US lawmakers will vote on a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The package has been stalled by political infighting and comes amid repeated calls from Kyiv for assistance. The US House of Representatives will on Saturday hold a long-awaited and crucial vote on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Voting on the foreign aid and arms bill, valued at $95 billion (€89 billion), is expected to begin at 1 p.m. local time (1700 GMT/UTC). If the vote in the House is successful, the package will then head to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where passage in the coming days is all but assured. US President Joe Biden has promised to sign off on it immediately. Why has the aid package stalled? Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has faced an uphill battle from hardline Republicans over the bill, with continued financing of Ukraine's defensive effort against Russia's invasion hanging in the balance for months. Republicans hold a thin majority in the House.  The foreign aid legislation is similar to a measure passed by the Senate in February, but it contains some differences designed to win over House conservatives.  Republicans opposed to the bill have demanded that stronger controls first be put in place to curb the arrival of migrants at the southern US border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has meanwhile been making desperate attempts to try and shore up support among allies as resources and ammunition stockpiles dwindle. The package includes around $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, a much-needed shot in the arm for Kyiv. Where will the rest of the funding go? Around $14 billion has been allocated for Israel as it continues its fight against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, while around $9 billion would be for providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank. The bill also covers reimbursement for US military operations in the region in response to recent attacks. The rest of the funds are set aside for US partners in the Pacific to counter China, with some $3.3 billion allocated toward the development of submarine infrastructure.  

The US, Germany and other countries are seeking answers after an airstrike in Gaza killed seven aid World Central Kitchen aid workers. Israeli PM Netanyahu said the strike was "unintentional." Israeli military chief says strike was a 'grave mistake' Israel's top military commander said the strike that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza was a "grave mistake." "It was a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night, during a war, in very complex conditions. It shouldn't have happened," Halevi said during a video statement released on Wednesday.. The military chief made the comments after having been presented with the initial findings of a preliminary investigation that was initiated after the deadly strike. Halevi said the Israeli military will "continue taking immediate action to ensure more is done to protect humanitarian aid workers." "Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza. We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK," Halevi said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces “unintentionally struck innocent people in the Gaza Strip” in comments on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, in the last day, there was a tragic incident where our forces unintentionally struck innocent people in the Gaza Strip. It happens in war, and we are thoroughly investigating it. We are in contact with the governments and will do everything to prevent such occurrences in the future,” Netanyahu said. Netanyahu’s remarks came after at least seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers were killed in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces earlier on Tuesday said they were investigating the strike “at the highest levels.” In the same statement, Netanyahu said he is being released from the hospital after undergoing surgery to treat a hernia this weekend. Source: CNN  

Days after the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse, the US gives Maryland $60 million to rebuild the bridge. Meanwhile, insurers are expected to face record-breaking claims. The US government on Thursday released an initial $60 million (€55.6 million) in emergency funds to the state of Maryland to help clear debris and begin rebuilding the collapsed of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Maryland Governor Wes Moore had earlier requested $60 million in emergency federal funding, and within hours his request was approved. "Government is working hand in hand with industry to investigate the area, including the wreck, and remove the ship," Moore said. The Democratic governor said the emergency funding was needed to "lay the foundation for a rapid recovery." 'Long road ahead' for Baltimore's port The Baltimore bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River in the early hours of Tuesday when it was hit by a large container ship. Six people, who had been working on the bridge at the time fixing potholes, were killed in the collapse. Two bodies have been recovered from the water and two survivors were rescued. President Joe Biden has vowed that the rebuilding of the bridge will be paid for entirely with federal funding. But before that, there is still the massive work of removing the cargo ship, recovering the debris from the collapse and finding the four remaining bodies. "This work is not going to take hours. This work is not going to take days. This work is not going to take weeks," Moore said. "We have a very long road ahead of us." The request for $60 million was made to the Federal Highway Administration and is meant to supplement money provided by other agencies for the initial response operations. Massive insurance claims expected The collapse of the bridge is also expected to result in record-breaking insurance payouts. Insurance giant Lloyd's of London said it was "potentially the largest-ever marine insured loss." Lloyd's chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown told broadcaster CNBC that insurance claims would be made for the bridge, the ship and its cargo, but the real substantial claims would come from the accumulation of "second-order impacts." "A lot of business is going to be interrupted," he said, with ships unable to enter parts of the port and some ships trapped behind the debris. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the port was the biggest entry point for vehicles into the US, including cars and heavy farm equipment, with a value of around $100 to $200 million passing through every day. Governor Moore has warned that on top of the port workers who will be impacted by the disruption, more than 140,000 people could also be indirectly affected as the local economy takes a hit.

