Scrapping Term Limits in China: Party Paper Dismisses Western ‘Hysteria’

A proposal that would allow Chinese President Xi Jinping to stay in power after his second presidential term expires in 2023 is making waves, but a Communist Party mouthpiece on Wednesday dismissed reaction in the West as “hysteria.” Read

Blacklisted Iranian Uses UN Human Rights Platform to Bash the US

As scores of protestors demonstrated outside, the U.N.’s top human rights body on Tuesday gave a platform to an Iranian regime official sanctioned by the European Union for his role in “human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, denials of prisoners’ rights and an increase in executions.” Read

Hungary Says UN Rights Chief Should Step Down After Calling Its PM a Racist

Hungary’s foreign minister called Monday for U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to be removed from his post, after the U.N. official singled out Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for sharp criticism. Read

Hungary Slams UN: ‘It Is Not a Human Right to Pick a Country Where One Would Like to Live’

Hungary’s populist government ramped up a dispute with international institutions on Monday, accusing U.N. officials of promoting migration as a right, at the expense of “the right to a safe and secure life, where we live.” Read

For 17th Time in 10 Years, Russia Vetoes UNSC Resolution, This Time to Protect Iran

Russia on Monday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution expressing concern over Iranian violations of U.N. sanctions on Yemen – just hours after the U.N.’s top human rights official appealed to the council’s permanent members to stop using their veto power to block measures that would reduce the suffering of innocent people. Read

UN Human Rights Council Opens With Poorest Membership Yet; Sanctioned Iranian to Speak

The United Nations’ top human rights body begins a four-week session in Geneva on Monday, boasting the largest numbers of autocratic and repressive regimes among its members in its 13-year history. Read

Palestinians Accuse Israel of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ Over Church Tax Row

Palestinian leaders on Sunday seized on a dispute between the Jerusalem municipality and church denominations over unpaid taxes for commercial enterprises, accusing Israel of violating religious freedom and “ethnic cleansing.” Read

Bolton: North Korea Sees Nukes as Way to Reunify Peninsula Under Its Control

Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons program is designed not merely to defend his regime, but in pursuit of its ultimate aim to reunify the peninsula under its grip, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said this week. Read

Iranian Minister Sanctioned by EU For Rights Violations Due to Speak at UN Human Rights Council

The Iranian regime’s justice minister is scheduled to address the United Nations’ top human rights body in Geneva next week, despite being subject to European Union sanctions for “human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, denials of prisoners’ rights and an increase in executions.” Read

Hawkish North Korean General Will be Ivanka Trump’s Counterpart at Olympics Closing Ceremony

North Korea is sending to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony in South Korea a man Seoul blames for the regime’s deadliest armed attack in more than two decades – the sinking in 2010 of a South Korean navy ship and killing of 46 sailors. Read

Attacker Throws Explosive Device at US Embassy in Montenegro, Blows Himself Up

In what U.S. officials described as an “active security situation,” a person threw an explosive device early Thursday at the U.S. Embassy compound in the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, before reportedly blowing himself up. Read

‘Dictator,’ ‘Idiot’: Tempers Flare Over Hungary’s Anti-Migrant Campaign

Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, has called his counterpart from Luxembourg an “idiot” who wants to “flood” Europe with migrants, illustrating again a widening rift between the country’s populist government and the liberal European establishment over immigration policies. Read

State Dep’t Regrets N. Korea’s Refusal to Meet With Pence; Regime Calls Him ‘Human Scum’

The State Department on Tuesday confirmed that Vice President Mike Pence, during his recent visit to South Korea, was prepared to hold a “brief meeting” with representatives of North Korea’s Stalinist regime, but they pulled out “at the last minute.” Read

Haley to Palestinian Leader: ‘I Will Not Shut Up’ and Jerusalem Decision ‘Will Not Change’

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday delivered a lengthy speech at the U.N. condemning Israel and the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but left the Security Council chamber before the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors could respond. Read

Russian FM: US ‘Playing With Fire’ in Push to Divide Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned the U.S. against “playing with fire” in Syria, accusing it of trying to dismember the country by supporting Kurdish groups in the northeast, thereby undermining Syria’s territorial integrity. Read

