Friday, September 28, 2018

Abbas to UN: We ‘Never Resort to Violence or Terrorism’

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that his people resist Israeli occupation through solely peaceful means, and “never resort to violence or terrorism.” Read

UN Human Rights Council Adopts ‘Feeble’ Resolution on Venezuela That Lays No Blame For Crisis

The U.N. Human Rights Council has finally adopted a resolution on the crisis in Venezuela, but one that neither details human rights abuses occurring in the country nor attributes them to anyone. Read

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Maduro Attacks US ‘Imperialists’ in Speech – But Also Says He’s Ready to Meet With Trump

Venezuela’s beleaguered President Nicolás Maduro turned up unexpectedly at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday to deliver a rambling speech mostly criticizing the U.S. – but also surprising the gathering by expressing a willingness to meet with President Trump. Read

Ukraine’s President to UN: The Kremlin ‘Weaponizes’ Your Silence Against My Country

If the international community does not take a united stand against Russia’s aggression, nothing will stop it, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said at the United Nations Wednesday, charging that Moscow “weaponizes” the world body’s silence to use against his country. Read

Trump Dismisses as ‘Fake News’ Media Portrayal of World Leaders Laughing At Him: ‘They Were Laughing With Me’

President Trump on Wednesday rejected the view – widespread in media coverage of this year’s U.N. General Assembly high-level session – that the world had laughed at him during his speech in New York City. Read

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Iran’s Rouhani Uses the Term ‘Nazi’ in Oblique Reference to Trump

Iran’s “moderate” President Hassan Rouhani used his address to the United Nations on Tuesday to obliquely accuse President Trump of Nazi-like xenophobia and the undermining of international norms, while calling Israel the greatest threat to regional and global peace and stability. Read

Bolton Takes Aim at ‘Ayatollah Khamenei’s Hitman’

National Security Advisor John Bolton on Tuesday unveiled a plan to target the commander of Iran’s military division responsible for terror operations abroad, saying the U.S. “will use every tool available to pursue” Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and to counter his “insidious designs.” Read

Pompeo Slams EU For Trying to Evade Iran Sanctions: ‘I Imagine the Corrupt Ayatollahs and the IRGC Were Laughing’

Attempts by the European Union to undermine U.S. sanctions against the Iranian regime – despite its global terror sponsorship – brought a sharp response Tuesday from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said the ayatollahs and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were likely “laughing.” Read

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Russia to Arm Assad With Advanced Air Defenses Designed to Counter Warplanes and Cruise Missiles

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday he will raise with the Russians in New York this week Moscow’s decision to provide the Assad regime with sophisticated S300 surface-to-air missiles. Read

Trump Secures First Trade Deal, Hailing It As 'Historic Milestone'

President Trump and his South Korean counterpart on Monday signed the first major trade agreement finalized during Trump’s presidency – a deal which U.S. officials say will reduce a U.S. trade deficit that more than doubled since the original U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) came into effect in 2012. Read

Monday, September 24, 2018

Pompeo Says Pastor Andrew Brunson Will Come Home and 'Our Hearts Will be Filled With Joy’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo struggled not to show his emotions Friday as he recalled the “greatest highlight” of his job to date – bringing home three Americans held in North Korea – saying that the memory of the experience, even now, “reminds me of the greatness of our nation.” Read

Clashes Possible at UN After Iran Blames US for Terror Attack

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in New York Sunday to attend this week’s high-level U.N. General Assembly session, shortly after the regime blamed the United States and regional allies for a deadly terror attack on a military parade on Saturday. Read

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Pompeo on Administration Officials Not Committed to Trump’s Mission: ‘Find Something Else to Do’

If officials in the administration are not supportive of President Trump’s “mission” they should leave and “find something else to do,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in comments aired Sunday. Read

Friday, September 21, 2018

State Dep’t Challenges Reporter Over Palestinian Terror Payments: ‘That’s Not a Normal Thing to Do’

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert gave short shrift Thursday to a Palestinian journalist who questioned U.S. opposition to one of the Palestinian Authority’s most controversial policies. Paying the families of convicted and dead terrorists, she told him, is “not a normal thing to do.” Read

FY 2018 Refugee Admissions: 70.8 Percent Christians; 15.4 Percent Muslims

The proportion of Christians to Muslims among refugees from around the world admitted to the United States has changed significantly in FY 2018, with Christians comprising seven in ten new arrivals, and Muslims fewer than two in ten. Read

Trump Tweets About Kavanaugh: Dems 'Just Want to Destroy and Delay. Facts Don't Matter'

At a campaign rally on Thursday night, President Trump expressed optimism that Kavanaugh would be confirmed, praising him generously but also maintaining a respectful tone regarding the woman who alleges Kavanaugh “sexually assaulted” her during a high school party in the 1980s. Read

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Human Rights Council Challenged Over Killing of Israeli-American: ‘Why Is The UN Silent?’

