19 October 2023; MEMO: Israel has evacuated several of its embassies in the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority’s official website on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Without giving details, the Authority reported that Israel has evacuated several of its embassies in the Middle East, including the embassies in Bahrain and Morocco.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The special counsel overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation is expected to testify before a Congressional committee behind closed doors as a GOP probe into the Justice Department’s handling of the case continues to unfold.

In a rare step, David Weiss is set to appear for a transcribed interview before members of the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 7, sources told The Associated Press Friday on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door appearance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Saddled with a dysfunctional Congress, President Joe Biden has the task of assuring European Union leaders on Friday that the United States can nonetheless deliver on promises to send tens of billions of dollars’ worth of aid to wartime Ukraine and Israel.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Friday released a sweeping set of proposals to bolster Israel and Ukraine in the midst of two wars as well as invest more in domestic defense manufacturing, humanitarian assistance and managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The total cost of the supplemental funding request was pegged at just over $105 billion. President Joe Biden hopes Congress will move urgently on the legislation, and he made the case for deepening U.S. support for its allies during a rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.

19 October 2023; MEMO: Germany, on Thursday, advised its citizens to leave the West Bank now due to intensifying violence in the region, Anadolu Agency reports.

“We recommend all German nationals to leave the West Bank now,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement, warning against travelling to Israel and the Palestinian Territories “due to the escalation of violence in the region.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan was failing again Friday on a third ballot for the House speaker’s gavel, rejected by a steady roll call of more mainstream Republicans who warned the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no threats or promises could win their support.

Republicans have no realistic or workable plan to unite the fractured GOP majority, elect a new speaker and return to the work of Congress that has been languishing since hard-liners ousted Kevin McCarthy at the start of the month.

19 October 2023; MEMO: An Irish Member of the European Parliament criticised the EU for hypocrisy on the issue of Palestine, Anadolu Agency reports.

In an interview with Anadolu, Mick Wallace regretted that Israel had the support of not just the US but also the EU.

“The violence is directly linked to the Occupation,” the MEP said. “If we want to stop the violence, we have to stop the Occupation.”

TEHRAN, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian military official has warned the United States against its extensive support for Israel in the attacks against Gaza, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri gave the warning in a phone call with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler on Thursday, in which the two sides discussed recent regional developments, particularly the situation in Gaza.

by Anadolu Agency

A number of councillors from the UK’s main opposition Labour Party have resigned in the past days in protest over party leader, Keir Starmer’s support for what he called Israel’s “right” to cut power and water supplies to Palestinians living in Gaza.

(AP) --- A Russian-American journalist was ordered Friday to be detained for another three days on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent, Russian media reported.

Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, appeared in court in the central Russian city of Kazan, according to the state news agency Tass.

She is the second U.S. journalist detained in Russia this year, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March.

19 October 2023; MEMO: Italian writer and journalist, Romana Rubeo, said Israel’s attacks on civilian settlements, hospitals and schools in the Gaza Strip constitute a war crime, accusing international organisations and the media of protecting Israel, Anadolu Agency reports.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Thousands of information technology workers contracting with U.S. companies have for years secretly sent millions of dollars of their wages to North Korea for use in its ballistic missile program, FBI and Department of Justice officials said.