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Obama releases full birth certificate
US President Barack Obama has posted his full birth certificate on the internet, in an effort to finally kill speculation he was born abroad.
The issue of the leader's origins had become increasingly prominent, with recent opinion polls indicating one in four Americans believed he was born in another country.
Released on the White House website, the form says Barack Hussein Obama II was born at 7.24pm on 4 August 1961, at Kapiolani Hospital, within the city limits of Honolulu, Hawaii.
It is signed by the delivery doctor, Obama's mother and the local registrar.
Only “natural born” citizens can become president according to a vague clause in the US constitution.
Members of the so-called “birther” movement contended that disqualifies Obama from his post. Sceptics also suggested he was born in his father's home country of Kenya.
Potential election rival, Republican businessman Donald Trump, had repeatedly questioned whether the president was born in the US.
Obama's campaign team failed to put the matter to bed in 2008 when releasing the standard “short form” birth certificate issued upon request from the state of Hawaii.
But the president said officials in Hawaii had been persuaded to make an exception and release the full, “long form” version of the documents because the debate had become a sideshow.
