Jordanian and UAE envoys present credentials

The new Ambassadors of Jordan and United Arab Emirates (UAE) will present their credentials to Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright at Government House on Tuesday 1 June at 11.40am.

Mr Samir Masarweh is Jordan’s New Ambassador to New Zealand. Since joining the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs he has had postings in Rome and Geneva. Prior to his posting to New Zealand Mr Masarweh was Jordan’s Ambassador to Italy, Portugal, San Marino and Malta, and Jordanian Representative to the FAO.

Career diplomat Mr Abdul Razak Mohammed Hadi is UAE’s new Ambassador. Since joining the UAE foreign ministry he has had postings in Madrid, Islamabad, Tokyo, Bonn, Dhaka and Seoul. Prior to his posting to New Zealand, Mr Hadi was working for his Ministry in Abu Dhadi.

Sir Thomas Davis, the Cook Islands’ new High Commissioner, will also be formally welcomed to Government House tomorrow. He will not be presenting credentials to the Governor-General as he presented his Letter of Introduction to the Prime Minister shortly after his arrival this month. Sir Thomas has had a long and distinguished career in medicine, space research, politics, research and writing, traditional voyaging canoe design and construction, and education.

Sir Thomas is resident in Wellington while Mr Masarweh and Mr Hadi are cross-accredited from Canberra.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>