U.S. Rejects Chinese No-First-Use Nuke Plan

/1 Comment/in , /by

A Chinese proposal submitted to the United Nations last month calling on all nations to adopt Beijing’s questionable “no first use” nuclear weapons policy is a nonstarter for the United States.

A State Department official told Inside the Ring that the no-first-use policy would be unacceptable given China’s massive nuclear weapons buildup and its refusal to join U.S. arms talks.

“The PRC’s rapid and opaque buildup of a more flexible nuclear arsenal calls into question the objectives behind its no-first-use proposal,” the official said, speaking on background and using the abbreviation for People’s Republic of China. “[China’s] refusal to engage in meaningful bilateral or multilateral discussions on arms control and risk reduction, including on questions about the PRC’s stated no-first-use policy, reinforces these concerns.”

The proposal was introduced in a U.N. preparatory meeting in Geneva from July 22 to Aug. 2 in advance of a major 2026 review conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In a working paper by the Chinese government, President Xi Jinping describes nuclear arms as a “sword of Damocles” threatening humanity. All nuclear weapons should be “completely banned” in pursuit of a nuclear-free world, he said. (Read more from “U.S. Rejects Chinese No-First-Use Nuke Plan” HERE)

Israel Says Attacks Imminent From ‘Iran’s Axis of Evil’ — and Vows to ‘Exact a Heavy Price’

/0 Comments/in , /by

Israel says it expects to be imminently and simultaneously attacked by “Iran’s axis of evil” — Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iranian military forces.

Iran allegedly told Arab leaders Saturday that it doesn’t care if the attacks cause a wider-spread war.

And Israeli leaders Sunday all but assured that would happen if Iran and its terror proxies launch their expected multifront assaults.

“We are striking every one of its arms with great force,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed during a cabinet meeting Sunday, referring to the Mideast “axis of evil,” according to Bloomberg News.

“We are prepared for any scenario – both offensively and defensively,” Netanyahu said. “I repeat to our enemies: We will respond and exact a heavy price for any act of aggression against us from any arena.” (Read more from “Israel Says Attacks Imminent From ‘Iran’s Axis of Evil’ — and Vows to ‘Exact a Heavy Price’” HERE)

U.S. Veteran Journalist, Investigating Ukraine Military, Murdered in Kiev

/1 Comment/in , /by

Titawny Cook, 41, had traveled to Kyiv to write about life in a country pummeled by bombings, ground skirmishes and widespread power outages since Russia invaded in February 2022. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran raised in the East Bay, Cook had dreamed of becoming a war correspondent and documenting the suffering in Ukraine, his mother Christine Cook said, even though he knew the assignment would be dangerous.

Having served in Iraq, Cook wanted to bring his experience and expertise to document the conflict in Ukraine, according to his mother. Getting to the war-torn country wasn’t easy: Titawny Cook had to convince administrators at Chabot, the community college he attended in Hayward, to sponsor the trip so that he could secure a press pass. . .

Over time, Cook linked up with Ukrainian soldiers who had returned from the front lines to hear their stories and understand the battle conditions. Throughout the assignment, he communicated with his mother via the Signal smartphone app, which allowed them to exchange texts and chat over video.

In recent weeks, Christine Cook said, her son somehow roused the suspicions of people in his circle. She didn’t know how the tension flared up, but she said Titawny was unable to quell it because of the language barrier. When she last spoke with him on July 25, he said he believed someone was inside his fifth-floor apartment with a gun. He gave her the name and phone number of another friend to call for help. . .

Later, she received a call from a woman who had found her son’s phone on the street. Then, on the morning of July 26, an official at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv called, saying that police had found her son lying unconscious. They transported him to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The location and circumstances of his death were not clear.

(Read more from “U.S. Veteran Journalist, Investigating Ukraine Military, Murdered in Kiev” HERE)

American Woman Found Chained to Tree and Left to Die in India Forest With Chilling Note

/1 Comment/in , , /by

A painfully frail-looking American woman was found chained to a tree in an Indian forest — claiming her husband left her to die there without food for 40 days.

Lalita Kayi, 50, was found chained up in a dense forest in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra by a shepherd who heard her cries for help Saturday night, according to NDTV. . .

However, she scribbled a note in English saying she had gone “40 days without food in the forest” after her “husband tied” her to a tree with an iron chain.

Authorities believe that the woman — who also wrote of suffering “extreme psychosis” — suffers from mental health issues, NDTV said. Medications for such issues were found on her.

