He felt stung by the politics that helped define his life - but in death, the Rev Billy Graham received a rare tribute from America's top political leaders under the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC.

Former president Mary Robinson said the reluctance of some LGBT leaders to be photographed at Áras an Uachtaráin, when she signed the bill decriminalising homosexuality in 1993, showed her how frightening it was to be gay in Ireland.

The Irish people and the Native American Choctaw nation are bonded by the difficulties they have endured in their respective cultures and the resilience they have shown to overcome hardships, the Chief of the Choctaw Nation told a gathering in Co Cork yesterday.

Former President George HW Bush has been released from a Houston hospital where he received treatment for pneumonia for more than two weeks.

US president Donald Trump has signed executive actions to advance the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines.

Former President Mary Robinson has confirmed she will gift her archive to NUI Galway, and will not avail of any tax credits available to her.

France’s far right National Front has won more support than any other party in the first round of regional elections, according to polling agency projections.

People’s “lived experience” of family life and willingness to talk about it trumped all the arguments against change during both the divorce and marriage equality referendums, a family law expert has claimed.

Former President Mary McAleese said that the “absence of empathy” in a New York Times article on the death of six Irish students in Berkeley prompted her to file a complaint with the newspaper.

Former president George W Bush has admitted he is a political problem for his brother Jeb and will stay out of his way if he seeks the White House in 2016.

Former President Mary McAleese and Justice Kevin Cross have reassured middle Ireland that a ‘Yes’ vote on same-sex marriage will not undermine the the rights and status of families.

The electorate should vote ‘yes’ in the same-sex marriage referendum and refrain from giving the Government a “bloody nose” or a protest vote, Sinn Féin have said.

Former president Fidel Castro has broken his silence over Cuba and the move by the United States to restore full diplomatic relations, saying that although he does not trust Washington’s politics, differences between the nations should be resolved through co-operation.

Teachers unions are being urged to reach a consensus on Junior Cycle reform with the Government.

Campaigners have criticised the outcome of the UN climate negotiations, saying the deal has not gone far enough.

Welcome to your Thursday morning briefing. Let us ensure you’re up to speed on what’s happening and are prepared for the day ahead.

Former President Bill Clinton says he does not know if his wife, Hillary, is going to run for president, adding “she hasn’t asked me yet”.

Former President Mary Robinson has been charged with overseeing global efforts to tackle climate change.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has accused France’s justice system of trying to “humiliate” and “destroy” him, after he was charged in a corruption probe that could spell trouble for his future political ambitions.

US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have toured the September 11 museum, viewing a memorial wall with photos of victims and a mangled fire truck.

We have “at most two decades to save the world”.

French President Francois Hollande has threatened legal action over a magazine report saying he is having a secret affair with an actress, the latest breach in the French media’s practice of turning a blind eye to presidential love affairs.

Although South Africa had months, if not years, to prepare a farewell for Nelson Mandela, the 10 days of mourning before his funeral speak of a heartfelt need to hold on to him and all that he represents.

Former president Mary Robinson has said the world feels like it has lost a family member in the death of Nelson Mandela.

President Barack Obama is to announce a new initiative to double access to electric power in sub-Saharan Africa, part of his effort to build on the legacy of equality and opportunity forged by his personal hero, Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela was back home yesterday after spending a night in hospital for a “scheduled medical check-up”, the president’s office said.

Former president Mary McAleese has decried the Church’s treatment of five silenced priests, accusing Rome of operating through fear and imposing strictures on the clerics which “consume the truth”.

One of the greatest yet relatively unknown of modern philanthropists has become the first person to be conferred with an honorary degree by all universities of Ireland.

Former president Mary McAleese and her husband Martin have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to the peace process.

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was last night declared “clinically dead” by his doctors after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the state news agency MENA said.

Voting has begun in presidential and parliamentary elections in Niger meant to return the country to a civilian government after a military coup last February.

Former President Bill Clinton made a long-anticipated appearance in the upstate New York village where his daughter is getting married this weekend.

KYRGYZ mobs burned Uzbek villages, slaughtered their residents and looted police stations yesterday in the worst ethnic rioting this Central Asian nation has seen in 20 years, sending more than 75,000 Uzbek refugees fleeing across the border into Uzbekistan.

IRANIAN security forces beat anti-government protesters with batons yesterday on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the US Embassy takeover.

Former President Mary Robinson is reportedly among a number of high-profile names being tipped to become the first president of the European Council.

Former President Mary Robinson has commended the bravery of those affected by homicide at a Remembrance Day for victims, in Limerick.

IRAN’S opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi accused the authorities yesterday of using “medieval torture” to extract confessions from protesters on trial over the wave of post-election unrest.

Two controversial new laws dealing with gangland criminals and blasphemy will be examined by President Mary McAleese tonight.

Two controversial new laws dealing with gangland criminals and blasphemy will be examined by President Mary McAleese tonight.

President Mary McAleese today challenged two controversial new laws dealing with gangland criminals and blasphemy.

Former president Mikhail Gorbachev has compared Vladimir Putin's United Russia party to the worst of the communists he once led, saying parliament and the judiciary were not fully free.

Former US first lady Barbara Bush is recovering in hospital today after open heart surgery to replace her aortic valve.

Former President Mary Robinson has been honoured with an international award in Switzerland.

Former President Boris Yeltsin - who engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy - has died, a Kremlin official said today. He was 76.