diplomat,

Top US diplomat Blinken to discuss security challenges during West Africa trip next week

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By Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Security challenges in West Africa following the coup in Niger last year will be among key topics U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss with African leaders next week during his trip to the region, the State Department’s top Africa diplomat said on Thursday. Blinken will travel to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola from Jan. 21 through Jan. 26, the department said in a statement, where he will discuss U.S.-African partnerships over trade, climate, infrastructure, health and other issues. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee

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North Korean Diplomat Takes Pot Shots At US Ambassador During Rare UN Appearance

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North Korean Diplomat Takes Pot Shots At US Ambassador During Rare UN Appearance Jake Smith on November 27, 2023 North Korea accused the United States of being “belligerent” during a rare public debate at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday. Pyongyang sent a diplomat to the U.N. Security Council this week – one of the few times it has done so in six years – as the meeting centered around the country’s successful launch of a spy satellite last week, which violated U.N. sanctions, according to Reuters. The meeting took a turn when Ambassador Kim Song accused the U.S.

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‘True European’: Former top Czech diplomat Schwarzenberg dies

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PRAGUE (Reuters) – Former Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, one of the leading figures in the country’s post-Communist era, has died, officials said on Sunday. He was 85. Schwarzenberg was born into a prestigious Czech family and became a senior aide to his friend Vaclav Havel after the former dissident won the country’s first free election in 1990. He later served twice as foreign minister between 2007 and 2013. He was a strong backer of closer integration in Europe, and while he was a declared conservative, his appeal stretched to urban liberal groups and younger people in politics. The Vaclav

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Former Israeli Diplomat Says Country Won’t Stop Until Every ‘Last Hamas Terrorist’ Meets ’72 Virgins’

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Former Israeli Diplomat Says Country Won’t Stop Until Every ‘Last Hamas Terrorist’ Meets ’72 Virgins’ Harold Hutchison on October 13, 2023 A former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations said Friday his country would not stop its assault until every “last Hamas terrorist” meets “72 virgins” in the wake of surprise terror attacks that left numerous people dead and injured. The radical Islamic terrorist organization launched attacks on multiple locations in Southern Israel Saturday, killing at least 1,200 people, including 27 Americans, and taking dozens of hostages, including children. The Israeli military warned residents of Gaza to evacuate Friday, citing

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Japan likely won’t intervene to reverse yen downtrend – ex-top FX diplomat

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By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan likely won’t seek to reverse the yen’s downtrend with exchange-rate intervention as recent falls reflect economic fundamentals, former top currency diplomat Naoyuki Shinohara told Reuters. There is no set rule or shared agreement among G7 advanced nations on what kind of currency moves are defined as “excess volatility” that justify intervention, Shinohara said. “But usually, when you talk about excess volatility you have in mind a timeframe of several days or weeks,” rather than several months, he said in an interview on Friday. The remarks contrast with those of incumbent top currency diplomat

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Japan ex-FX diplomat: Yen’s slow fall makes imminent intervention less likely

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By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – The slow pace of the yen’s recent fall makes imminent market intervention by Japanese authorities less likely than a year ago, when they last stepped in to prop up the currency, former top currency diplomat Hiroshi Watanabe said on Tuesday. Japan bought yen in September last year, its first foray in the market to boost its currency since 1998, after a Bank of Japan decision to maintain an ultra-loose monetary policy drove the yen as low as 145 per dollar. It intervened again in October after the yen plunged to a

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Japan may intervene on yen again, BOJ should ditch easy policy – ex-financial diplomat

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By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan could intervene again to support the yen if it declines further, former top currency diplomat Takehiko Nakao told Reuters on Wednesday, and said the time is right for the Bank of Japan to ditch or modify its ultra-easy policy settings. The former vice minister of finance for international affairs said prolonged monetary easing risks depreciating the yen further. “There may be views that the intervention is not imminent as the depreciation has not been so rapid compared to the last time when authorities intervened in September/October,” he said. “But it’s fully possible the

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Japan’s top currency diplomat says Tokyo in close contact with US on FX moves

