Sue Pleming
No image available
/ 4 December 2007

US to slap new sanctions on Zim

The United States will slap travel and financial sanctions on about 40 more people with ties to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has cracked down hard on dissent, a senior US official said on Monday. ”Mugabe’s tyranny needs to end,” said US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer.

No image available
/ 30 November 2007

Rice to visit Ethiopia in rare Africa trip

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Ethiopia next week for meetings on the conflicts in the volatile African Great Lakes region and Sudan and Somalia, said the State Department on Thursday. Rice, a rare visitor to the African continent, will make her third trip to sub-Saharan Africa since becoming Secretary of State in 2005.

No image available
/ 3 November 2007

Iraq conference looks at tensions on Turkey border

Turkey stepped up pressure on the United States to help curb attacks by Kurdish rebels from northern Iraq as a conference on Saturday of Iraq’s neighbours and major powers sought to lower cross-border tensions. The ”neighbours’ conference”, hosted by Turkey, was meant to focus on security inside Iraq but instead it is overshadowed by tensions between Turkey and Iraq.

No image available
/ 1 November 2007

Rice tries to close gap in Israeli-Palestinian talks

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders this weekend to craft a joint document ahead of a peace conference but she has intentionally set expectations low. US officials expect Rice’s visit will result in a document filled with principles to kick off negotiations on a Palestinian state.

No image available
/ 25 October 2007

US slaps new sanctions on Iran’s military

Ratcheting up the pressure on Tehran, the United States on Thursday designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a proliferater of weapons of mass destruction and its elite Qods force a supporter of terrorism. In total, Washington slapped sanctions on more than 20 Iranian companies, major banks and individuals as well as the Defence Ministry.

No image available
/ 27 July 2007

US looks to improved ties with Libya

Washington is seeking closer ties with Libya now that the Bulgarian medics case is resolved and the first tangible sign is a likely visit this year by top diplomat Condoleezza Rice. There are also other expected plans to boost cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries while increasing business links.

No image available
/ 26 July 2007

More US sanctions for Mugabe

The United States is looking at deepening sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his supporters but will continue to provide humanitarian aid, a senior US official said on Wednesday. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Fraser also urged South Africa to push for concrete results.

No image available
/ 19 February 2007

Rice summit ends with little sign of progress

Israeli-Palestinian talks hosted by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended on Monday with a vague promise to meet again and little sign of progress on reviving long-stalled peace moves. The talks, attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were overshadowed by a Palestinian unity deal that calmed factional fighting.