12 July 2023; MEMO: Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Social Equality Minister Amichai Chikli yesterday accused US President Joe Biden of fuelling anti-government demonstrations in Israel.

In an interview on Sunday with CNN, Biden criticised the Israeli government and plans to overhaul the judiciary.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the FBI will face some of his harshest critics in Congress on Wednesday as he testifies before a House committee that is leading several investigations into claims that the law enforcement agency unfairly targets conservatives.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of congressional Democrats reported Wednesday that three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years.

Their report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of information that H&R Block, TaxAct and Tax Slayer shared with the social media giant.

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will travel to Beijing next week to discuss strategies for limiting global warming, amid a push by the world’s two largest economies to reengage on multiple issues following a sharp decline in contacts.

Kerry’s office said he will arrive Sunday and depart July 19. He is due to meet with his counterpart Xie Zhenhua, with whom he has established a strong working relationship.

11 July 2023; MEMO: The French-inspired campaign with Britain to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 was a disastrous error, according to France's spy chief in Libya at the time, the Times reports.

According to the report, the story of the secret operations to bring down the Libyan dictator has been told by Jean-Francois Lhuillier, a former Tripoli station chief of the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE). His book has angered the Secret Service, where he worked for 27 years.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile in three months on Wednesday, days after it threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called provocative United States reconnaissance activity near its territory.

Some experts say North Korea likely launched its developmental, road-mobile Hwasong-18 ICBM, a type of solid-fuel weapon that is harder to detect and intercept than its liquid-fuel ICBMs. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un previously called the Hwasong-18 the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces.

12 July 2023; MEMO: US President Joe Biden has told CNN that the Palestinian Authority has "lost its credibility." Biden made the claim earlier this week.

"I think that the fact [is] that the Palestinian Authority has lost its credibility," he said, making clear that this assessment had nothing to do with Israel, but is related to the nature of the PA itself. "It has created a vacuum for extremism… among the Palestinians," he added.

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. Army soldier from Massachusetts reported missing in action while his unit was involved in fighting against German forces in Italy during World War II has been accounted for, the military said.

The remains of Pvt. Wing O. Hom, of Boston, were identified in April using both anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Tuesday.

Hom, 20, went missing in February 1944 during fighting near the town of Cisterna di Latina, south of Rome.

11 July 2023; MEMO: "Things are going off the rails," in Israel, outgoing US Ambassador to Tel Aviv, Tom Nides, said yesterday in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Nides will be stepping down from his post after nearly two years as Washington's envoy. Before departing, he sent a parting message about Israel, where he expressed concerns over the planned judicial overhaul and its divisive impact.

12 July 2023; MEMO: Russia yesterday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at extending cross-border aid delivery to Syria from Turkiye through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing. The move blocks millions of residents of the area from accessing aid.

Switzerland and Brazil had initially proposed the mechanism be extended for 12 months, but Russia insisted on only a six-month extension.

ANDOVER, Vt. (AP) — Floodwaters receded in Vermont cities and towns pummeled by a storm that delivered two months of rain in two days, enabling officials to focus on recovering from a disaster that trapped residents in homes, closed roadways and choked streets and businesses with mud and debris.

In the capital city of Montpelier, where streets were flooded Tuesday by the swollen Winooski River, officials said that water levels at a dam just upstream appeared to be stable.

11 July 2023; MEMO: Washington will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye in consultation with Congress, US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO, Reuters reports.