Still, police opened an investigation into possible attempted murder by her estranged husband, who was not identified. (Read more from “American Woman Found Chained to Tree and Left to Die in India Forest With Chilling Note” HERE)

Hungary’s Orban Says Anti-LGBTQ Russia Stands to Gain as ‘Irrational’ West Loses Power

/1 Comment/in , /by

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday Russia’s leadership was “hyper rational” and that Ukraine would never be able to fulfil its hopes of becoming a member of the European Union or NATO. . .

“In the next long decades, maybe centuries, Asia will be the dominant center of the world,” Orban said, mentioning China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia as the world’s future big powers.

“And we Westerners pushed the Russians into this bloc as well,” he said in the televised speech before ethnic Hungarians at a festival in the town of Baile Tusnad in neighboring Romania. . .

Orban, whose own government has passed a number of anti-LGBT measures, said Russia had gained clout in many parts of the world by cracking down on LGBTQ+ rights.

“The strongest international appeal of Russian soft power is its opposition to LGBTQ,” he said. (Read more from “Hungary’s Orban Says Anti-LGBTQ Russia Stands to Gain as ‘Irrational’ West Loses Power” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Iranian Hard-Liners Accuse President-Elect Pezeshkian of Connections to U.S. Intelligence and “Promoting Homosexuality”

/0 Comments/in , /by

A hardliner aligned with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has sharply criticized President-elect Pezeshkian’s cabinet formation team, accusing them of corruption, espionage, and “promoting homosexuality.”

In an article published on Saturday, Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of Iran’s flagship hardliner newspaper Kayhan, funded by Khamenei’s office, criticized President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian’s Strategic Council for Transition. Shariatmadari argued that the council, responsible for identifying and recommending ministerial candidates, is made up of individuals who are incompetent and unfit for their roles. He also accused them of fraud and purported liberal leanings without providing any concrete evidence to support his claims.

The Council for Transition is a new development in Iranian politics, intended to demonstrate Pezeshkian’s commitment to his campaign promise of using varying experts to tackle important issues. Currently, there is intense competition for ministerial roles, with various factions striving to secure cabinet positions. This period is particularly significant due to concerns about Khamenei’s advancing age, potentially tumultuous times, and the likelihood that this administration may act as a transitional government if a new leader takes over. . .

[Hard-liner Shariatmadari also wrote,] “Many members of the council and its subcommittees have a history marked by collaboration with enemy intelligence services, security convictions, corruption, and defense of homosexuality. Their track records reveal disbelief in the system and the revolution, and they have openly aligned and collaborated with the US, UK, and Israel during riots and uprisings”. . .

Pezeshkian, a relative moderate, is replacing hardline President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May. He will be sworn in before parliament on Tuesday. (Read more from “Iranian Hard-Liners Accuse President-Elect Pezeshkian of Connections to U.S. Intelligence and “Promoting Homosexuality” HERE)

NATO Summit Swirls With Rumors of Foreign Leaders ‘Alarmed’ and Embarrassed by Biden

/0 Comments/in , /by

The annual NATO summit this week was marred by multiple reports of anonymous diplomats fretting that its host, President Joe Biden, was mentally incapable of running the country and would soon vacate the presidency of NATO’s most important country.

Unnamed European officials described themselves as to Politico journalists as “alarmed” in a report published on Thursday, while Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, cited rumors that Biden had an episode in which he did not recognize someone he was believed to know well and would repeat himself often in interactions with other world leaders.

The reports preceded rumors published in the D.C. outlet Axios that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a premier guest at the NATO summit, was watching with mounting concern the increasingly frenetic debate in America about Biden’s capacity to fulfill his duties. The report preceded Biden referring to Zelensky as “[Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin” in a public engagement on Thursday.

Later that night, in a press conference American media described as a “big boy” press conference as he was expected to take questions, Biden referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” again concerning onlookers.

Prior to those gaffes, however, NATO summit attendees were already speaking candidly of “alarm” surrounding Biden’s mental state. (Read more from “NATO Summit Swirls With Rumors of Foreign Leaders ‘Alarmed’ and Embarrassed by Biden” HERE)

IDF Releases Findings on Why Oct. 7 Mass Slaughter Wasn’t Stopped

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The Israel Defense Forces’ new report includes its findings from a military probe into some of the failings on Oct. 7, presenting them initially to residents of Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the worst-hit communities on that “Black Sabbath.”

