Blinken Makes First Africa Trip, Virtually
Voice of America
JOHANNESBURG - On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his first Africa visit — though he did not actually go anywhere.
Blinken virtually attended six events and met with top leaders in continental heavyweights Kenya and Nigeria. Protecting global human rights through good governance is a cornerstone of American foreign policy, and Blinken hit that point hard in his opening event Tuesday, with alumni of the U.S. government's Young African Leadership Initiative. But the casual nature of the virtual exchange — which he called "Ten Questions with Tony" — did not stop young Africans from asking the U.S.'s new top diplomat some tough questions about everything from climate change to Chinese influence to growing extremism on the continent.A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. FILE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters in Colombo, July 29, 2023. FILE - A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year with an image of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.