Top US Diplomat Travels to Asia, Africa as Global Powers Fight for Influence

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to East Asia and Africa next week seeking to counter the influence of Russia and China in a fight for global influence. Blinken begins his travels Tuesday on a tour that will take him to Cambodia, the Philippines, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. During his first stop in Cambodia, he will attend a Southeast Asian regional security forum where both the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers are expected to be in attendance. When asked if Blinken would hold direct meetings with either Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ormore