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Kerry pledges 'new efforts' to revive West Bank economy

April 9, 2013 09:02
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday pledged "new efforts" to revive the West Bank economy and remove barriers to growth after three days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. "We agreed among us... that we are going to engage in new efforts, very specific efforts, to promote economic development and remove some of the bottlenecks and barriers that exist with respect to commerce in the West Bank," he said.

Technical problem delays Kerry's flight to Turkey

April 6, 2013 09:50
A technical mishap delayed US Secretary of State John Kerry's departure to Turkey on Saturday at the start of a globe-trotting tour focused on the crises in Syria and North Korea. Kerry was to have left Washington at 7:00 am (1100 GMT) but a problem with the plane's door forced Kerry, his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, security guards, travelling press and staff to disembark for at least two hours. A second plane, which like the first was painted blue and white and emblazoned with the words United States of America, was hurriedly stocked and prepared for takeoff.

Kerry to give five percent of his salary to charity

April 4, 2013 15:30
US Secretary of State John Kerry will give five percent of his annual government salary to charity this year to show solidarity with federal workers forced to take unpaid leave due to budget cuts. Kerry, the wealthiest member of the cabinet, will make the gesture after President Barack Obama said he would return part of his salary to the Treasury. Married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, who inherited a fortune when her first husband John Heinz died in 1991, Kerry's personal wealth amounts to some $125 million, Politico reported earlier this year.

Kerry sells US-EU free trade zone as a win-win project

March 27, 2013 09:02
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday a proposed US-EU free trade zone could help Europe emerge from the economic crisis and played down fears it would hit the farm sector. "What is important is that ... we move rapidly to have a profound impact on the rest of the world," Kerry told French business leaders, including the heads of Air Liquide, Thales and GE France, at a meeting at the US ambassador's Paris residence.

AFP Americas News Agenda for March 13

March 12, 2013 17:15
Duty Editor: Jim Mannion Tel: + 1 202 414 0541 What's happening in the Americas on Wednesday: + Obama meets Republicans on budget WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama goes to Capitol Hill to meet with opposition Republicans on the impasse over the US budget deficit. Picture (US-POLITICS-ECONOMY) ----- OTHER AGENDA ITEMS ----- AUSTIN, Texas: The annual South by Southwest festival highlighting new technologies, film and music continues. Picture. Coverage on merit (LIFESTYLE-US-IT-INTERNET-MUSIC-FILM-SXSW)

John Kerry, America's European secretary of state

March 7, 2013 22:16
His mother nursed the wounded in Paris during World War II, he biked around a divided Berlin as a boy and got lost in the London zoo, and he speaks French, German and Italian. John Kerry, who has just returned from his first overseas trip since becoming secretary of state, wowed his European hosts with his deep knowledge of the continent and his insistence on the strength of transatlantic ties.

Cosmopolitan Kerry courts Europe, his old stomping ground

March 1, 2013 09:31
By Arshad Mohammed ROME, March 1 (Reuters) - On his first foreign trip as U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry charmed Europeans with his flair for languages, his wry reminiscences about biking through East Berlin as a 12-year-old boy and his obvious affection for France and its cuisine. What was less clear was how much influence Washington's top diplomat will have on U.S. foreign policy and whether President Barack Obama will allow him to change anything of substance.

Ooh la la, Kerry shows off his French in Paris

February 27, 2013 15:46
On a visit to Paris Wednesday, new US Secretary of State John Kerry wowed reporters by speaking in French, the language of his childhood summers in Brittany. "We just finished one of those wonderful French lunches that have been drawing Americans to Paris for centuries," Kerry said en francais at a joint press conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. "Of course, it’s a privilege to share any meal with Laurent...France, as you know, is the oldest ally of the United States."

Kerry holds talks on Mali, Syria with French leadership

February 27, 2013 09:30
US Secretary of State John Kerry and French President Francois Hollande held talks Wednesday on Mali and Syria and a proposed trans-Atlantic deal to create the world's largest free trade zone. Kerry spent just over an hour at the Elysee Palace presidential residence on Wednesday morning. He then held talks with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and was due to address a joint press conference in the afternoon. Hollande's office said Kerry and the French leader had discussed revived plans for a free trade accord between the EU and the 27-nation European Union (EU).

REFILE-Kerry defends liberties, says Americans have 'right to be stupid'

February 26, 2013 12:30
(Refiles to correct typo in paragraph 4) BERLIN, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered a defence of freedom of speech, religion and thought in the United States on Tuesday telling German students that in America "you have a right to be stupid if you want to be."
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