Marie Harf

Thousands of people are expected to take part in dozens of marches in cities across the globe on August 15 in support of Iran's deal with world powers over its controversial nuclear programme.

Iran and six major powers will keep negotiating past the July 7 deadline for a long-term nuclear agreement as they tackle the most contentious issues, including the continuation of a U.N. arms embargo on Iran, the big powers said. 

The U.S. State Department spokesperson on June 4 commented on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an?s recent denunciations of journalists, the ?Armenian lobby,? the LGBTI community, and the international media.

Turkey is expecting more refugees from Syria following an advance by extremist jihadists near the Turkish border, with ?anl?urfa Gov. ?zzettin Küçük, saying around 1,000 people were waiting to enter the country. 

"There is a clash there," he said, referring to a fresh fight in Ras al-Ayn, also known as Serekaniye, a Syrian region near the town of Haseke. 

The United States confirmed June 2 that an American envoy has held talks in Oman with Iran-backed Yemeni rebels to convince them to attend a Geneva peace conference in mid-June.

US top diplomat John Kerry remains focused on nailing down a nuclear deal with Iran and plans to join the final negotiations in late June despite breaking his leg in a cycling accident, officials said June 1.

Both EU and US representatives showed reactions of concern over the newly passed bill allowing foreign NGOs to be banned in Russia.

President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law May 23 giving prosecutors the power to declare foreign and international organizations "undesirable" in Russia and shut them down.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson who was called a ?stupid blonde? by the mayor of Ankara has voiced surprise that journalists are still interested in the issue.

John Kerry made a surprise trip to Somalia on May 5, officials said, becoming the first US secretary of state to visit the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.