Brown and Obama trade compliments
Barack Obama praised Gordon Brown's 'integrity' as the two leaders stood shoulder to shoulder in a show of unity yesterday.
He stressed the importance of the 'special relationship' between Britain and America, and said he was pleased his first meeting overseas was with Mr Brown. 'The United Stated and the United Kingdom have stood together through thick and thin, through war and peace, through hard times and prosperity'. he said. 'We have always emerged stronger through standing together.' The president thanked Mt Brown for his hospitality and that of the prime minister's two sons who 'talked to him about dinosaurs' between top-level talks.
Mr Brown welcomed his 'person... 
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2nd April 209 - by J. Higginson - 0 Comments - Add Comment
London on edge as Obama hits town
Tension was rising today as London prepared to welcome Barack Obama for his first visit since becoming US president. Police have drafted in reinforcements ahead of several days of possibly violent G20 protests, which are likely to begin when Mr Obama arrives in the capital this afternoon. Commuters were bracing for travel disruption across the capital, with demonstrators threatening to take over the streets.
Road closures were being planned in the City and West End, with major arteries such as Regent Street, Picadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square earmarked to shut tomorrow.
air Force One will touch down at Stansted under an RAF fighter escort. Mr Obama will then be whisk... Read More
31st March 2009 - by A. Radnedge - 3 Comments - Add Comment
< pan class="green">Obama unveils £345bn package to buy toxic assets
The US yesterday launched a fresh bid to beat the recession - a £345billion buy-out of 'toxic' assets to help banks balance their books. President Barack Obama said he was 'very confident' the rescue package - which could rise to £690billion - would pull America out of its worst banking crisis in 70 years.
Toxic mortgages and securities which cripple banks because they cannot be sold or valued will be bought by the government and private investors using low interest loans. 'The good news is that we have one more critical element in our recovery', said Mr Obama.
The announcement was met by a huge rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones index rose 6.84% - almost 500 points - its fifth... Read More
24th March 2009 - By Metro - 11 Comments - Add Comment
Obama Enlists Campaign Army In Budget Fight
President Obama will kick off an all-out grass-roots effort today urging Congress to pass his $3.55 trillion budget, activating the extensive campaign apparatus he built during his successful 2008 candidacy for the first time since taking office.
The campaign, which will be run under the aegis of the Democratic National Committee, will rely heavily on the 13 million-strong e-mail list put together during the campaign and now under the control of Organizing for America (OFA), a group overseen by the DNC. Aides familiar with the plan said it is an unprecedented attempt to transfer the grass-roots energy built during the presidential campaign into an effort to sway Congress.
17th March 2009 - by C. Hass - 3 Comments - Add Comment
Barack Obama canceled press conference with Gordon Brown "because of snow"
Strange goings on surrounding the programme for the first day of Gordon Brown's visit to Washington.
No sooner had the Prime Minister's plane touched down at Andrews Air Force on Monday evening when word was passed to travelling Westminster correspondents that the press conference they'd been told to expect had been called off "because of snow".
Hours earlier, at around 4pm EST on Monday, a British official had told me that there would be a "press conference" after the PM and President Barack Obama had met in the Oval Office and before they had their working lunch in the Old Family Dining Room. Exact timings, however, were vague.
By 8pm, the press conference ... Read More
3rd March 2009 - by T. Harnden - 3 Comments - Add Comment
Top 10 anti-Barack Obama conservatives
This week, Republican activists are meeting in Washington for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. With President Barack Obama in the White House and Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, the Grand Old Party is at a low ebb.
So who are the figures who might help lead the American Right out of the wilderness? It's a difficult question to answer because conservatives are so divided about how they got there as well as the possible routes out.
Setting aside politicians - that would be too easy - here is a Top 10 list of the anti-Obama activists and thinkers who are currently setting Right-wing pulses racing.
1. Rush Limbaugh
<... Read More
27th Feb 2009 - by T. Harnden - 0 Comments - Add Comment
Barack's special welcome as Brown drops in
Barack Obama yesterday reiterated his belief in the 'special relationship' between Britain and America as he welcomed Gordon Brown to the White House. Sitting alingside Mr Brown, the president said Britain's role in Afghanistan and Iraq would not be forgotten.
'Britain is one of our closest and strongest allies and there is a link and bond there that will not break,' Mr Obama said. 'The relationship is not only special and strong but will only get stronger.' Mr Brown is the first European leader to visit the White Hose since Mr Obama's inauguration in January. The use of the term special relationship is significant. - the White House earlier called it 'special partnership', seen as a su... Read More
4th March 2009 - by Metro - 0 Comments - Add Comment
Barack's 'honest budget'
Barack Obama pledged 'honest accounting' yesterday and unveiled a budget worth trillions that aims to reform the US health care system.
In his first spending blueprint, the president said 'for too long the budget had not told the whole truth about the precious tax dollars are spent'.
He added 'In the past, large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.' Mr Obama said about £441 billion would be injected into health over the next 10 years. But, as well as unveiling his £2.5 trillion budget for 2010, he proposed more immediate changes that would push spending to £2.7 trillion in the current year.
That would result in a... Read More
27th Feb 2009 - by Metro - 302 Comments - Add Comment
We will bounce back, says Barack
President Barack Obama has vowed to pull America out of the deepening recession and said it will 'emerge stronger than before'.
He used his first speach to a joint session of Congress to warn that the 'eyes of the world' were on the US and claimed the country faced a 'day of reckoning'.
'While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: we will rebuild stronger, we will recover and the United States will emerge stronger than before.' He said.... Read More
26th Feb 2008 - By Metro - 7 Comments - Add Comment
Obama: 'Iraq Combat Mission To End In 2010'
A transitional force of between 35,000 and 50,000 personnel will remain in the country to support the Iraqi government and security forces.
"Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," the President said.
Mr Obama confirmed he intended to remove all US troops from Iraq by the end of 2011, under the Status of Forces Agreement signed with the Iraqi government last year.
In a speech at the Camp Lejeune Marine base in North Carolina he added: "There will surely be difficult periods and tactical adjustments.
"But our enemies should be left with no doubt: this plan gives our military the forces and the f... Read More
27th Feb 2008 - By Sky News - 3 Comments - Add Comment
Man Arrested Over HIV Blood Sent To Obama
Saad Hussein, an Ethiopian refugee in his late 20s, sent a number of items to the offices of the Illinois government in the weeks before the US President's inauguration, according to court documents.
One envelope contained a letter with reddish stains and an admission ticket for Mr Obama's election night celebration in Grant Park, Chicago.
Court documents claim Hussein told FBI agents he is "very sick with HIV" and cut his fingers with a razor so he could bleed on the letter.
Hazardous materials teams were called in after the envelope addressed to "Barack Obama" was opened.
Days after the first letter was sent, Hussein allegedly placed two more let... Read More
27th Feb 2008 - By Sky News - 131 Comments - Add Comment