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President Obama and his wife Michelle will not be invited to Prince William's wedding next year. Because Prince William is not yet heir to the throne, his wedding to Kate Middleton is not classed as a ‘state occasion’ – and the couple feel under no pressure to fill the 2,000-strong guest list with heads of state, the Mail understands. They are more eager to ask ordinary citizens and charity workers than foreign dignitaries and VIPs to what will be the first royal ‘people’s wedding’, courtiers suggested. A handful of heads of state are likely to be invited in line with...

Barack Obama 'will repair image of US in UK' By Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester Last Updated: 2:50am GMT 07/03/2008 America needs to work hard to regain the trust of the British public following the Iraq war and the Bush years, a senior adviser to Barack Obama says today. Samantha Power, a former journalist, advises Barack Obama on foreign policy In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Samantha Power, who is a key member of the Presidential hopeful's foreign policy team, says anti-Americanism is now "vehement" in the United Kingdom. "A restoration of trust will have to occur between the...

After the particularily insulting and disengenious comments made about President Bush on this weeks 'Any Questions' on BBC radio -in which the panel rejoyced that Britain and America are 'no longer joined at the hip'- I would assert that the British liberal intellegencia, with its forgetfullness of history, have not only abandoned, but forgotten the meaning of the 'special relationship' and its benefits. In his very insulting performance with the President at the Camp David press conference Gordon Brown suspended this special relatonship; at least for the period that he or the Republicans remain in office (including the possibility of...

Britain's special relationship 'just a myth' Toby Harnden in Washington A senior American official has spoken of "the myth of the special relationship" between the United States and Britain, arguing that Tony Blair got "nothing, no payback" for supporting President George W Bush in Iraq. Kendall Myers, a leading State Department adviser, suggested that Mr Blair should have been ditched by Labour but the party had lacked the "courage or audacity" to remove him. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, was "shrewd, astute" to have distanced himself from America. In candid comments that will embarrass Mr Bush and Mr Blair, the...

For those hoping that a second term would cool the seething resentment of George Bush and his supporters over having to live in a democratic society, it was a sobering moment: Bush Resubmits 20 Nominations for Federal JudgeshipsDec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President George W. Bush will resubmit 20 federal judicial nominations, reigniting a battle with Democrats who accuse the nominees of hostility to abortion rights and the environment.The list includes seven of the 10 candidates whose nominations failed during Bush's first term because of Democratic filibusters that blocked Senate confirmation votes. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called the nominees...

About 100 American and British aircraft took part in an attack on Iraq's major western air defence installation yesterday in the biggest single operation over the country for four years. The raid appeared to be a prelude to the type of special forces operations that would have to begin weeks before a possible American-led war. It was launched two days before a war summit between President George W Bush and Tony Blair in America. The Prime Minister promised that Britain would be alongside the Americans "when the shooting starts". The raid seemed designed to destroy air defences to allow easy...