FAS has been blocked by the High Court from taking any further steps to sack its Director of Health and Safety, Greg Craig, and from making any disparaging comments to the media about him.

THE White House’s top lawyer is returning to private practice and being replaced by a longtime adviser to Barack Obama.

FORMER director of corporate affairs at Fás Greg Craig is unlikely to appear before the Dáil committee investigating overspending at the state training agency.

THE Dáil’s spending watchdog has upped the ante in its probe of Fás, demanding further explanations on what knowledge its board had about wasteful spending.

THE Taoiseach faced increasing pressure last night to order a complete overhaul of Fás after it emerged five of the agency’s executives spent nearly €1 million on first-class hotels, restaurants, bars and other lavish facilities.

Barack Obama retook the US presidential oath of office early today, after the inauguration blunder that was heard throughout the world.

Barack Obama and his aides did not try to make any deals with Illinois’ embattled governor who is accused of trying to sell the president-elect’s vacant Senate seat for cash or a lucrative job, an internal review said.

SUSPENDED Fás director of corporate affairs, Greg Craig has refused a third invitation to appear before the Dáil public accounts committee (PAC) to answer questions about spending irregularities.

FÁS has denied putting obstacles in the way of suspended director Greg Craig who has been asked to appear before the Dáil public accounts committee (PAC).

CONCERNS about the conduct of a senior Fás executive at the centre of a major probe into breaches of financial controls were first raised as far back as 2003.

The former head of FÁS who walked out amid a scandal of lavish expenses run up through first class travel today claimed he did not like flying.

SUSPENDED Fás executive Greg Craig is expected to be invited to appear before the Dáil public accounts committee (PAC) later this month after claiming he operated outside normal procurement practices with the approval of his superiors.

TWO Government ministers have defended their controversial visits to the US in recent years as guests of Fás amid growing controversy over expenditure of taxpayers’ money by the state employment agency.

THE hair and nail salon used by Health Minister Mary Harney during a controversial visit to Florida in 2004 has gone out of business, it emerged yesterday.

FÁS managers might have felt in need of the kind of beauty treatment availed of by Mary Harney in Florida as they were left battered and bruised by the end of a marathon six-hour session before the Oireachtas public spending watchdog yesterday.

Fás officials can only travel executive class on airlines when absolutely necessary for business purposes under the official policy of the state employment agency, it emerged yesterday.

Barack Obama “will move as quickly as he can” to set up the team who will help him rule America as its first black president, his chief strategist said today.

The debate between Barack Obama and John McCain heated up today as the two US presidential candidates prepared for their first face-to-face clash later this week.

DEMOCRATIC presidential challenger John Kerry yesterday ripped into US President George Bush for saying he had no regrets over his “Mission Accomplished” speech on Iraq.