The U.S. special envoy to Russia and Ukraine said Thursday the U.S. plans to significantly step up pressure on Russia through sanctions to end the war in Ukraine. 

In an exclusive interview with the New York Post, Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said there is a lot of room to increase sanctions on Russia, particularly in Russia’s energy sector. He characterized sanctions enforcement on Russia as “only about a 3” on a scale of 1 to 10 on “how painful the economic pressure can be.” 

Kellogg told the Post he understands that both Moscow and Kyiv will have to make concessions to end what he called the “industrial-sized” killing in the war. 

In the interview, Kellogg also was critical of the approach by the administration of former President Joe Biden of “supporting Ukraine as long as it takes,” calling it “a bumper sticker, not a strategy.” 

Kellogg said the Trump administration is focused on a “holistic approach” to ending the war, combining support for Ukraine with increased pressure on Russia. 

Kellogg’s Chief of Staff Ludovic Hood echoed those sentiments when he told the GLOBSEC Transatlantic Forum in Washington on Thursday, “Nothing’s off the table at this stage” as far as negotiations for a peace deal. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s presidential website reported the U.S. special envoy also spoke Thursday with Ukraine’s head of the office of the president, Andriy Yermak. In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said the two discussed Kellogg’s upcoming visit to Ukraine, as well as the situation on the front lines and security issues for Ukrainian civilians.  

The statement said the two gave “special attention” in their conversation to the upcoming Munich Security Conference, scheduled to begin in one week. 

In a separate interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Yermak stressed the importance of “active engagement” between Ukraine and the Trump administration, particularly as any peace negotiations. 

Yermak emphasized the importance of keeping the Trump White House up to date and providing accurate information about the battlefield situation. He said direct communication with U.S. partners is crucial for establishing a shared position, because it is impossible to form any peace plans without Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, in the latest reports from the battlefield, Ukraine’s air force reported Friday – from its Telegram social media account – Russian attacks across multiple Ukrainian regions killed at least three civilians and injured five over the past 24 hours.  

The report said Ukrainian air defenses shot down 81 of 112 Shahed combat drones and decoy drones Russia launched over nine oblasts, or regions, while 31 other drones were lost without causing damage.

From his Telegram account, Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian shelling killed one person and wounded five others, and two high-rise buildings and six private houses were damaged. 

The regional administration in Sumy Oblast says two people were killed when Russian shelling destroyed a two-story apartment building. The report said the victims’ bodies were found in the rubble as rescue crews cleared the area and there are fears more bodies could be found.  

 
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel, repeating action he took during his first term.  

The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israel’s Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu, who — along with his former defense minister and a leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas — is wanted by the ICC over the war in the Gaza Strip.  

It was unclear how quickly the U.S. would announce names of people sanctioned. During the first Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan. 

The ICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sanctions include freezing any U.S. assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States. 

The 125-member ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals. The United States, China, Russia and Israel are not members.  

Trump signed the executive order after U.S. Senate Democrats last week blocked a Republican-led effort to pass legislation setting up a sanctions regime targeting the war crimes court.  

The court has taken measures to shield staff from possible U.S. sanctions, paying salaries three months in advance, as it braced for financial restrictions that could cripple the war crimes tribunal, sources told Reuters last month. 

In December, the court’s president, judge Tomoko Akane, warned that sanctions would “rapidly undermine the Court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardize its very existence.”

Russia has also taken aim at the court. In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia has banned entry to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan and placed him and two ICC judges on its wanted list. 
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Azerbaijani authorities detained two more journalists this week, bringing the number held in the past year to nearly two dozen.

Police on Wednesday arrested Shamshad Agha, of the news website Argument, and Shahnaz Beylargizi of Toplum TV. A court in the capital, Baku, on Thursday ordered the journalists to be held in pretrial detention for two months and one day, and three months and 15 days respectively, according to their lawyers.

The journalists are charged with smuggling — a charge used in several other cases since November 2023, as authorities detained at least 23 journalists.

Many of those currently detained had worked for the independent outlets Abzas Media and Meydan TV.

All the journalists being investigated since November 2023 have denied wrongdoing, and media watchdogs say they believe the cases are designed to silence media.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, said that Agha’s arrest “underscores a grim intent by Azerbaijani authorities to silence and further restrict the country’s small and embattled independent media community.”

“Azerbaijan’s government should immediately reverse its unprecedented media crackdown and release Agha along with all other unjustly jailed journalists,” said a statement from CPJ’s Gulnoza Said.

