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Comelec taps Robinsons for polls

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has designated Robinsons Malls as official polling centers for the 2025 midterm elections in May, in a bid to enhance voter accessibility and convenience.

Through this partnership signed on Feb. 21, select Robinsons Malls will host polling stations in 13 locations nationwide, covering 152 precincts, the mall chain said in a statement on Sunday.

“Through this strategic partnership, [the] casting of ballots will be more accessible and convenient for eligible voters from these locations,” it added.

Up for grabs in the May 12 elections are 317 congressional seats and thousands of local posts. The biggest battle will be for 12 spots in the 24-seat Senate, a chamber packed with political heavyweights and wielding outsized influence. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

PWD group launched in Cotabato

FREEPIK

COTABATO CITY — Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Cotabato province now have a bloc to represent them in multi-sector dialogues pertaining to issues and concerns within their community.

The pioneering Cotabato Persons With Disability Provincial Federation (CPWDPF) has representatives from all 17 towns in the province and in its capital, Kidapawan City.

Radio reports in Central Mindanao cities on Sunday stated that CPWDPF officials met just last Friday in Kabacan municipality and discussed how they can support the humanitarian programs of Cotabato Gov. Emmylou T. Mendoza for PWDs in the province.

Ms. Mendoza, chairperson of the multi-sector Regional Development Council 12, Arleen A. Timson, chief of the Cotabato Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, and Kabacan Mayor Evangeline P. Guzman together organized the first-ever conference of the CPWDPF.

Officials of the CPWDPF, the first-ever in Region 12, planned out community programs that would benefit PWDs in far-flung areas in the province during their first ever meeting last Friday in Kabacan in the 3rd district of the province.

“Our PWD community in the province now has a strong voice via this federation,” Ms. Guzman said. — John Felix M. Unson

Tall Blacks blast travel-weary Gilas Pilipinas, top qualifiers

JUSTIN BROWNLEE (32) — FIBA

NEW ZEALAND (NZ) showed Gilas Pilipinas who’s boss in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers (ACQ).

Hell-bent on avenging their previous defeat on Philippine soil in the November window, the Tall Blacks swarmed all over the Nationals in their return match and dispute for Group B’s top seeding on Sunday in Auckland, 87-70.

Not even the presence of a big-sized, roaring Pinoy crowd at the Spark Arena could give the travel-weary visitors the extra push as the world No. 22 hosts charged at them like a freight train in all of 40 minutes.

A thunderous 22-8 barrage in the last 7:31 of the first period spiked by four booming triples was all it took for the Kiwis to set the tone for the strong strike-back to Gilas’ 93-89 upset in Manila nearly three months before.

The Tall Blacks claimed the No. 1 position in the bracket with 5-1 while relegating the Filipinos, who also stumbled in their preceding road game against Chinese-Taipei last Thursday, 89-93, to No. 2 at 4-2. Both have secured their tickets to the Asia Cup proper set for August in Saudi Arabia.

“They came out and gave us a smash-mouth in the first quarter and we really never recovered,” said Gilas coach Tim Cone.

The hosts hit six three-points in the first 10 minutes as they seized control, 30-15, and went on to lead by 28. The Nationals got to within 11 halfway through the fourth but the Tall Blacks quickly extinguished the threat.

It was a whimper of an ending for Gilas, which lost steam after going 4-0 in the first two windows last year. Prior to the away gigs in the ACQ’s February window, Mr. Cone’s crew got blown out by Lebanon and Egypt in last week’s Doha Invitational Cup. A come-from-behind verdict over host Qatar to open that four-nation meet turned out to be their lone success in this whirlwind trip.

“We did the Doha trip before we came here to try to get more time together and play more games and it probably hurt us more than it helped us in terms of being ready for Taiwan and New Zealand,” noted Mr. Cone.

“But we were trying to look at a bigger picture because we know we’re not going to have much time to come together and prepare for the FIBA Asia Cup. It’s cumulative experiences so we’re trying to take each window as an experience and move it on to the next one and onto the next one and hopefully grow and improve.”

