Department of State

The United States and Iran have denied plans for any military coordination in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.

The United States has surprisingly decided to send its former ambassador to Turkey as chargé d’affaires to Ankara, four years after he retired from the Department of State. The decision comes due to the delay in the Senate’s confirmation of the ambassadorial nominee for the Turkish capital city.

Six world powers and Iran will hold new talks in New York on September 18, EU and U.S. officials said Sept. 4, as efforts intensify toward clinching a nuclear deal by a November deadline.

The talks will involve United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany and be led by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, her spokesman Michael Mann said.

U.S. military forces launched air strikes against the leader of Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked Shebab, the Somali government said Sept. 1, but gave no details if the attack was successful.

The United States has launched a social media offensive against the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, setting out to win the war of ideas by ridiculing the militants with a mixture of blunt language and sarcasm.

Diplomats and experts are the first to admit that the digital blitz being waged on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube will never be a panacea to combat the jihadists.

The United States denied Aug. 27 reports that it sending a low-profile delegation to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s presidential inauguration intends to convey an ulterior message to Ankara.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during the daily press briefing that U.S. officials “look forward to working with Prime Minister Erdoğan in his new role as president.”

The police officer accused of threatening Anadolu Agency’s Bilgin Şaşmaz while the latter was covering the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, was suspended on Aug. 20.

A fragile ceasefire in Gaza pushed into a second day Aug. 6 as Israeli and Palestinian delegations prepared for crunch talks in Cairo to try to extend the 72-hour truce.

The ceasefire, which came into effect Aug. 5 and carried past midnight into Wednesday, has brought relief to millions on both sides after one month of fighting killed 1,875 Palestinians and 67 people in Israel.

Hamas claimed responsibility on Aug. 2 for a deadly Gaza Strip ambush in which an Israeli army officer may have been captured, but said the incident likely preceded and therefore had not violated a U.S.- and U.N.-sponsored truce, while the United States asked Turkey and Qatar to pressure Hamas for the kidnapped soldier.

Dodik wants Serbia to give passports to Serbs abroad

BELGRADE -- RS President Milorad Dodik believes it would be good to allow Serbs from abroad to be elected as deputies in the Serbian parliament in Belgrade.