Bashir Suleymanli, who is head of the Baku-based legal assistance group known as the Institute of Civil Rights, believes that the arrests are an attempt by authorities to stifle free speech.

“It seems that the process will continue until the complete elimination of independent journalism in the country,” he told VOA.

Lawmaker Bahruz Maharramov, however, says the arrests are not a press freedom issue.

“Law enforcement agencies have taken relevant measures based on facts and irrefutable evidence, the authenticity of which is beyond doubt,” he told VOA. “Of course, since such media organizations are formed more as instruments of influence of the West, the legal and judicial measures taken against them are observed with inadequate reactions from the West.”

Based in Azerbaijan, human rights activist Samir Kazimli says that independent media and news outlets critical of the government are undergoing a difficult period.

“If this policy of repression does not stop, independent media in Azerbaijan may be completely destroyed,” he told VOA.

Kazimli said that the international community, including rights groups, politicians and U.S. and European officials “must take steps using urgent and effective mechanisms to stop the Azerbaijani authorities’ attacks on civil society and independent media.”

One of the journalists detained this week had recently spoken out about concerns for the future of independent media in Azerbaijan.

“The lives of all independent journalists are in danger,” Agha told VOA in January.

The editor of Argument, a news website covering democracy, corruption and human rights, said he has been banned from leaving the country since July.

The research organization Freedom House describes Azerbaijan as an “authoritarian regime” and states that authorities have “carried out an extensive crackdown on civil liberties in recent years.”

Elshan Hasanov of the Political Prisoners Monitoring Center told VOA that the total number of detainees documented by the Azeri nonprofit is 331.

Azerbaijani authorities reject criticism on detainees as biased.

Parliamentarian Maharramov told VOA that media in the country are free and that conditions for providing everyone with information, including diversity of opinion and freedom of action in the media sector as a whole, are fully ensured.

Azerbaijan is among the worst jailers of journalists in the world, according to data by the CPJ. The country ranks 164 out of 180 on the Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best environment for media. 

This story originated in VOA’s Azeri Service.
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Police in Sweden investigating the nation’s worst mass shooting said at a news briefing Thursday that the scene at an adult learning center was an “inferno” of smoke, with injured and dead victims.

The attack on Tuesday left 10 people dead, including the suspected shooter, at Campus Risbergska in the city of Orebro, about 200 kilometers west of Stockholm. The facility offers adult courses, including Swedish language classes for immigrants. Law enforcement officials say the shooter, who Swedish media have identified as 35-year-old Rickard Andersson, may have been a student at the center.

Law enforcement officials have not officially identified the suspect, whose cause of death remains unclear.

Orebro police Chief Lars Wiren said at the news conference Thursday that about 130 officers arrived at the scene within 10 minutes of an alarm, where they found “dead people, injured people, screams and smoke.”

As officers entered the building, they reported it was partially filled with smoke, making it difficult for them to see. They reported gunfire that they believed was directed at them but reportedly did not return fire.

Police said the smoke was not caused by fire but by “some sort of pyrotechnics.” Several officers had to seek medical treatment for smoke inhalation.

Chief investigator Anna Bergkvist said Thursday that the suspect had a license for four guns, all of which have been confiscated.

“Three of those weapons were next to him when police secured him inside the building,” she said.

Bergkvist said investigators have not determined a motive for the mass shooting, telling Agence France-Presse that “multiple nationalities, different genders and different ages” were among those who were killed.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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VILNIUS, LITHUANIA — Nearly 3 1/2 decades after leaving the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this weekend will flip a switch to end electricity-grid connections to neighboring Russia and Belarus — and turn to their European Union allies.

The severing of electricity ties to oil- and gas-rich Russia is steeped in geopolitical and symbolic significance. Work toward it sped up after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine three years ago, battering Moscow’s EU relations.

“This is physical disconnection from the last remaining element of our reliance on the Russian and Belarusian energy system,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and other dignitaries are expected at a ceremony on Sunday as a specially-made 9-meter-tall clock in downtown Vilnius counts down the final seconds of the Baltic states’ electricity ties to Russia.

Chilly ties since the fall of the Soviet Union

The Baltic countries, which are all NATO members, have often had chilly ties with Russia since declaring independence from the USSR in 1990 — and relations soured further over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Sixteen power lines that used to connect the three Baltic states with Russia and Belarus were dismantled over the years as a new grid linking them with the rest of the EU was created, including underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.

On Saturday, all remaining transmission lines between them and Russia, Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad — a Russian exclave wedged between EU members Poland and Lithuania and the sea — will be switched off one by one.