He said the absence of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto from an ACL injury presented a major issue.

“We lost a key player so we’re still trying to adjust how to play without him and that’s the things we’re going to be talking about and thinking about as we go into FIBA Asia.”

NZ hit 13 booming triples against Gilas’ six and held Justin Brownlee to 10 on a five-of-eight shooting after his 39-point eruption against the Taiwanese.

Tohi Smith-Milner anchored the Kiwis’ long-range bombing with five three-balls as he took scoring honors with 25 to go with nine rebounds. Corey Webster (14), Reuben Te Rangi (12) and Jordan Ngatai (11), who made two three-pointers apiece, backed him up.

Chris Newsome (13), June Mar Fajardo (11) and AJ Edu (15 rebounds and seven points) stepped up with Brownlee shackled. — Olmin Leyba

The scores:

New Zealand 87 – Smith-Milner 25, Webster 14, Te Rangi 12, Ngatai 11, Britt 8, Wynyard 7, Le’afa 5, Darling 3, K. Isaac 2, Brown 0, T. Isaac 0, Ball 0.

Philippines 70 – Newsome 13, Fajardo 11, Brownlee 10, Oftana 8, Ramos 8, Edu 7, Aguilar 6, Tamayo 4, Perez 3, Quiambao 0, Thompson 0, Malonzo 0.

Quarterscores: 30-15; 53-33; 74-55; 87-70.

Trupa, Mangrobang and Yee earn World Games berths in Asia Triathlon Duathlon Championship in Bahrain

THREE FILIPINO ATHLETES — Joy Trupa (silver, in photo left most), Kim Mangrobang (bronze, in photo) and Franklin Yee — have qualified for the 2025 World Games Duathlon in Chengdu this August. — FACEBOOK.COM/TRIPHIL

THE Philippines’ Merry Joy Trupa, Kim Mangrobang and Franklin Yee came through with strong performances in the 2025 Asia Triathlon Duathlon Championships in Manama, Bahrain over the weekend to earn World Games berths this August in Chengdu, China.

Ms. Trupa, the country’s top duathlete and ranked 83rd in the world, finished second in one hour, 29 minutes and 16 seconds in the five-kilometer (km) run, 30 km bike and 5 km run race.

The sterling effort replicated Ms. Trupa’s feat in this same edition two years ago.

Ms. Mangrobang was third behind Ms. Trupa in 1:33:14 in the event topped by Chinese Lu Ziqing, who timed in 1:30:12.

For the 22-year-old Mr. Yee, the 2024 Clark Duathlon champion, debuted internationally with a bang after winding up at fifth in 1:17:5 in the men’s section that was ruled by Bahraini Karich Moussa, who clocked 1:16:00.

Their efforts booked them tickets to the same World Games, which is slated from Aug. 7 to 17, where billiards’ Carlo Biado and karateka Junna Tsukii each struck gold in its past editions.

“The Philippine Sports Commission’s support to the national duathlon squad paid off handsomely,” said Triathlon Association of the Philippines President Tom Carrasco.

Other Filipino finishers in Manama were Bea Quiambao (fifth) and Jena Valdez (seventh) in the women’s and Maynard Pecson (ninth), John Ciron (11th), Raymond Torio (14th) and John Chicano (19th) in the men’s with Melvin Fausto as coach.

The same squad is expected to undergo more training abroad in preparation for the Chengdu and the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand late this year. — Joey Villar

Starhorse acquires Terrafirma PBA franchise

PENDING APPROVAL by the PBA, a new ballclub — Starhorse Shipping Line — is in line to make its debut in the 50th season in place of Terrafirma.

The Dyip, as confirmed by governor Bobby Rosales, has struck a deal with Starhorse for the sale of his PBA franchise.

“We’ll have to go through the process of the PBA,” Mr. Rosales told The STAR on Sunday.

