The START treaty gets signed. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls for democratic change in the Middle East. President Obama calls for an orderly transition in Egypt. The State Department honors former Iran hostages on the 30th anniversary of their release. A top U.S. diplomat says defeated former Côte d’Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo must go. A grant is helping preserve early Christian frescoes in Macedonia. And, learn about a joint U.S.-Pakistan program and the world’s sweetest mangoes.

New START for U.S., Russia
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov exchange diplomatic documents in Munich, concluding a two-year effort to reduce nuclear arsenals to their lowest levels in more than 50 years. Clinton, right, and Lavrov, left, sign instruments of ratification to implement the New START treaty which reduces the number of nuclear warheads to 1,550 for each nation from 2,200 warheads.

Clinton: Democratic Change is Mideast “Necessity”
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The status quo in the Middle East is unsustainable and democratic change in the region is a “strategic necessity,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells officials from NATO, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. ”This is not simply a matter of idealism,” Clinton says.

Obama Calls for Egypt to Move Toward Transition
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President Obama says violence against peaceful demonstrators and the shutdown of information sources will not resolve Egypt’s political unrest, and he repeats his call for the Egyptian government to immediately begin an orderly transition process that includes a broad section of the opposition and addresses their grievances.

The Iran Hostage Crisis, 30 Years Later
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The U.S. State Department used the 30th anniversary of the release of 52 hostages in Iran to honor them as heroes and to hear the thoughts of five prominent former hostages. The 444 day Iranian hostage crisis, which began in November 1979, was a painful period for the hostages, their families and the United States. 

Gbagbo’s Closing Window
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The window for defeated former Côte d’Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo to leave honorably, peacefully, with amnesty, is closing, U.S. Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Phillip Carter says.  

Restoring Macedonian Frescoes
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The Early Christian frescos at Stobi, Macedonia are being preserved thanks to a grant from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. The main goal of the project is to perform conservation work on the unique wall paintings in the Episcopal basilica at the site of the ancient town of Stobi, capital of the former Roman province Macedonia Secunda.

A Sweet Deal for U.S., Pakistan
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In spring 2011, Pakistan will send its first shipments of the world’s sweetest mango to the United States. This initial export marks a milestone in an ongoing joint project with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Pakistani farmers and mango growers to expand Pakistan’s mango industry.