Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: State Department

State Department stories: 155 news summaries

21 - 40 of 155 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 8 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

 Iran Accuses US of Meddling  


Jun 17, 09 4:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - As protesters clogged the streets of Tehran for a fifth consecutive day, the Iranian government accused the US of “intolerable” meddling, reports the Wall Street Journal. The government summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents American interests in the country, to complain about “interventionist” statements made by US officials,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • Tehran • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • State Department • disputed election • protesters • President Obama • Mir Hossein Mousavi

 Blackwater Bilked US Out of 
 $55M for Iraq Security: Audit 

Company didn't provide enough workers

Jun 16, 09 9:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US overpaid Blackwater by $55 million for its security work in Iraq, a government audit has found. The company, since renamed Xe, didn't employ enough guards, medics, and other personnel to protect high-level officials but still collected full payment from the State Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Afghanistan • State Department • Blackwater • security guards • audit • government contracts • Xe

(Newser) - A retired State Department worker and his wife were charged today with spying for Cuba for nearly 3 decades, CNN reports. Appearing before a federal magistrate in Washington, DC, Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and Gwendolyn Myers, 71, were indicted for conspiracy, providing classified information, and wire fraud. They each face... More »

MORE ABOUT:
State Department • Fidel Castro • Cuba • spies

 OAS Votes to 
 Readmit Cuba  

Castro blasts group as a tool of the US

Jun 3, 09 2:54 PM CDT
(AP) - The Organization of American States voted today to revoke a 1962 measure expelling communist Cuba, reversing a landmark of the Cold War in the hemisphere. It was not immediately clear if the ministers set democratic reform or human-rights conditions on Cuba's return to full participation in the organization, as Secretary... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hillary Clinton • Latin America • State Department • Fidel Castro • Cuba • Organization of American States

OPINION

Ambassadors: Rich People in Useless Jobs

If posts are just plums for political donors,
why have them?

May 29, 09 2:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama opted for politics as usual in his ambassador appointments yesterday, writes David Rothkopf for ForeignPolicy. Like recent predecessors, Obama turned to deep-pocketed campaign donors; hence Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, will deal with a tech lawyer whose sole qualification seems to have been his ability to raise... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • diplomacy • Japan • France • State Department • ambassador • political appointee • President Obama

Partners of
Gay, Lesbian Diplomats Win Full Benefits

Clinton memo skirts Defense of Marriage Act

May 24, 09 5:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - The State Department will offer same-sex partners of American diplomats all the benefits given to married spouses, reports the New York Times. An internal memo from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed to a gay and lesbian Foreign Service organization outlined the changes, which would ensure diplomatic passports, access... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hillary Clinton • diplomacy • State Department • same-sex couples

 'Torture Sheik' Detained 


May 10, 09 6:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Abu Dhabi prince captured on videotape torturing a grain merchant has been detained by authorities, CNN reports. Sheik Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan is under house arrest pending an investigation, officials of the United Arab Emirates have told the US State Department. The videotape shows the prince beating, burning and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
torture • State Department • house arrest • Abu Dhabi • United Arab Emirates • Arab • detention • UAE • Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan

(AP) - There are no plans to deploy US ground troops to Pakistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, despite concerns over increasing violence between Pakistani troops and Taliban militants. Speaking to about 300 Marines at Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan, Gates assured the soldiers they didn't have to "worry about... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Afghanistan • Taliban • Pakistan • Robert Gates • State Department • US military

ANALYSIS

 Clinton Gets Comfy at State 


May 1, 09 5:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton’s transition from presidential candidate to secretary of state wasn’t easy—and neither is the new gig—but the former first lady has taken it all in stride, the New York Times reports. “I love the job; I mean, it’s really hard,” Clinton said,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hillary Clinton • State Department • secretary of State • foreign policy • Election 2008 • Obama administration • President Obama • special envoy




 US to Discourage 
 Travel to Mexico 




Obama says chill out

Apr 27, 09 10:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - The State Department is set to issue a swine flu travel warning, telling Americans to “avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico,” a US official tells Reuters. But at the same time, President Obama urged calm. “This is obviously a cause for concern,” he said. “But... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Mexico • State Department • pandemic • Obama administration • swine flu

Tweeting for Peace in Iraq?

