USA: Trump halts World Health Organization funding amid coronavirus pandemic: byJeff Mason

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would halt funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic while his administration reviews its response to the global crisis.

Trump told a White House news conference the WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said the group had promoted China’s “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred.

The United States is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget.

The hold on funding was expected. Trump has been increasingly critical of the organization as the global health crisis has continued, and he has reacted angrily to criticism of his administration’s response.

Note EU-Digest: In February Trump praised the WHO for the great work they were doing with China on fighting the Coronavirus, while at the same time he did nothing to prepare America for the onslaught of the virus. Trump now blames everyone else, including the WHO for his total mismanagement of the fight against the coronavirus in America. The WHO in Geneva.is a dedicated and professional organization, in service of humanity, to improving health and sanitation around the globe. 

Trump's rambling accusations and lies constantly contradict his earlier TV recorded statements. Trump is a disgrace to America.

Read more at: Trump halts World Health Organization funding amid coronavirus pandemic - Reuters

The Netherlands: Dutch foreign minister resigns after lying about Put0in meeting

Dutch foreign minister Halbe Zijlstra has resigned after admitting he lied about being in Russian president Vladimir’s dacha in 2006 and hearing Putin talk about his plans for a greater Russia.

Zijlstra had been under fire since admitting on Monday that he lied about overhearing Putin define ‘Greater Russia’ as ‘Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic states,’ then adding that ‘Kazakhstan was nice to have’.

He had been due to debate the incident with MPs on Tuesday afternoon but resigned ahead of the scheduled debate.

In a short statement, Zijlstra said the lie was ‘by far the biggest mistake I have made in my political career’. ‘The Netherlands,’ he said, ‘deserves a foreign affairs minister who is above all reproach.’

Note EU-Digest: a courageous move by Halbe Zijlstra showing respect, as a politician, for Democratic values, in contrast to US President Donald Trump, who is able to lie on a daily basis and get away with it.

Read more: Dutch foreign minister resigns after lying about Putin meeting - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: Dutch foreign minister admits lying about meeting with Putin (AP)

In a potentially damaging admission on the eve of his first visit to Russia as a member of the Dutch government, Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra on Monday acknowledged lying about attending a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in 2006.

Zijlstra issued a statement confirming the admission he made in an interview published in Monday’s edition of respected Dutch daily De Volkskrant.

Zijlstra has in the past said he was present as an employee of energy giant Shell at Putin’s country retreat when the Russian president said he considered Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic states as part of a “Greater Russia.”

In a written statement, Zijlstra said that he was not present at the meeting in 2006 but heard the story from somebody who was there. He said he considered Putin’s statements so geopolitically important that he spoke about them publicly and took credit for hearing the comments as a way of protecting his source.

“The manner in which I wanted to protect my source and underscore my message about Russia was not sensible, that is crystal clear,” Zijlstra said.

Zijlstra is due to fly to Moscow Tuesday for a meeting Wednesday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Read nmore: Dutch foreign minister admits lying about meeting with Putin - The Washington Post

US and Russian Relations: Does Trump know Putin? “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”

Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin "he never met"

The Washington post reported that in a recent tweet , President Trump repeated his claim that he doesn’t “know Vladimir Putin,” an argument he’s made ever since closeness to Russia and his presidentcy became a political liability. On the other hand, back when knowing world leaders was an asset, though, Trump bragged about his relationship with Putin.

The Washington Post gave a  chronology of what Donald said about his relationship with Putin in a variety of interviews since 2013, which shows quite some alarming flip-flop answers by the US President. 

June 2013: “Will he become my new best friend?
November 2013: “I do have a relationship”
March 2014: “Putin even sent me a present” 
May 2014: “I spoke … with President Putin”
November 2015: “I got to know him very well”
July 2016 - "the big switch": Trump denies knowing Putin in a number of documented interviews  as he states: “I don’t know who Putin is - I have nothing to do with Putin. I’ve never spoken to him. I don’t know anything about him other than he will respect me. He said one nice thing about me. He said I’m a genius. I said thank you very much to the newspaper, and that was the end of it. I never met Putin.”
February 2017: “I don’t know Putin”

Maybe the famous line from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, when an officer of the palace guard says: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, after the ghost of the dead king appears, walking over the palace walls, fits this situation best? 

Bottom Line: Why is President Trump lying about his personal connections in Russia?  

EU-Digest