Tag: U.S. President Barack Obama

Israeli PM, angered by anti-settlement U.N. vote, summons U.S. ambassador

  (Reuters)  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday summoned the U.S. ambassador to Israel to discuss the U.S. abstention in a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlement-building. Separately, the envoys of 10 other nations were called in to the Israeli Foreign Ministry to be reprimanded on Sunday, and Netanyahu had more harsh words for Washington over Friday’s U.N. vote. An Israeli spokesman gave no details of when Netanyahu would meet U.S. […]

U.S. honors 9/11 victims 15 years after attacks

  (REUTERS)  Americans commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on Sunday with the recital of the names of the dead, tolling church bells and a tribute in lights at the site where New York City’s massive twin towers collapsed. The names of the 2,983 victims were read slowly by relatives as classical music played during a ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial plaza in lower Manhattan with pauses for six moments of […]

Philippines worried, says more Chinese boats spotted at disputed shoal

  (REUTERS) The Philippines expressed “grave concern” on Sunday and demanded an explanation from China’s ambassador over what it said was an increasing number of Chinese boats near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. A Philippines air force plane flew over the rocky outcrop on Saturday and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana […]

Philippines’ Duterte: Obama must listen to me on human rights

(REUTERS)  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday he was ready to discuss any issues with Barack Obama when they meet in Laos next week, but added that the U.S. president must listen to him first before bringing up the question of human rights. Washington has expressed concern about a surge in drug-related killings since Duterte became president two months ago promising to wipe out narcotics in the Southeast Asian nation. Asked if he would […]

Obama says will ensure freedom of navigation in South China Sea

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that Washington would stand with partners to ensure freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea and, without mentioning china by name, said big nations should not bully smaller ones. He was speaking on the second day of a visit to Vietnam, where on Monday he announced the complete lifting of the United State’s ban on sales of lethal weapons to the Southeast Asian country. (Eagle […]

Obama says Islamic State on the defensive

LANGLEY, VIRGINIA, United States (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday (April 13) the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq had put the militant group on the defensive, shrinking its territory and striking key leaders. “We have momentum and we intend to keep that momentum,” Obama told reporters after meeting with his national security advisers at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency. The campaign has cut supply lines and […]

U.S. Navy leads 30-nation maritime exercise in Middle East

Reuters – The U.S. Navy is leading a 30-nation maritime exercise across Middle Eastern waters which it says will help protect international trade routes against possible threats, including from Islamic State and al Qaeda. The exercise, which is partly being held in the Arabian Gulf, comes as tensions run high between Gulf Arab countries and Iran over its role in the region, including its support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war, for the […]

Obama discusses Islamic State threat with Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said he spoke with Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday (April 5) about how the Pentagon should be organised to meet global threats, including from Islamic State. “We’re investing in capabilities that of our military to deter aggression and defend our security and that of our allies, and this includes increases in our posture in Europe, to reassure NATO allies, in light of particularly increased […]

Obama to make historic visit to Cuba in March

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Barack Obama will next month become the first US president to visit Cuba in almost a century, championing engagement with the Communist-ruled island and burying one of the last vestiges of the Cold War. The White House hopes the trip will be a “Berlin Wall” moment, crowning a policy they see as being among Obama’s greatest foreign policy achievements. “Next month, I’ll travel to Cuba to advance our progress and […]

Obama calls for $1.8 billion to fight Zika

By Andrew BEATTY UNITED States (AFP) — President Barack Obama on Monday asked for more than $1.8 billion in emergency funds to tackle the fast-spreading Zika virus in the United States and beyond. The mosquito-borne illness has surged through Latin America, prompting fears that clement spring weather could bring a spate of cases north of the Rio Grande. The White House said fresh cash is needed to fund mosquito control programs, vaccine research and other […]

China passes controversial counter-terrorism law

China’s parliament passed a controversial new anti-terrorism law on Sunday (December 27) that requires technology firms to hand over sensitive information such as encryption keys to the government and allows the military to venture overseas on counter-terror operations. Chinese officials say their country faces a growing threat from militants and separatists, especially in its unruly Western region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have died in violence in the past few years. Speaking after China’s largely rubber-stamp […]

Obama: Faster progress needed against Islamic State

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday (December 14) that Islamic State militants had lost swaths of territory they once controlled in Iraq and Syria but that progress needed to be made faster against the group. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon Obama said that the Islamic State, which he referred to as ISIL, has not conducted a successful offensive since the summer. “In many places, ISIL has lost its freedom of maneuver because they […]