UNICEF said one of their containers carrying essential supplies was looted by gangs at Haiti's main port. Meanwhile, police seized firearms and cleared roadblocks in an area controlled by a notorious gang leader. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Saturday that one of its 17 aid containers at Haiti's main port was looted. The container was carrying "essential items for maternal, neonatal, and child survival, as well as critical supplies for early childhood development and education, water equipment, and others," the agency said. Haiti is struggling to resolve a long-running political and humanitarian crisis that the children's agency, UNICEF, has warned is causing record hunger and life-threatening malnutrition in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince. One out of every four women is unable to access basic health care and nutrition, the agency said. "Looting of supplies that are essential for life saving support for children must end immediately," said Bruno Maes, UNICEF's Haiti representative, in a statement. Gang violence has spiked throughout the country in recent days.  Police action against gangs Haiti's unelected prime minister, Ariel Henry, said this week he would step down once a transitional council was in place. Heavily armed gangs have taken over much of the capital Port-au-Prince, and rights groups have reported widespread killings, kidnappings and sexual violence. Some hospitals in the city have been forced to close over safety concerns, and only two surgical operating facilities are operational, according to UNICEF. Shortages of electricity, fuel and medical supplies have affected hospitals in other parts of the country as well, with six out of ten facilities not able to function, the agency added. On Saturday, police seized firearms and cleared roadblocks in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood controlled by notorious gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier. The operation left several criminals dead, authorities said. Haiti wracked by gang violence and political instability Law enforcement officials are also attempting to regain control of the capital's main port, which has been shut since March 7 because of the violence.  Haiti's main airport in the capital, meanwhile, remains closed following gang attacks. The US State Department said it would be offering limited charter flights for American citizens from the less chaotic northern city of Cap-Haïtien. But it warned that US citizens should consider the flights "only if you think you can reach Cap-Haïtien airport safely." Haitians have been on edge in recent days awaiting the naming of a transitional governing body meant to restore stability to the impoverished country, wracked by gang violence and left largely isolated from the outside world. The establishment of a transitional council is supported by the Caribbean regional body CARICOM, the United Nations and the United States.  

Tibetans in earthquake-affected areas of China’s Qinghai Province have received scarce help from the Chinese government, except for “some tent facilities” and utilities checks for those whose homes were destroyed by a December earthquake, at least three sources inside the country told Radio Free Asia.   A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rocked the northwestern Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Gansu on Dec. 18 — one of the most powerful earthquakes the country has seen in recent years — killing at least 149 people and injuring over 780 others.    The earthquake brought down buildings across Jishishan county and Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu — the worst hit province — as well as in parts of neighboring Qinghai, a province on the Tibetan plateau. The affected areas in Qinghai are mainly populated by Tibetans. In the absence of adequate aid from the Chinese government, Tibetans in other parts of Chinese-occupied Tibet as well as Tibetan lay and monastic communities have sent funds and supplies to those displaced by the quake, said the sources, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons.    “Other than laying a few tents three days after the quake, the Chinese government did not provide any special assistance or aid, but many Tibetan individuals, organizations, and monasteries from all over Tibet have volunteered help with funds and relief materials, so we have not faced any immediate difficulties,” at least two sources told RFA. Another source noted that more than a week after the earthquake, Chinese authorities had conducted checks to see if water and electricity supplies were flowing but that no other aid or housing and relocation facilities had been provided.   China’s local housing and urban-rural development bureau, however, said it is building 15,000 prefabricated houses in Gansu for quake-affected people and estimates they will be completed by the end of December, Chinese state media reported.

