The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Barack Obama

  • Trump, Turnbull to meet after tense phone call

    Trump, Turnbull to meet after tense phone call

    Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet in New York later on Thursday for their first face-to-face encounter following a testy long distance start to their relationship.

    Trump and Turnbull are set to attend an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the victory over Japan by U.S. and Australian forces in World War II’s Battle of the Coral Sea.

    The two leaders would also hold a bilateral meeting, with issues surrounding North Korea and China expected to dominate the talks.

    Their first official conversation over the phone in February went sour after Trump blasted Turnbull over the terms of a refugee swap deal.

    Before leaving office, President Barack Obama’s administration agreed to take more than a thousand refugees languishing in Australian immigration detention centres in the Pacific islands.

    Trump reportedly hung up on Turnbull and later tweeted that it was “a dumb deal.”

    However, the Trump administration said later that it would honour the agreement.

    In April, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was in Australia on a two-day visit for the final leg of his four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, and assured that all was well between the two long-time allies.

    “They don’t have to be best friends, but of course they will be gracious toward each other.

    “I have no doubt that the prime minister and President Trump will find a lot in common, I’m sure they’ll get along well,” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.

    Turnbull is said to be bringing a jarrah timber box handmade outside Canberra to hold a dozen golf balls for the president, according to local media.

    This will also be the first time Trump is returning to his home city New York since assuming office in January.

    Turnbull would be returning to Australia on Saturday.

     

  • Trump plans to move ahead with Nigeria planes sale -Sources

    President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing forward with plans to sell up to a dozen aircraft to Nigeria’s air force for the fight against the extremist group Boko Haram.

    Sources said the deal could be worth up to 600 million dollars.

    Sources also said the Super Tocano A-29 aircraft, an agile, propeller-driven plane with reconnaissance and surveillance as well as attack capabilities, is made by Brazil’s Embraer.

    A second production line is in Florida, in a partnership between Embraer and privately held Sierra Nevada Corp of Sparks, Nevada.

    Former President Barack Obama’s administration originally agreed on the sale, but delayed it after incidents including the Nigerian Air Force’s bombing of a refugee camp in January that killed 90 to 170 civilians.

    The Trump administration wants to push ahead to boost Nigeria’s efforts to fight Boko Haram and bolster hiring in the United States by defense firms.

    “We’ve been told that the administration is going to go forward with that transaction,” a congressional aide said.

    Formal notification of the deal has not yet been sent to Congress but is expected shortly.

    Trump has said he plans to go ahead with foreign defense sales delayed under Obama by human rights concerns.

    A senior Nigerian military source in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, confirmed that the sale would go ahead and said it would also involve training, surveillance and military intelligence “to support … the ongoing insurgency war.”

    In March, the Trump administration informed Congress of its plans to pursue a five billion dollars sale to Bahrain of Lockheed Martin F-16s and related equipment, which had been held up under Obama when Bahrain failed to meet human rights targets.

    Reuters first reported the Obama administration’s plan to sell the Embraer aircraft to Nigeria in May 2016, as a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to reform the military.

    The Super Tucano costs more than 10 million dollars each and the price can go much higher depending on the configuration.

    It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT six engine.

    Trump’s plan to move ahead with the Nigerian sale was first reported on Monday by the Associated Press.

    The U.S. congressional source said rights concerns remain, despite support for the sale from some lawmakers.

    There are also questions about whether Nigeria will be able to pay the full 600 million dollars for the aircraft, equipment, training and support.

    U.S. officials said Buhari raised frustration with delays in the sale in a phone call with Trump in February.

     

  • Impersonators of world leaders gather in Hong Kong

    Impersonators of world leaders gather in Hong Kong

    Three men impersonating US President Donald Trump, former president Barack Obama and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un caused laughter and chaos in central Hong Kong on Friday.

    Traffic stopped as people swarmed around the trio to take pictures.

    Barack Obama impersonator, Reggie Brown, sporting custom-made prosthetic ears, said he was happy for all the love.

    Australian, Howard X, impersonated Kim Jong Un and 66-year-old musician Dennis Allen from Chicago impersonated President Trump.

    The professional look-alikes had been hired for the Rugby Sevens.

    See Video below:

  • Syrian opposition welcomes U.S. strike on army airbase

    Syrian opposition welcomes U.S. strike on army airbase

    The Syrian opposition on Friday welcomed U.S. strikes against a Syrian government airbase and called for more after two American warships fired dozens of missiles at the airfield in a sharp escalation of the U.S. military role in Syria.

    The Syrian opposition has long been critical of U.S. policy towards the Syrian conflict, saying former President Barack Obama’s administration had failed to give enough support to rebels fighting the better-armed Syrian army and its allies.

    “We hope for the continuation of the strikes in order to prevent the regime from using its planes to launch any new air raids or going back to using internationally banned weapons,” said Ahmad Ramadan, head of the media office of the Syrian National Coalition political opposition group.

