BARACK OBAMA

South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-Hoon (L) talks with his U.S. counterpart Ron Kirk (R) during their meeting in Seoul November 8, 2010.

US-South Korea FTA: Whose win is it anyway?

During the negotiations (with the U.S.), I did not think of Yeonpyeong Island or the USS George Washington. I have just mulled over the benefits and losses in terms of trade, South Korean trade minister Kim Jong-hoon said, apparently to refute criticism that Seoul gave away ground to the U.S. in the aftermath of the geopolitical crisis precipitated by last week’s shelling by North Korea on South’s islands.

France's Sarkozy calls on India to back G20 agenda

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President Nicolas Sarkozy urged India on Saturday to support France's agenda of reforming the global monetary system during its presidency of the G20 and hinted a nuclear deal could be signed on his trip.

Negotiators shape possible tax-cut deal

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A framework for a possible deal between the White House and congressional leaders to extend expiring tax cuts for millions of Americans is slowly being put together behind closed doors, aides said on Friday.
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Payrolls barely rise, jobless rate jumps

U.S. employment barely grew in November and the jobless rate unexpectedly hit a seven-month high, hardening views the Federal Reserve would stick to its $600 billion plan to shore up the fragile recovery.
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Payrolls seen up in November and jobless rate steady

The U.S. economy probably recorded a second month of solid job gains in November, which would bolster views the labor market is improving even though the activity is not enough yet to lower the unemployment rate.
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Lawmaker calls for end to Obama mortgage aid program

The incoming head of a House of Representatives panel overseeing the Obama White House on Thursday called for pulling the plug on a widely criticized program to help struggling borrowers stay in their homes.
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Senate to take symbolic votes on taxes Saturday

The Senate will vote on two Democratic options to extend some Bush-era tax cuts on Saturday, its Democratic leader said, measures likely to fail but highlight deep ideological divisions between the parties.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter (L) hands over a copy of the World Cup to Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov after the announcement that Russia is going to be host nation for the FIFA World Cup 2018, in Zurich December 2, 2010.

New lands for World Cup as Russia, Qatar to host in 2018, 2022

The FIFA World Cup, the biggest tournament in soccer, will be headed to new regions as Russia won the 2018 bid on Thursday over rivals which included England and tiny emirate Qatar beat a group including the United States for the 2022 tournament.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-MD.

House extends middle-class tax cuts

While negotiators for both political parties worked behind the scenes to hammer out a deal on extending the Bush-era tax cuts and, possibly, unemployment insurance, House Democrats pushed through a measure that would extend the tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000.
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House takes symbolic vote on taxes as talks go on

The House of Representatives, in the waning days of Democratic control, passed an extension on Thursday of Bush-era tax cuts for the lower and middle classes in a symbolic vote that would let tax cuts for the wealthiest expire.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen (R) shakes hands with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) before the Senate Arms Services Committee hearing about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays serving in the military on Capitol

Premature to allow openly gay U.S. soldiers, McCain says

The top Republican lawmaker on a key U.S. military oversight committee, while leaving open the possibility of eventually dropping his opposition to the repeal of the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers, said doing so at this time would be premature.
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Deficit-cutting plan advances in uphill climb

Two more lawmakers pledged on Thursday to support a plan to slash the U.S. budget deficit drawn up by the co-chairmen of a presidential commission, but the plan still faced long odds of moving to Congress.
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Deficit panel recalibrates, seeks more support

A presidential commission trying to balance the budget on Wednesday softened a proposed tax overhaul to win broader support for its bold plan to slash the $1.3 trillion federal deficit.
U.S. President Barack Obama between Senate Mitch McConnell, R-KY and Congressman John Boehner, R-OH

Obama meets with GOP leaders for a good start

The American people did not vote for political gridlock in Washington, according to President Barack Obama who today met with Congressional leaders from both parties to discuss what they consider the main components of the national agenda.
U.S. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton

Obama administration in a diplomacy bind over WikiLeaks

The Obama administration has been left red-faced by disclosures made by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks pertaining to French president Nicholas Sarkozy that describes him as an “emperor without clothes”, Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as ‘Hitler’ and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin as an “Alpha Dog”.
World leader's reaction to Wikileaks

Wikileaks: China to Germany, US diplomacy smacks of quid-pro-quo dealings

The year 2010 was not good for Google in China and the hacking was, indeed, part of a sabotage attempt carried out with help from the government quarters, reveal the classified U.S. documents released by Wikileaks on Sunday. China to Germany, US diplomacy generally smacks of quid-pro-quo dealings, as ever.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks during a news conference about the internet release of secret documents about the Iraq War, in London October 23, 2010 and (inset) Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada)

Will WikiLeaks unravel the American 'secret government'?

The U.S. Department of State is working overtime sending messages to ally capitals warning the impending release of classified documents by WikiLeaks could harm relations in what is seen as a pre-emptive move of unprecedented scale to neutralize the impact of the unveiling of embarrassing and compromising details about the inner workings of the government apparatus.

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