The Latest: British FM: Time to snap out of doom and gloom

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson listens to a question during a press conference after a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, right, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. Johnson is on a one-day visit to Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson listens to a question during a press conference after a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, right, in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. Johnson is on a one-day visit to Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

LONDON (AP) — The latest on world reaction to the U.S. presidential election (all times local):

9:45 p.m.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson says that “it’s time that we snapped out of the general doom and gloom” about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Johnson said Thursday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade that “people should focus on the opportunities ... and not the problems.”

Johnson added that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had a “very, very good conversation” Prime Minister Theresa May earlier in the day.

He says Trump has spoken of a “spectacular relationship” with the U.K. and “wants to sign a free trade deal.”

Johnson says Trump’s election “is a great opportunity for us in the U.K. to build a better relationship with America that is of fundamental economic importance for us, but also of great importance for the stability and prosperity of the world.”

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9:30 p.m.

Zimbabwe’s state-owned Herald newspaper is rejoicing in Donald Trump’s defeat of “the warmonger” Hillary Clinton.

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In an editorial published Thursday, the newspaper attacked the United States as a “blundering global bully” for backing sanctions against Zimbabwe’s longtime President Robert Mugabe and his allies.

The editorial says: “We hope Trump, who was considered an outsider and who was attacked no end for all of 18 months by the U.S. and Western media that sought to cast him as an unstable, unelectable ogre, will — with the benefit of experience — understand the Western characterization of Zimbabwe.”

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6:00 p.m.

Germany’s foreign minister says it’s urgent for the incoming U.S. administration to set out its positions quickly since “very many questions are open” on its foreign policy.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier told German weekly Der Spiegel in comments published Thursday that he’s spoken several times with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger about what President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policies might look like.

Steinmeier says even Kissinger had no insights to offer.

He said: “Many have already tried to read a foreign policy doctrine, or at least clear and coherent positions, out of Donald Trump’s comments. Without much success.”

Steinmeier says he can’t predict whether there will more or less U.S. military activity, or additional or fewer commitments in crises such as the ones in Syria and Yemen.

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3:25 p.m.

Argentina’s president says he’s hopeful that his nation’s accords with the United States will remain in place under Republican President-elect Donald Trump.

President Mauricio Macri says he hopes Argentina will continue the “constructive, mature” relationship with the U.S. that was built under President Barack Obama. He spoke Thursday after inaugurating infrastructure projects in Buenos Aires.

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Obama, a Democrat, visited Argentina in March and brokered several trade and investment deals with Macri. The meeting was seen as a fence-mending mission after years of tensions between the two countries under former President Cristina Fernandez.

Macri openly supported Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential election and has been forced to shift gears after Trump’s victory.

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1:50 p.m.

The left-leaning contender in Austria’s presidential election runoff says he hopes Donald Trump’s victory in the United States will motivate people to support him against a right-wing rival.

Alexander Van der Bellen faces Norbert Hofer of the anti-establishment and anti-immigration Freedom Party in a Dec. 4 rerun of the runoff. Van der Bellen narrowly beat Hofer in May, but a court ordered a rerun after the Freedom Party successfully argued that irregularities had marred the results.

Van der Bellen said at a news conference Thursday that he hopes Trump’s victory will be “seen as extra motivation to go vote, and vote for (Van der Bellen),” according to the Austria Press Agency.

He said: “I don’t want Austria to be the first western European country in which right-wing demagogues take power.”

Austria’s president has mostly ceremonial responsibilities, but a Hofer win would likely be viewed as a boost for other nationalist parties in Europe.

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1:25 p.m.

Silvio Berlusconi is congratulating his fellow billionaire businessman-turned-politician, saying he is convinced President-elect Donald Trump will guarantee U.S. leadership in the free world “with authority and equilibrium.”

Berlusconi’s parallels to Trump are well known: A showman with a reputation as a womanizer who charmed Italians by speaking his mind, Berlusconi had a Trump-like improbable rise from cruise ship crooner to media mogul to three-time premier. He calls Vladimir Putin a friend.