Proposal to Outlaw Circumcision Stokes Debate, Religious Freedom Concerns

Male circumcision has long been a controversial topic, and a proposal by lawmakers in Iceland to criminalize the practice – apparently for the first time anywhere in modern history – is making waves far from the small North Atlantic island nation. Read

Turkey’s Erdogan: The US Needs to ‘Correct Their Mistakes,’ ‘Pull Themselves Together’

Following Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s fence-mending visit to Turkey, the country’s leaders remain insistent that the U.S. is to blame for the tensions in the relationship between the NATO partners. Read

Wielding Piece of Shot-Down Drone, Netanyahu Warns Iran

“Do you recognize this?” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked Iran’s foreign minister at a conference in Germany on Sunday, holding aloft a piece of a spy drone shot down over Israeli airspace this month. Read

Kerry: It Was ‘Strategic Thinking,’ Not a ‘Concession,’ to Leave Missiles Out of Iran Nuclear Deal

Setting aside Iran’s ballistic missile threats, support for terrorism and regional destabilization when crafting the nuclear deal was not a concession but “strategic thinking” on the part of the negotiators, former Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday. Read

Iranian Opposition: IRGC Uses Globally-Available Messaging Apps to Spy on Citizens

Rattled by recent protests against the 39-year-old regime, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is accelerating its cyber warfare capabilities, including embedding spyware into apps used by millions of Iranians, a new report claims. Those affected could potentially include expats in the West, who use the apps to contact relatives inside Iran. Read

Top Iranians Laud Dead Hezbollah Terrorist, Call for Israel’s Destruction

Marking the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah’s top terrorist, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force said Thursday the price for his blood will be the eradication of Israel. Read

Tillerson Under Fire for Saying Hezbollah Is Part of Lebanon’s ‘Political Process’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday the reality that Hezbollah is “part of the political process in Lebanon” has to be acknowledged, drawing fire on social media for a perceived “softening” in Washington’s approach to the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. Read

Haley: ‘Iran and Hezbollah Are Making Plans to Stay in Syria’

The weekend breaching of Israel’s airspace by an Iranian drone was a “wake-up call for all of us” and underlines that “Iran and Hezbollah are making plans to stay in Syria,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said on Wednesday. Read

Shi’ite Militia Leader Threatens to Attack US Troops If They Stay in Iraq

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told an Iraq reconstruction conference Tuesday that the U.S. will remain the country’s “strong partner,” but the head of an Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia with American blood on its hands warned it will target U.S. forces if they remain in the country. Read

State Dep’t: Moscow, Ankara Welcome to Rename Streets Where US Embassies Are Located

Authorities in Moscow and Ankara are considering renaming streets where U.S. Embassies are located, evidently to embarrass the United States. Citing free speech, the State Department says that as long as they are complying with local laws “they can call it whatever they want.” Read

Ahead of Tillerson Visit, Turkey’s Islamist Gov’t Sees Ties at Make-or-Break Point

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson heads for Turkey later this week at a time of escalating tensions in the relationship, as the Turks’ military operation against U.S.-backed Kurds in northwestern Syria takes its toll and an American pastor remains in jail 16 months after being arrested on purported security charges. Read

State Dep’t Official: Israel-Iran Clash Not a 'Distraction’ but ‘Predictable Symptom’ of Iranian Behavior

The armed clash between Israel and Iran over Syria at the weekend was not a “distraction” from efforts to resolve the Syrian conflict but a regrettable and “predictable symptom” of Iran’s ever more aggressive behavior, a senior State Department official said Monday. Read

Ayatollah: Anniversary Rallies Are a ‘Crushing Response’ to Iran’s Enemies

In what supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called a “crushing response” to Iran’s enemies, hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Sunday to mark the 39th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, and to reaffirm that the United States remains “enemy number one.” Read

Kim Jong-un’s Sister Oversees Brutal Regime’s Propaganda Efforts

Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, the subject of breathless media coverage as she smiled her way through a three-day visit to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, heads up the regime’s department responsible for lying to its people about the behavior of a regime whose atrocities have been described as “without parallel in the modern world.” Read

