US, Israel Slam ‘Jewish Lobby’ Remarks by Member of UN-Appointed ‘Independent’ Israel Inquiry

A diplomatic furor has erupted in Geneva after a member of a United Nations-appointed commission of inquiry focused on Israel told an interviewer that the “Jewish lobby” was funding a social media campaign to discredit the inquiry, and wondered whether Israel deserved to be a member of the U.N. at all.  Read

Russia on Blinken’s Wish to Talk: Lavrov ‘Will Devote Attention to This Request When Time Allows’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn’t spoken to his Russian counterpart since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine more than five months ago, and now that he wants to do so, Moscow does not appear to be in any hurry.  Read

Blinken to Talk to Lavrov, Amid Reports US Could Swap Two Jailed Americans For Notorious Arms Dealer

Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to speak to his Russian counterpart in the coming days for the first time since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine, and on the agenda will be “a substantial proposal” offered to Moscow in a bid to secure the release of two imprisoned Americans.  Read

Milley: If Pelosi Goes to Taiwan, Military Will ‘Do What’s Necessary in Order to Ensure a Safe Visit’

Amid reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has invited several colleagues to accompany her to Taiwan – the clearest indication yet that she still plans to make the trip – chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the military’s job, if asked, would be to “do what is necessary in order to ensure a safe visit.”  Read

UN Israel Inquiry Member: US Shows ‘Disrespect’; Jewish Lobby Funds Online Campaign to Discredit Us

The United States showed “great disrespect” by criticizing a commission of inquiry created by the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate Israel, one of the three commission members said in an interview posted this week.  Read

Elon Musk Wishes Russia ‘Bon Voyage’ After It Signals Plan to Exit Int’l Space Station

 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offered a two-word response Tuesday to Russia’s reported plans to exit the International Space Station “after 2024,” while the White House said the administration was “exploring options to mitigate the potential impacts” if Russia does pull out.  Read

Lavrov Suggests UN Backs Russia’s Position on Missile Strike on Odesa Port

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov implied on Monday that the United Nations secretariat agreed with Moscow’s stance that a weekend missile strike on Odesa did not violate a day-old U.N.-brokered agreement on releasing food shipments from the Ukrainian port.  Read

State Dept.: Russians are Debunking ‘Their Own Lies’; Admitting It’s ‘a War of Territorial Conquest’

 Russia’s leaders “have become some of the best debunkers of their own lies,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday, commenting on recent remarks by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about Ukraine. “They are now telling the world what has been clear for some time – that this is nothing more than a war of territorial conquest.”  Read

Kerry On Making The Climate Argument: ‘Mother Nature’s Doing That Job Very, Very Effectively’

U.S. special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry expressed regret this week that opposition in Congress has stymied climate legislation, but said it wasn’t necessary for President Biden or himself to make the argument about the effects of climate change, as “Mother Nature’s doing that job very, very effectively.”  Read

Monkeypox Named a Global Emergency; WHO Cites ‘Multiple [Gay] Sexual Partners’ As Risk Factor

As he declared monkeypox to be a “public health emergency of international concern,” World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted on Saturday that the viral disease, now recorded in more than 70 countries, is currently “concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners.”  Read

Russia Denies Missile Strike on Odesa Violated One-Day-Old Black Sea Agreement

Dismissing Western and Ukrainian criticism, Russia said its weekend missile attack on Odesa was directed at military targets and did not violate a landmark agreement signed less than 24 hours earlier to unblock Ukrainian grain shipments, mostly from that very port.  Read

‘Pact With The Devil’: Critics Slam Belgium-Iran Deal That Could See Terrorist Diplomat Sent Home

Critics of the Iranian regime are dismayed that Belgium’s parliament has approved a controversial treaty with Iran that will likely allow for the repatriation of an Iranian diplomat serving a lengthy prison sentence for terrorism.  Read

CIA Director Appraises Putin’s Mindset; Kremlin Again Denies Health Rumors

The Kremlin has again slapped down questions about President Vladimir Putin’s health, attributing them to deliberate fake information coming from the U.S., Britain, and Ukraine.  Read

Biden on a Pelosi Taiwan Visit: ‘I Think That – The Military Thinks It’s Not a Good Idea Right Now’

The White House has skirted around reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to travel to Taiwan next month, but on Wednesday President Biden said in response to a question on the issue that “the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now.”  Read