Terrafirma and Starhorse agreed to the sale lock, stock and barrel, similar to the one consummated by Converge when it bought the Alaska franchise in 2022 for an estimated P100 million.

The Terrafirma-Starhorse transaction will need the approval of at least two-thirds of the PBA board.

If approved, the plan is for the Dyip to play their swan song in the coming Philippine Cup in April. Then once Terrafirma made its final bow after a 10-season run, Starhorse will fly the banner in Season 50.

Starhorse, a domestic shipping company that operates in the Calabarzon, Bicol, Visayas, and Mimaropa regions, is a new player in the Philippine basketball scene.

Recently, the company came in as backer of the Basilan team which is making its comeback in the MPBL after a two-year leave of absence. — Olmin Leyba

Luka Dončić, LeBron James combine for 57 points as Lakers halt Nuggets’ win run

LUKA DONČIĆ had 32 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron James scored 25 points and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers beat the Nuggets 123-100 on Saturday night to end Denver’s nine-game winning streak.

Dončić logged 31 minutes, his most in four games with Los Angeles, which won for just the second time in its last 15 games against Denver, including the playoffs.

Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Rui Hachimura contributed 21 points for the Lakers. Los Angeles has won 14 of 18.

Nikola Jokic had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his 26th triple-doubles, but also committed six of the Nuggets’ 20 turnovers. Aaron Gordon scored 24 points, Jamal Murray added 19, Russell Westbrook finished with 17, Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 and Christian Braun contributed 10 points.

The Lakers led 63-54 at halftime behind 19 points from Dončić. They also capitalized on 12 Denver turnovers that led to 23 points.

The Nuggets opened the third quarter with eight straight points to pull within one, but Los Angeles responded with a 10-0 run to lead by 11. Westbrook’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 80-74, but Hachimura and Reaves hit two each from long range to extend the lead to 94-82 late in the third.

Westbrook made two driving layups to cut Los Angeles’ lead to 96-87 heading into the fourth.

James opened the final period with a layup, Gordon answered with a short hook, then the Lakers started to pull away.

James hit a jumper, the Nuggets committed their 18th turnover, Gabe Vincent hit from deep and Jordan Goodwin hit a jumper in the lane and a corner 3-pointer to extend the Los Angeles lead to 108-91 with 7:31 left.

Denver missed out on a timeout and James made two free throws to make it a 19-point game. Braun then drained one from deep, but Jokic turned it over in consecutive possessions and Dončić turned them into buckets to give the Lakers a 117-97 lead with 4:16 left.

The Nuggets emptied their bench and Los Angeles closed it out. — Reuters

Post-Dončić Mavs

To argue that the Mavericks were listless when they faced the Cavaliers on the road shortly after the trade deadline would be an understatement. For one thing, they lost by a whopping 43 points, never mind their opponents’ superior win-loss slate at the top of National Basketball Association standings. For another, they had just been dealt a shocker following the deal that sent supposed foundational piece Luka Dončić packing. Considering that only 10 of them suited up for the set-to in the face of injuries to vital cogs, the emotional baggage was simply too much for them to handle.

On the other hand, it would likewise be an understatement to contend that the Mavericks have, at the very least, learned to adjust to their plight three weeks hence. In the seven games since suffering their most embarrassing setback of the 2024-25 season, they have gone a heady 5-2. Among their victims were the highly regarded Celtics (sans new All-Star acquisition Anthony Davis) and the equally dangerous Rockets (in which the latter put up 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks before exiting the set-to due to a groin strain).

It bears noting that while Davis remains out of commission since his sterling debut as Dončić’s replacement, the Mavericks have kept winning all the same. Although he is said to be “making good progress” in his convalescence, his status remains up in the air until he is evaluated anew in two weeks. Today, they’ll be putting their three-match winning streak on the line when they go up against the Warriors at Chase Center. Suffice to say they will not be intimidated by their opponents, rejuvenated by the arrival of two-way veteran Jimmy Butler; after all, they emerged triumphant versus the blue and yellow just one and a half weeks ago.