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By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese authorities are always in close communication with U.S. counterparts on currencies and share a mutual understanding that excessive volatility is undesirable, Tokyo’s top foreign exchange official said on Wednesday. Masato Kanda, vice minister of finance for international affairs, speaking to reporters at his office, was responding to the comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen a day earlier. Yellen said whether Washington would show understanding over another yen-buying intervention by Japan “depends on the details” of the situation. “We won’t rule out any options if excessive moves persist,” Kanda said. Kanda’s latest verbal intervention

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US top diplomat Blinken spoke with Israeli and Palestinian leaders -State Dept

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday spoke with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the State Department said. Blinken spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about expanding Israel’s regional integration and countering threats posed by Iran, the department said in a statement. In a separate statement, the State Department said Blinken expressed continued concern about ongoing violence in the West Bank when he spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They also discussed their support for a two-state solution and opposition to actions endangering its viability, the department said. (Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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Bill Richardson, U.S. diplomat and troubleshooter, dead at 75

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By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Bill Richardson, a former U.S. diplomat, congressman, energy secretary and New Mexico governor who made his mark on the world stage by securing the release of Americans and others held by various autocratic governments, has died at the age of 75, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement said on Saturday. Richardson, who made an unsuccessful 2008 bid to become the first Hispanic U.S. president, passed away in his sleep at his summer home in Chatham, Massachusetts, vice president of the Richardson Center Mickey Bergman said in a statement. “The world has lost a champion

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Senior US diplomat Nuland urges ‘timely’ and ‘fair’ elections in Pakistan

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By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senior U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland spoke on Tuesday with Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and discussed the importance of “timely, free and fair elections” in the South Asian nation, the U.S. State Department said. “Acting Deputy Secretary Nuland and Foreign Minister Jilani discussed the importance of timely, free and fair elections in a manner consistent with Pakistan’s laws and constitution,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement. Pakistani politics has been in a crisis for over a year, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan – who was ousted in a parliamentary vote

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‘Very Difficult Situation’: Coup Leaders Stonewall US Diplomat As War Risk Looms Over Nation

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‘Very Difficult Situation’: Coup Leaders Stonewall US Diplomat As War Risk Looms Over Nation Jake Smith on August 8, 2023 Military coup leaders in Niger refused to let a high-level U.S. diplomat meet with the African country’s ousted president, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday. Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said she was not allowed to meet with Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, during negotiations with the country’s military coup leaders, the AP reported. Nuland also said that coup leaders were apathetic to U.S. requests to reinstall Bazoum to power, despite warnings that Niger will be cut

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Japan’s top financial diplomat signals chance of BOJ policy tweaks

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By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s top financial diplomat on Friday suggested the central bank may tweak its approach to monetary stimulus at its next policy meeting, due to “signs of changes” in corporate behaviour on wage growth and price rises. In rare remarks on monetary policy, Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, said he expects the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to make a judgment on policy by analysing the conditions and outlook for prices at every review. The next meeting is on July 27-28. Kanda’s remarks came hours after government data showed core consumer inflation grew

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China’s top diplomat urges stable ties with India as military tensions simmer

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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top diplomat Wang Yi told the Indian foreign minister that bilateral ties need to be stabilised, as the two Asian neighbours searched for ways to ease simmering military tensions along their vast border. On the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, Wang told Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that mutual support between the two nations is needed instead of suspicion, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry. India and China share a 3,800-km (2,360-mile) frontier, much of it poorly marked, and fought a brief but bloody war over it

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Venezuelan diplomat jailed in Kenya for 20 years for envoy’s murder

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NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced a former top Venezuelan diplomat to 20 years in jail over the 2012 murder of the Latin American nation’s acting ambassador at her home in an upmarket Nairobi neighbourhood. Dwight Sagaray, who was the first secretary at the embassy, was convicted, along with three Kenyan nationals, in January this year of killing Olga Fonseca. Judge Roselyn Korir sentenced all four men to 20 years in jail. The term starts from January. Sagaray could be tried for the murder because he was stripped of diplomatic immunity following the crime, the court ruled

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Top diplomat says China, ASEAN pushing ahead with free trade area talks

