Recently in the Political News Category

By Kenneth Haynes, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Bono reached out to Sarah Palin when she was running for Vice President and briefed her on his worldwide agenda, Palin has revealed.

The call came at the height of the presidential campaign in 2008, when Palin was under fire for her lack of international experience.

In her new book, "Going Rogue," the former Vice Presidential candidate says Bono was one of several leading personalities she spoke and met with when she became a national figure.

Others included actor Warren Beatty, singer Hank Williams Jr., former football coach Mike Ditka and actor Robert Duvall.

Patrick Barkham, Guardian.co.uk

More than 30 years a rock star, Nobel peace prize nominee and honorary knight - but what does Bono have to do to become a Twitter trending topic?

The band's frontman became a villain on the web today moments after he turned up as a support act at the Tory conference. While the Tories hoped Bono's surprise address - via a giant videoscreen - would provide a shot of welcome celebrity pizzazz, the singer could hardly have imagined his appearance would have such a swift impact on his profile.

Many of the responses on Twitter were hostile as the tag #BonoToryScum quickly spread over the social networking site. "Look for U2's new song called Where the Streets Have No Low-Income Housing," tweeted Deadeye_Dick.

Jenny Booth, Times Online

Bono, the rock singer and anti-poverty campaigner, made a surprise appearance at the Conservative conference today in a video message played before David Cameron's address.

The video gave a celebrity boost to Mr Cameron's biggest speech of the year, and cemented the impression that power and influence are draining away from Labour in favour of the Conservatives.

"Hello there, if you can swallow an Irish man saying what's great about Great Britain, indulge me for a minute. Because what's happened over the last few years in Britain's relationship with the developing world has been so inspiring to me," he said in the short, pre-recorded message.

The U2 singer and aid campaigner encouraged the Tories not to cut spending on international development despite large budget cuts in other areas, but to keep to the target of spending 7 per cent of GDP on aid.

AMERICA: The Obama generation now lords it over the Reagan generation and Bono is their bard, writes LARA MARLOWE

MENTION THE Lisbon Treaty referendum here and your American interlocutor's eyes glaze over. But tell them you have tickets for a U2 concert and they exclaim, moan and beg to go with you.

On Tuesday, a White House correspondent asked in all seriousness at the daily briefing whether Bono, The Edge or Larry Mullen would attend President Barack Obama's policy meeting on Sudan and Darfur.

That evening, a friend offered me a lift to Maryland, in exchange for one of my precious tickets. The Mapquest print-out said it would take 26 minutes, but the massive tailback started just after we crossed the District of Columbia line.

By David W. Chen, New York Times

In hindsight, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg acknowledged, grudgingly, on Friday, taking a helicopter flight from Manhattan to New Jersey to catch a U2 concert may not have been the most environmentally friendly way to travel.

Especially since Mr. Bloomberg had events on Thursday and Friday that were meant to burnish his environmental record.

On Thursday, Mr. Bloomberg, joined by former Vice President Al Gore, unveiled a program to paint rooftops white to reduce energy usage. On Friday, the mayor promoted a plan to offer energy-efficiency tips to 1,000 superintendents and building managers.

Alison Shevlin, Irish Times

DUBLIN'S LORD Mayor Cllr Emer Costello was the first person to sign a book of solidarity that has been opened in City Hall for imprisoned Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

U2's Bono sent a message of support for the move. The band was jointly awarded the freedom of Dublin city with Suu Kyi in 2000.

The book calls for the immediate release of the pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was sentenced to a further 18 months by a military-controlled court in Burma (Myanmar) last week for breaching terms of her house arrest.

UKPA

U2 have condemned the Burmese government as a "bunch of crooks" for the "mock trial" of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The band - huge critics of the regime - were angered by the further 18-month house arrest of the pro-democracy leader.

By Ashok Selvam, Daily Herald Staff

Senior Pastor and Founder Bill Hybels addresses the crowd before Bono and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair speak via videocast at Willow Creek Community Church's annual Leadership Summit.

Did you read the tweets about how Willow Creek Community Church Pastor Bill Hybels challenged U2 frontman Bono about his reluctance to attend church?

Thousands who attended day two of the South Barrington church's 15th annual Leadership Summit made use of the building's Wi-Fi, posting nonstop Twitter updates about interviews with Bono, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, CNN political analyst David Gergen and other speakers.

More than 6,600 people attended the two-day conference at the South Barrington campus. The event also was broadcast to 55 countries in 28 languages; 74,000 people watched it in United States.

U2 frontman Bono Vox took the chance to get up-to-date on global hunger recently by chatting with WFP's Executive Director Josette Sheeran before going on stage for the Irish band's sell-out concert in Amsterdam.

AMSTERDAM -- U2 frontman Bono Vox took the chance to get up-to-date on global hunger this week by chatting with WFP's head, Josette Sheeran, before going on stage for the Irish band's sell-out concert in Amsterdam.

During their meeting, Sheeran gave the singer one of the distinctive red cups which symbolise WFP's 'Fill the Cup' campaign to raise funds to help the 66 million children in the world who go to school hungry.

Inspire Magazine

Rock legend and poverty campaigner Bono has confirmed his participation by videocast at The Global Leadership Summit 2009 in Newcastle in November.

Some 54 countries worldwide will be hosting a videocast replay of the Leadership Summit, organised by Willow Creek Church in Chicago. Worldwide attendance is anticipated to top 50,000 delegates as The Leadership Summit's renown for top-class training for church leaders continues to grow.

Bono, the leader singer of the Irish rock band U2, will talk in an exclusive video about the Church's inspiring response and about his continuing life journey as a "single issue protagonist".