By OPE ADETAYO, Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The World Food Programme said Friday it is suspending food and nutritional assistance across crisis-hit West and Central African countries as a result of U.S. aid cuts, which are grinding the organization’s operations to a halt.

While the timeline varies, food stocks are projected to last until around September for most of the affected countries, leaving millions of vulnerable people potentially without any emergency aid, according to the WFP.

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“We are doing everything we can to prioritize the most life-saving activities, but without urgent support from our partners, our ability to respond is shrinking by the day. We need sustained funding to keep food flowing and hope alive,” Margot van der Velden, the WFP’s regional director, told The Associated Press.

Seven countries are affected in the region, with the suspension of operations already underway in Mauritania, Mali and the Central African Republic, where food stocks are projected to last only a few weeks. Aid distribution has already been significantly scaled down in Cameroonian camps for Nigerian refugees in the country, according to the WFP.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to cut USAID and critical funding to the United Nations has left many aid agencies struggling to survive despite the worsening humanitarian crises across the Sahel and other parts of Africa, where jihadist groups have continued to expand their operations.

Millions of people are expected to be immediately affected, according to WFP data seen by the AP, including 300,000 children in Nigeria at risk of “severe malnutrition, ultimately raising the risk of death”.

The International Rescue Committee this month said there was a 178% rise in inpatient admissions at its clinics from March-May in northern Nigeria, where 1.3 million people depend on WFP aid.

Displaced people in Mali have not received any emergency food supplies since June, which marked the start of a period during which food production is at its lowest in the Sahel.

Despite the continued influx of refugees from North Darfur due to the ongoing Sudanese conflict, emergency food supplies in Chad will only last to the end of the year. Niger faces a total suspension of food aid by October.

These countries are already in the grip of escalating humanitarian crises, sparked by constant attacks by multiple terrorist groups, where thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced, the U.N. says. The attacks have been exacerbated by worsening climate conditions that have affected harvests and struggling economies across the continents.

“The consequences are not just humanitarian but potentially affecting the stability of the entire region,” Van der Velden said.

The WFP says it needs $494 million to cover the second half of 2025, but the funds have been totally depleted, forcing it to prioritize the most vulnerable groups. In northern and central Mali it will prioritize newly displaced refugees and children under five.

Experts say the fallout of the suspension of the WFP’s operations in the vulnerable countries will worsen the security challenge as it makes it more likely for jihadist groups to recruit.

“It becomes a more complicated crisis because in regions where the WFP operations are focused because the same challenge also intersects with security. It is going to bode double jeopardy,” said Oluwole Ojewale, a Dakar-based security analyst at the Institute of Security Studies.

He added: “When hunger comes on top of the layers of other challenges, it compounds the issue, and we have seen people take to terrorism and violent extremism basically because they couldn’t survive the biting reality of poverty.”

By JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said in a letter that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening a rift between two North American countries that have suffered a debilitating blow to their decades-old alliance.

The Thursday letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March after months of threats. Trump’s tariffs were allegedly in an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling despite the relatively modest trafficking in the drug from that country. Trump has also expressed frustration with a trade deficit with Canada that largely reflects oil purchases by America.

“I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote in the letter.

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The higher rates would go into effect Aug. 1, creating a tense series of weeks ahead for the global economy as recent gains in the S&P 500 stock index suggest many investors think Trump will ultimately back down on the increases. But stock market futures were down early Friday in a sign that Trump’s wave of tariff letters may be starting to generate concern among investors.

In a social media post, Carney said Canada would continue to work toward a new trade framework with the U.S. and has made “vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl.”

“Through the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and business,” Carney said.

While multiple countries have received tariff letters this week, Canada — America’s second largest trading partner after Mexico — has become something of a foil to Trump. It has imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and pushed back on the president’s taunts of making Canada the 51st state. Mexico has also faced 25% tariffs because of fentanyl, yet it has not faced the same public pressure from the Republican U.S. president.

Carney was elected prime minister in April on the argument that Canadians should keep their “elbows up.” He has responded by distancing Canada from its intertwined relationship with the U.S., seeking to strengthen its links with the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Hours before Trump’s letter, Carney posted on X a picture of himself with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying, “In the face of global trade challenges, the world is turning to reliable economic partners like Canada.” Implied in his statement was that the U.S. has become unreliable because of Trump’s haphazard tariff regime, which has gone through aggressive threats and reversals.

When Carney went to the White House in May, the public portion of their meeting was cordial. But Trump said there was nothing the Canadian leader could tell him to remove the tariffs, saying, “Just the way it is.”

Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Trump’s latest move will make it more difficult for Canada and the U.S. to reach a trade deal, Beland said.

“It doesn’t mean a new trade deal between Canada and the United States is impossible, but it shows how hard it is for the Canadian government to negotiate with a U.S. president who regularly utters threats and doesn’t appear to be a reliable and truthful interlocutor,” he said.

Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to 23 countries. Those form letters became increasingly personal with Canada as well as a Wednesday note that put a 50% tariff on Brazil for the ongoing trial of its former President Jair Bolsonaro for trying to stay in office after his 2022 election loss. Trump was similarly indicted for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump administration officials have said that Trump was seeking to isolate its geopolitical rival China with the tariffs, but the latest tariffs have undermined that message. Brazil’s largest trading partner is China, not the U.S., and Chinese government officials have framed his import taxes as a form of bullying.

“Sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs are important principles of the U.N. Charter and basic norms governing international relations,” said Mao Ning, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman. “Tariffs should not be used as a tool for coercion, bullying and interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”

The letters reflect the inability of Trump to finalize the dozens of trade frameworks that he claimed would be easy to negotiate. Shortly after unveiling his April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs, a financial market selloff caused Trump to announce a 90-day negotiating period during which a 10% baseline tariff would be charged on most imported goods.

But Trump has indicated that the 10% tariff rates are largely disappearing as he resets the rates with his letters.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%,” Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News.

Trump has announced trade frameworks with the U.K. and Vietnam, as well as a separate deal with China to enable continued trade talks. Trump jacked up import taxes on Chinese goods to as much as 145%, but after talks he has said China faces total tariffs of 55%.

In June, Trump said he was suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue its digital services tax, which would hit U.S. technology companies. A few days later, talks resumed when Carney rescinded the tax.

Under the current tariff structure, the 2020 United States Mexico Canada Agreement has protected eligible goods from Trump’s tariffs. But a review of the pact is scheduled for 2026.

Jim Morris contributed to this report from Vancouver, British Columbia.

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press Business Writer

Bitcoin has reached an all-time high, surpassing $118,000 as a flood of money moves into spot bitcoin ETFs, which have opened up cryptocurrency investing to millions.

A soft U.S. dollar and the digital currency friendliness of President Donald Trump’s administration has also helped to push the price of bitcoin to unprecedented levels recently.

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Last month the Senate passed legislation that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what the industry hopes will be a wave of bills to bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers.

The fast-moving legislation comes on the heels of a 2024 campaign cycle in which the crypto industry ranked among the top political spenders in the country, underscoring its growing influence in Washington and beyond.

Known as the GENIUS Act, the bill would establish guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. The acronym stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.”

Next week the House of Representatives will be considering the GENIUS Act as part of Congress’ efforts to strengthen the country’s crypto position.

By HANNA ARHIROVA, VASILISA STEPANENKO and ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — By day, the Ukrainian capital hums with life — crowded metros, dog walkers and children on playgrounds. By night, Kyiv becomes a battleground as Russia unleashes relentless drone and missile attacks that chase much of the population underground for safety.

The nighttime assaults have intensified in the fourth year of the full-scale invasion, with the number of drones sometimes exceeding 700. Swarms of 1,000 drones could soon become the norm, officials say.

Many people in Kyiv describe the recent attacks as the most terrifying of the war, and even residents who previously ignored sirens have been driven into bomb shelters in the subway system.

People sleep on the platform of a metro station as they take cover during a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

“During the day, you walk around, drink coffee, smile, meet friends, talk, have hobbies, chill,” said 25-year-old Karyna Holf. “But at night, you brace for death every time you hear the sound of a Shahed drone or a missile.”

A Russian attack on Thursday badly damaged her apartment. She was in the living room near a window when she heard the whistling sound of an incoming weapon. Moments later, the home shattered into pieces. She was lucky to survive.

The constant proximity to death often fuels dark humor. At night, many are paralyzed by fear. But by day, they joke that they don’t sleep naked, just in case they end up under rubble and rescuers have to pull them out.

“It’s like a computer game where you try to survive and still remain functional,” said 35-year-old Danylo Kuzemskyi, describing the balance between daily life and war.

The buzzing of drones — often ending in explosions — and the constant thud of air defenses can last for hours. The noise leaves many people chronically exhausted from lack of sleep.

Local residents stand outside of their house which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

The drones blanket wide areas of the city, covered in darkness pierced only by the flashes of air defense fire. The air is filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 800 sites in Kyiv have been hit, including over 600 residential buildings, said the head of the Kyiv city administration, Tymur Tkachenko.

“They are deliberately hitting apartment buildings and urban districts,” he said. “This is their tactic — to spread fear and increase the number of civilian casualties.”

Russia insists that it strikes only military targets, though there are abundant examples throughout the war of civilian infrastructure being hit.

The attacks have also strengthened the solidarity among Kyiv residents. On social media, people post with pride that they can still grab a cappuccino in the morning, make it to a workout or keep their appointments — without canceling a thing.

“I understand that Russia’s terror is aimed not only at military targets but at the entire Ukrainian people. Russia is trying to demoralize us,” said Kuzemskyi, whose apartment was destroyed in a previous attack. “Is it succeeding? In my case, I’d say no.”

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He is among those who no longer go to shelters during attacks, saying he now “prioritizes sleep” over safety.

For 23-year-old Oleksandra Umanets, who has a 10-month-old son, the shelter in the subway feels safer than her home at night.

Around 5 a.m., she usually leaves the shelter with her child, walks home, lies down to sleep and wakes up relieved to see her baby smiling.

“I see the same kids running, playing — and moms who are smiling,” she said of their walks during the day. “You wouldn’t guess they spent the night in the metro or didn’t sleep at all, even though everyone knows it. But no one talks about it. Everyone just keeps living.”

Then evening comes. She packs a bag, places it by the door, prepares the stroller and lays out clothes for herself and her baby. When the siren sounds again, she’s ready to hide.

“When it’s about you — that’s one thing. But when it’s about your child, for what?” she said. “To kill him just for being born in Ukraine? He didn’t choose where to be born.”