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☆ US sanctions Iranian officials accused of plotting assassinations abroad including against Bolton and Pompeo
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials accused of plotting assassinations abroad, including against former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Ansari, with the support of Shahram Poursafi (Poursafi), an Iranian national, planned and attempted to assassinate two former U.S. government officials,” the Treasury Department said. Pompeo was also a target of the Iranian assassination plot, according to a federal law enforcement source familiar with the investigation and a source close to Pompeo. Seraj “has been involved in failed IRGC-IO operations in Asia and in intelligence operations targeting U.S. citizens,” it said. “Seraj previously led the IRGC-IO Special Operations Division, which is focused on special activity against Israel, where he was responsible for a series of failed operations targeting Israeli nationals,” it added.

Persons: Washington CNN —, Biden, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Mohammad Reza Ansari, “ Ansari, Shahram, Poursafi, Bolton, Bush, Qasem Soleimani, Pompeo, Hossein Hafez Amini, “, Rey Havacilik, Sirketi, – Rouhallah Bazghandi, Reza Seraj, Bazghandi “, ” “ Bazghandi, Seraj “, “ Seraj, Brian Nelson, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Force, US Treasury Department, Treasury Department, US Justice Department, Trump, Turkish, Rey, Rey Airlines, IRGC Intelligence Organization, Division, Treasury, Terrorism, Financial Locations: United States, East, Europe, Africa, Iranian, Rey, Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, Istanbul, ”, Asia, Israel

CNN —China has rejected a United States proposal for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Forum in Singapore this week, according to a Pentagon statement. In the statement, the Pentagon said China had declined an invitation extended in early May for a meeting, but said the refusal would not deter the US from seeking better lines of communication. In response, the Chinese Embassy in the US questioned the sincerity and significance of the invitation, pointing to US sanctions imposed on Chinese officials, institutions and companies. The Wall Street Journal first reported China’s refusal to participate in a meeting between the defense chiefs. Austin told CNN earlier this year that he had not spoken to his Chinese counterpart in “months,” and China has continued to rebuff requests for meetings and phone calls, defense officials said.

☆ Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he's 'positive and confident' the 'wheels are turning' toward release
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Paul Whelan, an American who is wrongfully detained in Russia, told CNN on Sunday that he feels confident that his case is a priority for the United States government but wishes it could be resolved faster. “I remain positive and confident on a daily basis that the wheels are turning. I just wish they would turn a little bit more quickly,” said Whelan, who called CNN exclusively from his prison camp in remote Mordovia. However, Whelan said Sunday he has more confidence in the US efforts to get him home than he did when he spoke to CNN in December following Griner’s release. Medical care, dental care is provided privately,” he told CNN.

☆ Two employees of US Mission in Nigeria found ‘alive and safe’ days after convoy attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Two employees of the US Mission in Nigeria have been found “alive and safe” days after an attack on a US convoy left seven others dead. The US Mission in Nigeria said Friday that those two employees were “under the protection of Nigerian authorities in Anambra,” and that their families had been informed of their safe recovery. Mission personnel are on their way to meet and accompany them home,” the mission said in a statement. The other seven members of the convoy – three other employees of the US Mission and four police officers – were killed in the attack. “We mourn the loss of our other steadfast colleagues and four police escorts, who were advancing humanitarian work in the region,” US Mission Nigeria said in a tweet Friday.

“I’m not doing that good,” Lt. Ridge Alkonis wrote in a letter dated April 30, which was shared with CNN. “The walls and bars seem to be making my cell even smaller as of late.”“I feel closer to an animal than a human being now,” Ridge Alkonis wrote. “That was the most dejected I’ve ever heard him,” his wife, Brittany Alkonis, told CNN on Thursday. As such, despite her hope for positive movement coming out the G7 trip to Hirsoshima, Brittany Alkonis said she does not have high expectations of a resolution. But based on Japan’s response, it doesn’t seem that they do think it’s a big deal,” Brittany Alkonis said.

