Despite talk of missions to Mars and a renewed interest in returning to the moon, nothing can match the awesome feat of that first lunar landing 50 years ago today, writes Dan Buckley.

Johnson is in the middle of a messy marital breakup and this has had no effect on his following, writes Terry Prone.

If I mention the race for the Áras, will you turn the page? You won’t? Many thanks.

In 1961, Dwight Eisenhower warned us of the rise of the military-industrial-complex and its potential to have an overbearing influence on government.

Robert Harvey examines the relatively new phenomenon in politics that has seen the rise of the supra-politician promising to save the day, despite their lack of political experience

While regarded as historic and celebratory occasions, not all US presidential inaugurations have passed off as the solemn state event desired, as Robert Hume describes.

Ryle Dwyer looks back 30 years to Garret Fitzgerald’s St Patrick’s Day State visit to the White House, and its impact on the Northern peace process

Fidel Castro was ‘the great master of political seduction’ and survived over 100 assassination attempts to build his revolutionary state, write Reuters journalists Daniel Trotta and Sarah Marsh

Donald Trump’s claim that former US president Bill Clinton was ‘the worst abuser of women in the history of politics’ shows just how politically ignorant he is, says historian Ryle Dwyer.       

Diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba have been officially restored after more than 50 years, ending decades of enmity between the two countries.

US President Barack Obama has been strangled by Republican Congressional majorities but is still on the verge of sealing his legacy on the international front, writes Andrew Hammond.

On the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, Ryle Dwyer reflects on the conflict in which his father was killed

A two-volume edition of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, personally signed by Hitler, is set to be auctioned online on Thursday.

Letters from John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe and Dwight Eisenhower are among hundreds of historical documents being offered in an online auction.

Four years ago he was on the dole but yesterday his work was seen around the world, presented by the Taoiseach to President Obama as part of the St Patrick’s festivities.

Robin Williams is to play Dwight Eisenhower in new movie 'The Butler'.

Queen Elizabeth joined a spectacular armada of 1,000 vessels yesterday for the most dazzling display of British pageantry seen on the River Thames for 350 years, watched by cheering crowds celebrating her 60th year on the throne.

Are your taxes too high? When Gallup asked that question in April, tax month in the US, 46% said they were.

Team Obama has quietly built a juggernaut re-election machine in Chicago. Andrew Romano goes inside

PRESIDENT Barack Obama’s announcement on Sunday night that Congressional leaders had reached an agreement that would raise the US government’s borrowing limit and avoid default is good news for us all.

US President Barack Obama said Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have reached an agreement with him to raise the government’s debt ceiling and avoid a default.

TODAY is a big day in Washington DC, with a momentous collision of giants set to unfold on a golf course in the American capital. Except we’re not talking about Congressional Country Club and the 111th US Open.

THE family of a 90-year-old Second World War veteran, who died after being violently robbed in his home, appealed for help yesterday to catch his killer.

THE words shipbuilding and Dublin are not often seen together – Harland and Wolfe in Belfast and the Verolme dockyard in Cork fit much better.

WINSTON Churchill was accused of covering up a close encounter between an RAF aircraft and a UFO during the Second World War.

AROUND 4,400 Allied soldiers paid the ultimate price for ensuring D-Day was one of the most successful military operations the world has ever seen.

BARACK OBAMA’S first test as president came as he was being sworn in. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, got the presidential oath wrong.

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.

The US Federal Reserve today slashed a key interest rate by half a percentage point as it seeks to revive an economy hit by a long list of maladies stemming from the most severe financial crisis in decades.

Wall Street resumed its sell-off today after oil hit a new record and a bearish analyst report renewed concerns that General Motors Corp. could run out of cash.

ONE of the most unnerving things about the terrible attacks on New York in September 2001 was the creation of an atmosphere that almost equated American patriotism with aggression towards those who would dare to disagree with America.

Ordinary Americans joined President George Bush and other dignitaries in Washington to pay final respects to Gerald Ford as the former US president’s flag-draped coffin rested under the Capitol dome, before a last round of funeral services and burial near his family home in Michigan.

DO YOU remember the phrase ‘Ich bin ein Berliner?’ Most people of my generation do because it was uttered by John F Kennedy a day or two after he completed his famous visit to Ireland in 1963.

A Finn who helped mediate peace in Indonesia is tipped to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, while bookmakers favour a Turkish novelist for the literature award.

THIS week marked the 42nd anniversary of the assassination of John F Kennedy.

President George W Bush for the second time was chosen as Time magazine’s Person of the Year, after winning re-election and “reshaping the rules of politics to fit his 10-gallon-hat leadership style” – a reference to his cowboy image.

With quavering voices, parents and grandparents of those killed at the World Trade Center in New York slowly read the names of the victims today to mark the third anniversary of the attacks that brought down the twin towers.

The tears, the joy and the euphoria that ushered in the liberation of Paris 60 years ago today are on the agenda of a grandiose fete meant to help Parisians relive the day they threw off the shackles of Nazi occupation.

LAST year people were taking it for granted that George W Bush would be re-elected this November, but the lessons of history would suggest that it may not be so easy. Indeed public opinion polls indicate that he has an uphill battle.

MORDECHAI VANUNU was released on Wednesday after serving almost 18 years in jail for telling the truth about Israel's surreptitious efforts to develop nuclear weapons in 1986.

BEING at the Masters is one thing. Caddying for Pádraig Harrington another. But when our own Charlie Mulqueen guided Ireland's finest to victory in Wednesday's Par 3 tournament, he left the course with mixed feelings.

MOST people who are old enough remember where they were this day 40 years ago. I was heading for Des Moines, Iowa, when a couple of women got on the bus.

The US Federal Reserve, still striving to coax the struggling economy to stronger growth, cut a key interest rate to its lowest level since the 1950s.

FEARS of a repeat of the 2000 presidential election fiasco are expected to delay results from yesterday’s crucial mid-term vote that could shift the balance of power in Washington.

Fears of a repeat of the 2000 presidential election fiasco are expected to delay results from today’s crucial mid-term vote that could shift the balance of power in Washington.

In a cramped nuclear shelter deep beneath the White House, President George Bush stared across a spare wooden table and told his national security team, "Get the troops ready."