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18 Apr 2011 15:49

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World: Taliban captures engineers in Farah province

  • twelve Iranian engineers in Afghanistan have been kidnapped by the Taliban
  • five Afghans who were working with the Iranians were also captured source
  • » It happened in Farah province, near the Iranian border. Afghanistan’s embassy in Tehran called for swift action, as Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said he wants “Kabul authorities to exercise their responsibilities with regard to Iranian nationals and to take firm and swift action on this kidnapping.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2010 09:39

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World: The Ivory Coast nearly couped yesterday – in Paris, that is

These dudes are blocking off the Ivory Coast’s French embassy. Why? Supporters of should-be-winner Alassane Ouattara took it over for a bit yesterday. Uh-oh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jul 2010 12:23

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U.S., World: So, this Shahram Amiri guy walked into an embassy, and …

  • He’s been here for some time, I’m not going to specify for how long, but he has chosen to return.
  • State Department spokesman Philip Crowley • Regarding the fate of an Iranian nuclear scientist, Shahram Amiri, who randomly surfaced in D.C. yesterday after being gone from his home country for a while. Obviously, considering his job, the U.S. probably wanted some intelligence from him. And there’s been speculation that U.S. spies kidnapped Amiri – that’s Tehran’s line. Julius is probably going to stumble into an Iranian embassy any day now. You were wondering why we went on vacation for so long, right? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jan 2010 10:41

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U.S., World: The U.S. and U.K. say “screw it,” close embassies in Yemen

  • There are indications that al-Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy. And what we do is to take every measure possible to ensure the safety of our diplomats and citizens abroad, so the decision was made to close the embassy.
  • Assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism John Brennan • Regarding the government’s decision to close its Yemeni base. (Britain did the same, by the way.) The country, which is becoming a large hub for terrorism, has been the scene of a major battlefront in the war on al-Qaeda in the last few weeks, and the U.S. isn’t taking any chances. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jun 2009 11:52

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World: Iran’s attempts to graft outside influence on the protests continue

  • u.s. Yesterday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered a scathing rebuke of U.S. President Barack Obama for giving support to protesters. The Iranian president played like Obama was meddling; the GOP wishes Obama would a little more.
  • u.k. And today, the British government’s escalating tensions with the country hit a head when Iran arrested nine embassy employees in Tehran. Foreign Secretary David Miliband was not very happy with this at all.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2009 23:06

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U.S., World: The State Department sez foreign embassy workers get screwed

  • 51,000 non-American, locally-based workers are employed by U.S. embassies worldwide
  • $3-$4 amount they get paid (on average) per day; originally, it was reported to be under $1 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2009 04:44

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U.S., World: We hear a new U.S. Iraqi embassy is opening

  • Why a new one? Security in the highly-protected Green Zone, long a safe haven for international interests (including the U.S. military), was handed back to Iraqi forces on January 1.
  • Big and secure The new embassy, scheduled to open today, will house 4,000 workers. Security is so tight for the opening ceremony that film crews will not be allowed to show its buildings.
  • Going forward …Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who will preside over the opening ceremony, says recent attacks show al-Qaeda in Iraq to be a continuing threat despite great leaps forward in security. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
 
 
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