Obama begins cybersecurity review

A review of how well the US thwarts spies and malicious hackers has been started by President Barack Obama.

The wide-ranging review is set to last 60 days and takes in all the "plans, programs and activities" of official US cyber security efforts.
The end result will be a strategy to improve the way the US defends itself against net-borne threats.
While campaigning, President Obama likened net risks to the threat of nuclear or biological attack.

National security

"The national security and economic health of the United States depend on the security, stability, and integrity of our nation's cyberspace, both in the public and private sectors," said John Brennan, assistant to the president for counterterrorism and homeland security, in a statement.
Mr Brennan said he was sure that US critical infrastructure could be protected without trampling on privacy rights and civil liberties.
The Bush administration was widely criticised for ignoring safeguards on snooping by its intrusive monitoring of phone and net traffic in the name of stopping terrorism.
The Obama cybersecurity review is being co-ordinated by Melissa Hathaway, who co-ordinated cyber-monitoring for the director of national intelligence under George Bush.
The review comes in the wake of several incidents pointing to the growing problem of cybersecurity.
In September 2008, the US Government Accountability Office, which audits official strategies, warned that for years the Department of Homeland Security had "yet to fully satisfy its cybersecurity responsibilities."
In November 2008, a congressional panel warned that China had stepped up the computer-based espionage it carried out against the US.
The panel said China was stealing "vast amounts" of sensitive information from US computer networks.
In December 2008, a report produced by the Commission on Cybersecurity said: "Cybersecurity is now one of the major national security problems facing the United States."

Obama signs $787bn stimulus plan

US President Barack Obama has signed his hard-fought economic stimulus plan in Denver, after Congress approved the $787bn (£548bn) package last week.

Speaking at a signing ceremony he said it was "the most sweeping recovery package in our history".
The plan is aimed at saving or creating 3.5 million jobs and boosting consumer spending and rebuilding infrastructure.
Republicans say its tax cuts are insufficient, and that the economy will be saddled with debt for years to come.
The signing of the massive stimulus measure is designed to start the flow of federal money toward infrastructure projects, health care, renewable energy development and conservation programmes.
The approved version of the plan is split into 36% for tax cuts and 64% percent in spending and money for social programmes.

Americans give their view on Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan

Mr Obama said: "I don't want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems, nor does it constitute all of what we're going to have to do to turn our economy around, but today does mark the beginning of the end."
He said part of the plan would put Americans back to work in critical areas such as roads and rail infrastructure.
"[Today is] the beginning of first steps to set our economy on a firmer foundation," Mr Obama told an audience at a museum in Denver.
Mr Obama also hopes to stimulate technical innovation.
"Just as President Kennedy sparked an explosion of innovation when he set America's sights on the Moon, I hope this investment will ignite our imagination once more, spurring new discoveries and breakthroughs in science, in medicine, in energy, to make our economy stronger and our nation more secure, and our planet safer for our children."
US Vice-president Joe Biden praised Mr Obama's swift work since coming to office in January.
"Less than a month into his presidency, the president is about to sign into law what is, I believe, a landmark achievement.
"Because of what he did America can take a first very strong step leading us out of this very difficult road to recovery we find ourselves with. So, on behalf of our country and its people, Mr President, let me presume to say: thank you, we owe you a great deal."

STIMULUS PACKAGE
$240bn in tax breaks for individuals and businesses
$140bn for health care
$100bn for education
$48bn for transportation projects
Source: Associated Press
Battle exposes partisan rifts
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The plan got no Republican support in the House of Representatives and just three Republican votes in the Senate.
As the bill was signed, the Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said Americans looking for jobs would be disappointed by it.
He dismissed the president's claims of a bi-partisan approach.
"In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that Republicans and Democrats work together to create new jobs and grow the economy.
"Instead, Congressional Democrats worked behind closed doors to write legislation that will fall short of creating the promised new jobs, but will guarantee a larger debt burden on our children and grandchildren."

Protectionism

The bill also includes a controversial "Buy American" provision that, despite being watered down, has angered US trading partners.
On Monday, Brazil's Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, threatened to challenge the legality of the clause at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"It's a complex legal analysis, but we're doing it," Mr Amorim told state television. "[Going to the WTO] is a real option," he added.
The approved plan stipulates that public works and building projects funded by the stimulus use only US-made goods, including iron and steel.
The EU and Canada had earlier said that provisions favouring American-produced materials for government projects risked provoking retaliatory protectionist measures.
Earlier this month, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told the BBC that in the good years, the rich countries had talked a lot about free trade and the market.
Now they had created a crisis they should not turn to the protectionism which had so often held the world back, President Lula said.

Tutu urges Obama apology on Iraq

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has warned Barack Obama of the risk of squandering the goodwill he says the US president's election has generated.

