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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Ahead of the UN General Assembly, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Kyiv. There, he reaffirmed U.S. support for Ukraine and announced another $1 billion in aid.
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According to new U.S. intelligence, the potential agreement would allow North Korea to ship "significant quantities and multiple types" of weapons to Russia for deployment in Ukraine. -
The United Nations is on a tight timeline to pull all of its peacekeepers out of Mali by the end of 2023. As they leave, experts warn that ISIS and other terrorist groups are expanding their control. -
North Korea is likely to be a major topic when President Biden hosts his Japanese and South Korean counterparts at Camp David Friday. The U.S. put a spotlight on North Korea's human rights violations.
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Iran moves several U.S. citizens from prison to house arrest — possibly a step toward their eventual freedom in a prisoner swap.
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The United Nations Security Council meets on Sudan, as a deadly power struggle in the capital continues. More than 4 million people have been uprooted in the conflict, which began in April.
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The U.S. is pushing for a diplomatic resolution in the West African country of Niger, as Secretary Blinken warns that Russian-backed mercenaries Wagner are taking advantage of the instability there.
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Twenty-five years after Al Qaeda bombed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, State Department officials past and present remember the victims and talk about security at embassies today.
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Saudi Arabia is hosting a conference to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, but Russia is not invited.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken used a meeting at the security council to call out Russia's attacks on Ukraine's agriculture sector, warning that the rest of the world is paying the price.