The specially convened presentation took place at a Dead Sea hotel, where internally displaced refugees have been staying since their homes were largely destroyed by Hamas terrorists. While providing some answers, the probe left significant questions hanging, and the report neither assuaged some of the community’s pent-up fury amid its ongoing trauma, nor did it restore trust in the army. There are those who wonder aloud whether that sacred bond between the IDF – a largely conscript army – and the people, particularly those who felt bereft and abandoned on Oct. 7, will ever be fully repaired. It was more than just 1,200 people Hamas terrorists annihilated that day; they also damaged – perhaps irreparably – the “stickiness” that helps hold Israeli society together. . .

The investigators spent hundreds of hours sifting through residents’ WhatsApp messages, reviewing both Israeli and Hamas radio communications, checking surveillance footage and aerial reconnaissance, as well as interviewing survivors and those who fought in the battle to save the kibbutz and its residents. Supplemental intelligence was also gathered from interrogating captured Hamas terrorists.

However, several critical questions – and ones that may not get resolved without a full commission of inquiry – were left unanswered.

These include why military forces did not enter the kibbutz for several hours – despite the desperate pleas of those trapped behind its yellow sliding electric gate. This issue seemed to be partly explained by the fact that although defenders did arrive in numbers, nobody took overall command of the kibbutz’s defense. And certainly nobody decided to go in at once and attempt to take out the Hamas fighters. This was not expressly said, but the general chaos of hundreds of terrorists swarming around – with dead bodies liberally scattered across roads and fields – added to the confusion. More than 100 civilians and 31 security personnel were slain at the kibbutz, which had a pre-invasion population of about 1,000, while 30 other residents and two additional civilians were kidnapped to Gaza. Eleven of them remain in captivity. At one point, the attackers outnumbered the defenders by 340 to 26.

(Read more from “IDF Releases Findings on Why Oct. 7 Mass Slaughter Wasn’t Stopped” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

It Turns Out That Western Sanctions on Russia’s Booming Oil Industry May Be Falling Flat

/1 Comment/in , /by

The West has sought to crack down on Russia’s oil sector through crippling sanctions in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, but new data indicates that a key goal of the sanctions is not being achieved, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

The price for Russian Ural crude oil deliveries from a major Black Sea port to Asian buyers has fallen to its lowest mark since October 2023, while theoretical delivery costs — a metric that isolates the impacts of sanctions specifically — has also decreased, according to Bloomberg, which cites market research from a company called Argus Media. The price decreases allow Russian companies to keep a larger share of revenues earned from sales to buyers in China and India, and indicate that a key goal of the West’s massive sanctions package targeting Russia — increasing delivery costs — is not being met.

Russia is expected to rake in $9.4 billion in revenues from oil and gas in June alone, a 50% increase from the same period in 2023, Reuters reported.

Currently, it costs about $7.2 million to deliver one million barrels of Russian Ural crude to northern China by way of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, according to Bloomberg. As of early April, the same delivery would cost $10.4 million.

The part of those costs that are thought to be directly attributable to the West’s sanctions have also decreased, down to about $2.8 million from approximately $6.8 million in April, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, the per-barrel price premium on oil shipped from the Baltic Sea to India has fallen by about 45%, currently sitting at $4 after being as high as $7.40 in April. (Read more from “It Turns Out That Western Sanctions on Russia’s Booming Oil Industry May Be Falling Flat” HERE)

Indian Prime Minister Visits Moscow for Talks With Vladimir Putin

/1 Comment/in , /by

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday for a two-day state visit that included a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for Monday night.

Debate over the intended significance of Modi’s visit was rife in foreign policy circles on Monday. Officially, the Indian government said Modi was simply resuming a long-standing tradition of bilateral summits with Russia that was interrupted by first the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. India has maintained cordial relations with Russia since the Cold War, upgrading to an official “strategic partnership” with an agreement signed in 2000.

The New York Times on Monday thought Modi wanted to signal his “determination to stick to his own diplomatic path” by hopping over to Moscow at a moment when the Western world is eager to isolate Putin and pressure him for peace.

For his part, Putin could use Modi’s visit to demonstrate that “the Kremlin continues to have a strong partnership with India, despite India’s deepening relationship with the United States.” India buys massive amounts of Russian oil at discount prices, an arrangement that has benefited both countries tremendously since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.

Bloomberg News speculated that Modi and Putin needed to clean up some thorny issues in their bilateral relationship. India is especially worried about Russia getting closer to regional arch-rival China, which has probably done more to help Russia get through sanctions than even India’s gigantic oil purchases. India’s massive trade imbalance with Russia is also causing Modi some political trouble at home. (Read more from “Indian Prime Minister Visits Moscow for Talks With Vladimir Putin” HERE)