The U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis B. Susman, would like to invite everyone to a special Thanksgiving Day Service at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 26th at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.  The event is free and open to all. You can read the

The event will be a non-denominational, American-style service, organized by the American Church in London (ACL).  ACL’s Reverend John A. D’Elia will be reading the sermon and a volunteer American choir will be singing hymns.  Ambassador Susman will also be giving remarks.

No tickets are needed for the service this year, but each person may be required to pass through a metal detector and have bags searched. Given the high level of security, it is important to arrive at the Cathedral early. Photography in the Cathedral is not permitted. Mobile phones should be switched off. The doors open at 9:45 a.m. Please plan to arrive no later than 10:30 a.m.

Entry will be via the west end of the Cathedral. Closest Tube stop: St. Paul’s (Central line).

POLICY RELATED MATERIALS

President Obama's Trip to Asia

17 November 2009 Joint Statement by President Obama, Chinese President Hu in China  Obama welcomes China as a strong, successful member of community of nations.

17 November 2009 Statement on U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan  Plan emphasizes economy, energy security and combating climate change.
 • Announcements on U.S.-China Clean Energy Programs

17 November 2009 Statement on U.S.-China Shale Gas Resource Initiative  Initiative to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote energy security.

16 November 2009 Societies Free of Internet Censorship Are Stronger, Obama Says  The free flow of information on the Internet builds a stronger society, encourages creativity and helps people around the world participate in the political process and hold their governments accountable, President Obama told Chinese students in Shanghai. Speaking at a town hall meeting ahead of meetings with Chinese leaders in Beijing, Obama said he is “a big believer” in technology and openness and a “big supporter of noncensorship” even though it means that he finds himself the subject of constant criticism. In the United States, “the fact that we have free Internet or unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength,” and the president said open Internet use should be encouraged.

15 November 2009 APEC Leaders Agree on Sustainable Growth Strategies President Obama says quick, coordinated, unprecedented actions by many of the leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum helped pull the global economy back from the brink of a deeper recession, but now is the time to begin putting balanced economic growth strategies in place. “Economies around the world are beginning to grow again. And we are on the path to recovery,” Obama said November 15 at the 17th annual APEC forum being held in Singapore.
 • President Obama’s Remarks at APEC Leaders' Summit

Afghanistan

18 November 2009 Clinton’s Remarks at the Meet and Greet with Employees in Kabul  U.S. seeks strong partnership with the government and people of Afghanistan.

18 November 2009 Briefing by Secretary Clinton En Route Kabul, Afghanistan

18 November 2009 Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton's Trip to Afghanistan  Secretary Clinton will travel to Afghanistan to attend President Karzai’s November 19 inauguration ceremony, meet with Afghanistan’s leadership, international partners and allies, US troops, staff in Provincial Reconstruction Teams, and Embassy staff. This is the Secretary's fourth trip to Afghanistan, first as Secretary of State.

16 November 2009 Clinton: Karzai Must Do More to Fight Corruption to Get Aid  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai must do more to crack down on corruption if he wants continued civilian aid from Washington. In an interview with U.S. network ABC broadcast Sunday, Clinton said the Obama administration wants the Afghan government to establish a major crimes tribunal and an anti-corruption commission.

15 November 2009 Future U.S.-Afghan Relations  Secretary Clinton Interview With George Stephanopoulos of ABC's This Week.

Iran

17 November 2009 IAEA Report Shows Iranian Nuclear Activities Have Expanded   An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran’s nuclear activities underscores the country’s continued refusal to comply fully with its international nuclear obligations, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says, and he expressed doubts that Iran will formally respond to the agency’s offer to allow it to enrich its uranium in another country to provide fuel for a medical-research reactor.

16 November 2009 Experts See Sustained Human Rights Movement Emerging in Iran  To overcome a legacy of suspicion and mistrust, the United States should inaugurate a process of long-term, patient engagement with Iran on a wide range of issues — including its nuclear and human rights policies — according to a distinguished panel of scholars and diplomats appearing on Capitol Hill November 4. The conference, sponsored by the Iranian American National Council, took place on the 30th anniversary of the seizure of American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

Food Security

18 November 2009 News from the World Summit on Food Security
 • World Summit on Food Security Declaration (PDF, 7 pages)
 • Statement of the head of the U.S. Delegation to the Summit, Alonzo Fulgham (U.S. Embassy Rome website)

18 November 2009 U.S. Pledges $3.5 Billion to Spur Agriculture-Led Economic Growth   The United States will invest $3.5 billion over three years to spur agricultural growth in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. “Let us mark 2009 as the year in which we reversed the decline in investment in agriculture and took up the challenge to ensure global food security for all,” said Alonzo Fulgham, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, November 17 at the World Summit on Food Security in Rome.

16 November 2009 Food Security Top Priority for Obama Administration  Food security is one of the top issues worldwide and a “very top priority” for the Obama administration, says longtime food security advocate Tony Hall, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. World Food Programme and former U.S. lawmaker, who spent 24 years in Congress working to feed the hungry worldwide. Hall, who is the executive director of the Washington-based Alliance to End Hunger, discussed food security policy with America.gov on the eve of the World Summit on Food Security in Rome.

