The United States and South Korea agreed on a cost-sharing deal that will include a “meaningful increase” in payments for U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula in a partial reset between the two nations. This is President Biden’s attempt at showing that the United States is committed to our allies and military defense agreements. During his campaigning, Biden swore to… Read more »
Anti-poverty and justice organization Oxfam accused the British government of prolonging the war in Yemen by allowing the export of air-to-air refuelling equipment to the Saudis. Oxfam fears this equipment would allow the Saudi air force conduct indiscriminate bombing in Yemen. The technology was licensed to the Saudi capital Riyadh last summer when arms restrictions were removed, alongside £1.4 billion… Read more »
China’s head diplomat has called on the US to drop the sanctions and restrictions introduced by Donald Trump and warned against international “hegemony and bullying” and interference in what Beijing considers internal affairs, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea. “We hope the United States will move in the same direction and remove all its unreasonable restrictions… Read more »
The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, is warning that new laws adopted by Nicaragua’s government are undermining fundamental freedoms and leading to a further withering of the rule of law in Nicaragua. In a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, high commissioner Bachelet said that damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes… Read more »
The Iranian foreign ministry announced that it is not willing to attend EU-brokered talks with the US over the future of the Iran nuclear deal because Washington has not done enough to lift restrictions against Tehran. Explaining the Iranian refusal to attend talks, the foreign ministry spokesperson, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on February 21: “Considering the recent positions and actions of… Read more »
The US state department refuses to say whether the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is one of the Saudi officials subject to US visa restrictions under the new “Khashoggi ban”. The ban got its name from the Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered and dismembered in 2018. A US intelligence assessment was declassified and reported… Read more »
Joe Biden carried out his first military action as president of the United States, with airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed militia troops in Syria, in what the Pentagon said was retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops. The Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, John Kirby, said… Read more »
Paraguay signed a contract with the Russian Direct Investment Fund so Paraguay can have access to the Russian developed Sputnik V vaccine. Argentina will also be using this vaccine. The Lancet international medical journal reports that the Russian vaccine is nearly 92% effective. The Paraguayan Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni said at a press conference, “We are awaiting the return of… Read more »
The Biden administration will continue to recognize Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of the country and won’t negotiate with President Nicolás Maduro. A similar policy was promoted by President Trump before Biden and was supported by many Venezuelans living in the United States. Ned Price, State Department spokesperson, said, “I certainly don’t expect this administration to… Read more »