    Hasan Ali, commander of the Free Idlib Army rebel group, which fights under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) umbrella, told Reuters the strikes came at a “very important phase” and showed Syrians that “there is still humanity in this world”.

    While Ali said he did not expect more strikes, “we can say that the time has become very appropriate for Bashar al-Assad and the criminals with him to go to the dustbins of history”.

    Nasr al-Hariri, chief negotiator of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said on Twitter that the strikes “in case they continue, would kick off a correct start in combating terrorism”.

    The Saudi-based HNC, the main opposition body which includes political and armed groups, has participated in U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.

    U.S. President Donald Trump said he had ordered missile strikes against the airfield from which a deadly chemical attack was launched, declaring he acted in America’s “national security interest” against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

    The strikes drew sharp criticism from Russia, Assad’s ally.

    U.S. officials said the military fired dozens of cruise missiles against the base in response to the suspected gas attack in a rebel-held area this week, which Washington has blamed on Assad’s forces.

    The Syrian government has strongly denied responsibility and says it does not use chemical weapons.

    “The airbase targeted by the U.S. strike was used to kill Syrians,” Ramadan said.

    The U.S. attack “sends a clear message to the regime and its backers” that they can no longer avoid repercussions, Ramadan said.

    The governor of Homs province said earlier that the airbase was used to support Syrian army operations against Islamic State.

    NAN reports that the U.N. Security Council was expected to hold closed-door consultations on Friday about the U.S. strike on Syria following a request by Bolivia, an elected member of the council, a senior Security Council diplomat said.

     

  • Britain regrets 2013 decision after Syrian gas-attack – Minister

    Britain regrets 2013 decision after Syrian gas-attack – Minister

    Britain’s Foreign Minister, Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that Syrians were suffering the consequences of a decision taken by Britain and the U.S. in 2013.

    Johnson said the decision of not to act following a gas attack in Syria despite having threatened that the use of chemical weapons was a “red line.”

    He made the comment during an EU-hosted international conference on Syria which had been overshadowed by an apparent chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Idlib province on Tuesday that left at least 72 people dead.

    “We made a historic decision, the UK and the U.S., back in 2013 not to respond to the crossing of the red line that everybody remembers: the use of gas at Ghouta.

    “That, I’m afraid, vacated the field in Syria as everybody knows, and we are living today with the consequences.

    “I’m afraid the people of Syria are living today with the consequences of that decision,” he said.

    In August 2012, former U.S. president Barack Obama warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the use of chemical or biological weapons in Syria was a “red line” that should not be crossed.

    In August 2013, a chemical weapons attack was carried out in the Ghouta area outside of Damascus killing more than 1,400 people.

    The Syrian regime was accused of the attack.

    While the U.S. was weighing military action, it decided against taking any military steps after the Syrian government agreed to eliminate its chemical weapons stash under a UN Security Council resolution.

    However, chemical weapons attacks have continued.

    UN investigators found last year that the Syrian government had carried out attacks using chlorine gas on three occasions since 2014.

    The alleged chemical attack on Tuesday has been blamed on the Syrian government by the U.S. and several other countries.

    The White House also blamed the Obama administration for failing to act more forcefully to prevent such attacks by the Syrian government.

    “These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the previous administration’s weakness and irresolution,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

    He pointed to Obama’s decision to draw a “red line” on chemical weapons as doing “nothing.”

  • India rejects U.S. offer to mediate with Pakistan

    India rejects U.S. offer to mediate with Pakistan

    India on Tuesday turned down the offers of the United States of America (U.S.) to mediate with Pakistan, saying that New Delhi’s position for bilateral redress of all issues with Islamabad has not changed yet.

    “The government’s position for bilateral redress of all India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn’t changed,” Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

    The ministry’s response came after the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nicky Haley hinted an apparent change in her country’s stance of not engaging in bilateral disputes between India and Pakistan.

    “It is absolutely right that this administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan.

    “We know that this administration very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward, she said when asked by newsmen about possible U.S. efforts to get India and Pakistan together for peace talks.

    “We very much think that we should be proactive in the way that we are seeing tensions rise and conflicts start to bubble up.

    “We also want to see if we can be a part of that,” Haley said in a clear change of stance from the previous U.S. administration under President Barack Obama.

    India has consistently declined any third party mediation in the Kashmir issue, which has been a bone of contention between New Delhi and Islamabad.

    India and Pakistan both stake claim to Kashmir and have fought three major wars over the disputed territory in the past 65 years.

  • How Buhari restored Nigeria/U.S. warm ties – Ag. Ambassador

    How Buhari restored Nigeria/U.S. warm ties – Ag. Ambassador

    Amb. Hakeem Balogun, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria, Washington, has described the relationship between Nigeria and the U.S. as “very warm”.

    Balogun told the Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the relationship had improved greatly since Muhammadu Buhari became president.

    According to him, the Nigeria-U.S. relationship was not too good prior to the inauguration of Buhari as president.

    “The relationship is quite good. It’s been very warm and lovely ever since the coming of this administration.

