State Department

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Russia Opens Second Front in Georgia
 Russia Opens
 Second Front
 in Georgia
UPDATED
Aug 11, 2008 11:57 AM CDT

Russia Opens Second Front in Georgia

(Newser) - Russia opened a second front of fighting in Georgia today, sending armored vehicles beyond two breakaway provinces and seizing a military base and police stations in the country's west, officials told the AP. Meanwhile, the US State Department evacuated more than 170 American civilians to Armenia. The new forays into...

US Expands Visa Program for Iraqis Tenfold

5,000 allies, plus families, can come to America annually

(Newser) - The US embassy in Baghdad announced a major expansion of its visa program for Iraqi employees of the American government, raising tenforld the number of work permits it currently offers. The move is the latest step by the Bush administration to answer criticism that it has neglected the Iraqis, particularly...

Gov't Workers Peeked at Celeb Passport Data

Report suggests 127 million Americans' information unsafe

(Newser) - Government employees have been taking unauthorized peeks at electronic passport records of celebrities, says a State Department report that suggests the travel data of 127 million Americans is at risk. One high-profile person's records were opened 356 times by more than six dozen people, the Washington Post reports. Five contractors...

White House in Loop on Troubling Iraq Oil Deal

Bush crony's Kurdistan deal undermined Baghdad government

(Newser) - The State Department was fully aware that a Texas firm linked to President Bush planned to sign a controversial Kurdistan oil deal that undermined the Iraqi government, reports the New York Times. Documents released by a congressional committee yesterday reveal that Hunt Oil—run by a close associate of the...

Mandela Finally Removed From US Terror List

US takes icon off terrorist watch list

(Newser) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is finally being removed from US terrorism watch lists, CNN reports. The 90-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was designated a terrorist because he battled against the old apartheid regime in South Africa. His name was never officially removed from the US lists until a...

US Axes Fulbrights for 8 Palestinians

Israel won't let the students leave Gaza to study abroad

(Newser) - Eight Palestinians have had their Fulbright scholarships taken away because Israel won't grant them visas to leave the Gaza Strip, reports the New York Times. Israel has isolated Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory last year. The State Department has allocated the prestigious scholarships to students the West...

US Bounty Program Fails to Rein In Terrorists

Lure of huge rewards does little to dent al-Qaeda leadership

(Newser) - Money may be the root of all evil, but the almighty dollar is doing a poor job to stop it: Washington’s efforts to catch terror suspects using steep bounties is largely a bust, the Washington Post reports. “The program could use some rejuvenation,” said one ex-official. “...

Al-Qaeda Is Still Worst Terrorist Threat: US

Safe havens in Pakistan have helped group recharge

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda remains the terrorist group that most threatens the US, Reuters reports. An annual State Department survey of worldwide terrorist activity, out today, said the group killed 5,400 civilians—50% Muslims—in 2007. Though weaker now than in 2001 due to multilateral anti-terrorism efforts, the group has used the...

Carter Meets With Hamas Chief

Ex-president draws widespread criticism for talks with Palestinian group

(Newser) - Jimmy Carter met today with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal despite protests from the US State Department and the Israeli government. A Hamas deputy told the AP the agenda would include strategies to calm tensions between Israel and Hamas, as well as the fate of a kidnapped Israeli soldier. Carter has...

Diplomat Corps May Be Forced Into Iraq Service

Yanks face orders to fill understaffed Bagdad embassy

(Newser) - American diplomats may be forced to serve in Iraq if enough qualified candidates don't come forward voluntarily, reports CNN. The US embassy in Baghdad is chronically short-staffed, and the State Department has threatened that no other diplomatic jobs will be filled until the Baghdad bureau is up to speed. A...

