North Korea diplomat flees to South in highest ranking envoy defection since 2016 – report | North Korea
A South Korean newspaper reported that a senior North Korean official in Cuba defected to South Korea in November, becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect to South Korea since 2016. Before defecting to South Korea, Ri Il-gyu, 52, was in charge of political affairs at the North Korean embassy in Cuba. Chosun Ilbo […]
EU Diplomat Released in Prisoner Swap for Iranian War Criminal
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and Sweden carried out a prisoner swap Saturday in which Tehran released an Iranian convicted of war crimes in Stockholm for involvement in a 1988 mass execution in Iran, as well as a European Union diplomat and another man. The detention of the two Swedes likely began with […]
India’s Top Diplomat Wants Permanent Security Council Seat ‘as Soon as Possible’
In comments on Tuesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated that the government of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council “as soon as possible” but that it will take time to achieve this goal due to resistance from current permanent members. Speaking in the […]
Interrogated by Cruz, Diplomat Gives False Testimony About Biden’s Billion Dollar Bribe
During a November 30th hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a senior State Department official gave false testimony about a billion dollar bribery scandal involving Joe Biden. The official, George Kent, is President Biden’s appointee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Estonia. At Kent’s nomination hearing, Senator Ted Cruz (R–TX) questioned him about Biden’s actions in Ukraine while Kent […]
Iran president, top diplomat found dead after helicopter crash
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and other officials were found dead on Monday after their helicopter crashed in a foggy area, Iranian state media reported. . Officials’ bodies were searched for several hours as state television did not reveal the immediate cause of the crash. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei announced that First […]
U.S. Diplomat Shares Why She Quit Over Biden’s Approach to Israel War
A US diplomat who resigned over President Joe Biden’s handling of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has said he feels the US is on the “wrong side of history”. Hala Harit, the first US diplomat to resign over the Biden administration’s policies regarding the war between Israel and Hamas, said she had no […]
First US diplomat to resign over Biden’s approach to Israel-Hamas war says she was silenced
For the past 18 years, Hala Rharrit has served in the State Department, and for the past year and a half, she served as an Arab language spokeswoman until announcing her resignation due to the Biden administration’s policy on the Israel-Hamas war. “I had full intentions of continuing on in my career until I reached […]
Dem mayor’s spox defends meeting with controversial Chinese diplomat who praised CCP
The Democratic mayor’s spokesperson has repeatedly praised the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and defended his controversial recent meeting with Chinese diplomats. Fan Ping, who has been the consul general at the Chinese Consulate General in New York since 2018, said he recently “met with Mayor Parker of Philadelphia and Vice Mayor Liu Guiping of Tianjin.” […]
Japan forex authorities ready '24 hours,' top currency diplomat Kanda says – The Japan Times
Japan’s top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, said on Tuesday that authorities were prepared to respond “around the clock” to currency issues, but declined to comment on whether the Ministry of Finance had intervened a day earlier to support the yen. Again he declined to comment. “It makes no difference whether you’re in London, New York […]
Top French Diplomat Pushes for Deescalation on Lebanon-Israel Border
BEIRUT (AP) – French Foreign Minister Stephane Séjournet arrived in Lebanon on Sunday as part of a diplomatic attempt to mediate the escalating conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border. Sejourne was scheduled to meet with UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, military commanders, the foreign minister and the interim prime minister. […]