New GOP-backed bill would ban aid to Afghanistan to avoid giving US dollars to the Taliban
FIRST ON FOX: A group of Republican lawmakers is introducing a new bill that would cease all aid dollars to Afghanistan over concerns of interception by the Taliban. “The Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous withdrawal has plunged the country back under Taliban rule, and now it turns out that our taxpayer dollars are being used to the benefit of the Taliban,” Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., sponsor of the legislation, told Fox News Digital. “This legislation is needed so we can ensure that no more of our tax dollars are being irresponsibly used in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.” The House bill is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Nick Langworthy of New York, Barry Moore of Alabama, Erlic Burlison of Missouri, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Randy Feenstra of Iowa. The U.S. is the largest donor to Afghanistan. It spent a total of $21 billion on the nation and Afghan refugees who have been evacuated since the withdrawal. However, critics say much of that aid ends up in lining the pockets of the Taliban, who they say have taken control of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. HOUSE GOP RELEASES SCATHING REPORT ON AFGHANISTAN The United Nations (U.N.), meanwhile, has flown in some $2.9 billion in U.S. currency cash to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control, the bulk of that being from funds allocated by the U.S., and at least some of which ends up in the Taliban-controlled central bank, according to the SIGAR report from July. The Taliban “taxes” this cash at multiple points of distribution. The bill would prohibit federal agencies from giving any direct cash assistance to Afghanistan and prohibit any taxpayer dollars from going to the U.N. for the purpose of assisting Afghanistan. It also prohibits Federal Reserve Banks from selling U.S. currency to the U.N. for the purpose of direct cash assistance to Afghanistan. In a briefing to the U.N. Security Council on March 6, Roza Otunbayeva, the U.N.’s special representative for Afghanistan, did not mention the money going to Da Afghanistan central bank but said it was necessary to get medical care and food for Afghans. The shipments have “injected liquidity to the local economy that has in large part allowed the private sector to continue to function and averted a fiscal crisis,” Otunbayeva told the council. In a letter provided in response to the SIGAR report, the State Department said the U.N. was in charge of managing the cash transfer program. “We remain committed to providing critical, life-saving humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. We will continue to monitor assistance programs and seek to mitigate the risk that U.S. assistance could indirectly benefit the Taliban or could be diverted to unintended recipients,” the letter said. AFGHAN GENERAL SAYS HIS COUNTRY HAS ONCE AGAIN BECOME ‘CRUCIBLE OF TERRORISM’ For 20 years prior to the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan received some $8 billion in foreign assistance per year, representing 40% of its gross domestic product and financing three quarters of the government’s public expenditures. When the U.S. and other foreign entities stopped supplying aid, the country fell into an economic crisis – and aid dollars began flowing once again. In June, the House passed a bill that would force the State Department to investigate which countries give aid to the Taliban – and also get U.S. assistance themselves. It would also force the secretary of state to weigh if those countries should keep getting U.S. dollars and develop a strategy to discourage them from continuing aid to the Taliban. However, that bill did not cease all aid to Afghanistan.
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Mike Johnson says Harris is Iran’s ‘preferred candidate,’ demands info on Trump campaign hacks
FIRST ON FOX: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is putting the U.S. intelligence community on the spot after Iranian hackers tried to disseminate private information from former President Donald Trump’s campaign. “Congress is outraged by the Biden-Harris Administration’s inaction and unwillingness to hold Iran accountable for its cyberattacks on the Trump campaign,” Johnson wrote in letters to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). “As you have shared, Iran hacked into the Trump campaign and distributed private information directly to the Biden campaign and to American media, which, like Iran, favors Kamala Harris.” In his letter, he also claimed Harris was Iran’s “preferred candidate” in the race. TOP RUSSIAN OFFICIAL LANDS IN IRAN AMID US, UK CONCERNS OVER ALLEGED NUCLEAR DEAL Last week, the three agencies released a rare joint statement, revealing that “Iranian malicious cyber actors” sent stolen Trump campaign materials to people linked to President Biden’s since-defunct re-election campaign, beginning in June. They also sent non-public materials to U.S. media organizations, the agencies said. However, Johnson told their directors that “several unanswered questions remain.” “The American people must be informed of how the cyberattacks and distribution of information happened, the timeline indicating when the attacks occurred and were verified, and the concrete steps your agencies have taken to deter future attacks,” Johnson wrote. He accused the Biden administration of failing to deter election interference efforts by Iran or other hostile foreign powers and pointed out that Iran has also recently been accused of trying to kill the former president. ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER TELLS US ONLY ‘MILITARY ACTION’ CAN RETURN PEOPLE TO HOMES AMID HEZBOLLAH THREAT “To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has not offered or executed any meaningful action to show our enemies such interference will not be tolerated, nor shared what steps, if any, it has taken to deter future attacks on Donald Trump or his campaign,” Johnson wrote. “With less than 45 days until the election, much more needs to be done to protect our nation’s sovereignty and stop Iran from tipping the election in favor of its preferred candidate.” He gave the agencies a deadline of Oct. 4, roughly a month before Election Day. Multiple outlets reported earlier this month that the Justice Department and FBI are planning to file criminal charges against those involved with the Trump campaign hack. SHUTDOWN FEARS MOVE HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO PROTECT MILITARY PAYCHECKS FBI Director Christopher Wray warned in February that foreign adversaries posed a threat to the U.S. having “free and fair elections.” “The U.S. has confronted foreign malign influence threats in the past, but this election cycle, the U.S. will face more adversaries, moving at a faster pace, and enabled by new technology,” he said during a national security forum. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign, as well as the FBI, CISA and the DNI, for comment.