16 November 2009 Rome Summit Seeks to Promote Food Security Worldwide  The November 16–18 World Summit on Food Security offers a chance to broaden the international coalition working to promote greater food security for the more than 1 billion chronically hungry people who are now at risk worldwide. Franklin C. Moore, deputy assistant administrator in the Africa Bureau at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and USAID’s coordinator for food security, made that point in an interview with America.gov just before leaving for the Rome summit, which is being sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Moore is part of the U.S. delegation attending the event, which more than 60 heads of state and government are expected to attend.

13 November 2009 Report Links Agriculture Successes to Food Security  Successes in agricultural development that have significantly reduced world hunger are highlighted in a new report from a research group.Millions Fed: Proven Successes In Agricultural Development, released November 12 by the International Food Policy Research Institute, is the first compilation of successes linked to increased food security.The full text of the report (PDF, 17.3MB) is available on the Web site of the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Environment

18 November 2009 U.S. Taking Practical Action on Climate Change  Deputy Chief of Mission Richard LeBaron speaks at the "creating the climate for change" conference in London.

12 November 2009 Mitigation Policy Central Challenge in Climate Change Negotiation  When negotiators meet in Copenhagen in December to discuss international action to fight global warming, the hottest debate will concern how to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Policies designed to reduce CO2 emissions and stabilize greenhouse gases at a level that is environmentally sustainable are crucial to mitigate the effects of climate change.

12 November 2009 Clinton Sees Copenhagen Climate Conference as Steppingstone  The U.N.-sponsored climate conference in December in Copenhagen can become the steppingstone to a full and binding legal climate agreement if it focuses on the right blend of practical approaches and principles, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says. “The United States has taken dramatic steps in the past year to change the way we use energy at home, and we have taken our seat at the table in international climate negotiations,” said Clinton in a press conference at the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore

12 November 2009 International Collaboration Key to Mitigating Climate Change (Part 1 in a series)   Human activities, especially those that burn fossil fuels and emit planet-warming carbon dioxide, are driving changes in the climate system. Mitigating these changes and their potentially disastrous effects is stimulating a new kind of technology cooperation among governments, industries and institutions.

Economy

18 November 2009 Economic Recovery Depends on Rebalancing Global Demand   To establish a global foundation for growth and avert future economic crises, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says, the major advanced economies must rebalance global demand. “The financial crisis also showed clearly that previous global economic patterns were unsustainable,” he said. “Cooperation through the (Group of 20) will remain essential as we start to unwind extraordinary measures and put in place the broad framework to achieve a strong, sustainable and balanced recovery, and implement profound financial reforms at home and abroad.”

18 November 2009 U.S. Pledges $3.5 Billion to Spur Agriculture-Led Economic Growth   The United States will invest $3.5 billion over three years to spur agricultural growth in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way. “Let us mark 2009 as the year in which we reversed the decline in investment in agriculture and took up the challenge to ensure global food security for all,” said Alonzo Fulgham, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, November 17 at the World Summit on Food Security in Rome.

18 November 2009 Corruption Continues to Hobble Social, Economic Progress   Corruption continues to hobble social and economic progress in most countries, according to the latest report by Transparency International, a nonpartisan, civil society organization which monitors corruption from some 90 offices around the world. The majority of the 180 countries included in the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score below 5 on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 10 (perceived to have low levels of corruption). CPI rankings measure perceptions of public-sector corruption based on surveys of experts and businesspersons based both in the country and abroad. The rankings focus on the abuse of public power for private benefit.

CONSULAR NEWS

Consular Affairs: Special Consular Services

The Special Consular Services (SCS) unit of the American Citizen Services (ACS) branch of the U.S. Embassy in London provides a variety of emergency and non-emergency services to Americans in England and Wales. We visit Americans in jail, assist families and friends following the death of a U.S. citizen loved one, offer help to U.S. children and families involved in abduction, custody, support, and other cases, check on the welfare of U.S. citizens, provide routine notary services (by appointment only), can help you register to vote in U.S. elections, and can provide you with information on safety and security in the United Kingdom. We are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., excluding U.S. and UK public holidays.

OTHER UPDATES

18 November 2009 International Enrollment at U.S. Colleges Again Breaks Records  For the second year in a row, record numbers of men and women from outside the United States chose to study in U.S. institutions of higher education. “I am delighted to see the large increase in the number of international students who are choosing to study in the United States,” said Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith A. McHale in welcoming the report, Open Doors 2009. “The all-time high number of international students who studied here in the 2008/09 academic year testifies to the quality and diversity for which American higher education is known around the world.”

16 November 2009 Numbers of Americans Studying Abroad Up 8.5%  A record number of U.S. students are studying abroad, reflecting the value of an international academic experience as preparation to live and work in a global society. According to the Open Doors 2009 survey, the number of Americans studying abroad increased by 8.5% to 262,416 in the 2007/08 academic year. This increase builds on two decades of steady growth and represents four times as many U.S. students than in 1987/88.

16 November 2009 International Students Come to United States in Record Numbers  The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 8% to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year while the number of “new” international students — those enrolled for the first time at a U.S. college or university in fall 2008 — increased by 16%. This represents the largest percentage increase in international student enrollments since 1980/81.