The Bush administration declared it would step in and prevent the “precipitous collapse” of the US car industry and the hundreds of thousands of job losses sure to follow.

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.

A £9bn (€6.74bn) bailout of the US car industry looked set to encounter problems passing the Senate despite urgent appeals by both President-elect Barack Obama and President George Bush today.

A $14bn (€10.6bn) rescue package for the US car industry was in danger today from Republicans who threaten a Senate revolt.

The United States Congress could act on a deal to help America’s failing car industry by the end of the day, the Senate majority leader said today.

A deal with the US Congress to help America’s failing car industry will “very likely” be reached, the White House said today.

Top executives of the big three American carmakers will ask the US Congress for more than $34bn (€26.1bn) in loans today as two of them battle to survive beyond the end of the month.

US president-elect Barack Obama has made helping the troubled US car industry a “high priority” of his administration.

President-elect Barack Obama will renew the hunt for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and plans to explore a more regional strategy to the war in Afghanistan, his national security advisers told US media today.

Barack Obama enjoyed a “relaxed and friendly” meeting with President George Bush as he visited the White House for the first time since becoming US president-elect.

PRESIDENT-elect Barack Obama has set foot in the Oval Office for the first time where he was briefed on the extent of the problems he faces when he assumes power next year.

Barack Obama spent two hours having private talks with President George Bush today as he visited the White House for the first time since becoming US president-elect.

BARACK OBAMA will make his first visit to the White House as president-elect on Monday for talks with President George W Bush on crisis issues including Iraq and the economy, officials said.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has won the states of Georgia and West Virginia, leaving him with 78 electoral votes compared with Mr Obama's 199.

The quietest place in Washington today may have been the White House itself.

The White House, under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike, has defended giving billions of bail-out dollars to banks that plan to reward shareholders and executives or even buy other banks.

American forces killed the head of a Syrian network that funnelled fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq during the cross-border helicopter raid, according to a US anti-terror chief.

The Bush administration warned of “real consequences” for Iraq if it rejects a newly negotiated security pact.

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell will be asked to serve as a White House adviser if Barack Obama is elected president, the Democratic nominee said today.

President George W Bush today sought to reassure Americans about the cost and scope of the US financial bail-out plan and said that in the long run “our economy will bounce back”.

US President George Bush called British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to urge co-ordination on efforts to solve the financial crisis spreading around the world, the White House said today.

America will face “financial panic” and a “long and painful recession” unless the US Congress fails to pass a rescue package immediately, President George Bush said today.

US president Bush attempted to ease America's fears over the economy today in a set-piece speech that was short on specifics.

The US federal takeover of troubled US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have been prevented if Congress had acted on its recommendations, the White House said today.

President George Bush will throw his “enthusiastic support” behind Republican presidential hopeful John McCain as the party’s national convention gets back on track today, the White House said.

US President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will skip the Republican National Convention because of mounting concerns about Hurricane Gustav, the White House said today.

Russia apparently went back on its word to quit the key Georgian city of Gori today.

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.

IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that diplomacy is the only way out of his country’s standoff with the West over its disputed nuclear programme and insisted he was serious about negotiations.

A truck bomb exploded during rush hour today on a busy commercial street in northern Baghdad, killing at least 12 people and wounding about two dozen, Iraqi police and health officials said.

THE next US president will inherit a record budget deficit approaching $490 billion, according to a new Bush administration estimate.

INDIA’S government survived a hotly contested confidence vote yesterday, clearing the way for it to finalise a landmark nuclear energy deal with the United States.

IRAN has said its top nuclear negotiator and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will hold their next talks on ending the nuclear standoff on July 19, despite Western concern over the test-firing of several missiles by Tehran.

US vice president Dick Cheney’s office pushed to delete references about the consequences of climate change on public health from congressional testimony, in a bid to play down the effects of global warming, a former environment expert claims.

President George Bush will probably attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Beijing, The White House press secretary said today.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was greeted with hugs at an African summit today, a sign that African leaders won’t shun him despite Western demands they take a tough stance over his re-election in a tainted vote.

President Robert Mugabe’s regime struck at his rivals only two weeks before Zimbabwe’s presidential run-off, twice detaining his challenger and jailing the number two opposition leader to face treason charges.

The White House press secretary most known for defending President George Bush on Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and a host of other controversies has produced a shock memoir damning his old boss on nearly every level.

US president George Bush is going to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt next month to try to speed up the Middle East peace process and celebrate the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary.

The White House says North Korea’s secret work on a nuclear reactor with Syria was “a dangerous and potentially destabilising development for the world”.

Pope Benedict XVI told US bishops that the scourge of clergy sex abuse had sometimes been “very badly handled”.

Pope Benedict XVI said he was “deeply ashamed” of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has rocked the American church.

President George Bush has released $200m (€249) in emergency aid to help nations where surging food prices have worsened hunger and sparked violent protests.

US President George Bush has all but abandoned hope of a major agreement on missile defences during talks this weekend with Russian President Vladimir Putin.