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Subject IndexTuesday, August 25, 2009
President Obama Delivers Message on Ramadan
President Obama (Aug. 21): "I know...that Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection – a time when Muslims fast during the day and perform tarawih prayers at night, reciting and listening to the entire Koran over the course of the month. These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam's role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings." -Full Text -White House blog -Message also available in: Amharic | Arabic | Bengali | Dari | French | Hindi | Indonesian | Malay | Pashto | Persian | Punjabi | Russian | Turkish | Urdu
Support for Refugees
Assistant Secretary Schwartz (Aug. 19): "Today, on World Humanitarian Day, it's my distinct honor to tell you that we are planning now to provide an additional $160 million in support of critical international and nongovernmental efforts to provide humanitarian assistance and protection. ...In this case, the money will include, for example, some $58 million for assistance in Africa, with a particular focus on Somalia displaced, the Congo, Sudan, and Chad; $29 million for Afghan refugees and conflict victims; and some $71 million to address critical crises in many of the other major refugee-producing regions of the world." -Full Text

 

U.S.-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 18): "The foreign minister and I...discussed the bilateral defense cooperation agreement that our governments hope to sign in the near future. This agreement ensures that appropriate protections are in place for our service members. It will allow us to continue working together to meet the challenges posed by narco-traffickers, terrorists, and other illegal armed groups in Colombia. These threats are real, and the United States is committed to supporting the Government of Colombia in its efforts to provide security for all of its citizens."
-Full Text -Fact Sheet -Briefing

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Secretary Clinton recently traveled
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In Other News

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Date: 03/24/2009 Description: Great Seal State Dept Photo
North and South Korea and the Six-Party Talks
Department Spokesman Kelly (Aug 24): "We’ve seen some helpful steps in thawing the relationship between North Korea and South Korea, in a bilateral basis.... But I would not say that we’ve seen really any progress toward our oft-stated goal and our clear position that we want to engage with North Korea to discuss this denuclearization issue in the Six-Party context" -Full Text
Date: 08/06/2009 Description: Afghan women are seen under election posters, as they hold copies of presidential and provincial ballot papers during an exercise, the part of election awareness program in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan will hold presidential elections on August 20, 2009. © AP Image
Recent Elections in Afghanistan
President Obama (Aug. 21): "Over the last few days...we've seen acts of violence and intimidation by the Taliban, and there may be more in the days to come. We knew that the Taliban would try to derail this election. Yet even in the face of this brutality, millions of Afghans exercised the right to choose their leaders and determine their own destiny." -Full Text -Statement by Secretary Clinton
Date: 08/20/2009 Description: Patrick F. Kennedy, Under Secretary of State for Management, and Li Jinzhang, Vice Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs for the People's Republic of China, sign a Conditions of Construction Agreement (COCA) in the Treaty Room at the U.S. Department of State. © State Dept Image
U.S. and China Sign Conditions of Construction Agreement
(Aug. 20): Patrick F. Kennedy, Under Secretary of State for Management, and Li Jinzhang, Vice Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs for the People’s Republic of China, signed a Conditions of Construction Agreement (COCA). The COCA will apply to new construction, expansion, renovation, and demolition undertaken by the United States and China of all or parts of their respective diplomatic sites in the United States and China.
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Date: 08/19/2009 Description: Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Image from © AP Video
Security Situation in Pakistan
Special Representative Holbrooke (Aug. 19): "It is a different kind of war with a different kind of enemy, an enemy that straddles the border of both countries and poses equal threats to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States. We have a common enemy and a common task and a common challenge. And we are absolutely pleased at the success of the Pakistani army has had in Swat and Buner and elsewhere in recent weeks and we are deeply impressed with the return of so many refugees so quickly." -Full Text
Date: 08/18/2009 Description: President Obama shakes hands with Egyptian President Mubarak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009. © AP Image
U.S. and Egypt: Working Together Through Great Challenges
President Obama (Aug. 18): "The United States and Egypt have worked together closely for many years, and for many of those years President Mubarak has been a leader and a counselor and a friend to the United States.  We obviously have a lot of great challenges that have to be dealt with and we are continuing to work together to find those areas where we can find common ground and to work in concert to bring peace and security to the region." -Full Text
Date: 12/12/2006 Description: World Food Program (WFP) workers offload sacks of rice donated by the U.S. Agency for International Development, at the WFP warehouse in Khartoum, Sudan. © AP Image
Commemoration of World Humanitarian Day
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 19): "Today, the United States is honored to join the international community in commemorating the first World Humanitarian Day. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008 to increase public awareness about humanitarian activities around the world, World Humanitarian Day is also an occasion to honor aid workers who labor every day on behalf of some of the world’s most vulnerable people." -Full Text
Date: 08/13/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shakes hands with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the Presidential palace in Monrovia, Liberia. © AP Image
U.S. Helps Liberia Solidify Democracy
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 13): "[T]he steps that have been taken in this post-conflict democracy to bring the country together are absolutely essential. I am very supportive of actions that will lead to the peace, reconciliation, and unity of Liberia. ...President Sirleaf has been a very effective leader on behalf of...Liberia, and the United States officially supports what this government is doing." -Full Text -More on Trip
Date: 08/12/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe in Abuja, Nigeria. © AP Image
Developing Stronger Partnership With Nigeria
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 12): "The United States views Nigeria as a friend, an ally, and a partner on so many important issues, as well as an important country in Africa and increasingly, globally. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation, its largest producer of oil, its largest contributor of peacekeepers, a significant trading partner for the United States, and the largest recipient of American direct investment by the private sector in Sub-Saharan Africa." -Full Text
Date: 08/12/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a Town Hall address with Nigerian government officials and industry leaders in Abuja, Nigeria. © AP Image
Good Governance in Nigeria
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 12): "The foundation of a democracy is trust. And a democracy doesn’t always behave perfectly. And a democracy is not just about elections. It’s about an independent judiciary and a free press and the protection of minority rights and an active legislative body that holds the executive accountable. It is about building those democratic institutions."
-Full Text -More on Trip
Date: 08/08/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton visits a housing project in Khayelitsha, on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. © AP Image
Secretary Clinton Visits Victoria Mxenge Housing Development
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 8): "[W]e are so proud to see the houses that are being built, because these are houses that will give shelter and happiness to the families in them, and the women and the men who have built them. And so I am very proud to see the progress that you have made, and to know that because of your efforts and this model, there are 50,000 houses built like this across South Africa." -Full Text
Date: 08/09/2009 Description: A USAID-funded program helped this farmer improve his potato crop. © USAID/Angola, C. Hamlin
Partnership Provides Development Assistance to Angola
Secretary Clinton (Aug. 9): "With the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, we are making a down payment on the future, the revitalization of small and medium holder farming in Angola. This $6 million investment will help raise the income of Angolans, turn back hunger, and drive sustainable development."
-Full Text -Fact Sheet
Date: 08/13/2009 Description: Special Briefing by Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg on the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 on North Korea. © State Dept Image from Video
Implementation of UN Resolution 1874 on North Korea
Ambassador Goldberg (Aug. 13): "Our overall goal in all of this is clear. We are working closely with allies and partners to do things: to achieve denuclearization of North Korea through irreversible steps; and to implement UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea." -Full Text

