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President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday issued a new rule to fast-track deep-sea mining in international waters, bringing the United States a step closer to unilaterally launching the controversial industry.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 113-page document consolidates what is currently a two-step permitting process — one for exploration and another for commercial recovery — into a single review, thus reducing environmental oversight.It claims authority under the 1980 Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act to govern harvesting of minerals in areas beyond US jurisdiction.”Over the past decades there has been a vast improvement in the technological capability for deep seabed mining, and the industry has obtained a substantial amount of information from deep seabed exploration activities,” a document posted to the Federal Register said, justifying the consolidation.But Emily Jeffers, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, pushed back against the idea that scientific understanding of the deep ocean has advanced in leaps and bounds, adding the seabed remains one of the planet’s last largely unexplored frontiers, where scientists are only beginning to grasp how ecosystems function.”By issuing the permit simultaneously, they’re committing to exploitation without the information that you would need to evaluate its impacts,” she told AFP.The rule follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last April directing agencies to streamline processes in a push to harvest seabed minerals, including rare earth elements critical to clean energy and defense technologies.Teeming with mysterious species, the ocean floor has become a coveted frontier for companies and countries seeking access to minerals in high demand for technologies such as electric vehicles.Swathes of Pacific Ocean seabed are carpeted in potato-sized “polymetallic nodules” containing cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese.Scientists, however, worry that mining could smother species through sediment plumes or release heavy metals that move up the food chain.Canadian firm The Metals Company has emerged as a frontrunner in the race, seeking to explore for minerals in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean.That prospect has unsettled the United Nations’ International Seabed Authority, which issued a veiled warning about TMC’s potential activities last year.ISA-member countries are deeply divided over how to proceed, with a growing number calling for a moratorium. French President Emmanuel Macron has said it would be “madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks — when we know nothing about it.”The United States is not party to the ISA or to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), under which the authority was established in 1994.

US President Donald Trump’s government has asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, according to its charter seen by AFP.The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory.- What will it do? -The Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump, according to its founding charter.It is “an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate. It will “undertake such peace-building functions in accordance with international law”, it adds.- Who will run it? -Trump will be chairman but also “separately serve as inaugural representative” of the United States.”The chairman shall have exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfil the Board of Peace’s mission,” the document states.He will pick members of an executive board to be “leaders of global stature” to “serve two-year terms, subject to removal by the chairman”.He may also, “acting on behalf of the Board of Peace”, “adopt resolutions or other directives”.The chairman can be replaced only in case of “voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity”.- Who can be a member? -Member states must be invited by the US president, and will be represented by their head of state or government.Each member “shall serve a term of no more than three years”, the charter says.But “the three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the charter’s entry into force”, it adds.The board will “convene voting meetings at least annually”, and “each member state shall have one vote”.But while all decisions require “a majority of member states present and voting”, they will also be “subject to the approval of the chairman, who may also cast a vote in his capacity as chairman in the event of a tie”.- Who’s on the executive board? -The executive board will “operationalise” the organisation’s mission, according to the White House, which said it would be chaired by Trump and include seven members:- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio- Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special negotiator- Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law- Tony Blair, former UK prime minister- Marc Rowan, billionaire US financier- Ajay Banga, World Bank president – Robert Gabriel, loyal Trump aide on the National Security Council- Which countries are invited? -Dozens of countries and leaders have said they have received an invitation.They include China, India, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Argentina’s President Javier Milei have also confirmed an invitation.Other countries to confirm invitations include Jordan, Brazil, Paraguay, Pakistan and a host of nations from Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.- Who will join? -Countries from Albania to Vietnam have indicated a willingness to join the board.Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Trump’s most ardent supporter in the European Union, is in.The top US ally in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, was also quick to join the initiative.Canada said it would take part, but explicitly ruled out paying the $1-billion fee for permanent membership.It is unclear whether any of the countries that have responded positively — a list including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Morocco — would be willing to pay the $1 billion.- Who won’t be involved? -Long-time US ally France has indicated it will not join. The response sparked an immediate threat from Trump to slap sky-high tariffs on French wine.Zelensky said it would be “very hard” to be a member of a council alongside Russia, and diplomats were “working on it”.The UK echoed the sentiment, saying it was “concerned” that Putin had been invited.”Putin is the aggressor in an illegal war against Ukraine, and he has shown time and time again he is not serious about peace,” said a Downing Street spokesperson.- When does it start? -The charter says it enters into force “upon expression of consent to be bound by three States”.burs-jxb/yad/phz

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell plans to attend a Supreme Court hearing Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s attempted firing of a central bank governor, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.Powell’s expected appearance comes as the Trump administration intensifies its pressure campaign targeting the central bank, including opening a criminal investigation into the Fed chief.Wednesday’s case involves Trump’s push last summer to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over claims of mortgage fraud. Cook, a key official serving on the Fed’s rate-setting committee, has challenged her ouster.The Supreme Court in October barred Trump from immediately removing Cook — allowing her to remain in her post at least until the case is heard.Powell’s anticipated attendance on Wednesday, which was first reported by US media and confirmed to AFP by a source with knowledge of the matter, would mark a more public show of support for Cook than before.Earlier this month, Powell revealed that US prosecutors had opened an inquiry into him over an ongoing renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Prosecutors have sent the Fed subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment relating to testimony he gave last summer about the remodeling.Powell has dismissed the investigation as a politically motivated attempt to influence the central bank’s interest rate setting.The heads of major central banks have also thrown their support behind Powell, saying it was critical to preserve the Fed’s independence.Asked about Powell’s planned attendance at the court, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC: “If you’re trying not to politicize the Fed, for the Fed chair to be sitting there trying to put his thumb on the scale is a real mistake.”Bessent added that Trump could reach a decision on whom to name as Powell’s successor “as soon as next week,” with the Fed chief’s term due to expire in May.

US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on eight European states, most of which are part of the EU common market, raises the question: can he really target them individually? Technically yes, but in practice — it’s not so simple.When asked the same question, a smiling European Commission spokesman Olof Gill urged reporters to “take a deep breath” before spelling out his explanation.Trump stunned Europe at the weekend when he threatened levies of up to 25 percent on EU members Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, plus non-members Britain and Norway.But because the European Union functions as a single market with a customs union, Brussels explained, while it might be technically possible for Trump to slap sanctions on each, that could mean bureaucratic hell for US importers.- How does the single market work? -Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden are part of the EU single market with 21 other countries, and a customs union, which allows the free flow of goods from one member state to another.This also means products made in the EU, which could be exported later to the United States, move around the union without their origin being tracked.Because of this free movement, many companies use products made from across the bloc. For example, a car might be assembled in Germany using parts made in Slovakia.This means any restrictions on trade aimed at one of the EU’s 27 countries could in theory be circumvented by moving goods to another member state before exporting them.”Exports of French wine, Dutch cheese and Danish pharmaceuticals from Budapest to the US might suddenly spike,” quipped an EU diplomat — in a nod to the warm ties linking Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the White House.”Let’s see if Trump is going to punish his friend Orban with a tariff,” the diplomat said.The situation is different for Norway and the United Kingdom.Norway is part of the European Economic Area that also includes the EU’s 27 states, but there is one major difference — it is not part of the bloc’s customs union and must fulfil extra border checks.When Britain left the EU, it opted to remain outside the single market.- So then, are individual tariffs feasible? -The above means that the United States would have a hard time trying to figure out where European goods actually come from.”From a customs and operational perspective, it is practically very difficult to attribute goods exclusively to a single member state, given that production and transformation processes are often distributed across the EU,” Gill said.While nothing prevents a third country from demanding more information about national provenance, under EU rules, goods manufactured in the bloc have only to be labelled as “EU origin”.”So to summarise, it is technically possible. It is immensely bureaucratically and procedurally complex to do so,” Gill said.

