Latest Diplomacy News

Rwanda and Congo cancel peace talks to end a conflict in eastern Congo

Dec. 15, 2024 10:09 AM EST

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Planned face-to-face peace talks between Congo and Rwanda have been unexpectedly canceled, the Congolese president said. Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame were set to meet Sunday in Angola, which has been mediating the...

Trump appoints longtime foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell to serve as special missions envoy

Dec. 14, 2024 21:07 PM EST

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that he's picked longtime foreign policy adviser Richard Grenell to serve as an envoy for special missions, tasking him with helping the incoming administration deal with some of the toughest foreign policy challenges. ...

Fighting in eastern Congo between army and rebels intensifies ahead of peace talks Sunday

Dec. 14, 2024 14:29 PM EST

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 rebel group intensified in eastern Congo in recent days ahead of much anticipated peace talks on Sunday, the army said. Congo's army accused the M23 of killing 12 civilians earlier this week in villages of the...

France's Macron and Poland's Tusk insist Ukraine must be at the heart of any potential peace talks

Dec. 12, 2024 09:39 AM EST

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Ukraine must have a pivotal role in any potential negotiations over Russia’s war in the country, following a meeting Thursday in Warsaw. Macron also insisted Europeans must...

Papua New Guinea gains a team in Australian rugby league in diplomatic push aimed at curbing China

Dec. 12, 2024 04:32 AM EST

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Papua New Guinea will gain its own team in Australia’s rugby league in a soft diplomacy deal announced Thursday linked to limiting Chinese influence in the South Pacific. The Australian government will spend 600 million Australian dollars ($380...

Jim Leach, former US representative from Iowa, dies at 82

Dec. 11, 2024 20:02 PM EST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, who served 30 years as a politician from eastern Iowa and later headed the National Endowment for the Humanities, died Wednesday. He was 82. Leach, whose death was confirmed by an Iowa City funeral home, represented Iowa as a...

Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling

Dec. 10, 2024 19:10 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump. ...

Relic of the Buddha loaned by China gets a warm welcome in Thailand

Dec. 04, 2024 19:28 PM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — More than 2,000 people took part Wednesday in a procession to escort a relic of the Buddha lent by China to a shrine in the Thai capital Bangkok to honor the birthday of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and to celebrate half a century of diplomatic relations between Thailand and China. ...

Takeaways from Biden's Africa trip: Pardon of son Hunter overshadows official business

Dec. 04, 2024 17:22 PM EST

LUANDA, Angola (AP) — President Joe Biden's long-delayed trip to Africa had many of the hallmarks of a traditional state visit: There was a 12-shot cannon salute. A series of warm handshakes with Angolan President João Lourenço. Celebratory music. Photo opportunities. But another...

South Sudan peace talks resume after 4 months and the sacking of a government delegation

Dec. 04, 2024 15:33 PM EST

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — After four months and the sacking of a government delegation, the stalled South Sudan peace talks resumed Wednesday in Kenya, the latest effort to end the conflict that has long crippled the African country's economy. The talks are taking place between...