    “Prior to President Buhari’s ascendancy, the relationship was sort of lukewarm following the American’s complaints over Nigeria’s handling of security issues, human rights, allegations, issues of corruption, issues of governance.

    “These are issues which the present government has come in to make the focal point of its administration. And no doubt, even since then, our relationship has been very robust.

    “Our relationship has entered on the fulcrum of the Bi-National Commission and based on that, it has formed the bedrock of our relationship.

    “The bi-national commission is the foundation, the basis of the relationship between both countries.

    “Well within the bedrock of that bi-national commission, are issues of good governance, corruption, security and what others, which formed the basis of our relationship with the United States.”

    On Corruption, Balogun, who is Nigeria’s acting Ambassador at U.S., said the U.S. was quite impressed with how far Nigeria had gone in the fight against corruption under Buhari.

    “They (U.S.) really have this belief that the person of Mr President was okay to handle the issue of corruption in Nigeria and that he’s been doing well.

    “I was in a meeting where former President Barack Obama publicly acclaimed this that they were quite satisfied with the way we were handling corruption issues.

    “And he’s open to us to see what the government was doing regarding corrupt practices, either in governance or in the society at large.

    “So I can definitely tell you that the United States is pleased with what we’ve been doing at that level; ditto the efforts to revive the economy.

    “You know this issue of corruption is a global thing; it is worldwide and we have to share best practices.

    “How we fight against the terrorism is something that is really being a focal point for the government of the United States,” he said.

    The Nigeria envoy pointed out that Nigeria’s strategy in the fight against Boko Haram was commended and recommended by the meeting of the Global Coalition Working to Defeat ISIS hosted by U.S. within the week.

    “That (Nigeria’s strategy) was part of the outcomes of the conference, where the coalition of countries fighting against terrorism, about 68 of them, met.

    “There were only four of us from Africa, where we also talked about how best to share information, stop international terrorism financing and international weapons exchange across borders.

    “Nigeria was singled out in our efforts to combat the Boko Haram menace and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson actually commended our delegation.

    “Tillerson commended Nigeria for the efforts we’ve put in tackling global terrorism as it affects us,” he said.

     

  • Obama hits the course in Hawaii

    Obama hits the course in Hawaii

     

     

     

    Barack  Obama looked like he’s enjoying his retirement as he hit the golf course on the first day of his family vacation in Hawaii.

    The 44th President took time to play a few holes at a local country club after he flew into the aloha state on Monday.

    Obama, who was renowned for squeezing in the odd round while running the country,  finally has time for as many rounds as he wants, as the family takes a surprise break on Oahu.

    The 55-year-old looked relaxed and happy as he was pictured smiling during the afternoon round, before he went to meet Michelle for dinner later that evening at Buzz’s Lanikai.

    His unannounced return to the islands surprised residents, and is is unclear how longer he plans to stay in the state. But it’s unlikely Obama’s daughters will join them within the next week.

    Sasha’s high school, Sidwell Friends, does not break up for spring break until March 24, while Malia is still busy with her New York internship with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

  • Congress probes Obama over Trump’s phone tapping

    Congress probes Obama over Trump’s phone tapping

    The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Intelligence said it would probe former President Barack Obama’s administration over alleged tapping into the phones and computer servers of President Donald Trump and campaign officials.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, said on Sunday in a statement that his panel will investigate wiretapping allegations made by Trump against Obama. The wiretapping was alleged by Trump to have occurred during the 2016 presidential campaigns.

    “One of the focus points of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation is the U.S. government’s response to actions taken by Russian intelligence agents during the presidential campaign.

    “As such, the Committee will make inquiries into whether the government was conducting surveillance activities on any political party’s campaign officials or surrogates, and we will continue to investigate this issue if the evidence warrants it.”

    The White House on Sunday demanded that Congress examine Trump’s allegations that his predecessor conducted surveillance in Trump Tower to determine whether campaign operatives had contacts with the Russians during the election.

    White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said: “Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling.

    “President Donald J. Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016.”

    Obama has, however, denied that he ordered any such wiretaps.

     

  • Congress probes Obama over Trump’s phone tapping

    Congress probes Obama over Trump’s phone tapping

    The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Intelligence said it would probe former President Barack Obama’s administration over alleged tapping into the phones and computer servers of President Donald Trump and campaign officials.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, said on Sunday in a statement that his panel will investigate wiretapping allegations made by Trump against Obama. The wiretapping was alleged by Trump to have occurred during the 2016 presidential campaigns.

    “One of the focus points of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation is the U.S. government’s response to actions taken by Russian intelligence agents during the presidential campaign.

    “As such, the Committee will make inquiries into whether the government was conducting surveillance activities on any political party’s campaign officials or surrogates, and we will continue to investigate this issue if the evidence warrants it.”

    The White House on Sunday demanded that Congress examine Trump’s allegations that his predecessor conducted surveillance in Trump Tower to determine whether campaign operatives had contacts with the Russians during the election.

    White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said: “Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling.

    “President Donald J. Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016.”

    Obama has, however, denied that he ordered any such wiretaps. (NAN)