A tax fraud conviction knocked Berlusconi out of parliament in 2013 and seriously hobbled his Forza Italia party. But Berlusconi, 80 and recovering from heart surgery, is still a political force in Italy and sent his “best wishes” to the president-elect in a Facebook message.

“I have always been and will always be the most loyal ally of the United States in Europe, recognizing the country that guaranteed our freedom for the 20th century,” he wrote. “I’m convinced that the president chosen by the American people will, with authority and eqilibrium, guarantee the difficult role of the United States as the leader of the free world in today’s complex and delicate global balance.”

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1 p.m.

U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, Britain’s most prominent ally of Donald Trump, has claimed he is the “catalyst” for the president-elect’s success.

In a radio interview, Farage also called President Barack Obama “loathsome” and joked about sexual assault allegations against Trump.

Farage, who was key in pushing Britain to vote to leave the European Union, claimed credit in Wednesday’s Talk Radio interview for the rise of Trump and populist movements that are sweeping Europe.

The right-wing politician said “that Obama creature” was a “loathsome individual” who disliked Britain, while Trump, whose mother was Scottish, was friendly to the U.K.

Asked about Trump potentially meeting Prime Minister Theresa May, Farage said: “Come and schmooze Theresa — don’t touch her, for goodness sake,” before offering to attend “as the responsible adult role, to make sure everything’s OK.”

Several women have accused Trump of sexual assaults, which he denies.

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12:55 p.m.

A top U.N. humanitarian aid official for Syria says he expects continued U.S. help in efforts to support beleaguered Syrian civilians under Donald Trump’s presidency.

Jan Egeland also cited reports Thursday from Syria that “the last food rations are being distributed as we speak” in besieged eastern parts of the city of Aleppo.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Egeland said the U.N. needs “continued, uninterrupted U.S. help and engagement in the coming months,” and noted that progress is made only when the United States and Russia, a backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, are leading the diplomatic efforts.

Egeland, the aid chief in U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura’s office, said he could not speculate about whether the prospect of improved U.S.-Russia relations under Trump would have an impact.

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12:50 p.m.

France’s president says European nations need strong, clear strategies on security and the economy as Donald Trump takes over the U.S. presidency, amid concerns that his victory will fortify populists who want to dismantle the EU.

Francois Hollande said Thursday that Trump’s election “obliges Europeans to be clear and lucid and capable of facing the challenges that concern them.”

Hollande, who had endorsed Hillary Clinton, also suggested European countries should be ready to stand up to Trump if necessary. “Europe wishes to be together with the U.S. but has to be in a position to decide for itself, too.”

A leading contender in France’s presidential elections in April and May is far right leader Marine Le Pen, who wants to quit the EU and who hailed Trump’s victory, saying it “buried the old order.”

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, after meeting Hollande in Paris, urged a more decisive European Union following Britain’s decision to leave. He called for clearer policies on security and migration, amid criticism that Europe is too lax on both, saying “this is where the European Union needs to deliver.”

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11:45 a.m.

An Israeli Cabinet minister has called for a renewed wave of settlement construction now that President-elect Donald Trump is signaling an end to longstanding White House opposition to the settlements.

Science Minister Ofir Akunis told Army Radio Thursday that, “We need to think how we move forward now when the administration in Washington, the Trump administration and his advisers, are saying that there is no place for a Palestinian state.”

Earlier, Jason Greenblatt, one of Trump’s advisers on Israel, told Army Radio that Trump doesn’t believe settlement activity should be condemned and doesn’t view the settlements as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.

Multiple U.S. administrations have condemned any construction on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war — land that Palestinians want for a future state.

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11:40 a.m.

About two dozen Filipino left-wing students have burned a portrait of President-elect Donald Trump along with a mock American flag at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, warning of worse times under his upcoming leadership.

Left-wing protests by students, labor and human rights groups are a common sight at the heavily-fortified embassy, often staged to oppose the presence of visiting U.S. forces in the former American colony. But activists say they are bracing for more intense rallies against Trump.

