03 August 2023; MEMO: No one has been found guilty in connection with a port explosion in Lebanon in 2020, Amnesty International said Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

"The Lebanese authorities have had three years to investigate what caused the devastating explosion in Beirut's port and to hold those suspected of criminal responsibility to account," said Aya Majzoub, spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa Director at the rights group.

NEW YORK (AP) — As Donald Trump was being arraigned in Washington on yet another round of criminal charges, his running mate-turned-rival Mike Pence hurried to capitalize on the news.

Pence’s campaign unveiled new T-shirts and baseball caps featuring the phrase “Too Honest” in big red letters — a reference to an episode in the indictment in which the former president called Pence to berate him over his refusal to go along with Trump’s scheme to overturn the 2020 election.

“You’re too honest,” Trump allegedly scoffed at his second-in-command on New Year’s Day.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, who became Democratic heroes as members of the “Tennessee Three,” reclaimed their legislative seats Thursday after they were expelled for involvement in a gun control protest on the House floor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has his zingers (“This is not your father’s Republican Party”). He’s got patriotism (“This is the United States of America, dammit”). He’s got a geometry-based explanation on how to grow the economy (“from the middle out and the bottom up”).

Move over, Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Biden has his own greatest hits and he’s keeping them on repeat.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a routine part of a federal court hearing: The defendant was told not to discuss the case with any witnesses without lawyers present.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court Thursday allowed a rule restricting asylum at the southern border to temporarily stay in place. The decision is a major win for the Biden administration, which had argued that the rule was integral to its efforts to maintain order along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The new rule makes it extremely difficult for people to be granted asylum unless they first seek protection in a country they’re traveling through on their way to the U.S. or apply online. It includes room for exceptions and does not apply to children traveling alone.

03 August 2023; MEMO: Seven Danish opposition parties, on Thursday, voiced objection to the government's efforts to make it illegal to burn copies of the Quran, arguing that legislation would be an unacceptable restriction on freedom of expression, Reuters reports.

Outrage in the Muslim world over desecration of the Quran in front of embassies of Muslim countries in Denmark and Sweden has prompted both governments to say they will look for ways to legally restrict the burnings.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former K-9 officer has been indicted in Ohio on murder charges in the death of a Black man who was lying on his bed when he was shot by police trying to serve a warrant.

Former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson was also charged Friday with reckless homicide by a county grand jury in the August 2022 death of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis.

03 August 2023; MEMO: As the Biden administration has been a disappointment for them, Palestine is "increasingly turning to China", said the Palestinian Foreign Minister on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

RAMALLAH, Aug 4 (NNN-WAFA) – The Palestinian leadership is “disappointed with the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden, for its failure to keep its promises it pledged to the Palestinians,” Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad Al-Maliki said, yesterday.

The U.S. administration “has failed to fulfill its promises, to back down from the decision of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who violated the U.S. policy and recognised Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the State of Israel,” said Al-Maliki.

BEIRUT (AP) — Three years after Beirut’s massive port blast, attempts to prosecute those responsible are mired in political intrigue, the final death toll remains disputed and many Lebanese have less faith than ever in their disintegrating state institutions.

BEIJING, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Chinese Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will visit Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for international talks on the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, China's foreign ministry said on Friday.

"China is willing to work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine," Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese ministry, said in a statement.