The EU says development aid for the Palestinian territories was not misappropriated.The bloc will continue supporting humanitarian efforts in the region. The European Union announced a review of its development aid to the West Bank and Gaza Strip immediately after Hamasterrorists attacked Israel on October 7. After a European Commission meeting in Strasbourg, a decision has now been reached to continue providing development aid. There are no  indications that Hamas — deemed a terrorist organization by the EU, the US and others — misappropriated EU funds. European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that the audit of this year's payments had not revealed a misuse of funds and that the EU could continue cooperating with various agencies and authorities in the Palestinian territories. After the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, Varhelyi had initially wanted to stop all payments. This, however, had angered the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell. Consequently, an agreement was reached to audit previous payments. Since then, 119 development aid contracts worth €330 million ($358 million) have been reviewed.  Non-governmental organizations have been requested to answers additional question with regard to 51 of these contracts. The European Commission has said that seven contracts regarding infrastructure in the Gaza Strip have been suspended due to the ongoing conflict. The EU had earmarked a total of €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) in development aid for the Palestinian territories for the period 2020 to 2024. Germany to keep providing aid The German government had also said that it would review its development aid to the Palestinian territories. On the sidelines of a meeting of foreign affairs and development ministers in Brussels, Germany's state secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Jochen Flasbarth said that the government had so far audited development projects in Gaza and Jordan. He added that Germany would continue its cooperation with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). "The review of other areas is still ongoing, but should be completed soon," Flasbarth said in reference to the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel and governed by the Palestinian Authority. It was right to carefully vet all funding programs in light of the serious situation, Flasbarth added. "We have found nothing unusual and have heard from other states that have chosen a similar path that they have also carried out checks and found everything to be above board." Stricter funding checks proposed Varhelyi wants to make future development aid conditional on tougher checks. Going forward, there will be checks to see whether aid organizations have made "inflammatory" or antisemitic remarks. There are also plans to check whether families seeking EU welfare payouts for example have engaged in hate speech. So far, this rule only applied to the head of the families in need. But not everyone agrees with these stricter rules. Some European commissioners at the meeting in Strasbourg said they considered the restrictions exaggerated and unjustified. Some of the EU funds go towards paying the salaries of Palestinian Authority officials in the West Bank. They also indirectly provide social aid to Gazan families via aid organizations. The EU severed all direct contact with Hamas in 2007. Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organization, with which the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Protestant aid agency Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World) used to cooperate, will no longer receive funds. A spokesperson for the ministry recently said that organizations that supported armed resistance to Israel were not appropriate partners.  Direct humanitarian aid remains unaffected Direct humanitarian aid provided to the Palestinians in the form of food, shelter and medical care, which is distinct from development projects, remains unaffected and the EU is planning to extend this. After the start of Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the bloc would quadruple aid to €100 million ($108 million). EU member states have granted a further €260 million in urgently needed humanitarian assistance, of which €160 million will be paid for by Germany, according to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The bloc will also continue to provide funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) , which has been operating in the region for decades and supporting people in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Two thirds of Gazan were already dependent on UNRWA assistance even before the current war between the Israeli army and Hamas erupted. The UN agency has 13,000 employees in Gaza. Last year, UNRWA's largest donors were the US, which supplied $343 million (€315 million), followed by Germany with $202 million (€185 million) and the EU with $114 million (€105 million). The UNRWA budget totaled $1.17 billion (€1 billion) in 2022. Meanwhile, Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez has called for fighting to stop in Gaza, saying that short pauses as proposed by the EU in October are not adequate. "I think it is very clear that the violence should end now," she said. "There have been too many innocent victims in Gaza and still too many Israeli hostages taken. It is important that the violence stops and humanitarian aid is secured and that one day we start negotiations for a durable tenable two-state-solution." France, too, has called for an end to the hostilities.  

Washington's decision to resume food assistance comes after Ethiopia agreed to allow monitoring of food supplies. Deliveries were halted earlier this year as the US said the deliveries were being stolen. The United States said it is going to resume delivering food aid for people in Ethiopia next month after the government allowed monitoring the distribution. The US had halted the food aid to Ethiopia earlier this year as Washington said the deliveries were being stolen and were not reaching the intended recipients. Last month, it began distributing food packages but only to refugees in the country. Food deliveries will restart next month for an initial trial period of one year, during which the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it would will ascertain whether the government keeps its promises. In June, USAID had paused all food assistance to Ethiopia alleging a "widespread and coordinated" campaign to divert donations.  The UN and the World Food Programme took similar steps, citing the same reasons. The US has not named any individuals behind the diversions but aid organizations have accused both the federal and regional authorities, with soldiers benefitting from resale of donated food. Ethiopia's government engaged in a major internal conflict between 2020 and 2022 causing major food shortages not just in the most severely affected Tigray region, but elsewhere too, and putting strains on its military.  What would change in Ethiopia? USAID in a statement said that Washington was resuming food aid across the country after significant diplomatic engagement over the last several months resulted in "widespread and substantial reforms of the food assistance structure by the government of Ethiopia and our humanitarian partners." The World Food Programme also resumed some deliveries to Ethiopia last month. Ethiopia has agreed to change how its government will operate alongside aid organizations and intends to improve the partners' ability to identify beneficiaries, USAID said. It also committed to providing seamless access for the agency and third-party monitors to review sites throughout the country. "USAID places the highest priority on taking every possible measure to make sure that US humanitarian assistance is used for its intended purpose, reaches the most vulnerable, and ultimately saves lives," USAID statement said.

A second convoy of humanitarian aid trucks has begun the process of crossing into Gaza, according to multiple news agencies. A convoy of 17 aid trucks was allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt on Sunday, Egypt's state-run media reported. It was the second shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. AFP news agency described how the first fuel trucks entered the Palestinian enclave Sunday since the violence unfolded two weeks ago. Six trucks with fuel to power generators at two hospitals crossed from Egypt, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and an Egyptian source told AFP. Hospital personnel in Gaza have reported that doctors have been performing procedures by the light of cellphones in recent days due to severe fuel shortages. Residents of the Palestinian territory have been under an almost total Israeli blockade, including the halting of water and power supplies, since the Islamist Hamas militant group launched a terror attack in southern Israel on October 7. Cindy McCain, the head of the UN World Food Program (WFP) told ABC's "This Week" program that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was catastrophic. She called for aid agencies to be given secure, sustainable access to the enclave, which she said was a war zone.

India's foreign ministry said it has sent 38.5 tons of humanitarian aid to help Palestinians in Gaza. Foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi posted pictures of supplies being loaded onto an Indian air force transport aircraft, ahead of its departure to El-Arish airport in Egypt. "The material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, water purification tablets among other necessary items", Bagchi posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. On Saturday, the first humanitarian aid convoy was allowed to enter at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. The Palestinian territory had been sealed off following the Hamas terror attack in southern Israel on October 7.