US President Barack Obama's wife Michelle and their daughters will tour Dublin during the G8 summit.

The last Chinese President, Hu Jintao, was unfailingly formal, but Washington is trying a different tack with his successor, Xi Jinping. He is due to meet US President Barack Obama tomorrow for a weekend “shirt-sleeves summit”, a smart-casual meeting at the 200-acre Sunnylands private estate in the Southern California desert location of Rancho Mirage.

Seven-day visit is the Prince's first to America since he caused outrage by being photographed naked during a weekend break in Las Vegas last year

The suspects in the Cleveland kidnapping are expected to be charged today as the investigation into their imprisonment for a decade continues.

The Obama administration might struggle with the US houses of governments over issues such as the economy and firearms, but there is one area that it remains on top: social media.

Suspect rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries during earlier shootout

President and First Lady fly in for service honouring victims

The Boston Marathon began with 26 seconds of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings and a little more than two hours later, lead runners passed through the last mile marker while was decorated with the seal of Newtown, Connecticut, and dedicated to the memory of the 20 children and six adults killed on December 14.

Barack Obama is to forgo 5 per cent of his official salary in a move designed to show common cause with government workers hit by the so-called sequestration – budget cuts that are eliminating overtime for some and forcing others to take an unpaid leave of absence.

Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé are among at least 17 high-profile victims whose personal financial details have been published online by hackers.

Beijing has prevented a Tibetan poet, Tsering Woeser, from travelling to the US to pick up an international women’s award by refusing to issue her a passport.

Hey ladies, it’s our day today. Some might say that half the population need more than just 24 hours... and we’d agree. But with global events shedding light on women’s rights, and Michelle Obama recognising extraordinary heroines, it’s a small step in the right direction.

Phew! It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Michelle Obama (though probably not as busy as when she was a vice-president of the University of Chicago Medical Centre and a mother-of-two with a partner who was off politicking all the blooming time). She’s been on American TV six times in the past fortnight, promoting her healthy-living “Let’s Move!” campaign. US right-wingers have moaned she’s not a celebrity; we say, give her a show!

By turns pugnacious and inspirational, Barack Obama last night used his State of the Union address to table a laundry list of aspirations for his second term that ranged from achieving tax reform to increasing the minimum wage and tackling issues from gun control to immigration and climate change.