In Trump's petty, self-centered world, he would sacrifice democracy in Ukraine because Ukrainian officials have refused to cover up or go along with his own wrongdoing or that of his close associate. politico.eu/article/why-do…

When the issue is important -- not acquiescing to Putin's crushing of democracy in Ukraine -- some Republicans have started to defy Trump, and the sky has not fallen in Washington. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

Trump claims to pursue an 'America First' foreign policy but it's really an Ego First policy, as he is willing to sacrifice Ukraine's democracy to his petty grievances about Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Sadly, a majority of House Republicans joined him. nytimes.com/2024/04/20/us/…

The Iranian government appears to have eased up on its conflict with Israel but there has been no letup in its crackdown on dissent to its repressive, retrograde rule. nytimes.com/2024/04/21/wor…

Putin's promises: 'Two years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the factories Russia had promised to revive' in the eastern Donbas region 'are in ruins. Nine of the country’s 15 steel mills are destroyed or shuttered behind Russian lines.' nytimes.com/2024/04/21/wor…

Leave it to Putin's Kremlin to claim that an aid package to help Ukraine defend itself from Putin's colonial invasion rather than Putin's ongoing war-crime attacks will lead to 'further ruin.' #GettingItBackwards apnews.com/article/russia…

It is a shame that the political price to be paid in Washington to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian war crimes is more funding of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. nytimes.com/2024/04/20/us/…

It's better than nothing, but U.S. sanctions against a single ultra-Orthodox Israeli battalion for pre-October 7 West Bank violence still imposes no cost for Israel's massive war-crime bombing and starving of Palestinian civilians in Gaza since October 7. haaretz.com/israel-news/20…

It is a war crime to fire on even a military target if the harm to civilians will be disproportionate, but the Israeli army's legal office whitewashes civilian-to-combatant 'formulas of 15-to-1 or 20-to-1—even for the lowest-ranking members of Hamas.' newrepublic.com/article/180633…

Blinken will soon visit China. Let's hope that his quest for better relations doesn't lead to his publicly ignoring Beijing's ongoing crimes against humanity targeting Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. apnews.com/article/blinke…

It is a dangerous moment when a highly unpopular prime minister needs to extend or pursue wars -- Gaza, Iran -- to stay in power (and avoid prison on corruption charges). That's Israel's Netanyahu. nytimes.com/2024/04/20/wor…

'Some 800,000 people in a Sudanese city are in 'extreme and immediate danger' as worsening violence advances and threatens to 'unleash bloody intercommunal strife throughout Darfur,' top U.N. officials warned the Security Council.'
reuters.com/world/africa/u…

The Saudi crown prince's awful foreign policy:
1. Launching a disastrous military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.
2. Welcoming Syria's ruthless Assad back into the Arab League.
3. Pursuing normal relations with Israel while ignoring Palestinians. nytimes.com/interactive/20…

'Thousands of Israelis join antigovernment protests,' blaming Netanyahu both for the intelligence failures that failed to stop Hamas's October 7 attack and for his relentless pursuit of war (to save himself) at the expense of the hostages. reuters.com/world/middle-e…

In his bid to be added to the war-crime charges that International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC should be preparing for the settlements, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich orders the provision of services to unauthorized outposts. haaretz.com/israel-news/20…

Given the utter impunity that violent Israeli settlers enjoy in the occupied West Bank,' Palestinians wonder why settlers who attack them bother concealing their faces.' haaretz.com/middle-east-ne…

'A flotilla of ships bound for the Gaza Strip is preparing to sail from Turkey...on a mission aimed at breaching Israel’s naval blockade and highlighting the lack of aid reaching Palestinians.' The last time this was tried, Israel killed 10 participants. washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/…

Here we go again: 'Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah...killed several civilians, including women and children.....The airstrikes hit two family homes, killing 10 residents, and missiles and artillery also struck other areas of Rafah.' nytimes.com/2024/04/20/wor…

Rwanda's ruthless dictatorship under Paul Kagame is utterly unsafe for asylum seekers, but the British government wants to try to legislate that undeniable fact away. Too bad the world can't be reshaped so easily. nytimes.com/2024/04/17/wor…

More of the Kremlin's transnational repression? 'Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Leonid Volkov, an exiled top aide to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.' The attack was in Vilnius, Lithuania. reuters.com/world/europe/t…