The U.N. Human Rights Council was castigated by a non-governmental organization this week for its silence over the murder of a dual Israeli-American citizen, whose killer’s family stands to receive a monthly stipend from the Palestinian Authority. Read

German Auto Giant Volkswagen is Pulling Out of Iran, Says US Ambassador

In a significant symbolic blow to the Iranian regime, the Volkswagen Group – the world’s biggest selling car manufacturer last year – has reportedly agreed to end almost all of its operations in Iran, in line with the restoration of U.S. sanctions on Tehran. Read

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Putin Refrains From Accusing Israel of Deliberately Causing Syrian Shootdown of Russian Plane

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the deadly downing of a Russian air force plane by Syrian anti-aircraft fire resulted from “a chain of tragic circumstances,” stopping short of publicly accusing Israel of responsibility, as his defense ministry has done. Read

Record-Low Proposed Refugee Admission Ceiling Could Change, State Dep’t Says

The State Department said Tuesday that the Trump administration’s proposed ceiling of 30,000 refugee admissions in the upcoming fiscal year is just that – a proposal – and the figure could be amended by the president, following consultations with Congress. Read

Kim Jong Un Agrees to Work Towards a Peninsula Without Nukes or Threats

Kim Jong Un said Wednesday he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have made a “firm commitment” to work towards transforming the Korean peninsula into a land of peace, without nuclear weapons and threats. Read

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Administration Sets Record-Low Refugee Admission Ceiling; Will Prioritize Asylum Applications of Those Already in the US

The Trump administration has set a refugee admission ceiling for fiscal year 2019 of 30,000 – the lowest ceiling set by an administration since the Refugee Act was passed in 1980 – but is arguing that that number should be viewed in the context of broader humanitarian programs. Read

Haley Slams Russian Conduct in Int’l Community: ‘Deny, Distract, and Lie’

Accusing Russia of “lying, cheating and rogue behavior,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley charged Monday that Moscow was working to “undermine the sanctions regime” designed to push North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs. Read

Monday, September 17, 2018

Russia-US Clash Looms at UN Over North Korea Sanctions Violations

The Trump administration is confronting Russia again at the United Nations – this time over allegations that Moscow is not only undermining U.N. sanctions against North Korea but trying to cover its tracks as well. Read

Kerry to Climate Summit: ‘The American People Are Way Smarter Than This President’

President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord was “one of the single greatest acts of irresponsibility by a president of the United States anywhere at any time,” former Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday. Read

Friday, September 14, 2018

Trump: Kerry’s Meetings With Iranians ‘Illegal,’ ‘Can Only Serve to Undercut Our Great Work’

President Trump on Thursday night described former Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings with Iran’s foreign minister since leaving the State Department as “illegal,” and said that they “can only serve to undercut our great work to the detriment of the American people.” Read

Fearing Carnage, U.N. Panel Urges Rebels and Terrorists to Withdraw From Civilian Areas in Idlib

A U.N. expert panel on Syria is urging anti-Assad rebels – which include jihadist groups with ties to al-Qaeda – to withdraw from populated areas in Idlib, to avoid civilian carnage as an Assad regime offensive gets underway. Read

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Xi’s ‘Atheist Ideology' Driving Crackdown on Chinese Christians

China’s communist authorities have for decades imposed rigorous controls on Christians – and other minority faith groups – but the forced closure of a large church in Beijing is underlining concerns of rising persecution levels under President Xi Jinping. Read

Brunson Described As 'Political Prisoner Being Held as a Bargaining Chip for Turkey’

Almost two years since American pastor Andrew Brunson was first arrested in Turkey, a Christian advocacy group on Wednesday appealed to the United Nations’ top human rights body to do all in its power to secure his release, describing him as “a political prisoner being held as a bargaining chip for Turkey.” Read

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

UN Human Rights Council Gives Platform to Venezuelan Minister, Who Slams The US

The U.N. Human Rights Council, now without the United States after the Trump administration’s departure, opened a new session in Geneva this week, and gave a platform to the foreign minister of Venezuela. Read

