Barack Obama

Obama administration prepares sanctions

The actions are expected to include expanded sanctions and diplomatic measures, the officials said, in what the administration deems a proportional response to a Russian operation that went beyond cyber hacking activities common among nations.

Russia will respond to any "hostile steps" that the US may take in response to allegations of hacking during the 2016 election, according to the official representative for the ministry.

Barack Obama bans new oil, gas drilling off Alaska, part of Atlantic shore

In protecting the waters, Obama used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. Environmental groups said Obama's use of the law meant the incoming administration of Republican President-elect Donald Trump could not simply reverse the action but would have to fight it in the courts.

The ban affects federal waters off Alaska in the Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea and in the Atlantic from New England to Chesapeake Bay.

US hacking claims: Obama told Putin to 'cut it out'

Implying that the Russian president knew about the hacks, Mr Obama said: "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin."

The president said he had warned Mr Putin of serious consequences at a summit in September.

A month later, the US accused Russia of meddling in its democratic process.

The president has promised a "proportional" response to the hacking of the Democratic Party and of emails belonging to defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman.

ISIS rise surprised Obama, US intelligence

The terror organization's rise in a tumultuous Middle East has provided Obama some of the toughest decisions of his presidency, choices that CNN's Fareed Zakaria explores in "The Legacy of Barack Obama" airing Wednesday.

"The ability of ISIL to not just mass inside of Syria, but then to initiate major land offensives that took Mosul, for example, that was not on my intelligence radar screen," Obama told Zakaria, using the administration's term for the Islamic State terror group.

Obama presses Trump on cybersecurity

The 100-page document highlights areas where the US falls short and calls on the private sector to help hasten the improvement of digital services.

President Barack Obama set up the commission in preparation for the new administration.

He said its recommendations should be followed within the first 100 days of Mr Trump's presidency.

Obama says he may comment as citizen on Trump's presidency

By convention, former presidents tend to leave the political fray and avoid commenting on their successors.

Mr Obama said he would give Mr Trump time to outline his vision but added that, as a private citizen, he might speak out on certain issues.

Mr Trump spent the weekend interviewing candidates for top jobs in his cabinet.

"I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off," Mr Obama said at a forum in Lima, Peru.

Obama warns of 'meaner world'

Instead, Obama found himself warning of an impending shift in the global order, one he advised could lead to a "meaner, harsher, more troubled world" if not stopped.

"Whoever is president and whoever is the chancellor of Germany and whoever is the leader of other European nations and other democracies around the world, they need to recognize that," Obama said. "There are going to be forces that argue for cynicism. For looking the other way with somebody else's problems. That are not going to champion people who are vulnerable because sometimes that's politically convenient."

Obama: Trump tapped into a 'troubling' strain

Obama said this during a news conference on his final overseas trip that the President-elect had tapped into a "troubling" strain of rhetoric playing on Americans' fears of globalization to win the presidency.

Speaking in Athens, Obama said he recognized an "anger and fear in the American population" over threats of mechanization and globalization, but that Republican officials didn't use facts when making their case about the US economy.

Obama urges Americans to give Trump a chance

But in his first news conference since last week's stunning election results, Obama warned that some of Trump's expectations will soon be shaken up by the gravity of the job.

Obama said he was certain after meeting Trump last week that his successor and longtime political foe was "sincere" about being president for all Americans but also called on the President-elect to reach out to people who felt anxious after the explosive rhetoric of the campaign, including women and minorities.

What will happen to China's Obama now?

Xiao Jiguo, a 30-year-old Chinese actor, rose to fame for his uncanny resemblance to the outgoing president.

Such is Mr Xiao's fame in his homeland, that the direction and popularity of US foreign policy had direct impact on his own burgeoning career.

"People in media, television programmes and movies were worried that inviting me could become political."

"When President Obama holds office, I sort of have to take political factors into account. But after he steps down, my path as an actor may become clearer," Mr Xiao told the BBC.