Donald Trump has announced that the United States will leave the World Health Organization (WHO).This is the second time the President has tried to leave the UN body.
On Monday, his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing from the WHO, citing the organisation’s handling of COVID-19, lack of reforms and its alleged dependence on political influence from member states.
During the COVID-19 crisis, the WHO advocated for forced vaccinations and recommended lockdowns. It has also been criticized for trying to influence private lives through advice such as refraining from hugging each other during Christmas. The UN agency’s actions during the pandemic have been widely criticized, with some arguing that the organization should make amends for the harmful consequences of the lockdowns.
Trump also points out that the organization is demanding “unfairly onerous payments from the United States”, which are completely disproportionate to the assessed payments of other countries.
“China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO“, the White House writes.
Attempted to withdraw as early as 2020
This is not the first time Trump has tried to withdraw from the WHO. He took steps to leave the organization in 2020, accusing it then of aiding China in efforts to “mislead the world” about the origins of COVID-19. Joe Biden then reversed the decision when he took over as President.
The United States has been a member of the WHO since its creation in 1948 and its withdrawal would make it the only major power not in the organization, which currently has 194 members.
Within 12 months, the US will have left the organization, according to Trump.
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Donald Trump has announced that he has initiated a process to impose a 100% tariff on all films produced outside the US that are then imported into the country. Critics warn of the consequences and argue that tariffs will worsen the situation for the American film industry.
The decision, which was announced on May 4, is intended, according to Trump, to protect the American film industry, which he believes is on the verge of “a very fast death”, reports industry publication Variety.
– This is a concerted effort by other nations and, therefore, a national security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.
Trump said he has instructed the Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to quickly begin the process of imposing the tariffs.
Exact details on how the tariffs will be implemented, such as whether they will also cover streaming services or how the size of the tariffs will be calculated, have not yet been announced.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has confirmed that the authorities are working on the issue.
Donald Trump claims he is placing a 100% tariff on all films produced outside of America that are brought into the country.
“Any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” pic.twitter.com/EsQ9Pe5T2T
Many American productions are currently filmed in several countries that offer financial incentives for film production, including Canada, the UK, and Australia, and industry representatives are now concerned about how the tariffs would affect ongoing projects and collaborations.
The chair of the Swedish Film and TV Producers Association, Eva Hamilton, called the proposal “incredibly stupid” and warned that it could isolate the US culturally and economically.
– It just sounds incredibly stupid, and I find it hard to see how it could be implemented. He’s right that Hollywood hasn’t kept up, but stopping all foreign expertise sounds like shooting yourself in the foot, Eva Hamilton said in an interview with Schibsted owned TV4.
Trump has previously singled out Hollywood as a “very problematic place” and, in early 2025, appointed actors Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone as ambassadors to promote American film production.
The American film industry has already been affected by Trump’s trade war, and China, among others, has reduced its quota for American films allowed to be shown in response to the new American tariffs on the country.
The US Embassy is demanding that the Stockholm City Planning Office sign a contract committing to immediately stop engaging in left-liberal activism in the form of DEI initiatives on “diversity, inclusion and equality”.
– It’s completely bizarre, says City Planning Councilor Jan Valeskog (S).
Speaking on Swedish state radio SR, he insists that “values such as diversity and gender equality are very important to the City of Stockholm” and that there are no plans to deviate from this line.
The embassy notes that under the Trump administration, a new policy has been introduced whereby all parties from whom the US government purchases goods or services must sign the contract in question, and that the Stockholm City Planning Office has ten days to do so.
– We are absolutely not going to do that, it is contrary to everything we stand for. They should withdraw these absurdities, continues a visibly upset Valeskog in the Bonnier newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
He argues that it is the embassy that is dependent on the city of Stockholm – not the other way around, and that the Americans themselves will suffer the most if the contract is terminated.
“Their headache”
– If the US terminates its relationship with the city planning office, the embassy will have a hard time getting building permits if they want to rebuild, for example. That’s their headache, not ours.
It’s not just the City of Stockholm that has been sent these contracts and accompanying requirements The policy has been introduced on a global scale – and those who don’t sign up risk losing their contracts.
At the same time, there has also been some confusion about what the Americans are really after.
Just over a month ago, the US embassy in Sweden stated that the requirements only applied to companies “controlled by a US employer and employing US citizens”.
DEI stands for "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion". It is an umbrella term for various initiatives and initiatives aimed at quotas or otherwise favoring different minorities in, for example, working life and education.