CNN —A United States convoy was attacked in Nigeria on Tuesday killing four people, including two personnel from the US consulate and two police officers, and kidnapping three others, according to local police and US officials. “No US citizens were involved and therefore there were no US citizens hurt,” said John Kirby of the US National Security Council. “We are aware of some casualties, perhaps even some killed.”When the assailants saw security forces “they made away with two police operatives and a driver of the second vehicle in the convoy,” Ikenga Tochukwu, deputy superintendent of police, said. “No US citizen was in the convoy,” he added. Police said that joint security forces “have embarked on a rescue and recovery operation in the area.”A State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that “Mission Nigeria personnel are working with Nigerian security services to investigate.”They continued: “The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organizing trips to the field,” they continued.

CNN —The United States and Western nations including the United Kingdom and Germany on Monday skipped an event at the United Nations marking the 75th anniversary of the dispossession of Palestinians after Israel called for a boycott. The commemoration was boycotted by Israeli officials, who also urged diplomats of other nations not to participate. Erdan said he has managed to convince “a number of countries” to boycott Monday’s event. The UN’s website for the event and a video it posted about the Nakba largely avoided mention of Israel, focusing instead on the suffering of the Palestinians. “We will be sending thousands and thousands of complaints to the International Criminal Court” if Israel and its supporters fail to take responsibility for the Nakba, Abbas warned.

☆ Paul Whelan: US ambassador to Russia visits detained American
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited Paul Whelan on Thursday – her first visit to the wrongfully detained American since taking up the post in Moscow. “Today, Ambassador Tracy visited #PaulWhelan at IK17 prison in Mordovia,” the US Embassy in Moscow posted on Twitter. “Paul has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than 4 years, and his release remains an absolute priority,” the post said. The US government was unable to secure Whelan’s release last year when they brought home two other wrongfully detained Americans: Trevor Reed in April and Brittney Griner in December. Whelan is one of two Americans still in Russia who has been designated as wrongfully detained.

☆ US Ambassador to China: ‘We are ready to talk’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said Tuesday the United States is “ready to talk” to China, and expressed hope that Beijing would “meet us halfway on this.”Burns, however, did not give a clear answer about when Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China – which was postponed in February – would be rescheduled. “Our view is we need better channels between the two governments and deeper channels, and we are ready to talk,” Burns said at an event at the Stimson Center, which he attended virtually. “We’ve never been shy of talking, and we hope the Chinese will meet us halfway on this,” he said. Tensions soared following a visit by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and after a Chinese surveillance balloon traversed the US, leading Blinken to call off that planned visit to China. “So I think that’s what we would like and I’m sure that’s what the European countries would like, that’s what Ukraine wants from China.”

CNN —A former US Marine, Cooper “Harris” Andrews, 26, was killed on the outskirts of Bakhmut late last week, according to his mother and colleagues in Ukraine. Andrews worked for an activist group known as the Resistance Committee, according to their social media statements. Andrews left Cleveland, Ohio in November and joined the Foreign Legion in Ukraine, a group of foreign fighters helping the Ukrainian military. The US Department of State said on Monday it could “confirm the death of a US citizen in Ukraine,” without naming the individual. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.”CNN has reached out to the Ukrainian military for comment but has yet to hear back.

☆ Sudan conflict: First US government-organized convoy evacuates private American citizens
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The first US-led effort to evacuate private American citizens from the conflict Sudan was completed Saturday, with a convoy organized by the US government reaching Port Sudan after a long journey from Khartoum. “A U.S. government-organized convoy carrying U.S citizens, locally employed staff, and nationals from allied and partner countries arrived at Port Sudan on April 29,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. The deadly violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that broke out earlier month has left hundreds dead, including two Americans, and thousands wounded. The country remains at risk of humanitarian disaster, as those still trapped in their homes face shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity. Despite a number of nations evacuating their citizens, the US government had maintained for more than a week that the conditions were not conducive to a civilian evacuation.

