UN chief to lobby US Congress to save funding

Drastic cuts in US funding to the United Nations would create an insoluble problem for the world body, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday as he announced plans to lobby US lawmakers to reject the cutbacks. Guterres will travel to Washington next week to make the case directly to US members of Congress who have the power to amend President Donald Trump's budget proposals. Last month, the US State Department laid out plans to slash Washington's budget for diplomacy and foreign aid by more than 30 percent, including a dramatic cut of 60 percent to US funding for peacekeeping missions.