Foreign Service Updates - Middle East, Africa, Kosovo, Turkey, USA

SYRIA Staffan de Mistura, Italian-Swedish diplomat UN special envoy to Syria proposal re political solution pending http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2015/07/11/419736/Syria-UN-Staffan-de-Mistura-Gennady-Gatilov KOSOVO Entertainer Rita Ora named an honorary ambassador of Republic of #Kosovo Tony Blair on hand as special guest. http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tearful-rita-accepts-ambassador-role-31368043.html AZERBAIJAN - PALESTINE Azerbaijan  - Quds Day Islamic Party of Azerbaijan held a protest in front of the Israeli embassy re solidarity with Palestine 20 protesters detained journalists driven away from site http://www.panorama.am/en/popular/2015/07/10/islamists/ TURKEY police pepper spray Uighur protesters at Thai Embassy on Thu >>Thai Consulate in Istanbul ransacked China = Thailand’s largest trading partner - billions p.a. = joint military exercises = Thai buying China subs @ $1billion http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-thailand-china-uighurs-20150710-story.html NAMIBIA "What binds us as Americans is the certainty that all people, everywhere, are created equal" US Amb Thomas Daughton Namibia USA claws in Namibia *Millennium Challenge Corporation (US foreign aid agency) *USAID (CIA) *Peace Corps (USG run) http://www.economist.com.na/2011-12-07-11-05-31/community-and-culture/8031-strong-desire-to-share-democracy SOUTH KOREA Dog Meat Dog Meat Festival Boshingtan protested @ South Korean Embassy, London 6,000 restaurants sell dog meat http://www.demotix.com/news/8076128/dog-meat-festival-boshingtan-protested-korean-embassy-london#media-8076012 USA / JEWISH calls on Euro govt umbrella bodies eg EU to formally recognize, partner with & train Jewish community groups http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-lawmakers-turn-attention-to-safety-of-european-jews/ GUINEA, WEST AFRICA NEW US Ambassador to Guinea in West Africa: Dennis Hankin b4: Brasil, Sudan Georgetown FS sch. / Nat. War College http://www.minnpost.com/political-agenda/2015/07/bemidji-native-dennis-hankins-appointed-us-ambassador-republic-guinea ISRAEL v IRAN Israel FM Dore Gold said Iran is world’s leading state sponsor of terror >> Predictable move by Dore Gold http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/07/10/top-israeli-diplomat-says-absurd-to-believe-irans-claim-it-will-join-fight-against-global-terror/# USA IN AFGHANISTAN USA embassy Kabul 8-yr construction project is 3 yrs behind schedule & abt 27% over budget meantime:  $100 million on temporary buildings Construction US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan - final tally could be around $2 billion!! http://www.constructiondive.com/news/us-embassy-construction-in-kabul-runs-over-budget-behind-schedule/402088/ { Sounds like the US is moving into Afghanistan - who spends $2 billion on an embassy? } --------------------- COMMENT Some of the news that caught my attention. The amount USA's blowing in Afghanistan is staggering.