Michele Kelemen
Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
As Diplomatic Correspondent, Kelemen has traveled with Secretaries of State from Colin Powell to Mike Pompeo and everyone in between. She reports on the Trump administration's "America First" foreign policy and before that the Obama and Bush administration's diplomatic agendas. She was part of the NPR team that won the 2007 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for coverage of the war in Iraq.
As NPR's Moscow bureau chief, Kelemen chronicled the end of the Yeltsin era and Vladimir Putin's consolidation of power. She recounted the terrible toll of the latest war in Chechnya, while also reporting on a lighter side of Russia, with stories about modern day Russian literature and sports.
Kelemen came to NPR in September 1998, after eight years working for the Voice of America. There, she learned the ropes as a news writer, newscaster and show host.
Michele earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Russian and East European Affairs and International Economics.
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Refugees once fled to Syria. Now, record numbers are fleeing from it. And the exodus is straining the stability of neighbors who are struggling to support both their own citizens and the displaced. -
While Russia carries out military exercises near Ukraine's border and shelters its ousted president, the U.S. is watching closely. But Kerry says Ukraine shouldn't feel pulled between East and West. -
The U.S. has wanted better relations with Venezuela, but the new president 鈥� like Hugo Chavez before him, say experts 鈥� uses the U.S. as a scapegoat to divert attention from domestic problems. -
Three months of protests have taken a toll on a Ukrainian economy that was already in distress. But many worry that as in the past, corruption and a lack of political will prevent meaningful reform. -
The U.S. and European powers are hoping that the government and protesters can restart a political dialogue. But they have few levers of influence. Russia has plenty of leverage, but different aims. -
An apparent private telephone conversation between two senior American diplomats about the crisis in Ukraine has surfaced on YouTube. In the call, which has not yet been authenticated, the two participants discuss the relative merits of the leaders of Ukraine's opposition movement. One of the callers is also vehemently critical of the European Union. There's speculation that the call is between the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.
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Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was sent to try to stem the growing violence that has gripped the country since Muslim rebels toppled the government in March. Christians and Muslims, who once peacefully co-existed there, are now living in a nation on the brink of genocide. -
Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., says it's a key moment for the international community to "change the calculus" in the Central Africa Republic and prevent further atrocities. The U.S. has authorized up to $100 million to support African Union forces and other material aid.
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The U.S. is participating in a historic diplomatic push to curb Iran's nuclear program. Some argue that the inroads on the nuclear issue may persuade Iran 鈥� which supports Hezbollah and the Syrian regime 鈥� to play a more constructive role in the region on other issues. But that's far from certain. -
On one side, they are battling forces loyal to the Assad regime; on the other, Islamist rebels from among their own ranks. But while the Islamists and the regime are both well-funded, the moderate rebels are looking to the U.S. for aid 鈥� and getting little in return.