Boris Johnson’s Parting Advice to Next PM: ‘Stay Close to The Americans; Stick Up For The Ukrainians’

Signing off after his final question time in the House of Commons, outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had some memorable words of advice for his successor: “Stay close to the Americans,” “stick up for the Ukrainians,” and “it’s not Twitter that counts; it’s the people who sent us here.”  Read

WH: Russia is Preparing to Annex More of Ukraine After Staging Sham Referendums

Russia is “laying the groundwork” to annex more territory in Ukraine, install puppet leaders in areas its armed forces have seized, and force residents to apply for Russian citizenship, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby charged on Tuesday.  Read

Iran’s Supreme Leader Praises Putin For Acting in Ukraine to Stop ‘Dangerous’ NATO

NATO is a “dangerous entity” which, if allowed, would continue to expand with no limits, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.  Read

Report: China Seeks to Have Outgoing UN Rights Chief Bury Report on Xinjiang

For months, U.N. high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet has delayed releasing a report by her office on the human rights situation in Xinjiang, and with just six weeks of her term remaining, it was reported Tuesday that the Chinese government is applying pressure on her to bury it altogether.  Read

US House Backs NATO Membership For Finland, Sweden by Large Margin

The House of Representatives in a strong bipartisan message to Russian President Vladimir Putin voted on Monday evening 394-18 in support of Finland and Sweden’s applications to join NATO.  Read

State Dept. Says Russia is Isolated, As Vladimir Putin Heads to Tehran

As Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to travel to Tehran Tuesday on his first foreign trip outside the former Soviet region since invading Ukraine, State Department spokesman Ned Price maintained that Russia is globally isolated, whatever Putin may claim to the contrary.  Read

Biden Secures No Immediate Oil Output Boost Pledges, But US Officials Hopeful ‘in the Coming Weeks’

While the administration is not expecting Saudi Arabia to boost oil output immediately as a result of President Biden’s Mideast trip, officials are voicing confidence that the weeks ahead may see Gulf producers increase production.  Read

Saudis Contradict Biden; Opening Airspace ‘Has Nothing to Do With Diplomatic Ties With Israel’

Israel may be the main beneficiary of Saudi Arabia’s decision to opening its airspace to “all air carriers,” but the kingdom is not acknowledging publicly any willingness to move towards normalizing relations with the Jewish state.  Read

Saudis on Khashoggi Killing: ‘Mistakes … Happen in Any Country, Including the US’

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Biden that the killing of Jamal Khashoggi was an “abhorrent” crime that the kingdom had responded to seriously, but that “these are issues – mistakes – that happen in any country, including the U.S.,” according to Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister.  Read

Israeli PM to Biden on Iran’s Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons: ‘Diplomacy Will Not Stop Them’

Israel and the United States share the goal of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran but differ over the best way to achieve that, remarks by President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid underlined again on Thursday.  Read

On Eve of Biden Visit, Saudi Arabia Lifts Airspace Restrictions on Israel Flights

Hours before President Biden was due to fly from Israel to Saudi Arabia, the kingdom early on Friday announced it was opening its airspace to “all air carriers,” citing a desire to comply with non-discrimination provisions of a 78-year-old global convention.  Read

No-Handshake Guidance for Biden’s Mideast Trip Raises Questions About Meeting With Saudi Crown Prince

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not answer directly when asked if the no-handshake guidance for President Biden’s Mideast trip was designed to avoid politically-awkward imagery when he meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  Read

US Commits to ‘Use All Elements of its National Power’ to Prevent a Nuclear-Armed Iran

President Biden and Israeli leaders will on Thursday release a joint declaration which among other things will commit their two countries to “use all elements of national power” to ensure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons.  Read

US Diplomat Accuses Russia of Taking UN Security Council ‘Hostage,’ Risking Syrians’ Lives

In a win for Russia, the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution extending cross-border humanitarian aid for millions of civil war-impacted Syrians for just six months, rather than a year, as the U.S. and other council members wanted.  Read

Eight Contenders Vie to Lead Conservative Party – And Britain

Conservative Party lawmakers in Britain will hold the first in a series of votes on Wednesday to whittle down candidates to succeed Boris Johnson as party leader – and the country’s next prime minister – with eight hopefuls in the running.  Read

Another Provocation: On Eve of Biden’s Mideast Trip, WH Says Iran Will Send Armed Drones to Russia