Then, for 24 hours, the Baltic Power System will operate solo in an “island operation mode.” The next day, the power system is set to merge with the Continental European and Nordic grids through several links with Finland, Sweden and Poland.

The Kaliningrad region, which has no land ties to mainland Russia, already relies on its own power generation, according to Litgrid, Lithuania’s electricity transmission system operator.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the disconnection plan was announced in advance by the Baltic countries and the Russian energy sector had taken preparatory steps to ensure smooth operation on its side.

“Those plans were announced a long time ago, and they required certain actions by our and their electric companies,” Peskov told reporters. “We have taken all necessary measures to ensure reliable and uninterrupted operation of our unified energy system.”

Risks of troublemaking?

The three Baltic countries, which together share a 1,633-kilometer-long border with Russia and Belarus, officially informed Moscow and Minsk of the disconnection plan in July. Their national transmission system operators credited 1.2 billion euros, or $1.25 billion, in EU and other support, to help the countries synchronize with the Continental Europe Synchronous Area.

“Lithuania has done a lot in the last 30 years to disconnect, to become independent,” Nausėda said. Three years ago, “we stopped buying any kind of energy resources from Russia. It was our response to the war in Ukraine.”

Despite the advance notice, the Baltic nations are still on watch for a possible response from their former Soviet partners.

“The risk of cyberattacks remains substantial,” Litgrid said last week, adding that continued vigilance, collaboration, defensive steps and “robust” cybersecurity measures were needed to effectively mitigate potential threats.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa warned Wednesday of possible provocations, but said Latvia was well-prepared and services including the armed forces and national guard were stepping up their vigilance and security measures.

“Clearly there are risks, we understand that very well. But the risks are identified and there is a contingency plan in case these risks materialize,” Siliņa said.

After the disconnection plans were announced, propaganda campaigns cropped up on social media and in printed leaflets in city streets that issued fake-news warnings about blackouts, severe energy shortages and sky-high energy bills for consumers.

“We heard those rumors, but we are used to such things already,” said Jolanta Karavaitiene, a retired teacher, in central Vilnius. “Of course, we must disconnect from them. Given the geopolitical situation, I see no reason for us to be there (in the Russian grid).”

Still, some in the region were taking precautionary measures.

Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR has reported surging sales of generators. Home appliance chain Bauhof sold dozens more generators last month compared to January a year ago, and rival Ehituse ABC had to limit their purchases the report said.

A long road toward energy independence

The Baltic countries’ steps toward energy independence have been decades in the making.

In 2003, prior to joining the EU, Lithuania decided to shut down the Soviet-built Ignalina nuclear power plant in response to concerns in Brussels over its safety. It was decommissioned in 2009.

Lithuania built an offshore oil terminal in the Baltic Sea in 1999. Seven years later, it became the country’s sole crude oil import point after Russia’s surprise move to halt supplies of oil to Lithuania through Russia’s vast Druzhba pipeline network.

Rokas Masiulis, the CEO of Litgrid, said Lithuania has “suffered a great deal” because of Russian actions in the past, such as through halting oil supplies and jacking up prices for gas that his country once depended on.

He said Lithuania today has “much more than we need” in terms of electricity capacity, from both fossil fuels but also increasingly solar and wind. “So we are safe,” he said.

The disconnection with Russia “is neither bad for them, (nor) bad for us,” Masiulis said. “We were sort of interconnected and interdependent on each other. Now we will just part our ways.”

The three Baltic countries have rebuilt power lines and launched a vast construction and reconstruction program to turn their networks away from Russia and toward the West, the Litgrid CEO added, calling it a technological feat.

“Actions by Russia — by them being aggressive and pushing their neighbors — has really helped us,” Masiulis said. “Maybe we’ve suffered a little with oil prices, with gas prices, but we were forced to act. So we built alternative routes.”

“Now we’re in much better state than we were before,” he added. “So maybe they wished us ill, but ultimately everything worked very well for us.” 
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ANKARA, TURKEY — Two years after the deadliest and most destructive earthquake in modern Turkish history, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, with many still living in temporary housing, as rebuilding efforts lag behind initial targets.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, and its aftershocks rattled 11 Turkish provinces and parts of northern Syria, killing more than 55,000 people and injuring more than 107,000.

The disaster reduced entire towns to rubble, including homes, hospitals, and historical landmarks, with Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman hardest hit.

The government has pledged to build 650,000 homes, with President Tayyip Erdogan promising in the weeks after the tremor that 319,000 would be delivered within a year.