True, the Mavericks’ small ball predilections given their short rotation will not be sustainable. That said, if they can keep riding on the resolve of such notables as Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, not to mention continue to generate solid numbers from ex-Laker Max Christie, they may yet be able to stay in the running for a play-in slot. And then, when Davis returns, who’s to say they won’t be able to take the measure of the competition? If nothing else, the need for them to prove themselves post-Dončić should provide them with ample motivation to show their best.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Ukraine opposes size of minerals fund to pay back US war aid

KEITH KELLOGG, US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, right, and Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President, during a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb. 20, 2025. — ANDREW KRAVCHENKO/BLOOMBERG

UKRAINE has pushed back against US demands for a $500-billion fund that would be part of a deal to give Washington a cut of the country’s mineral wealth, a Ukrainian official familiar with talks said.

The fund would compensate the US for its assistance provided to the war-torn nation since the start of Russia’s invasion. Ukraine is arguing the actual amount is about five times lower at more than $90 billion, said the person who asked not to be named because the talks are private.

Negotiators need more time to finalize the deal as the current draft agreement proposed by the US has some questionable elements and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky isn’t ready to approve it, another person with knowledge of the talks said.

US President Donald Trump has piled pressure on Mr. Zelensky to accept the deal that’s been coming together against the background of escalating tensions between the two leaders and growing worries Ukraine will be shut out of eventual peace talks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in the Financial Times on Saturday that the deal proposes that revenue received by the government in Kyiv from natural resources, infrastructure and other assets is allocated to a fund focused on long-term reconstruction and development of Ukraine, in which the US will have economic and governance rights.

This would ensure the transparency, accountability and corporate governance necessary to attract private investment, Mr. Bessent wrote.

“Let’s also be clear as to what this is not. The US would not be taking ownership of physical assets in Ukraine,” Mr. Bessent wrote. “Nor would it be saddling Ukraine with more debt.”

Ukrainian officials discussed the potential minerals accord with US special envoy Keith Kellogg during his visit to Kyiv this week, after Mr. Zelensky rejected an initial offer from Washington earlier in the month. The proposal envisaged securing 50% of license sales and other proceeds from the minerals, oil, gas and ports, which critics denounced as reminiscent of colonialism of centuries past.

There is currently no such a straightforward demand, but the lack of assurances of future military and financial aid remains a sticking point in the talks, the Ukrainian official said.

Mr. Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television earlier this week that the minerals deal would lay the groundwork for a plan put forward by Mr. Trump to end the war by binding Ukraine to the US through economic ties, thereby providing a security shield.

Addressing a Conservative Political Action Conference audience outside Washington, Mr. Trump said “we’re going to get our money back” and “we’re asking for rare earth and oil — anything we can get.”

“I think we’re pretty close to deal — and we’d better be close to a deal,” he said.

Today, Ukrainian and US teams are working on a draft agreement between our governments. This agreement can add value to our relations—what matters most is getting the details right to ensure it truly works

The US pressure on Ukraine to sign the deal comes as Mr. Trump has made a series of statements that have put Mr. Zelensky in an uncomfortable spot.

The US president has also signaled he wants to reach a deal with Moscow on how to end the conflict without Ukraine at the table, and called the democratically-elected Mr. Zelensky a “dictator” with a 4% approval rating.

The Ukrainian leader, whose approval stood at 57% in a recent poll, fired back, saying the US president had fallen for Russian “disinformation.”

Kyiv would ideally want a final deal on the minerals to be signed in the presence of the US and Ukrainian presidents, according to the person familiar with the talks. Mr. Zelensky, who met with Mr. Kellogg on Thursday, has pushed for a meeting with Mr. Trump before any potential sit-down the US leader has with Russian President Vladimir Putin. — Bloomberg

Latin America prays for Francis, region’s first pope

POPE FRANCIS waves from a baclony on the day of his Urbi et Orbi (To the City and the World) message at St. Peter’s Square, on Easter Sunday, at the Vatican, April 9, 2023. — REUTERS

BUENOS AIRES — People across Latin America prayed for Pope Francis, the first leader of the Catholic Church to come from the region, as the Vatican reported on Saturday the Argentina-born pontiff was in critical condition in a Rome hospital.

