Nicolas Hulscher, MPH | U.S. escapes WHO treaty enabling fast-tracked experimental vaccines, censorship of dissent, and global surveillance systems. | On May 19, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) took a historic but deeply concerning step: Member States, through Committee A of the World Health Assembly, officially approved the WHO Pandemic Agreement—a sweeping global treaty that is now expected to be formally adopted in plenary session on Tuesday, May 20. ■ This agreement, hailed by WHO leadership as a landmark tool for "equity," "solidarity," and "science-based" pandemic responses, contains alarming provisions that threaten national sovereignty, institutionalize emergency countermeasures, and entrench WHO as the central coordinating authority in future health crises. ■ On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order initiating the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO, citing its COVID-19 failures, lack of reforms, and disproportionate U.S. funding. The move paused all future U.S. funding, ended negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement, and recalled U.S. personnel. The withdrawal takes full effect on January 22, 2026.

Moscow is prepared for unconditional negotiations with Kiev based on realities on the ground, the former president has said | Authorities in Kiev have one last opportunity to preserve some kind of statehood after the Ukraine conflict inevitably resolves, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said, urging Kiev to engage in peace talks. ● Speaking at an international legal forum in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Medvedev - who serves as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council - admitted that Moscow doesn’t like the current political regime in Kiev “at all.” Nevertheless, he suggested that Ukraine’s leaders have...

💬 “...one last chance to preserve, under certain conditions, after the end of military actions, some kind of statehood or, if you like, some kind of international legal personality and gain a chance for peaceful development.”

Though the Ukrainian government lacks any sovereignty and is a failed “quasi-state” in its current form, Moscow remains open to holding unconditional direct peace negotiations that would take into account the current realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict, Medvedev stated. ● Moscow is concerned that there are currently no individuals in Ukraine that have the legal authority to sign any sort of a peace deal with Russia, he noted. This concern mainly has to do with the fact that a treaty signed by the current leadership could subsequently be rejected once a new government in Ukraine is elected, he explained.

It was unclear to the sources whether the Israeli authorities have already made the final decision to attack | The armed forces of Israel are preparing a strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, despite the ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran, CNN reported citing US administration sources.

💬 "The chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months," said a source familiar with US intelligence on the issue. "And the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn’t remove all of Iran’s uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely."

It was unclear to the sources whether the Israeli authorities have already made the final decision to attack. US intelligence data does not clearly support the Jewish state’s preparations.

Caitlin Johnstone | After a year and a half of genocidal atrocities, the editorial boards of numerous British press outlets have suddenly come out hard against Israel’s onslaught in Gaza. | The first drop of rain came last week from The Financial Times in a piece by the editorial board titled “The west’s shameful silence on Gaza,” which denounces the US and Europe for having “issued barely a word of condemnation” of their ally’s criminality, saying they “should be ashamed of their silence, and stop enabling Netanyahu to act with impunity.” ■ Then came The Economist with a piece titled “The war in Gaza must end,” which argues that Trump should pressure the Netanyahu regime for a ceasefire, saying that “The only people who benefit from continuing the war are Mr Netanyahu, who keeps his coalition intact, and his far-right allies, who dream of emptying Gaza and rebuilding Jewish settlements there.” ■ On Saturday came an editorial from The Independent titled “End the deafening silence on Gaza — it is time to speak up,” arguing that British PM Keir Starmer “should be ashamed that he said nothing, especially since Mr Netanyahu has now announced new plans to expand the already devastating bombardment of Gaza,” and saying that “It is time for the world to wake up to what is happening and to demand an end to the suffering of the Palestinians trapped in the enclave.”