NATO is facing the biggest crisis in its history over Donald Trump’s Greenland threats, and the time for “flattering” the US leader is over, former alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told AFP Tuesday.”It’s not only a crisis for NATO, it’s a crisis for the transatlantic community at large, and a challenge to the world order as we have known it since World War Two,” he said in an interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos.”It is the future of NATO and the future of the world order that are at stake.”Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister who led NATO from 2009 to 2014, urged the alliance’s current head, Mark Rutte, and other European leaders to start taking a tougher line with the US president after he threatened tariffs.”We have to change strategy and conclude that the only thing that Trump respects is force, strength and unity,” Rasmussen said.”That’s exactly what Europe should demonstrate. The time for flattering is over. Enough is enough.”Rasmussen’s comments came as European leaders — including Rutte — brace for meetings with Trump in Davos to try to talk him down.Rasmussen insisted the current crisis swirling around NATO could still be “fixed” and the alliance could emerge stronger in the Arctic region.But, he said, Trump’s actions had already created a “mental break” between Washington and its long-time European allies which benefited Russia and China. “This is a new situation that differs from all other disputes we have seen in the history of NATO,” he said.”If Trump would attack Greenland and take military action against Greenland, that would de facto mean the end of NATO.”- Distracting from Ukraine -Rasmussen, 72, said that the Greenland issue had become a “weapon of mass distraction” for Trump that was drawing attention away from Russia’s war in Ukraine.”Everybody’s now speaking about Greenland, which is not a real threat to North Atlantic security,” he said.”Russia’s attack against Ukraine is the real threat, and attention should not be distracted from this real threat.”The former Danish premier, who led his country from 2001 to 2009, said that there needed to be a “constructive dialogue” now with the United States on Greenland. He said Copenhagen and Washington could update their 1951 agreement governing troop deployments in Greenland, open the territory to US firms for mineral extraction and agree to keep Russia and China out. But there could be no compromise on the fundamental question of ceding territory to Trump. “We can accommodate all his wishes, except one,” Rasmussen said.”Greenland is not for sale and as a real estate expert he should know if an estate is not for sale you can’t purchase it.”

As President Donald Trump intensifies his push to secure control of Greenland for the United States, Russia is revelling in the chaos while keeping its own position on US ownership over the island unclear.European countries have warned any US attempt to seize Greenland would rupture NATO, a transatlantic alliance that Russia has long seen as a security threat.But Moscow has also expressed concern about the West expanding its military foothold in the Arctic, an area where it has its own ambitions and which it sees as strategically important.Russian President Vladimir Putin has not spoken publicly about the dispute this year, while his spokesperson and foreign minister have called the situation “unusual” and denied Moscow has any intentions to seize the Arctic territory itself.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Trump would “go down in history” if he took control of the island, while declining to comment on whether this was “good or bad”.Trump says US ownership of Greenland is critical for his country’s national security.He and his aides have argued Denmark, a fellow NATO member, would be unable to defend Greenland should Russia or China ever seek to invade the vast island, a Danish autonomous territory.Greenland sits under the flight path between the United States and Russia, making it a potentially critical outpost for air defences.Without commenting on Trump’s claim, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on Tuesday: “Greenland is not a natural part of Denmark, it is a colonial conquest.”He pointed to France’s control of Mayotte and Britain’s ownership of the Falkland Islands — which Lavrov referred to as the “Malvinas Islands”, as Argentina calls them — as examples of European powers retaining control of conquered territory.- ‘Close eye on situation’ -Peskov said last week Russia was “like the rest of the world, keeping a close eye on the situation.””We proceed from the premise that Greenland is a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he added in remarks last Friday.”The situation is unusual, I would even say extraordinary, from the point of view of international law,” Peskov said, adding that Trump “as he has said himself, is not somebody for whom international law is some kind of priority”.Pro-Kremlin media outlets and Russian political analysts have meanwhile revelled in the dispute.The Moskovskiy Komsomolets tabloid said on Sunday it was watching with joy at Europe falling into “complete disarray” over the crisis.”Naturally, a split within NATO, a bloc hostile to Russia, is good news for Russia,” Vasily Kashin, an expert at Russia’s Higher School of Economics, told AFP.”Although it is not a given that this will have immediate positive consequences for Russian policy, for example in Ukraine, it is movement in the right direction,” he added.Moscow has not said whether it would oppose the United States taking control of the territory, but it has repeatedly warned NATO against deploying troops and equipment to the Arctic region.Last week, the Russian Embassy in Belgium — where NATO is headquartered — accused the alliance of embarking on an “accelerated militarisation of the North”.Putin has not commented publicly on the issue since it reemerged as a focus for the Trump administration in recent weeks.The Kremlin chief had in March 2025 said Trump had “serious plans regarding Greenland” that had “long-standing historical roots”, after the US President mooted the need for American control of the territory.At the time, Putin said the issue “concerns two specific nations and has nothing to do with us”, but that Russia was “concerned” about what he called increasing NATO activity in the Arctic.

