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☆ ‘Anti-American’ Chinese pundit faces backlash for attending Independence Day party at US Embassy in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A Chinese nationalist pundit known for his inflammatory criticism of the United States has attracted ridicule online after he was shown attending a party celebrating Independence Day at the US embassy in Beijing – and apparently having a great time while there. American ambassador Nicolas Burns invited me to dinner,” exclaimed the headline of an article Sima posted Wednesday. In the article, he praised the “spectacular” food offered at the event, to which “national day celebrations at the Russian embassy cannot compare,” he said. (Though the Russian embassy’s ice cream is tastier, he concluded after eating four scoops of American ice cream). Sima also observed the “festive atmosphere” of the US celebration, in contrast to the discussions on “serious topics” by guests at the Russian embassy.

Persons: Sima Nan, ”, Sima, “, Nicolas Burns, Burns, Mr, Burns ’, It’s, “ Sima Nan Organizations: CNN, Independence, Beijing –, Washington, NATO, Sima’s, US, Russian Locations: United States, Beijing, China, Ukraine, Taiwan, ” China, Russian, Weibo, American, California

☆ Russia’s Embassy in Washington Becomes a Different Kind of Battle Zone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a warm June night, Benjamin Wittes was seated at a card table across the street from the Russian Embassy in Washington, kicking off his light show. Assembled around him was a sprawl of wires and equipment, including a laptop and two powerful light projectors. One of them was beaming a giant blue and yellow Ukrainian flag onto the embassy’s white facade. “We’ve got a little essay we’re going to project, line by line, in three languages,” said Mr. Wittes, a prominent national security law expert. Mr. Wittes and his friends have been lighting up the embassy once every few weeks since the war in Ukraine began last year.

Persons: Benjamin Wittes, “ We’ve, ”, Wittes, “, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Russian Embassy Locations: Russian, Washington, Russia, Ukraine

CNN —Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich lost his appeal against the extension of pre-trial detention in Moscow on Thursday on spying charges, which he denies. Gershkovich’s detention, at the notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow, was extended last month to August 30. Gershkovich was in court for the decision, in a glass cage, wearing a dark t-shirt and jeans. The Wall Street Journal called Gershkovich’s continued detention “an outrage” in a statement released Thursday. “Our colleague Evan Gershkovich appeared in Moscow City Court today for an appeal against his ongoing pretrial detention.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Lynne Tracy, Ella Milman, Mikhail Gershkovich, Tracy, ” Tracy, Evan, “, ”, ” “ Evan, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Moscow, Court, TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow City Court, US State Department Locations: Moscow, Russia, United States, Moscow City, Washington

☆ Fleeing Sudan, U.S. Diplomats Shredded Passports and Stranded Locals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the frantic days before American diplomats evacuated their Khartoum embassy under darkness by helicopter last month, one crucial task remained. Armed with shredders, sledgehammers and gasoline, American officials following protocols destroyed classified documents and sensitive equipment, officials and eyewitnesses said. Many had left them at the embassy days earlier, to apply for American visas. As the embassy evacuated, officials who feared the passports, along with other important papers, might fall into the wrong hands reduced them to confetti. A month later, many of those Sudanese are stranded in the war zone, unable to get out.

☆ North Korea is said to lift 5-day lockdown in capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Russia’s embassy in North Korea says the country has eased stringent epidemic controls in the capital, Pyongyang, that were placed during the past five days to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses. North Korean state media in recent weeks have stressed vigilance against a possible re-emergence of Covid-19. From May to August, North Korea reported about 4.8 million “fever cases” across its population of 26 million but identified only a fraction of them as Covid-19. North Korea has dubiously insisted that rival South Korea was responsible for its Covid-19 outbreak, saying that the virus was transported by anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and other materials flown across the border by balloons launched by South Korean civilian activists. South Korea has dismissed such claims as unscientific and “ridiculous.”

CNN —The Mexican ambassador in Lima has been summoned by Peru’s foreign ministry on complaints Mexico is interfering in its internal affairs, after top officials weighed in on the ouster earlier this week of Peru’s former President Pedro Castillo. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard later said that Castillo requested for asylum, and Mexican President Lopez Obrador criticized Peruvian elites, calling for the protection of the ousted president’s human rights. Lopez Obrado also said he had directed Ambassador Pablo Monroy to “open the embassy’s door” to Castillo. The same day, Mexico’s leftist President Obrador told journalists that Castillo tried to go to the Mexican embassy in Lima to request asylum. I asked him to talk to the ambassador (Monroy) and to open the embassy’s door according to our asylum tradition,” the President told journalists.

☆ Blackstone converts Indian property to safe haven
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, Oct 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A global downturn could boost demand for Indian real estate. The investor-cum-landlord led by Steve Schwarzman has played a big role in developing a local market for real estate investment trusts. Now it’s preparing to float a collection of glitzy shopping malls in what would be only the country’s fourth publicly traded REIT. Indian real estate trusts outperform U.S. peersFollow @ugalani on Twitter(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. On Sept. 27, Blackstone raised $325 million from selling an 8.1% stake in Embassy Office Parks REIT, per IFR.

☆ ‘The Rebel and the Kingdom’ Review: Rebel With a Righteous Cause
▼ + stars: | 2019-02-22 | by ( Geoffrey Cain | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

On Feb. 22, 2019, a man calling himself Matthew Chao knocked on the door of the North Korean embassy in Madrid, with a gift for the embassy’s highest-ranking official. The North Korean worker who answered the door escorted the visitor inside and went to fetch his boss. The North Korean captives probably thought the vigilantes were paramilitary operatives on a mission to kidnap or kill them. But “Matthew Chao” was an activist and human-rights campaigner, not an assassin. His real name was Adrian Hong Chang, and his plan was to fake a kidnapping of North Korean diplomat So Yun-suk, who had asked for his help defecting.

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