United States Agency for Global Media

Senators Corker and Menendez provide reaction to Iran deal on Alhurra TV

Sen. Corker stated that he was still reviewing the agreement, but was starting “in a very skeptical place.” He questioned how the P5+1 and the European Union went from a goal of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program to coming to an agreement that would be “an industrialization of their nuclear program.” He stated that the agreement was a “far cry from where we began.” Sen. Corker said he felt the U.S. had substantial leverage going into the negotiations, but ended up with a deal that “we have to be defensive about.”

U.S. official talks to Alhurra about new communication hub in the UAE

Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy Richard Stengel sat down with Alhurra Television to discuss the newly opened Sawab Center in Abu Dhabi and the fight to counter messaging from ISIL. Stengel stated that the goal of the Center, a joint American/Emirati project is “to create content, messages, that counter Daash’s social media strength and sophistication.” Daash is another term used for ISIL.  He went on to say that the Sawab Center will coordinate the messaging and content from among the coalition partners that are united against ISIL.

Kokang insurgents declare unilateral cease-fire with Burmese troops

Radio Free Asia’s Mandarin and Myanmar services have had extensive coverage of the four months of hostilities between Burma’s ethnic Kokang group and Burmese forces. The ethnic group declared a unilateral cease-fire with forces on Thursday in a bid to bring stability to the region and prevent the clashes from disrupting general elections scheduled for later this year, an official with the group said.