10 August 2023; MEMO: Lebanese Defence Minister, Maurice Selim, on Thursday survived an assassination attempt in the capital, Beirut, according to local media reports, Anadolu Agency reports.

The incident took place in the Jisr Al-Basha area, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car, hitting it several times.

Several media outlets reported that the Minister is "fine" and is in a safe place.

There is no official word from the government yet.

11 August 2023; AA: Türkiye's current account balance posted a net surplus of $674 million in June, the country's central bank announced on Friday.

Gold and energy excluded current account balance saw a net surplus of $5.58 billion in the month, the Turkish Central Bank said.

In June, the goods deficit was at $3.69 billion, while services posted a net surplus of $5.02 billion. Travel item, under services, recorded a net inflow of $4.2 billion.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to sharpen its war plans and signed off on expanding combat operations of frontline units, state media said Thursday, as the United States and South Korea prepare for a large-scale combined military exercise.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A few hours after rioters laid siege to the Capitol, overpowering police in a violent attack on the seat of American democracy on Jan. 6, 2021, the White House’s top lawyer, Pat Cipollone, called his boss with an urgent message.

It’s time to end your objections to the 2020 election, Cipollone told Donald Trump, and allow Congress to certify Joe Biden as the next president. Trump refused.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and its European allies are importing vast amounts of nuclear fuel and compounds from Russia, providing Moscow with hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed revenue as it wages war on Ukraine.

10 August 2023; MEMO: Israeli universities have been preparing to hold strikes in protest against the ongoing judicial overhaul, Israeli Hebrew newspaper Maariv reported organisers of anti-judicial reform protests saying.

"Academia stands at the forefront of the struggle to preserve democracy," the protest movement said yesterday.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and an aide to the former president are due back in federal court in Florida on Thursday to face charges in the case accusing Trump of illegally hoarding classified documents at his resort after leaving the White House.

(AP) --- Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team asked a judge on Thursday to set a Jan. 2 trial date for former President Donald Trump in the case charging him with plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss.

If U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan agrees with prosecutors’ proposal, the case against the early front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential primary would open right before the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, which was fueled by Trump’s false claims about the election.

10 August 2023; MEMO: The US encouraged the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by the Intercept.

NEW YORK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Attacks at medical facilities have helped make health care one of the United States' most violent fields, reported The Associated Press on Monday.

Data showed American health care workers now suffer more nonfatal injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession, including law enforcement, said the report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday will ask Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s deeply entrenched forces, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department will soon propose a rule that would effectively end anonymous luxury-home purchases, closing a loophole that the agency says allows corrupt oligarchs, terrorists and other criminals to hide ill-gotten gains.

The long-awaited rule is expected to require that real estate professionals such as title insurers report the identities of the beneficial owners of companies buying real estate in cash to the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).