US President Donald Trump has made an astonishing series of attacks apparently designed to humiliate allies France, Britain and Canada as the row over Greenland threatens to engulf the Davos forum.In a flurry of Truth Social posts and comments to reporters a day before he leaves for the elite gathering on Wednesday, Trump leaked apparently private text messages from French President Emmanuel Macron and the head of NATO.His comments leave the transatlantic alliance in perhaps its most fragile state since World War II — and underscore that Trump is determined to make a show of power at the meeting in the Swiss ski resort.On the first anniversary of his inauguration for a second term that has already upended the global order, Trump took particular aim at Macron as their longstanding bromance appeared to implode.Trump first expressed his disdain for Macron’s refusal to join his so-called “Board of Peace” for resolving conflicts worldwide. “Nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Florida, before threatening 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne.A number of Western leaders harbour worries that the body, originally designed for Gaza, would create a shadow UN, while the inclusion of Russian President Vladimir Putin has caused alarm.Shortly afterwards Trump posted a private text message from Macron in which the French leader said “I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland” and offered to organise a G7 summit in Paris with Russia attending on the sidelines.But Trump was far from finished.From Air Force One he posted an altered picture of him meeting European leaders in the Oval Office — with a picture of not only the United States but Canada and Greenland covered in the stars and stripes.The original photo, taken when European leaders rushed to the White House last August with Ukrainian President Zelensky to prop up US support for Kyiv, had already been mocked in some quarters as a sign of European weakness.- ‘Great stupidity’ -While Trump’s quest to take control of Greenland is the one that has shaken the world at the start of 2026, he has also called for Canada to become the 51st US state.He followed up on the posts with an image of himself holding the American flag on an icy landscape next to a sign saying “Greenland. US Territory, Est 2026”, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.Next in Trump’s sights was Britain, whose pride in its “special relationship” with the United States has come under fresh strain from his designs on Greenland.Trump lashed out at what he called London’s “great stupidity” for its deal to give Mauritius the Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago that is home to the key Diego Garcia US-UK military base.As recently as May, Trump had endorsed the deal after it was signed.He linked the British decision to his current obsession, saying it was “another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired”.Trump still wasn’t finished — but for a change he had something complimentary to say.His final message unveiled a private text message from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he thanked the former Dutch prime minister.Rutte, who famously referred to Trump as “Daddy” at a NATO summit last year, said in the message that he was “committed to finding a way forward on Greenland”.”Can’t wait to see you,” the NATO chief added. It was all in a night’s work for the US president — but it will leave the Europeans scrambling for ways to shore up the transatlantic alliance that has underpinned Western security for the past 80 years.

