Watchdog Says Religious Freedom Violators Should Not Have Sanctions Waived

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Monday acknowledged the Trump administration’s “high-level commitment” to advancing religious freedom, but expressed concern that egregious violators have little incentive to improve as long as sanctions against them are waived indefinitely. Read

Pompeo: Russia Will Continue to Interfere in US Elections, As It Has for Decades

The Russians have been interfering in U.S. elections for decades and can be expected to be still doing so in 2050, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday. He found it “stunning” that people in Washington seem “shocked by the fact that the Russians don’t care for us.” Read

ISIS Leader Baghdadi Calls For Terror Attacks to Avenge Loss of ‘Caliphate’

Almost five years after he was last seen publicly, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made a reappearance in an online video, hailing his fighters for not giving up the remnants of the “caliphate” in Syria without a fight, and urging supporters to carry out attacks in France, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. Read

Zarif: Iran May Withdraw From Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Sunday that the regime is considering withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as one possible response to the latest tightening of U.S. sanctions. Read

Bolton Says He’s Had ‘a Pretty Good Week’ After Iran, North Korea, Cuba Slam Him

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton on Sunday rejected accusations by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif that he and a small cabal of Mideast hawks were pushing President Trump into a conflict with Iran. He also joked that he was having “a pretty good week” after verbal attacks by the regimes in Tehran, Pyongyang and Havana. Read

Putin: Kim Jong Un Needs ‘Security Guarantees’

After his first-ever meeting with Kim Jong Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated on Thursday that a major priority for the North Korean dictator in nuclear talks with the United States is the need for “security guarantees.” Read

Biden Told Communist China He Fully Understood Their One-Child Policy

From the claim that the U.S. “kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon” to an assertion that the Taliban “is not our enemy,” former Vice President Joe Biden may find himself defending some of his past foreign policy stances as the 2020 presidential contest gets underway. Read

US Embassy Slams Putin Scheme to Offer Russian Citizenship to Separatist Ukrainians

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has condemned a decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to offer Russian citizenship to Ukrainians in separatist-controlled regions in the east of the country, calling the move “absurd and destabilizing.” Read

Sri Lanka Cardinal Says Muslim Envoys Assured Him Bombings Had ‘No Connection to Islam’

The Catholic archbishop of Colombo met Wednesday with ambassadors of Islamic countries who expressed condolences over the deadly Easter Sunday suicide bombings and assured him, he said, that there was “no connection to Islam.” Read

RJC: Sen. Sanders Is Appealing to ‘Energized’ Left Wing by Calling Israeli Gov’t ‘Racist’

The Republican Jewish Coalition on Tuesday accused Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont of seeking to score points with the party’s “energized” left wing by describing the Israeli government as “racist.” Read

UN Human Rights Council Silent on Sri Lanka Bombings That Targeted Christians

The U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) has not condemned or otherwise reacted to the suicide bombings targeting churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, the most important day of the Christian calendar. Read

US Envoy Doubts Iran’s Last Oil Customers Will Want to Run Afoul of U.S. Sanctions

The Trump administration does not believe any of the small handful of remaining countries that buy Iranian oil will risk U.S. sanctions by continuing to do so after waivers currently in place expire on May 2, Iran special representative Brian Hook said Monday. Read

Global Islamic Terrorists Suspected to be Behind Sri Lanka Easter Bombings

Sri Lanka’s government has blamed a little-known local Islamist group for the Easter Sunday bombings, but officials and security experts suspect global jihadists were connected to the deadly attack. Read

Sri Lanka Easter Bombings Aimed at Christians: Terrorists Described as Religious Extremists

Sri Lanka police declared an overnight curfew after Easter Sunday’s deadly bombing spree targeting churches and five-star hotels. The country’s prime minister confirmed that authorities had received prior warning about the possibility of a terrorist attack. Read

Linda Sarsour Urges Muslims to Support Rep. Ilhan Omar, ‘The Best Our Community Has to Offer’

Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour urged a group of Muslims demonstrating outside the White House on Sunday to support Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) – “the best that our community has to offer” – and to prepare in the 2020 election to “say no to fascism,” bigotry and Islamophobia. Read

Update: After North Korean Criticism, Pompeo Says, ‘I’m Still in Charge of the Team’

At Friday’s press availability, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in response to questions about the North Korean criticism: “I’m still in charge of the team." Read

Citing Mueller Report, Ocasio-Cortez Says She’ll Now Support Tlaib’s Impeachment Resolution

Citing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Thursday she would now support a resolution introduced by fellow freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) last month seeking President Trump’s impeachment. Read

Mueller Report: Trump Transition Team Tried to Thwart Anti-Israel UN Resolution

Weeks before President Trump took office, he and his transition team tried energetically to thwart a major U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel, according to the partially-redacted Mueller report released on Thursday. Read

US Manual, Maps Updated: ‘Israel’ Is Now Place of Birth For Citizens Born in Golan

A State Department manual was amended Wednesday to confirm that U.S. citizens born in the Golan Heights will now have “Israel” given as place of birth on their passports. Read

