North America

NEW YORK, Oct 19 (NNN-XINHUA) — The New York Police Department (NYPD) has enhanced security measures as rallies over the conflict between Israel and Hamas continue in the city.

“We are currently in a heightened threat environment and tensions have been rising since …October 7th. The NYPD is doing everything we can do to forestall future violence in our city. However, we know the ongoing events overseas may resonate with individuals domestically and that is hard to anticipate,” said NYPD in a statement.

HOUSTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA has begun contacting customers with crude supply contracts amid the temporary lifting of U.S. sanctions, two people familiar to the matter said on Thursday, moving to resume cash sales to global refiners.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - He came to bolster Israel's fight against Hamas and to offer aid to Palestinians suffering under an Israeli siege, but by flying into Tel Aviv when he did, U.S. President Joe Biden inextricably linked himself to any fight to come.

Biden's eight-hour visit took place a day after a hospital bombing in Gaza City that killed hundreds of Palestinians quickly became a lightning rod in the Arab world.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.

The vote on the Brazilian-drafted text was twice delayed in the last couple of days as the United States tries to broker aid access to Gaza. Twelve members voted in favor of the draft text on Wednesday, while Russia and Britain abstained.

WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The Pentagon plans to send the two Iron Dome missile defense systems it had previously purchased from Israel back to that country to defend itself against inbound missiles, a U.S. official and a congressional aide said.

The Department of Defense told members of Congress at a briefing on Wednesday it planned to lease the Iron Dome systems back to Israel, the U.S. official and the congressional aide told Reuters. In this type of a financial arrangement, the ownership remains with the buyer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon report on China’s military power says Beijing is exceeding previous projections of how quickly it is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like.

The report released Thursday also warns that China may be pursuing a new intercontinental missile system using conventional arms that, if fielded, would allow Beijing “to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — A military base in southern Syria where U.S. troops have maintained a presence to train forces as part of a broad campaign against the Islamic State group was attacked by drones on Thursday, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

One drone was shot down, but another caused in minor injuries, said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before an official announcement about the incident.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Refusing to drop out, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan told GOP colleagues Thursday he would back a temporary U.S. House speaker for the next several months as he works to shore up support to win the gavel himself.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will deliver a rare Oval Office address Thursday night as he prepares to ask for additional billions of dollars in military assistance for Israel and Ukraine, deepening American involvement in two very different, unpredictable and bloody foreign conflicts.

The speech will be an opportunity for Biden to argue that the United States has an obligation — and a national security interest — in both places. And it’s a chance for him to publicly lobby lawmakers for the money.

MIAMI (AP) — Most people in the U.S. see Mexico as an essential partner to stop drug trafficking and illegal border crossings, even as they express mixed views of Mexico’s government, according to a new poll.