diplomacy

President Joe Biden greets China's leader Xi Jinping at the Filoli Estate in Woodside, Calif., Nov, 15, 2023, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative conference.

Biden and China's Xi make first contact since November with a 'check-in' call

1:00pm April 02, 2024

Tuesday's call between the two leaders followed through on a pledge they made in November for more frequent contact to try to help stabilize the U.S.-China relationship.

This picture taken from Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli army tank moving along the border with the Palestinian territory on March 20.

World News

A State Department official warns Israel of 'major' reputational damage in Gaza war

3:20pm March 22, 2024

by Daniel Estrin

Assistant Secretary of State Bill Russo told Israeli officials last week the Gaza war is damaging Israel's global reputation, potentially lasting a generation, according to a readout obtained by NPR.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un walks to a meeting with then-President Donald Trump in the Demilitarized Zone that straddles the Koreas on June 30, 2019.

World News

Why North Korea wants another chance with Donald Trump

8:27am February 28, 2024

by Thomas Schäfer

Germany's former ambassador to North Korea provides insights from his time in the country, and explains why the regime would prefer a Trump win in 2024.

Ice skaters in front of Ottawa City Hall in Ontario on Dec. 12, 2023.

Canada grapples with the effects of deteriorating relations with India and China

11:41am December 27, 2023

by Jackie Northam

As relations sour with India and China, Canada is grappling with how to stand up to powerful or authoritarian nations without sacrificing its longstanding values, such as protecting human rights.

A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with a picture of North Korea's latest satellite-carrying rocket launch, at a railway station in Seoul on Nov. 22.

World News

What North Korea's shift toward Russia means for its global strategy

5:00am December 07, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

Since the collapse of nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington in 2019, analysts see a major shift in North Korea's foreign relations. It has turned increasingly to Moscow.

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President Joe Biden speaks as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate in an expanded bilateral meeting with Israeli and U.S. government officials, Wednesday in Tel Aviv.

World News

Lots of U.S. presidents have pushed for Middle East peace. Progress has been elusive

10:31am October 19, 2023

by Scott Neuman

President Biden is the latest in a long line of presidents to place himself in the middle of a Middle East conflict. U.S. efforts have seen failed starts, wrong turns and dead ends, but some progress.

Siamak Namazi, shown in this photo before his 2015 imprisonment.

World News

Iran moves American prisoners to house arrest as a step in a swap for their release

3:50pm August 10, 2023

by Larry Kaplow

The move comes amid the outlines of a deal after diplomacy between U.S. and Iran via mediators — but nothing is final.

Protesters scale a wall at the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Thursday. Protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Embassy early Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire.

Iraq expels Sweden's ambassador over Quran burning, after protests at Swedish Embassy

2:31pm July 20, 2023

by Ruth Sherlock

Iraq expelled Sweden's ambassador and recalled its diplomat from Sweden, hours after protesters attacked the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, setting fire to part of the building.

Women walk past the closed Iranian embassy in the diplomatic quarter of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on April 11.

World News

Iran reopens its embassy in Saudi Arabia as the Gulf rivals restore ties

12:18pm June 06, 2023

by Aya Batrawy

The reopened embassy could ease travel between the two countries as they work to resume direct flights, increase trade and restore business ties.

In this photo provided by Saudi Press Agency, Syrian President Bashar Assad (left) is accompanied by Prince Badr bin Sultan, the deputy governor of Mecca, upon his arrival at Jeddah airport, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, ahead of the Arab summit.

World News

Syria's embrace, Sudan's conflict and Saudi Arabia's rise define Arab League summit

3:37pm May 18, 2023

by Aya Batrawy

With Syria's president returning to the fold — despite U.S. resistance — and with Saudi Arabia's recent detente with Iran, this year's Arab League summit reflects a changing region.