US News

• According to reporting from Yahoo!, under CIA Director Mike Pompeo, the Trump Administration seriously plotted to kidnap or assassinate Julian Assange. Much of the conspiracy against Assange has already been reported. [Link]
• Michigan police officer Benjamin Reinhard was caught in a sting attempting to lure children to have sex while on the job. Reinhard received no jail time and will not have to register as a sex offender. [Link]
• Texas will require the state to divest friends from Ben and Jerry’s parent company Unilever over Ben and Jerry’s decision not to sell ice cream in Israeli settlements. Texas has over $100 million invested in Unilever. [Link]
• Rep. Hank Johnson’s amendment to the 2022 NDAA – that would have blocked weapons transfers from the Pentagon to police – was defeated. [Link]

Russia

• Russia warns adding Ukraine to NATO crosses a red line. [Link]
• A US B-52H approached Russia’s Pacific border and was turned away by Russian fighters. [Link]

China

• The US Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh will travel to Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador seeking infrastructure projects to support. The G7 through its Build Back Better World (B3W) looks to counter China’s Belt and Road. [Link]
• Lawyers for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou reached a deal with the US to allow her to return to China. Meng has been detained in Canada for the past three years over an extradition request from the US alleging Meng violated US sanctions against Iran. The agreement allows Meng to return to China in exchange for admitting to violating US sanctions. The US filed a deferred prosecution in NY court. If Meng does not violate US law for a year, the charges will be dropped. [Link]
• The UK sailed a warship through the Taiwan Strait. China condemned the action. [Link]
• Taiwan wants to develop long-range missiles. [Link]

Afghanistan

• The ICC prosecutor says the Afghan investigation will focus on the Taliban and ISIS-K. The ICC will not investigate war crimes committed by the US. [Link]
• Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby says the US will not consult with the Taliban before carrying out strikes in Afghanistan. [Link]

Middle East

• Israel says it killed five Hamas gunmen during raids in the West Bank. Hamas says four of its fighters were killed, however, local Palestinians say one of the dead was a 16-year-old boy walking to school. Four other Palestinians were wounded and two Israeli soldiers suffered injuries. [Link]
• The US demands Iran allow the IAEA to access a facility where parts are produced for nuclear centrifuges. The facility was struck by an Israeli sabotage attack and some of the IAEA cameras were removed after being damaged. [Link]
• Iran and Venezuela ink an energy transfer agreement. [Link]

Yemen

• National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to discuss the war in Yemen. [Link]
• Pro-Saudi sources in Yemen claim another 50 were killed during fighting over Marrib. The sources claim most of the dead were Houthi. [Link]
• The UN Warns 16 million Yemenis are “marching towards starvation.” [Link]