Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—March 7, 2014. The President spoke to Prime Minister Abe late last evening regarding the situation in Ukraine. The two leaders agreed that Russia’s actions are a threat to international peace and security and emphasized the importance of preserving Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.  They committed to work with[Read More…]

WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—March 7, 2014. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the February 2014 Employment Situation report released today: “The nation’s economic recovery continued in February, with the creation of 175,000 new jobs (162,000 of them in the private sector). For four years uninterrupted now —[Read More…]

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—March 7, 2014. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in professional and business services and in wholesale trade but declined in information. Household Survey Data Both[Read More…]

Rome, Italy–(ENEWSPF)–March 6, 2014. SECRETARY KERRY: (In Italian.) Good evening, everybody. It’s a great pleasure for me to be back in Rome. I’m especially pleased to be here in Rome at a time when Italy is making a transition in a – with a new government and making progress, important[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 6, 2014 – 1:10 P.M. EST MR. CARNEY:  Thank you all for being here.  And having heard the President’s statement, I have no other announcements — we have no other announcements, but I’ll go straight to questions. Jim. Q    Jay, thank you.  Just to follow up on what[Read More…]

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—March 6, 2014.   President Obama spoke for an hour this afternoon with President Putin of Russia. President Obama emphasized that Russia’s actions are in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which has led us to take several steps in response, in coordination with our European partners. President Obama[Read More…]

KIEV–(ENEWSPF)–6 March 2014 – Describing strife-torn Ukraine as “a country on edge”, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson today called for an end to the “provocative rhetoric” that was stoking tensions there, and stressed the readiness of the United Nations to facilitate meaningful dialogue among all the key parties to help ease[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 6, 2014. Index for Today’s Briefing EGYPT Status of Privacy Act Waiver for Detained U.S. Citizen UKRAINE/RUSSIA Proposed Crimean Referendum Visa Bans / Sanctions on Russians and Ukrainians Energy Supply in Ukraine and Europe EU Meeting USS Truxtun Past U.S. Sanctions on Russia Legalities Surrounding Visa Ban /[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 6, 2014.  The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all but essential travel to Iraq. Travel within Iraq remains dangerous given the security situation.  This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning dated September 5, 2013, to update information on security incidents and to remind U.S. citizens of[Read More…]

William J. Burns, Deputy Secretary of State, Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 6, 2014. Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity. I’m pleased to be joined by Matt Olsen and Derek Chollet. I ask that my written testimony[Read More…]