Skip to main content

Barack Obama hails Angela Merkel over handling of refugees

By
US president to meet Merkel, Hollande, Renzi and Cameron over EU naval patrols in Libyan waters to stem flow of migrants
Barack Obama paid tribute to the way the German chancellor Angela Merkel had managed

US president Barack Obama said Angela Merkel was on the right side of history with her management of the refugee crisis and praised the German chancellor as a steady and trustworthy ally with a really good sense of humour, as he embarked on the final phase of the last official European tour of his presidency.

 Lauding Merkel for taking “very tough politics not just to express a humanitarian concern but also a practical concern”, Obama said: “She is giving a voice to the kinds of principles that bring people together rather than divide them.”

 But beneath the smiles and mutual compliments lurked a range of pressing global issues that the two leaders will try to address at a G5 meeting with British prime minister, David Cameron, the French president, François Hollande, and the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, in Hanover on Monday afternoon.

 Philip Oltermann in Berlin and Patrick Wintour

 Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Sunday 24 April 2016 19.36 BST
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

US unions plan attack on Donald Trump in attempt to derail presidential bid

By
Concerned labor group leaders are organizing ad campaigns and phone banks as Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs draws in union voters The prospect of a Donald Trump nomination has labor leaders scrambling to hold the line as the Republican frontrunner’s appeal to disaffected working-class voters threatens to upset the traditional political calculus. The majority of America’s almost 15 million unionized workers can be usually be relied upon to back the Democratic candidate in a presidential year, but leaders are concerned by Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs – and his insistence that union workers are just one of many groups on a long list of those he claims “love” him. Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 26 April 2016 12.00 BST
Post a Comment
Read more

North Carolina's 'bathroom bill' battle embarrasses residents on both sides | TheNews Linzer

By
The escalating fight over LGBT rights has turned the historically sophisticated, inclusive southern state into a battleground of intolerance In the family of southern states, North Carolina has long been the cousin who made it. It enjoyed excellent universities, world-class industries, smooth roads and political stability. A whole class of people arose called “halfbacks”: people who retired from the north-east states to Florida, only to realize North Carolina was better and moved halfway back. Now, with the state squaring off against the federal government about who can use which bathrooms, the state finds itself at the pointy end of jokes, and lumped in with more strident southern states like Mississippi and – most bitterly – South Carolina. It’s unfamiliar for North Carolinians. It’s uncomfortable. And many are asking: how did we get here? How did the high-achieving, well-educated cousin end up with a black eye and busted knuckles, reeling over a public toilet? Continue reading....
Post a Comment
Read more

From Uber to Eric Schmidt, tech is closer to the US government than you'd think

By
Twitter was scrabbling to defend the appointment of a Chinese head with government ties, yet US tech has a busy revolving door with its own government What’s worse for a Silicon Valley executive: ties to the Chinese military or friends in the US Defense Department?  Twitter found itself confronting that question this week after it hired Kathy Chen, a former engineer for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), to head up ad sales and business development in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Internet freedom activists and Chinese dissidents, who have to skirt Beijing’s digital censors to use Twitter, said it was a betrayal. The spat illustrates the delicate balancing act technology companies face as they are forced to expand overseas to grow. In the US, Silicon Valley, like any industry, has embraced and relied on close relationships with former government officials both for technical talent and to help grease the wheels as they confront regulatory issues. Alphabet’s executive chairman, ...
Post a Comment
Read more