USA

04 Nov 2021; MEMO: The new US ambassador to Israel has pledged to fight the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, support the Abraham Accords, strengthen bonds with the occupation state and replenish its Iron Dome missile defence system.

Thomas R Nides was confirmed in the role on Wednesday. He served as deputy US secretary of state for management and resources under Hillary Clinton from 2011 to 2013.

(AP) --- Stocks wobbled on Wall Street Wednesday as investors looked over another big batch of earnings reports from U.S. companies.

Wall Street is also looking ahead to an announcement in the afternoon from the Federal Reserve, which is expected to give its outlook on inflation and the economy and also detail how it plans to wind down its monthly bond purchases.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Costs to clean up a massive nuclear weapons complex in Washington state are usually expressed in the hundreds of billions of dollars and involve decades of work.

But one project on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is progressing at a much lower price.

The federal government is moving forward with the “cocooning” of eight plutonium production reactors at Hanford that will place them in a state of long-term storage to allow radiation inside to dissipate over a period of decades, until they can be dismantled and buried.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing to debate and vote on a revised draft of President Joe Biden’s now-$1.85 trillion domestic policy package as well as a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill, Democrats eager to show voters the party can deliver on its priorities.

With a flurry of late-breaking adjustments, Democrats added key provisions to what has grown to a sprawling 2,135-page package — adding back a new paid family leave program,work permits for immigrants and changes to state and local tax deductions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent Pentagon review has concluded that the U.S. drone strike that killed innocent Kabul civilians and children in the final days of the Afghanistan war was not caused by misconduct or negligence, and it doesn’t recommend any disciplinary action.

The review, done by Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said, found there were breakdowns in communication and in the process of identifying and confirming the target of the bombing. Said concluded that the mistaken strike happened despite prudent measures to prevent civilian deaths.

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you find the current economy a bit confusing, don’t worry: So does the nation’s top economic official, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

At a highly anticipated news conference Wednesday, Powell said the Fed was sticking by its bedrock economic forecast: COVID-19 will eventually fade, which, in turn, will enable supply chain bottlenecks to unsnarl. More people will return to the workforce, the economy will strengthen and inflation pressures will ease.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bruising loss and an unexpectedly close call in two statewide elections sent Democrats scrambling for answers and calling for new strategies Wednesday, as they worked to unstick a stalled legislative agenda that has exposed deep divisions ahead of critical midterm elections.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey narrowly won reelection in his reliably blue state while a Republican political newcomer delivered a stunning upset in the Virginia governor’s race, sending a warning to Democrats that their grip on power in Washington may be in peril.

In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican to win statewide office in a dozen years, tapping into culture war fights over schools and race to unite former President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters with enough suburban voters to notch a victory.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 03 (APP): A Pakistani youth delegate has urged the U.N. to resolve the Kashmir dispute according to the Security Council resolutions that promised Kashmiris their right of self-determination, and to hold India accountable for human rights abuses in the dispute territory.

“As the voice of Kashmiri youth, I implore the international community to come forward and play its effective role,” Muzdalfa Ahmed, the youth delegate, told the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with social, cultural and humanitarian issues.

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Wednesday sharply increased its estimate of China's projected nuclear weapons arsenal over the coming years, saying Beijing could have 700 warheads by 2027 and possibly 1,000 by 2030.

While the numbers would still be significantly smaller than the current U.S. nuclear stockpile, they represent a significant change in the U.S. projection from just last year, when the Pentagon warned the Chinese arsenal would top 400 by the end of the decade.