BEIJING — In Beijing and Kyiv, the divide between China and Europe over the war in Ukraine was on display this week. As a Chinese envoy crisscrossed Europe for talks on ending the war, his boss, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, trumpeted a sharp rise in China-Russia trade — which the West sees as providing an … Read more
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict said in a new report Monday that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape, “sexualized torture,” and other cruel and inhumane treatment of women during its surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7. There are also “reasonable grounds to believe … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine — The death toll rose to 10 on Sunday from a Russian drone strike that destroyed an apartment block in Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa the previous day when a local official reported the body of a third child was pulled from the rubble, along with that of the child’s mother. Ukrainian … Read more
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel has not presented specific evidence that Hamas is diverting U.N. aid and its recent targeted killings of Gaza police commanders safeguarding truck convoys have made it “virtually impossible” to distribute the goods safely, a top U.S. envoy said in rare public criticism of Israel. With the departure of police escorts … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave The top Middle East mediator for the United States is in Qatar after a stop in Egypt as discussions heat up over the release of Hamas-held hostages, though U.S. officials emphasize that so far there is little progress to report. The trip by Brett McGurk, the top … Read more
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former U.S. senator and secretary of state John Kerry will leave his post as President Joe Biden’s special climate envoy after three years but will help Biden’s re-election campaign, two administration sources said on Saturday. The decision by Kerry, 80, comes a month after he played an instrumental in helping … Read more
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires after Moscow and Arab countries released a joint statement earlier this week challenging Iran’s claim to disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, state media reported Sunday. Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the Russian envoy was summoned on Saturday and handed a note to deliver … Read more
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The United States agrees with Israel that the fight against Hamas will take months, but officials are discussing the timetable for scaling back from high-intensity combat to more precise ways of targeting the militant group’s leaders, a top U.S. envoy said Friday amid growing American unease about the mounting death toll … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman voiced hope Friday that a coalition of countries formed to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia will be able to come up with a faster mechanism to repatriate them. Over 19,000 children are still believed to be in Russia or in occupied regions of … Read more
Add to your saved storiesSave Peter Tarnoff, a U.S. diplomat who rose to No. 3 in the State Department in the 1990s after years as a behind-the-scenes envoy, including helping to craft a plan to smuggle six State Department employees out of Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, in a ruse recounted in the film … Read more