Catholics from Mexico to Argentina and the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts attended masses, lighted candles and said prayers individually for the pope’s recovery.

“We … pray for him with trust in God and pray for his health with joy,” said Argentine priest Adrian Bennardins. He praised Pope Francis for making the global Catholic Church “closer, simple, fraternal, without leaving anyone out.”

About 54% of Latin Americans identified as Catholic in a 2024 survey by Latinobarometro that interviewed people in 18 countries, down from 80% in 1995.

Among the faithful, people said they felt kinship with Francis, who became Pope in 2013 and was admitted to hospital on Feb. 14, because of cultural affinity.

“Since he’s a Latino, he speaks our language and he shares the feelings of the Latino community because we come from a similar culture,” said Grisel Jimenez who was attending mass at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Francis began his career as a Jesuit priest in Argentina and later served as archbishop of Buenos Aires and a cardinal.

In Buenos Aires, a picture of the pope with the phrase “the city prays for you” was being projected on the city’s famed Obelisk at nighttime from Friday to Monday.

Argentina issued a nationwide call earlier in the week to all “villas” and “barrios” — poor neighborhoods and towns — to pray for the Pope.

Gabriel Indihar, 50, heeded the call, believing in the power of collective prayer.

“When the community prays together, it has greater reach to God so he can make these miraculous transformations,” Mr. Indihar said. “That is the request we make for the pope.”

In neighboring Brazil, the largest Catholic country in the world, people also joined prayers.

“As a Catholic, it’s not just about worshipping Christ, but also praying for the pope, praying for our church and praying for the world,” said Helio Martins Da Silva, a churchgoer in Sao Paulo. — Reuters

Musk orders US federal workers to report on work by Monday or resign

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk — REUTERS

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration sent e-mails on Saturday evening to US federal government employees telling them to detail their work accomplishments from the previous week by Monday night or risk losing their jobs.

The e-mails came shortly after Elon Musk, the billionaire head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted on the social media site X that not responding to the e-mail request would be viewed as a resignation.

“All federal employees will shortly receive an e-mail requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Mr. Musk posted on X. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Mr. Musk issued his post just hours after President Donald Trump posted on his own social media network, Truth Social, that DOGE should get more aggressive in its attempts to downsize and reshape the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce.

As of Saturday evening, e-mails were sent to employees across federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others with the subject line, “What did you do last week?”

The e-mail, seen by Reuters, asks employees to reply with five bullet points summarizing “what you accomplished at work last week,” and to copy their managers.

It was sent from a human resources address from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and gives employees until 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday to respond.

It is unclear what legal basis Mr. Musk has to terminate federal workers if they fail to respond to his request and what would happen to employees that cannot detail confidential work.

Some federal judiciary employees received the e-mail on Saturday from OPM, even though the court system is not part of the executive branch, people familiar with the matter said. The Administrative Office of the US Courts, the judiciary’s administrative arm, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also received the e-mail, according to people with knowledge of the matter. However, most agency staff had been ordered not to perform any tasks since early this month, creating a conundrum. The agency is also under temporary court order not to resume mass firings pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

A spokesperson for DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UNION PROMISES FIGHT
The AFGE, the union representing federal employees, said in a statement it will challenge any “unlawful terminations.”

“Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people,” said Everett Kelley, the AFGE’s president.

The Trump administration’s fast-paced and controversial process to reduce government spending by shrinking the federal workforce spearheaded by Mr. Musk and his young aides at the cost-cutting DOGE has led to haphazard firings that resulted in numerous mistakes and forced several agencies to quickly rehire vital employees, such as those working on nuclear safety, defense and power generation.

