Barack Obama

President Barack Obama has outlined plans to limit the use of US drone strikes against extremists abroad and has taken steps aimed at breaking a deadlock on closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison.

The FBI have arrested a Mississippi man in connection with letters sent to President Barack Obama and two other officials that are believed to have contained the deadly poison ricin, the US Justice Department says.

A senior pro-Kremlin Russian lawmaker says Washington's publication of a "minimal" list of 18 alleged Russian human rights abusers shows US President Barack Obama does not want to aggravate tensions with Moscow.

President Barack Obama has urged Americans to pressure a reluctant Congress to pass new gun control legislation - one of his top domestic policy priorities - as he traveled to Connecticut, where December's school massacre took place.

Without the pressure of facing re-election in four years, United States President Barack Obama can afford to be more deliberate and aggressive in his last term as he seeks to step over Republican opposition.

US President Barack Obama has urged Americans to reject political "absolutism" and partisan rancour, as he kicked off his second term with an impassioned call for collective action and established a more assertive tone for the challenges he faces over the next four years.

A determined United States President Barack Obama last week showed he intends to go over the heads of lawmakers in Congress to push for his package of gun control measures to be adopted.

President Barack Obama has taken the official oath for his second term at the White House in a small, private ceremony that set a more subdued tone compared to the historic start of his presidency four years ago.

President Barack Obama has rejected any negotiation with Republicans over the most pressing US fiscal issue, refusing to trade cuts in government spending in exchange for raising the borrowing limit.

US President Barack Obama has nominated former Republican senator Chuck Hagel as his next defence secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to head the CIA, potentially setting up a Senate confirmation battle on two fronts and establishing a tough tone to start his second term.