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Gaza not covered in announcement and will be handled on separate track, says US state department officialThe United States on Monday pledged $2bn in assistance to tens of millions of people facing hunger and disease in more than a dozen countries next year, part of what it said was a new mechanism for the delivery of life-saving assistance following major foreign aid cuts by the Trump administration.The US slashed its aid spending this year, and leading western donors such as Germany also pared back assistance as they pivoted to increased defense spending, triggering a severe funding crunch for the UN.

Kash Patel claims $250m scheme that stole Covid aid is ‘tip of iceberg’ and alleges state’s Somalia population is to blameThe FBI has deployed additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs”, director Kash Patel said on social media on Sunday.Amid the Trump administrations attacks on the state and its Somali immigration population, the FBI director said the agency had already dismantled a $250m fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during the Covid pandemic in a case that led to 78 indictments and 57 convictions. Continue reading... Source

Greene gives lengthy interview with New York Times days before stepping down as congresswoman for GeorgiaMarjorie Taylor Greene, now just days away from stepping down as a congresswoman for Georgia, has said in her latest mea culpa interview that she “was just so naive” for believing that Donald Trump was a man of the people.In a lengthy interview with the New York Times that examines her break with the president after years of devotion, Greene explained that a series of minor ruptures with the president culminated in a total breach after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was killed in September. Continue

Future of Donbas region remains unresolved after Ukrainian president’s talks with Donald Trump in FloridaUkraine war – latest updatesVolodymyr Zelenskyy says the US has agreed to offer “strong” security guarantees to Ukraine for 15 years, but acknowledged that the future of the country’s eastern Donbas region was unresolved after his two-hour meeting on Sunday with Donald Trump in Florida.Speaking on his way back to Europe, Zelenskyy said the US Congress and Ukraine’s parliament would jointly vote on American pledges. These were a key part of a 20-point peace plan discussed with the US president at his Mar-a-Lago residence, he said.