30 May 2023; MEMO: The US administration has demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shelves a controversial bill aimed at curbing the activities of civil society organisations, as a precondition to meet with US President Joe Biden, Israeli media outlets reported on Sunday.

30 May 2023; MEMO: The US is working on building a new regional hub for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Lebanon, within a huge embassy complex with an area of 93,000 square meters on a 27-hectares (about 64 acres) site in the capital, Beirut, intelligence sources reported yesterday.

May 29 (Reuters) - China has declined a request from the United States for a meeting between their defense chiefs at an annual security forum in Singapore this weekend, media reported on Monday, a new sign of strain between the powers.

"Overnight, the PRC informed the U.S. that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary (Lloyd) Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore," the Pentagon said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, referring to China by the initials of its official name, the People's Republic of China.

29 May 2023; MEMO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday submitted a draft bill to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, for the introduction of sanctions against Iran, Anadolu news agency reported citing local media.

LULEA, Sweden, May 30 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and European Union officials meet in Sweden on Tuesday to weigh how best to deal with China and cooperate on artificial intelligence and other future technology as well as EU complaints about Trump-era tariffs and U.S. green subsidies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager will attend the fourth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) for two days in Lulea, just below the Arctic Circle.

LONDON/SYDNEY, May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar steadied after climbing to a two-month high and European stocks flattened on Tuesday as relief that a possible default by the U.S. government had been averted gave way to concern that the deal could face a rocky path through Congress.

The U.S. dollar index and longer-dated U.S. Treasuries rallied as traders welcomed the deal to suspend Washington's borrowing limit until January 2025 in exchange for caps on spending and cuts in government programmes.

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a call on Monday repeated Ankara's desire to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States, while Biden told him Washington wanted Ankara to drop its objection to Sweden's joining NATO.

The exchange took place when Biden called Erdogan to congratulate him on his victory in Turkey's presidential election on Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Supreme Court decides the fate of affirmative action, most U.S. adults say the court should allow colleges to consider race as part of the admissions process, yet few believe students’ race should ultimately play a major role in decisions, according to a new poll.

The May poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 63% say the Supreme Court should not block colleges from considering race or ethnicity in their admission systems. The poll found little divide along political or racial lines.

29 May 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has frozen a controversial bill aimed at curbing the activities of non-profit civil and human rights organisations following significant criticism from the United States and prominent European countries.

MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin is working in the Kremlin and has been briefed about drone attacks on Moscow, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

Dmitry Peskov also said Russian air defences and the defence ministry had worked well in dealing with the assault and added that there were currently no plans for Putin to comment on the drone attack, which Moscow has blamed on Ukraine.

Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said air defences had destroyed eight drones.

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/: Kiev has chosen the path of intimidating Russian citizens by attacking civilian facilities, which is a clear sign of terrorist activity, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian air defenses stopped eight drones converging on Moscow, officials said Tuesday, in an attack that authorities blamed on Ukraine, while Russia continued a a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardment of Kyiv that began Monday.

The Russian defense ministry said five drones were shot down and the systems of three others were jammed, causing them to veer off course. It called the incident a “terrorist attack” by the “Kyiv regime.”