WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will welcome outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House for talks on Tuesday as the competition to find his successor to lead the military alliance heats up.

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives convened in an atmosphere of political uncertainty on Monday, with Republican hardline conservatives at odds with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and spoiling for a new fight over federal government spending.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Turkiye has called on the international community to cooperate with it in achieving the voluntary and safe return of Syrian refugees to their country, as Ankara continues to make their return a key policy goal.

A statement issued on Thursday evening by Turkiye's National Security Council emphasised the importance of the international community's cooperation on the matter of Syrian refugees and their voluntary, safe, and dignified return.

PARIS (AP) — UNESCO announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin the U.N. cultural and scientific agency — and pay more than $600 million in back dues — after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member.

U.S. officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.

LAREDO, Texas (AP) — The Biden administration has stopped taking mobile app appointments to admit asylum-seekers at a Texas border crossing that connects to a notoriously dangerous Mexican city after advocates warned U.S. authorities that migrants were being targeted there for extortion.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave no explanation for its decision to stop scheduling new appointments via the CBP One app for the crossing in Laredo, Texas.

Kurukshetra, Jun 12 (PTI) Traffic on the Delhi-Chandigarh National Highway was disrupted on Monday as farmers gathered there after holding a mahapanchayat in this district to press for minimum support price for sunflower seed.

Apart from leaders of various khaps and Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the grapplers who have been demanding action against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, were present at the mahapanchayat.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Turkish security forces blocked the entry of a group of around 40 migrants who were attempted to be sent to Turkiye by Greece on Thursday, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the ministry said that Turkish troops detected a group of approximately 40 people advancing toward the Turkish border in the northwestern Edirne province.

LONDON (AP) — A U.K. parliamentary committee is meeting Monday to conclude its inquiry into whether former Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled lawmakers over parties at his Downing Street office that breached COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

Members of Parliament’s Privileges Committee have pledged to continue with the investigation into Johnson’s conduct after he unexpectedly quit as a lawmaker on Friday and angrily accused political opponents of driving him out in a “witch hunt.”

(AP) --- Ukrainian troops are probing Russian defenses as spring gives way to a second summer of fighting, and Kyiv’s forces are facing an enemy that has made mistakes and suffered setbacks in the 15-month-old war. But analysts say Moscow also has learned from those blunders and improved its weapons and skills.

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Attorneys for a Utah woman who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death, and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, argued in court on Monday she should be released on bail for the duration of her trial.

11 June 2023; MEMO: Air forces from Saudi Arabia and the United States held a joint military exercise on Saturday, according to the kingdom's defense ministry.

A ministry statement said the drill, held at the King Faisal Air Base in northwestern Saudi Arabia, aims to raise the level of joint action and maintain security and stability in the region.

F-15SE fighter jets and American B-1 Lancer strategic bombers took part in the exercise.

June 12 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Monday added 43 entities to an export control list, including Frontier Services Group Ltd, a security and aviation company previously run by Erik Prince, for training Chinese military pilots and other activities that threaten U.S. national security.

The Test Flying Academy of South Africa, a flight school under scrutiny by authorities in Britain for recruiting British ex-military pilots to train Chinese military fliers, was also added to the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List.