Crypto News: Undiplomatic ambassadors

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Whether strategy or not, President Donald Trump's diplomatic envoys are on a streak of distinctly undiplomatic behavior.

It may be that US ambassadors are simply pushing back against what they see as the hypocrisies of the rules-based international order.

Either way, they are riling up the body politic across Europe and the Middle East with a striking number of diplomatic incidents in recent weeks.

In France, Ambassador Charles Kushner is in hot water after the embassy in Paris reposted a message from the State Department warning that "violent radical leftism" was on the rise. It cited the killing of a 23-year-old — described in French media as a far-right activist — as evidence of a threat to public safety.

Kushner didn't bother to appear when summoned by the Foreign Ministry yesterday, the second such snub.

Charles Kushner, US ambassador to France, speaks during the official launch of America 250, at the US embassy in Paris, France, on Dec. 4, 2025. Photographer: Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images — Kushner at the US embassy in Paris on Dec. 4.

The subsequent French statement, while partly written in high diplomatic style, was also plain in its anger, citing Kushner's "apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission and the honor of representing one's country."

It's not just France.

Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, rattled his host government's neighbors last week when he asserted in a podcast that Israel had the right to take control of much of the Middle East.

In Belgium, Ambassador Bill White called for an end to the "anti-semitic 'prosecution'" of Jews in Antwerp, and complained about a "very rude" Belgian minister. Prime Minister Bart De Wever accused him of sowing discord.

And in Poland, Ambassador Tom Rose said that he'll cease all contact with the speaker of parliament after the latter refused to sign a letter nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Haranguing Chinese envoys became known as Wolf Warriors for their undiplomatic ways, before they were reined in by Beijing.

Now it's US ambassadors fanning the flames of discord in Europe and elsewhere rather than tamping them down. — Alan Katz

US President Donald Trump, right, speaks during a US ambassadors meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Trump directed the Treasury Department to modernize and centralize its payment system in an effort to root out fraud as money is transferred throughout the federal government. Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg — Trump, right, during a US ambassadors meeting in the White House in March 2025.

Global Must Reads

Trump's efforts to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine are stalling, with peace talks deadlocked and the fighting largely at a stalemate as the war hits its four-year mark today. While the US is pushing for a deal before Trump hosts 250th-anniversary celebrations of American independence on July 4, there's no sign Vladimir Putin is ready to reach an agreement that doesn't meet Russia's key demands. Germany's defense chief criticized Trump's strategy in dealing with Putin.

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. As the war enters its fifth year, peace talks are stalling and the fighting is largely at a stalemate despite President Donald Trump's peace efforts. Allies say the US is pushing for a deal before Trump hosts the 250th anniversary celebrations of American independence on July 4. Bloomberg's Oliver Crook breaks down the situation. — WATCH: Bloomberg's Oliver Crook reports on the war entering its fifth year.

The US president's 10% global tariffs went into effect today as the White House tries to preserve Trump's trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his original duties. A European Union assessment found that the new policy will increase levies on some of the bloc's exports, including cheese and other agricultural products, above the level permitted in an EU-US trade pact. Read our preview of Trump's State of the Union address today.

Trump pushed back on reports that the Pentagon was concerned an extended military campaign against Iran could prove difficult, even as he insisted yesterday his preference is to strike a deal. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner meanwhile plan to travel to Geneva this week for more US-Iran talks amid a fragile diplomatic effort as regional tensions escalate.

The back-to-back humiliation of British public figures Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and ex-US ambassador Peter Mandelson is the last thing embattled Labour leader Keir Starmer needs, with polling already showing him as the most unpopular UK prime minister in modern times and a series of local and regional elections looming. Their arrests over alleged misconduct in public office threatens to engulf his administration less than two years after a landslide election win.

Keir Starmer, right, and Peter Mandelson at the ambassador's residence in Washington, DC in February. Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images — Mandelson and Starmer at the US ambassador's residence in Washington in February 2025.

The US imposed visa restrictions on three Chilean officials tied to a Chinese undersea cable project, alleging a security threat. The rare move two weeks before a right-wing government takes over in Santiago sent a warning to the region that it must choose sides between Washington and Beijing as Trump strives to reassert dominion over the Americas.

China blacklisted 20 Japanese entities and tightened scrutiny on other firms, signaling Beijing's pressure campaign on Tokyo isn't slowing after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent election victory.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister has been promoted, the latest sign of the family consolidating its grip on power as the ruling party convenes a meeting to chart policy direction for the coming years.

Kim Yo Jong Photographer: Pool/Getty Images AsiaPac — Kim Yo Jong.

US lawmakers probing allegations of persecution of Christians in Nigeria said the West African nation should repeal Sharia and anti-blasphemy laws to help counter growing extremist violence, and proposed withholding funding until the government shows "demonstrable" action to stop attacks.

A US delegation is set to discuss nuclear weapons with Chinese counterparts in Geneva this week as the Trump administration attempts to start a new round of arms-control talks with both Moscow and Beijing.

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Chart of the Day

Saudi Arabia's fiscal deficit expanded to the widest in five years, as lower oil prices put pressure on the kingdom's finances. The shortfall has led to increased borrowing and forced the government to accelerate a pullback from some of the huge projects that are part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to reduce reliance on petroleum.

And Finally

Dressed all in black, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gave details of how the country's most-wanted drug kingpin was tracked down and killed on Sunday, sparking widespread gang retaliation. The most valuable information about Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco cartel known as "El Mencho," came from tracking one of his "romantic partners." After his location was identified, Oseguera escaped with his bodyguards to a wooded area where they were surrounded by special forces and seriously wounded. Oseguera died while being transported to a hospital nearby.