Greenland’s biggest dogsled race is a cultural mainstay on the Arctic island but US envoys keep finding themselves disinvited, frustrating attempts by President Donald Trump’s team to wield soft power in the Danish autonomous territory.The annual Avannaata Qimussersua race is dear to Greenlanders as the most prestigious event of its kind, pitting around 30 teams against each other to decide the territory’s top dog sledders.That has piqued the interest of team Trump as the American president pushes to take over Greenland.In the space of a few days, Trump’s special envoy for Greenland, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, was first invited and then uninvited to this year’s race, to be held on March 28 in Qasigiannguit, a small community on the west coast.Last year, after Trump revived his ambition to acquire Greenland, Usha Vance, wife of US Vice President JD Vance, had also planned to attend the race, before her appearance was cancelled.”We’re looking at manoeuvres that, if not outright interference, are at least a form of soft diplomacy that involves meeting local populations with the intent of influencing them,” Mikaa Blugeon-Mered, a researcher on Arctic geopolitics, told AFP.The would-be visits are part of a broader push by Washington to get a feel for the Greenlandic population — which at this point is overwhelmingly opposed to joining the United States — and encourage pro-American sentiment in order to win hearts and minds, according to the researcher.In August, Danish public broadcaster DR reported that at least three Americans linked to Trump were conducting influence operations in Greenland.Their mission was to identify those favouring closer ties to the United States, as well as those in fierce opposition, according to DR.In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that US intelligence agencies had been ordered to gather information on Greenland’s independence movement and views on potential US exploitation of the island’s natural resources.- Identity marker -For many of Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants, of whom nearly 90 percent are Inuit, the Avannaata Qimussersua is strongly tied to identity.The race, generally held at the end of the winter season, is part of the island’s “living culture”, said Manumina Lund Jensen, an associate professor in the Department of Cultural and Social History at the University of Greenland.”It’s very important for the Greenlanders, and it is a very emotional journey if you go there,” she told AFP.Amid renewed tension between Washington and Europe, the Greenland Dog Sledding Association (KNQK) recently announced that the invitation to Landry — which had been extended without its knowledge by a private tour operator — had been cancelled.”KNQK has been informed that the tourism company that invited Governor Jeff Landry from the United States has unilaterally withdrawn its invitation,” the organisation said in a statement.”This is reassuring,” it added.- ‘Political pressure’ -Greenlandic broadcaster KNR reported last week that Landry had been invited by tour operator Kristian Jeremiassen.Speaking to KNR, Jeremiassen said he had invited “many different people” to the race, without specifying whom, “to promote tourism in northern Greenland”.However, the Greenland Dog Sledding Association said it found it “unacceptable that political pressure is being exerted from outside” and called the invitation “wholly inappropriate”.According to Blugeon-Mered, alongside his work as a tour operator, Jeremiassen is a politician “on the wane… whose primary goal is to make himself a kind of go-between (with the United States) to boost his business”.A year ago, Usha Vance had planned to attend the race without an official invitation.”The US consulate had offered to fund most of the race,” Blugeon-Mered said.”They thought that by being the race’s main sponsor, they could buy the organisers and do whatever they wanted. It didn’t work.”JD Vance’s planned visit had sparked strong objections in Denmark, which saw it as “unacceptable pressure” and said it risked provoking demonstrations during the event.The US delegation ultimately changed its programme, and JD and Usha Vance instead visited an American air base at Pituffik, in the territory’s northwest.

European stock markets slid further Tuesday, while precious metals hit fresh peaks on fears of a US-EU trade war fuelled by Donald Trump’s tariff threat over opposition to his grab for Greenland.Asia’s main equity indices closed mixed, while US equity futures were sharply down, indicating sizeable losses on Wall Street when it reopens after Monday’s close because of the Martin Luther King holiday.Gold, seen as a safe-haven investment, notched yet another record high, at $4,726.70 an ounce.Silver also peaked, touching $95.51 an ounce.The dollar retreated and key bond yields in the United States and elsewhere climbed.”The US dollar is not serving as a safe haven because it seems to be entirely US-driven and raises fears about US policy and European exposure to US assets,” noted Neil Wilson, investor strategist at Saxo UK.When Wall Street reopens, the “Nasdaq looks set to chalk up the biggest declines amid concern about possible retaliatory action from Europe against America’s big tech contingent”, predicted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. Frankfurt led losses in Europe, shedding 1.5 percent in midday deals. There were sizeable falls also in London and Paris.After a bright start to the year fuelled by fresh hopes for the artificial intelligence sector, investors have taken fright since the US president ramped up his demands for the Danish autonomous territory, citing national security.With Copenhagen and other European capitals pushing back, Trump on Saturday said he would impose 10 percent levies on eight countries — including Denmark, France, Germany and Britain — from February 1, lifting them to 25 percent on June 1.