The first wave of job cuts has targeted workers who are easier to fire, such as probationary employees on the job for less than two years or those who have started new roles within an agency.

The indiscriminate firings have led to DOGE terminating people whose jobs are not funded by taxpayers and have begun to anger people across the country who are concerned about a loss of services and the impact of federal job losses on local economies.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly talked about Mr. Musk as the functional leader of DOGE, which is not a cabinet-level department, but the White House said in a court filing this month that Mr. Musk had no authority over DOGE and was not an employee of the program.

Some federal agencies sent follow-up e-mails to employees advising staff not to respond to the e-mail over the weekend as they assess its validity and devise a protocol for responding to the message.

“To be clear, this is irregular, unexpected and warrants further validation by management,” said one e-mail sent to NOAA employees and seen by Reuters.

The Executive Office for United States Attorneys also sent an e-mail, seen by Reuters, to employees, advising them to wait to respond until they verify the validity of the e-mails.

Some federal employees, already on edge after two weeks of mass firings, expressed outrage after receiving the e-mail.

“After more than two decades of working in federal service, which includes all outstanding performance reviews and something like 18 performance awards, someone at OPM is going to read my five bullets and decide if I’m productive enough?” a source at a federal agency said. — Reuters

US exempts security funds from aid freeze — but little for humanitarian programs

TYLER GARDON-UNSPLASH

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration released $5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, mostly for security and counternarcotics programs, according to a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters that included only limited humanitarian relief.

President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe.

The freeze sparked a scramble by US officials and humanitarian organizations for exemptions to keep programs going. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said all foreign assistance must align with Mr. Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers in late January on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the top US allies in the Middle East, and for life-saving humanitarian aid, including food. The waivers meant those funds should have been allowed to be spent.

Current and former US officials and aid organizations, however, say few humanitarian aid waivers have been approved.

Reuters obtained a list of 243 further exceptions approved as of February 13 totaling $5.3 billion. The list provides the most comprehensive accounting of exempted funds since Mr. Trump ordered the aid freeze and reflects the White House’s desire to cut aid for programs it doesn’t consider vital to US national security.

The list identifies programs that will be funded and the US government office managing them.

The vast majority of released funds — more than $4.1 billion — were for programs administered by the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military affairs, which oversees arms sales and military assistance to other countries and groups. Other exemptions were in line with Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown and efforts to halt the flow of illicit narcotics into the US, including the deadly opioid fentanyl.

More than half of the programs that will be allowed to go forward are run by the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, or INL, and are aimed at helping fight drug trafficking and illicit migration to the US, according to the list.

Those exemptions were worth $293 million and included funds for databases to track migrants, identify possible terrorists and share biometric information.

A State Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Reuters could not determine if some exemptions had been granted but were not on the list.

Mr. Trump has long railed against foreign aid, which has averaged less than 2% of total federal spending for the past 20 years, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Mr. Trump has described the US “foreign aid industry” as “in many cases antithetical to American values.”

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has led an effort to gut the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the main delivery mechanism for American foreign assistance and a critical tool of US “soft power” for winning influence abroad.

In contrast to security-related programs, USAID programs received less than $100 million in exemptions, according to the list. That compares to roughly $40 billion in USAID programs administered annually before the freeze.

Exempted USAID programs included $78 million for non-food humanitarian assistance in Gaza, which has been devastated by war. A separate $56 million was released for the International Committee of the Red Cross related to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the list showed.

The list did not include specific exemptions for some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, including Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Myanmar and Afghanistan, which means funds for those places appeared to remain stopped.

Security exemptions included $870 million for programs in Taiwan, $336 million for modernizing Philippine security forces and more than $21.5 million for body armor and armored vehicles for Ukraine’s national police and border guards, the list showed.

The biggest non-security exemption was $500 million in funding for PEPFAR, the flagship US program fighting HIV/AIDS, which mainly funds healthcare services in Africa and is credited with saving millions of lives. That compares with PEPFAR’s annual budget in 2024 of $6.5 billion. PEPFAR is administered by the State Department’s global health bureau.

