Barack Obama

Barack Obama wants 'balanced approach' instead of sequester

3 Mar 2013

US President Barack Obama yesterday urged Congress to replace automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester with what he called "a balanced approach" combining "smart" cuts with...

Obama orders ‘deeply destructive’ spending cuts

2 Mar 2013

President Barack Obama formally ordered broad cuts in US government spending on Friday night after he and congressional Republicans failed to reach a deal to avert automatic reductions that could...

US interest fading in pivot to Asia

1 Mar 2013

After a little more than a year of fanfare, President Barack Obama's "pivot" of American political, economic and military attention to Asia and the Pacific seems to be fading. The clues are subtle...

Bob Woodward says White House told him he would regret criticism

28 Feb 2013

Journalist Bob Woodward on Wednesday said a senior White House official told him he would “regret” taking issue in recent days with President Barack Obama’s version of how across-the-board budget...

Economy comes first in Obama-Abe meeting

27 Feb 2013

Abe is determined to revive the economy. Speaking at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, Abe said that not only was he personally back as prime minister, but "...

Opinion

Wang Xiangwei

Super ministries may not be the right answer for mainland China

Alex Lo

Church developers remain unbowed by government rules

George Chen

A house is not a home until it becomes affordable

Obama paints dire picture of effect of spending cuts on public services

The grim picture is emerging as the White House and lawmakers count down the days until the government is forced to trim US$85 billion in domestic and defence spending with hardly any leeway to...

Who said it?

[They] need to sharpen their pencils and consider all options

Japan's PM Shinzo Abe fails to win Obama's support in Diaoyus row

While Abe kept up his hardline comments about Japan's territorial dispute with China, he avoided disagreement with Obama during their talks on Friday. The Japanese leader declared that both...

TRADE

US, Japan focus on trade to boost both economies

In White House discussions on Friday, US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took up a range of security concerns. But their minds were largely focused on one thing:...

BRIEFS

Briefs, February 24, 2013

Six underground tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in the US state of Washington are leaking radioactive waste, but there is no immediate risk to public health, Governor Jay Inslee said.

Court lets stand Obama’s China wind farm ban

A US judge said on Friday she can’t overturn President Barack Obama’s decision to revoke a Chinese company’s purchase of four wind farm projects in the vicinity of a US naval facility’s restricted...