The Latest Breaking News from State Department

KYIV, Ukraine — As Russian forces pressed ahead Tuesday in their drive to seize the strategic southern port of Mariupol and encircle Ukrainian defenders in the country’s east, Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his invasion as a noble cause.

WASHINGTON — Divisions within the Biden administration over whether to continue talks with President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela have deepened since a senior U.S. delegation met with him in Caracas last month, U.S. and Venezuelan opposition sources familiar with the discussions told McClatchy and the Miami Herald this week.

An annual human rights report by the U.S. State Department contends that authoritarianism around the world is threatening human rights and democracy, most strikingly as Russia continues its attack on Ukraine.

CNBC Entrepreneur Behind Microsoft’s Wunderlist Raised $11M - Read Why

The U.S. State Department has ordered all non-emergency government staff and their family members in Shanghai to leave following a surge in COVID-19 cases, CNBC reported. "Reconsider travel to the People's Republic of China (PRC) due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related restrictions," the report quoted the State Department.…

Ovalbek Turdakun will provide evidence for a case submitted to the International Criminal Court.

Some residents of Shanghai have been allowed out of their homes as the city of 25 million eases a two-week-old shutdown

The only reason to conceal gift records is "because you intend to violate the law," former U.S. attorney says

‘It’s flagrant and it looks terrible,’ says former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter

The State Department says it's unable to compile a complete accounting of gifts presented to U.S. officials by foreign governments during the final year of the Trump administration due to missing White House data

The Biden administration believes a potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would be in line with U.S. national security interests and would also serve NATO's long-term unity, the State Department said in a letter to Congress that fell short of explicitly supporting the deal.