In Africa, Clinton will see a continent starved for aid, change
Hillary Clinton's weeklong trip to sub-Saharan Africa takes her to a continent hungry for economic growth and political accountability but still shackled by poverty and government corruption.
The U.S. secretary of state will see the effects of that poverty close-up:
- In Tanzania, she'll meet with women who are victims of gender-based violence.
- In Ethiopia, she'll visit a hospital where women are suffering from fistula, their internal organs scarred. They've been abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities.
She also will see initiatives designed to improve Africans' lives, such as programs providing mothers and children with nutritional food for the critical 1,000-day period from the start of a woman's pregnancy until her child's second birthday.
Somali-American charged with aiding al-Shabaab terror group
Charges of providing material support to the terror group al-Shabaab have been filed against a Somali-American man who was arrested Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.
Ahmed Hussein Mahamud, 26, had an initial court appearance before a federal judge in Ohio and will be transported to Minneapolis, where the charges were brought against him. Mahamud is a U.S. citizen and had been living in the Minneapolis area until February of this year when he moved to Ohio, according to a Justice Department official.
Hillary Clinton joins political comic book pantheon
Powerful. Popular. Able to leap between campaign battles and diplomatic landmines in a single pantsuit.
The latest modern-day comic book hero is none other than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is being profiled in a new political comic, "Political Power: Hillary Clinton."
The comic is the latest in a series of profiles published by Bluewater Productions which have featured a diverse group of personalities ranging from President Barack Obama to Lady Gaga.
The 32-page unauthorized comic book is not the first time Clinton has been immortalized in a graphic novel. Clinton was also part of Bluewater's "Female Force" series, which also includes Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin and Clinton's predecessor atop the State Department, Condoleezza Rice. The 2009 Clinton comic sold 20,000 copies, Bluewater said. FULL POST
Panetta basking in praise at confirmation hearing
Leon Panetta, poised to jump from two of Washington's toughest jobs, from the CIA to the Pentagon, basked in bi-partisan praise Thursday.
The 72-year old CIA director, tapped by President Obama to be Defense Secretary, is spending his day in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, first in a public session and then behind closed doors to allow discussion of national security secrets.
Panetta, who had operational control of the raid on the Osama bin Laden compound and the killing of the al Qaeda leader, called the successful mission the greatest chance since 9/11 to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda. But he also warned that global terrorist networks remain what he called "dangerous enemies spread out across the world."
Libya rebel groups sells first oil to U.S.
The rebel government in control of the eastern part of Libya has made its first sale of oil from territory it controls the State Department confirmed Wednesday.
Tesoro, a U.S. oil refiner, entered into a deal May 25 with the Transitional National Council based in Benghazi, Libya for 1.2 million barrels of Libyan crude oil the State Department said in a written statement. The shipment was scheduled to arrive aboard the MT Equator, a Liberian flagged tanker, at the Single Point Mooring in Hawaii Wednesday. The dollar value of the deal is not known.
Security Brief – Thursday June 9
Compiled by Tim Lister
Yemen: US steps up drone campaign as Islamist militants seize parts of south
Syria: Refugees continue to flee “ghost-town” to Turkey – signs of growing defections within army?
Libya: Contact Group fills TNC coffers…begins sketching out post-Gadhafi world
Libya: Gates asks European allies for more - air-war costs higher than thought
Libya: Gadhafi forces launch new assault on Misrata
Libya: Prosecutor builds “rape” case against Gadhafi
Afghanistan: Taliban open new front along Pakistan border
Saudi/Iranian rift hijacks OPEC meeting – oil prices up
Panetta confirmation hearing as Obama weighs new counter-terrorism blueprint…..and more
FULL POST
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