Awaz Apni

President Obama's top economic adviser, Larry Summers, is leaving the White House at the end of the year, the administration announced Tuesday. Summers will leave his post as director of the National Economic Council to return to Harvard University as a professor. "I will miss working with the president and his team on the daily challenges of economic policymaking," Summers said in a written statement. "I'm looking forward to returning to Harvard to teach and write about the economic fundamentals of job creation and stable finance as well as the integration of rising and developing countries into the global system." Summers will continue to serve as a member of Obama's economic advisory board. Summers leaves as the economic recovery limps along with unemployment stuck near 10 percent. He would be the third high-level member of the Obama economic team to leave this year, following the departures of budget director Peter Orszag and Christina Romer,...

Awaz Apni WASHINGTON (CNewsworld.co.cc) -- Barack Obama delivered a sobering assessment of where America stands and a hopeful vision of what it can become during his inaugural address as the nation's 44th president."Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time," Obama told those gathered on the National Mall -- a crowd estimated at about 2 million -- and millions more watching on television and the Internet. "But know this, America -- they will be met," he said. Obama acknowledged the "nagging fear" of an imminent decline of the U.S. He firmly asserted that Americans were up to reversing the trends spawning that fear, whether they be social, economic or political. "Greatness is never a given. It must be earned," he said, further proclaiming that people who question the scale of U.S. ambitions "have forgotten what this country has alread...

Awaz Apni WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama has introduced his choices for CIA chief — Leon Panetta — and national intelligence director — retired Adm. Dennis Blair. Obama described them as men of "unquestioned integrity" and "broad experience" who are "uniquely qualified" for the posts. He said they will help the nation stay ahead of emerging threats. The introduction of Panetta and Blair comes four days after their names were leaked to reporters. There was surprise in Washington over the choice of Panetta for the CIA post. The former White House chief of staff has no direct intelligence experience. Blair is a former head of U.S. Pacific Command who was credited with fighting terrorism in southeast Asia after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

CNews CHICAGO: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama promised Tuesday, "Change is coming to America" as he gave a victory speech after becoming the first African-American to be elected to the White House. "It's been a long time coming. But tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change is coming to America," he said in front of a crowd of 65,000 people. Obama called on Americans to back a spirit of unity to attack the country's pressing challenges. Obama cong...

CNews DENVER: Surrounded by an enormous, adoring crowd, Barack Obama promised a clean break from the "broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W Bush" Thursday as he embarked on the final lap of his audacious bid to become the nation's first black president."America, now is not the time for small plans," the 47-year-old Democratic Illinois senator told an estimated 84,000 people packed into Invesco Field, a huge football stadium at the base of the Rocky Mountains.He vowed to cut taxes for nearly all working-class families, end the war in Iraq and break America's dependence on Mideast oil within a decade.By contrast, he said, "John McCain has voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time," a scathing indictment of his Republican rival — on health care, education, the economy and more.Polls indicate a close race between Obama and McCain, the Arizona senator who stands between him and a place in history. On a night 45 years a...

CNews WASHINGTON: White House hopeful Barack Obama believes Israel will launch a military strike on Iran if nuclear sanctions fail, according to a US news agency. The comment was reportedly made in a meeting late Tuesday between Senator Obama and Democratic members of the House of Representatives, following the presidential contender's return from an overseas tour that included Israel. "Nobody said this to me directly, but I get the feeling from my talks that if the sanctions don't work, Israel is going to strike Iran," an attendee at the meeting quoted Obama as saying, according to the news agency. Meanwhile, Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi declined to comment on the substance of the report. But she stressed: "Senator Obama has always said that Iran must end its illicit nuclear program".

CNews WASHINGTON: The White House has said that the United States wants to work with all branches of the Pakistani government to defeat terrorism in Fata, which remains a major source of concern for all. At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack underlined Washington’s support to the new Pakistani government, pointing out that the US “worked with Pakistan on a plan to help Pakistani civilians strengthen democratic institution,” and “to uphold the rule of law.”Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not only declared an unequivocal support to the new civilian government but also said that “Pakistan now will need to find a way to have very solid civilian control of the armed forces.”At the White House, spokesman Tony Fratto stressed the same point in a different way, making it clear that the United States no longer has favourites in Pakistan.“We expect to continue to work in cooperation with the entire government of Pakistan to get after terrorism in the Fata re...