Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told an official with the United States Agency for International Development that foreign aid was “the least popular thing government spends money on” and had become increasingly difficult to defend, according to a transcript of a private embassy event. Mr. Rubio sought to explain his support for the … Read more
President Trump basked as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel praised his “willingness to think outside the box.” But when it came to Gaza, Mr. Trump’s thinking on Tuesday was so far outside the box that it was not clear he even knew there was a box. Mr. Trump’s announcement that he intends to seize … Read more
President Trump’s sweeping executive order to halt foreign aid threatens to freeze a U.S. program supporting security forces inside a notorious camp in the Syrian desert that holds tens of thousands of Islamic State members and their families, Syrian and U.S. officials said. The order has also wreaked havoc on another U.S. organization in Syria … Read more
President Trump’s Middle East envoy is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday, according to a spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu. The visit by the envoy, Steven Witkoff, was set to take place as Israeli and Hamas officials prepared for a new round of negotiations aimed at cementing the current cease-fire in … Read more
Under threats from President Trump that included steep tariffs, President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has relented and will allow U.S. military planes to fly deportees into the country, after turning two transports back in response to what he called inhumane treatment. The two leaders had engaged in a war of words on Sunday after Colombia’s … Read more
It is unclear if Mr. Trump would try to use the $1.3 billion that Egypt is supposed to receive in annual aid as leverage to try to force it to accept more Palestinian refugees. The fear of being driven from Gaza runs deep among Palestinians, who reject it as a replay of what they call … Read more
President Trump said on Tuesday that he intended to impose a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports into the United States on Feb. 1, a decision that is sure to escalate trade tensions between the world’s largest economies. Speaking at the White House, Mr. Trump said that the tariffs were in response to China’s role … Read more
In one of its final acts, the Biden administration secured the release of two Americans held in Afghanistan in a prisoner swap for a Taliban member imprisoned in the United States on narcotics charges. The Taliban government freed Ryan Corbett and William Wallace McKenty in exchange for Khan Mohammed, who was released from a U.S. … Read more
Israeli security and policy chiefs were expected to arrive in Qatar on Sunday for high-level talks about a proposed cease-fire deal in Gaza that would see hostages released in the final days of President Biden’s term and before Donald J. Trump takes office. Biden administration officials have been pressing for a deal that would become … Read more
Bret Stephens: Happy New Year, Gail. Donald Trump will be president again in a couple of weeks. Is there any news on the horizon that gives you cause for optimism? Gail Collins: Well, Bret, the holiday season is always a great time to reunite with friends and family. Happy to look back on that. But … Read more