Near East

The Near East was a term used to indicate a geographical area comprising Western Asia. It was roughly equivalent to the later term Middle East, but variously defined as including Egypt and parts of North Africa.

The plenary session of the Near East Peace Conference was held on 6 December 1926. During this conference, Richard Washburn Child, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, reaffirmed that U.S. diplomats were "interested" in "Near East settlement," but were only authorised to act as observers in the peace process.

Behind the scenes

 * The text of the article mentioning the Near East in the prop issue of the New York Chronicle featured in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was taken from the real 21 November 1922 issue of The Evening World. This represents an anachronism, as the film is set in 1926, but the actual historical event referenced happened in 1922. Richard Washburn Child served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy from 1921 to 1924 in the real world.