In The News

Tech glitches offer clues to exposing disinformation

From left: Jeff Trandahl, CEO and executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF); Dr. Holly Bamford, chief conservation officer of NFWF; and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar attend the inauguration of the pollinator garden at the chief of mission residence in Mexico City, Feb. 2. Photo by Carlos Guizar

U.S. Mission Mexico pollinator conservation initiative

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst (center) and Consul General Panfilo Marquez (left) visit the Peshawar Museum, March 17. Photo by Saqib Jan

Promoting religious diversity in Pakistan through cultural preservation

Director of Sembrando Inglés Comercial Andrea Bellolio, Manager of the Southern Cone Countries of the Inter-American Development Bank Florencia Attademo-Hirt, President of Uruguay Luis Lacalle Pou, First Lady Lorena Ponce de León, U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay Heide Fulton, and Director of the Binational Center Luciano Bermúdez at the Sembrando Inglés Comercial launch program, March 28. Photo by Francisco Casal

English program in Uruguay attracts attention

Ambassador Henry T. Wooster (standing, right) welcomes guests to a Ramadan iftar at his residence celebrating the achievements of Jordanian women in the fashion industry, March 29. Among the guests were fashion designers, educators, stylists, runway show creators, influencers, photographers, and the owner and staff of a museum dedicated to Levantine women’s cultural identity preservation. Photo by Dana Haddadin

Cultural heritage preservation in the Levant

Embassy Seoul Facilities Maintenance Supervisor Byung Keun Lim reads a poem by Maya Angelou for a video in honor of Black History Month, Feb. 9. Photo by Jung Won Son

Seoul team celebrates Black History Month with poetry

U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome (second from left) sits down to a langar meal at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Jan. 25. Photo courtesy of ConGen Lahore

Sharing meals and U.S. values in Lahore

By Karl Rogers Sitting on a long carpet spread over a cold marble floor at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, a Sikh place of worship founded in 1521 (in present-day Pakistan), Ambassador Donald Blome and the team from the U.S. Consulate General in Lahore enjoyed a traditional langar meal, Jan...

U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia Brian D. McFeeters speaks at the Planet Us event in Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 25. Photo courtesy of Embassy Kuala Lumpur

Planet Us educates and encourages Malaysian youth

By Akash Suri Embassy Kuala Lumpur concluded Planet Us, its year-long campaign to address the climate crisis through sustainable action, Feb. 26. An interactive, educational exhibit, Planet Us informed and inspired more than 7,000 Malaysian youth to tackle the climate crisis through hands-on activities aimed at leading more sustainable lifestyles....

Firefighters demonstrate the use of a fire blanket normally used for a vehicle fire during a crisis response exercise during ConGen Johannesburg’s training exercise in January 2023. Photo courtesy of ConGen Johannesburg

ConGen Johannesburg hosts crisis response exercise

By Denis O’Sullivan The Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is responsible for the safety of American buildings, information, and personnel at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. Thus, they take emergency management preparation seriously. One emergency scenario which DSS prepares for is escalating threats due to civil unrest. In areas...

Embassy Colombo’s civil affairs team and the responders from the Sri Lanka Life Saving team conduct a medical rescue as part of their final exercise of a three-day seminar, Dec. 29, 2022. Photo by Kenneth Ji

Empowering community leaders in times of crisis

By Evan Downs and Julie Rowell “Your neighbor just called and said their five year old daughter is missing, what do you do?” That was the first question asked of Sri Lanka Life Saving and Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement community responders, beginning a search and rescue seminar with Embassy Colombo’s Indo-Pacific...

Finalists of the Kenya Business Drone Competition work in groups as they learn to operate professional grade drones at the Drone Space training field in Sigona in February 2022. Photo by Dan Muniu

Agri drone competition inspires youth to solve food insecurity

By Esther Kihang’ah After a successful first round of the Kenya Drone Business Competition in October 2022, more than 100 youth are putting their newly acquired drone technology business skills to use, and Embassy Nairobi is training 100 more. This year’s participants will work on solutions to food insecurity using...