US shutdown: Gunslinging and standoffs straight out of fiction
Democrat sheriff Barack Obama and his Republican foes have been on the brink many times but the final two days are bizarre and unpredictable.
Democrats
US shutdown could put one million workers on unpaid leave
Due to lawmakers’ inability to reach a budget deal for the fiscal year, the US government’s shutdown will cut back on services.
Obama 2.0 takes no prisoners
Republicans feel snubbed by the US president’s combative inauguration speech. Ewen MacAskill reports.
Obama bets Republicans lose by trashing hope
President Barack Obama will this week look Americans in the eye and say he deserves four more White House years despite national economic despondency.
Obama urges haste with consumer watchdog pick
Barack Obama says Republican lawmakers are taking advantage, depriving middle-class Americans of better protection against deceptive business practice
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US lawmakers abandon efforts to rein in ballooning debt
US lawmakers have abandoned efforts to rein in debt in a sign that Washington will be unlikely to resolve the tax and spending dispute before 2013.
US counterparts missing their mark in debt crisis
A peer review report has shown the need for greater coordination among US departments in solving their debt crisis.
US debt crisis moves to Senate, deadlock persists
A bitter divide remained in the US before Tuesday’s deadline to raise the country’s debt ceiling, to avoid a crippling default.
From rightwing to ridiculous
Barack Obama’s achievements are insufficient, his party confused. Ahead of the elections, reactionaries are seizing the initiative.
Obama looks to fast-track health-reform Bill
The scene is set for one of the biggest battles of recent US political history after Republicans rejected Barack Obama’s revised health-reform Bill.
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Bumpy ride for Obama
Jonthan Freedland looks back over a year that began with Barack Obama’s victory speech.
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Republicans insanely out of balance and all set to fail
The conservatives who now dominate the party of the American right may come to rue losing their moderate wing.
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Japan passes stimulus budget after Parliament row
Japan’s ruling and opposition parties enacted a -billion extra budget on Tuesday to fund government stimulus plans, after two days of bickering.
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Obama to woo Republicans on stimulus plan
US President Barack Obama will on Tuesday hold talks with congressional Republicans who complain his -billion stimulus plan is too expensive.
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Magical dawning of a new American era
Jonathan Freedland reports on the intensifying excitement as strait-laced Washington DC awaits Obama’s transformation into head of state.
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‘Bailout’ top buzzword in dictionary contest
Reflecting what’s on the minds of Americans, "bailout" and "socialism" have beaten "maverick" in a US dictionary word-of-the-year competition.
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Hillary Clinton, a bold choice
Touted as the next US secretary of state, the former first lady carries tremendous political baggage.
Blurring the foreign policy lines
Obama and McCain differ on the uses of American power, but who is the hawk and who is the dove, asks David E Sanger.
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The day I was proud to be American
It wasn’t easy. I didn’t get my absentee ballot in time so I called the consulate in Johannesburg to see what I could do.
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Movies in Madagascar
“We are longing to have Obama shirts or any kinds of things about him,” says Jeannine Ralaitafika, who sells shirts in Antananarivo.
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Bo Town celebrates
Sierra Leonean support for Obama transcends age and religious differences, writes Olusegun Ogundeji.
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The legitimate triumph of an average man
Manyo Benard reports on how “Obamania” has gripped Cameroon.
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Ghana goes gaga for granny
With the Hollywoodisation of the US presidential race, important local news is getting tougher to find, laments Kweku Yeboah Koranteng.
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Don’t count your chickens …
Democrats are gazing at a radical new dawn while Republicans are ready to attack the victor, writes Jonathan Freedland.
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‘I’m not George W’
Despite strong words, the final debate is unlikely to be the game-changer McCain had hoped for.
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Party tells McCain to get nastier
Republicans are urging John McCain to adopt more aggressive tactics against Barack Obama amid fears that the White House is slipping away from them.
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Hispanics urged to flex muscles
Democrat campaign targets the swing state of New Mexico. Dan Glaister reports
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Barack Obama goes on the attack
The financial crisis ended the Palin circus but the Democratic presidential candidate must buck up
his ideas to exploit McCain’s weak point.
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Democrats in bid to defend right to vote
The Republicans argue that people who have lost their homes may no longer be resident at the address listed on voter records.
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Barack Obama plays the ‘incognegro’
Historically, there’s been a last-minute swing away from black candidates by white voters. Will Barack change things?
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Palin: On a mission from God
Sarah Palin’s road from mayor of a small Alaskan town to John McCain’s running mate is littered with casualties, writes Ed Pilkington.
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The world votes Obama
An America that disdains Obama for his global support risks turning current anti-Bush feeling into something far worse.
