US ends aid to Palestinian refugee agency
Washington, Sep 1 : The US is ending all funding for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), describing it as "irredeemably flawed", a State Department official said.
The US administration has "carefully reviewed" the issue and "will not make additional contributions to Unrwa," the BBC quoted spokeswoman Heather Nauert as saying on Friday.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later said the move was an "flagrant assault" against his people.
"Such a punishment will not succeed to change the fact that the US no longer has a role in the region and that it is not a part of the solution," Nabil Abu Rudeina was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel.
He added that the decision was in "defiance of UN resolutions".
"We reject in the strongest possible terms the criticism that Unrwa's schools, health centres, and emergency assistance programs are 'irredeemably flawed'," Unrwa spokesman Chris Gunness tweeted.
The latest move comes after the US announced back in January that it would withhold more than half of a tranche of funding for the agency, the BBC reported.
Unrwa was originally set up to take care of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It supports more than five million people across the Middle East.
The US has been the largest single donor to Unrwa, providing $368 million in 2016 and funding almost 30 per cent of its operations in the region.
The Donald Trump administration had pledged $60 million to Unrwa in January, but withheld another $65 million pending a review. That remaining payment is now expected to be cancelled.
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Will impose 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada, Mexico: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President-elect Donald Trump has said that he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on every product coming from Canada and Mexico as one of his first actions after assuming office on January 20.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, he said the tariff would remain in place till the time borders with Mexico and Canada are closed to prevent illegal immigration into the US.
"As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. Right now, a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border,” Trump said.
"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.
"This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem," he said.
"We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price," Trump said.