CNN —The US is imposing new sanctions on groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage as it works to prevent more captive-taking and potentially secure the release of citizens currently being detained. The sanctions ordered up Thursday would punish organizations the US accuses of being responsible for holding hostage or wrongfully detaining Americans. Officials said the steps should act as a warning to those thinking of taking Americans hostage. The order also mandated a better flow of information to the families of Americans held hostage or detained overseas. Officials said it was possible the sanctions could be lifted if Americans held in Russia or Iran were released.

CNN —The violence that has exploded in Sudan as the country’s two top generals grapple for power has unfolded at a terrifying, breakneck speed. Hemedti uses this discourse as a bloody shirt to maintain his influence and military forces for future use,” Fareid said. Marwan Ali/APFrom a subclan of the Mahariya Rizeigat tribe, nomadic people that herded camels in Darfur, Hemedti got his start as a commander of the Janjaweed. Unlike Sudan’s former dictator, Hemedti has not faced charges from the International Criminal Court. The general’s shared sense of impunity was underlined in October 2021, when they staged a coup, arresting Hamdok and his cabinet.

☆ Americans stuck in Sudan to make ‘life or death decisions’ express anger at US government
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

US officials have said they are in “close communication” with US citizens and “actively facilitating” their departure from Sudan. Those who spoke to CNN also pushed back on the argument made by US officials that they had warned Americans not to be in Sudan. Other Americans are attempting to flee Sudan through Egypt, but those who spoke to CNN warned of a growing humanitarian catastrophe at that border. After a 36-hour journey, his parents had not been able to cross the border into Egypt, Imad told CNN Wednesday evening. Imad said when he contacted the State Department, “they essentially said that there are other cases ahead of us that are similar.

CNN —National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby defended the United States’ decision not to evacuate US citizens from Sudan after US forces conducted a military operation extracting government personnel from its embassy in Khartoum Saturday. Internet connectivity has also been unreliable, leaving family members and friends outside of Sudan to worry if their loved ones are safe. Kirby said Monday that the violence in Sudan “is increasing,” and urged Americans remaining in the country to shelter in place. Officials told congressional staffers last week that there could be an estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, most of whom are dual nationals. Kirby echoed this on Monday and suggested that many of those dual nationals “don’t want to leave” the country.

CNN —For Yulia Laputina, Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs, a visit to Arlington National Cemetery was a deeply moving experience. On Thursday, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, announced that the city council had “started the procedure for establishing the National Military Memorial Cemetery,” and had allocated land for its creation. Ukrainian Minister of Veterans Affairs Yulia Laputina visits Arlington National Cemetery in April 2023. Lawmakers made the case that personal connections to Americans across the country could “increase the level of support of practical support” for Ukraine, Laputina said. Yulia Laputina, Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine at the International Rehabilitation Forum in Lviv, Ukraine, on April 12.

The decision to evacuate the American personnel comes after a week of heavy fighting between rival military factions – the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF – which has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded. The US military deployed “additional capabilities” near Sudan in recent days to prepare for a potential evacuation of the US Embassy as American officials continued to monitor the volatile situation on the ground. Despite statements from both sides that they had agreed to such a ceasefire, fighting has continued. CNN cannot corroborate the RSF’s claims that they helped with the evacuation. Officials told staffers Wednesday that there could be an estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, most of whom are dual nationals.

CNN —The situation on the ground in Sudan on Wednesday remained too volatile to get diplomatic staff from the US Embassy in Khartoum out of the country, a top State Department official told congressional staffers. Another US official told CNN that State Department officials are in contact with Pentagon officials in Djibouti where the US has military assets to determine the best evacuation operation. Officials told staffers Wednesday that there are an estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, most of whom are dual nationals, and roughly 500 had contacted the US Embassy since the outbreak of fighting. “Within Sudan, the Department of Defense’s mission is primarily focused on providing security at the US Embassy. While operational security prevents us from going into detail, the Department of Defense, through the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, provides ongoing security for diplomatic facilities worldwide,” he said.

