James Bays is Al Jazeera English’s Diplomatic Editor, based at the United Nations headquarters in New York. He frequently travels to cover major diplomatic events worldwide and interviews key newsmakers, offering insightful perspectives on unfolding international relations.

As an award-winning journalist, Bays’s career is distinguished by his extensive field reporting. He has ventured to over 70 countries and reported from numerous conflict zones, including Iraq, Congo, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Panama, the former Soviet Union, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. As a roving correspondent, James frequently reported from Baghdad and Kabul. He filed reports for Al Jazeera following Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, which later took second prize in the Best TV Item category at the Monte Carlo Television Festival in 2008 and was nominated for a Royal Television Society award. Prior to his current role, he served as Al Jazeera’s Washington Editor.