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The first of the two packages included $50 million to support Moldova's industry and government, as well as democratic processes. Blinken mentioned the energy and agriculture sectors and the need to combat disinformation. “What is so powerful here is the deep and rooted commitment to democracy in the face of bullying by Russia,” Blinken said. Ms. Sandu thanked Blinken for American help in fighting corruption, building renewable energy infrastructure and addressing the “adversities of democracy,” a nod to Russian election interference. The second aid package mentioned amounted to $85 million to help Moldova increase its energy resilience and reduce its…

The gap has led to a drastic ammunition shortage for Kiev, with Ukrainian troops able to fire only a fraction of the projectiles thrown at them by Russian forces. To keep Ukrainian artillery crews supplied, the Pentagon last year set a production goal of 100,000 shells per month by the end of 2025. The factories in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, together produce about 36,000 shells per month . General Dynamics' new plant in Mesquite, Texas, will produce 30,000 people per month once it reaches full capacity. The goal of 100,000 per month represents an almost tenfold increase in production compared…

A proposal in parliament would also allow the government to suspend the opposition's campaign at any time. Many Venezuelans living abroad have been unable to register to vote due to expensive and cumbersome requirements. Maduro, 61, is the political heir to Hugo Chávez's socialist movement in Venezuela and has consolidated power since taking office in 2013. He functionally controls parliament, the army, the police, the judicial system, elections of the National Council, the country's budget and much of the media, as well as violent paramilitary gangs called colectivos. He and his inner circle have also been accused of systematic human…

The Biden administration is now weighing in on this debate, saying that offsets can sometimes be an important tool to help businesses and others reduce their emissions, as long as guardrails are in place. The new federal guidelines are an attempt to define “high integrity” offsets as those that ensure real, quantifiable reductions in emissions that otherwise would not have occurred. “Voluntary carbon markets can help unlock the power of private markets to reduce emissions, but that can only happen if we address the significant challenges that exist,” Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement. She is expected…

Gazans have been uprooted again and again during the more than seven months of Israel's invasion and bombardment. Faced with the prospect of having to pack their bags and flee once again, some in Rafah are putting off leaving, at least for now. According to the United Nations, more than 800,000 Palestinians have already fled the southern city of Rafah and surrounding areas in the past three weeks as Israel launches a military offensive there. But many continue to resist in what was once considered the safest place in the Gaza Strip, where more than a million people had come…

“We shouldn't wait for an official declaration of famine” to flood Gaza with aid, he said. While some of the food arrived in Gaza through three northern crossings, it did not fill the gap left by the two southern crossings, Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations' humanitarian coordination agency, said last week. The United Nations World Food Program said 59 trucks of aid were delivered to warehouses in Gaza from a temporary dock built by the United States on Wednesday and that, to the program's knowledge, all contents arrived intact. However, the Palestinians intercepted and emptied another 11 trucks…