US asks social media, tech execs to help
build transparency,
fight corruption

Apr 21, 09 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Iraqi lawmakers tweeting during sessions? YouTube campaign videos? Execs from communications and social media firms, including the likes of Google, AT&T, YouTube, MeetUp, and Twitter are in Iraq this week at the behest of the State Department. Their mission: to consider how their tools might be used to boost... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • social networking • Google • YouTube • State Department • AT&T • Twitter

 Cuba Poisons 
 US Diplomats' 
 Pets: Report 

State Department unveils '07 findings as relations with Cuba warm

Apr 11, 09 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama better hide the family dog when he reaches out to Cuba, The Hill reports. As Obama and Congressional Democrats seek warmer relations with the island nation, the State Department released a 2007 report saying Havana has been poisoning the pets of US diplomats in Cuba. "The apparent... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • communism • State Department • Cuba • international relations • Obama administration

(Newser) - The father of the Iranian-American journalist jailed for spying in Iran says he will remain in the country until she is freed, the AP reports. “I demand them to release my daughter as soon as possible so that she can return to her normal life and continue her job,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • State Department • espionage • spy • journalist • detention • criminal charges • Roxana Saberi • Reza Saberi • Revolutionary Court of Iran

OPINION

Obama Hates America: Santorum

Ex-senator blasts president for State Dept. nomination

Apr 9, 09 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama doesn’t respect American values—he made that clear when he apologized for the “arrogance” of the Bush years in France last week, former US senator Rick Santorum writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer. But the president has outdone himself by nominating Harold Koh to be the top... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • US foreign policy • State Department • foreign policy • Obama administration • Rick Santorum • President Obama • Harold Koh • transnationalist

(Newser) - The US wants to be a direct party to nuclear talks between Iran and the UN, CNN reports. Washington had stayed away from earlier negotiations because it has no diplomatic relationship with the country, but the State Department said today it had asked an EU official to invite Iran to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • United Nations • nuclear power • Germany • European Union • State Department • nuclear weapons • United States • uranium enrichment • negotiations • UN Security Council

 Blackwater Guards 
 Keeping Iraq Jobs 

Loss of contract means many guards will just change uniforms

Apr 4, 09 5:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Blackwater is getting kicked out of Iraq but not all of its workers will be leaving with the shamed company, the New York Times reports. The Iraq government refused to renew the security firm's license after its guards were repeatedly accused of using excessive force but many, if not most,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • State Department • Blackwater • mercenaries • Triple Canopy • security contractors

ANALYSIS

 In the Shadows, 
 Hillary's Power Grows 

Retiring secretary of state has won Obama's admiration

Apr 2, 09 6:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has kept a low profile at the G20 summit, ceding the spotlight to Barack Obama and Tim Geithner, and when she and the president travel to NATO summit and EU meetings over the next few days she may not utter a single word in public. But while the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • diplomacy • State Department • secretary of State • G20 • Obama administration • Obama Cabinet

 'Civilian Surge' Part 
 of New Afghan Plan 

Hundreds of diplomats may be sent along with troops

Mar 18, 09 4:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama’s new Afghanistan policy may include stationing more diplomats and civilians there, officials tell the Washington Post. Obama’s national security advisers are expected to present a plan next week that would send hundreds of government officials from departments like Agriculture and Justice, along with temps yet to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
War on Terror • Pakistan • State Department • diplomat • Peter Galbraith • Afghanistan war • President Obama • Francis Ricciardone Jr.

Despite Hunger, N. Korea Rejects US Food Aid

Pyongyang boots humanitarian groups ahead of rocket launch

Mar 18, 09 6:48 AM CDT
(AP) - North Korea will reject future US food assistance and kicked out five groups distributing American aid, a move that could make an already precarious humanitarian situation even worse, reports the AP. Pyongyang gave no reason for refusing the aid, according to the State Department. North Korea faces chronic food shortages... More »

MORE ABOUT:
North Korea • South Korea • State Department • famine • Pyongyang • food aid

(Newser) - A US passport is easy to obtain using fake or fraudulent documents, even with extensive post-9/11 security reforms, the AP reports. At the request of a Senate committee, a government investigator went undercover and quickly obtained multiple passports, using the identities of a dead man, a 5-year-old, and two fictitious... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Senate Judiciary Committee • State Department • Dianne Feinstein • United States • Jon Kyl • identity theft • Government Accountability Office • passport • identification • passport fraud

21 - 40 of 155 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 8 Next >>


from our news partners