New York, Feb 11 - A 22-year-old Uzbek national has pleaded guilty in a federal court to plotting to kill US President Barack Obama.

Ulugbek Kodirov has been held without bail since he was arrested at a motel in Alabama state in July last year after buying a machine gun from an undercover federal agent, RIA Novosti reported Saturday.

After a hearing in an Alabama federal court Friday, his defence lawyers said the man avoided a possible life sentence by pleading guilty and was now facing up to 15 years in jail at the sentencing due in May.

Washington, Feb 11 : A 22-year-old Uzbek man has admitted to plotting to kill US President Barack Obama.

Ulugbek Kodirov, who was arrested last July and charged with threatening to kill Obama, possessing an automatic weapon and providing material support to terrorists, could face 30 years in jail.

According to the plea agreement, in July 2011 Kodirov came into communication with a man known as "the Emir", who he believed was a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Kodirov and "the Emir" discussed ways to kill Obama, including by a sniper rifle from long distance, The BBC reports.

Washington, Feb. 9 : A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that President Barack Obama has relied on armed drones far more than his predecessor George W. Bush, and expanded their use beyond America's defined war zones to counter terrorists.

The Post-ABC News poll found that 83 percent of Americans approve of Obama's drone policy, which administration officials refuse to discuss, citing security concerns.

The president only recently acknowledged the drone program, which some human rights advocates say operates without a clear legal framework and in violation of the U. S. prohibition against assassination.

Washington, Feb 8 - President Barack Obama announced Tuesday an $80 million plan to improve mathematics and science instruction in US public schools as one of his initiatives to revive the economy.

"(W)e're a nation of tinkerers and dreamers and believers in a better tomorrow," Obama said at the White House Science Fair attended by more than 100 students from all over the country.

"We know that innovation has helped each generation pass down that basic American promise, which is no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you can make it if you try," he told the students, praising them for "making sure America will win the race to the future".

Washington, Feb 7 - President Barack Obama is preferred by 52 percent of Americans compared with 43 percent who favour Mitt Romney, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, a Washington Post-ABC News poll published Monday revealed.

The telephone survey, carried out Feb 1-4 among 1,000 adults nationwide, has a margin of error of plus/minus four percentage points.

Obama's advantage declines slightly among registered voters to 51 percent versus 45 percent for the former Massachusetts governor, who is still facing three challengers to lead the Republican Party into the November election.

Washington, Feb 7 - US President Barack Obama has ordered the freezing of Iran's property under American jurisdiction, including that of the country's central bank, the White House said.

The US and its allies are pressing hard over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

Terming them "additional steps" against Iran, Obama ordered all property and interests in property of the government of Iran as well as the republic's financial institutions under US jurisdiction including the Central Bank of Iran, to be "blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in", Xinhua quoted a statement as saying.

Washington, Feb. 6 : In the swing state of Colorado, President Barack Obama has disappointed many independents, but they are even less happy with Republican candidates.

As the economy improves, President Obama''s job approval ratings are edging higher among independents -- who at the same time are more skeptical about the potential Republican challengers.

Independents, the dominant political force in Colorado and other swing states, have been warming to Obama in recent weeks while souring on the Republican Party''s top potential challengers, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, polls show.

Washington, Feb 6 - US President Barack Obama has said he saw no basis for rumours that Iran may be planning an attack on the US.

"We don't see any evidence that they (Iran) have those intentions or capabilities right now," he said in an interview with NBC Sunday night.

Tensions over Iran's nuclear activities have reached boiling point since the Islamic Republic announced earlier this month that it had launched a nuclear enrichment programme at a well-protected underground facility near the city of Qom.

Washington, Feb 6 : US President Barack Obama has said that Washington is working closely with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

Obama told NBC that the aim was to resolve the crisis diplomatically, but added that no option was off the table.

"I''ve been very clear - we''re going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating a nuclear arms race in a volatile region," Obama said in a live interview.

According to The BBC, he said Washington was working "in lockstep" with Israel, which was right to be very concerned about Iran''s controversial activities.

Washington, Feb 5 - US President Barack Obama has called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop the killings in the country and step aside for a democratic transition in the Middle East nation.

Obama said the Syrian government "murdered" hundreds of Syrian citizens Friday "through shelling and other indiscriminate violence", and that Syrian forces continued to prevent hundreds of injured civilians from seeking medical help.

"I strongly condemn the Syrian government's unspeakable assault against the people of Homs and I offer my deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones," Xinhua quoted Obama as saying in a statement.

Washington, Feb 4 : The latest job report, which pegs US unemployment at 8.3 percent may be a turning point for President Barack Obama ahead of the 2012 White House race.

The US added 243,000 new jobs in January, the most in nine months and almost double what most economists had predicted.

The figures come in the wake of Republican contenders targeting Obama on unemployment for the White House race.

Washington, Feb 4 : Mullah Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, has reportedly sent US President Barack Obama a letter, indicating an interest to initiate peace talks.

The unsigned letter reportedly carries a message from the insurgent group's leader to Obama, asking him to release senior Taliban fighters from Guantanamo Bay as a first step towards peace talks in Afghanistan.

White House officials, however, said that it cannot be confirmed who had sent the letter.

Washington, Feb 4 - To make America more attractive to highly-skilled foreign students and workers, the United States has announced a series of reforms, including changes in the F-1 and H-1B visa rules, that may benefit professionals from India.

The interim measures are aimed at improving the competitiveness of US companies in the world market and stimulating US job creation before comprehensive immigration reforms for "fixing our broken immigration system," the Department of Homeland Security announced.

Washington, Feb 4 - US President Barack Obama will host British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House during an official visit in March, the White House said.

The meeting scheduled for March 13-14 will also include discussions on an array of global issues, including Afghanistan and Iran, Xinhua reported.

Other issues to be discussed are the upcoming NATO and G-8 summits slated for May in Chicago, the Middle East, human rights and global economic stability and growth, the White House said.

Obama and his wife Michelle will also host a state dinner for Cameron and his wife Samantha. (IANS)

Washington, Feb 3 : Barack Obama’s 7-year-old gray Chrysler, which was once driven by him before he became the President, failed to find any buyers in an auction.

An eBay auction for the Chrysler 300C Obama leased before he got to the White House closed late Wednesday without any bids meeting the minimum, the ABC News reported.

Although the listing agent did receive bids from as far away as Australia, but none of them touched the 1 million-dollar opening bid required by the car’s owner.