Kim’s Pre-‘Peace Olympics’ Parade Showcases ICBM ‘Capable of Striking The Whole Mainland of The US’

One day before the opening of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, the Kim Jong-un regime displayed at a military parade the intercontinental ballistic missile which it claimed after its maiden test flight last November could reach anywhere in the continental United States. Read

After Deadly Coalition Counterstrike on Pro-Assad Forces, Pentagon Says: ‘We Are Not Looking For a Conflict With The Regime’

Russia and the Assad regime cried foul on Thursday after the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition in Syria carried out airstrikes on pro-regime forces, in response to what the U.S. called an “unprovoked attack” on its allies. Read

Tillerson on Trump’s Foreign Aid Stance: ‘This is the American People’s Money …What Are We Supporting?

The American people are the source of foreign assistance provided by the U.S., Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday, adding that questions raised by President Trump about exactly what that aid is supporting have “not been examined in quite some time – if ever.” Read

On Eve of ‘Peace’ Olympics, North Korean Regime Calls Trump ‘Dolt,’ ‘Lunatic’

Despite speculation about the possibility of a U.S.-North Korea encounter on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, there has been no let-up in the anti-U.S. invective coming from the regime in Pyongyang, and the insulting of President Trump continues. Read

As Allies Wrangle, Tillerson Says New Polish Holocaust Law ‘Adversely Affects Freedom of Speech’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday expressed dismay at a decision by Polish President Andrzej Duda to sign controversial legislation criminalizing references to Poles’ complicity in the Holocaust. Read

Haley: UN Committee is ‘Being Steamrolled by Countries With Terrible Human Rights Records’

An influential committee responsible for accrediting non-governmental organizations at the United Nations is drawing criticism for shooting down applications from U.S.-based groups dealing with human rights in Iran and North Korea. Read

Jordan’s King Sees a Possible ‘Lack of Understanding of Islam’ in Washington

Islam is “not a religion of hate,” Jordan’s King Abdullah said in a recent interview, arguing that there was perhaps a “lack of understanding” of the religion in Washington. Read

South Korean President Optimistic About ‘Peace’ Olympics; Pence Bringing Message of ‘Resolve’

Ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, North Korea has announced plans to send its nominal head of state to attend the event and South Korea’s liberal president expressed optimism Monday about sports bringing people together despite ideological differences. Read

Russia Says New US Policy Could Allow Use of Nukes Even in Low-Intensity Conflicts

Russia hit out over the weekend at the Trump’s administration’s new Nuclear Posture Review, expressing concern that the document leaves open the option of using nuclear weapons even in response to a non-nuclear attack. Read

Iranian Activist Criticizes Feminists: Barbie With Hijab Gets Media Coverage, But Women Forced to Wear One Don’t

Criticizing the “hypocrisy” of feminists, an Iranian women’s rights activist says Western media outlets will report on a Barbie doll wearing a headscarf, but avoid devoting coverage to real-life women forced to wear one, for fear of being accused of “Islamophobia.” Read

Moscow to US: If You Don’t Like Being Buzzed by Our Fighters, Stay Away From ‘Russia’s Borders’

Russia’s foreign ministry accused the United States Thursday of deliberately stirring up “Russophobic” sentiment by making a “fuss” about a U.S. Navy surveillance plane being buzzed over the Black Sea, while the defense ministry advised U.S. military aircraft to steer clear of Russia’s purported borders. Read

Refugee Admissions Dropped 70% in Trump's First Year

The number of refugees admitted to the United States during President Donald Trump’s first full year in office was down 70 percent from President Barack Obama’s last full year in office, according to the State Department’s Refugee Processing database. Read

Hamas Cries Foul After US Designates Its Leader as ‘Global Terrorist’

The Trump administration has designated the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, as a “specially designated global terrorist” (SDGT), targeting the head of a violent Palestinian group that has been trying to clean up its image. Read

CAIR Slams Trump’s Move to Keep Gitmo Open; ‘Exclusively Muslim-Populated Military Prison’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is unhappy about President Trump’s executive order keeping open indefinitely the terrorist detention facility – or as CAIR describes it, “the illegal, exclusively Muslim-populated military prison” – at Guantánamo Bay. Read