In an article for BBC News, he says it would be "wonderful" if Mr Obama apologised for the invasion of Iraq.
He also says he prays that Mr Obama will be tough on African dictators.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner adds that the UK's standing in the world has suffered because of its co-operation with the US in the "war on terror".

'Dance and shout'

In the exclusive article for BBC News, based on a lecture he will give in London on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the British Council, the former Archbishop of Cape Town speaks of his joy at watching the US election results coming in.
"I wanted to jump and dance and shout, as I did after voting for the first time in my native South Africa on 27 April 1994."
He calls Mr Obama's election an "epoch-making event that filled the whole world with hope that change is possible".
However, he also sounds a note of caution.

"The Bush administration's bully-boy attitude sadly polarised our world "
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Read Desmond Tutu's views in full
Profile: Desmond Tutu

He reminds his readers of the outpouring of sympathy that followed 9/11 and how quickly it vanished in the light of the allegations of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
"Obama, too, could easily squander the goodwill that his election generated if he disappoints," he says.
He adds: "It would be wonderful if the US president could apologise for the US-led invasion of Iraq on behalf of the American people."
He urges the president and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to act quickly to reach out to other countries, to build bridges with them and to listen to what they say.
Pointing to the inspirational role of the US during the struggle against apartheid, the veteran campaigner for reconciliation asks President Obama to "come down hard" on African dictators.

UK role

The archbishop says November's election has turned America's image on its head after what he says were seven lean years for those who looked to America for inspiration.
"The Bush Administration managed to rile people everywhere. Its bully-boy attitude sadly polarised our world," he says.
But Desmond Tutu is also critical of the role of the British government in the so-called war on terror.
He says the country's standing has been damaged as a result of its close co-operation with the US and that it lacks what he calls the "redeeming Obama factor" to restore the UK's perception abroad.
The archbishop also has some positive words for Britain, and the British Council in particular.
He praises its work in helping the government of Nelson Mandela reform the post-apartheid diplomatic service and train black teachers.
Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council, said: "It is particularly appropriate that Archbishop Desmond Tutu has opened our 75th anniversary lecture series.
"This is also a testament to the long-lasting ties that can be built through cultural relations. We worked in South Africa during the apartheid years, building the foundations for future cooperation and collaboration."
The British Council's Talking without Borders lecture seriesmarks the organisation's 75th anniversary.

Obama's housing plan to help 9m

President Barack Obama has revealed a long-awaited plan to tackle the US housing crisis, aiming to help up to nine million families.
The plan will provide refinancing to four to five million "responsible homeowners" on the verge of defaulting.
A $75bn (£53bn) fund will also aim to help reduce monthly payments for a further three to four million people, to no more than 31% of their income.
President Obama unveiled the details in a speech at an Arizona high school.
He stressed that the plan focused on helping families who had "played by the rules" and would not help lenders or borrowers who had acted irresponsibly.
The announcement came one day after President Obama signed into law a $787bn (£548bn) economic stimulus package.

Help for homeowners

Falling house prices have been at the heart of the problems in the financial sector.
More than one million people in the US have lost their homes in the housing crisis, and President Obama said a further six million homes were at risk of foreclosure.
"All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis," he said.
The plan is designed to assist "underwater" homeowners - those who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth, as well as those on the verge of foreclosure.
President Obama said it could provide a buffer of up to $6,000 against declining values on the average home.
He also revealed a further $200bn in Treasury funding to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which underwrite more than half of all US mortgages.
Fannie and Freddie would also have to change their policy on refinancing, he said.
Currently they will only refinance borrowers with mortgages up to 80% of the value of their home.

Mixed reaction

"By addressing the foreclosure crisis directly, the administration's housing plan finally begins to plug the holes that cause the problem," the Center for Responsible Lending said in a statement.
However, others were less optimistic.
"[The plan] seems to offer little help to borrowers whose loan exceeds their property value by more than 5%," said John Courson, chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association.
US markets closed flat as investors greeted the plan with caution.
Earlier, official data showed the rate of construction of new homes in the US fell to a 50-year low.

This plan abolishes that rule though, so that "underwater" homeowners could now refinance.

Obama hails 'fastest' US tax cut

President Barack Obama has said US tax bills will begin to fall from April, hailing a tax cut he called the fastest ever to take effect.

In his weekly radio and internet address, President Obama said the typical American family would gain by at least $65 (£46) a month.
He also pledged to cut America's trillion-dollar deficit.
The tax cuts announced on Saturday are part of a $787bn stimulus plan that Mr Obama signed into law this week.
The plan, aimed at reviving the US economy amid a global economic crisis, is split into 36% for tax cuts and 64% percent allocated for spending on social programmes.
Mr Obama said the US treasury had already begun directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes claimed from pay cheques.
The savings will reach 95% of American families, he said.
"Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans," the president said.

