United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Madam Ban Soon-taek arrived in Athens from London late on Tuesday, 4 November, for an official visit to Greece. He began the day on Wednesday with a working breakfast with the so-called Troika of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, comprising of Teodora Tzakri, Deputy Minister of Interior, […]
(First Lady Michelle Obama congratulates an award recipient during the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities Coming Up Taller event in the State Dining Room of the White House, Nov. 4, 2009. Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton) Yesterday afternoon in the historic State Dining Room, First Lady Michelle Obama, honorary chair of the […]
With National Cybersecurity Awareness Month now finished, I would like to remind everyone that cybersecurity is not an issue that requires our attention only one month a year. Instead, we need to be thinking about cybersecurity every time we turn on a computer. Further, as the threat of cyber attacks continues to increase, the U.S. […]
The following Security Council press statement on the Afghanistan elections was read out today by Council President Thomas Mayr-Harting ( Austria): The members of the Security Council acknowledged the conclusion of the electoral process in 2009 following the decision of the Independent Electoral Commission of Afghanistan to declare President [Hamid] Karzai elected President. The […]
All day today we will be live streaming the White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Department of the Interior, including opening and closing remarks from the President and discussions ranging from jobs to energy to housing to health care. As part of President Obama’s sustained outreach to the American people, this conference will provide […]
Click here to see the video. Yesterday, my staff and I hosted a Clean Energy Economy Forum with 164 stakeholders from 39 states across the country. Participants represented a broad-based network of organizations and institutions – including sportsmen and women, business leaders, conservationists, and Indian country. Thank you to all who attended in person and who participated […]
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon?s video message to the Beijing Forum 2009: Mr. Zhou Qifeng, President of Peking University, Distinguished guests, scholars and leaders of the Beijing Forum, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Congratulations on holding the Beijing Forum 2009. I thank Peking University, the Korea Foundation and my good friend, […]
Earlier today, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Wright Middle School in Madison, Wisconsin to spotlight one of the most exciting and innovative initiatives in education reform history: the Race to the Top Award. Designed to reward schools that take initiative to improve, the award provides grants—there is $4 billion on the […]
Calling for more attention to be paid to water management, two experts warned this afternoon that the main effects of climate change would revolve around water use. Speaking at a Headquarters press conference, Colin Chartres, Director‑General of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research at the International Water Management Institute, said some countries might get […]
Cross-posted from the Department of State’s blog. On October 19, Secretary Clinton, accompanied by Ambassador Rice and myself, released the Obama Administration’s new comprehensive strategy to confront the serious and urgent situation in Sudan. As mentioned in my past blog post, the strategy focuses on three major areas: ending the conflict in Darfur, implementing the […]
