Republican candidates laugh off Trump no-show at TV debate

Republican presidential candidates lost no time in taking advantage of a rare opportunity to step out of front-runner Donald Trump's shadow in the party's last debate before the Iowa caucuses.

The policy-heavy event in Des Moines offered a glimpse of what the Republican contest might have been without the unpredictable billionaire businessman - but the candidates could not resist lampooning Mr Trump for boycotting the final debate before voting kicks off in the 2016 campaign on Monday.