Secretary of State Marco Rubio partially walked back a freeze on foreign assistance, saying the US would keep funding "life-saving" humanitarian aid.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has ordered an immediate halt to work on virtually all existing foreign aid programmes pending a review into whether they are consistent with President Donald Trump’s policies, according to an internal cable seen by the Financial Times.

In a follow-up memo after an outcry from aid groups, Rubio clarified that other “humanitarian assistance” besides food would also be exempt during the review period. Humanitarian assistance was defined as “core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance”.

Exemptions include humanitarian assistance such as core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance

Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a pause Friday on "all new ... It also noted that emergency food assistance, "salaries and related administrative expenses, including travel for U.S. direct ...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced exemptions in the freeze on foreign assistance, continuing funding for humanitarian items like shelter and medicine. President Trump had ordered a 90-day pause on assistance.

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday widened exemptions in a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance, saying the United States would keep funding humanitarian items such as shelter a

During the brief weekend standoff between the U.S. and Colombia over deportation flights ordered by the Trump administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was seen in a video handling paperwork ...

Conflict tracking in Myanmar. Investigations of Chinese human trafficking. Refugee healthcare in Thailand. Strengthening independent media in Mongolia. Environmental conservation in Tibet. These are just a few of the Asia-focused programmes operating with US government funds that risk permanent closure after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week suspending all foreign aid,

Those who support the freeze of US aid programmes, worth around $70bn per year, say they are vastly bloated, with Washington carrying too much of the weight compared to other Western nations. And they argue the government sends far too much money abroad that would be better spent on Americans at home.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver on Tuesday exempting “life-saving humanitarian assistance” from President Trump’s executive order pausing nearly all foreign aid during a period of