Tag: diplomacy

UN chief urges US-China dialogue, warns of divisions

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged the United States and China to engage in dialogue, warning of an increasingly divided world. “I fear our world is creeping towards two different sets of economic, trade, financial and technology rules, two divergent approaches in the development of artificial intelligence — and ultimately two different military and geopolitical strategies,” Guterres said as he opened the annual UN General Assembly. “This is […]

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro going to UN meet despite being unvaccinated

  BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s Covid-unvaccinated President Jair Bolsonaro said Thursday he will attend next week’s United Nations conclave in New York, effectively defying city authorities who recently announced proof-of-vaccination requirements for all attending leaders and diplomats. “Next week I will be at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), where I will give an opening speech” on Tuesday, the president said during a social media broadcast. It will be “a calm speech, very objective, focused […]

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BTS issued diplomatic passports for UN session

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — K-pop sensation BTS have been granted diplomatic passports ahead of the United Nations General Assembly as they embark on their new roles as presidential special envoys, South Korea’s presidential office said. The trailblazing septet have reached global superstardom, with their single “Dynamite” entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number one last year, making them the first South Korean act to top the US chart. They are credited with generating billions […]

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Machines not missiles on show at North Korea anniversary parade

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea put tractors and fire engines on show rather than the more usual tanks and missiles at a parade in Pyongyang early Thursday, the nuclear-armed nation’s third procession in less than a year. Pyongyang has continued to pursue its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs — for which it is internationally sanctioned — during the diplomatic engagement of recent years and often uses military parades to show off its […]

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Qatar says Taliban show ‘pragmatism’, should be judged by actions

by Didier Lauras DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar said the Taliban have demonstrated “pragmatism” and should be judged on their actions as the undisputed rulers of Afghanistan, but stopped short of announcing formal recognition of the Islamists. Qatari Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah al-Khater told AFP in an exclusive interview that it would be up to the Afghans to determine their future, not the international community. Doha was the central intermediary between the Taliban, who opened […]

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Marchers walk 7,000 steps for Canadian pair detained by China

by Michel COMTE OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Hundreds of supporters of two Canadian men being held in China on what Ottawa says are specious charges marched 7,000 steps through the Canadian capital on Sunday to mark the pair’s 1,000th day of “unjust” detention. Similar events in support of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were held elsewhere in Canada and across the world in cities including Brussels, New York, Washington, Seoul and Singapore. “These are unjust […]

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North Korea appears to have restarted nuclear reactor: UN agency

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Nuclear-armed North Korea appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing reprocessing reactor in a “deeply troubling” development, the UN atomic agency has said, a possible sign Pyongyang is expanding its banned weapons programme. The development on the 5-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon — North Korea’s main nuclear complex — comes with nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington at a standstill. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to dismantle part of the […]

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Anger after UK embassy ‘left Afghan staff details’ in Kabul

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK politicians on Friday slammed British diplomats for reportedly leaving Afghan staff’s contact details on the ground as they evacuated the Kabul embassy compound, now guarded by the Taliban. The discovery comes as the UK has acknowledged its hurried evacuation effort left hundreds of eligible Afghans behind. The Times in a front-page story by veteran war correspondent Anthony Loyd reported that he found unshredded documents revealing contact details of […]

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Mysterious ‘Havana’ syndrome imperils US diplomats

by Paul HANDLEY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A mysterious affliction dubbed “Havana Syndrome” that has brought severe headaches, nausea and possible brain damage to US diplomats has many officials convinced they are under sustained attack using electronic weapons. On Tuesday, US Vice President Kamala Harris delayed for several hours a trip to Vietnam after the US embassy in Hanoi reported a possible case involving “acoustic incidents” there, raising concern she could be a target. […]

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US VP Harris’ trip to Hanoi delayed due to ‘health incident’: embassy

US Vice President Kamala Harris’ flight from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed by three hours Tuesday after an “anomalous health incident” took place in Hanoi, the US embassy said. Harris was due in Vietnam after a two-day stop in Singapore as part of a regional trip. “The Vice President’s travelling delegation was delayed from departing Singapore because the Vice President’s office was made aware of a report of a recent possible anomalous health incident in […]

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Beijing continues to coerce, intimidate in South China Sea: Harris

US Vice President Kamala Harris accused Beijing on Tuesday of coercion and intimidation in the hotly disputed South China Sea, as she sought to rally allies against an increasingly assertive China. “Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea,” she said in a speech in Singapore, laying out her administration’s foreign policy goals for Asia. “Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and […]

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US VP Harris vows ‘enduring engagement’ in Asia

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Vice President Kamala Harris vowed “enduring engagement” in Asia on Monday, offering reassurances of Washington’s commitment to the region following the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover. “Our administration is committed to enduring engagement in Singapore, into Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific,” Harris said on a visit to Singapore, just days after the hardline Islamists seized power in Kabul. “The reason I am here is that the United […]

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