The US has concluded that China's diplomatic differences with Australia reflect a strategy of making countries subservient to China via divide and conquer. (That is what I have thought.)

It is useless to treat this as a minor dispute and hope to resolve it through diplomacy. China doesn't want a reasonable solution, it wants surrender so as to increase its power.

*Twenty-five years ago, the International Court of Justice stated the obligation to negotiate the abolition of nuclear weapons.* No progress has been made, except for the non-nuclear deal with Iran — which Biden seems to be missing the chance to restore.

*Data predicts 2m UK summer Covid cases with 10m isolating.*

That is an enormous rate of infection — almost one in 30 people.

*FBI Begins Arresting People Accused of Assaulting Journalists at Capitol on January 6.*

A pipeline company is using a business-supremacy treaty to sue the US for blocking the Keystone XL pipeline. It demands 15 billion dollars.

It does not deserve to get any of that money. The approval of that pipeline was the result of lobbying and lies by many fossil fuel companies, starting in the 1970s, which warped the US government (and others) to act in the interest of planet roasters rather than the public interest. If this influence has come to an end, and it blocks planet roasters from doing some harm, that means it is acting properly. The planet roasters will owe damages for the damage they succeeded in carrying out.