WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Canada have agreed to speed up food and other cargo shipments across their border and to sync some regulations related to drugs and cars, U.S. and Canadian officials said on Wednesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama were set to unveil two “action plans,” which lay out ways to boost trade, tighten security and reduce regulatory costs, at a joint appearance at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama told U.S. diplomats and foreign aid workers on Tuesday to do more to advance gay rights abroad, a move that promotes U.S. human rights policy and appeals to a key Democratic constituency at home.

In a memo released the same day as pop singer and gay rights advocate Lady Gaga visited the White House, Obama said he was deeply concerned about violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people worldwide and called for efforts to prevent and respond faster to abuses.

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania (Reuters) – President Barack Obama warned on Wednesday that the U.S. economy would suffer a “massive blow” if Congress fails to extend expiring payroll tax cuts, saying the country was not fully recovered from the recession.

Obama sought to turn up the heat on congressional Republicans at a campaign-style rally at a high school in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a battleground state in the 2012 presidential election in which he is seeking a second term.

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama
pressed European Union officials on Monday to act quickly and
decisively to resolve their sovereign debt crisis, which the
White House said was weighing on the American economy.

After meeting European Council President Herman Van Rompuy
and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Obama
said he was keen to see the euro crisis end.

WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will
press European Union officials on Monday to reach a definitive
solution to their sovereign debt crisis which is emerging as a
major 2012 U.S. election worry.

As Germany and France scramble to tighten budget controls
across the euro zone, European Council President Herman Van
Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
will face tough questions from Obama at the White House on how
much longer the crisis might go on.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Nov 19 (Reuters) – China pushed
back on Saturday against a week of U.S. pressure to resolve a
rancorous dispute over territorial claims in the South China
Sea, a crucial, mineral-rich commercial shipping lane at the
heart of growing tensions among Asian leaders.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao chastised President Barack Obama
for raising the issue during an Asia-Pacific leaders summit,
hours after Obama told Wen the United States wants the sea lanes
kept open and peaceful, capping two weeks of Sino-U.S. tensions.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – President Barack Obama exerted fresh pressure on China on Saturday over a range of sensitive issues, from Beijing’s currency policies to dealing with territorial disputes in the South China Sea, as he reasserted U.S. presence in the region.

In a major diplomatic push, Obama has moved to open up new trade ties with the fastest-growing region in the world while increasing U.S. military presence, to counter the growing clout of China, the world’s second-largest economy.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama sought to charm Asia-Pacific leaders this week with Australian slang and memories from his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia in his bid to boost U.S. ties with the fast-growing region.

The top goal of the nine-day trip, which took Obama away from Washington just as U.S. budget battles were intensifying, was to cement a foreign policy “pivot” towards Asia that could open the door to more American exports and jobs.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – President Barack Obama sought to charm Asia-Pacific leaders this week with Australian slang and memories from his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia in his bid to boost U.S. ties with the fast-growing region.

The top goal of the nine-day trip, which took Obama away from Washington just as U.S. budget battles were intensifying, was to cement a foreign policy “pivot” toward Asia that could open the door to more American exports and jobs.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – The United States has been direct with China about its plans to be more active in the Asia-Pacific region as well as its interests in the South China Sea, a top White House official said on Saturday.

National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao talked mainly about economic issues when they met on the sidelines of an Asian leaders’ summit on the Indonesian island of Bali on Saturday.