Friday's global agenda: Kerry takes over at State

Your morning global affairs speed-read

After almost a million miles traveled over the past four years, today is Hillary Clinton's last day as secretary of State. She'll mark the occasion with a farewell address to her staff at the State Department at about 2:30 p.m., which you can view here.

The Washington Post considers her legacy at State here.

John Kerry will then get sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan at a private ceremony at about 4 p.m. Kerry introduced Kagan at her 2010 confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee after having worked with her on tobacco legislation when she was counsel to former President Clinton.

Kerry has already begun to prepare for his new role, starting with the hiring of a Boston Globe editor to become an adviser on strategic communications.

Embassy attack: A U.S. embassy guard was killed this morning by a suspected suicide bomber in Turkey, The Associated Press reports.

Superbowl spending: Did you know the Superbowl has as many volunteers as the Peace Corps? Or that a 30-second ad costs as much as 800,000 mosquito nets? The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition puts the costs — and benefits — of U.S. foreign aid in perspective here.

In other news: 

U.S. newspapers are under attack by Chinese hackers angered by critical coverage of China's corrupt leaders. [The Wall Street Journal]

Iran issued a veiled threat to respond to Israel's attack on a target in Syria. [The Washington Post]

A mysterious explosion at the headquarters of Mexico’s state-owned oil company on Thursday killed at least 25 people. [The New York Times]

Lobbying and regulations:

The State Department is seeking comment until March 18 on proposals to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations to revise Category IV — which includes launch vehicles, guided missiles, ballistic missiles, rockets, torpedoes, bombs and mines — of the U.S. Munitions List to describe more precisely the articles warranting control.

Global Affairs news you might have missed: 

Republicans introduce dueling legislation to stop arms sales to Egypt

Van Hollen's father, former diplomat, dead at 90

Jordan's ambassador to the U.S. weighs in on the country's recent elections 

Do you have an event or upcoming report you'd like to share? Any comments / complaints / suggestions?

Please contact me at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 202-628-8527

Follow me on Twitter @JPecquetTheHill

---