Obama thanks McCain for remarks, presses attack

PHILADELPHIA/DAVENPORT, Iowa (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama praised his rival John McCain for toning down the vitriol of the U.S. presidential race on Saturday but pressed an effort to cast him as out of touch on the economy.

Congressman says McCain sowing "seeds of hatred"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic congressman John Lewis, a veteran civil rights leader, accused Republican John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin on Saturday of "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" and said it reminded him of the segregationist era of Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

Obama holds 4-point lead on McCain

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama holds a 4-point lead over Republican rival John McCain in a tight race for the White House, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Saturday.

Palin says report says she acted lawfully

ARLINGTON, Virginia (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin acted "within proper and lawful authority" in removing the state's public safety commissioner, the McCain-Palin Republican presidential ticket said on Friday in response to a state report.

Republican anger bubbles up at McCain rally

LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee John McCain was booed at his own rally on Friday as he tried to rein in increasingly raw anger among supporters stunned by Democrat Barack Obama's lead in the polls.

Obama welcomes Paulson plan to buy equity in firms

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday welcomed a plan by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to buy equity in financial institutions if necessary to halt market turmoil.

NY teachers union sues over ban on political pins

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With just 25 days to the U.S. presidential election on November 4, a union of New York City teachers filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to overturn a rule that forbids teachers from wearing campaign buttons in school.

Bush ex-aide says economic woes a security risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economic crisis sweeping the United States and an upcoming change in the country's leadership make it vulnerable to terrorist attack, a former aide to President George W. Bush said on Friday.

Obama says U.S. has tools for crisis, must use them

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - White House Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday that U.S. policymakers have the tools they need to address the deepening financial crisis but it is crucial that they use them right away.

Bush says financial crisis needs coordinated response

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Saturday said the financial crisis will require a global coordinated response and the top industrial nations will work together to solve it as quickly as possible.

UK will lead the way, says Brown

Gordon Brown promises Britain will "lead the way" through the global financial crisis, ahead of an emergency EU summit in Paris.

'Progress made' in Iceland talks

Significant progress has been made over frozen UK cash in failed Icelandic banks, say Treasury and Icelandic officials.

Lib Dems demand cut in income tax

The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats renews his demand for a 2p cut in income tax as part of a "radical" economic package.

Brown demands petrol price cuts

Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls for falls in the price of oil to be passed on to consumers "as quickly as possible".

UK 'ignored Iceland bank warning'

The government is accused of ignoring warnings in July that Iceland's banks faced collapse.

Mandelson to take seat in Lords

Peter Mandelson is to take his seat in the House of Lords on Monday following his surprise return to the cabinet.

Race open for new Lib Dem leader

Nominations open for the next leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats after Mike German's farewell speech to the party.

Livingstone backs mayor Met role

Ken Livingstone defends the right of London's mayor to dismiss the Met Commissioner, while criticising Sir Ian Blair's exit.

MP seeks support for calls to save Skull Splitter ale

A House of Commons motion is tabled aimed at protecting a Scottish brewery's ale called Skull Splitter.

Happy talk

Should politicians focus on making us happier not richer?

Martha's week

The stakes could not be any higher for Gordon Brown

Mardell's Europe

French foreign minister out on the road

Time for reform?

Financial crisis casts doubt on the IMF's effectiveness

Nick Robinson

PM finds time for light humour amid banking turmoil

From the archives

When Britain clashed with Iceland over cod

MoD computer hard drive missing

Police are investigating the disappearance of a computer hard drive which could hold details of about 100,000 of the Armed Forces.

New plan to combat Taleban

The UK government mulls a radical plan to counter growing Taleban propaganda in Afghanistan, the BBC learns.

Airport expansion gets go-ahead

Plans to expand Stansted Airport to deal with an extra 10 million passengers get the go-ahead from the government.

SNP renews election ballot call

The SNP renews its appeal to Westminster to give the Scottish Parliament full responsibility for elections in Scotland.

Darling in US for finance meeting

Alistair Darling is flying to Washington to discuss ways to continue to tackle the global banking crisis.

As it happened: Bank rescue plan

Updates with all the key points, expert reaction and your views as the UK government unveils its bank rescue plans.

Councils 'not reckless with cash'

The government defends the actions of local authorities which invested more than £840m with now-failed Icelandic banks.

Rescue plan for banks unveiled

The UK government announces a package of measures to help the banking system which could total £500bn ($880bn).

Tories seek bank plan assurances

The Tories and Lib Dems say they support the government's banking rescue package but argue there must be some conditions.

Cabinet couple cleared on claims

Husband and wife cabinet ministers Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper have been cleared over the use of their expenses by Parliament's standards watchdog.

Government computer jobs axed

Thousands of jobs working on government computer contracts will go over the next two years, unions are told.

Schools told to counter extremism

Schools in England are given advice on how to protect pupils from being recruited by supporters of violent extremism.

2012 to be 'cosier' than Beijing

Boris Johnson says the London 2012 Olympics will deliver a better spectator experience than Beijing for half the money.

PM 'keen' to visit Glenrothes

Gordon Brown has indicated he is "very keen" to join Labour's by-election campaign in Glenrothes, the Scottish secretary says.

MPs' smacking ban attempt fails

A cross-party group of MPs fails to force through a ban in England and Wales on the smacking of children.

EU moves to reassure savers

European Union finance ministers agree to increase the guarantee for customers' bank savings to at least 50,000 euros.

Brown critic 'ends hostilities'

One of Gordon Brown's leading critics, backbench MP George Howarth, says his campaign for a Labour leadership contest is over.

Election dates set to be merged

The government is to press ahead with plans to hold the 2009 English local and European elections on the same day

UK must assist Scotland - Salmond

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond is asked for reassurance about major public projects during FMQs.

Brian Taylor's political blog

Dummy puff/betsan blog

Stand-off could 'go on to 2009'

The Stormont Executive might not meet before the end of this year, Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey says.

Mark Devenport's political blog

Dummy puff/betsan blog

Davidson will stand down in 2011

Sustainability Minister Jane Davidson confirms she will stand down as an assembly member at the next election to Cardiff Bay.

Betsan Powys' political blog

Dummy puff/betsan blog

The Cabinet: Who's Who

Here is a minister-by-minister guide to the members of Gordon Brown's Cabinet.

Shadow Cabinet: Who's Who

Here is a minister-by-minister guide to the members of Tory leader David Cameron's Cabinet.

In full: Lib Dem front bench

Here is a spokesman-by-spokesman guide to the members of Nick Clegg's front bench team.

A-Z of Parliament

Inside Europe

Congressman says McCain 'sowing seeds of hatred' (AP)

AP - Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and veteran of the civil rights movement, says the negative tone of the Republican presidential campaign reminds him of the hateful atmosphere that segregationist Gov. George Wallace fostered in Alabama in the 1960s.