Canada recalls diplomats in protest after Palestinians win UN vote

Canada is temporarily recalling its heads of mission to Israel and the West Bank, along with its United Nations representatives in New York and Geneva, to protest the Palestinians' successful bid on Thursday for upgraded status in the UN.

Nine countries voted against the Palestinian Authority's bid to have its status in the UN upgraded to state recognition.(CBC)

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird pledged to "review the full range of its bilateral relationship" with the Palestinian Authority in the wake of the vote in New York City.

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Canada was one of nine countries, including the U.S. and Israel, to oppose upgrading the UN observer status of the Palestinian Authority from "entity" to "non-member state."

Read more about it at: CBC News
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Olsen likely next U.S. ambassador to Pakistan

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Ambassador Richard Olsento be the next U.S. ambassador to Pakistan.

Olsen, a senior member of the foreign service, has been serving as the coordinating director for development and economic affairs at U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, since June 2011. If confirmed, he will replace Ambassador Cameron Munter, who announced in May that he would step down from his post after only 18 months on the job. 

Before going to Kabul, Olsen was U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2008-2011. He previously served abroad in Mexico, Uganda, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Iraq, and as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. mission to the NATO.

Read details: The Cable

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UK expels Iran diplomats after embassy attack

Yahoo News 30 Nov

Britain shut down the Iranian embassy in London and expelled all its staff on Wednesday, saying the storming of the British diplomatic mission in Tehran could not have taken place without some degree of consent from Iranian authorities, reports Yahoo News.

Protesters carry the royal coat of arms after breaking in to the British Embassy in the Iranian capital (Phot: Fars News/Getty Images)

However, mindful of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, when radical students held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, Britain waited till all its two dozen diplomatic staff and dependents had left the country to announce its move.

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