- ‘Mistake’ -The move has raised questions about the outlook for last year’s US-EU trade deal.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday warned the United States that hitting allied European nations with punitive tariffs over Greenland would be a “mistake”. “The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake especially between long-standing allies,” von der Leyen told the Davos gathering in Switzerland. “The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July. And in politics as in business — a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something,” she added.US Treasury chief Scott Bessent on Monday said that any retaliatory EU tariffs would be “unwise”.Trump meanwhile ramped up his rhetoric against France on Tuesday, warning he would impose 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne over its intentions to decline his invitation to join his “Board of Peace” set up to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.2 percent at 10,075.62 points Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.5 percent at 24,578.77Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.3 percent at 8,009.37Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 52,991.10 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.3 percent at 26,487.51 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 4,113.65 (close)New York – Dow: Closed Monday for holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1732 from $1.1641 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3478 from $1.3428Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.85 yen from 158.09 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.04 pence from 86.71 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $64.18 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $59.56 per barrelburs-bcp/ajb/jh

A catastrophic collapse of healthcare services in Malawi a year after US funding cuts is undoing a decade of progress against HIV/AIDS, providers warn, leaving some of the most vulnerable feeling like “living dead”.In the impoverished southern Africa country, the US government’s decision to slash foreign aid in January 2025 has led to significant cuts in HIV treatments, a spike in pregnancies and a return to discrimination.Chisomo Nkwanga, an HIV-positive man who lives in the northern town of Mzuzu, told AFP that the end of US-funded specialised care was like a death sentence.After his normal provider of life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) vanished due to budget cuts, he turned to a public hospital.”The healthcare worker shouted at me in front of others,” Nkwanga recalled. “They said, ‘You gay, you are now starting to patronise our hospitals because the whites who supported your evil behaviour have stopped?'””I gave up,” he said, trembling. “I am a living dead.”More than one million of aid-dependent Malawi’s roughly 22 million people live with HIV and the United States previously provided 60 percent of its HIV treatment budget.Globally, researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths have been caused by the Trump administration’s dismantling of US foreign aid, which has upended humanitarian efforts to fight HIV, malaria and tuberculosis in some of the world’s poorest regions.- Lay offs, panic -In Malawi, the drying up of support from USAID and the flagship US anti-HIV programme, PEPFAR, has left a “system in panic”, said Gift Trapence, executive director of the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP).”The funding cut came on such short notice that we couldn’t prepare or engage existing service providers,” Trapence told AFP.”We had to lay off staff… we closed two drop-in centres and maintained two on skeleton staff,” he said. “We did this because we knew that if we closed completely, we would be closing everything for the LGBTI community.”The Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) non-government organisation, a cornerstone of rural healthcare, has been forced to ground the mobile clinics that served as the only medical link for remote villages.”We had two big grants that were supporting our work, particularly in areas where there were no other service providers,” said executive director Donald Makwakwa.”We are likely to lose out on all the successes that we have registered over the years,” he said.A resident of a village once served by FPAM told AFP there had been an explosion in unplanned pregnancies when the family planning provider stopped work.”I know of nearly 25 girls in my village who got pregnant when FPAM suspended its services here last year,” said Maureen Maseko at a clinic on the brink of collapse.- Progress undone -For over a decade, Malawi’s fight against AIDS relied on “peer navigators” and drop-in centres that supported people with HIV and ensured they followed treatment.With the funding for these services gone, the default rate for people taking the HIV preventative drug PrEP hit 80 percent in districts like Blantyre, according to a report by the CEDEP.”This is a crisis waiting to happen,” the report quoted former district healthcare coordinator Fyness Jere as saying. “When people stop taking PrEP, we increase the chances of new HIV infections… we are undoing a decade of progress in months,” she said.Trapence noted that without specialised support, thousands of patients had simply disappeared from the medical grid.”We lost everything, including the structures that were supporting access… treatment and care,” he said.