Top IRGC Officials Lose Instagram Accounts After Terror Designation

The photo- and video-sharing website Instagram has taken down the accounts of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials, including Qods Force chief Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, according to state media. Read

Democrat and Republican Jewish Groups Chide Ocasio-Cortez for Remarks on US Aid to Israel

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has peeved both Republican and Democrat Jewish organizations by agreeing that Congress should consider reducing U.S. aid to Israel in response to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s policies towards the Palestinians. Read

Jihadists Celebrate Devastating Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

Jihadists and sympathizers took to social media to celebrate the fire that gutted parts of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, with some viewing it as a good omen for Muslims and some as punishment for the enemies of Muslims. Read

Sanders on Ilhan Omar: ‘It Is Not Anti-Semitic to Be Critical of a Right-Wing Government in Israel’

Asked Monday night about the row over comments made earlier this year by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Sen. Bernie Sanders said he does not believe she is anti-Semitic, and that “it is not anti-Semitic to be critical of a right-wing government in Israel.” Read

Sanders: Abortion Up Until Birth Is ‘Rare,’ Just a ‘Political Issue’

Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday night abortion up until birth “happens very, very rarely” and was being “made into a political issue,” reiterating his view that abortion was a decision for a woman and her doctor, not the government. Read

Sen. Sanders Urges Trump to Sign Resolution Ending Support for Saudi War in Yemen

Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday night the U.S. should “get out of the Saudi-led war in Yemen,” adding that President Trump could do something “extraordinary” by signing a resolution to do just that. Read

Israel Hopes for Same Treatment, After Int’l Court Backs Down on US Afghanistan Probe

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday welcomed a decision by International Criminal Court (ICC) judges not to authorize an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan, and implicitly expressed the hope an ICC probe into Israeli actions would meet the same fate. Read

Pompeo on Latin America’s Shift Away From the Left: ‘It’s Glorious’

The people of Latin America are shunning totalitarian communism and “it’s glorious,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday as he wrapped up a visit to a region where the “21st century socialism” championed by the late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez is in decline. Read

Assange Arrest: Corbyn Urges UK Gov’t to Resist US Extradition Bid

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is calling on the British government to oppose a U.S. extradition request for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is wanted for his alleged role in what the Department of Justice described as “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.” Read

Obama State Dep’t Said Assange’s Leak of US Cables Harmed Diplomacy, Endangered Individuals

Although the Obama administration did not pursue the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – arrested in London on Thursday –the Obama State Department warned of the harm done when Assange’s organization published some 251,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. Read

Rep. Gabbard: WikiLeaks Founder’s Arrest Tells Americans: ‘Toe the Line, Otherwise …’

While some U.S. lawmakers on both sides of aisle welcomed news of the arrest in London of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said that the arrest sends a message to every American: “Be quiet, toe the line, otherwise there will be consequences.” Read

Pence Tells Maduro’s UN Ambassador That He Shouldn’t Be in the Chamber

The U.N. Security Council witnessed several unusual moments Wednesday, as Vice President Mike Pence told the Maduro regime’s ambassador, “with all due respect,” that he shouldn’t be there, and Russia’s U.N. envoy said that if the Trump administration really wants to “make America great again” it should stop interfering in other nations’ affairs. Read

Trump in Texas: ‘Dangerous People Are Coming Here, and the Good People Are Dying’

Migrants coming across the southern border are dying in sizeable numbers, exploited by coyotes – “the worst scum in the world” – and hounded by criminal gangs who also pose a threat to ranchers in Texas, President Trump said during a visit to the state on Wednesday. Read

Responding to IRGC Terror Designation, Iranian Regime Threatens US Central Command

The regime in Iran reacted Tuesday to the unprecedented U.S. blacklisting of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with threats against U.S. forces in the region – but also conveyed an aggrieved air, characterizing the “guardian of the Islamic Revolution” as an important force against jihadist terrorism. Read

Netanyahu Looks to Become Israel’s Longest-Serving Prime Minister

Israelis face an anxious wait Wednesday to see whether or not voters have given Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a historic fifth election victory, with partial results indicating that either he or his rival, former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, could be called on to form the next government. Read

Nielsen Orders ‘Emergency Surge Operations’ on Southwest Border

The Trump administration is speeding up the temporary deployment of another 750 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel – and possibly more – to parts of the Southwest border most affected by the influx of migrants. Read

Turkey’s Polarizing President Hit by Election Setbacks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and state media put a brave face on local election results Monday, but his Islamist party sustained a severe blow when it lost control of the capital Ankara to its secularist rival – which also looked set to swing the country’s biggest prize, Istanbul. Read

U.S. Issues Warning As Brunei Implements Islamic Code; Stoning, Amputation

Facing criticism and boycott calls, the small Southeast Asian Sultanate of Brunei on Sunday defended its sovereign right to introduce a penal code providing for stoning to death, limb amputation, flogging and lengthy prison terms for actions that contravene Islamic law. Read

Arab League Unites in Opposition to Trump’s Golan Heights Proclamation

President Trump’s proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights won the blanket condemnation Sunday of the Arab bloc, including from leaders who have sided with Trump’s effort to counter Iran’s influence in the region. Read