A FULL year before the US-led invasion of Iraq, then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair told his chief of staff, the West should be “gung-ho” on toppling Saddam Hussein, a panel looking into the conflict disclosed yesterday.

THE former head of NASA whose family hails from Fermoy, Co Cork, is one of four survivors of a plane crash in which five people, including a former US senator, died.

AN Iraqi reporter imprisoned for throwing his shoes at US President George W Bush found himself on the receiving end of a similar footwear attack in Paris.

North Korea today expressed regret over its recent release of dam water that sparked flooding downstream blamed for six South Korean deaths.

INDIA said yesterday the FBI had presented strong evidence to Islamabad of Pakistani links to November’s militant attacks in Mumbai that killed 179 people.

PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama made clear to his aides that he wanted to spend the Christmas holiday in Hawaii, as he had done in years past: there is no more campaign, this will be a true family vacation.

Corporate America was urged today to follow the lead of the New York Stock Exchange and invest in the North.

US President George W Bush today met the North’s political leaders in Washington.

US President George W Bush today met with the North’s political leaders in Washington.

US President George W Bush’s mother Barbara is in a Texas hospital after complaining of a “little bit of pain”, it was announced today.

US President George W Bush plans to host a summit of world leaders in the near future to discuss the global response to the financial crisis, according to a senior official tonight.

Josh Brolin gobbled up sandwiches while playing US president George W Bush in Oliver Stone's new biopic 'W' after learning that the President is a compulsive eater.

IRAQ and Iran could only be “tamed” through a second world war-type effort by the western powers involving drafts, rationing and sacrifice, Libertas founder Declan Ganley suggested in a little-seen paper.

FLAMBOYANT conservative Taro Aso took charge as Japan’s new prime minister yesterday, pledging to work for a “cheerful” nation by reviving an economy in the doldrums.

What are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

US President George W Bush announced plans yesterday to withdraw 8,000 more combat and support troops from Iraq by February.

The White House today confirmed US President George W Bush will announce his decision on future troops levels in Iraq next week.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin is today calling for urgent action to improve the humanitarian situation in Georgia.

RUSSIAN jets staged raids and its forces moved deeper into Georgian territory yesterday as Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin denounced the US for helping Georgia.

US President George W Bush juggled sports, strife and diplomacy today on his whirlwind Olympic adventure, a trip marred by an attack on an American couple and their tour guide.

ONCE-RECLUSIVE China commandeered the world stage yesterday, celebrating its first-time role as Olympic host with a stunning display of pageantry and pyrotechnics to open a Summer Games unrivalled for its mix of problems and promise.

Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said yesterday he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops is not established.

US president George W Bush said today he is eager to sign legislation that triples money to fight Aids and other diseases around the world – an initiative that has won the US President praise from some of his harshest critics.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange today but the smiles from those present will mask growing concern about the economy both in the US and at home.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will travel to the United States next month on a trip which is expected to focus on the global economic situation.

ISRAELI police raided the Ministry of Industry and Trade yesterday, seizing documents in a widening corruption investigation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

A powerful earthquake toppled buildings, schools and a chemical plant in China today, killing more than 8,700 people and trapping untold numbers in mounds of concrete, steel and earth.

US PRESIDENT George W Bush poked fun at his potential successors on Saturday night, expressing surprise that none of them were in the audience at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner.

A NEW YORK state judge has thrown out parts of Dan Rather’s $70 million (€44m) lawsuit against CBS but preserved several key elements, including the former news anchor’s breach of contract claim.

MARCH 17, 2003: US President George Bush gives Saddam Hussein 48-hour deadline to give up power.

GOVERNOR Eliot Spitzer’s resignation became official yesterday, paving the way for Lieutenant Governor David Paterson to take the oath of office and become New York’s chief executive.

AUSTRALIA, Argentina and Malaysia — just some of the exotic destinations to which government ministers will travel this year to represent Ireland on St Patrick’s Day.

US President George W Bush today said that Congress should renew his global Aids programme and preserve a requirement that steers money into abstinence efforts.

ARCTIC Monkeys are set to dominate this year’s NME awards — while Amy Winehouse could end up being the biggest loser.

US President George W Bush focused on the troubled US economy and successes in Iraq in his final State of the Union speech last night.

US President George W Bush today faced demands from Parliamentarians on both sides of the border to shut its controversial Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

IRISH peacekeeping troops in the Lebanon were wounded yesterday when their vehicle was hit in a roadside bomb attack.

JUNE 4

SCHOOLS closed for thousands of youngsters, Iowa’s biggest airport shut down and thick layers of ice brought down more power lines yesterday as a major ice storm glazed the nation’s midsection.

The North's First and Deputy First Ministers are due to meet US President George W Bush today as part of their week-long trip to America.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday played down expectations for a peace deal with the Palestinians before the end of 2008 as laid out at a US-sponsored peace conference last week.

Labour Party leader Kevin Rudd appeared set for a sweeping victory in Australia’s elections today, ending a conservative era and ushering in major changes to policies on global warming and the Iraq war.

Deputy Martin Mansergh’s Dáil question asking how many people are earning more than €300,000 may have been primarily a public relations stunt to justify the recent increases in ministerial salaries, but it was gratuitously insulting to the Irish people.

VISITING US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged India on yesterday to quickly implement a landmark civilian nuclear energy deal with the United States.

AN unapologetic Taoiseach yesterday defended his €38,000 pay hike and insisted it was unfair to make comparisons with salaries of other world leaders.

HOT, dry Santa Ana winds have fanned the blazes which have ravaged southern California this week.

NOBEL Prize-winning author Doris Lessing has called the September 11 attacks “not that terrible” compared to the campaign of terror waged by the IRA.

Iraqis are making enormous sacrifices everyday in the fight for freedom alongside coalition forces, US President George W Bush said today in a new plea for patience from his country.

BRITISH troops should be withdrawn from Iraq once Iraqi forces have been trained, regardless of the security situation, the co-chairman of a commission looking into the policy said yesterday.

TONY Blair, a major player on the world stage for a decade, won global praise yesterday for defending Kosovo, fighting poverty in Africa and overseeing peace in Northern Ireland — but came under heavy criticism for championing the US push into Iraq.