In late 2021, Typhoon Rai, locally known as Supertyphoon Odette, rocked the Caraga and Southern Leyte regions of the Philippines. The Category 5 storm brought torrential rain, landslides, and storm surges that killed more than 400 people and temporarily displaced hundreds of thousands. It was just one of many “onceContinue Reading
On February 12, a parliamentary inquiry regarding a foreign agent law was presented to the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament. The bill was presented by five parliamentarians led by Irina Smirnova from the People’s Party of Kazakhstan. The group cited a desire for greater sovereignty as the rationale behind theContinue Reading
The abrupt suspension of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding by the new Donald Trump administration in early 2025 has cast a dark shadow over Mongolia’s civil society and geopolitical balance. The aid freeze is affecting many local actors who were delivering essential services and advocacy support on sensitiveContinue Reading
The tech mogul Elon Musk-led U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been attacking U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), accusing it of waste and fraud. DOGE’s February 16 announcement canceling some specific USAID plans for funding abroad, including $21 million ostensibly for “voter turnout in India,” has triggered aContinue Reading
The fate of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington’ primary vehicle for delivering foreign assistance worldwide, has hung in the balance since Donald Trump’s inauguration. The turmoil started with an executive order on Inauguration Day suspending U.S. foreign assistance for 90 days. USAID began laying off contractContinue Reading
From 2009 to 2024, Bangladeshi society had endured an increasingly suffocating political climate. A deep-seated frustration with the state system was brewing – an anger not always visible but ever-present beneath layers of state control and surveillance. Bangladesh functioned under a model of strict state oversight. The former government ofContinue Reading
The ongoing freeze on U.S. foreign aid is impacting the globe, but its ramifications are different in each specific location. In Afghanistan, the United States is not merely withholding assistance; it is deepening a humanitarian catastrophe and punishing civilians for political decisions beyond their control. If history has taught usContinue Reading
President Donald Trump began his second term in the Oval Office by making abrupt shifts in U.S. foreign policy, including halting all foreign aid for 90 days. In addition, Trump’s decision to gut the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the realignment of U.S. priorities in international developmentContinue Reading
The decision of the new U.S. administration under President Donald Trump to pause funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and place all direct hire personnel on administrative leave – bar a small number of specific life-saving projects – has implications beyond the operations of American NGOs workingContinue Reading
There is much hand-wringing about the fate of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) since President Donald Trump returned to office. The independent agency was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy as a means to counter Russian influence through U.S. development and aid programs. Since itsContinue Reading
