Connect with us

News

White House quietly drops WTO, ILO from foreign aid cut list

Published

on

The World Trade Organisation and the International Labour Organisation told AFP on Thursday that they no longer figured among entities targeted in the White House’s latest round of foreign aid cuts.

US President Donald Trump’s Republican administration announced last Friday that it was cancelling $4.9 billion of congressionally approved foreign aid, sparking outrage among Democrats.

In a memo detailing the cuts, the administration said it was “committed to getting America’s fiscal house in order by cutting government spending that is woke, weaponised, and wasteful”.

Trump, who has already effectively dismantled USAID — the world’s largest humanitarian aid agency — since taking office again in January, listed a number of international organisations among the targeted entities.

The list originally included $107 million in cuts to ILO funding and another $29 million in slashed funding to the WTO.

But by Wednesday, the WTO had disappeared from the list, and on Thursday the ILO had also vanished.

“We are aware of the removal of the International Labour Organisation from a US administration memo released on 29 August,” the agency told AFP.

“We are seeking more information on what this latest development means for the ILO.”

The WTO also confirmed to AFP that it was “not on the funding cut list any more.”

There was no immediate explanation for why the two Geneva-based organisations had been quietly removed from the official White House document.

The UN labour agency told AFP earlier this week that after Trump’s earlier executive orders slashing foreign funding, “the majority of ILO projects funded by the USA were given closure orders”.

Of the 229 ILO staff who had been working on projects funded by Washington, 190 initially received a pink slip, but in the end more than half of them were reassigned to other projects, a spokeswoman said.

The United States remains the largest contributor to the WTO’s budget, pitching in 23 million Swiss francs ($28.5 million) this year, or 11.4 per cent of the total.

US backing had meanwhile covered 22 per cent of the ILO’s regular budget.

But Washington has so far not paid its contributions for 2024 or 2025 to either organisation, with such delays quite common among member countries.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

PHOTOS: Igbo Community in Osun Storms Streets for Egungun Festival

Published

on

The Igbo community in Osun State on Saturday held its annual Egungun Festival, drawing thousands of participants and spectators across the state.

The colourful celebration saw various masquerades (Egungun) accompanied by large crowds of Igbo residents who trooped to major streets in Osogbo in jubilation.

The main venue of the festival was the Freedom Park in Osogbo, which hosted cultural displays, music, and traditional performances.

AMILOADED correspondent who visited the venue observed a heavy security presence, with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and operatives of Amotekun Corps providing orderliness.

The festival attracted not only members of the Igbo community but also indigenes and residents of Osun, who watched the cultural display with excitement.

The streets of Osogbo were filled with festive activities as masquerades entertained onlookers, whiledancers thrilled the gathering with traditional rhythms.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading

News

Nollywood Actor Ibrahim Chatta Loses Son

Published

on

Popular Nollywood actor, Ibrahim Chatta, is grieving the loss of his son.

The 54-year-old actor shared the heartbreaking news on his Instagram page on Saturday, though he did not disclose details surrounding the boy’s death.

Posting a photo of his late son, Chatta wrote, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Ya Allah, You are the Knower of all things. Rest on, Dear son, champ.”

The tragic announcement drew an outpouring of condolences from colleagues and fans, who filled the comment section with words of comfort and prayers for the bereaved family.

This came just days after the Nollywood community was hit by another loss, following the death of veteran actress Peju Ogunmola’s only son, Ayomikun, who passed away in Ibadan earlier this week.

The back-to-back tragedies have thrown Nollywood into mourning, with many describing the moment as one of the darkest in recent memory.

Chatta had previously opened up about the pain of losing a child. In June, he recounted how financial hardship and poor access to healthcare led to the death of his first child, a daughter.

According to him, he could not afford a proper coffin at the time and was forced to bury her in an old wooden Coca-Cola crate.

The actor’s latest loss has once again drawn attention to the personal struggles behind the glitz of Nollywood, while fans and colleagues continued to rally around him in solidarity.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading

News

Defence headquarters warns former soldiers against protests

Published

on

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has warned discharged soldiers protesting at the Federal Ministry of Finance over the Security Debarment Allowance (SDA) to desist, describing the demonstrations as illegal.

Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, issued the warning on Friday, September 5, saying the protests were obstructing official activities at the ministry and would no longer be tolerated.

“The Defence Headquarters acknowledges freedom of legitimate protest, but the veterans are strongly advised to trade with caution and vacate the premises of the Federal Ministry of Finance in order to pave way for normal government functions to be seamlessly conducted,” Kangye stated.

He clarified that neither the government nor the DHQ owed retired soldiers any SDA, explaining that payments were being made in line with applicable wage charts. “Gratuity and SDA are calculated based on the salary chart effective on a soldier’s date of retirement,” he said.

Kangye noted that those who retired between January 1 and July 28, 2024, fell under the pre-minimum wage chart, while retirees from July 29, 2024, onward were placed under the minimum wage chart following the implementation of the new wage structure.

“Unfortunately, soldiers who retired before the implementation date have insisted their benefits should be calculated with the new minimum wage chart, which is not possible. Government policies have effective dates of implementation and this case cannot be an exception,” Kangye stressed.

He urged the ex-soldiers to respect laid-down processes and desist from further illegal demonstrations.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading

Trending