Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Trump: US Foreign Aid Should ‘Only Go to Friends of America’

United States’ foreign aid should in the future “only go to friends of America, not enemies of America,” President Trump said in his State of the Union on Tuesday night, noting that many countries benefitting from U.S. aid vote against its interests at the United Nations. Read

Russians Mock U.S. Treasury's List of Oligarchs: ‘Simply Copied the Kremlin Phonebook’

Russian leaders responded sardonically to the U.S. Treasury’s publication of a list of key Russian political figures and business executives who may be subject to future sanctions, saying it amounted to little more than a “who’s who” of Russian elites. Read

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Iran’s IRGC Directly Ordering Missile Launches in Yemen, Opposition Group Claims

As the administration on Monday showed foreign ambassadors alleged evidence of links between Iran and ballistic missiles fired into Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels in Yemen, an Iranian opposition group said it has received reports that the launches are occurring under the “direct orders” of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Read

Trump: ‘We Don’t Want to Talk to the Taliban. We’re Going to Finish What We Have to Finish’

President Trump said Monday he opposes talks with the Taliban, signaling an apparent departure from U.S. Afghanistan policy in the aftermath of two deadly terrorist attacks in Kabul. Read

Monday, January 29, 2018

Sen. Cotton: Detention of Putin Critic ‘Shows The World Just How Corrupt and Oppressive His Regime Truly Is’

Russian police on Sunday detained opposition activist Alexei Navalny as his supporters rallied across the country, calling for a boycott of elections next March which are expected to deliver President Vladimir Putin another six-year term. Read

Afghan Intelligence Chief Blames Pakistan After Deadly Ambulance Terrorist Bombing

Afghanistan’s intelligence chief on Sunday blamed neighboring Pakistan for a deadly suicide attack in which terrorists detonated explosives packed into an ambulance on a busy Kabul thoroughfare during lunch hour on Saturday. Read

Friday, January 26, 2018

Did John Kerry Advise Palestinian Leader Abbas To Wait Out Trump?

Former Secretary of State John Kerry is under fire for allegedly urging Palestinian leaders to hold firm against President Trump’s demands because he won’t be in office for long. Read

Haley Suggests it’s Time The Palestinians Find New Leadership

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on Thursday effectively told the Palestinians to find new leadership if they expect to achieve a peace settlement that leads to a better future for them and Israelis alike. Read

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Amid Deep Partisan Divide, Pence Breaks Tie to Confirm Religious Freedom Nominee

In the U.S. Senate Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence stepped in to break a partisan 49-49 tie on President Trump’s nomination of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback for the post of ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Read

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Haley Slams Russia on Chemical Weapons: ‘Will They Hold Assad to Account? Of Course Not – They Never Do’

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley laid into Russia in the Security Council on Tuesday, accusing Moscow of complicity in the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against Syrian citizens. Read

Thousands Displaced As Erdogan Pushes His Offensive Against U.S.-Allied Kurds in Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s military offensive against U.S.-allied Kurdish rebels in north-western Syria has displaced thousands of civilians, brought humanitarian aid deliveries to a halt, and is threatening an area populated by more than 320,000 people, the United Nations said Tuesday. Read

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Invoking Scripture, Pence Wins Israeli Hearts With ‘Consummately Zionist Speech’ in Jerusalem

Israeli leaders hailed Vice President Mike Pence’s address in Jerusalem Monday as historic – in the words on one cabinet minister, the most important and most pro-Zionist speech ever delivered to Israel’s Knesset by a foreign leader. Read

Iranian General: World Should Support Americans Marching Against Their Gov’t

The regime in Tehran was angered by U.S. expressions of sympathy for recent protests in Iran, and a top Iranian military official on Monday seized on the weekend’s “Women’s March” in U.S. cities to call for international support for Americans demonstrating against their government. Read

Monday, January 22, 2018

European Parliament Committee to Host Hardline Iranian Lawmaker

The European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee is raising eyebrows with a decision to host a senior Iranian lawmaker and regime stalwart on Tuesday, despite simmering concerns over Iran’s violent crackdown on protests. Read

8 of 10 Countries 'Where It Is Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus’ Are Islamic

Eight of the ten countries where Christians face the worst persecution are Islamic nations, according to Open Doors USA’s 2018 “world watch list,” which attributes the maltreatment to “Islamic oppression.” Read