Iraq’s local elections an ‘important step’: Obama

August 21st, 2009 Obama praises Afghans for turning out to pollsWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has called the Afghan presidential election an "important step forward" for a country that has seen violence and instability for decades. Obama praised the Afghan people for turning out to vote in Thursday's election "in the face of intimidation" from the Taliban.

August 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - An expert on South and Central Asia has welcomed the holding of the second presidential elections in Afghanistan, saying it is an important sign-if not of progress, not only for Afghanistan, but also for Pakistan and the United States. According to Daniel Markey of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), in the near term, interested parties can hope for less disruption and propaganda, some changes in terms of political leadership that will ultimately work well.

August 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama praised the elections that took place in Afghanistan Thursday as successful despite violence that claimed the lives of 26 people. "We had what appears to be a successful election in Afghanistan, despite the Taliban's efforts to disrupt it," Obama said in a radio interview.

July 21st, 2009 Iraq PM flies to US to meet Obama, seek investmentBAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is heading to Washington to visit President Barack Obama and seek U.S. investment in Iraq despite persistent security concerns.

July 10th, 2009 Obama: Important to respect state sovereigntyL'AQUILA, Italy — President Barack Obama says respecting the sovereignty of nations is important, but that some "exceptional circumstances" — like genocide — require an international response. Speaking in Italy at the conclusion of a summit of the world's developed countries, Obama said in response to a question that getting involved in a country's internal affairs would not always be a "neat decision" because other countries would object.

July 6th, 2009 Iraq bans organized visits to Saddam's graveBAGHDAD — Iraq's government has banned all organized visits to Saddam Hussein's grave in the village of Ouja, the dictator's birth place north of Baghdad. A cabinet statement says instructions have been sent to the Education Ministry and local authorities in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit to take the necessary steps to stop such visits.

June 30th, 2009 White House: US pullback important step forwardWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that "Iraq's future is in the hands of its own people," warning of more violence in the days ahead but signaling optimism that Iraq will prevail as a stable, sovereign nation. "The Iraqi people are rightly treating this as a cause for celebration," Obama said, marking Tuesday's withdrawal of U.S.

June 30th, 2009 Obama: Iraqis taking control of cities importantWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says that Iraqi security forces taking control of cities from the United States is an important step toward Iraq's sovereignty and the end of the war. He says Iraqis are rightly treating the day as a cause for celebration.

June 27th, 2009 Obama: Energy bill is bold stepWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling House passage of an energy bill "a bold and necessary step.' And he says it holds promise for creating new industries and millions of new jobs. Obama says that the bill will reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and decrease the release of pollutants that lead to global warming.

June 16th, 2009 Washington, June 16 (ANI): US President Barack Obama has said that he is "deeply troubled" by the latest violent developments taking place in Iran post-elections. Fox News quoted Obama as saying on Monday that Iranian voters have a right to feel their ballots mattered and urged the investigation into vote-rigging allegations to go forward without additional violence.

June 4th, 2009 US Muslims praise Obama speech, wait for actionCHICAGO — American Muslims are praising President Barack Obama's first speech addressing Muslims worldwide as a much-needed step in the right direction. Many rose early Thursday or stayed up all night to watch the broadcast live from Cairo University.

March 19th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who signed a Norwegian-backed peace deal with Tamil Tiger rebels as the country's prime minister in 2002, is under pressure from his own party to step down, media reports said Wednesday. A section of lawmakers from the opposition United National Party (UNP) has urged Wickremesinghe to step down.

February 21st, 2009 BAGHDAD - A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuori al-Maliki won a majority of seats in Iraq's Basra province and a near majority in the capital of Baghdad, Iraq's electoral commission announced Thursday. In the southern province of Basra, al-Maliki's State of Law coalition won 20 out of the province's 35 seats, Iraqi news agency the Voices of Iraq (VOI) reported.

February 3rd, 2009 NEW YORK - The UN Security Council has praised the successful holding of provisional elections in Iraq, which UN officials said was professionally organised and took place without violence. The 15-nation council discussed the elections that took place over the weekend and issued a statement Tuesday congratulating both the Iraqi people and the government.

January 30th, 2009 BAGHDAD - Iraqis were went to the polls Saturday in the biggest elections in the country's history as receding violence created conditions far more secure than the last ballot in 2005. Four mortar grenades were fired at polling stations in Tikrit, the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein, but no one was hurt, the news agency Aswat al-Iraq reported.