Iraq cabinet backs US troops deal
November 17, 2008
US troops - like this one dancing with Iraqi police - are to leave by 2011
The Iraqi cabinet has approved a security pact with the US governing the future presence of 150,000 US troops in the country, officials have said.
Under the deal, US troops will withdraw from the streets of Iraqi towns next year, leaving Iraq by the end of 2011.
Obama says aiding economy trumps budget deficit
November 17, 2008
Obama says aiding economy trumps budget deficit
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The United States government should not worry about deficits over the next two years while spending money to jumpstart the ailing economy, President-elect Barack Obama said in a television interview that aired on Sunday.
Russia ‘pinning hopes on Obama’
November 16, 2008
- Mr Medvedev said Russia would not do anything until the US took the first step
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said he hopes US President-elect Barack Obama will help rebuild the strained relations between their two countries.
In a speech in Washington, Mr Medvedev said that a new US administration might be able to address what he described as a lack of “necessary mutual trust”.
World leaders grapple with crisis
November 15, 2008
Bush warned his guests that overnight solutions were not on the agenda
World leaders are to continue talks on measures to limit the current financial turmoil at a summit in Washington.
They hope to agree on long-term reforms to cut the risk of further crises and a coordinated economic stimulus plan.
Obama, Clinton discussed secretary of state job
November 15, 2008
Obama, Clinton discussed secretary of state job
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton left the door open to becoming secretary of state on Friday, a day after a meeting with President-elect Barack Obama at which a Democratic official said they discussed the job.
Healthcare reform gets backing in Congress
November 13, 2008
Healthcare reform gets backing in Congress
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to reform the U.S. healthcare system got a big boost on Wednesday as a powerful Democratic senator unveiled a plan similar to President-elect Barack Obama’s and an analysis said the financial crisis could accelerate any efforts, not hinder them.
Obama ‘to curb role of lobbyists’
November 12, 2008
Mr Obama marked Veterans Day in Chicago
US President-elect Barack Obama will introduce rules to restrict the role of lobbyists as he shapes his administration, says a senior official.
Nicaragua election clash ‘deaths’
November 11, 2008
Police have been caught in the middle as rival party supporters clash
At least two people have been killed and six others injured in Nicaragua in post-election violence, according to unconfirmed reports from the country.
There was gunfire as supporters and opponents of the governing left-wing Sandinista party clashed after nationwide municipal elections.
The opposition and monitors alleged voting irregularities.
But President Daniel Ortega, whose party claimed victory based on partial results, denied voter fraud.
The US criticised Mr Ortega’s government for barring international monitors’ access to Sunday’s poll.
With the majority of votes counted in 146 municipalities, the Sandinistas were leading in most of the major races.
Current partial results show the governing party’s candidate, former boxing champion Alexis Arguello, leading in the hotly-contested race to be mayor of the capital, Managua.
The mayoral race in the capital Managua has been hotly fought
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But in an BBC interview, opposition politician Eduardo Montealegre claimed victory in the contest for the keys of city hall.
The former finance minister, who lost the 2006 presidential election to Mr Ortega, said he would demand a recount if he lost.
It was the first major electoral test for President Ortega since he was re-elected president in 2006, nearly two decades after leading a Marxist government that fought US-backed Contra rebels.
Having refused to accredit election observers, Mr Ortega, an enduring critic of US foreign policy, claimed the monitors were “financed by outside powers”.
The civic group Ethics and Transparency, which was among would-be election observers denied accreditation by the government, said it had nevertheless recorded irregularities in 32% of the polling places it monitored.
In Washington, state department spokesman Robert Wood said “political conditions that existed during the campaign were not conducive to free and fair elections”.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
Obama seeks new approach in Afghanistan: report
November 11, 2008
Obama seeks new approach in Afghanistan: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama plans to try a more regional approach to the war in Afghanistan including possible talks with Iran, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing national security advisers to Obama.
The president-elect also intends to move ahead with a planned deployment of thousands of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan and refocus on the hunt for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the newspaper reported.
