Obama to outline strategy for targeting Islamic State September 7, 2014 On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama will outline his strategy for targeting Islamic State (IS) – the extremist group currently taking over large parts of Syria and northern Iraq. "I'm preparing the country to make sure that we deal with a threat from Isil,” he said on NBC's Meet the Press. "On Wednesday, I'll [...]
Barack Obama: Russia to blame for violence in Ukraine August 29, 2014 Barack Obama has blamed Russia for the violence taking place in eastern Ukraine. As tensions escalate between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels, the US President said that “deep Russian involvement” was the cause of fighting. "There is no doubt that this is not a home-grown, indigenous uprising in eastern Ukraine," he said [...]
Markets wobble as Obama looks to push sanctions against Russia August 28, 2014 US PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday said the US would look for ways to expand economic sanctions on Russia, after Kiev accused Moscow of moving troops into south eastern Ukraine. But he stopped short of calling the recent Russian aggression an invasion. US stocks edged lower as growing tensions snapped focus back to the volatile region, [...]
Islamic State in Syria: Obama authorises surveillance flights August 26, 2014 US President Barack Obama has authorised the use of surveillance flights to monitor the activities of Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The news came from a senior US administration official who spoke to the AP news agency on condition of anonymity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US Central Command overseeing American [...]
Uber’s battle against taxi industry and regulators steps up a gear with Obama adviser on board August 20, 2014 In Uber’s relentless battle against regulators and the taxi industry around the world, a political strategist was considered a crucial element for negotiating roadblocks in the disruptive taxi service’s plans for world domination. Now the search is over, and Uber has no doubt spent a pretty penny of its billions of dollars of investment (which [...]
Obama’s got it right: Why it’s in the West’s interest to help the Kurds out August 11, 2014 “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” For the second time in this doleful summer, the Islamic State (IS) has astounded the world. Following its stunning success in June – snatching and then consolidating territorial gains in eastern Syria and western Iraq into a terrorist state the [...]
Obama haunted by Delphi Automotive UK address move tax-loop trick August 6, 2014 When Barack Obama helped Delphi Automotive to stay afloat in 2009 by conducting a cunning tax trick, he must have known it would come back to bite him in the ass at some point – and sure enough, it looks like it just has. The Obama administration is on the war path, blasting US companies [...]
US and EU sanctions on Russia: It’s not another cold war says Obama, yet Putin won’t thaw July 29, 2014 The US and Europe have joined forces to tighten the screws on Russia’s President Putin, as the spectre of downed Malaysia airlines flight MH17 continues to tug at the consciences of western leaders. As ambassadors in Brussels yesterday finally agreed a package of new sanctions designed to bring the Russian economy to its knees, Prime [...]
This Middle East tragedy will become a catastrophe if Obama missteps now July 14, 2014 My wife recently passed along to me an almost unutterably beautiful video from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In it, Camille O’Sullivan performs “Daughter, Dear Daughter” from the Bard’s moving The Rape of Lucrece, giving voice to the universal anguish of a parent burying a child. It ends with the harrowing plea, “Then live, sweet Lucrece, [...]
Obama requests $500m to arm Syrian rebels June 27, 2014 Obama has asked congress for $500m to arm and train “moderate” Syrian rebels, in an attempt to bolster defence against Bashar al-Assad's forces, the White House has said. If approved, they hope that the aid will also help to counter militant groups such as Isis, which has captured much of the northern part of Iraq, [...]