Trump cuts US ties with World Health Organisation over virus

AFP

US President Donald Trump has announced the severance of all US ties with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

He accused the UN agency of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and becoming a puppet of China.

"China has total control over the World Health Organisation despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying which is approximately $450 million a year," Trump said, adding that the agency had failed to commit to reforms the US had listed out in mid-May.

It was not immediately clear when his decision would come into effect.

It comes days after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to give $2 billion to the WHO over the next two years to help combat the coronavirus.

More from International News

  • UN warns funding cuts threaten vital aid

    The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have sounded the alarm over severe funding shortfalls that are hindering life-saving humanitarian aid in countries including Nigeria, Burundi, and Colombia.

  • Multiple dead in Vancouver after vehicle plows into street festival

    A number of people were killed and multiple others were injured in Vancouver after a driver drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the western Canadian city, police said on Saturday.

  • Rome and the world bid farewell to Pope Francis

    Presidents, royalty and simple mourners bade farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday at a solemn funeral ceremony, where a cardinal appealed for the pontiff's legacy of caring for migrants, the downtrodden and the environment to be kept alive.

  • Trump, Zelenskyy meet in Vatican basilica to seek Ukraine peace

    US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

Coming Up