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BEIJING (Reuters) – China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are pushing ahead with talks on a third version of a free trade agreement at an ASEAN summit in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Thursday. Wang, who was attending the forum with foreign ministers from several countries said, “the two sides are actively promoting the negotiation of the free trade area version 3.0, and pushing for the full implementation of the RCEP.” The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the world’s largest trade bloc backed by China. It took effect on

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Senior US diplomat to travel to Addis Ababa to discuss Sudan conflict

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By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. assistant secretary of State for African affairs, Molly Phee, will travel to Addis Ababa on Monday and Tuesday to meet with African leaders and Sudanese civilians on how to end the conflict in Sudan, the State Department said on Sunday. Diplomatic efforts to halt fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have so far proved ineffective, with competing initiatives creating confusion over how the warring parties might be brought to negotiate. The fighting that erupted on April 15 in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, has driven more than 2.9 million

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Senior US diplomat heads to India to discuss free speech, minority rights

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By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior U.S. diplomat will travel to India in the coming days and engage with its civil society over free speech and marginalization of minorities, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent U.S. visit when he denied that abuse of religious minorities existed in his country. Uzra Zeya, U.S. under secretary of state for democracy and human rights, will also meet with Indian government officials to discuss “global challenges, democracy, regional stability, and cooperation on humanitarian relief,” the State Department said in a statement on Friday. Zeya’s upcoming trip follows a June visit by

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Russia’s top diplomat Lavrov sees no reason to extend Black Sea grain deal

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By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Friday it saw no reason to extend the Black Sea grain deal beyond July 17 because the West had acted in such an “outrageous” way over the agreement, but assured poor countries that Russian grain exports would continue. The United Nations and Turkey brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative last July to help tackle a global food crisis worsened by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine – something it calls “a special military operation” – and its blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The deal allows food and fertiliser to be exported from three

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Japan’s top FX diplomat Kanda will respond to yen moves ‘appropriately’

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By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan will closely watch currency market moves and respond “appropriately” as needed, the country’s top currency diplomat said on Tuesday after top financial authorities met in response to a weakening in the yen to a six-month low versus the dollar. “Currency rates should move stably reflecting fundamentals and excessive volatility is undesirable,” Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters after a meeting with his counterparts from the Bank of Japan and the country’s financial watchdog. “We will closely watch currency market moves and respond appropriately as needed,” he said. “If necessary we

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‘Macron Is A Disgrace’: Spanish Diplomat Blasts French President For Cozying Up To China

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‘Macron Is A Disgrace’: Spanish Diplomat Blasts French President For Cozying With China Lorenzo Prieto on April 27, 2023 French President Emmanuel Macron’s China stance didn’t only cause controversy in the U.S. but also drew the ire of Europe, a European diplomat told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Macron made a clear statement in April not to get involved in a possible confrontation between China and Taiwan, stressing the importance of Europe becoming independent from the U.S. and not antagonizing the Chinese government, according to Politico. Hermann Tertsch, a Spanish conservative and member of the European Parliament, called Macron’s stance

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Japan’s ex-top FX diplomat sees BOJ keeping ultra-low rates this year

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By Leika Kihara and Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is set to keep monetary policy steady on Friday and may struggle to raise interest rates off their ultra-low levels this year due to the weak economy, the country’s former top currency diplomat Hiroshi Watanabe said on Wednesday. With inflation exceeding the BOJ’s 2% target, some market players bet the central bank will phase out its controversial bond yield control policy as early as this week’s meeting. “The BOJ has no reason to move this week,” with markets jittery of global banking-sector woes and recent data

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Russian diplomat says it may be time to reduce number of U.S. reporters in Russia

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MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s ambassador to the United States said Washington had threatened retaliation after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained on espionage charges, and suggested it might be time to cut the number of U.S. journalists in Russia. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 30 it had detained Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and had opened an espionage case against him for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military industrial complex. Gershkovich, the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, and

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Biden to nominate career diplomat as envoy to Egypt -White House

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden intends to nominate career diplomat Herro Mustafa Garg as the next U.S. ambassador to Egypt, the White House said on Wednesday. Mustafa Garg’s prior posts include ambassador to Bulgaria from 2019 to 2023 and top positions at the U.S. embassies in Lisbon and New Delhi, the White House said. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub)

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