The head of the United Nations inspection team which hunted for Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction in the months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq will today give evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry into the war.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair "very much exaggerated" Iran's role in supporting al Qaida insurgents in their attacks on British and American forces in Iraq, a former ambassador to Tehran said today.

A Syrian man who tried to hit the Turkish Prime Minister with a shoe has been arrested by Spanish police.

Tony Blair arrived early for his highly-anticipated appearance at the Iraq Inquiry today as he prepared to be grilled on why he took Britain to war.

BRITISH attempts to improve “dire” planning for the aftermath of the Iraq invasion were repeatedly ignored by the US, the inquiry into the war heard yesterday.

Court proceedings have begun for the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at then-US President George Bush late last year.

US President George Bush will spend his last full day in the White House today as the world’s attention turns towards the inauguration of Barack Obama.

US President George Bush today delivered a farewell address to the nation in which he paid tribute to his successor as a man whose story reflects “the enduring promise” of America.

US President George Bush says he’s confident his own personal financial accounts have lost money in the financial meltdown, but won’t find out for sure until he leaves office.

Israeli warplanes and gunboats blasted more than two dozen Hamas positions today, targeting weapons storage facilities, training centres and homes of leaders as its offensive against Gaza’s Islamic militant rulers entered a second week.

Australia’s Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the United States has been told for a second time that Australia will not resettle detainees freed from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.

US President George Bush branded the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel an “act of terror” and outlined his own condition for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying no peace deal would be acceptable without monitoring to halt the flow of smuggled weapons to terrorist groups.

Israel defied mounting international pressure for a ceasefire and continued its devastating air attacks on Gaza today.

The trial of the journalist who threw his shoes at US President George Bush has been postponed.

US President George Bush was today spending Christmas at Camp David for the 12th time.

The Bush administration came to the rescue of the troubled US car industry today offering $17.4bn (€12.4bn) of loans in exchange for concessions from companies and workers.

The investigating judge in the case of the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at US President George Bush said today that the man showed signs of being physically beaten.

Canadians are being invited to hurl their footwear at Montreal’s US Consulate on Saturday in solidarity with an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George Bush this week.

The family of a journalist jailed for throwing his shoes at US President George Bush today claimed a delay in bringing him before a court meant he had been too severely beaten to appear in public

Prime Minister Gordon Brown today hailed the British military’s involvement in Iraq a “success story”.

The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at US President George Bush will appear in court today.

The Iraqi TV reporter who hurled his shoes at US President George Bush was kidnapped once by militants and, separately, detained briefly by the US military.

US President George Bush today made a farewell visit to Iraq just 37 days before he hands over to a successor who has pledged to end the war.

Outspoken democrat Barbara Streisand kept the peace as she graciously accepted a top honour from US President George Bush - insisting the award ceremony should "transcend politics".

US President George Bush said today that the US-Iraqi security pact approved this week calls for 150,000 American troops to be withdrawn from Iraq in two stages - all by the end of 2011.

US President George Bush, faced with a dwindling number of days in office, was using his final world summit to try to keep a virulent economic crisis from triggering a retreat into protectionism.

US President George Bush said today that despite diving stock markets and fears of global recession, now is not the time for nations to abandon open market policies or approve changes that would threaten free enterprise.

The US is suspending a trade deal with Bolivia, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

One of US President George Bush’s top economic advisers said today that parts of the country were experiencing a recession.

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi toasted US President George Bush with pieces of a podium last night during an official dinner at the White House.

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.

Egypt has endorsed a US proposal to host key international players to follow up on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the country’s presidential spokesman said today.

The $700bn (€487bn) rescue package for the United States’ economy is an “extraordinary agreement to deal with extraordinary problems” in the nation’s economy, US President George Bush said today.

Pakistan warned US troops not to intrude on its territory today, after the two anti-terror allies traded fire along the volatile border with Afghanistan.

Gordon Brown is to travel to Washington tomorrow for a meeting with US president George Bush to discuss the global economy.

Nations must come together to “defeat the evil of terrorism” and “build a world that is freer, safer and better for generations to follow”, US President George Bush said today.

US President George Bush will suggest ways in which the United Nations could be improved in his final speech to the world body today.

Pakistan’s new president told Parliament today that the nation will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty by “any power” in the name of fighting terror, a clear signal to the US to avoid controversial cross-border strikes.

US president George Bush announced plans today to withdraw 8,000 more combat and support troops out of Iraq by February.

US president George Bush will keep roughly the same number of US forces in Iraq through the end of the year and bring about 8,000 troops home by February.

US president George Bush said the historic federal government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was needed to keep them from failing, a risk he called “unacceptable” for an economy battered by housing and credit crises.

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.

Iraq’s prime minister Nouri Maliki said today no security agreement with the US could be reached unless it included a “specific deadline” for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Residents of Gori began returning to their homes today, two weeks after fleeing as Russian forces bore down on the strategic Georgian city.