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Foreign Affairs (News/Activism)

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  • Plus ça régime-change, plus c'est la même chose

    04/13/2026 5:25:00 AM PDT · by Twotone
    SteynonLine ^ | April 13, 2026 | Mark Steyn
    Greetings from Ukraine. I was supposed to spend last night in Budapest, but by early afternoon there was a palpable sense on the streets that something big was coming. So I figured I'd rather take my chances with Putin's incoming drones than hordes of Hungarian hotties high on their impending liberation from the Orbán terror. Because of some or other incident on my preferred TransCarpathian frontier post, I was obliged to detour via south-eastern Slovakia. Pleasant, if you're interested, and I encountered a nun in a full-length habit, which I don't think I've seen on a Montreal street in half-a-century....
  • Victor Davis Hanson: NATO Free-Riders Should Expect Brutal Reality Check, US Will Put In Same Effort As Canada

    04/13/2026 12:53:32 AM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 29 replies
    RealClear Politics ^ | April 12, 2026 | Tim Hains
    Summary of Video Transcript Victor Davis Hanson suggested letting NATO "die on the vine" by putting into it exactly the amount of effort that Canada does, while making bilateral deals with European countries that support the U.S., in this video for "The Daily Signal." "Even though they have a $22 trillion GDP, apparently they don’t want to invest that in their own defense," he said. "And they don’t want us to use it when we need it." "What’s the future? Do we get out of NATO? I don’t think we do. I think we just let it die on the...
  • US military says it will blockade Iranian ports after ceasefire talks ended without agreement

    04/12/2026 7:02:50 PM PDT · by henbane · 17 replies
    Associated Press ^ | Updated 7:56 PM EDT, April 12, 2026 | Munir Ahmed, Josh Boak and Sam Metz
    U.S. Central Command announced the blockade would involve all Iranian ports, beginning on Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, or 5:30 p.m. in Iran, to be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.” Inside Iran, there was new exhaustion and anger after months of unrest that began with nationwide protests against economic issues and then political ones, followed by weeks of sheltering from U.S. and Israeli bombardment.“We have never sought war. But if they try to win what they failed to win on the battlefield through talks, that’s absolutely unacceptable,” Mohammad Bagher Karami said in Tehran.els of all nations.”
  • Erdogan threatens to invade Israel

    04/12/2026 3:58:45 PM PDT · by MacNaughton · 126 replies
    The Telegraph ^ | 4/12/2026 | Paul Nuki
    Turkey’s president has threatened to invade Israel over its continued bombardment of Lebanon.Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, of being “blinded by blood and hate” and said there was “no reason” not to attack.The speech came after Turkish prosecutors filed indictments against 35 top Israeli officials, including Mr Netanyahu, seeking a total of more than 4,500 years in prison.
  • Trump Warns US Military Ready to ‘Finish’ Iran After Talks Fail

    04/12/2026 2:46:21 PM PDT · by henbane · 85 replies
    Newsweek ^ | APR 12, 2026 AT 10:55 AM EDT | Daniel Orton and Ellie Cook
    President Donald Trump issued a fresh military threat against Iran on Sunday, saying U.S. forces are prepared to “finish up the little that is left of Iran” after marathon peace talks failed to clinch a deal to end more than six weeks of war. U.S. officials left drawn-out negotiations in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in the early hours of Sunday without a breakthrough or answers on what could come next after a temporary, two-week ceasefire expires. Trump announced the pause in attacks on April 7. Rounding off a lengthy message on Truth Social, Trump added: "We are fully “LOCKED AND...
  • Viktor Orbán concedes with Hungarian opposition on course for landslide election win

    04/12/2026 12:35:48 PM PDT · by Ultra Sonic 007 · 127 replies
    BBC ^ | 4/12/2026 | Multiple
    Viktor Orbán has conceded in a speech to supporters, telling them: "The result of the election is clear and painful."
  • Trump vows to blockade Strait of Hormuz after Iran peace talks yield no agreement

    04/12/2026 12:30:52 PM PDT · by E. Pluribus Unum · 32 replies
    Reuters.com ^ | April 12, 2026 6:12 PM CDT | Bo Erickson, Saad Sayeed, Asif Shahzad
    SummaryTrump vows to blockade Strait of Hormuz after talks stumble US president sees potential for further talks Both sides blame each other for lack of agreement in Islamabad Israel continues strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon MIAMI/ISLAMABAD, April 12 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy would start ​blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardising a fragile two-week ‌ceasefire.Trump also said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. would take action against every vessel in international waters that had...
  • US likely to extend Russian oil waiver to temper Iran war shock: sources

