE team began efforts to "obliterate USAID" after State Department officials discovered a $153 million expenditure considered irregular. Pete Marocco, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump as Director of the Department of Foreign Aid under the Department of State, on January 23 expressed anger when reviewing documents related to the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Morocco was then planning to implement the 90-day freeze on foreign aid issued by Mr. Trump on his first day in office. Marocco discovered that USAID recently paid $153 million for a series of expenses. The director of the USAID executive department from the US State Department demanded to know why the money was transferred despite the President's freeze order, according to five sources familiar with the matter.
Morocco at the same time drafted a diplomatic cable, scheduled to be sent the next day, stating that even current foreign aid funds must be frozen for at least three months pending review.
At meetings over the next 24 hours, USAID officials tried to explain the situation. They pointed out that the $153 million was used to pay for many items, such as employee salaries and money owed to outside contractors for completed work. In the view of USAID officials, these payments do not violate the foreign aid freeze issued by President Trump. But Morocco is not convinced. On the morning of January 27, he arrived at USAID headquarters with more than 10 people, most of whom were representatives from the Department of Government Performance (DOGE), an agency run by technology billionaire Elon Musk to streamline the apparatus and cut federal spending. USAID has since been in the sights of Musk and President Trump.
In the days that followed, Morocco and DOGE drastically streamlined the decades-old aid agency, which has an annual budget of more than $40 billion and has long served as America's main tool for disbursing humanitarian aid abroad and building soft power. All but about 600 of USAID's more than 10,000 employees worldwide were suspended. However, a federal judge ordered to block some of President Trump's team's efforts to shrink USAID, including temporarily suspending thousands of employees. Experts say USAID is especially vulnerable in the current US political context. Foreign aid is not an issue that tends to resonate strongly with voters, and its humanitarian mission does not directly affect Americans.
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President Trump said Palestinians would relocate to a "much better" place and would not have the right to return to Gaza under his proposed reconstruction plan for the strip of land. "No, they will not have the right to return," US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News on February 10, when host Bret Baier asked him "whether the Palestinians have the right to return to Gaza." "Because they will have a much better place to live. I'm talking about building a permanent settlement for them." According to Mr. Trump, it will take many years for Gaza to become a habitable land. The White House boss also believes that an agreement can be reached with Egypt and Jordan. "You know, we give them billions of dollars every year," Mr. Trump said.
President Trump recently caused controversy when he proposed the idea of the US taking over the Gaza Strip, resettling Palestinians to other countries and turning this strip of land into the "Middle Eastern Riviera". Riviera is a famous resort and tourist destination along the Mediterranean, stretching from France to Italy. President Trump is urging Egypt and Jordan to agree to accept Palestinians to "clean everything up" in Gaza. On February 10, the White House boss threatened to stop aid to the two countries if they refused to participate in the idea. Egypt, Jordan and other Arab countries warn that evacuating Palestinians risks causing instability in the region. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington on February 10, saying Arab countries support the Palestinians in their efforts to reject Mr. Trump's plan. Mr. Abdelatty emphasized the importance of accelerating Gaza reconstruction while the Palestinian people remain in the strip of land.
Gaza is a small strip of land, with an area of about 365 square kilometers, bordering Israel and Egypt, the other side facing the Mediterranean. This is one of two Palestinian territories. The remaining area is the West Bank, bordering Jordan, occupied by Israel. The Gaza Strip was severely devastated after the Israeli army launched a campaign to deal with Hamas, responding to the raid in southern Israel that caused large casualties on October 7, 2023. Hamas and Israel recently reached a ceasefire agreement, preparing to begin a second round of negotiations to end the fighting.
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Canada has a number of measures ranging from retaliatory tariffs to limiting energy supplies to cope with tax pressure from President Trump. After many threats from President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on January 31 that the country does not want a tariff war with the US, but "if he decides to do it, we will also act". However, this threat did not stop Mr. Trump a day later from announcing a 25% tax on imports from Canada, except for energy products subject to a 10% tax. Tariffs are seen as a key part of Mr. Trump's economic vision. The US President sees this as a way to develop the domestic economy, protect jobs for people and increase tax revenue, so he is willing to launch tax blows with even close allies like Canada.
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Lach Huyen Terminal in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam, in January 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tan
The government is seeking to raise this year’s economic growth target to 8% from the earlier minimum of 6.5%.
Read more: Government seeks lawmakers’ approval to hike GDP growth target to 8%
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The wreckage of a Taiwanese fishing vessel in Phu Yen Province in central Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Van Son
A 22-meter Taiwanese fishing vessel broke in half on a beach in central Vietnam after drifting at sea for two days, Phu Yen border guards said Monday.
Read more: Taiwanese vessel breaks in half on Vietnamese beach