ICSA says farmers will remain sceptical, amid ‘downward manipulation of prices by meat industry’

US farm exports may top the record $142bn (€110.6bn) forecast in February as agreements with China and Russia reduce trade barriers and buyers replenish supplies at lower prices, US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said.

US President Barack Obama pledged to put his “full weight” behind a legislative package next year aimed at tackling gun violence, recalling the school gun rampage that killed 20 young pupils as the worst day of his presidency.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has predicted the US will move to lift its ban on EU beef, once procedural requirements around the publication of BSE rules are completed.

The US is a hugely important market for Irish food and drink companies, most notably whiskey and dairy producers, according to Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

American ground beef processor AFA Foods has sought bankruptcy court protection with a plan to sell some assets in the US after media coverage of “pink slime” cut demand for its products.

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has criticised world leaders for failing to take bold action on climate change, which he said threatens to worsen the food crisis that has left a billion people hungry.

Barack Obama has signed a landmark law that will pay American Indians and black farmers $4.6bn to deal with claims of government mistreatment going back decades.

The Obama administration has defended its decision to force out a black Agriculture Department employee over racially-tinged remarks at a banquet, despite evidence that they were misconstrued.

Barack Obama is laying the groundwork for a giant economic stimulus package of up to $850bn (€590bn) over two years, an adviser to the US President-elect said.

TIME magazine yesterday named US president-elect Barack Obama the Person of the Year in 2008 after he became the first African-American to win the White House.

Barack Obama appeared to be just days away from becoming the first black presidential nominee of a major US political party today.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said that US combat forces should be out of Iraq by spring 2008 to end “a foreign policy disaster”.

A Democrat has emerged from a bitter race to win the right to challenge California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a former Republican congressman from California narrowly beat his Democratic rival early today for a House seat, during the biggest primary night of the US election year.

DEMOCRAT John Kerry kicked his presidential campaign into full gear yesterday when he selected former rival, the charismatic Southerner John Edwards, to be his running mate.

Democratic candidate John Kerry has chosen southern Senator John Edwards as his running mate in November’s US presidential election.

JOHN KERRY, assured of the Democratic nomination, is exploring options for a running mate, from southerners who can provide regional balance to those who can highlight economic problems under President George Bush.

US Senator John Edwards formally ended his pursuit of the Democratic nomination, pledging to “do everything in my power” to help John Kerry win the White House.