Senate Democrats tell Axios they believe President Biden's offhand remarks signaling the U.S. would militarily defend Taiwan against an attack from China were deliberate — though not strategic.
Driving the news: Axios interviewed a series of Democratic senators close to the president. Many — both privately and publicly — conceded they think the president personally believes the U.S. should get involved militarily should China invade Taiwan.
Pope Francis on Wednesday said his "heart is broken" over the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and he made a plea to stop the "trafficking of weapons."
Driving the news: The gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in a single classroom Tuesday in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
One of Israel’s most senior defense officials told Pentagon and State Department counterparts during a recent visit to Washington that the U.S. made a mistake by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, according to three Israeli and U.S. officials.
Why it matters: Current Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other senior officials within the government are still lobbying the U.S. publicly and privately to not return to the 2015 deal.
Israel turned down a U.S. request to allow Berlin to supply Ukraine with anti-tank missiles produced in Germany with Israeli technology under an Israeli license, two U.S. and Israeli officials said.
Why it matters: The issue of weapons supply is one of the last policy differences between the U.S. and Israel when it comes to the war.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu agreed in their meeting in Jerusalem today to renew the work of a joint economic committee between the countries and launch talks on a civil aviation agreement.
But the two ministers didn’t announce the reappointment of ambassadors in Ankara and Tel Aviv as Turkey wanted.
Why it matters: It is the first visit to Israel by a Turkish foreign minister in 15 years. It comes as part of a slow process of normalizing relations between the countries after long-standing tensions.
Two of President Biden’s senior advisers are on a secret visit to Saudi Arabia for talks about a possible arrangement between Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt, a deal to increase oil production and Washington and Riyadh's bilateral relationship, three current and former U.S. officials told Axios.
Why it matters: President Biden is considering visiting Saudi Arabia as part of his planned trip to the Middle East at the end of June. Getting a package of understandings between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia on these issues is crucial for the visit to take place, the sources said.
The long-awaited final report into lockdown parties at British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official London residence and government offices in Whitehall was published on Wednesday morning.
Driving the news: The report by senior civil servant Sue Gray builds on earlier findings in her interim investigation of a "serious failure" to observe the standards expected of government officials and features several photos of Johnson surrounded by alcohol, including one where he's raising a glass at his birthday party.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his condolences Wednesday to the families of the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
What they're saying: Zelensky tweeted following Tuesday's shooting that left 19 students and at least two adults dead that he's "deeply saddened by the news of the murder of innocent children."
A massive new set of data, documents and photographs reveal the inner workings of prisons and mass internment camps in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has detained Uyghurs and other ethnic groups, a consortium of media outlets reported yesterday.
Why it matters: The trove of data, known as the Xinjiang Police Files, provides overwhelming evidence that tens of thousands of Uyghurs have been detained in maximum security facilities — contradicting Chinese government claims that the centers provide voluntary vocational training.
Five Russian soldiers and three mercenaries have been charged with the murder of a Ukrainian mayor and her family in a Kyiv region village, Ukraine's prosecutor general Irina Venediktova said Tuesday.
Driving the news: Venediktova alleged in a Facebook post the soldiers and mercenaries from Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization with ties to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, "kidnapped Olga Sukhenko, her husband and son from their home in the village of Motizhyn" in March.
The British government has issued a license permitting the sale of English soccer team Chelsea to a group led by American investor Todd Boehly for a record $3.1 billion, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced Wednesday.
Driving the news: Dorries confirmed the license was issued to the group on Tuesday night authorizing the sale of the Premier League side after the U.K. froze the assets of former owner Roman Abramovich for the Russian oligarch's ties to Russia's President Vladimir Putin in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
What she's saying: Ardern told Colbert she viewed what happened at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, not as a politician but as a mother. "I'm so sorry for what has happened here," she said. "And then I think about what happened to us, and all I can reflect is: We are a very pragmatic people.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted Tuesday that President Biden informed him last month that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will remain on the U.S. terror blacklist.
Why it matters: Despite earlier signs of someprogress, indirect talks to restore the Iran nuclear deal have been stalled for months. Tehran's demand that the U.S. remove the IRGC from Foreign Terrorist Organization list was one of the last major sticking points.