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s disclosure Monday that Iran plans to provide “hundreds” of unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia for use in its war on Ukraine comes on the eve of President Biden’s first presidential visit to the Middle East, where enhancing regional coordination to curb Iranian drone and missile threats is on the agenda.  Read

Critics Worry Biden Visit, With Concessions to Palestinians, Will Undermine Israeli Sovereignty Over Jerusalem

Some conservative voices in Israel and the United States are worried that President Biden’s visit to Israel this week will include important symbolic concessions to the Palestinians, at a time when a weak caretaker government in Jerusalem will be unable or unwilling to oppose them.  Read

Japan’s Voters Deliver Election Result That Could Enable Constitutional Change Long Sought by Slain PM

Japan’s ruling party – the party of assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe – won a supermajority in the upper house in election’s Sunday, a scale of victory that brings it closer to Abe’s long-held ambition to revise the country’s pacifist post-war constitution.  Read

Zelenskyy Says Those Who Kill Ukrainian Civilians Will Be Tracked Down Like Nazi Fugitives

Reacting to a Russian missile attack that killed at least 15 people in apartment blocks in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday night that the perpetrators of that and other atrocities would eventually face justice, pointing out that Nazi war criminals had been tracked down even in old age.  Read

Israel: Iran ‘First and Foremost’ on the Agenda For Biden Visit

Ahead of President Biden’s first presidential trip to the Middle East this week, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Sunday that countering the threats posed by Iran will be at the top of his government’s agenda for the visit.  Read

Streets Outside US, British Embassies in Moscow Renamed for Separatist Regions in Ukraine

The U.S. and British embassies in Moscow are pushing back against the city’s attempts to embarrass the two governments by assigning them addresses named for the separatist regions in Ukraine at the center of the Russian invasion.  Read

Russia Welcomes Boris Johnson’s Resignation: ‘The Clown Is Leaving’

The Kremlin and its allies lost no time Thursday in welcoming Boris Johnson’s imminent departure from the world stage, a reflection of the prominent role the British prime minister has played in the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Read

FBI: China Looking to ‘Insulate’ Economy From Sanctions That Would Follow Invasion of Taiwan

The Chinese government is “drawing all sorts of lessons” from the sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and looking for ways to “insulate their economy” should Beijing face similar measures over any move on Taiwan, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Wednesday.  Read

Moscow Slams Call to Isolate Its Athletes: ‘Ridiculous Campaign to Cancel Russia’

 Calls by 35 leading democracies for Russia and Belarus to be barred from all international sports because of the invasion of Ukraine brought a stinging response Wednesday from the Russian Embassy in D.C., which accused the U.S. “and its satellites” of pursuing “a ridiculous campaign to ‘cancel’ Russia.”  Read

State Dep’t: ‘We Would Like to Have the Russians Give Us a Reason’ to Meet With Them at G20

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Indonesia for a G20 ministerial that will place him and his Russian counterpart in the same room for the first time since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine.  Read

Senior Kremlin Aide Suggests Putin Still Aims to Take All of Ukraine

 Remarks by a senior security official close to Russian President Vladimir Putin have called into question the notion that the Kremlin has narrowed its war aims in Ukraine and would be content to stop once the eastern Donbass region is under its control.  Read

Sen. Graham Throws His Support Behind F-16 Sale to Turkey; Others Are Opposed

Days after President Biden reaffirmed his support for selling F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) returned from a visit to the country, vowing to do all in his power to ensure the deal goes through.  Read

Belgian Deal That Could Send Terrorist Diplomat Back to Iran Prompts Outrage

The government of Belgium is seeking passage of a bill that could allow an Iranian diplomat serving a lengthy prison sentence for terrorism to be return home, fulfilling a long-standing demand by the regime in Tehran. Read

China: NATO Has ‘Extended its Tentacles to the Asia-Pacific’

Offended by NATO’s decision to include a China focus in its new “strategic concept,” Beijing accused the transatlantic alliance of having “extended its tentacles to the Asia-Pacific.”  Read

Biden Again Plays Down Saudi Interactions: ‘I Guess I Will See the King and the Crown Prince’

 Two weeks before his first visit as president to Saudi Arabia, President Biden continues to play down planned meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, walking a fine line between looking to the Saudis for help in bringing down gas prices and associating with a regime he has castigated for human rights abuses.  Read

China, Where Population Control Featured Forced Abortion for Years, Says US Abuses Women’s Rights

In response to a question about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman on Thursday accused the United States of wide-ranging violations of women’s rights.  Read