State Department

State Department Orders Nonessential U.S. Government Employees Out Of Iraq

8:50am May 15, 2019

by Laurel Wamsley

The travel advisory ordered the departure of employees at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Irbil. It was not immediately clear what led to the order.

Marini de Livera, a pro bono lawyer from Sri Lanka, was honored at the U.S. Department of State on Thursday.

She's A Lawyer ... A Thespian ... And Now A State Department 'Woman Of Courage'

12:44pm March 08, 2019

by Rebecca Ellis

The U.S. Department of State has honored Sri Lanka's Marini de Livera for her innovative combination of drama and legal work to aid women and children.

Elad Dvash-Banks (left) and his husband, Andrew, pose for photos with their twin sons, Ethan (center right), and Aiden in their apartment last year in Los Angeles.

Judge Rules Against State Department In Same-Sex Couple's Citizenship Lawsuit

5:13pm February 22, 2019

by Merrit Kennedy

Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks have twin sons, born four minutes apart. The State Department has maintained that one is a U.S. citizen and one is not. A judge sided with the couple.

Haitian police have struggled to control street protests as demonstrators call for President Jovenel Moise to resign over alleged misuse of the Petrocaribe fund.

World News

'Do Not Travel To Haiti,' U.S. Tells Citizens, Citing Violent Unrest

11:29am February 15, 2019

by Bill Chappell

The advisory comes after anti-corruption protests exploded over allegations about billions of dollars in development money. Haiti's President Jovenel Moise is refusing to resign.

Venezuela's top prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, talks to reporters in Caracas on Tuesday. He announced that Juan Guaidó, now President Nicolás Maduro's most prominent opponent, is barred from leaving the country because of an investigation.

United States Warns Americans Not To Travel To Venezuela As Tensions Rise

8:26pm January 29, 2019

by Sasha Ingber

The U.S. supports the main opposition leader who has been barred by Venezuela's Supreme Court from leaving the country.

In this Dec. 12, 2012, file photo released by Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's Unha-3 rocket lifts off from the Sohae launch pad in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. In 2018, North Korea's government said it would destroy the facility.

Opinion: What I Learned Leading America's 1st Nuclear Inspection In North Korea

9:45am January 22, 2019

by Joel Wit

Joel Wit, a former State Department official who played a key role in negotiating and implementing the 1994 denuclearization deal with North Korea, writes about important lessons.

Attorneys, from left, David Seligman, Nina DiSalvo and Alexander Hood of Denver's Towards Justice, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of au pairs for higher pay.

National

Au Pair Sponsor Agencies Settle Wage Lawsuit, Offer $65.5 Million In Back Pay

11:01pm January 09, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

The complaint alleged 15 companies, who at the time controlled 100 percent of the au pair workforce, colluded to keep wages artificially low and denied the workers overtime pay.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells NPR that the U.S. remains committed to the Kurds, American allies in the Syrian war, even as the U.S. plans to withdraw troops from the country.

Despite Remaining ISIS Threats, Pompeo Says U.S. Made 'Caliphate In Syria Go Away'

5:18pm December 20, 2018

by Peter Granitz

In an interview with NPR, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expanded on remarks by President Trump, who declared the U.S. had "won against ISIS" amid news that the Pentagon would pull troops from Syria.

The State Department is implementing a policy denying visas to diplomats' same-sex partners if they're not legally married.

U.S. Halts Visas For Diplomats' Same-Sex Partners If They're Not Married

8:11pm October 02, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

Officials say the policy promotes parity with opposite-sex couples. But critics fear for these foreign diplomats and staff, many of whom hail from countries where same-sex couples suffer persecution.

Blackwater security contractors guard Zalmay Khalilzad, then the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as he arrives at a community sports center in Baghdad in 2006.

Zalmay Khalilzad Appointed As U.S. Special Adviser To Afghanistan

4:42pm September 05, 2018

The Afghan-born former diplomat served as U.S. ambassador in Kabul under President George W. Bush. In Afghanistan, views of Khalilzad are mixed, with some blaming him for many of the country's woes.