Latest in Tag: Obama Highlight
Latest in Tag: Obama
Shifting strategies
Obama’s upcoming visit to Riyadh will do little to ease Saudi concerns over the new course of American foreign policy
Fahmy and Kerry discuss Middle East peace
Obama and Abbas meet in Washington as negotiations deadline looms
Egypt throws support behind Abbas
PA negotiations with Israel could combat polarisation and extremism, says the foreign ministry
Obama meets Abbas in bid to save US peace drive
Obama will meet Abbas after telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that tough decisions are looming ahead of an end of April deadline to agree on a framework for future negotiations.
Abbas to meet Obama ahead of peace talks deadline
Current Palestinian leaders have opposed recognising Israel as a Jewish state, fearing this could threaten the rights of non-Jewish Arabs living in Israel, who make up some 20% of the population, as well as other religious minorities.
Ukraine vows not to fight Russia over Crimea
Turchynov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had so far resisted intense international pressure and refused all contacts with Kiev aimed at resolving the worst breakdown in East-West relations since the Cold War.
Crimea votes for independence ahead of referendum to join Russia
Yanukovych still enjoys Moscow’s recognition and remains a political wildcard who the Kremlin says is pushing for Russia’s immediate invasion of Ukraine in the most explosive east-west standoff since the Cold War.
Spanish FM cuts short Iran trip over Ukraine crisis
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, who arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a planned four-day visit, is to attend an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.
Ukraine mobilises army as west warns Russia
Russia’s parliament voted Saturday to allow President Vladimir Putin to send troops into its western neighbour – a decision US President Barack Obama swiftly branded a “violation of Ukrainian sovereignty”.
More protests as Venezuela leader calls for talks with US
The risk of violence is high as a march of pro-government “Chavista women” is also scheduled for Saturday in Caracas.
Obama vows to put more pressure on Assad regime
At the meeting Obama pledged $1bn in loan guarantees to Jordan, as well as a renewal of a five-year memorandum of understanding.
UN-OPCW urges Syria to speed up destruction of chemical arms
Syria, Kaag said, was continuing to display “constructive cooperation” despite missing several deadlines to ship chemical material out of the country.
Obama to face blunt talk in Saudi Arabia
The White House waited until Monday to confirm that Obama would indeed add an unexpected stop in Saudi Arabia onto a previously announced tour of the Netherlands, Brussels and Vatican City in March.
Obama signs spending bill after rare Washington compromise
Obama signed the massive bill, passed by Congress this week in a rare budget truce, in front of officials from his Office of Management and Budget.
US Congress makes $1.3bn in military aid available in 2014
New bill facilitates the return of military aid to Egypt following its suspension in July
White House sees a partner in Assad
By Tony Badran, Now. As 2013 drew to a close, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy and damning chronicle of President Obama’s handling of Syria. And while 2013 was a particularly catastrophic year for US policy in Syria, 2014 promises to be even worse. For if last year marked Washington’s official abandonment of the Syrian opposition, this …
African philanthropists push for prosperity
By Kingsley Ighobor Last July, US President Barack Obama set the spark for his Power Africa programme that will help sub-Saharan African countries build power production and transmission projects and double their access to electricity. President Obama announced in Cape Town, South Africa, his plan to mobilise $16bn for investments that will generate 10,000 megawatts …
America’s unlearned lessons
By Michael Young, NOW. Afghanistan all over again After the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, you would often hear from Americans that Washington had botched the aftermath of the civil war in Afghanistan. Instead of helping stabilise the country after having armed the Afghanis in their struggle against the Russian occupation, …
US envoy talks Sudans in Cairo
Envoy presents US administration’s strategy to achieve a lasting peace between Sudan and South Sudan
Morocco dismisses rights criticism as king visits US
Human Rights Watch urged Obama to press the king to keep moving forward on reforms, including stronger legal protections for rights
Obama knows best
By Tony Badran, Now. America’s allies are troubled. At the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme that took place in Geneva last week, the US administration came close to giving the Iranians significant sanctions relief while allowing them to continue uranium enrichment and construction on the plutonium reactor – thereby preserving Iran’s short-cut to a nuclear …
US must update its Cuba policy, Obama says
Freedom in Cuba will come from the work of activists, Obama said, but the United States can help in “creative” and “thoughtful” ways.
US spy chiefs hit back in Europe row
The revelations came as a senior official said President Barack Obama was considering banning US spies from tapping the telephones of allied leaders, in the wake of German outrage over alleged snooping on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s communications.
Obama cancels Asia stops as shutdown hits Pacific pivot
Obama had hoped to use the trip to make progress in concluding initial talks on a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
Egypt must make democratic progress: Obama
Washington has been watching the unfolding events in Egypt with concern, worried that the new military leadership under General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi may renege on its promise to hand back to civilian rule.
White House: Iran overtures ‘clearly not sufficient’
White House national security spokesman Ben Rhodes said President Barack Obama has no plans to meet Rowhani at the UN General Assembly next week, and would maintain pressure on Iran when he addresses the body.
Obama’s Syria Debacle
By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir I am not a war monger; I know the meaning of war, the death toll, the suffering, and the destruction of property along with the spirit of innocent men, women and children. That said, regardless of how appalling the use of force is to achieve any objective, there is a time …
Obama says he and Iran’s Rowhani swapped letters
The US president confirmed the outreach to Rowhani for the first time, and said he believed the Syria chemical arms drama showed that diplomacy could work if backed by threats of military action.
US, Russia in crucial Syria talks after Putin appeal
Revealing details of the proposal for the first time Thursday, Russian daily Kommersant said Moscow had given Washington a four-step plan for the weapons handover
In Syria, the punishment must fit the crime
By Ammar Abdulhamid, Now News If the purpose of the looming US-intervention in Syria is to restore America’s credibility, and more specifically President Obama’s, which has suffered measurably on the international scene as a result of his foot-dragging over the last two and a half years, then a limited intervention will prove insufficient and will …