    04/12/2026 8:12:44 AM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 13 replies
    Reuters ^ | Sat, Apr 11, 2026
    US President Donald Trump’s administration is likely to extend as soon as Friday (Apr 10) a waiver allowing countries to buy some sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The US Treasury Department has allowed purchases of Russian oil and products at sea since mid-March with a 30-day waiver that expires on Apr 11, part of efforts to control global energy prices during the US-Israeli war with Iran. Russia’s presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev had said that the original waiver would free 100 million barrels of Russian crude, equal to almost a day’s worth...
  • Orbán offered help to Putin 'in any way that I can,' reports say

    04/12/2026 4:13:21 AM PDT · by tlozo · 51 replies
    Euro News ^ | April 7, 2026 | Tamas Fencsik
    Orbán offered his support to Putin, likening his assistance to that of a mouse helping a lion in a well-known Hungarian fable, according to a phone conversation transcript obtained by news agency Bloomberg. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reportedly offered Russian President Vladimir Putin his friendship and assistance, including by hosting peace talks in Budapest, in a phone call last year adding to concerns about Hungary's ties with Moscow. The news was first reported by US news agency Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing a transcript from a bilateral call in October 2025 from the Hungarian government. “Yesterday, our friendship reached such heights...
  • The Trump card the president holds if Iran won’t bend: a naval blockade

    04/12/2026 3:57:55 AM PDT · by McGruff · 110 replies
    Just The News ^ | April 11, 2026 | John Solomon
    Before he launched a daring military capture of the dictator Nicholas Maduro, President Donald Trump brought the Venezuelan economy to its knees with a naval blockade that strangled the nation’s oil revenues. If Iran refuses to accept the final deal the United States offered Saturday, Trump could bomb Tehran back to the “Stone Ages” as he vowed. Or he might just reprise his successful blockade strategy to choke an already teetering Iranian economy and ratchet up diplomatic pressure on China and India by cutting them off one of their key sources of oil. Ironically, the massive USS Gerald Ford carrier...
  • UN Watch demands democracies explain election of human rights abusers to UN positions. [US = the only state to object to some of the countries elected to the committee]

    04/11/2026 11:43:45 PM PDT · by Milagros · 8 replies
    JPost ^ | Apr 12, 2026 | Tzvi Jasper
    In UN Watch's press release, the NGO cited the UN's Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) recent nomination of Iran to the UN’s Committee for Program and Coordination. UN Watch demanded an explanation on Saturday from democratic countries for why they'd allowed "serial abusers of human rights" to be elected to key positions in the United Nations. In UN Watch's press release, the NGO cited the UN's Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) recent nomination of Iran to the UN’s Committee for Program and Coordination, which would include an active role in shaping policy on women's rights, disarmament, and terrorism prevention, as...
  • Pakistan deploys 13,000 troops and fighter jets to Saudi Arabia

    04/11/2026 10:04:22 PM PDT · by Az Joe · 43 replies
    The Hindu ^ | 04/12/2026 | staff
    The deployment aimed to enhance joint military coordination, improve operational readiness between the armed forces of the two countries, and support security and stability at regional and international levels
  • Exclusive: Macron seeks to draw Trump to G7 with post-summit invite to Versailles

    04/11/2026 4:32:51 PM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 15 replies
    Reuters ^ | April 10, 2026 | Gabriel Stargardter
    French President Emmanuel Macron has invited U.S. President Donald Trump to a sumptuous dinner at the ornate Palace of Versailles the ‌day after a G7 summit in mid-June, although it remains unclear if Trump will ‌attend either event, sources said. France is the host of this year's G7, with a leaders' summit in the lakeside resort ​of Evian-les-Bains at the foot of the French Alps scheduled for June 15-17 - dates that Macron has already moved to accommodate a mixed martial arts event Trump is hosting at the White House on his 80th birthday on June 14. Trump's relationship with...
  • US-Iran talks last into the early morning hours in Pakistan