Highlights

Overseas Exchange Opportunities for Americans
Date: 08/20/2009 Description: Logo: Overseas Exchange Opportunities for Americans. © State Dept Image Each year, thousands of Americans travel abroad to take part in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' (ECA) exchange programs. Take a glimpse at the diverse range of exchange opportunities in store for U.S. citizens. -More

EducationUSA - Your Guide to U.S. Higher Education
Date: 07/16/2009 Location: Washingtonm, DC Description: EducationUSA logo © State Dept ImageEducationUSA is a global network of more than 450 advising centers supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. -More

Pittsburgh Summit 2009Date: 06/23/2009 Description: Pittsburgh summit 2009 logo. © State Dept Image
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will host the G-20 Summit September 24-25, 2009.  President Obama will chair this meeting of leaders from countries around the world who will review the progress made since the Washington and London Summits and discuss further actions to assure a sound and sustainable recovery from the global financial and economic crisis. -Summit Website
Secretary Clinton traveled to Africa August 3 to August 14.

Click on any seal to go a larger interactive map, complete with video, photos, and the Secretary's remarks from the trip.
United We Serve
Date: 06/17/2009 Description: United We Serve. Serve.gov. © Serve.gov imageServe.gov is a new portal for you and all Americans to find ways to serve in your communities. Americans are putting their own country back on the right track: Be a part of it! Visit Serve.gov, choose your keyword -- "education," "environment," or whatever interests you -- type in your ZIP Code, and see what opportunities our partner organizations have in your area.
Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Internships
Date: 05/12/2009 Description: Virtual Student Foreign Service logo: Outline of world map in square surrounded by the words Virtual Student Foreign Service. State Dept PhotoVirtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Internships, announced by Secretary Clinton at the 2009 New York University commencement speech, are part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young people to facilitate new forms of diplomatic engagement. The VSFS Internships will be developed over the next year and will seek to harness the energy of a rising generation of citizen diplomats.
-Register/More Information
Flu Updates
On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in response to the ongoing global spread of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. A Phase 6 designation indicates that a global pandemic is underway. Updates about H1N1 are available through the links below.


Traveling?

Nigeria
The variety of customs, languages, and traditions among Nigeria's 250 ethnic groups gives the country a rich diversity. Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba, and Kanuri are the largest groups. Nigeria is the United States' largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, largely due to the high level of petroleum imports from Nigeria, which supply 11% of U.S. oil imports--nearly 46% of Nigeria's daily oil production. Nigeria is the fifth-largest exporter of oil to the United States.
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Liberia
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) implements the U.S. Government's development assistance program in Liberia, the second-largest USAID development program in Africa. USAID is strengthening civil society's role in delivering services and advocating good governance.
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Date: 10/08/2005 Description: Angolan player Maieco Fabrice, number 10, red shirt, takes the ball away from an unidentified Rwandan player during their World Cup 2006 qualifying soccer match. © AP Image
Angola
Angola's rapidly expanding petroleum industry reached its OPEC cap of 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2008. However, Angola’s production was subsequently cut to 1.64 million bpd in January 2009 by an OPEC mandate in response to plummeting oil prices. Angola's crude oil production is now the second highest in Africa. Exports to Asian countries have grown rapidly in recent years, particularly to China. Diamonds make up most of Angola's remaining exports, with yearly production at 6 million carats.
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South Africa
The country is the world's largest producer and exporter of platinum, the third-largest producer of gold, and a significant exporter of coal and iron ore. The value-added processing of minerals to produce ferroalloys, stainless steels, and similar products is a major industry. The country's diverse manufacturing industry is a world leader in motor vehicles and parts, railway rolling stock, synthetic fuels, mining equipment and machinery, and military equipment. South Africa has many developed irrigation schemes and is a net exporter of food.
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Date: 05/21/2008 Location: Kenya Description: A pride of lionesses walk the plains in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya. © AP PhotoKenya
Fossils found in East Africa suggest that protohumans roamed the area more than 20 million years ago. Recent finds near Kenya's Lake Turkana indicate that hominids lived in the area 2.6 million years ago. Tourism earned Kenya U.S. $972 million in 2007, followed by tea exports of U.S. $638.9 million.
 
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