Politics - Barack Obama

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Rihanna joined U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, British fashion designer Stella McCartney and nine others on Monday to be honored as "Women of the Year" after the R&B singer took a public stand on domestic violence. Full Story »

TOKYO (AFP) - US President Barack Obama urged Japan's new centre-left government on Tuesday to keep a pact allowing US bases on its territory, as both sides laid the groundwork for his visit to Tokyo this week. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Presidents get elected to run the nation. Some days that means knowing how to heal it. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration's plan to combat the foreclosure crisis has reached about 20 percent of troubled homeowners in the states most affected by the housing meltdown, according to data being released Tuesday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is nearing a decision to add tens of thousands more forces to Afghanistan, though probably not quite the 40,000 sought by his top general there. Full Story »

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Tuesday it would give Afghanistan up to $5 billion in new aid, a move Tokyo hopes will improve strained security ties with Washington ahead of President Barack Obama's visit this week. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US efforts to revive the Middle East process floundered Tuesday after President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held closed door talks amid signs of friction. Full Story »

BEIJING - A group of protesters pleaded for help Tuesday from President Barack Obama before his visit to China next week, saying anyone seen as a troublemaker is often treated harshly before major events in the capital. Full Story »

TOKYO (AFP) - US President Barack Obama is willing to visit the nuclear-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while in office but won't go there during a Japan trip this week, he said in an NHK TV interview Tuesday. Full Story »

BEIJING (AFP) - The United States and China will work to keep their latest tit-for-tat trade spats from escalating into an all-out war, a top US official said Tuesday, just days before a visit by President Barack Obama. Full Story »

TOKYO - President Barack Obama says he wants to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki sometime during his presidency but won't have time during this week's trip to Japan to go to the cities devastated by U.S. atomic bombs at the end of World War II. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and the first lady will travel to Killeen, Texas, to meet with those most affected by the Fort Hood shootings. Full Story »

The traditional pecking order of Washington’s top trade and business groups has been thrown into disarray by the Obama administration’s far-reaching domestic agenda and its tough tactics against opponents. Full Story »

TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday announced $5 billion in fresh aid to Afghanistan even as it plans to bring home refueling ships supporting U.S.-led forces there. The pledge comes just days before President Barack Obama arrives in Tokyo for talks that are sure to focus on the countries' military alliance. Full Story »

TOKYO - The deepening debate over the future of a major U.S. Marine base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa has opened a broad rift in Washington's most important alliance in Asia ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to the region this week. Full Story »

SEOUL (Reuters) - Navies from the rival Koreas exchanged gunfire for the first time in seven years on Tuesday, damaging vessels on both sides and raising tension just days before President Barack Obama travels to Asia. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama leaves on Thursday on his first Asian tour since becoming president on Jan. 20. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States. Full Story »