30 October 2023; MEMO: Former NATO chief, Javier Solana, said on Monday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is the “worst politician” in Israeli history, Anadolu Agency reports.

“I don’t think anything good will come of this,” he told Spanish broadcaster, Cadena Ser, referring to this month’s events in Israel and Palestine. “But it could make Netanyahu disappear from Israeli politics.”

31 October 2023; MEMO: Obstructing relief supplies to the Gaza Strip may constitute a crime under the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) jurisdiction, the body’s top prosecutor has warned.

Speaking to a news conference in Egypt on Sunday, the ICC’s top prosecutor Karim Khan told Israel that it must make “discernable efforts, without further delay to make sure civilians receive basic foods, medicine.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration’s massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Three foreign residents were among at least 47 people killed when Hurricane Otis devastated Mexico’s resort city of Acapulco last week, officials said Monday, as the search for the missing focused on submerged boats.

Those confirmed dead included one American, one Canadian and one person from England, all of whom had been living in Acapulco for some time and were not considered tourists, local prosecutors said.

ANKARA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday "in the strongest terms" what it said was an Israeli attack on the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza.

"There can be no justification for such an attack on the only cancer hospital in Gaza, since all necessary information, including the coordinates of the institution in question, was shared with the Israeli authorities in advance," the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli airstrikes severely damaged the Turkish-funded hospital, according to the Palestinian health authorities in Gaza.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is moving toward a narrower student loan relief plan that would target specific groups of borrowers — those with soaring interest, for example — rather than a sweeping plan like the one the Supreme Court rejected in June.

The Education Department on Monday released a draft of new federal rules paving the way for a second attempt at student loan relief. The proposal targets groups that are seen as especially vulnerable, focusing on those who owe so much, or make so little income, that they otherwise may never repay their loans.

31 October 2023; MEMO: Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shayya’ Al-Sudani, warned yesterday that the region is going through a dangerous turning point that threatens the escalation and expansion of the war on Gaza.

30 October 2023; MEMO: Lebanon’s Hezbollah said, on Sunday, it shot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon with a surface-to-air missile, the first time it has announced such an incident, as clashes on the Lebanese border escalate, Reuters reports.

The drone was hit near Khiam, about 5 km (3 miles) from the border with Israel, and was seen falling in Israeli territory, Hezbollah added. Two security sources in Lebanon said it was the first time Hezbollah had announced downing an Israeli drone.

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Two of President Joe Biden's top advisers will try to convince U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that it is in the country's best interest to provide billions more dollars to Ukraine and Israel despite huge budget deficits and divisions over his administration's policies toward both countries.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Biden's request for $106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. border security.

WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that he intends to end the participation of Gabon, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program.

Biden said he was taking the step because of "gross violations" of internationally recognized human rights by the Central African Republic and Uganda.

He also cited Niger and Gabon's failure to establish or make continual progress toward the protection of political pluralism and the rule of law.

30 October 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabian Professor of political sociology at King Saud University in Riyadh, Dr. Khaled Al-Dakhil, said the world must come to terms with the fact that “Israel imposes its policy in a Nazi manner.”

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday issued an executive order aimed at establishing safety and security standards for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and addressing the risks of the new technology.

"The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans' privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more," the White House said in a statement.