WHO Chief Wants Further Study Into ‘All Hypotheses’ for Origin of COVID-19 Virus--Including Lab-Leak Theory

 As the World Health Organization on Tuesday released a long-awaited study into the possible origins of the coronavirus, the U.S. and others voiced skepticism and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – possibly reading the mood – said he disagreed with the experts’ recommendation that the theory of a laboratory accident was so unlikely that it does not merit further study.  Read

State Dept. Restoring ‘Reproductive Rights’ Section to Reports, But Can’t Say What Impact Its Absence Had

As the State Department released its annual report on human rights on Tuesday, a senior official was unable to say whether the Trump administration’s decision – now reversed – to drop a subsection on “reproductive rights” in recent years’ reports had any impact on reproductive health globally.  Read

Cotton on China/COVID: ‘We Shouldn’t Just Turn the Page, the Way the Biden Administration Wants To Do’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s evident reluctance to discuss punishing China over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak continued to draw criticism on Monday, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) saying he did not believe Americans who have paid a heavy price as a result of the pandemic “want to simply turn the page and let bygones be bygones.”  Read

House Republicans: Scrapping Trump Migration Agreements ‘a Serious and Preventable Foreign Policy Blunder’

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken Monday to reinstate the previous administration’s migration agreements with Mexico and Central American countries, calling the decision to scrap them “a serious and preventable foreign policy blunder that is exacerbating the crisis” along the southern border.  Read

NYT Headline (Since Changed) Says Wuhan Lab Accident Theory Has Been ‘Debunked.’ It Hasn’t Been.

Ahead of the release by the World Health Organization (WHO) of a report into a coronavirus origin-tracing study, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield raised eyebrows by telling CNN that he believes the likeliest origin of the outbreak was a spillover from a laboratory in China.  Read

Asian American Caucus Leaders Insist Atlanta Spa Shootings Were Hate Crimes; Blame Trump

 Leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus visited the scenes of three shootings in the Atlanta area on Sunday, and sought to link them to the fact former President Trump repeatedly and publicly associated the coronavirus pandemic with China and Wuhan – the country and the city where the outbreak first emerged in late 2019 before spreading across the globe.  Read

Blinken: ‘Beijing Apparently Helped to Write’ Purportedly Independent Report on Wuhan Virus Origin

As the World Health Organization (WHO) prepares to release a report of a study into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview aired Sunday that the U.S. has “real concerns about the methodology and the process that went into that report, including the fact that the government in Beijing apparently helped to write it.”  Read

On Afghanistan, Biden Makes Three Gaffes in 30 Seconds

 During his first press conference on Thursday, President Biden within the space of 30 seconds made three gaffes when responding to a question about Afghanistan.  Read

Rep. Connolly: Amendment Naming China in Global Health Bill ‘Will Have Racial Ramifications in America’

 A House Foreign Affairs Committee markup of a global health security bill got testy on Thursday, as Democrats suggested that an amendment citing China would be insensitive at a time when Asian Americans are facing harassment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.  Read

North Korea Conducts First Ballistic Missile Test in a Year

Days after North Korea’s launch of short-range cruise missiles prompted a low-key response from the Biden administration, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirmed on Thursday that the reclusive Stalinist state had launched two ballistic missiles from its east coast.  Read

Pushing Biden for ‘Armenian Genocide’ Recognition, Senators Quote Him: ‘Silence Is Complicity’

As the April 24 annual commemoration of Ottoman Turkey’s mass atrocities against Armenians a century ago approaches, more than one-third of U.S. senators are urging President Biden to make good on a campaign promise to declare that the events constituted “genocide.” That is sure to significantly worsen the already chilly relationship with Ankara.  Read

‘Stop Interfering’ Slogans Appear on Chinese T-Shirts as Beijing Hits Back at Western Criticism

In a new sign of the simmering ill-will between China and the United States, producers of T-shirts and other items featuring slogans like “Stop interfering in China’s internal affairs” reportedly are doing a roaring trade online in the aftermath of last weekend’s tense encounter between senior U.S. and Chinese officials in Alaska.  Read

Leaked WH Memo Reportedly Tells Federal Agencies to Refer to ‘Biden-Harris Administration’

An email purportedly from a member of the White House communications team instructs federal agencies to refer to the “Biden-Harris Administration in official communications,” the latest indication of what appears to be a concerted effort to emphasize the role and maximize the visibility of Vice President Kamala Harris.  Read

China, Russia Huddle After Tense Talks in Alaska and Biden’s Slam on Putin

The Chinese government insisted Monday that talks now underway between the Chinese and Russian foreign ministers did “not target any specific country,” but also drew a clear distinction between the strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow and what China calls the “hegemony and bullying” of the United States.  Read

Beijing Parrots Kamala Harris’s Comments About Racism in America

Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent words about racism in America received a fresh airing at a press conference at the Chinese foreign ministry on Monday, with a ministry spokeswoman declaring that Harris “was telling the truth about the United States.”  Read