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Israeli air raids hit wide swaths of southern Lebanon, kill dozens
Israeli air attacks on southern Lebanon have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 300, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Children, women and medics were among the victims in Monday’s attacks that came after Israel told residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate from homes and other buildings where it claimed Hezbollah had stored weapons, saying the military would conduct “extensive strikes” against the group. A Lebanese man checks a message received on his mobile phone calling people to evacuate the areas where Hezbollah hides its weapons [Joseph Eid/AFP] Lebanese media also reported that residents received text messages telling them to move away from any building where Hezbollah stores arms until further notice. The warnings were the first of their kind in nearly a year of steadily escalating conflict that has forced the displacement of communities on both sides of the border. On Sunday, Hezbollah launched about 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of fighters. The increasing strikes and counterstrikes have raised fears of an all-out war. With Israel’s war on Gaza approaching the one-year mark, Hezbollah has decided to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians in the besieged and bombarded territory even as Israel says it is committed to returning calm to its northern border. Adblock test (Why?)
India wins historic double team gold at FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024
India’s two team and four individual gold medals are hailed as the beginning of the country’s reign as the ‘best chess nation in the world’. India’s chess masters have created history by winning team gold medals in both men’s and women’s competitions at the 45th International Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad in Budapest. In addition to winning the team championships, India also walked away with four individual gold medals as the tournament wrapped up in the Hungarian capital on Sunday. Wins for Gukesh Dommaraju (more commonly known as Gukesh D), Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi sealed gold in the men’s event, known as the Open event, while Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev won their respective games to secure gold in the women’s competition. Gukesh, Erigaisi, Deshmukh and Agrawal bagged individual gold medals on their respective boards. 🇮🇳 India triumphs at 45th Chess Olympiad, winning both Open and Women’s competitions 🏆 India has come a long way since Vishy Anand paved the way for the new generation of chess players. Young talents have emerged and grown to become some of the top players in the world. Gukesh… pic.twitter.com/KvOVjAFx3I — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 23, 2024 The feat was termed an “unbelievable” achievement by India’s chess great Viswanathan Anand. “It feels like a magical time for India,” the former five-time world champion said on the International FIDE YouTube channel in the lead-up to the final day. Anand, who also won the Chess World Cup twice, said the result was a few years in the making but for India to walk away with team and individual honours exceeded his expectations. The men’s team won 27 of their 44 games, losing just once and drawing six. Their final round of matches was against Slovenia, whom they defeated 3.5-0.5, while the women’s team beat Azerbaijan with the same score. Gukesh, who has also qualified for the final of the World Chess Championship in November, said he was delighted that his team got over the line in a dominant fashion after having some close misses in the past. India was declared a joint winner in the men’s competition along with Russia in the 2020 edition, which was held online during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are very happy with how we played together as a team,” Gukesh said after the win. Eighteen-year-old Deshmukh was a standout performer in the women’s competition and remained undefeated, winning seven of her 11 games and drawing four. “It started off well but got a bit tough in the middle but I am proud of how we handled it [the situation] and fought back,” she said in the winners’ news conference. “I feel quite overwhelmed with emotions.” Hungarian American chess great Susan Polgar hailed Deshmukh’s run at the tournament. “With an absolutely amazing performance in this Olympiad,” Polgar wrote in a post on X. The four-time world champion predicted more wins for the Indians, saying: “This team will stay on top for years.” Congratulations to India! 2024 #BudapestOlympiad Champions! 🇮🇳 #FIDE100 🥇🏆 They were so focused and determined at the start of the final round! Even though this was all about teamwork, @DGukesh and @ArjunErigaisi had insane performances! This team will stay on top for years… pic.twitter.com/Sv5ZbOxYKV — Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) September 22, 2024 Final standings of top 10 teams at FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024 Men India (21) USA (17) Uzbekistan (17) China (17) Serbia (17) Armenia (17) Germany (16) Azerbaijan (16) Slovenia (16) Spain (16) Women India (19) Kazakhstan (18) USA (17) Spain (17) Armenia (17) Georgia (17) China (16) Ukraine (16) Poland (16) Bulgaria (16) Adblock test (Why?)