Challenges ahead
Mr Obama said work must now start on trying to stabilise the banking system, stem the fall in house prices and get budget deficits under control.

"We can't borrow and spend our way back to prosperity "
Republican Dave Camp
Obama diary: The first 100 days
US Senate approves stimulus plan

He announced that he would call a fiscal summit on Monday to discuss an inherited deficit of $1.3tn.
An unnamed US official was later quoted as saying Mr Obama intended to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term.
This would be done by scaling back on the war in Iraq, increasing taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year and making government more efficient, the official said.
Mr Obama said he would address the nation about his priorities on Tuesday before issuing a budget on Thursday.
"I'll release a budget that's sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don't, and restoring fiscal discipline," he said.
However, he also warned of the challenges ahead.
"As important as it was that I was able to sign this plan into law, it is only a first step on the road to economic recovery.
"None of this will be easy. The road ahead will be long and full of hazards," he added.
"But I am confident that we, as a people, have the strength and wisdom to carry out this strategy and overcome this crisis."
The stimulus plan, which was approved by Congress just over a week ago, aims to save or create 3.5 million jobs, boost consumer spending and rebuild infrastructure.
Over the past week, Mr Obama has also announced measures to assist families facing foreclosures, and those struggling to meet mortgage payments.
But Republicans, only three of whom voted for the stimulus package in Congress despite calls by Mr Obama for bipartisan support, have said the new tax cuts are insufficient.
They have also complained that the president's spending plans will leave the US economy saddled with debt for years to come.
"We can't borrow and spend our way back to prosperity," Republican Dave Camp said in his party's weekly address.
"If he [Mr Obama] is serious about dealing with the tough issues and getting spending under control, his budget will show it."

EU heads back financial clampdown

European leaders in Berlin have agreed on the need to regulate all financial markets including hedge funds.

Leaders of Europe's major economies said a global solution was needed to the current financial crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel highlighted that leaders faced an "extraordinary international crisis".
But leaders including UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned against reverting to protectionism in such a difficult economic climate.
The Berlin gathering is a precursor to the next meeting of the G20 group of major developed and developing countries in London on 2 April, which aims to rewrite the rules of the global financial system.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said participants at the London summit would bear a "historical responsibility" to reform the global system.
"We have to succeed and we cannot accept that anything or anyone gets in the way of that summit. If we fail there will be no safety net," he said.

'Supervision'

However, despite the encouraging words from key leaders, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, voiced concern at what he saw as divisions between Europe's major economies.
"If I put it very tenderly, the divergence in opinions was rather big," the AFP news agency reported him saying as he headed back to Prague.

"Capitalism must be given new moral foundations"
Nicolas SarkozyFrench President
Protectionist forces bedevil EU

"It was obvious that the four countries representing the EU in the G20 [France, Germany, Britain, Italy] do not have the same opinion on a number of issues."
Mr Brown said there was a need to create an economy that is based on the "soundest principles", saying the world needed a "global new deal".
Leaders said there was a need for international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, to play a greater role not just to help countries in financial trouble but to prevent countries from getting into such difficulties.
Mr Brown said leaders had agreed that the IMF needed access to at least $500bn (£348bn).
The comments in Berlin come amid ongoing volatility in world financial markets and uncertainty over the future of some of the world's key banks.
Ms Merkel said: "We are making a commitment that all financial markets, products, and participants - including hedge funds and rating agencies - are of course subject to supervision and regulation."
Details on such a plan need to be worked out before the meeting in London, she added.
Hedge funds, which typically attract wealthy private investors, have been criticised for their lack of transparency and oversight.

Bonuses

As well as greater supervision of all financial markets and instruments, leaders underlined the need to reassess the issue of pay at finance firms.
Mr Sarkozy added said people could "no longer tolerate the reward package system for traders and bankers".
There has been much criticism of bankers' bonuses, which have been high despite their bank's poor performance.
Leaders also said they wanted to crack down on tax havens.
Ms Merkel said: "As far as uncooperative players, tax havens or areas where non-transparent business is carried out are concerned, we need to develop sanction mechanisms. These must be made very concrete," she said
She added that a list would be drawn up "clearly showing which the unco-operative jurisdictions are."

Different opinions

French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, UK and German leaders are hoping to take a common approach at the London summit.
But analysts say reaching agreement among EU powers will not be easy.
Both Mr Topolanek and the European Commission have voiced concern at attempts by France, Italy and Spain to shelter their car industries from the effects of the downturn.
Mr Sarkozy has suggested that in order to secure government aid, French carmakers should move production out of their East European factories and back to France.
Such disagreements are threatening to prevent Europe speaking with one voice, says the BBC's Rob Cameron in Berlin.