Trump's cut to VOA due to struggles between different political factions: expert

The Trump administration's move to cut public funding for the Voice of America (VOA), a propaganda tool for the U.S. government, is due to competing interests and struggles between different political factions, a Chinese expert said during an interview on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump on March 14 signed an executive order, which listed the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the parent agency of VOA, as part of "unnecessary" federal bureaucracy.

More than 1,300 VOA employees, including journalists, producers and assistants, were reportedly placed on administrative leave on Saturday.

Diao Daming, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University of China, shared his insights on why Trump halted funding for the agency during his second term.

"He feels that VOA has not effectively fulfilled its mission to make the United States great again and serve the country's interests. On the other hand, public opinion institutions under the USAGM, including VOA, have been openly critical of Trump, his team, and his administration, particularly regarding certain policies during his first term. After assuming office for a second term, Trump swiftly implemented this tough measure, which is evidently influenced by competing interests and struggles between different political factions," said Diao.

Founded in 1942, the VOA has long served as a political tool for the U.S. government, engaging in ideological confrontation and shaping public opinion. For over 80 years, regardless of whether the Democratic or Republican Party was in power, funding for institutions like VOA remained uninterrupted.

Experts described the VOA as a propaganda machine aimed at ideological infiltration in certain regions, as many of its programs are inaccessible within the United States and are instead broadcast exclusively to specific countries abroad.

"In the past, when I served as a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, I encountered VOA reporters at domestic events, international conferences, and various occasions. They would, for example, selectively ask questions during interviews, selectively edit our responses, and then selectively report and broadcast them. Given such practices, how much credibility can VOA really have?" said Yang Yujun, dean of the Academy of Media and Public Affairs at the Communication University of China.

Trump's cut to VOA due to struggles between different political factions: expert

The United States military hit a civil factory in Yemen's Hodeidah city amid its fresh round of airstrikes on the Houthi-held Red Sea port city on Monday night.

The privately-owned iron and steel plant, located in the Salif district north of Hodeidah city, was targeted by 12 U.S. missiles.

Footage recorded by a China Media Group (CMG) correspondent showed that the roof of the factory completely collapsed after the airstrike, and broken bricks and tiles, as well as shrapnel from artillery shells, could be seen everywhere.

The factory had to stop production due to the damage to the equipment.

"The attack on this plant will leave 250 to 300 workers unemployed, with material losses estimated between 13 million to 14 million U.S. dollars," said Saleh Atifa, Houthi-appointed head of Hodeidah's industrial department.

The U.S. military claimed that they were targeting military facilities, but the steel plant was completely an independent civilian plant, according to the Houthis.

"The brutal hostility of the U.S. military targets civilian facilities and other key facilities. Like the steel plant you see here, it belongs neither to the state nor to the military, nor to the security department or the Houthis. It is an independent civilian factory," said Hodeidah governor Abdullah Atifi.

Over the past two days, dozens of Houthi-controlled military sites, as well as dozens of residential houses, have been targeted and bombed by U.S. fighter jets across the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, and several other northern and western provinces under Houthi control.

The tensions in the Red Sea are a visible manifestation of the spillover effects of the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict centered on the Gaza Strip.

The renewed conflict in the Red Sea comes after Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza Strip on March 2, coinciding with the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

On Tuesday, the Houthi group announced that it would resume launching attacks against any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until the crossings of the Gaza Strip are reopened and aid is allowed in.

US military hits civil steel plant in Hodeidah, Yemen