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Subject IndexWednesday, May 20, 2009
FY 2010 Budget for the State Department
Secretary Clinton (May 20): "By using all the tools of American power – the talent of our people, well-reasoned policies, strategic partnerships, and the strength of our principles – we can make great strides against the problems we’ve faced for generations, and address the new threats of the 21st century. This comprehensive approach to solving global problems and seizing opportunities is at the heart of smart power. And the President’s 2010 budget is a blueprint for how we intend to put smart power into action." -Full Text  -Best Places to Work
Text Your Disaster Relief Donation for Pakistan
Secretary Clinton (May 19): "Today I am announcing that the people of the United States are responding to a request for assistance from the Government of Pakistan with more than $100 million in humanitarian support.  Now, this money comes on top of almost $60 million that the United States has provided since last August to help Pakistanis who have been affected by the conflicts, and in addition to the other funding for Pakistan that we are already seeking from the Congress. Providing this assistance is not only the right thing to do, but we believe it is essential to global security and the security of the United States, and we are prepared to do more as the situation demands." -Full Briefing -More on Announcement  -Text Your Donation

 

Global Press Conference
Secretary Clinton (May 19): "We believe that a free press is an integral part of our democracy. And as I said earlier this month on World Press Freedom Day, President Obama and I are determined to continue the United States’ commitment to media freedom worldwide. And I’m very proud of the State Department’s long tradition of assisting foreign journalists reporting about the United States, and we will continue to support you in your work." -Full Text

In Other News

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Date: 05/13/2009 Location: Sri Lanka Description: An internally displaced Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil woman tends to an injured boy at a makeshift hospital in Mullivaikal, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. © AP Photo
Sri Lanka: Cessation of Fighting
(May 19):  The United States welcomes the cessation of fighting in Sri Lanka and the apparent conclusion to its long-running conflict. This 26-year-old conflict has cost tens of thousands of Sinhalese and Tamil lives, uprooted countless Sri Lankans from their homes, left thousands maimed or wounded, and has brutally divided the nation.  Full Text
Date: 05/18/2009 Location: Geneva, Switzerland Description: Samuel M. Witten, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres signing the Framework for Cooperation between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Department of State, for the Year 2009. State Dept Photo
Refugee Cooperation
Acting Assistant Secretary Witten and UN High Commissioner Guterres signed the 2009 Framework for Cooperation, which lays out specific objectives to better assist and meet the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and other victims of conflict around the world. The U.S. Government, UNHCR’s largest bilateral donor, contributed through PRM more than $500 million in 2008 to assist the most vulnerable in some of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Sudan. (May 18) -Framework
Date: 05/06/2009 Location: Gulf of Aden Description: In this photo taken on May 6, 2009, released by the Spanish Ministry of Defense, alleged Somali pirates cling to their capsized vessel moments before being rescued by the Spanish Navy in the Gulf of Aden. © AP Photo/Spain's Defense Ministry
The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia
(May 18): In recognition of the growing impact of piracy on commercial shipping, humanitarian aid, and regional trade in the Horn of Africa, the United States and its international partners created the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia in New York on January 14, 2009. -Fact Sheet
Date: 03/24/2009 Description: Great Seal State Dept Photo
North Korea: American Journalists Held
Spokesman Kelly (May 18): "We remain concerned about their welfare and hope they can be returned to their families in the U.S. as soon as possible...And I’ll just repeat again that we have no higher priority – we in the State Department and the U.S. Foreign Service – than the safety, welfare and protection of American citizens abroad. We continue to work on this matter through a number of channels.." -Full Text
Date: 05/18/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers the 2009 commencement address at Barnard College, New York, New York. State Dept Photo
Barnard College Commencement Ceremony
Secretary Clinton (May 18): "Serving the people of the world does not have to be your life’s calling, but I urge you to make it a part of your life, to include it in whatever you decide to do as you start out on this adventure. You are certainly well-prepared, and I wish for each and every one of you an adventure that gives you the same sense of meaning and purpose that you are looking for, and an understanding of how much more you can do with the gifts you have been given, and to decide that you too will try to be those special envoys of the ideals that you believe in."  -Commencement Address
Date: 05/13/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the 39th Washington Conference of the Council of the Americas held at the State Department. State Dept Photo
39th Washington Conference of the Council of the Americas
Secretary Clinton (May 13): "Today, our view is that our hemisphere is and can be the dynamic center of growth and opportunity for all of the people who live within it, and that together we can see a new future for our hemisphere that will give us the chance to improve the quality of life, raise the standard of living, deal with our ongoing security and law enforcement problems, while tackling together problems like energy, climate change, and so much else." -Full Text -View Video 
Date: 03/20/2009 Description: Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative, delivers remarks on the humanitarian situation in Sudan at the United Nations Security Council. © AP Photo
U.S. Election to the Human Rights Council
Ambassador Rice (May 12): "The United States is very pleased to be elected to join the Human Rights Council. We’re particularly gratified by the strong support we received, 90 percent of the valid votes cast, and we’re gratified by the strong showing of encouragement for the United States to again play a meaningful leadership role in multilateral organizations including the UN on the very vitally important set of issues relating to human rights and democracy."
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Date: 05/14/2009 Location: Treaty Room Description: Secretary Clinton with Malaysian Foreign Minister Y.B. Datuk Anifah bin Haji Aman After Their Meeting, U.S. Department of State © State Dept Photo/Michael Gross
U.S.-Malaysia Relations
Secretary Clinton (May 14): "The minister and I concluded a very productive meeting. We discussed a number of issues that matter to the people of Malaysia and the United States, including strengthening regional institutions like ASEAN, combating piracy and terrorism, finding solutions to the global financial crisis, dealing with refugee flows, and so much else. Malaysia is our strong and steady partner on these and other issues." -Full Text -View Video
Cover of FY 2010 Department of State Congressional Budget Justification.
FY 2010 Budget Request
The FY 2010 budget request reflects the President's commitment to strengthen the tools of diplomacy and foreign assistance to address current and future challenges that impact the security of the United States. It requests the necessary resources to further increase diplomatic capacity, providing the critical tools and funding that our diplomats require to pursue the most challenging national security issues, now and in the future.
-Fact Sheet -More Budget Documents
Date: 05/12/2009 Description: Special Representative for North Korea Policy Ambassador Steven Bosworth. State Dept Photo
Update on Travel to Asia
Ambassador Bosworth (May 12): "I think everyone is feeling relatively relaxed about where we are at this point in the process. There is not a sense of crisis. We acted together in a strong fashion in the United Nations with the Security Council Resolution, and now I think we are going to proceed with patience and perseverance. We are committed to dialogue, and we are obviously interested in returning to the negotiating table as soon as we can, but this is not a decision that depends on us. It also depends on the DPRK. So we’ve, I think, managed to confirm that we have a common view and a common sense of the road forward." -Full Text -View Video
Date: 05/13/2009 Location: Sri Lanka Description: An internally displaced Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil woman tends to an injured boy at a makeshift hospital in Mullivaikal, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. © AP Photo
Humanitarian Situation in Sri Lanka
Spokesman Kelly (May 13): "Well, I mean, I think we’re as frustrated as everybody else in the international community about the situation in Sri Lanka. We’re deeply disturbed by these reports, including the one ... that you just mentioned. We’re working very closely with the international community to maintain pressure on all sides. At the same time, we’re working with the UN and with our allies to try and develop a humanitarian response to this question." -Full Text -View Video -U.S.-U.K. Joint Statement
Date: 05/08/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu deliver remarks during a signing ceremony between the U.S. and Romania. State Dept Photo
U.S.-Romania Mutual Legal Assistance Protocol and the U.S.-Romania Extradition Treaty
Secretary Clinton (May 8): "These twin agreements between the United States and Romania will allow police and prosecutors in both countries to employ state-of-the-art tools to cooperate more effectively to bring criminals to justice on both sides of the Atlantic. The agreement will form part of an important network of similar agreements that the United States is reaching with all the countries of the European Union."  -Full Text -View Video