Critics, however, argue that DEI is based on a left-wing ideological worldview rather than on proven methodology. There are also concerns that focusing on sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity or religion rather than skills risks undermining the meritocracy and that DEI initiatives are used to discriminate against white people.
Several studies also indicate that DEI training programs have almost no or even counterproductive effects. As these programs have become more widespread, the backlash has grown, particularly in the United States, where some universities have begun to phase them out.
Yesterday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth strongly criticized left-wing liberal so-called diversity and inclusion programs within the military and reiterated the message that there is no future for such destructive phenomena within the US Armed Forces.
In a speech delivered at the Special Operations Forces Week conference, the defense secretary declared that climate alarmism, LGBTQ lobbying, and vaccine mandates are over, and that from now on, the focus will be solely on issues that are actually relevant to the military.
– No more pronouns, no more climate change obsession, no more emergency vaccine mandates, and no more dudes in dresses.
– We’re done with that shit, Hegseth continued.
BREAKING Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has a message for the entire World:
Hegseth’s statements follow a US Supreme Court ruling that gives the green light to the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen the military’s focus by restricting the participation of transgender people in the armed forces.
The decision is based on an executive order signed in January, shortly after Donald Trump took office, with the aim of ensuring what the administration describes as an effective and unified defense force.
“The dumbest phrase in military history”
The Nordic Times has previously highlighted Hegseth’s views on diversity programs in the US military and how he condemned the left-liberal rhetoric previously used by the military leadership.
– I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength’, Hegseth explained at a meeting with Defense Department employees at the Pentagon.
– I think our strength is our unity, our strength is our shared purpose, regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race, he continued, promising to do everything in his power to remove left-wing activist influence from the army.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Monday that it will offer $1,000 in compensation to anyone who is in the US illegally and voluntarily returns to their home country. The measure is part of the mass deportation campaign that has been central to Trump’s politics since he ran for office.
According to a press release from the US Department of Homeland Security, the government will also cover travel expenses. Migrants who use the CBP Home app to notify the authorities that they plan to return will also be given priority in the agency’s work on arrests and physical removals.
– If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest, said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, adding:
– DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App.
The department itself states that it has already paid for the plane ticket for a migrant who has returned to Honduras from Chicago, and that more tickets are booked for this week and next week.
NOW – Kristi Noem breaks down self-deportation: “These illegal aliens that are in our country have the opportunity to go on the CBP Home app and we will facilitate them finding their way back to their countries—They will be paid $1000 as an incentive.” pic.twitter.com/9Rw5mmWxrX
During his presidential campaign, Trump made immigration control and mass deportations a central issue, and his administration has continued along this path during its first months in power. At the same time, implementation has been described as expensive, slow, and resource-intensive.
While the Republican government is requesting significantly increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for deporting unwanted immigrants from the country, it is also trying to get people without residence permits to leave the US voluntarily.
The initiative has been combined with TV ads warning of measures against illegal immigrants and images on social media showing arrests and migrants being taken to a giant prison in El Salvador.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele inspects the giant “Cetot” prison, where criminal migrants have also been sent. Photo: Casa Presidencial, El Salvador/CC0 1.0
The Trump administration has repeatedly described self-deportation as a way for migrants to preserve the possibility of legally returning to the US in the future, and the president himself repeated this message on Monday in a statement to reporters at the White House.
He said that immigrants who leave the country voluntarily may have a chance to return legally in the future, “if they are good people” and “love our country”.
– If they aren’t, they won’t, Trump added.
Activists urge migrants to reject the offer
It should be noted that the app developed by the Trump administration is a revised version of the app launched during Joe Biden’s presidency with the aim of allowing nearly one million immigrants to book appointments to enter the country.
However, as the purpose of the app is now to encourage immigrants to return home, it has been renamed from CBP One to CBP Home and, according to the Department of Homeland Security, has so far been used by “thousands” of migrants for self-deportation.
However, Trump’s opponents do not view the proposal favorably. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration activist and senior researcher at the American Immigration Council, urges migrants to be very cautious and consider remaining in the US for as long as possible to pursue their cases in immigration court.
He points out that it is often a disadvantage for migrants themselves to leave the country voluntarily, especially for those already facing deportation, as failure to participate in court proceedings can lead to automatic deportation orders and returning home is often considered abandoning important applications, such as asylum.
Others argue that the amount is probably far too low and that only a few illegal immigrants would actually consider leaving the US permanently in exchange for $1,000.
