US House

United States lawmakers are considering imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) if it issues an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to US House Speaker Mike Johnson. He stated that Congress is exploring various options, including sanctions, to penalize the ICC and ensure accountability for its leadership if they proceed with the warrant.

Republican Congressman Mike Johnson from Louisiana has made a significant pivot in his stance on foreign aid, potentially swaying conservative opinion in favor of supporting aid to Ukraine, according to reports from US media outlets.

US Congressman John Sarbanes was presented with the Leader award in Washington, DC on Monday, granted each year to an outstanding member of the Greek-American diaspora.

The patches have attracted attention because they are a provocation directed at Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Namely, the patches show a Formosan black bear (which is the symbol of Taiwan) punching Winnie the Pooh - who represents Chinese President Xi Jinping - as a defiant symbol of the island's resistance to Chinese military provocations.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced today that it detected 9 warships and 26 aircraft sent by China around the island, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.

The agency noted that this came a day after the Chinese armed forces ended major exercises around Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island that Communist China claims as its territory.

China simulated "sealing off" Taiwan during a third day of wargames around the self-ruled island on Monday, as the United States deployed a naval destroyer into Beijing-claimed waters in a show of force.

China's military said it had launched a three-day exercise with 42 warplanes and 8 ships around Taiwan, which it described as a "serious warning" to Taiwanese separatists who are "in cahoots with outside forces".

China sent warships and aircraft near Taiwan for a second day on Friday, Taipei said, after President Tsai Ing-wen angered Beijing by meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met in California. The American politician thus became the highest-ranking US official since 1979 to speak with a Taiwanese leader on American soil.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen left for the United States on Wednesday, a stop on her way to firm up ties with Guatemala and Belize after China snapped up another of the self-ruled island's few diplomatic allies last week.