The Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, recently reached out to Paul Whelan, an American citizen and former marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on charges of espionage, according to a source from CNN. Blinken conveyed a message of support to Whelan during their conversation, assuring him that the U.S. government is actively …
The U.S. Department of State has issued an order for a temporary partial evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Niamey due to the recent military takeover of Niger’s government. This measure applies to all non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members, considering the limited availability of commercial flights. However, the embassy will remain open …
The United Nations has announced its commencement of operations to safely extract oil from a deteriorating supertanker in the Red Sea. This proactive measure aims to avert a potentially disastrous environmental event. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged the organization’s willingness to assume this delicate task in the absence of any other capable entities, stating, “The …
Chinese-based hackers have successfully breached the email of Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China, as part of a wider cyber attack that targeted several federal agencies, including the State and Commerce departments, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The attack also targeted Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of State for East Asia. The State …
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has penned a letter to senators, emphasizing the importance of confirming numerous diplomatic nominees awaiting a vote. Blinken warns that leaving ambassadorships vacant could pose a threat to U.S. national security. Out of the 38 State Department nominees awaiting Senate votes, 35 are career officers. This plea comes as Sen. …
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated on Sunday that the Chinese hackers who infiltrated the email accounts of various US government agencies did not gain access to any classified federal information. Sullivan clarified, “The breach occurred in Microsoft’s cloud system, and from there, they were able to access the unclassified email accounts of US government …
State and Commerce Department officials were targeted by Chinese hackers, according to reports from The New York Times and CNN. The hacking occurred in the weeks leading up to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing. Microsoft confirmed that accounts from 25 organizations, including federal agencies, were affected by the attack. Fortunately, U.S. government …
The State Department has been subpoenaed by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to provide documents regarding its sanctions policies towards China. This comes after reports suggested that the agency had held back on punitive measures in order to improve relations between the US and China. McCaul has given …
Following a recent court ruling that placed limitations on the Biden administration’s communication with social media companies, the State Department has decided to cancel its scheduled meeting with Facebook officials. The Washington Post reports that these monthly meetings, along with any future ones, have been put on hold pending further guidance in light of the …
The chaotic and deadly end to the two-decade U.S. presence in Afghanistan was influenced by key failures by both the Trump and Biden administrations, according to an unclassified State Department review published on Friday. The review revealed that senior officials were unprepared for worst-case scenarios and failed to anticipate how quickly the situation could deteriorate. …