China sanctions House Speaker Pelosi after visit to Taiwan

China sanctions House Speaker Pelosi after visit to Taiwan

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying gestures during a daily briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. After weeks of threatening rhetoric, China showed the spirit but stopped short of any direct military confrontation with the U.S. over the visit to Taiwan of a senior American politician, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)China’s communist government sanctioned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) following her trip to Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed the decision on Friday, while claiming Pelosi’s visit was provocative. Chinese officials accused her of meddling in China’s internal affairs.

Secy. Blinken: No place in the world for nuclear tensions

Secy. Blinken: No place in the world for nuclear tensions

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken addresses the 2022 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, in the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)Secretary of State Antony Blinken, derided America’s adversaries for allegedly derailing an international nuclear weapons treaty. The Biden Administration sounded the alarm on rival countries who aim to abuse nuclear power. While speaking at the United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference on Monday, Blinken stressed that intimidation by nuclear powers has no place in the world.

Report: Biden to exchange Griner, Whelan for arms dealer Viktor Bout

Report: Biden to exchange Griner, Whelan for arms dealer Viktor Bout

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. American basketball star Brittney Griner returned Wednesday to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison of convicted. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)The Biden administration reportedly plans to exchange two Americans arrested in Russia for a weapons trafficker imprisoned in the US. According to CNN on Wednesday, Biden’s officials have offered Russia to exchange arms-dealer Viktor Bout for US citizens Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner who are facing legal trouble in Moscow.