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China, Belarus Agree to Strengthen Cooperation in Trade, Security

FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
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China, Belarus Agree to Strengthen Cooperation in Trade, Security

FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)

China and Belarus have agreed to strengthen cooperation in a range of sectors including trade, security, energy and finance, a joint communique showed.

Belarus, which has been hit by Western sanctions over its support for Russia's offensive in Ukraine, said Thursday it will sign a free trade deal with China for services and investment.

China's Prime Minister Li Qiang was in Belarus to meet President Alexander Lukashenko, following a visit to Moscow where he hailed strengthening ties with Russia and met President Vladimir Putin.

Minsk and Beijing will sign a series of bilateral partnership agreements during his visit, the Belarusian presidency said in a statement on its website.

"One of them can definitely be called historic -- an agreement on the creation of a free trade zone for services and investment," it quoted Lukashenko as saying.

Minsk said the deal would create "transparent and predictable rules" that would boost Belarus' exports to China by at least 12 percent and Chinese investment into Belarus by 30 percent over the next five years.

According to AFP, Belarus has been targeted by sanctions over its support of Russia's military offensive on Ukraine and Lukashenko's crackdown on protesters following his disputed 2020 re-election.

It is hugely reliant on economic support from Moscow.

China meanwhile is flexing its economic muscle across Eurasia through vast infrastructure and financial projects, seeking to build up its soft power in an investment splurge that has concerned the West.

Both Belarus and China have been accused of enabling and supporting Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine.

Lukashenko said he wanted to see a "large influx of Chinese technology" into Belarus over the coming years.

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UN Aid Chief Says to Cut 20% of Staff Due to Funding Shortfall

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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UN Aid Chief Says to Cut 20% of Staff Due to Funding Shortfall

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will cut 20% of its staff as it faces a shortfall of $58 million, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher has told staff after OCHA's largest donor - the United States - cut funding.

"OCHA currently has a workforce of around 2,600 staff in over 60 countries. The funding shortfall means we are looking to regroup to an organization of around 2,100 staff in fewer locations," Fletcher wrote in a note to staff on Thursday.

OCHA works to mobilize aid, share information, support aid efforts, and advocate for those in need during a crisis. It relies heavily on voluntary contributions.

"The US alone has been the largest humanitarian donor for decades, and the biggest contributor to OCHA's program budget," Fletcher said, noting that its annual contribution of $63 million would have accounted for 20% of OCHA's extrabudgetary resources in 2025.

Since returning to office in January for a second term, US President Donald Trump's administration has slashed billions of dollars in foreign assistance in a review that aimed to ensure programs align with his "America First" foreign policy.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month announced a new initiative to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.

Fletcher said OCHA would "focus more of our resources in the countries where we work," but would work in fewer places.

"OCHA will scale back our presence and operations in Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Gaziantep (in Türkiye) and Zimbabwe," Fletcher said.

"As we all know, these exercises are driven by funding cuts announced by Member States and not by a reduction of needs," he said. "Humanitarian needs are on the rise and have perhaps never been higher, driven by conflicts, climate crises, disease, and the lack of respect of international humanitarian law."