The Cuban embassy in Paris says its building was attacked overnight with petrol bombs, causing serious damage but no injuries to diplomatic staff. The embassy on Tuesday condemned the attack on its premises, located in the French capital’s 15th arrondissement. It did not say who it thought was responsible for the incident, which occurred around midnight on Monday. The Cuban foreign ministry’s International Press Centre said three Molotov cocktails were thrown, with two hitting the embassy and sparking a fire. Cuban diplomats extinguished the blaze as French firefighters and police arrived at the scene, it added. There was no immediate … Continue reading Cuban embassy in Paris targeted with petrol bombs

The Belgian Embassy has terminated its South Korean ambassador after viral footage was released in which his wife appeared to assault a shop employee. According to a press release, the Embassy of Belgium in Seoul released on Facebook, Belgian Ambassador Peter Lescouhier has been removed from his role in South Korea in light of his wife’s alleged attack on a local clothing store employee. Footage of the initial incident was obtained by the South China Morning Post and posted on Facebook in early April. According to the CCTV video, Lescouhier’s wife Xiang Xueqiu appeared to slap a woman across the face while out … Continue reading Update: Belgium’s South Korea Ambassador fired over row shop worker

Australia has said it will shut its embassy in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Friday, as the withdrawal of international troops proceeds. In a statement, Canberra talked of “an increasingly uncertain security environment” in the country. It said Australian diplomats would visit Afghanistan regularly – but would be based elsewhere in the region. There are fears that the withdrawal of the US-led NATO force could plunge Afghanistan back into a full-scale war. In April, US President Joe Biden said American troops would leave by 11 September, after 20 years of military involvement in Afghanistan.  “It is time to end America’s longest … Continue reading Australia to shut embassy in Afghanistan over violence fears

A senior member of staff at the Swiss embassy in Tehran has died after falling from the high-rise building where she lived, Iranian media report. An emergency services spokesman told Mehr news agency that the 51-year-old woman was first secretary at the embassy but did not give her name. Police in the Kamraniyeh area alerted paramedics on Tuesday morning but she had been “dead for a while”, he said. The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed an employee had died in an accident. “The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and its head Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis are shocked by the tragic death … Continue reading Tragic: Senior Swiss diplomat in Iran dies in fall from high-rise building

The Philippines’s top diplomat has demanded in an expletive-laden social media message that China’s vessels leave the country’s waters, the latest salvo in a war of words between Manila and Beijing over the disputed South China Sea. “China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O… GET THE F*** OUT,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr wrote on Twitter on Monday. After his comments lit up social media, Locsin commented further on Tuesday: “If Wang Yi is following Twitter then I’m sorry for hurting his feelings but his alone”, referring to his Chinese counterpart. The latest … Continue reading ‘GET THE F*** OUT’: Filipino diplomat fumes over China incursions

Belgium’s ambassador to South Korea apologised Thursday after footage showed his wife hitting two boutique staff in the head in a row over shoplifting. The envoy’s wife tried on items in the Seoul store before walking out, prompting an assistant to run after her to ask about an item she was wearing and reportedly triggering the confrontation. CCTV camera footage broadcast by South Korea’s SBS showed her pulling at one employee’s arm and hitting her in the head, before slapping another worker who tried to intervene across the face. The footage had been provided to it in the hope that such … Continue reading Update: Belgian ambassador to South Korea apologises for wife’s assault video

Myanmar’s ambassador in London has spent the night in his car after saying he was locked out of his embassy. Kyaw Zwar Minn said staff were asked to leave the building by Myanmar’s military attaché on Wednesday night, and he was told he was no longer the country’s representative. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has condemned the “bullying actions”. Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on 1 February, sparking weeks of protests and escalating violence. Kyaw Zwar Minn has called for ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be released. More than 500 people – including dozens of children … Continue reading Myanmar Coup: Ambassador locked out of his own embassy

An intruder gained entry to the Swiss ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC, on Monday afternoon and assaulted the ambassador, according to a statement filed in federal district court by the responding Secret Service officer. The officer said in the statement filed Tuesday in support of a criminal complaint that he was dispatched to the residence, which is on the same grounds as the Swiss embassy, “in response to a report of an unwanted guest at the Ambassador’s Residence at that location.” The officer’s statement identified the “unwanted guest” as Christian David Mandeville and said he was carrying an Oregon ID. … Continue reading Swiss ambassador to US allegedly assaulted in Washington residence

A group of Russian diplomats and their family had to leave North Korea on a hand-pushed rail trolley due to Pyongyang’s strict anti-Covid-19 measures. The eight people travelled by train and bus before pushing themselves across the Russian border for about 1km (0.6miles) over train tracks. North Korea has blocked most passenger transport to limit the virus’ spread. The country maintains it has not had any confirmed cases, but observers dispute this claim. Since early last year, trains and wagons have been forbidden to enter or leave the country, most international passenger flights have stopped as well. The Russian diplomats … Continue reading Russian diplomats leave North Korea by hand-pushed trolley

The woman accused of killing Harry Dunn was working for a US intelligence agency at the time of the crash, a court has heard. Mr Dunn, 19, died when his motorbike was in a crash with a car near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in 2019. Suspect Anne Sacoolas returned to the US, claiming diplomatic immunity, and an extradition request was blocked. A court in Virginia has heard her work was “especially a factor” in her leaving the UK, her barrister told the court she fled the UK for “security issues” and feared she would “not get a fair trial” if … Continue reading Suspect in Harry Dunn’s death Anne Sacoolas worked for US intelligence

Canada says it regrets any “misunderstanding”, after China lodged a formal complaint over a diplomat’s custom Wuhan T-shirt. The T-shirt featured the name Wuhan emblazoned on the logo of rap-group the Wu-Tang Clan, which some on Chinese social media claimed looked like a bat. Covid-19 was first detected in humans in Wuhan in late 2019. Experts suggest the virus may have been carried by bats and passed on to humans via another animal. On Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China had “lodged representations with Canada” and asked for a thorough investigation into the T-shirt. The clothing, created last … Continue reading Canada regrets ‘misunderstanding’ over Wu-Tang Clan T-shirt

A senior North Korean diplomat who was acting ambassador to Kuwait told his daughter they were going to defect to the South while pretending to drive her to school, Ryu Hyun-woo told media on Monday. South Korea’s border with the North is one of the most heavily fortified in the world “Come with Mom and Dad to find freedom,” Ryu recalled telling his daughter in an interview with CNN, the teenager was “shocked” at the sudden suggestion that would change their lives, but responded “okay”, he said and he took them instead to the South Korean embassy. Ryu and his family … Continue reading N. Korean diplomat told daughter to ‘come find freedom’