    04/11/2026 2:36:03 PM PDT · by McGruff · 25 replies
    CNN ^ | April 11, 2026
    Here's the latest • Marathon meetings: The US and Iran have begun a new round of talks in Pakistan as hourslong negotiations extend into Sunday morning local time, according to Iranian media. • Sticking point: Pakistani sources say the overall tone of the discussions has been positive, but a stalemate persists over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway where the US said it began mine-clearing operations on Saturday. • Historic face-to-face: A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance met directly with Iranian officials in Islamabad, marking a significant moment for two countries that have typically...
  • Iran threatens to attack US Navy ships entering Strait of Hormuz

    04/11/2026 2:18:22 PM PDT · by rexthecat · 50 replies
    NY Post ^ | April 11, 2026 | Katherine Donlevy
    US Navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the start of the war — as Iran threatened to attack any US vessels that entered the strait. “Several” American military vessels crossed the channel Saturday in a move that “was not coordinated with Iran,” Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported, citing intelligence officials. At least two were US Navy guided-missile destroyers, according to reports.
  • Is Iran Unable to Locate its Mines in the Strait of Hormuz?

    04/11/2026 1:53:07 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 17 replies
    Euronews ^ | 11/04/2026 | Chaima Chihi
    The New York Times reports, citing officials, that Iran may not have accurate records of the locations of all the mines it has laid. Reports suggest that the planting was carried out in a random and disorganised. The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that Iran is finding it increasingly difficult to reopen the Strait of Hormuz due to its inability to locate all the naval mines it planted during the recent conflict, in addition to the possibility of some of them being swept away by sea currents. ADVERTISEMENT The Strait of Hormuz crisis is a direct result of...
  • Finland prepares launch of permanent underground nuclear waste facility

    04/11/2026 1:49:12 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 16 replies
    Euroweekly News ^ | 10 Apr 2026 | Natascha Rivera
    Finland is preparing to launch the world’s first permanent underground structure for storing nuclear waste, marking a major breakthrough towards finding a solution for one of nuclear energy’s most difficult problems. The Onkalo nuclear waste repository, is built deep inside 1.9 billion year old bedrock and is designed to store highly radioactive waste for up to 100,000 years. Authorities are expected to grant the facility a licence within months. A facility deep underground, hosuing thousands of tonnes of nuclear wast Onkalo (meaning “cave” in Finnish) will become the first facility to offer a long-term nuclear waste disposal solution once it...
  • House Republican: Graham should ‘have his Oval Office credentials revoked’

    04/11/2026 12:42:31 PM PDT · by Ultra Sonic 007 · 27 replies
    The Hill ^ | 3/26/2026 | Max Rego
    Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) suggested Wednesday that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) should have less access to President Trump as the conflict with Iran persists. “I absolutely think he should have his Oval Office credentials revoked,” Cammack told Migrant Insider’s Pablo Manríquez as she departed the Capitol. Graham, a staunch foreign policy hawk who has openly supported the U.S. military operation in the Middle East, is a frequent guest at the White House and often travels with Trump. On Monday, he and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) met with the president and newly minted Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin — before the...
  • U.S. Intelligence Shows China Taking a More Active Role in Iran War

    04/11/2026 11:05:36 AM PDT · by MarlonRando · 44 replies
    New York Times ^ | 4-11-26 | Mark Mazetti
    American intelligence agencies have obtained information that China in recent weeks may have sent a shipment of shoulder-fired missiles to Iran for its conflict with the United States and Israel, according to U.S. officials. The officials said that the intelligence is not definitive that the shipment has been sent, and that there is no evidence that the Chinese missiles have yet been used against American or Israeli forces during the conflict.
  • China plans to deliver air defense systems to Iran in coming weeks, US intelligence reveals

    04/11/2026 9:03:43 AM PDT · by Mr. Mojo · 64 replies
    Reuters via The Jerusalem Post ^ | 4-11-26 | SHOSHANA BAKER,
    US intelligence indicates China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, CNN reported late on Friday, citing three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments. According to intelligence outlined in the CNN report, Beijing is preparing to transfer shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems known as MANPADs. These systems pose an asymmetric threat to low-flying US military aircraft, as demonstrated during the five-week war, and they could continue to do so if the ceasefire breaks down. Two sources informed CNN that there are signs Beijing is attempting to route shipments of the weaponry through third...