US News

• Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he delivered a letter to President Biden last week where he pleaded for the US not to prosecute Julian Assange and renewed an offer to grant asylum to the WikiLeaks founder. AWC
• Anthony Fauci says he will retire before the end of Biden’s adminstration. The Hill
• Two US Senate Democrats active in internet issues are working on a bill to restore landmark “net neutrality” rules. Reuters
• A Department of Homeland Security adviser issued a one-sentence statement saying the agency has “no need” to revive its Disinformation Governance Board. The board was headed by Nina Jankowicz but collapsed shortly after it was rolled out. The Institute 
• The U.S. will spend $1.3 billion to develop advanced satellites that will be able to better track hypersonic missile threats, the Pentagon said. AP
• The US has successfully tested a Raytheon Technologies Corp air-breathing hypersonic weapon capable of speeds faster than five times the speed of sound, making it the third successful test of that class of weapon since 2013, the Pentagon said. Reuters

Ukraine

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired two top officials, claiming they allowed “traitors” to remain in their posts. The White House says the evidence that Kiev’s intelligence service is deeply compromised will not impact the flow of information to Ukraine. The Institute 
• The State Department on Sunday implied that Ukrainian forces are allowed to use US-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) against Russian targets in Crimea, which Russia has controlled since 2014. AWC
• The House approved a resolution that expressed support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO. The resolution cleared the House in a 394-18 vote, with only Republicans voting in opposition. Two Democrats and 17 Republicans did not vote. The Hill
• Turkey reminded its NATO allies on Monday that it can “freeze the process” of expanding the bloc’s membership to include Finland and Sweden if it doesn’t feel that the conditions it laid out for the expansion are being met. Miami Herald AWC
• Russia’s Gazprom has told customers in Europe it cannot guarantee gas supplies because of “extraordinary” circumstances, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Reuters

China

• US allies appear committed to following Washington’s lead banning forced labor goods from China’s Xinjiang region, a senior U.S. official told Reuters. Reuters 
• China slams the US for providing arms to Taiwan. China MoD

Middle East

• The head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday that the Israeli military’s main focus is preparations to attack Iran’s nuclear program, Haaretz reported. AWC
• An advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that Tehran has the “technical” means to build a nuclear weapon but stressed the Islamic Republic still hasn’t decided to do so. AWC
• Iran announced it has sanctioned dozens of current and former American officials. The Hill
• President Biden on Saturday vowed that the US would not “walk away” from the Middle East during a summit attended by regional leaders in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. AWC
• The Biden administration asked a US judge for a 60-day extension before it formally weighed in on whether Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, ought to be granted sovereign immunity in a case involving the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Guardian
• During President Biden’s trip to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia agreed to open its airspace to Israeli civilian flights, a move President Biden called the first “tangible” step toward normalization between the two nations. But the Saudis deny diplomatic ties with Israel are on the horizon. AWC