diplomat

Stories 101 - 115 | << Prev 

Afghan Prez Escapes Assassination Attempt

Taliban boasts attack proves group's power

(Newser) - One person was killed and 11 wounded in a Taliban attack this morning in Kabul aimed at assassinating Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The president escaped the rockets and gunfire unhurt. The attack occurred as Karzai, government ministers, foreign diplomats, and military top brass gathered for the 16th anniversary of the...

Diplomat Corps May Be Forced Into Iraq Service

Yanks face orders to fill understaffed Bagdad embassy

(Newser) - American diplomats may be forced to serve in Iraq if enough qualified candidates don't come forward voluntarily, reports CNN. The US embassy in Baghdad is chronically short-staffed, and the State Department has threatened that no other diplomatic jobs will be filled until the Baghdad bureau is up to speed. A...

China Seals Off Tibetan Capital
 China Seals Off Tibetan Capital 
Mar 29, 2008 2:51 PM CDT

China Seals Off Tibetan Capital

Crackdown comes after new protests, visit by foreign envoys

(Newser) - Chinese police closed off Tibet's capital today after fresh protests broke out during a tightly-orchestrated visit by diplomats. “The whole area has been shut down,” said one London-based advocacy group. Authorities swarmed Lhasa’s main temples, as monks continued demonstrating and urged Beijing to begin talks with the...

North Korea Boots Officials from S. Korea

Relations sour as South demands an end to nuclear program

(Newser) - South Korean officials left North Korea this morning, after receiving their eviction notice from Pyongyang. Relations have soured between the Koreas since the South demanded the North cease its nuclear activities, but the South said it was “undaunted” by the expulsion of its men. “We will deal with...

US Mission Reopens in Belgrade
US Mission Reopens in Belgrade
Feb 27, 2008 12:56 PM CST

US Mission Reopens in Belgrade

Building cleaned up, but bears scars from last week's violent protests

(Newser) - Workers were still cleaning up damage from last week’s violent demonstrations when the US embassy in Belgrade reopened today, Reuters reports. Protesters set fire to and ransacked the building last Thursday to protest the US’ support of Kosovo in the province's declaration of independence. Now, though the building still...

James Spain Dead at 81
James Spain Dead at 81
Jan 6, 2008 12:00 PM CST

James Spain Dead at 81

Career diplomat served as US Ambassador in Tanzania, Turkey & Sri Lanka

(Newser) - James Spain, a career diplomat in the US Foreign Service, passed away of natural causes in Wilmington, NC at age 81 on January 2, 2008.  Ambassador Spain's life was devoted to serving his country first in the US Army as a photographer on Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff in occupied...

Kenyan Prez Agrees to Form Unity Gov't

Top US diplomat in talks as humanitarian crisis grows

(Newser) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki today pledged to form a unity government, after talks with the top US diplomat for Africa aimed at solving the country's violent post-election crisis, the BBC reports. Jendayi Frazer met first with opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has said he will not negotiate unless Kibaki steps...

Afghanistan Deports EU, UN Diplomats
Afghanistan Deports EU,
UN Diplomats
Dec 27, 2007 11:50 AM CST

Afghanistan Deports EU, UN Diplomats

Pair accused of meeting, paying Taliban leaders

(Newser) - Two veteran diplomats left Afghanistan today after failing to refute accusations that they’d met with the Taliban, Reuters reports. A UN spokesman said the men were only “speaking to people on the ground,” and would return, but Afghan officials were resolute about barring the EU and UN...

Hillary Was Adviser, Not Decider
Hillary Was Adviser, Not Decider
Dec 26, 2007 4:33 PM CST

Hillary Was Adviser, Not Decider

First Lady didn't handle intel but was a presidential sounding board

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton spent her 8 years in the White House informally advising her husband and jetting around the world mediating social crises, the New York Times says, but the first lady had little direct experience with war or terrorism. She didn’t do “the heavy lifting of foreign policy,...

Euro Envoys Booted by Afghanis for Taliban Talks

Diplomatic row over alleged Taliban meeting

(Newser) - European officials were scrambling today to block Afghanistan's ordered expulsion of two high-ranking foreign officials because of an alleged link to Taliban insurgents, the BBC reports. Afghan authorities claim that the men, one an Irish envoy from the EU and the other a British UN official, met with Taliban members...

Rice Ripped for Stonewalling Rights for Gay Partners

Ex-ambassador quits: 'More benefits for pets'

(Newser) - The former US ambassador to Romania has quit the Foreign Service to protest its treatment of gays, the Washington Post reports. Michael E. Guest had some parting shots for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the system that he said gives same-sex partners of members of the Foreign Service fewer...

US Places Diplomat in N. Korea
US Places Diplomat
in N. Korea
Nov 26, 2007 10:05 AM CST

US Places Diplomat in N. Korea

First Pyongyang official lays groundwork for permanent presence

(Newser) - Washington has had a "permanent" diplomat stationed in Pyongyang since mid-month, a source tells the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, marking the first time a US official has been assigned full-time to North Korea. The move is seen as a precursor to possible normalization of relations between the US...

Diplomats to Be Ordered to Serve in Iraq

Lack of volunteers spurs biggest call-up since Vietnam War

(Newser) - Lacking volunteers for dozens of vacancies at the US Embassy in Baghdad, the State Department is set to order its diplomats to serve one-year postings in Iraq. Those selected for the postings will be notified Monday; if not enough take the bait, assignments will be made mandatory, on pain of ...

US Ignored Blackwater Warnings
US Ignored Blackwater Warnings
Oct 7, 2007 8:02 PM CDT

US Ignored Blackwater Warnings

Immunity for guards was 'a bomb that could go off at any time'

(Newser) - The White House ignored signals about Blackwater and other private mercs for years, rejecting the idea that they were "a bomb that could go off at any time," the Los Angeles Times reports. One official says that contract guards blatantly smashed property and scared Iraqis, then argued that...

Sarkozy Is Europe's New Clinton
Sarkozy Is Europe's
New Clinton
Jun 25, 2007 12:31 PM CDT

Sarkozy Is Europe's New Clinton

French PM scored with diplomatic charm offensive at EU summit

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy was the star of the EU’s constitutional summit last weekend, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat with a virtuoso diplomatic performance reminiscent of the former president. The new PM displayed what Der Spiegel called ‘Clintonesque ease’ in solving big problems, returning France to her traditional...

Stories 101 - 115 | << Prev