Ukraine Aid Package Valued at up to $200 Million, White House Says

 This photograph shows a building destroyed by shelling in the town of Toretsk, Donetsk region, on July 29, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph shows a building destroyed by shelling in the town of Toretsk, Donetsk region, on July 29, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)
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Ukraine Aid Package Valued at up to $200 Million, White House Says

 This photograph shows a building destroyed by shelling in the town of Toretsk, Donetsk region, on July 29, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph shows a building destroyed by shelling in the town of Toretsk, Donetsk region, on July 29, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP)

The United States announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine on Monday that is valued at up to $200 million and includes air defenses and anti-tank weapons, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

"This includes a presidential drawdown authority package to provide Ukraine with key capabilities for the fight that they're in, including air defense interceptors, munitions for US- provided HIMARS, artillery and mortar rounds, javelin anti-tank missiles and other anti-tank weapons," Kirby told reporters.

He said the Department of Defense also is announcing significant security assistance initiative funds to support Ukraine's defenses over the long term.

"That package includes capabilities to augment Ukraine's air defenses, long range fires and anti-tank weapons, and to sustain equipment previously committed by the United States," Kirby said.

Biden has authorized nine security assistance packages since late April, he said.

Ukrainian officials have been urging their allies for months to supply more air defense systems to counter frequent missile and drone attacks from Russian forces.

The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but there are concerns about the future of US support for Kyiv should Donald Trump win the Nov. 5 presidential election.

"We are grateful to our American partners for their leadership and staunch support. Together, we will win!" the Ukrainian defense ministry said in an X post welcoming the new package.



CAIR: US Anti-Muslim Incidents Rose About 70% in 1st Half of 2024

A man is detained as a protest camp in support of Palestinians, assembled during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, is removed by authorities at McGill University’s campus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 10, 2024.  REUTERS/Andrej Ivanov
A man is detained as a protest camp in support of Palestinians, assembled during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, is removed by authorities at McGill University’s campus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 10, 2024. REUTERS/Andrej Ivanov
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CAIR: US Anti-Muslim Incidents Rose About 70% in 1st Half of 2024

A man is detained as a protest camp in support of Palestinians, assembled during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, is removed by authorities at McGill University’s campus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 10, 2024.  REUTERS/Andrej Ivanov
A man is detained as a protest camp in support of Palestinians, assembled during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, is removed by authorities at McGill University’s campus in Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 10, 2024. REUTERS/Andrej Ivanov

Discrimination and attacks against Muslims and Palestinians rose by about 70% in the US in the first half of 2024 amid heightened Islamophobia due to Israel's war in Gaza, the Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group said on Tuesday.
Human rights advocates have reported a global rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism since the eruption in October of the Israel-Gaza war which has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.
In the first six months of 2024, CAIR said it received 4,951 complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian incidents, a rise of nearly 70% compared with the same period in 2023.
Most of the complaints were in the categories of immigration and asylum, employment discrimination, education discrimination and hate crimes, CAIR said.
In 2023, CAIR documented 8,061 such complaints in the whole year, including about 3,600 in the last three months after the war broke out.
Alarming US incidents in the last nine months include the fatal October stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child in Illinois, the February stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas, the shooting of three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont in November and the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian-American girl in May, Reuters reported.
There have been numerous protests in the US, Israel's key ally, against the war in Gaza since October. The CAIR report noted the crackdown by police and university authorities on pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on campuses.
CAIR says it compiles numbers by reviewing public statements and videos as well as reports from public calls, emails and an online complaint system. It also contacts people whose incidents are reported by the media.