MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/: The United Nations is unlikely to help resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi said on Monday.

"I doubt that the UN will be able to resolve our conflict because up to now I haven’t seen a single conflict settled by the United Nations," he said. "The UN is a waste of space because this organization has done nothing positive for Israel in our conflict."

FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, Nov 13 (NNN-ANA) – Police have arrested a drug smuggler and seized a variety of illegal drugs from his possession, in north Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, a statement from the provincial police office said, today.

The arrest was made in Darayem district yesterday, and the contraband included opium poppy, hashish and heroin, the statement said.

In similar operations, the counter-narcotics police set on fire nearly two tonnes of illegal drugs in the central Daykundi province, last week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his proposal on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2.

The approach is unusual for a stopgap spending bill. Usually, lawmakers extend funding until a certain date for all programs. Johnson decided to go with the combination approach, addressing concerns from GOP lawmakers seeking to avoid being presented with a massive spending bill just before the holidays.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., will leave Congress in February after 19 years, a spokeswoman confirmed Sunday.

The Buffalo area Democrat scheduled a news conference for mid-morning.

In an interview with The Buffalo News published Sunday, Higgins said he has grown frustrated with the House of Representatives.

NEW YORK (AP) — A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land.

Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less than a year until Election Day, Trump is dominating the race for the Republican nomination and has already laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term.

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Amsterdam on Sunday calling for more action to tackle climate change, in a mass protest just 10 days before a national election.

Organizers claimed that 70,000 people took part in the march and called it the biggest climate protest ever in the Netherlands.

Hialeah, Florida . (AP) —Donald Trump is pushing for his federal election interference trial in Washington to be televised, joining media outlets that say the American public should be able to watch the historic case unfold.

Federal court rules prohibit broadcasting proceedings, but The Associated Press and other news organizations say the unprecedented case of a former president standing trial on accusations that he tried to subvert the will of voters warrants making an exception.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Latvia’s president says Russia is planning for a long war in Ukraine and he has a message for countries wavering on continuing military support to Kyiv: Keep supplying arms or the Ukrainians will lose and Russia will have a green light for threatening others in the future.

Edgars Rinkēvičs said in an interview with The Associated Press that “it is important to actually fight for international peace, and peace in Europe, because if we stop Russia in Ukraine, then Russia is not going to be able to challenge other countries.”

HONOLULU (AP) — A wildfire burning in a remote Hawaii rainforest is underscoring a new reality for the normally lush island state just a few months after a devastating blaze on a neighboring island leveled an entire town and killed at least 99 people.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military aircraft has gone down over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, U.S. European Command said Saturday.

The command said in a statement that the aircraft crashed while conducting training operations. It said the cause is under investigation, but there are no indications of any hostile activity involved.

The command said that out of respect for the families affected, no other information would be released on personnel involved.

GAZA/JERUSALEM, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Two major hospitals in northern Gaza closed to new patients on Sunday, with staff saying that Israeli bombardment plus lack of fuel and medicine meant babies and others could die.

Hospitals in the north of the Palestinian enclave are blockaded by Israeli forces and barely able to care for those inside, medical staff said. Israel says it is homing in on Hamas militants in the area and the hospitals should be evacuated.

SUVA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Pacific Collective on Nuclear Issues has denounced once again the dumping of radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear powerplant into the Pacific Ocean, calling on Pacific leaders to suspend Japan's status as a Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) dialogue partner.

The Collective, composed of civil society groups, non-governmental organizations and movements in the Pacific, issued a statement this week, during which the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting was held in the Cook Islands.