“We are fortunate to have delivered 201,431 independent units to their rightful owners less than two years after the earthquake,” Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting on Monday.

Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said $75 billion had been spent on rebuilding across the quake region.

The critical phases of reconstruction have been completed, he said, adding that housing and business projects were progressing rapidly.

Many residents, however, remain in makeshift conditions, while others have left their home provinces entirely, disrupting communities and livelihoods.

Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition CHP, said only 30% of the pledged reconstruction had been completed. The housing completion rate in Hatay, one of the worst-hit provinces, was only 18%, he said.

“Only three out of 10 who believed in Erdogan now have homes, while the other seven are still in containers or seeking refuge in the homes of relatives,” Ozel said on Tuesday.

“How can they look into the eyes of those they forced to live in containers for two years and say, ‘We have kept all our promises, thank God’?”

Lingering hardships

International and local aid groups say a full recovery remains far off, with thousands of Turks still facing barriers to returning home.

The Hatay Earthquake Victims’ Association said in a report that more than 400,000 people remain in container-home cities, facing poor sanitation, inadequate health care, and an uncertain future.

It also raised concerns about asbestos exposure from unregulated demolitions and land seizures under emergency decrees.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said that millions of people in Turkey and Syria were still struggling to rebuild their lives. It called the pace of reconstruction “far too slow” for such a disaster.

Delays in reconstruction hurt long-term stability and risk depopulation of the region, some aid groups say.

In Hatay, in southernmost Turkey, empty streets, shuttered businesses, and demolition work still define the city, which was once a bustling mixture of cultures and religions, and a draw for tourism.

Ankara says its response to the earthquake has been effective and on track.

Kurum, the government minister, said 423,000 homes and workplaces will be handed over to survivors by the end of 2025, adding that Turkey had allocated $19 billion for recovery efforts. 
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British Foreign Minister David Lammy met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and announced a new $68.7 million financial package for Ukraine as its war with Russia continues.

“Our support for Ukraine remains unbreakable,” Lammy said. “We are determined to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, both in its fight against Russia and beyond.”

Later Wednesday, Zelenskyy told reporters that an international force of troops would be needed if forces were deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire deal with Russia.

It would be a “major mistake” if U.S. troops were not included, the president said. “This isn’t just a matter of numbers. It’s about sharing responsibility and ensuring security guarantees.”

Ukraine and Russia exchanged captured soldiers on Wednesday. Each country returned 150 prisoners of war.

Zelenskyy shared on Telegram photographs of some of the Ukrainian soldiers, saying, “They are all from different sectors of the front, but they have one thing in common — they fought for Ukraine.”

A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region, the area’s governor said Wednesday.

The fire, which was later put out, happened in the village of Novominskaya.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said that debris from a destroyed drone caused the fire, and that there were no injuries.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Kursk region and two more drones over Belgorod, both of which border Ukraine.

Officials in Kursk reported damage to a building but no casualties.

Ukraine’s military said Wednesday it shot down 57 of the 104 drones that Russian forces launched in overnight attacks.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy and Zhytomyr regions.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the attacks damaged several buildings and injured one person.

Officials also reported damage to buildings in Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad and Sumy.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
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ATHENS, GREECE — Earthquakes rattled Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini every few minutes through the night and into Wednesday as authorities bolstered their emergency plans in case the hundreds of temblors over the past few days are a harbinger of a larger quake to come.  

A coast guard vessel and a military landing craft were in the wider area as a contingency should an evacuation be required, Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said Wednesday during an emergency meeting with security officials, scientists and the prime minister in Athens.  

“We are obliged to draw up scenarios for better and for worse regarding the prolonged seismic activity,” Kikilias said during the meeting, which was televised live.  

Predicting earthquakes is not scientifically possible, and experts cannot yet determine definitively whether the seismic activity between the islands of Santorini and Amorgos could be a precursor to a significantly larger earthquake, or is part of an earthquake swarm that could continue shaking the area with small or moderate intensity quakes for weeks or months. 

 “I understand the fear of what it means at the moment to be on a Santorini that is constantly moving,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, as he called on residents to remain calm and follow authorities’ instructions.  

Rescue crews with a sniffer dog and drones have been deployed on Santorini as a precaution since Sunday, while authorities have banned access to several coastal areas and ordered schools on several islands to shut for the week. Public events on Santorini have been banned, and local authorities were restricting access to clifftop areas that are among the biggest tourist draws to the island.  

Thousands of residents and visitors have already left Santorini, frightened by the hundreds of earthquakes measuring between magnitude 3 and magnitude 5 that have struck the area since the weekend.  

