Israelis are going to the polls on 17 September for the second time in less than six months to elect the 120 members of the Knesset (legislature), with the vote coming after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government following the April election. The last polls taken before election day show a race that is too close to call.

New Delhi (Sputnik): India and Iran held the 16th round of Foreign Office Consultations in Tehran to review bilateral cooperation between the two nations. The meeting, co-chaired by Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, took place amidst pressure to resume crude imports from Iran.

According to researchers, an ongoing decline in church membership and the fact that even churchgoers no longer consider baptism as a given have accounted for the marked drop in baptism numbers.

The statement comes amid tough situation in the Gulf as the US has been calling on its allies to start patrolling the area to increase the security of their vessels in the face of what it has called the "Iranian threat".

,During the previous Israeli elections, held in April, the country's main political rivals Likud and 'Blue and White' won 35 seats each, while Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government prompting the the country to launch snap elections.

As Israel prepares to vote in Tuesday's snap general election, the competition between the two front runners - the centre-right ruling Likud party and the centrist Blue and White alliance - remains fierce, blurring the political future of the Israeli state.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Amid skyrocketing crude oil prices after the Houthi drone attacks on two major Saudi oil fields, India’s energy analyst expressed concern over its impact on the financial health and inflation on the world’s third-biggest oil importer.

Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Monday that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh won't be impeached amid a new allegation of sexual misconduct during his college years.

In a court deposition released on Monday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he once worried that British cave diver Vernon Unsworth, whom he had called ‘Pedo Guy” in one of his tweets, might be “another Jeffrey Epstein.”

DOHA (Sputnik) - Riyadh will invite international experts and UN specialists to join the investigation into the recent attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities, which have affected the oil market, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Ankara is ready to start an operation against Kurdish militia in a safe zone in northeastern Syria within two weeks, if no specific measures are taken there jointly with the United States, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

California announced last week that it added Iowa to the states on its "travel ban" list because of that state's new prohibition against funding gender-transition surgeries under Medicaid.

Three JPMorgan Chase traders were accused by the Justice Department on Monday of masterminding a “massive” eight-year scheme to manipulate international markets for precious metals like gold and silver.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A Chinese citizen has been arrested and charged in a New York City federal court with participating in a plot to illegally get US visas for employees of the Beijing government, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - The Venezuelan authorities have formed a national dialogue with a number of political parties, Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in a state TV broadcast.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - President Donald Trump has announced the official US delegation for the upcoming opening of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, according to a pool report from the White House press corps.

A 10-year-old girl died in a Texas hospital on Monday morning, a week after she had contracted a rare brain-eating amoeba while swimming in the Brazos river, her close relatives confirmed.

Purdue Pharma, the pharmaceutical company and maker of OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy after establishing a settlement to contribute some $10 billion to fight the opioid crisis in the US. However, many critics fear the funds won’t address the actual issue of addiction, leaving the door wide open for further deaths.

A group of Democratic senators is expected to demand that eBay, Alibaba, and Craiglist explain what measures they are taking against the illegal sale of vaping products on their platforms in letters they will send to the companies on Monday.

Yanet Garcia is a Mexican weather girl who became a viral internet sensation following a video on her by Ozzy Man Reviews in 2014, where he sarcastically jokes about his interest in the Mexican weather channel.