Latest Antony Blinken News

Secretary of State Blinken is returning to the Mideast in his latest diplomatic foray

Dec. 11, 2024 18:20 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East this week on his 12th visit since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The upheaval in Syria has sparked new fears of instability in a region...

Middle East latest: UN General Assembly demands a ceasefire in Gaza

Dec. 11, 2024 18:01 PM EST

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressing support for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, although they reflect world...

Blinken faces GOP critics in Congress who say Afghanistan withdrawal 'lit the world on fire'

Dec. 11, 2024 14:51 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under fire from congressional Republicans about one of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s handling of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Democrats struggled to make the best of a...

Middle East latest: Israel bombs hundreds of sites across Syria as army pushes into border zone

Dec. 10, 2024 21:01 PM EST

Israel said Tuesday it had bombed more than 350 military sites in Syria during the previous 48 hours, targeting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the wave of airstrikes in neighboring Syria was necessary to keep the weapons...

US says it will support new Syrian leaders who protect women and renounce terrorism

Dec. 10, 2024 15:45 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday it will recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the...

Here's how the US is countering the Islamic State group during Syria's upheaval

Dec. 10, 2024 00:11 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Massive U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State militants in Syria were meant in part as a message to the group and a move to ensure that it doesn't try to take advantage of the chaos following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad's government. The U.S. and its...

Five years since its inception, a US development agency competes with China on global projects

Dec. 09, 2024 18:34 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden visited Angola last week, one of the highlights was his pledge of hundreds of millions of dollars for an ambitious trans-Africa rail project that would bring copper and cobalt from central Africa to the Atlantic port of Lobito. The project...

Georgian journalists allege brutal beatings as protests rage against ending EU talks

Dec. 08, 2024 19:23 PM EST

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people joined an 11th straight day of protests in Georgia on Sunday after the governing party suspended negotiations on joining the European Union, while a separate demonstration decried violence against Georgian journalists covering the rallies. ...

Germany, France and Poland condemn use of force against protesters in Georgia

Dec. 07, 2024 12:09 PM EST

BERLIN (AP) — The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland on Saturday strongly condemned “the disproportionate use of force" against peaceful protesters and the targeting of the opposition and media representatives in Georgia. Mass protests in Georgia fueled by the...

Police in Georgia turn increasingly brutal as mass protests over ending EU talks enter second week

Dec. 06, 2024 11:52 AM EST

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Mass protests in Georgia fueled by the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union entered a second week on Thursday, with police cracking down on the protesters with increasing force in an attempt to curb the demonstrations. ...