diplomacy

Copies of local Chinese magazines at a news stand in Shanghai on Nov. 14, almost a week after Donald Trump was elected president.

World News

In Trump's Taiwan Kerfuffle, Beijing Has Been Uncharacteristically Measured

9:20pm December 04, 2016

by Rob Schmitz

Some are in an uproar over President-elect Donald Trump's phone call to Taiwan's president. Yet the Chinese leadership has shown no interest in escalating the matter.

Mount Paektu, which sits on the border with China, is known in North Korea as the "sacred mountain of revolution" and considered the legendary birthplace of Kim Jong Il and Korean culture.

North Korean Volcano Provides Rare Chance For Scientific Collaboration

7:31pm December 01, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

When the volcano started rumbling, North Korean researchers realized they didn't have the tools to predict if it might erupt. So they reached out to Western scientists for help.

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New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (from left) gives a tour of the World Trade Center site to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and New York Gov. George Pataki a week after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

In Dealings With U.N. Diplomats, Mayor Giuliani Pulled No Punches

11:28am November 22, 2016

by Joel Rose

Rudy Giuliani is a leading contender for secretary of state in a Trump administration, but as mayor of New York he waded into conflicts with Yasser Arafat and parking scofflaws at the United Nations.

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U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus, a former Montana senator, recently became the first American envoy to China to visit all of the country's provinces. "We Americans have an obligation to come to China, to learn more about China," he tells NPR. "Why? Be

U.S. Envoy: China Will Be 'More And More In Our Future'

1:10pm October 28, 2016

by Anthony Kuhn

Max Baucus, the ambassador to China since 2014, urges the U.S. to "draw some lines" and says, "We're not going to get bullied." Despite recent tensions, he remains upbeat about U.S.-China ties.

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U.S. envoy Bernard Aronson speaks at the State Department in Washingon on Feb. 20, 2015. Secretary of State John Kerry said Aronson announced that Aronson would be the special envoy to Colombia, where he helped negotiate an end to that country's 52-year w

The American Diplomat Who Helped Bring An End To Colombia's War

8:59am September 24, 2016

by John Otis

An American negotiator played a key role in helping Colombia end it's half-century war between the government and the FARC guerrillas. Here's how he did it.

Iran Payment Used As 'Leverage' In Prisoner Swap, State Department Says

8:43pm August 18, 2016

by Michele Kelemen

Spokesman John Kirby still insists that the $400 million was "leverage," not ransom for the Iranian Americans released in January — though the payment was withheld until the prisoners were freed.

Randy Berry, the first U.S. special envoy for the rights of LGBTI persons, is shown at a gay pride rally in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last June. He says the U.S. is supporting activists worldwide but recognizes the risks they face in many countries. A gay activi

For State Department's LGBTI Envoy, Every Country Is A Different Challenge

7:45pm April 28, 2016

by Michele Kelemen

Randy Berry says the U.S. is supporting activists worldwide, but is also aware of risks they face. That was driven home with the killing of a gay activist who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh.

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President Obama shakes hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud following a meeting in November at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey.

Plenty Of Friction Expected During Obama's Visit To Saudi Arabia

5:51am April 19, 2016

by Scott Horsley

President Obama departs Tuesday for Saudi Arabia, where he'll meet with King Salman and leaders of neighboring states. There's plenty to talk about: Relations have been strained on a number of fronts.

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Carnival Expects to Begin Cruising To Cuba Next Year

7:36am July 08, 2015

by Sam Sanders

The corporation has U.S. approval, and ships could head for Cuba beginning in May 2016. But travelers can't be just tourists. They have to fit into one of 12 government-established categories.

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For decades, scientists have wished for a handy, controllable volcano they could keep in the lab. Now two men at Syracuse University have created just that.

Make Lava, Not War

3:12pm June 25, 2015

by Adam Cole

A sculptor and a geologist are melting hundreds of pounds of rock in a giant cauldron to create realistic lava flows. Cool! NPR reporter Adam Cole pays a visit to learn more about lava's allure.