Carter to Meet Hamas Leader Despite White House Policy

State Dept. 'counseled against' Syrian trip

(Newser) - Jimmy Carter plans to visit leaders of Palestinian extremist group Hamas in Syria next week despite warnings by the State Department that the rendezvous violates the Bush administration’s policy of isolating terrorist organizations, Reuters reports. Carter has scheduled talks with Khaled Meshaal, who heads Hamas’ Syrian branch and claims...

Workers Charge Laptops to Lingerie on Fed Credit Cards

Audit: Nearly half of purchases broke rules

(Newser) - Millions of dollars government employees charged to federal credit cards went for less-than-appropriate perks ranging from digital cameras to dating services, sexy lingerie, laptops, and a $13,000 postal party, reports the Washington Post. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that 48% of major purchases on federal credit...

Condi Debunks Veep Rumors
 Condi Debunks Veep Rumors 
Apr 8, 2008 6:32 AM CDT

Condi Debunks Veep Rumors

She's 'last to know about it,' quips aide

(Newser) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has once again quashed speculation that she is seeking the vice presidential nomination as John McCain's running mate, reports the Washington Post. A McCain-Rice ticket would satisfy many of McCain's conservative critics and represent a formidable challenge to a Dem ticket headed by a woman...

Feds Renew Blackwater Deal

 Feds Renew
 Blackwater Deal 
Apr 4, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

Feds Renew Blackwater Deal

FBI still probing incident that left 17 Iraqis dead

(Newser) - Washington renewed Blackwater USA's multimillion-dollar contract for another year today pending two probes into the contractor's conduct in Iraq, the AP reports. The FBI is still investigating a Baghdad shooting last year in which Blackwater guards gunned down 17 civilians and sparked outrage among Iraqis; US lawmakers are also probing...

World Attitudes Toward US Improving: Poll

Fewer believe US exerts negative influence

(Newser) - A worldwide wave of anti-Americanism appears to be abating a bit, though global views toward the US continue to be mainly negative, according to a BBC World Service poll. The average percentage of people saying the US is a negative global influence dropped to below 50% for the first time...

Passport Leaks Traced to 2 Va. Companies

Workers for passport-maker and intel firm breached files

(Newser) - Federal contractors who breached Barack Obama and John McCain passport records worked at to two Virginia companies, MSNBC reports. US passport maker Stanley, Inc. said today that it promptly fired two workers for accessing Obama's records this year. But a worker for The Analysis Corporation is still employed after probing...

Clinton, McCain Passport Files Also Breached

Rice apologizes to candidates for State Dept. snoopers

(Newser) - The State Department said today that Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s passport files also have been breached—just hours after Condoleezza Rice apologized to Barack Obama for the same thing, CNN reports. Rice promised a full investigation. “If it's true, it's reprehensible, and the Bush administration has...

State Dept. Fires 2 Over Breach of Obama Files

Employees looked at his passport records

(Newser) - The State Department has fired two employees and disciplined a third for taking unauthorized looks at Barack Obama's passport records, NBC News reports. It's not clear what they were trying to do, but their explanations for looking at the files didn't satisfy their bosses. The Obama camp said it smacked...

Anti-Semitism on the Rise: Report
Anti-Semitism on the Rise: Report
Mar 14, 2008 3:15 AM CDT

Anti-Semitism on the Rise: Report

Criticism of Israel helps fuel hatred worldwide, warns State Department

(Newser) - Over 60 years after the Holocaust, anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, warns a State Department report. US embassies across the globe have noted that attacks on Jewish people, their property and institutions have risen in the last ten years. In 2006 more than 100 synagogues were vandalized, hundreds of...

China Off US Rights Blacklist
 China Off US Rights Blacklist 
Mar 12, 2008 10:26 AM CDT

China Off US Rights Blacklist

State Dept. report drops China from top 10 worst abusers despite poor record

(Newser) - The State Department has taken China off its list of the world's 10 worst human rights abusers, the New York Times reports. China's human rights record "remained poor," the department's annual report said, with abuses including "extrajudicial killings, torture, and coerced confessions of prisoners." Officials declined...

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