Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—December 26, 2013. Today I have signed into law H.R. 3304, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014.” I have signed this annual defense authorization legislation because it will provide pay and bonuses for our service members, enhance counterterrorism initiatives abroad, build the security capacity of key[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–Decembre 26, 2013. Michelle and I extend our best wishes to all those celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. Today marks the beginning of the week-long celebration of African American culture through family activities and community festivities that bring attention to Kwanzaa’s seven principles of unity, self-determination, collective work and[Read More…]

South Sudan–(ENEWSPF)–26 December 2013 – The United Nations hopes to have peacekeeping reinforcements on the ground in strife-torn South Sudan within the next 48 hours, including both troops and critical assets such as helicopters, as it seeks to protect civilians in a conflict that is already estimated to have claimed[Read More…]

East Jerusalem–(ENEWSPF)–26 December 2013 – The United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees today condemned Israel’s latest demolitions in the West Bank which have displaced 68 people, including 32 children, in the depths of winter, saying it is violating international law and calling on it to abide by its obligations. “Because[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 26, 2013. SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending December 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 338,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 380,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week’s revised[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 25, 2013. THE PRESIDENT: Hello everybody, and happy holidays. THE FIRST LADY: We know how busy this time of year is for everyone, so we’re not going to take much of your time.  But we did want to take a moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas, from[Read More…]

GENEVA–(ENEWSPF)–24 December 2013 – Amid ethnically targeted killings, arbitrary detentions, rising displacement and now the discovery of mass graves, the United Nations human rights chief today urged the South Sudanese leadership to curb the escalating violence in the world’s youngest nation and make it absolutely clear that those committing abuses[Read More…]

NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–23 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called a crisis meeting of his top advisers on the deteriorating situation in South Sudan today and proposed reinforcing the United Nations peacekeeping force there in a bid to stem a conflict increasingly marked by ethnically targeted killings. “I am determined to[Read More…]

WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–December 23, 2013 – The commander of U.S. Africa Command is repositioning forces in East Africa in an effort to attain maximum flexibility to respond to State Department requests, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters here today. Warren also told reporters that three of the four U.S. personnel[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 23, 2013. Okay, good morning, afternoon, whatever it is there. Let me go ahead and start with just a short statement on today’s visit to Juba. I visited Juba today, where I had a frank and open discussion with President Salva Kiir; the discussion focused on a range[Read More…]