Matthew Lee

A senior American diplomat has held unannounced, high-level talks in Havana with the Cuban government, three State Department officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday, raising hopes for a thaw in long-icy relations. The talks were the first of their kind in years between representatives of the U.S. and Cuban governments, the bitter Cold War rivals among whom trust appears to be gradually building. Bisa Williams, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, m…

Pakistan and Afghanistan sealed a landmark trade deal Sunday as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed the two neighbors to step up civilian cooperation and work together against al-Qaida and the Taliban. Shortly after kicking off a South Asia trip aimed at refining the goals of the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan, Clinton looked on as the Afghan and Pakistani commerce ministers signed the trade agreement. It was reached only after years of negotiation with recent and ve…

The Obama administration on Wednesday expressed concern about a “creeping” trend of anti-American sentiment in Egypt, where it says it has noticed mounting attacks and criticism of U.S. aid and motives as the country transitions to democracy. The State Department said it has raised the matter with Egyptian officials. It complained that the criticism is “inaccurate” and “unfair” and that personal attacks lodged against Anne Patterson, the new U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, are “unacceptable.” “With re…