US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last night that the United States will impose sanctions on the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, over her efforts to have the International Criminal Court take action against US and Israeli politicians and companies, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Rubio criticized in a post on the social network “Ex“, in his words, “the illegal and shameful efforts (of Francesca Albanese) to encourage the International Criminal Court to take action against US and Israeli officials, companies and leaders“.
“Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the US and Israel will no longer be tolerated“, the US Secretary of State added.
A spokesman for Albanese did not respond immediately responded to a request for comment. The Italian legal expert called on member states of the UN Human Rights Council to impose an arms embargo and to cut off trade and financial ties with Israel, insisting it is waging a “campaign of genocide in Gaza“.
In a report published earlier this month, Albanese accused more than 60 companies, including arms manufacturers and technology companies, of supporting Israeli settlement and military operations in Gaza. The report calls on companies to end business with Israel and to hold employees involved in alleged violations of international law accountable.
Albanese is one of dozens of independent human rights experts mandated by the United Nations to report on specific topics and crises. The views expressed by the special rapporteurs do not reflect those of the world body as a whole, Reuters notes.
Since returning to office on January 20, President Donald Trump has terminated the United States' engagement with the UN Human Rights Council and extended the suspension of funding to the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court last month in response to the military tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an earlier decision to open a case for alleged war crimes committed by US troops in Afghanistan.
President Donald Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil over its treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump noted in a letter to Brazilian authorities that he linked Trump has previously described Bolsonaro as a friend and hosted him at his Florida mansion when they were both in office in 2020.
“This trial should not be taking place. It is a witch hunt that must end immediately“, Trump wrote in the letter published on his social media account “Truth Social“.
Trump also objected to Brazil's Supreme Court's fine against social media platforms like “Ex“, saying that a temporary block last year amounted to “covert and illegal censorship“. Trump said he was launching an investigation as a result under the Trade Act of 1974, which applies to companies with trade practices deemed unfair to American companies.
The letter to Brazil is a reminder that politics and personal relationships with Trump are just as important as economics, the AP notes. And while Trump has said the high tariffs he is imposing are based on trade imbalances, his current actions have not made it clear how the countries targeted will help reindustrialize America.
In turn, Reuters notes that tensions between the United States and Brazil are escalating, with the Brazilian Foreign Ministry recalling the U.S. embassy's chargé d'affaires over comments in defense of Bolsonaro.
Trump, speaking to reporters at an event with West African leaders at the White House, said that "Brazil has not been good to us, has not been good at all," adding that the tariffs are based on "very, very substantial facts."
The diplomatic dispute dates back to Sunday, when Trump criticized the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro. Calling the group “anti-American”, Trump threatened additional tariffs on member countries, including Brazil.
"The world has changed. We don't want an emperor. We are sovereign nations. If he thinks he can impose tariffs, other countries have the right to impose tariffs too," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a statement to reporters after the summit. The US embassy in Brazil issued a statement to local media on Tuesday echoing Trump's comments about Bolsonaro. "The political persecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his family and his supporters is shameful and disrespectful to Brazil's democratic traditions," the US embassy said in a statement in Portuguese. Brazilian media reported earlier that the Foreign Ministry would summon the official for clarification on the embassy's comments. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US President Donald Trump promised West African leaders a shift from aid to trade during their meeting at the White House as the region reels from the impact of drastic aid cuts from Washington, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump said he saw "great economic potential in Africa", while the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau spoke of their countries' natural resources and heaped praise on the US president, including thanks for his help in resolving a long-running conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Trump described the countries represented at the meeting as "very vibrant places with very valuable land, large mineral and oil deposits, and wonderful people" – a marked shift from his first term, when he used a vulgar term to describe African countries.
The meeting comes amid a shift in US global and domestic priorities under Trump. Earlier this month, the US administration disbanded the Agency for International Development, saying it would no longer pursue a “charity-based model of foreign aid” and instead focus on partnerships with countries that show “both the ability and willingness to help themselves.”
During the meeting, Trump singled out trade as a diplomatic tool. Trade “seems to be the foundation” for settling disputes between countries, he said.
“We closed the Agency for International Development to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. "We are working tirelessly to create new economic opportunities that include both the United States and many African countries," Trump said.
West African countries have been among the hardest hit by the dissolution of the Agency for International Development. U.S. support for Liberia amounts to 2.6 percent of the country's gross national income, the highest percentage in the world, according to the Center for Global Development.
Liberian President Joseph Boakai in a statement "expressed optimism about the outcome of the meeting, reaffirming Liberia's commitment to regional stability, democratic governance, and inclusive economic growth."