Highlights

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
Saluting Asian Pacific Heritage Month 

Date: 05/20/2009 Description: Asian Pacific Heritage Month, 2009: Lisa Lee State Dept Photo

Lisa Lee works in program assessment at the Division of Accountability, Oversight, and Evaluation in the Bureau of Human Resources-Civil Service Human Resource Management. -More

Register Now for the June 2009 Foreign Service Officer Exam
The Foreign Service Officer selection process begins with online registration, proceeds through the selection process, and for those who succeed, culminates in hiring from the register for assignment to the A-100 course, the training and orientation course that marks the beginning of every Foreign Service Officer career. -More
Flu Updates
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is actively investigating isolated human cases of influenza A (H1N1) in several states and is working closely with Canada and Mexico and with the World Health Organization. Updates are available through the links below.

Secretary Clinton traveled to the Middle East April 25-26.

The round State Department seal follows Secretary Clinton's location. Clicking on the seal brings you to a larger interactive map, complete with video, photos, and the Secretary's remarks from the trip.

Traveling?

Date: 02/02/2001 Location: Fujiyoshida, Japan, Description: Mount Fuji in Japan
Japan
Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. About 73% of the country is mountainous, with a chain running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is the world famous Mt. Fuji (12,385 feet). Since so little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the summits.
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Zweierspitze Mountain near Mastrils, Switzerland, December 11, 2006. [© AP Images]
Switzerland
Switzerland sits at the crossroads of several major European cultures, which have heavily influenced the country's languages and cultural practices. Switzerland has four official languages--German, French, Italian, and Romansch. The German spoken is predominantly a Swiss dialect, but newspapers and some media broadcasts use High German. Many Swiss speak more than one language. English is widely spoken.
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Date: 07/16/1997 Location: Andorra. Description: Bikers ride past old church in the Envalira pass between Andorra and southern France. © AP Photo
Andorra
Andorra's national income in 2007 was approximately $3.66 billion, with tourism as its principal component. Attractive for shoppers from France and Spain because of low taxes, the country also has developed active summer and winter tourist resorts. With some 270 hotels and 400 restaurants, as well as many shops, the tourist trade employs a growing portion of the domestic labor force.
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Date: 08/25/2003 Location: Malta Description: Aerial view of Mellieha village with its parish church, Malta. © AP Photo
Malta
Malta was an important cultic center for earth-mother worship in the 4th millennium B.C. Archeological work shows a developed religious center there, including the world's oldest free-standing architecture, predating that of Sumer and Egypt.
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Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia consists of 607 islands extending 1,800 miles across the archipelago of the Caroline Islands east of the Philippines. The four states are the island groups of Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap, and the island of Kosrae. The federal capital is Palikir, on Pohnpei. Following World War II, these islands became part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, administered by the United States
- Full Text -Post of the Month 

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