December 20, 2015 Sources: Militia blamed for Benghazi attack moved next door to US Consulate before strike Members of the Islamist extremist militia blamed for the Benghazi terror attack had moved in next door to the U.S. consulate months before the strike but “nothing was done” despite concerns about the dangerous neighbors, sources tell ӣƵ.
December 20, 2015 Kerry returns to Middle East to push for cease-fire U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is making a renewed push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas with another trip to the Middle East after the civilian death toll in the conflict sharply escalated over the weekend.
December 20, 2015 Lawmakers say there will be 'hell to pay' if Russia is behind Malaysia Airlines crash The White House confirmed Thursday that President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin briefly discussed a Malaysian passenger plane crash which killed 295 people on board during a telephone call the two leaders had earlier in the day. The plane carrying 295 on board crashed in Ukraine near the border with Russia. The plane was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Pieces of the Boeing 777 along with bodies were found burning on the ground in Ukraine.
December 20, 2015 US says Burma resorting to police-state tactics The State Department's top human rights official is accusing Myanmar authorities of resorting to police-state tactics after five journalists from a weekly magazine got 10 years at hard labor for a disputed story about a weapons factory.
December 20, 2015 Former Coast Guard chief tapped as Arctic diplomat A retired Coast Guard admiral was named Wednesday as the first U.S. special representative for Arctic issues, overseeing American policy in the icy region that is becoming a global focus for economic opportunities and security concerns.
December 20, 2015 Report: Attacks by terror group Boko Haram increasing, 2,053 killed this year A new report detailing the extent to which the radical Islamist group Boko Haram is using brutality and murder to spread terror among Nigerian villages reveals that 2,053 people have been been killed in 95 attacks in the first half of 2014.
December 20, 2015 US concerned over Burma journalists' sentences The U.S. says it's very concerned that four reporters and a magazine chief executive in Burma have been sentenced to 10 years of hard labor.
December 20, 2015 Kerry arrives in Afghanistan to meet candidates U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a hastily arranged visit to Afghanistan on Friday to help resolve an election crisis sowing chaos in a country that the U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars and lost more than 2,000 lives trying to stabilize.
December 20, 2015 US sending $22 million more to aid South Sudan The U.S. is sending an additional $22 million in humanitarian assistance to refugees and people displaced by the violence in South Sudan.
December 20, 2015 Fishing in murky waters: the administration’s secretive oceans policies come under fire The Obama administration is using its “phone and pen” method of governing by executive action to push its agenda and extend its powers in a huge new area: the Pacific Ocean.