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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In Vladimir Putin’s Russia, writing about the war in Ukraine, the church or LGBTQ+ life could land you in jail. A new organization helps authors publish books in Russian they couldn't back home. -
The Wall Street Journal reporter and the former U.S. Marine have been released by Russia in exchange for Russian prisoners held in the U.S. and Europe, in what the U.S. calls a historic prisoner swap. -
The council voted 14-0 to support President Biden’s step-by-step plan for a cease-fire, an exchange of hostages and prisoners and an end to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. -
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government voted unanimously to shut down the local offices of Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera. -
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who turned 24 last month while in captivity, has spent more than 200 days in captivity. His left arm was partially blown off by a grenade during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7. -
The U.N. Security Council met Thursday to debate and vote on the Palestinian application for full membership in the United Nations, which would allow it to vote during U.N. proceedings. -
U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia is closing its Hong Kong operation after the city enacted a tough new national security law known locally as Article 23. -
The Security Council voted 14-0 in favor of a resolution demanding a cease-fire through the end of Ramadan in two weeks. The United States abstained from the vote, allowing the measure to pass. -
Haiti's embattled prime minister is in neighboring Puerto Rico, still unable to return to Port-au-Prince, as calls for him to resign grow louder by the day. -
The report, which fell short of a full U.N. investigation, said rape likely occurred at at least three sites on Oct. 7. Some hostages held in Gaza were also subject to sexual violence, the team found.
