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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The U.S. is calling for the president of Niger to be released after soldiers say they have seized power in a coup in the West African country. -
The U.S. Marine veteran was freed from Russian prison in a prisoner swap last year. Now he has sustained an injury while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said. -
Much of the Biden administration's approach to the world focuses on the U.S. competition with China. -
With fighting continuing between rival generals, thousands are fleeing the country and embassies have shut. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres warns the violence may spread to other countries. -
Ukraine needs billions of dollars for reconstruction. Its prime minister is in Washington, D.C., this week meeting finance ministers and government officials from around the world, asking for help.
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Russia detained a U.S. journalist working for The Wall Street Journal, accusing him of espionage. Evan Gershkovich was reporting in the city of Yekaterinburg when he was detained.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicks off a summit to strengthen democracy, hosting an event with Ukraine's president.
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The man who inspired the novel and the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, was released late Friday evening from prison after the Rwandan government commuted his sentence. -
The ICC has issued warrants for the Russian president and his children's rights commissioner for alleged war crimes involving accusations that Russia has forcibly taken Ukrainian children. -
Relations between the two countries have collapsed over the Ukraine war, with the U.S. slapping thousands of sanctions on Russia, and militarily, economically and diplomatically supporting Ukraine.