However, the Obama team is far from working out how to bring bin Laden back to the forefront of the U.S. counter-terrorism agenda, The Washington Post reported.
Obama received his first high-level intelligence briefing as president-elect last week.
While emphasizing the importance of continuing U.S. operations against Pakistan-based Taliban fighters who attack U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the incoming administration intends to remind Americans about the fight against Islamist extremists and the September 11 attacks, the newspaper said.
Advisers told the newspaper that Obama plans to underscore that al Qaeda remains the nation’s highest priority.
“This is our enemy,” on Obama adviser told the newspaper, referring to bin Laden “and he should be our principal target.”
Iran, on Afghanistan’s western border, has been kept at arm’s length by the Bush administration, but should be considered in formulating a new Afghanistan strategy, a senior U.S. military official was cited as saying.
“As we look to the future, it would be helpful to have an interlocutor” to explore shared objectives, the official told the newspaper. The Iranians “don’t want Sunni extremists in charge of Afghanistan any more than we do,” the official said.
Source: reuters.com
Obama ‘to reverse Bush decisions’
November 10, 2008
Mr Obama
US President-elect Barack Obama will seek to reverse Bush administration policies when he enters office on 20 January, his transition chief has said.
John Podesta said executive orders by President George W Bush on issues such as stem cell research and oil drilling were at odds with Mr Obama’s views.
He said they could be easily repealed as no Congressional action was needed.
On Monday Mr Obama and Mr Bush will hold their first meeting since the Democrat’s election victory.
Mr Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters - Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven - will be given a tour of their new home at the White House.
Afterwards the president-elect and Mr Bush are expected to hold what Mr Obama has described as “substantive talks”.
‘Deliberate haste’
The meeting has been arranged with unusual haste - analysts say this is in part because the US is at war, and also the transition is taking place in the midst of an economic crisis.
Mr Obama has said that dealing with the economy is his top priority, and that he will move with “deliberate haste” to choose his cabinet.
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 You see the Bush administration even today moving aggressively to do things I think are not in the interest of the country
John Podesta
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Speaking on Fox News, Mr Podesta said Mr Obama’s team was working hard to “build up that core economic team”.
Speaking on Friday in his first news conference as president-elect, Mr Obama said he would seek a constructive approach to the meeting with Mr Bush.
“I’m not going to anticipate problems. I’m going to go in there with a spirit of bipartisanship,” he said.
However, reports from Washington suggest Mr Obama’s transition team has been working hard to identify issues where executive decisions made by Mr Bush could be quickly repealed by Mr Obama.
Mr Podesta said the incoming administration was also scrutinising many of the executive orders signed by President Bush “on stem cell research, on a number of areas”.
In 2001, Mr Bush issued an executive order limiting federal funding for medical research using human embryo stem cells. Critics say the decision has hampered US research efforts into conditions including Alzheimers and Parkinson’s disease.
The Washington Post reported that transition officials had compiled a list of some 200 executive orders to be considered for repeal.
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Mr Podesta highlighted the Bush administration’s attempts to authorise oil and gas drilling in Utah as one order which could be easily repealed. The Washington Post said other orders affecting environmental legislation and abortion issues were also under consideration.
Potential plans for a last-minute rush of executive decisions by the White House were also being watched carefully, Mr Podesta said.
“You see the Bush administration even today moving aggressively to do things I think are not in the interest of the country,” he added.
There have been reports that Mr Bush’s administration plans to issue new executive orders - regulations by the president which do not go through Congress but which nevertheless have the force of law - on a range of potentially controversial issues including security, the environment, abortion and civil liberties.
“[Obama is] a transformational figure, and I think he’s going to transform the way government acts as we move forward,” Mr Podesta said.
The co-chair of Mr Obama’s transition team, Valerie Jarrett, said there could be a diverse, bipartisan cabinet.
“I’m confident his administration will include people from all perspectives,” she said.
Mr Bush’s chief of staff, Josh Bolten, pledged a smooth transition.
“If a crisis hits on January 21, they’re the ones who are going to have to deal with it. We need to make sure that they’re as well prepared as possible,” Mr Bolten said.
Source: bbc.co.uk/