16 July 2023; MEMO: Hundreds of Israeli reserve doctors have suspended their military services in the Israeli army in protest against the Israeli far-right government's plan to weaken the judiciary, Rai Al-Youm reported on Friday.

The doctors, including physicians and psychiatrists, penned a letter to the Military Medicine Club asking it to send an urgent message to the army leadership to update them on the doctors' action.

15 July 2023; MEMO: Former head of the Fatwa Committee at Al-Azhar Al-Shareef, Sheikh Abdul Hamid Al-Atrash, on Friday slammed Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir over claiming that burning the Torah in Sweden is a result of "extremist Islam".

16 July 2023; MEMO: The Secretary General of the Makkah-based NGO Muslim World League (MWL), Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa has paid a visit to a Hindu temple in New Delhi as part of a five-day visit to India.

Issa who is also President of the International Islamic Halal Organisation, spent three hours at the Swaminarayan Akshardham on Thursday and engaged in interfaith dialogue with representatives of the Hindu community.

More mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner military contractor rolled into Belarus Monday, a monitoring group said, continuing their relocation to the ex-Soviet nation following last month’s short-lived mutiny.

Belaruski Hajun, a Belarusian activist group that monitors troops movements in Belarus, said that a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying Russian flags and Wagner insignia entered the country Monday heading toward a field camp that Belarusian authorities had offered to the company.

The group said it was a third Wagner convoy entering the country since last week.

ADDIS ABABA, July 17 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — The Ethiopian government is looking to raise USD 12 billion in financing to implement its new three-year economic reform plan, according to Teklewold Atnafu, economic advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The funds would come from institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, as well as from restructuring Ethiopia’s debts, Teklewold said.

SAINTE-CROIX du VERDON, France (AP) — At the pristine southern French lake of Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, tourists in pedal boats and on white water rafts — and the businesses that welcome them — have been buoyed by generous rainfall and good water management this spring.

After a prolonged drought last summer, then another in the winter that followed, the once cracked lakebeds are now abundantly watered. Dams are releasing water into reservoirs on a consistent schedule for activities in the lake.

But tour operators are still wary.

BEIJING, July 17 (Reuters) - A remote township in China's arid northwest endured temperatures of more than 52 Celsius (126 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, state media reported, setting a record for a country that was battling minus 50C weather just six months ago.

Temperatures at Sanbao township in Xinjiang's Turpan Depression soared as high as 52.2C on Sunday, state-run Xinjiang Daily reported on Monday, with the record heat expected to persist at least another five days.

KIGALI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda is set to open its first diplomatic mission in Budapest, Hungary, "very soon" as part of the country's plans to strengthen cooperation with the European country, President Paul Kagame has said.

"Rwanda intends to open a diplomatic presence in Budapest, Hungary, very soon as job creation for our countries and fostering an enabling environment for business are key priorities," Kagame told a press conference Sunday alongside his Hungarian counterpart Katalin Novak in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/: Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, on Monday urged his country to use force, as well as targeted and "far from humane" measures against terrorists in the wake of the latest attack on the Crimean Bridge.

"The global track record and our own experience show that there is no using international sanctions, or issuing warnings against terrorists. They understand only the language of force. Only targeted and quite inhumane steps [should be taken]," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds seized the spotlight from a half dozen Republican presidential contenders on Friday by signing a restrictive abortion measure into law at an event meant to showcase the candidates, she embraced her front-and-center role in the 2024 presidential election.

The standing ovation she received from some 2,000 conservative Christians gathered in Des Moines only reinforced the influence she wields, not just in Iowa but increasingly on a national stage.

ABUJA, July 17 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — The Sorghum Farmers Association of Nigeria (SOFAN), has commended President Bola Tinubu for declaring state of emergency on food security.

The President of the association, Alhaji Lawal Gada, made the commendation when he addressed newsmen in Abuja.

According to Gada, the action of the president could not have come at a better time than now when the world is facing myriad of challenges militating the food supply chains in the world, Nigeria inclusive.

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s economic growth missed forecasts in the second quarter of the year, adding to worries over surging youth unemployment and a weak property sector and raising the likelihood the government will double down on support for the faltering post COVID-19 recovery.

The world’s second largest economy grew at a 6.3% annual pace in the April-June quarter, much slower than the 7% plus growth analysts had forecast given the anemic pace of activity the year before.