Washington DC

27 May 2023; AA: US President Joe Biden said Friday he is ''hopeful'' of a deal to raise the national debt limit by Friday night that could prevent an economic meltdown.

Biden made brief remarks to reporters about the debt ceiling before leaving Washington for Camp David.

"Things are looking good, I'm very optimistic," he said. "I hope we'll be able to know by tonight whether we have a deal.''

19 May 2023; AA: The US on Thursday condemned the racist language that some fanatical Jewish groups used during a "flag day" march by extremist Jewish settlers. 

"The United States unequivocally opposes racist language of any form. We condemn the hateful chants such as 'Death to Arabs' during today’s marches in Jerusalem," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Twitter.

19 May 2023; AA: Several members of Congress gathered outside the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Thursday to call for accountability for the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. 

Democratic lawmakers Ilhan Omar, Andre Carson, Rashida Tlaib, Betty McCollum and Jamaal Bowman as well as Sharif Mansur, Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, issued a press statement.

19 May 2023; MEMO: Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales yesterday slammed Twitter over its recent decision to block certain Turkish content a day before the country's  presidential election.

Wales told BBC that his organisation has been banned in Turkiye for almost three years after it refused to delete articles that criticised the government. He stressed that the tech sector must collaborate in defending free access to information.

17 May 2023; MEMO: Post-9/11 conflicts and invasions in the Middle East and other surrounding regions have directly and indirectly killed at least 4.5 million people over the past two decades, a new report has revealed.

12 May 2023; AA: A group of activists and journalists held a candlelight vigil Thursday outside the White House in Washington, D.C. to honor Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead on May 11 last year while reporting on an Israeli military raid. 

The vigil, organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Museum of the Palestinian People, was attended by many activists and Abu Akleh's friends as well as colleagues from Al Jazeera, who demanded justice and accountability for her.

13 May 2023; MEMO: The US National Security Council (NSC) announced on Friday that Washington will boost its military presence in the Arabian Gulf to face off Iran's seizures of merchant tankers, news agencies reported.

"Today, the Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf," NSC spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

12 May 2023; MEMO: The United States stands by Israel's right to defend itself, the American ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, announced yesterday.

"Concerned about the continuing rocket launches today," Nides said on Twitter, referring to recent rockets that were fired from the besieged Gaza Strip.

The US envoy added that his country was working to achieve a "quick de-escalation."

08 May 2023; AA: The US will not move to restore diplomatic relations with Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, the White House said Monday after the Arab League’s weekend move to reinstate Damascus. 

A growing number of regional nations have moved to resume ties with Syria in recent months, including close US allies, and White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Washington is in contact with those who are choosing to do so to discuss the processes.

09 May 2023; AA: Over 26,000 migrants were arrested along the US-Mexico border over the past three days, an official said Monday, as the US faces a surge in migration. 

Over the past 72 hours, 26,382 people have been detained while 7,399 others eluded law enforcement, said US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz Ruiz. Hundreds of pounds of drugs, mostly marijuana, were also seized at the border.