Defense Secretary Austin Visits Afghanistan Ahead of Shaky May 1 Troop Withdrawal Deadline

Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin’s unannounced visit to Afghanistan Sunday came amid indications that the Biden administration may postpone a troop withdrawal beyond the May 1 deadline set down in a deal signed by the Trump administration in Doha 13 months ago, even as the Taliban insists that it has met “all” of its commitments under the agreement.  Read

Trump May Launch His Own Social Media Platform, Will ‘Completely Redefine the Game,’ Advisor Says

 Watch your back, @Jack?  Former President Donald Trump is exploring launching his own social media platform, months after censors at Twitter and Facebook/Instagram suspended his accounts, leaving his tens of millions of followers in the dark.  Read

Putin Challenges Biden to Live Public Discussion; Medvedev Questions His Age and State of Health

Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged President Biden to take part in an urgent livestreamed dialogue amid a diplomatic chill following Biden’s portrayal of the Russian president as a “killer.”  Read

Blinken to China: Your Actions ‘Threaten the Rules-Based Order That Maintains Global Stability’

On the eve of the first high-level meeting between the Biden administration and senior Chinese officials, Beijing warned against what it called “megaphone diplomacy” on the part of the U.S.  But as the talks in Alaska got underway ...    Read

Blinken: We’ll Hear What Other Countries Are Thinking Before Deciding on Beijing Olympics Boycott

 China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday shrugged off a suggestion that the United States could stay away from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics unless Beijing improves its human rights record, pointing out that U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, among others, “oppose such wrong practices.”  Read

Georgia Police: Shooter Attributed Killings to Sex Addiction, Not Racial Hatred

Despite a rush to judgment by some, the man in custody in connection with a deadly shooting at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area told investigators he was motivated not by anti-Asian sentiment but sex addiction, police in Georgia reported on Wednesday.  Read

‘Malarkey’: Maskless Passenger John Kerry Brushes Off Criticism; Says He Follows ‘The Science’

President Biden's special climate envoy John Kerry dismissed as “malarkey” a social media kerfuffle sparked by a photo showing him not wearing a mask while on an American Airlines domestic flight on Wednesday.  Read

Administration Plays Down Warning by Kim Jong Un’s Sister for US Not to Cause a ‘Stink’

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday declined to respond to a warning by the sister of North Korea’s Stalinist dictator for the Biden administration not to cause a “stink” on the Korean peninsula “if it wants to sleep in peace for [the] coming four years.”  Read

Atlanta Police Chief: Too Early to Say Whether Massage Parlor Shootings Were Anti-Asian Hate Crimes

Reports of deadly shootings at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area on Tuesday sparked snap judgments on social media, with some posters not waiting for evidence of motive before declaring the killings to be hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.  Read

South Africa’s Top Judge Resists Order to Apologize for Public Pro-Israel Remarks

Four thousand miles from Jerusalem, a senior judge is embroiled in controversy over his faith-based support for Israel, in a country where virtually every issue is viewed through the lens of a history of colonialism and racial oppression.  Read

Asked About Moscow Hosting Hezbollah, State Dep't. Doesn’t Mention Russia or the Terrorists

The State Department on Monday sidestepped a question about Russia’s foreign minister hosting senior Hezbollah leaders, choosing not to criticize Moscow’s fraternizing with the Iranian regime’s Lebanese proxy, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization sworn to Israel’s destruction.  Read

Delivering on Trump’s Vision, First Majority-Muslim Country Opens Embassy in Israel’s Capital

 A Trump administration vision moved ahead on Sunday when Kosovo became the first majority-Muslim country to open an embassy in Jerusalem, the city which President Trump in 2017 formally recognized as Israel capital despite broad international opposition.  Read

Biden Administration Insists China Won't 'Dominate' Talks With Asian Allies

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin meet with counterparts in Tokyo and Seoul this week, but the Biden administration says China won’t “dominate” the discussions, even though they come just before its keenly-awaited first interaction with senior Chinese officials.  Read

Biden Gives the False Impression That It Took 'Months' Under Trump to Vaccinate 8% of Over-65s

 As he took credit for progress in combating the coronavirus pandemic, President Biden on Thursday night compared the number of vaccinations delivered before he took office and those delivered since, saying that when he became president only eight percent of Americans over 65 – “after months” – had received their first shot.  Read

‘What Is This Council For?’ Venezuelan Opposition Leader Challenges UN’s Top Human Rights Body

A Venezuelan opposition leader challenged the Human Rights Council on Thursday over the fact the Maduro regime was a member of the U.N.’s top rights body despite its egregious violations, prompting the council’s presiding officer – Sudan’s ambassador – to call on participants to “uphold U.N. standards when referring to countries and to refrain from using words like the ones we have just heard.”  Read

China Accuses U.S. Admiral of Exploiting the Taiwan Issue to Exaggerate Chinese Military Threat