‘DYSFUNCTIONAL’
A current USAID employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the process for requesting exemptions as “very dysfunctional” and said the agency’s remaining staff have sought clarity on what criteria are being used. Mr. Rubio has said the Trump administration reached out to USAID missions overseas to identify and designate programs that will be exempted.

J. Brian Atwood, USAID’s administrator from 1993 to 1999, said reducing foreign aid to a narrow set of exemptions was shortsighted. “When people are starving or feeling desperate, they are going to become a security problem eventually,” he said. “They’ll migrate or become an immigration problem, or they will be more inclined to move to terrorism.”

The foreign aid that was paused by Mr. Trump had previously been approved by Congress, which controls the federal budget under the US Constitution. As a candidate and as President, Mr. Trump has said he opposes foreign aid for “countries that hate us” and would prefer to instead spend the money at home.

The exemptions in the list were granted before a federal judge last week ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for foreign aid contracts and awards that were in place before Jan. 20. Reuters was unable to establish what exemptions, if any, had been granted since Feb. 13.

Many of the unfrozen programs reflect Mr. Trump’s focus on drug trafficking, including funds supporting fentanyl interdiction operations by Mexican security units and efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations. Mr. Trump’s aid freeze has thrown a wrench into those efforts, however.

Reuters reported last week that the pause halted anti-narcotics programs funded by the INL Bureau in Mexico that for years had been working to curb the flow of the synthetic opioid into the United States.

More than $64 million was released to support Haitian police and a UN-approved international security force that is helping Haiti’s government fight escalating gang violence that has displaced more than one million people.

The money covers supplies of small arms, ammunition, drones, night vision goggles, vehicles and other support for the force, according to the list. The force is led by Kenya and includes personnel from Jamaica, Belize, the Bahamas, Guatemala and El Salvador.

The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, focused on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, received 17 exemptions worth more than $30.4 million, the list showed.

Also released was $397 million for a US-backed program in nuclear-armed Pakistan that a congressional aide said monitored Islamabad’s use of US-made F-16 fighter jets to ensure they are employed for counterterrorism operations and not against rival India.

Some of the released funds were for small expenditures — including $604 for Mr. Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system to run biometrics registration programs in the Darien Gap, a treacherous 60-mile route linking South and Central America used by US-bound illegal migrants. — Reuters

EU to pare back sustainability rules for companies, draft shows

REUTERS

BRUSSELS/LONDON — The European Commission plans to cut back the number of companies facing European Union (EU) sustainability reporting requirements, as part of its drive to cut red tape for businesses, a draft document seen by Reuters showed.

Brussels plans to publish next week an “omnibus” proposal to simplify green rules for businesses, aiming to make local industries more competitive and respond to US President Donald Trump’s promise to scrap regulations.

The European Union is also facing competing calls from member countries including Germany and France demanding the green reporting rules are weakened — and others, including Spain, which have argued the rules are key to upholding the EU’s values on the environment and human rights.

A partial draft of the upcoming proposals, seen by Reuters on Saturday, showed the Commission is planning changes to the EU’s corporate sustainability reporting directive, which requires companies to disclose information about their environmental and social sustainability.

Under the draft proposal, which could still change before it is published, only companies with more than 1,000 employees and a net turnover exceeding 450 million euros ($471 million) would be subject to the rules’ obligations.

Currently, the rules apply to firms with more than 250 employees and a 40-million-euro turnover. The EU would also cancel its plans to adopt sector-specific reporting standards by next June, the draft said.

The document also detailed plans to delay the EU’s due diligence law — known as the CSDDD — which aims to ensure companies find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains, by imposing due diligence requirements upon large companies.

The draft proposal would require companies to only undertake in-depth assessments of their direct business partners, and subsidiaries, leaving out other subcontractors and suppliers in their supply chains. — Reuters