Russia Says Chemical Weapons False-Flag Provocation Is Now Underway in Syria

Russia’s military claimed Tuesday that a chemical weapons false-flag incident in Syria is imminent, saying filming of a staged attack involving the outlawed WMDs is already underway in Idlib, the rebel-held region that is the focus of a major regime offensive. Read

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Bolton Says International Criminal Court is 'Illegitimate'

The United States is already not party to the International Criminal Court, but in a striking decision announced Monday by National Security Advisor John Bolton the Trump administration said it would not cooperate at all with the tribunal – and will moreover take punitive steps against it if it goes after U.S. or allied nationals. Read

Palestinian Officials Decry PLO Office Closure, But Won’t Relent on Actions That Prompted It

Palestinian officials condemned the Trump administration’s decision Monday to shut down the PLO office in Washington – although both of the reasons cited for the move are actions taken by the Palestinian leadership, which could reverse course if it chose to do so. Read

US Out of The UN? Bolton Says World Body As a Whole Not a ‘Sovereignty Threat’

National Security Advisor John Bolton was asked Monday why the U.S. does not simply withdraw from the United Nations – and replied that, for the most part, the world body does not threaten U.S. sovereignty. Read

Monday, September 10, 2018

Anti-Migration Party Makes Gains in Sweden’s Deadlocked Election

Voters in Sweden are mulling the future Monday after delivering a too-close-to-call election outcome, with the traditional center-left and center-right blocs evenly poised but with an anti-immigration, anti-establishment, euroskeptic party taking a strong third place in one of Europe’s most liberal democracies. Read

China Accuses U.S. of Bullying Countries That Broke Ties With Taiwan

Signaling a significant change in Washington’s approach to the issue, the Trump administration has recalled its envoys from three Latin American countries over their decisions to jettison diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of the communist government in Beijing. Read

Friday, September 07, 2018

Moscow Decries ‘Anti-Russian Hysteria,’ Links New Skripal Poisoning Evidence to ‘Staged’ Chemical Attacks in Syria

Moscow’s envoy to the U.N. charged Thursday that the release of new evidence of Russian involvement in a nerve agent attack on British soil was cynically timed in the run-up to a new chemical weapons provocation in Syria, for which the Assad regime would be blamed. Read

Trump Disputes ‘Gutless’ NYT Op-Ed: ‘They Had Me Screaming, Shouting Like a Lunatic’

President Trump on Thursday challenged media depictions of him having hysterical tantrums in the White House over the New York Times op-ed by an anonymous “senior administration official” claiming to be “part of the resistance inside the Trump administration.” Read

Thursday, September 06, 2018

John Kerry: Woodward Book ‘Confirms Things That Most Of Us Who Talk to People in Washington Have Known'

Former Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that the new Bob Woodward book, which reportedly paints an extremely unflattering picture of the Trump presidency, “confirms things that most of us who talk to people in Washington have known.” Read

First UNSC Meeting of Haley’s Presidency Brings Clashes Over Nicaragua Crisis

The first substantive meeting of the U.N. Security Council under the presidency of the United States was marked by deep divisions on Wednesday, as several countries’ representatives slammed the decision to focus on the crisis in Nicaragua, and Venezuela’s delegate took the opportunity to label the Trump administration “one of the most obscurantist” in recent history. Read

Trump: Assassinating Assad Was Never Discussed or Contemplated

President Trump on Wednesday disputed claims in Bob Woodward’s controversial new book that he had called for the assassination of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying it had never been contemplated or discussed. Read

Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Trump to Chair Upcoming U.N. Meeting on Iran That Rouhani May Attend

The world is watching.” That’s the message the Trump administration wants to highlight by convening a U.N. Security Council meeting this month “to address Iran’s violations of international law and the general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said Tuesday. Read

Haley Advises Readers of Woodward’s Trump Book to ‘Take it With a Grain of Salt’

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley was invited by a CNN correspondent Tuesday to comment on the harsh criticism of President Trump in a new Bob Woodward book – and advised him and readers to “take it with a grain of salt.” Read

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Trump Responds Scornfully to Prospect of Kerry 2020: ‘I Should Only Be So Lucky’

President Trump responded derisively Monday to the prospect of John Kerry running for the White House in 2020, saying that he “should only be so lucky” as to have the former secretary of state on the ballot when he campaigns for a second presidential term. Read

Withholding of Pakistan Aid Follows Years of Trump Criticism

A decision by the Trump administration to withhold $300 million in funding for Pakistan drew a guarded reaction from Islamabad, with the foreign minister saying the money was not “aid” but U.S. reimbursement for costs borne by Pakistan in fighting terror. Read