State Department

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Hillary Clinton Starts Historic Burma Visit

Landmark visit to be first in more than 50 years

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton arrived in Burma’s capital of Naypyidaw today, kicking off the first visit by a US secretary of state to the country in more than 50 years. Clinton says her goal is to see for herself how serious Burma’s junta is about its halting steps toward democratic...

US Cuts Off Funding to UNESCO Over Palestine

Political workaround unlikely to go anywhere

(Newser) - The US has officially cut off all funding to the UN’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization over its acceptance of Palestine as a full member. The impact will be felt immediately, because the US had a $60 million dues payment due in November, the AP reports. The Obama administration’...

US Ambassador to Syria Flees After Threats

State media has published more incendiary things about Robert Ford than usual

(Newser) - US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford was pulled from the country this weekend, after the Obama administration received “credible threats against his personal safety,” a State Department spokesman announced today, accusing Bashar Assad’s regime of waging an “incitement campaign” against the ambassador. “At this point...

Iran Terror Plot: US Says Tehran Will Be Held Accountable
 US Vows Iran 
 Will Be Held 
 Accountable 
TERROR PLOT
Oct 12, 2011 7:45 AM CDT

US Vows Iran Will Be Held Accountable

Clinton: 'Very strong message' to be sent to Tehran

(Newser) - The plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the US had the support of elements of the Iranian government and Iran is going to pay, US officials vow. "The United States is committed to holding Iran accountable," Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters after the plot was exposed....

Global Terror Attacks Up, Deaths Down

US report tags Iran as chief state sponsor of terrorism

(Newser) - Last year saw deaths from terrorism drop for the third year in a row, although the number of terror attacks was up slightly, according to the State Department's annual report on global terrorism . Some 13,186 people were killed in 11,500 terror attacks in 72 countries, down from...

US to Demand Assad Go: Sources

Obama administration will call for Syrian president to step down

(Newser) - After months spent turning up the heat on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Obama administration is finally ready to demand his departure. Officials tell the AP that the White House's new, tougher line will come tomorrow or by the end of the week, as a direct response to Assad'...

US Enters 2nd Day of North Korea Talks

Officials looking for concrete signs of change

(Newser) - US officials, heading into a second day of talks with North Korea today, are looking for concrete signs that the nuclear-armed country is willing to take "irreversible steps" to give up its nuclear weapons programs. The State Department called yesterday's five hours of talks "serious and business-like....

Congress: US Wasting Billions in War on Drugs

Pair of reports blast counter-narcotics spending in Latin America

(Newser) - The Obama administration has essentially no evidence that the billions spent combating the drug trade in Latin America have done anything to stem the flow of narcotics into the US, according to a pair of scathing new congressional reports. “We are wasting tax dollars and throwing money at a...

US Pulls Diplomats Out of Yemen

Obama renews calls for Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down

(Newser) - With the situation in Yemen deteriorating rapidly, the US yesterday ordered all nonessential diplomats and the families of all US Embassy staff to leave the country. "The security threat in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activity and civil unrest," the State Department writes in a new...

Who Snagged the $27M Reward for bin Laden?

Probably no one, but we may never know

(Newser) - Until Sunday, Osama bin Laden topped the FBI's most-wanted list—and there was a sizable reward offered for information leading to his capture. The State Department offered $25 million, with two air travel associations adding an additional $1 million each. So did anyone collect? Annie Lowrey explains on Slate...

Gadhafi Son Cut Short US Internship

State Department assisted Khamis Gadhafi in engineering gig

(Newser) - Moammar Gadhafi's youngest son had to skip his visit to West Point last month—he had an uprising to crush at home. Khamis Gadhafi, who leads a notoriously brutal brigade in the Libyan military, had been due to visit the military academy as part of a month-long internship in the...

25% of Young Professionals Want to Work for Google
25% of Young Professionals Want to Work for Google
survey says
Mar 21, 2011 7:15 AM CDT

25% of Young Professionals Want to Work for Google

Other hot would-be employers: Apple, Disney, State Department

(Newser) - We're guessing "job openings" is a popular Google search term: Nearly 25% of young professionals would like to work for Google, according to a new survey. It was by far the most popular would-be employer, reports the Wall Street Journal . Apple snatched second place, followed by Walt Disney, the...

US Ambassador to Mexico Quits Over Cables Flap

Carlos Pascual called Mexico's police inefficient and risk-averse

(Newser) - WikiLeaks has toppled its highest-ranking US official yet—the US ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual. In diplomatic cables, Pascual called Mexico's police and armed forces corrupt, risk averse, inefficient, and "reliant on the United States for leads and operations," which really didn't sit well with Mexico's conservative, nationalist...

Hillary Clinton Drove President Obama's Decision to Use Military Force on Libya
 Clinton Drove 
 Obama Shift on Libya 
ANALYSIS
Mar 19, 2011 8:52 AM CDT

Clinton Drove Obama Shift on Libya

Secretary of State secured Arab buy-in, convinced prez to act

(Newser) - President Obama came late to the decision to authorize military force against Libya , but he did so based on the counsel and efforts of Hillary Clinton, reports the New York Times . The secretary of state was herself against intervention until she secured buy-in from Arab nations; she then joined a...

Ex-Secretary of State Warren Christopher Dies

Former top diplomat was 85

(Newser) - Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, the man Jimmy Carter proclaimed "the best public servant I ever knew," has died of complications of bladder and kidney cancer at age 85. Christopher headed the State Department during Bill Clinton's first term, and was instrumental in peace efforts in the...

Pentagon, State Offer to Evacuate Tokyo Residents

Evacuation offered to families of US personnel

(Newser) - US authorities have offered to evacuate the family members of State Department and Pentagon personnel from a large area of Japan, including Tokyo. As radiation from stricken nuclear reactors spreads, a travel alert has been issued warning American citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Japan and urging Americans already in...

PJ Crowley Resigns
PJ Crowley Resigns
Mar 13, 2011 2:32 PM CDT

PJ Crowley Resigns

State Department spokesperson called Bradley Manning's treatment 'ridiculous'

(Newser) - Just days after news came out that State Department spokesperson PJ Crowley had called Bradley Manning’s treatment “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid,” Crowley has resigned. Sources tell CNN Crowley’s resignation today was the result of pressure from an angry White House. He will be replaced by...

US Looked for Dirt on Bahrain Princes
 US Looked 
 for Dirt on 
 Bahrain 
 Princes 
WikiLeaks Reveal
Feb 18, 2011 9:13 AM CST

US Looked for Dirt on Bahrain Princes

WikiLeaks reveals that Clinton asked about drug, alcohol use

(Newser) - The State Department secretly asked its diplomats in Bahrain to look for tabloid-level dirt on Bahrain’s princes, a new cable released by WikiLeaks reveals. Hillary Clinton's office asked diplomats to report any “derogatory” info on Nasir bin Hamad al-Khalifa, 23, or his brother, Khalid, 21, such as whether...

Marc Grossman New Envoy to Pakistan, Afghanistan

Former ambassador replaces Richard Holbrooke

(Newser) - Former ambassador to Egypt Marc Grossman will be coming out of retirement to take up one of the toughest jobs in diplomacy, administration officials say. Grossman, after months of wrangling between the White House and the State Department, is to become the new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, filling...

Foreign Workers at US Embassies Exploited

State Department report finds coercion, abuse among contractors

(Newser) - Contractors at US embassies in the Arab world are abusing and exploiting their foreign workers, according to a new State Department report spotted by Foreign Policy . The department’s inspector general looked into six contractors, and found that more than 70% of their workers “live in overcrowded, unsafe, or...

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