The U.S. State Department closed its embassies in four sub-Saharan African nations as part of a heightened security alert, days before the 15th anniversary of al-Qaida's bombings of American diplomatic missions in Kenya and Tanzania. Those two embassies targeted in the Aug. 7, 1998, attacks were rebuilt as more heavily fortified structures away from populated areas where they would be less vulnerable to attack.

The United States extended embassy closures by a week in the Middle East and Africa as a precaution on Sunday after an al Qaeda threat that U.S. lawmakers said was the most serious in years. The State Department said 19 U.S. embassies and consulates would be closed through Saturday "out of an abundance of caution" and that a number of them would have been closed anyway for most of the week due to the Eid celebration at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Joseph Bookbinder assumed duties as Public Diplomacy Section Chief for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Aug. 1, the AIT announced yesterday. Bookbinder, who has served as a Foreign Service Officer for 21 years, joined the United States Foreign Service in 1992 and has had overseas assignments in India, Taiwan and China, the AIT said in a statement.

A terrorism threat has closed U.S. embassies and consulates throughout the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia on Sunday of this weekend. More than 20 diplomatic missions will be closed including missions in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Department of State stated, “Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August.”

For two years, the US State Department and the Pentagon have been incubating a plan to win the Afghan war without actually defeating the Taliban on the battleground. The idea is to triumph commercially by building a “New Silk Road”—a transportation-and-energy route to the West whose long-term financial dividends would prompt combatants to set aside their arms and get rich instead. Now China is stepping up an apparent effort to outpace the US plan to reconstruct the ancient trade route.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Pakistan Wednesday to discuss American drone strikes and the war in neighboring Afghanistan. Kerry will meet Pakistan's civilian and military leaders with the aim of easing tensions over the strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas. He will also meet with recently elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has opposed the strikes, calling them a breach of the country's sovereignty.

The Obama administration announced Wednesday it is extending the duration of non-immigrant visas for Cuban travelers from six months to five years, two weeks after officials from the two countries resumed long-stalled migration talks. The change also means Cubans approved for B-2 visas for family visits or personal travel will be allowed multiple entries, rather than be required to reapply in person each time they seek to travel to the United States. B-1 business and B-1/B-2 combination visas will still be for six months and a single entry.

For over 30 years, the Community Liaison Office (CLO) Program has provided key family services support to Foreign Service Officers and their families abroad. The program is now present in over 200 embassies and consulates, including unaccompanied hardship posts such as Baghdad, Kabul, and Islamabad.