Tuesday, September 8

Diplomacy

The GER covers diplomacy, international organizations, and meetings. Looking beyond our individual political systems we find people and organizations working to make life better for people in both conflict-ridden places as well as secure, developed countries. It is not enough to focus on the end results of international relations. It’s worth focusing on the day-to-day work of diplomacy. Often, that’s where breakthroughs occur.

Can world leaders still come together to solve problems diplomatically rather than through brute force? That question is put to the test in the United Nations Security Council. The council has power, such as the ability to sanction countries and entities. Its five permanent members have more power than the revolving members. And those five members–China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States–have the ability to veto actions.

Five Years After the Withdrawal of U.S. Troops, Taliban Maintain Brutal Control of Afghanistan
6Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Geopolitics, Human rights, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Five Years After the Withdrawal of U.S. Troops, Taliban Maintain Brutal Control of Afghanistan

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi invited U.S. officials to make deals on critical minerals. September 6, 2026—Five years after the dramatic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the repressive Taliban regime remains in control, even as it is still unrecognized by a majority of countries. Nearly half the population is dependent on humanitarian aid. Humanitarian Action calculates that is 21.9 million. Also, more than 5 million Afghans who lived in neighboring countries have been forced to return. What's more, Afghanistan and Pakistan are at war. The Aftermath of the U.S. Withdrawal The United States spent 20 years fighting in Afghanistan, often asserting a strategy of nation-building while the underlying strategic goals went undefined. Scores of civilians were killed...
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Class Action Lawsuit Challenges State Department, U.S. Weapons Makers Over ‘Israeli Exceptionalism’
6Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Human rights, International Law, Legal Battles, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Class Action Lawsuit Challenges State Department, U.S. Weapons Makers Over ‘Israeli Exceptionalism’

Plaintiffs Charge Illegal Support for ‘Gross Violations of Human Rights’ in Lebanon September 6, 2026—Lebanese Americans in Michigan are suing Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with weapons-makers Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Caterpillar, asserting corporate negligence and violations by the government of the U.S. Leahy Laws, which bars military sales to a country committing human rights violations. The lawsuit accuses the State Department of defying U.S. laws by creating “special mechanisms” in its review of the Israeli military, in effect creating “a far more lenient, bureaucratic, and convoluted review process” to avoid enforcing the Leahy Laws. The impact is policies and procedures that provide an “Israeli exceptionalism” for human rights violations. It further charges the comp...
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China’s Xi Strengthens Ties With Middle East on Egypt Trip
3Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

China’s Xi Strengthens Ties With Middle East on Egypt Trip

Xi Calls for New Middle East Regional ‘Security Architecture’ Cairo welcomed Xi with streets decorated with Chinese flags, a joint-military training exercise, a red-carpet welcoming ceremony, and a 21-gun salute. September 3, 2026—For the first time in four years, Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in the Middle East, touching down in Cairo, Egypt, for diplomatic talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Cairo welcomed Xi with streets decorated with Chinese flags, a joint military training exercise, a red-carpet welcoming ceremony, and a 21-gun salute. The two leaders signed several agreements, including five major agreements and 20 strategic cooperation documents. Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly hailed the visit as an “historic” event that “coincides wit...
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ICE Detentions Hit Record Levels as Deaths and Medical Failures Mount
2Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Domestic Politics: United States, Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Analysis

ICE Detentions Hit Record Levels as Deaths and Medical Failures Mount

Private Firms Profit, Prisoners Beg for Medical Help, and DHS Investigates Deaths Aug. 26, 2026 ICE announced its agents detained 1,328 people in Virginia and Maryland over a two-week period. September 2, 2026—As the number of people taken and held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement soared this Summer amid reports of “abysmal” conditions at the detention centers. Since President Donald Trump started his second term in office in January 2025, 57 people have died in ICE custody. Last week, a Chinese national by the name of Lianyong Wei died hours after ICE arrested him in Saipan, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific. Meanwhile, thousands of others have suffered medical emergencies, such as head injuries, dehydration, strokes, and malnutrition, while in ICE custody, ac...
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The Human Rights Case Against Nicolás Maduro
2Jun By Ernesto RodriguezNo Comments
Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Analysis

