Obama says development policies must provide more opportunity for African people

September 22nd, 2009 Ahmadinejad tells AP Iran is an opportunity for USNEW YORK — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) says his country is not a threat to the United States as President Barack Obama has said, but "an opportunity." In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, the Iranian leader refused to give an explicit opinion of his American counterpart. "Is this a question to test my IQ?" he said in response.

September 16th, 2009 White House: Criticism of Obama not based on raceWASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama doesn't believe he's being criticized because of his race. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that Obama — the nation's first black president — doesn't think that criticism of his policies is "based on the color of his skin." Gibbs was asked about the topic following comments on Tuesday by former President Jimmy Carter.

September 14th, 2009 Obama to meet African leaders at UNUNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama will host a lunch for leaders from sub-Saharan Africa during next week's ministerial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly to promote economic and social development, the U.S.

August 7th, 2009 Clinton urges SAfrica to take leadership roleJOHANNESBURG — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday called on South Africa to take a leading role in driving slumping economies across the world's poorest continent during the worldwide financial crisis.

July 28th, 2009 Clinton plans to visit 7 nations in AfricaWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to travel to Africa next week on a seven-nation tour aimed at highlighting the Obama administration's commitment to the continent. Clinton is to begin her trip on Aug.

July 27th, 2009 African economic growth seen halving to 2.8 pctJOHANNESBURG — A new report says Africa has been "gravely affected" by the global economic downturn and that its growth rate will halve this year due to collapsing commodity prices and a decline in donor funding. The 2009 African Economic Outlook finds that after a decade of above 5 percent economic growth, the continent can expect only 2.8 percent in 2009.

July 14th, 2009 Sudan criticizes Obama for calling Darfur genocideKHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan's government has criticized President Barack Obama for calling the conflict in Darfur a "genocide." Obama made the comment in a speech over the weekend in the African nation of Ghana. There has been a long-running debate over whether to characterize the conflict between Sudan's Arab-led government and ethnic African rebels in Darfur as a genocide.

July 13th, 2009 Obama: Africa needs more openness, trade helpWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama continued to press African countries to be more open and honest Monday, using a video to address Africans from Washington two days after he made a major speech in Ghana. Too many well-educated Africans who have left the continent "feel economic opportunities are blocked or limited" there because of incompetent governments or corruption that requires them to pay bribes to get jobs, the president said in a video to be distributed on the White House Web site and elsewhere.

May 10th, 2009 Cheney contends Obama policies hurt US securityWASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he believes the U.S. has become more vulnerable to a potential terrorist attack since the Obama administration took power.

April 22nd, 2009 PRETORIA - South African President Kgalema Motlanthe Wednesday appealed to people to cast their vote in the country's fourth general election since the end of apartheid, saying 'it's an important opportunity and everyone must utilise it'. After casting his vote shortly after 7 a.m., Bua News reported Motlanthe as saying: 'You can't improve any situation by staying away from it.

February 24th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Zookeepers in Malaysia's southern Johor state have named two new African lion cubs after US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a news report said Tuesday. Obama and Hillary, along with another female cub yet to be named, were born in captivity at the Johor Zoo Jan 16, zookeeper Mohamad Sham said.

January 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Barack Obama's presidency of the US was an inevitability whose time had come, Left leaders said Wednesday, adding that they don't expect any foreign policy changes from the 'imperialist' country. 'It was inevitable.

January 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Following is an introduction to Michelle Obama, the first African-American First Lady of the United States: Birth date: Jan 17, 1964, Chicago, Illinois Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1985, Harvard Law School, J.D., 1988 Family: Married Barack Obama (1992), Children: Malia Ann (1998) and Sasha Obama (2001) Political party: Democratic Religion: United Church of Christ Career: Following law school, she worked in Chicago as an associate in the law firm Sidley Austin, where she was once assigned to mentor a summer intern by the name of Barack Obama. She left corporate law a few years later to work in the Chicago City government, first as assistant to the mayor, later as the assistant commissioner of planning and development.

January 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Nearly 13 million children eat three or more meals and snacks daily at the 117,000 regulated child-care centres across the US. Mounting cost of food preparation and storage have prompted more of these centres to insist on parents providing food for their children.

January 7th, 2009 CHENNAI - The announcement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here Thursday that overseas Indian professionals can practise in India was cautiously welcomed by Durban Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo. 'It opens up a window of opportunity for many South African Indians, but we must remember that we have been very reliant in recent years on Indian nationals assisting in the development of post-apartheid South Africa,' Naidoo, who is also a speaker at the annual gathering of the diaspora, told IANS.