The Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a special meeting to discuss the American President Barack Obama’s plan to overhaul the US immigration system.

It's emerged that at least 200 Irish citizens are currently in areas at a high risk from the Ebola outbreak.

IN a town called Kurmuk, on the eastern border with Ethiopia, I watched on in awe as refugees returned in 2006.

The EU-US trade deal will top the agenda at a meeting of the foreign affairs committee today.

Eamonn Gilmore didn’t see the irony when he addressed the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee to condemn Syria for a chemical attack. He said the attack was a new low against civilians.

Irish Aid says it will carry out a full investigation of the systems in place in countries where Ireland donates money.

The Director of Irish Aid Brendan Rogers has admitted that the organisation is not perfect after €4m worth of aid for Uganda went missing.

THERE was a time when China was associated in Irish minds with foreign marvels such as kung fu, fireworks and tinned lychees.

INDEPENDENT presidential candidate Sean Gallagher has moved to sever his links with Fianna Fáil and has questioned the actions of the party’s former taoisigh.

The Pakistani Ambassador to Ireland is appealing for further and urgent international help for the victims of the country's flooding.

AS an Irish aid ship sailed closer to Gaza last night, Ireland’s only Jewish TD called on Israel to lift its blockade of the territory while declaring that the recent attack on aid vessels was “indefensible”.

The Oireachtas Foreign Affairs committee has described as "disappointing" the decision by the Israeli Ambassador to pull out of an emergency meeting on the Gaza flotilla attack later today.

The Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Dr Zion Evrony today cancelled plans to attend a parliamentary hearing on the deadly commando assault on aid shipments.

The head of the passport office will today face questions regarding the ongoing industrial dispute that left 40,000 people awaiting travel documents.

The head of the Exporters Association is today calling on the Government to introduce tax breaks in the next Budget for those selling Ireland abroad.

THE Government’s decision to cut overseas financial aid by €222 million this year prompted a demonstration on the streets of Dublin yesterday by members of non-governmental aid agencies throughout Ireland.

Sudanese authorities hunting a kidnapped Irish aid worker and her colleague have narrowed down the search area, it was confirmed tonight.

Foreign diplomats who have worked on hostage situations have offered the Government advice and support in finding an Irish aid worker and her colleague abducted in Sudan.

OH how our smitten Taoiseach swooned in the moonlight – the Ban Ki-moon light that is.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits Ireland today for the first time since taking office.

A delegation from the Department of Foreign Affairs is due to arrive in Sudan later to negotiate the release of two foreign aid workers.

THE head of the UN relief agency in Gaza has called on Israel to allow immediate access for supplies and aid into the war-torn region warning that up to 90% of its citizens are surviving on handouts.

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip is visiting Ireland today for a series of engagements.

AN impassioned Fianna Fáil deputy broke ranks with TDs yesterday, publicly declaring Israel a “rogue state” and demanding that the Israeli ambassador be expelled from Ireland.

A respected US human rights lawyer who has alleged the Chinese military routinely harvests organs from prisoners is to detail his findings in Dublin today.

Ireland has an excellent track record in the global effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons, former UN chief weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix said tonight.

The man who led the UN's hunt for Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction is due to give an address to the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee in Dublin today.

Israel's on-going bombardment of civilian areas in Lebanon is coming under intense criticism at a meeting of the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee today.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern may jet into Washington next week in a last-ditch lobbying bid on US immigration reform.

A delegation of TDs and Senators is due to depart for Washington DC today as part of an ongoing campaign to seek an amnesty for illegal Irish immigrants in the US.

THE sad plight of hundreds of young Irish emigrants in Britain gives the lie to Celtic Tiger Ireland.

Irish development aid may be propping up a corrupt government regime in Ethiopia, it was claimed today.

THE Government’s support for the war in Iraq is putting Dublin at risk of a terrorist attack, an anti-war group told an Oireachtas Committee yesterday.

The Irish Government’s support for the war in Iraq is putting Dublin at risk of a terrorist attack, an Oireachtas Committee heard today.

Former overseas development minister Liz O'Donnell today expressed concern about the Government reaching its overseas aid commitments for the next seven years.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was today urged to ensure Ireland meets the UN target for overseas development aid by 2010 and not hold out until 2015.

Shareholders of Cement Roadstone Holdings Plc should withdraw their investment from a “wall of shame” security barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank, it was claimed today.

Thousands of illegal Irish immigrants may reportedly be given the right to stay in the United States under new proposals put forward by the Bush administration.

Fine Gael has called on the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee to investigate the imprisonment of illegal Irish immigrants in the United States pending their deportation.

The aid agency Concern has claimed that Irish engagement with the Ugandan Government is crucial to resolving the ongoing conflict in the country and providing aid to the poor.

THE Vice President of Colombia yesterday launched a vigorous defence of his country, where three Irishmen are still being held in prison awaiting a verdict eight months after their trial finished.

A delegation from the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee is travelling to Iraq next week.

MORE than 10,000 demonstrators opposed to war with Iraq are expected to hold a rally in Dublin next month.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, will depart on a five-day visit to the United States this morning.