Ferry lines and commercial airlines have added ships and flights to their schedules this week to accommodate the increased demand. However, ferry services were disrupted on Wednesday due to rough weather.  

The quakes, which all have epicenters beneath the seabed between Santorini and the Amorgos, have so far caused no injuries or major damage, although limited rockslides and cracks in some older buildings have been reported on Santorini. Greece lies in a highly seismically active part of the world and earthquakes are frequent. But it is extremely rare for any part of the country to experience such an intense barrage of frequent earthquakes. 

 Last week, authorities said monitors had picked up increased volcanic activity within Santorini’s caldera, or flooded crater, but scientists say this is unrelated to the current quakes. They have also said the seismic activity northeast of the island is unlikely to trigger either of the two volcanoes in the area.  

Southeast Aegean regional governor Giorgos Hatzimarkos told Greek state television that the country’s electricity provider had sent staff and equipment to the island to prepare contingency plans in case of power cuts, while civil engineers were checking the road network. Digital Governance Deputy Minister Konstantinos Kyranakis said the government was working with telecommunications providers to ensure backup plans in case of a network outage in the area.
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BEIJING — China is willing to work with the European Union on boosting cooperation and responding to “global challenges,” its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, as the bloc faces potential U.S. tariffs on its shipments to the world’s largest economy.

China attaches great importance to EU ties and hopes the bloc will become a reliable cooperation partner, said Lin Jian, spokesperson at the Chinese ministry.

The EU’s trade chief said on Tuesday that the bloc wanted to engage swiftly with the United States over President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen forecast negotiations with Washington would be tough.

As transatlantic ties come under strain with Trump’s tariff threats, China hawks within the EU such as von der Leyen are showing signs of willingness to rethink the relationship between Beijing and Brussels, a bond that had been tested by trade tensions and China’s ties with Russia.

Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, von der Leyen said the EU would keep “de-risking” its relationship with China but added that there was room to “find solutions” in their mutual interest and “find agreements” that could even expand trade and investment ties.

She did not give details on what those agreements could be.

In Davos, Switzerland, last month, von der Leyen also said both sides should find solutions of mutual interest.

In October, the EU imposed double-digit tariffs on China-made electric vehicles after an anti-subsidy investigation, in addition to its standard car import duty of 10%. The move drew loud protests from Beijing, which in return, raised market entry barriers for certain EU products such as brandy.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.

“It’s got great potential and based on the potential we’ll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together,” Trump told reporters. “It’s not being well run, to be honest and they’re not doing the job.

“A lot of these conflicts that we’re working on should be settled, or at least we should have some help in settling them. We never seem to get help. That should be the primary purpose of the United Nations,” the U.S. president said.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, “From day one, U.S. support for the United Nations has saved countless lives and advanced global security.”

“The secretary-general looks forward to continuing his productive relationship with President Trump and the U.S. government to strengthen that relationship in today’s turbulent world.”

Trump said that he was not looking to take away money from the 193-member world body, though he complained that Washington had to pay a disproportionate amount.

Washington is the U.N.’s largest contributor – followed by China – accounting for 22% of the core U.N. budget and 27% of the peacekeeping budget. The U.N. has said the U.S. currently owes a total of $2.8 billion, of which $1.5 billion is for the regular budget. These payments are not voluntary.

UNRWA

Trump’s order on Tuesday was largely symbolic and mirrored moves he made during his first term in office, from 2017-2021.

Since taking office for a second term on Jan. 20, Trump has ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization and from the Paris climate agreement – also steps he took during his first term in office.

The U.S. was UNRWA’s biggest donor – providing $300 million-$400 million a year – but former President Joe Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian militants Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.

The U.S. Congress then formally suspended contributions to UNRWA until at least March 2025. UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

The United Nations has said that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed in September by Israel – was also found to have had a UNRWA job. The U.N. has vowed to investigate all accusations made and repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided.

Human Rights Council

The first Trump administration also quit the 47-member Human Rights Council halfway through a three-year term over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform. The U.S. is not currently a member of the Geneva-based body. Under Biden, the U.S. was re-elected and served a 2022-2024 term.

A council working group is due to review the U.S. human rights record later this year, a process all countries undergo every few years. While the council has no legally binding power, its debates carry political weight and criticism can raise global pressure on governments to change course.

Trump’s executive order on Tuesday also asks Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review and report back to him on international organizations, conventions, or treaties that “promote radical or anti-American sentiment.”

He specified that the U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should be reviewed first because Washington had previously accused it of anti-Israel bias.
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