17 July 2023; MEMO: US President Joe Biden has invited Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Washington for an official visit, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said on Monday, Reuters reports.

The move marks a shift in US – Israeli relations as most Israeli prime ministers had already received an invitation to the White House this far into their terms.

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's highly contested plan to make it easier to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is set to become law after the government defeated attempts by parliament's upper house to make changes to the legislation.

The Illegal Migration Bill had been stuck in a battle between parliament's House of Commons and the House of Lords, Britain's unelected upper chamber, which had repeatedly made changes to the legislation to water it down.

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/: US attempts to disassociate itself from Kiev’s terrorism attacks indicate that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky "has become somewhat toxic for the West," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Tuesday.

LOUTRAKI, Greece (AP) — Wildfires outside Athens forced thousands to flee seaside resorts, closed highways and gutted vacation homes Monday, as high winds pushed flames through hillside scrub and pine forests parched by days of extreme heat.

Authorities issued evacuation orders for at least six seaside communities as two major wildfires edged closer to summer resort towns and gusts of wind hit 70 kph (45 mph).

WELLINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand scientists have called for releasing a national food strategy to promote a healthy, environment-friendly diet following the release of new international dietary guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday.

"We urgently need a National Food Strategy for New Zealand, which has the potential to ensure a secure, sustainable food supply with less detrimental effects on the environment and climate, and which would provide a much greater benefit to human health than is the case at present," they said.

YAOUNDE, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Gunmen killed 10 people and injured two others at a busy junction in the city of Bamenda in Cameroon’s troubled northwest, the regional governor said on Monday.

A witness said the attackers arrived in vehicles late on Sunday, ordered people onto the floor with accusations of failing to back local separatists, and opened fire as some obeyed while others ran.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli protesters blocked highways and gathered outside Tel Aviv’s stock exchange and military headquarters on Tuesday in the latest countrywide demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned judicial overhaul.

The latest “day of disruption” came as longtime allies of the prime minister pushed a contentious piece of legislation through a parliamentary committee ahead of a vote expected next week.

HONG KONG, July 18. /TASS/: Taiwan does not plan on reselling Hawk surface-to-air missile systems (SAMS) to the US just so they can turn around and send them to Ukraine, Chiu Kuo-cheng, head of Taiwan’s defense agency said on Tuesday.

"Deadlines have already been set in accordance with which the Hawk SAMS will be got rid of every year; they will be replaced with Tien Kung (Sky Bow - TASS) SAMS. After that, they will be destroyed," Taiwan’s Central News Agency quoted him as saying.

SYDNEY, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said on Tuesday that the agency is continuing its "alert" status for El Nino, with the chance of the weather event developing later this year still at 70 percent.

While central and eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures are exceeding El Nino thresholds, persistent changes in wind, cloud, and broad-scale pressure patterns towards El Nino-like patterns have not been observed by the weather bureau.

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has characterized the position of European countries on the Black Sea grain deal as "unconscionable."

"In this case, [I think] it would be more fitting to call the position of European countries unconscionable," he said, responding to comments by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who termed Russia’s decision to pull out of the grain deal "unconscionable."

RABAT, July 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israel has decided to “recognise Morocco’s sovereignty” over the disputed Western Sahara region, the royal office in Rabat announced on Monday, citing a letter from the Israeli prime minister.

According to the letter, Benjamin Netanyahu informed Morocco’s King Mohammed VI of “the State of Israel’s decision to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty” over the mineral-rich desert region, the royal office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/: Russia’s production of weapons and military hardware has increased dramatically over the past year, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday.