
Prime Minister Gordon Brown flies to Washington Monday declaring European unity over the financial crisis despite a growing rift between major EU economies and member states from central and Eastern Europe.
United States Republicans have broadly welcomed President Barack Obama's plan to withdraw most troops from Iraq by 2010. However, they suggested he should give credit to his predecessor for stability brought by the surge strategy of pouring extra troops into Iraq.

Barack Obama, the US president, has announced that US combat forces will leave Iraq by August 2010.

The US House of Representatives passed on Wednesday a bill that should lead to the easing of restrictions on Cuban-Americans wanting to travel to Cuba. The provisions are part of a spending bill and must pass in the Senate - where it faces some opposition - before it becomes law.

President Barack Obama has unveiled a 3.6 trillion US dollars budget for 2010, aiming to pull the US out of financial crisis. Obama predicted the budget deficit for the current year will be 1.75 trillion US dollars, which is 12.3% of annual output and the biggest since World War II.

President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso have agreed to work together to stimulate economic demand and fight protectionism. At a meeting in Washington they also pledged to co-operate in diplomatic efforts over North Korea, a White House statement said. Mr Aso was the first foreign leader to be received by the US president.

Merrill Lynch & Co lost 15.84 billion US dollars in the fourth quarter, a regulatory filing showed, more than 500 million higher than the loss previously estimated by Bank of America Corp.

US President Barack Obama has addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time, warning that a day of reckoning has arrived for the US. Stressing the severity of the economic crisis, Mr Obama told lawmakers the US will emerge stronger when it ended.

US shares have fallen sharply on concerns about the government's latest attempts to shore up the banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday closed down 250.9 points, or 3.41%, at 7,114.8, its lowest since October 1997.

The US economic embargo on Cuba has failed and should be re-evaluated, senior Republican Senator Richard Lugar argues in a report.