The Human Rights Case Against Nicolás Maduro

A Venezuelan Expat Makes A Case for Justice That Can Bring About Real Democratic Change Editor’s Note: Venezuelan expat Ernesto Rodriguez reflects on the U.S. military’s Jan. 3, 2026 capture of Nicolás Maduro, recounts the authoritarian leader’s grip on power from 2013-2026, makes a case against the years of torture and political corruption, and calls for justice. Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are facing U.S. federal charges in New York for narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and weapons offenses. Let's picture the scene. I'm sleeping back home in Madrid, and I get woken up by a call from Caracas, where the time is around 3 o'clock in the morning. As anyone knows, calls at those hours are usually some form of bad—or at the very least urgent—news. This wasn't an except...
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US and Armenia Advance Bilateral Relations and Eurasian Trade Route
26May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

US and Armenia Advance Bilateral Relations and Eurasian Trade Route

What Is the TRIPP Corridor? And Why It Matters to Geopolitics File photo. Source: State Dept. January 2026 May 26, 2026—The foreign ministers of the United States and Armenia signed a strategic agreement on Tuesday that advances a Eurasian trade route between Asia and Europe that allows some trade to bypasses Russia and Iran. The “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” is a 27-mile transport corridor running through Armenia and Azerbaijan that links up to the much larger Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also called the “Middle Corridor.” “This agreement marks the biggest step to date on making this historic route a reality, on advancing peace, and on increasing prosperity in Armenia and frankly on the region,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the ...
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A Guide to Economic Empowerment: Policy, Anti-Corruption, and Inclusive Capitalism
24Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Global Economics, Human rights, Resources for Research

A Guide to Economic Empowerment: Policy, Anti-Corruption, and Inclusive Capitalism

How Consumers, Savers, and Citizens Have the Power to Transform Society for the Better Economic power of the consumer. Economic empowerment is the idea that individuals are free to make decisions over their own lives and equipped to influence the world around them through everyday decisions. Everyone engages in the economy. Citizens with economic power assert influence through spending, savings, and charitable decisions. Every act itself is a means of asserting individual impact—or at least it has the potential to do so. This recognizes that democracy is not only about elections and governance. It is built on a foundation of empowering society. An empowered citizenry is better able to hold government accountable and serve the interests of the population. Economics factors into...
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U.S. Shadow Diplomacy by Billionaire ‘Volunteers’
11Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Diplomacy, Middle East, Types of News: Analysis, Types of News: Videos

U.S. Shadow Diplomacy by Billionaire ‘Volunteers’

Trump Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner Dominate U.S. Foreign Policy Making April 11, 2026—As the world remains on pins and needles, awaiting the outcome of peace talks mediated by Pakistan in a US-Israel-Iran war that has lasted nearly a month and a half, observers are beginning to question why diplomacy failed and who is responsible. One of the most apparent things is that U.S. diplomacy is largely outsourced to two billionaires serving as special envoys without government pay: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Both are billionaires with interests that extend beyond U.S. priorities. Witkoff, President Trump’s assistant and special envoy for peace missions, receives no government salary. Kushner does not even have an official title other than the president’s son-in-law and un...
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China, Russia Cite ‘Root Causes’ in Veto of Resolution on Strait of Hormuz
9Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, International Law, Legal Battles, Middle East, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

China, Russia Cite ‘Root Causes’ in Veto of Resolution on Strait of Hormuz

UN Security Council Positions Reflect Differences of Law Based on Alliances April 9, 2026—A trickle of shipping traffic went through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after a tenuous two-week ceasefire came together through last-minute negotiations mediated by Pakistan. Iran maintains control over the narrow passage, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil supply and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies once flowed. On Tuesday, in the 10130th meeting of the UN Security Council, delegates considered a draft plan to “compel Iran to implement” a UN resolution, 2817, which condemned attacks on the Gulf states and reaffirmed the “exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by merchant and commercial vessels, in accordance with international law.” The meeting revealed the vastl...
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In a Sign of Geopolitical Realignment, U.K. to Host 35-Nation Meeting on the Strait of Hormuz
1Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

In a Sign of Geopolitical Realignment, U.K. to Host 35-Nation Meeting on the Strait of Hormuz

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer discusses new alliance-building on April 1, 2026. April 1, 2026—In another sign of strained relations between the United States and its partners and allies, a 35-member meeting taking place Thursday in the United Kingdom will take place without U.S. participation. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced today he is convening a meeting restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz after the conflict. The meeting comes as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to pull out of the NATO alliance. It also comes as G7 foreign ministers condemned attacks on civilians and infrastructure and a reopening of global trade routes. Who’s Attending the London Coalition? At least 35 countries are scheduled to attend the meeting. Many of them signed onto a ...
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