Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump likened his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States to World War II policies implemented by US president Franklin Roosevelt against people of Japanese, German and Italian descent.

US secretary of state John Kerry has attempted to defuse tension with Israel on the eve of Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, where he will spell out his opposition to any deal with a still-nuclear armed Iran.

Representatives of Aer Lingus and its regional operation will discuss the possible sale of the Government stake in the airline with TDs and Senators this evening.

Barack Obama is ordering far-reaching changes to the US immigration system that will protect nearly five million people from deportation, and will have implications for undocumented Irish migrants.

Proposals to raise hundreds of billions of dollars from US multinational corporations that avert tax on income held overseas forms a key part of US President Barack Obama’s latest budget proposals.

The White House and Republican congressional leaders offered no meaningful proposals for rolling back automatic spending cuts that will slash €64bn from the national budget.

The US military did not intervene quickly during the attack on America's consulate in Libya because military leaders did not have adequate intelligence information and felt they should not put their forces at risk, defence secretary Leon Panetta said.

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard has dismissed as “disgraceful” claims that she was making light of sexual harassment by allowing the parliamentary speaker to keep his job while facing allegations that he pressured a member of staff for sex.

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, who has emerged as Mr Romney’s leading challenger in the Republican presidential race, clashed over the US federal government’s power in a high-stakes debate that might have been the last in the roller-coaster campaign to challenge President Barack Obama.

US President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

A KEY ally of Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney has joined his rivals in urging the candidate to release his income tax forms after he said he pays roughly a 15% tax rate.

Rick Santorum is poised to establish himself as the top conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, a day after jolting the Republican US presidential race by coming within eight votes of winning the Iowa caucuses.

TEA PARTY conservatives scored their biggest political triumph with a debt-ceiling deal that cuts federal spending, but their tactics could risk a voter backlash in the 2012 elections.

Efforts to avert a threatened US government default were thrown into renewed crisis today after House of Representatives speaker John Boehner abruptly broke off talks with President Barack Obama on a deal to make major spending cuts.

President Barack Obama summoned leaders of both parties to the White House to hammer out a deal to stave off a US debt default with the potential to trigger a major, worldwide financial crisis.

US president Barack Obama has hailed the beginning of the end of a devastating war, announcing he was bringing home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer.

Representatives of Dublin waste companies claim they have the capacity to create new waste facilities for the capital that would generate 235 new jobs.

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny will meet US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner in Washington today as he attempts to rebuild Ireland’s reputation abroad.

Chinese security agents launched a wide-ranging clampdown on dissidents today, hours before the award Nobel Peace Prize award to imprisoned democracy activist Liu Xiaobo.

Representatives of the Small Firms Association (SFA) today met with Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe to outline key priorities for the sector and stress the importance of a supportive environment for small business in Ireland.

The Bush administration said today it was ready to step in and prevent the US car industry from collapsing after the Senate refused to pass a rescue bill endorsed by President George Bush and congressional Democrats.

Hardline Republican opponents of a US motor trade bail-out have branded the industry a “dinosaur” whose “day of reckoning” was near.

The Bush administration is abandoning the centrepiece of its massive €520bn economic rescue plan and exploring new ways to shore up not only banks but credit card, car loan and other huge businesses.

The US government will provide an US$85bn (€59.9bn) emergency loan to rescue the huge insurer AIG, the Federal Reserve said today.

THERE is a contrast between Europe and America but not a contradiction, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the joint houses of Congress yesterday.

WATCHDOGS yesterday said stopping shops from selling cheap booze would only backfire.

Representatives of a largely republican community in the North today challenged police to offer them greater protection from crime.

The US Senate is expected to pass a bill on the Iraq conflict today that requires President George Bush to begin bringing home an unspecified number of troops within four months.

Representatives of the Irish Nurses Organisation and Psychiatric Nurses Association are holding extensive talks with TDs and Senators over the contents of the Public Service Annuation Bill.

Representatives of the National Bus and Rail Worker's Union are now meeting to discuss whether to accept an invitation by the Minister for Transport for talks ahead of next week's work stoppage.

HEALTH Minister Micheál Martin is unfit to hold office, parents involved in the organ retention scandal said yesterday.