Protest leader JP Rosos says: “We are not expecting that it (U.S.) will remove its control on the Philippines and in the Asia Pacific.”

He says under Trump, “we expect it to worsen with his anti-Muslim, anti-black and anti-immigrants declarations.”

More than 100 riot police kept watch, but the small group of protesters dispersed without any incidents or arrests.

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11:20 a.m.

Hungary’s prime minister says Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will allow Western civilization to return to “true democracy and straight, honest talk” as it is freed from the “paralyzing constraint of political correctness.”

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who said in July that Trump’s migration policies made him the better choice for Europe, said Thursday that the results of the U.S. elections also meant that the West had rid itself of “liberal non-democracy,” which had held it in “ideological captivity” for the past 20 years.

Orban said the world is living in “great times” thanks to Trump’s victory and the British decision to leave the European Union, which he described as “not a tragedy” but an attempt by Britain to find its own road to success. Orban met with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday in London.

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10 a.m.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency is reporting that the armed forces chief of staff has criticized Donald Trump for his past harsh words about confronting Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf.

The report quotes Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri as saying, “The person who has recently achieved power, has talked off the top of his head! Threatening Iran in the Persian Gulf is just a joke.”

He said American presidential candidates during their campaigns “eat too much sugar,” a reference to a Farsi proverb about those who talk nonsense.

In September, Trump said Iranian ships trying to provoke the U.S. “will be shot out of the water.”

In January, Iran took 10 American sailors prisoner ship veered off course into Iranian waters; they were released a day later.

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9:30 a.m.

A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump says his boss doesn’t think Israeli settlements should be condemned and they don’t pose an “obstacle to peace.”

Jason Greenblatt’s comments to Israel’s Army Radio Thursday would mark a stark departure from the long-time American stance that Israeli construction in areas captured in the 1967 war makes it more difficult to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Greenblatt is the chief legal officer and executive vice president at the Trump Organization. He has been tapped by Trump as his top adviser on Israel.

Israel and the U.S. are close allies but relations were often tense between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly over Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Netanyahu and Trump are friendly and ties are expected to improve.

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8:55 a.m.

Pakistani foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz says his country would like to work with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on the common interest of combatting terrorism.

In an interview with Pakistan’s Geo News channel Thursday, he says that helping negotiate a political settlement in Afghanistan is another area where the two countries could work together.

The U.S. president-elect has publicly criticized Pakistan in the past for battling some Islamic militant groups while tolerating others.

Aziz acknowledged that perception, but said such policies were “in the past.”

Local and al-Qaida linked Islamic militants who have had long used Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions along the Afghan border as safe havens. The Afghan government frequently accuses Islamabad of sheltering the senior leadership of the Taliban.

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8:20 a.m.

South Korea says President-elect Donald Trump has promised to maintain the countries’ strong alliance to guard against what he describes as “the instability in North Korea.”

President Park Geun-hye’s office says Trump made the comments while saying he believes North Korea is very unstable during a 10-minute telephone conversation with Park on Thursday.

Park’s office quotes Trump as saying the United States “will be steadfast and strong with respect to working with (South Korea) to protect against the instability in North Korea.”

A statement from Park’s office says Trump told Park “we are going to be with you 100 percent” when Park proposed strengthening the alliance to make the North Korean leadership change its way of thinking.

There have been worries in South Korea that a Trump presidency could bring a major shift in U.S. economic and diplomatic ties with Seoul. Trump has questioned the value of the U.S.-South Korea security alliance.

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6:30 a.m.

A Japanese official says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump next week.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Thursday that Abe and Trump had talked by telephone and confirmed the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance and their commitment for cooperation.

Their meeting “marks a very good start for building trust,” Suga said. Their talks are being arranged for Nov. 17 in New York.

Officials said Abe and Trump also confirmed their resolve to cooperate in ensuring peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, but did not discuss the trans-Pacific trade pact and other contentious issues such as the cost of American troops in Japan.

Kyodo News agency additionally reported that Trump praised the Japanese premier’s “Abenomics” economic measures.