☆ Russian soldiers 'forced me to dig my own grave': US lawmakers hear accounts of Russian war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A 57-year-old Ukrainian woman from Kherson testified to US lawmakers that Russian forces beat her, threatened to rape her and forced her to dig her own grave. Lyubov’s story was one of two powerful and horrific testimonies shared with House Foreign Affairs Committee members at a hearing about Russian war crimes Wednesday. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, who also testified at the hearing, said his office registered around 80,000 incidents of potential war crimes, and to date has convicted 31 Russians for war crimes in Ukrainian courts. “These are more than war crimes. Roman was able to make his way back to Ukraine with the help of volunteers from the country, the representative said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges at a news conference in Washington, alongside Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram and other top federal prosecutors. The fentanyl trafficking, weapons and money laundering charges in three indictments involved a total of 28 defendants: 23 of whom are based in Mexico, four in China and one in Guatemala. A senior administration official on a call with reporters on Friday called the reward offers “unprecedented.”“These targets traffic fentanyl from around the world including from Mexico, (China) and Guatemala. These reward offers are part of a government wide attempt to put a halt to trafficking in illicit fentanyl and its precursor,” they added. And in late March, the US Food and Drug Administration approved an over-the-counter version of the opioid overdose antidote Narcan for the first time.

CNN —The US State Department said Thursday it is “disappointed” by a Chinese court’s decision to uphold the death sentence for American citizen Mark Swidan and called for his immediate release. “Today the People’s Republic of China’s Jiangmen Intermediate Court denied wrongfully detained US national Mark Swidan’s appeal, and upheld his death penalty with a two-year suspended death sentence,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement. “We are disappointed by this decision and will continue to press for his immediate release and return to the United States,” Patel said. He was convicted of manufacturing and trafficking drugs in 2019 by the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court in southern Guangdong province and given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve. Under Chinese law, the reprieve means Swidan’s sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, subject to his conduct during this period.

☆ Ukrainians push for US to support
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Ukrainian officials traveled to the United States last week to push for support for the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute top-level Russian officials for the crime of aggression. “We have a loophole, a gap in accountability, when we talk about accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” Korynevych told CNN in Washington, DC, last week. It has faced pushback from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is carrying out its own investigation into reported war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out in Ukraine. “The crime of aggression is a leadership crime,” Korynevych said. “We are carefully reviewing proposals for a special tribunal dedicated to the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said.

☆ Brittney Griner immediately shook hands with members of the crew returning her to the US, hostage affairs official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The top US hostage affairs official on Sunday reflected on conducting the prisoner swap that led to Brittney Griner’s release, saying the WNBA star immediately thanked the crew returning her to the United States. We’ll give you your space,’” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”“And she said, ‘Oh no. So when you get the chance to shake someone’s hand, it’s one of the rare moments that you get to celebrate a victory,” Carstens told Bash. So as I am shaking Brittney’s hands and we are going to the aircraft and having this great conversation, my brain is already thinking about Paul Whelan. He said he told Whelan that “this was a case where it was either one or none.”“We weren’t able to get you out of this go round.

The US was unable to deliver on the request for the ex-colonel, Vadim Krasikov, because he is serving out a life sentence for murder in Germany. The US made several other offers to the Russians, sources said, to try to get them to agree to include Whelan in the swap. The US also offered to trade Roman Seleznev, a convicted Russian cyber-criminal currently serving a 14-year sentence in the US, sources said. But Bélot said he could see Vinnik being part of prisoner swap negotiations in the future. “They [Vinnik and Whelan] make part of the possible ‘candidates’ for the next swap,” Bélot said in a text message to CNN.

Washington CNN —The Biden administration believes the Russian government will continue to engage on detainee issues, including freeing American Paul Whelan, following the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner because “they have things they want in this world,” a senior administration official told CNN. Moscow knows that ultimately the two sides will reach “a mutually acceptable arrangement if they keep talking to us,” the official continued. “It’s clear that the US government has no concessions that the Russian government will take for Paul Whelan. The official didn’t count out the US offering a Russian spy in US custody as a potential offer to Russia. “There is a willingness to pay even a very big price on the part of this President,” the official said.

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