State Department

Creative ideas, innovative programs to address labor, manufacturing gaps

14 August 2007 -- Washington -- The U.S. nuclear power industry is tackling a lack of skilled workers, insufficient manufacturing capacity and other problems as it works to expand its capacity to meet some of the projected increases in electricity demand.    » read more »

Ex-Oriole great to visit China as new U.S. sports envoy

13 August 2007 -- Washington -- Baseball Hall of Fame player Cal Ripken Jr. is taking his talents teaching kids the fundamentals of the sport to a higher level as a new U.S. State Department public diplomacy sports envoy.

Ripken’s first assignment will be visiting China October 28-November 6 to train Chinese youngsters in the Asian country’s budding baseball program.    » read more »

13 August 2007 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has named retired baseball great Cal Ripken Jr. to be a U.S. public diplomacy special envoy. Ripken, inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame last month, will begin the non-paying diplomatic role with a trip to China in October. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Ripken, best known for playing in an all-time record 2,600 and 32 consecutive regular season games, has devoted himself to promoting youth baseball since his retirement from the major leagues in 2001.    » read more »

China charged with reneging on Olympic Games commitments

08 August 2007 -- Washington -- Freedom of the press in China, where 29 Chinese journalists are in prison, is a top concern of independent press advocacy and human rights groups that have issued new reports about the matter.    » read more »

05 August 2007 -- Senior Bush administration officials say the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is showing some military success. At the same time, they say they are concerned with the slow pace of movement toward national political reconciliation.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he is pleased with the military side of the U.S. operation in Iraq.

"Yes, I think that the effort under way to dampen the violence, particularly that caused by the Baathists and by al-Qaida, is working as well as we would have hoped, both in Anbar province and in belts (areas) around Baghdad," he said.    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) today wrote Secretary of State Condolezza Rice to urge the State Department to delay implementing new rules on which agencies may process applications for passports.    » read more »

Reforms, advances in Ghana highlight promise of partnership with 38 nations

09 July 2007 -- Washington -– Strengthening the partnership for economic reforms and development between the United States and 38 African nations is the aim of the sixth annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum.

The forum will be held in Accra, Ghana, July 18-19, and U.S. and African officials said activity under AGOA in the host nation spotlights the goals and potential benefits of the law.    » read more »

Wide range of composers has influenced annual holiday celebrations

04 June 2007 -- Washington – The patriotic songs that have become staples of U.S. Independence Day celebrations reflect the nation’s history and the contributions of immigrants to the country’s diverse culture.    » read more »

Bush insists Czech Republic, Poland remain part of anti-missile plan

02 July 2007 -- Washington -- President Bush, meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kennebunkport, Maine, welcomed the Russian president’s proposal to expand a shared missile defense network to include Russia, the United States and European allies via the NATO-Russia Council.

The Russian and U.S. presidents met July 1-2 in at the Bush family’s summer home in Kennebunkport.    » read more »

Bush praises pact, affirms resolve to expand visa waiver program

30 June 2007 -- Washington -- The United States and South Korea signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) June 30 that aims to increase trade and investment flows between the two countries in economic sectors including agriculture, industrial and consumer products, automobiles and financial services.    » read more »

Machine’s 40th anniversary a celebration of ingenuity and convenience

28 June 2007 -- Washington – Forty years after the first automated teller machine (ATM) made it possible for people to get cash from their bank accounts at any time of day and from virtually any place in the world, companies are equipping them with voice-guidance features to improve their ease of use for people who are blind.

“Life should be as convenient for blind people as it is for anyone else,” says Christopher S. Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind (NFB).    » read more »

27 June 2007 -- The head of Turkey's armed forces has again stressed the need for a cross-border operation against Kurdish guerrillas based in Iraq.

But General Yasar Buyukanit said Wednesday that the Turkish government would have to set guidelines for such an incursion.

He called for a cross-border operation in April to attack Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, fighters who Turkey says are launching attacks on Turkey from Iraq.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. wants Kurdish guerrillas to stop operating out of northern Iraq.    » read more »

Signings by New York, Seattle help “grow” baseball in China

26 June 2007 -- Washington - A new era in baseball may be beginning with the signing by the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners of four Chinese players to major league contracts.

The Yankees started the trend when the team announced the signing of two 19-year-olds, pitcher Kai Liu and catcher Zhenwang Zhang.    » read more »

Leaders also pledge support for Palestinian leader Abbas, aid shipments

19 June 2007 -- Washington -- The United States and Israel support the creation of a Palestinian state that would live side by side in peace with Israel, President Bush says.

Speaking to reporters prior to a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert June 19, Bush said their countries share "a common vision, a vision that speaks to hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people, and a vision that speaks to the security of Israel."    » read more »

U.S. supports new Abbas government, pledges $40 million in new aid

18 June 2007 -- Washington -- The United States is lifting financial and diplomatic restrictions on the Palestinian Authority and will donate $40 million to U.N. programs serving the Palestinian Territories, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says.

“We intend to lift our financial restrictions on the Palestinian government, which has accepted previous agreements with Israel and rejects the path of violence,” Rice said June 18.    » read more »