The son of white supremacist gunman James von Brunn has called his father a coward and said he wished he had died in the US Holocaust Museum rampage instead of his security guard victim.

An 88-year-old gunman with a violent anti-Semitic past opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded US Holocaust Memorial Museum, killing a black security guard before being shot by other officers.

A US man charged with threatening to kill President George Bush professed his innocence in court, then started sobbing after a federal magistrate ordered him to be jailed.

The North’s First and Deputy First Ministers were in the United States today urging corporate America that the province is a good place for them to invest despite the global downturn.

THE Quartet of Middle East peace mediators sought yesterday to keep alive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks although political uncertainty in Israel has scotched hopes for a deal this year.

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.

Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden slammed Palestinian negotiations with Israel and urged holy war for the liberation of Palestine in a new audio tape broadcast today.

The European Union has condemned what it calls the “disproportionate use of force” by Israeli forces in Gaza after 54 Palestinians were killed in the highest single day toll since fighting erupted in 2000.

Battle-scarred former prisoner of war John McCain declared he was the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination after a series of victories on Super Tuesday.

The search for Middle East peace has reached an “historic moment” an optimistic US president George Bush declared today.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to begin tackling the core issues of a final peace agreement in a last-minute push to breathe life into stalled negotiations before US president George Bush's arrival in the Middle East today.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders held new talks about an old problem at their first summit in the new round of peace talks.

US President George Bush has announced he will visit the Middle East in early January.

TEARFUL friends and relatives, some cheering or waving flags, welcomed 429 Palestinian prisoners after their early release by Israel yesterday in a gesture meant to strengthen moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday played down expectations for a peace deal with the Palestinians before the end of 2008 as laid out at a US-sponsored peace conference last week.

An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinian militants in the southern Gaza Strip early today, Palestinian witnesses and officials said.

US President George Bush told the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories he is personally committed to their mission of peace, urging them to stick with it and not lose sight of their goal.

TENS of thousands of Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip demonstrated yesterday against the Middle East peace conference in the US, while the Islamic militant group’s leader insisted it was “doomed to failure”.

Palestinians and Israelis understand that helping the other to realise their aspirations is the key to realising their own, US President George Bush will say today.

Arab leaders and international envoys are preparing for a conference on peace in the Middle East today.

US President George Bush will try today to help broker an elusive agreement between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of peace talks planned for this week.

The US announced it will inaugurate peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians next week, ending a seven-year lull.

Israel today approved the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and promised not to build new settlements in the West Bank as a prelude to vital peace talks.

Senior European Union officials will gauge the progress of Middle East peace efforts during talks in Lisbon, Portugal, with top diplomats from the region.

Middle East peace plans stalled again today after the chief Palestinian negotiator insisted there would be no talks with Israel until a deadline was set for establishing an independent state.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert revealed today he is fighting prostate cancer, but the disease is not threatening his life.

Palestinians hope US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Jesus’ traditional birthplace today will not just be a religious experience, but will also bring their daily difficulties of life under Israeli occupation into sharper focus.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought support from Egypt today in her quest to nudge Israelis and Palestinians closer together before a Middle East peace conference tentatively set for late November.

The Palestinians are ready to yield parts of the West Bank to Israel if compensated with an equal amount of Israeli territory, according to the lead Palestinian negotiator.

Britney Spears has hired a former lacrosse coach to look after her eight-month-old son, Sean Preston.

President George Bush, facing growing doubts about his war strategy, said today that Iraqi troops are increasingly taking the lead in battle but that “this will take time and patience".

President George Bush will today set out a defence of his embattled war policy, after he stressed that a US military pullout from Iraq would be a terrible mistake.

Residents up and down the US east coast boarded up windows and the military ordered ships and planes out of harm’s way as Hurricane Isabel headed toward land with 120mph winds.