WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday praised the “Arab Spring” popular revolutions in the Middle East but said instability and violence often precede greater respect for human rights.

In its annual survey of human rights around the world, the State Department also recognized Myanmar for freeing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and for starting to open up its political system after decades of repression.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker confirmed on Tuesday that he plans to step down this summer because of ill health, and sources said the highly regarded career diplomat was leaving at a time of his choosing and was not pushed out.

Reuters reported on Monday that Crocker, a veteran diplomat who came out of retirement to take the demanding Kabul post, was expected to step down soon, leaving as Washington negotiates a host of challenges on its course out of the long, costly war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jeffrey Feltman, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, is expected to leave the Obama administration to take a senior post at the United Nations, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Feltman, who is assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is expected to replace Lynn Pascoe, another career U.S. diplomat, as U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, a key post at the world body.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – The United States warned
supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on
Wednesday it may freeze their assets if they hamper the transfer
of power in the Gulf nation.

President Barack Obama signed an executive order allowing
U.S. authorities to sanction members of Yemen’s government or
others who endanger its stability, notably by obstructing a Nov.
23 deal that ultimately brought an end to Saleh’s 33-year reign.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, May 1 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton left on Monday on a high-stakes trip to
Beijing, where a blind dissident is reportedly holed up in the
U.S. embassy in a drama threatening to overshadow top-level
meetings between the two governments.

Dissident Chen Guangcheng, according to one of his helpers,
will demand to stay in China and press on with his campaign for
reform, adding to tension between Beijing and Washington that
poses risks for both governments as well as to relations between
the world’s two biggest economies.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, said to be under U.S. protection in Beijing, wants reform, not asylum, said one of his key helpers as the United States’ top diplomat heads to Beijing for talks likely to be overshadowed by Chen’s case.

The blind activist’s escape from house arrest was a “miracle” of planning and endurance but Chen wants to stay in China and campaign for reform, said Guo Yushan, a Beijing-based researcher and rights advocate who has campaigned for Chen and helped bring him to Beijing after his escape.

WASHINGTON/MIDLAND, Texas (Reuters) – President Barack Obama nudged China on Monday to improve its human rights record and his top diplomat said she will raise the issue in Beijing this week, but both stayed mum about a Chinese dissident said to be under U.S. protection.

At a news conference, Obama appeared to be walking a fine line between not saying anything that would make it harder to resolve Chen Guangcheng’s case while conveying U.S. concern for human rights and appreciation for wider cooperation with China.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, said to be under U.S. protection in Beijing, wants reform, not asylum, said one of his key helpers as the United States’ top diplomat heads to Beijing for talks likely to be overshadowed by Chen’s case.

The blind activist’s escape from house arrest was a “miracle” of planning and endurance but Chen wants to stay in China and campaign for reform, said Guo Yushan, a Beijing-based researcher and rights advocate who has campaigned for Chen and helped bring him to Beijing after his escape.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Monday ducked a question about a Chinese dissident believed to be under U.S. protection in Beijing but said China will be stronger if it improves its human rights record.

At a news conference, Obama appeared to be walking a fine line between not saying anything to make it harder to resolve Chen Guangcheng’s case while conveying U.S. respect for human rights and U.S. appreciation for wider cooperation with China.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When Hillary Clinton made her first trip abroad as secretary of state, she baldly said the United States could not let human rights disputes get in the way of working with China on global challenges.

Now that the blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is under U.S. protection in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group, the United States will find out if China has made the same calculation.