Axios

Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan on Monday accused President Biden of giving Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a "'one free murder' pass" after U.S. intelligence confirmed that he personally approved the killing of Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Why it matters: Biden has faced criticisms that the U.S. response to the finding — which includes sanctions on entities implicated in the murder but not on Bin Salman directly — does not square with his campaign pledge to make the Saudi regime “pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) sent a letter on Monday calling on President Biden's director of national intelligence to declassify and release intelligence on an alleged Russian campaign to pay bounties to the Taliban to target U.S. troops, Politico reports.

Why it matters: Biden's campaign called Donald Trump's response to the controversy last year "absolutely despicable," after the former president initially called reports on the alleged bounties a "hoax" and told "Axios on HBO" that he did not raise the issue in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A court in Paris on Monday sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence after he was found guilty of trying to bribe a magistrate, AP reports.

Driving the news: Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, is the first president in France’s modern history to have gone on trial for corruption, per AP. He was charged with corruption and influence-peddling.

Any future real-world conflict between the United States and an adversary like China or Russia will have direct impacts on regular Americans because of the risk of cyber attack, Kevin Mandia, CEO of cybersecurity company FireEye, tells "Axios on HBO."

What they're saying: "The next conflict where the gloves come off in cyber, the American citizen will be dragged into it, whether they want to be or not. Period."

A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that conditions are not ripe for informal nuclear talks between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers.

Why it matters: The Biden administration had proposed the talks as part of its efforts to negotiate a path back to the 2015 nuclear deal. The White House expressed disappointment with Iran's response, but said it remained willing to engage with Tehran.

At least 18 people were killed and 30 more injured during protests in Myanmar on Sunday, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office in a statement reported by CNN.

Driving the news: The New York Times reported it was the "largest single-day toll" since the coup on Feb. 1, in which the military forced out the civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.