Washington (AP) — Congressional leaders are pitching a stopgap government funding package to avoid a federal shutdown after next month, acknowledging the House and Senate are nowhere near agreement on spending levels to keep federal operations running.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raised the idea of a months-long funding package, known as a continuing resolution, to House Republicans on a members-only call Monday evening, according to those familiar with the private session and granted anonymity to discuss it.

15 August 2023; MEMO: More than 900 academics and public figures engaged in cultural activities including artists, museum professionals and art historians, have signed an open letter condemning Israel’s apartheid system, New York’s Hyperallergic magazine has reported.

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic on Wednesday completed the ratification of a defense treaty with the United States that deepens military cooperation and makes it easier to deploy U.S. troops in Czech territory.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s signature was the final step in the ratification process of the Defense Cooperation Agreement, which had been endorsed by both houses of Parliament in July and by President Petr Pavel on Aug 1.

16 August 2023; MEMO: Police in Turkiye have captured and detained the wife of a key individual involved in the 2016 assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkiye.

WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Hawaii on Monday to survey damage from the deadly wildfires that ravaged the resort town of Lahaina, the White House said.

Biden will meet with first responders and survivors, as well as federal, state and local officials, the White House said in a statement.

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 16 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentine health authorities have confirmed the detection in the South American country of the new Eris subvariant of the Covid-19 virus. The cases were confirmed in Cordoba and in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, it was reported.

EG.5, a sublineage of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, has already been found in the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia.

Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. is pushing Iran to stop selling armed drones to Russia as part of discussions on a broader unwritten understanding between Washington and Tehran to de-escalate tensions, the Financial Times said on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the matter.

The U.S. is pressing Iran to stop selling armed drones to Russia, which Moscow is using in the war in Ukraine, as well as spare parts for the unmanned aircraft, the report said, citing an Iranian official and another person familiar with the talks.

15 August 2023; MEMO: Ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet sparred, on Tuesday, over the military’s handling of reservists protesting against his coalition’s judicial overhaul plan,  as concerns mounted for Israel’s war-readiness, Reuters reports.

16 August 2023; MEMO: The owners of Manchester United are reportedly set to announce a 7.2-7.3 billion pound ($9.15 billion) sale of the club to Qatari Royal, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, after a nine-month protracted sale process, the BBC reports.

15 August 2023; MEMO: The Saudi football club Al Hilal has reached an agreement with French-Brazilian star Neymar, Saudi state media reported yesterday.

According to the Spanish newspaper Sport, the Paris St-Germain (PSG) player will undergo a medical examination in Paris, in preparation for signing his contract with the Saudi club.

The Spanish newspaper added that Al Hilal will present the Neymar deal next Wednesday at a remarkable event in Riyadh.

16 August 2023; MEMO: An Israeli citizen was arrested on Sunday at the Antalya Airport in the Turkish city on suspicion he had stolen an ancient bell from a museum, as per Turkish authorities, local Turkish media reports.

According to the report, the Israeli, who was on his way back to Israel, denied it and claimed that he purchased the bell in good faith and had a receipt for it.

He was held for questioning by Turkish officials as of Sunday night.

KYIV/KUPIANSK, Ukraine, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine announced the recapture of the village of Urozhaine from Russian troops in the southeast on Wednesday, but warned the situation on the northeastern front was deteriorating amid Russian counter-attacks.

Urozhaine, on the edge of Donetsk region, is the first village Kyiv says it has retaken since July 27, a sign of the challenge Ukraine faces advancing through heavily mined Russian defensive lines without powerful air support.