Ahead of the first substantive talks between U.S. and Chinese officials since President Biden took office, Beijing has slapped down a senior U.S. commander’s warnings about the military threat posed by China. Read

Rep. Smith Questions Biden’s Stance on China’s Abuses: ‘I Would Hope We’d Stand With the Oppressed’

The United States should be standing “with the oppressed,” and “against the oppressor” in China, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said on Wednesday.  Read

Chinese Newspaper Suggests China’s COVID-19 'Health Code' Be a Model For Global Travel

Amid swirling global debates around the need for, effectiveness of, and ethical concerns posed by COVID-19 “vaccine passports,” a Chinese Communist Party media outlet is suggesting that China’s domestic “health code” system set up last year could be a model for international travel.  Read

Administration Plays Down China Focus Ahead of First-Ever Summit of Indo-Pacific ‘Quad’

President Biden later this week will take part in the first-ever meeting of the four leaders of the “Quad,” an Indo-Pacific security forum long viewed by China as an initiative designed to curb its regional ambitions.  Read

Amid Tensions With Iran, US Air Force B-52s Fly With Israeli, Saudi, and Qatari Fighters

 In a mission designed to “deter aggression and reassurepartners and allies,” two U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bombers flew across the Middle East early this week, accompanied at various times by warplanes from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.  Read

Biden Proposal for Afghanistan Reportedly Calls for 'Equity' Between Taliban and Current Gov't

 A U.S.-proposed initiative aimed at prodding Afghans towards a political resolution places the Taliban – the violent fundamentalist militia that harbored al-Qaeda before and after 9/11 – and the current Afghan government on an equal footing.  Read

NBA Boss Defends Relationship With China: ‘Our Values Remain The Same and Our Business Continues’

Ahead of Sunday’s National Basketball Association’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver defended the ongoing business relationship with China, while declaring that “our values remain the same.”  Read

Chinese FM: Requiring Hong Kong Candidates to Be Loyal to Beijing Is Just and Reasonable

China’s foreign minister hit back Sunday against U.S. and other criticism of Beijing’s latest strategy to crack down on troubling elements in Hong Kong, disputing claims that planned “electoral reforms” will impact democracy in the special administrative region.  Read

After Biden’s Airstrikes, Bipartisan Push in Senate to Repeal Military Force Authorizations

President Biden’s decision to bomb an Iran-backed militia near the Syria-Iraq border after rocket attacks targeting U.S. troops is breathing new life into bipartisan congressional initiatives aimed at repealing various authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) under which successive administrations have carried out strikes in the region.  Read

CAIR to Blinken: Don’t Call It ‘The Palestinian Situation.’ It’s ‘Apartheid’ or ‘Campaign of Terror’

Two leading American Muslim organizations on Thursday slammed Secretary of State Antony Blinken for voicing opposition to the International Criminal Court decision to open an investigation into alleged crimes in the Palestinian territories. American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) were additionally unhappy about Blinken’s reference to “the Palestinian situation” – rather than their favored terms such as “apartheid” or “campaign of terror.”  Read

Sen. Ted Cruz to State Dept. Nominee: ‘Words are Cheap,' Stop Putin's Pipeline

The Biden administration says it opposes President Vladimir Putin’s new gas pipeline to Europe but is “sending mixed signals,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday.  Read

State Dept. Bristles at Invitation to ‘Grade’ Biden's Approach to Iran

Faced with the implied suggestion that the Biden administration’s overtures to Iran were not working – given ongoing attacks by its proxies in Iraq and Yemen – State Department spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday blamed the provocations on the previous administration’s policy of pressuring, rather than talking to, the regime.  Read

China’s Annual Report on US ‘Rights Violations’ Will Highlight US Coronavirus Death Toll

For the 20th consecutive year, China’s cabinet has prepared for release a report examining the human rights record of the United States. This time, it will criticize the U.S. for leading the world in the number of lives lost to COVID-19, the respiratory disease that spread across the globe after an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan.  Read

China Plans Sweeping Electoral Changes to Ensure Only ‘Patriots’ Hold Power in Hong Kong

Expect to hear the word “patriot” in connection with Hong Kong a lot in the coming weeks and months.  Read

Israel Blames Iran For Ship Blast Near Hormuz

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has pointed a finger at the Iranian regime after an Israeli-owned cargo vessel was damaged in an explosion near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, an incident recalling a series of maritime blasts in the region in 2019 which the U.S. blamed on Iran. Read

WH, State Dep’t Incorrectly Say US 'Historically' Has Not Directly Sanctioned Foreign Leaders

The White House and State Department on Monday both stated – incorrectly – that the U.S. has historically not sanctioned leaders of countries with which it has diplomatic relations.  Read

Trump Predicts a Republican’s ‘Triumphant Return to the White House. And I Wonder Who That Will Be?’

Former President Trump made his return to the political arena in a fired-up speech on Sunday, slamming the five-week-old Biden administration’s record and making clear he has no intention of going away quietly. He stopped short of announcing plans to run again for the White House in 2024.  Read