Washington DC

01 June 2023; MEMO: Despite the Australian government's diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, in the UK, US authorities have launched a new investigation into his case, Anadolu Agency reports.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sought an interview with acclaimed novelist, Andrew O'Hagan, who remained close to Assange while working as a ghost writer on the whistleblower's autobiography, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

OSLO, Norway (AP) — The Biden administration is retaliating for Russia’s suspension of the New START nuclear treaty, announcing Thursday it is revoking the visas of Russian nuclear inspectors, denying pending applications for new monitors and canceling standard clearances for Russian aircraft to enter U.S. airspace.

30 May 2023; MEMO: The US Treasury Department announced, Tuesday, on two Syrian money service businesses and allies of Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) for secretly helping the regime under Bashar Al-Assad maintain access to the international financial system in violation of international sanctions, Reuters reports.

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.

26 May 2023; AA: The US is witnessing an explosion of child labor violations as legislative overhauls in Republican-majority states seek to remove safeguards intended to prevent a return to what was seen during the Industrial Revolution and Great Depression.

Child labor itself is not a novel problem for the US, but data from the Department of Labor released earlier this year indicates an explosion in violations across the country.

25 May 2023; AA: George Floyd’s 2020 killing at the hands of a white police officer sparked protests across the US in the hopes of racial justice and an end to police brutality.

The viral image of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, pinned to the ground by an officer rekindled the Black Lives Matter movement in the US and abroad.

But three years after his death, the situation for the Black community in the US is no different, data suggests.

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.