Obama exhorts Africa’s young to hold leaders accountable for redeeming the promise of freedom

September 25th, 2009 Obama spending day at G-20 summitWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is spending the day in Pittsburgh, the site of the G-20 economic summit. The White House says the president will attend both morning and afternoon plenary sessions and will attend the G-20 leaders lunch.

September 25th, 2009 G-20 leaders take aim at fossil-fuel subsidiesPITTSBURGH — G-20 nations are vowing to collaborate to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and push the world toward investment in cleaner energy sources. That promise, in a statement released as the G-20 summit ended Friday, said such subsidies "encourage wasteful consumption" and "undermine efforts to deal with climate change." The statement also includes a pledge to promote transparency in energy markets.

September 25th, 2009 Obama, other leaders: Iran has secret nuke sitePITTSBURGH — President Barack Obama declared Friday that Iran is on a path to confrontation with world powers unless it agrees to "come clean" and disclose all its nuclear activities. He said he would not rule out military action.

September 25th, 2009 G-20 leaders: Tie bankers' pay to performancePITTSBURGH — World leaders say bank executives should not be guaranteed multiyear bonuses because such compensation makes them less accountable for risky investments. Leaders of the Group of 20 nations meeting in Pittsburgh also said that a significant portion of bank officials' potential compensation should be delayed and tied to the performance of their investment decisions.

September 24th, 2009 Obama arrives in Pittsburgh to host summitPITTSBURGH — President Barack Obama has arrived in Pittsburgh for a summit with leaders of the world's major economies. One year after the global economic meltdown began, the leaders will hold talks Thursday and Friday to make sure a fledgling global recovery remains on track while laying down tougher rules for global financial institutions.

September 23rd, 2009 Obama: North Korea must show arms responsibilityUNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama has told a gathering of world leaders that Iran and North Korea "must be held accountable" if they continue to put their pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of international security. In a wide-ranging speech on global issues before a U.N.

September 3rd, 2009 Calif. to pay nearly $10 million on IOU interestSACRAMENTO, Calif. — California taxpayers will pay nearly $10 million in interest on the nearly half a million IOUs the state has issued this summer.

August 9th, 2009 Pa gunman's former church says God will judge himFOREST HILLS, Pa. —If prayers are being said for the gunman who killed three women at a Pennsylvania health club, they're not coming from the church where he sat quietly for years: Tetelestai (tuh-TELL'-uh-sty) Church doesn't pray for the dead.

July 2nd, 2009 Obama praises Civil Rights Act's 45th anniversaryWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the Civil Rights Act opened doors for freedom but inequities remain on the legislation's 45th anniversary. On Thursday, Obama released a statement praising the 1964 law that ended legal discrimination.

June 15th, 2009 VA expands health care eligibility for nondisabledWASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department opened the doors of its health care system Monday to about 266,000 nondisabled veterans with moderate incomes, some of whom have been shut out of those benefits. The veterans eligible are from a category known as "Priority 8." They have no illnesses or injuries attributed to their military service, and they earn more than the average wage in their communities.

May 21st, 2009 SRINAGAR - Separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Thursday urged the new Congress-led 'strong government' to solve the Kashmir issue and fulfil the promise of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. 'Now that India has a strong government, time for solution of the Kashmir issue has come,' the Mirwaiz, who heads the moderate faction of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, told a rally here.

May 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Calling free press 'an essential pillar of any democracy', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said media freedom needed to be respected. In a message to mark the World Press Freedom day, he said 'a free press makes governments accountable, increases awareness of important issues among people and benefits society.

March 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has said that drone strikes on Taliban and Al-Qaeda hideouts inside Pakistan would be carried out only after consulting Islamabad. President, Barack Obama, in a television interview, said missile hits against terror camps would continue in the future also.

March 8th, 2009 NEW YORK - On the occasion of the International Women's Day Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for ending all forms of violence against women that perpetuate poverty and inequality. He said the habitual and socially ingrained violence against women mars lives, destroys health, and perpetuate poverty and inequality, WAM reported.

January 26th, 2009 SYDNEY - The 16-member Pacific Forum meeting in Papua New Guinea Tuesday gave Fiji a May 1 deadline to name a date for returning to parliamentary democracy or risk sanctions. Reports from New Zealand said that if a date was not set, and elections not held this year, the forum would not let Fiji attend leaders' meetings or receive aid from the grouping.