Dublin  - As Ireland's Progressive Democrats (PDS) ground to a halt at the weekend, it seemed fitting, given the collapse of the low-taxation Celtic Tiger economy, that the party which peddled liberal free-market economic policies was "no longer politically viable."

One of the junior parties in the Irish coalition government, the PDs, which have just two seats in the lower house or Dail, voted to wind up the party by 201 votes to 161.

Dublin - Czech President Vaclav Klaus was due to meet Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen on an official state visit to Ireland Monday.

Klaus and Cowen would discuss the Czech Republic's upcoming presidency of the European Union, the global financial crisis and the Lisbon Treaty, a statement from Cowen's office in Dublin said.

The Czech Republic assumes the EU presidency on January 1. Prague has been a vocal opponent of the Lisbon Treaty aimed at streamlining the 27-member bloc's decision-making process, which Ireland rejected in a popular vote in June.

Klaus was due to meet Irish President Mary McAleese Monday morning and visit tourist sites in Dublin and the south-western city of Cork on Tuesday and Wednesday.

London - Ceremonies took place across Britain and Ireland on Sunday to remember the servicemen and women who lost their lives in armed conflict.

Queen Elizabeth II led Remembrance Sunday events by laying a traditional poppy wreath at the Cenotaph in London's Whitehall.

Remembrance services, which take place on the Sunday closest to November 11, the date of the end of World War I, this year fall two days before the 90th anniversary of the end of that conflict.

Military performances are due to take place in London's Trafalgar Square to commemorate the anniversary.

The war dead were also commemorated in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, as well as in other cities and towns across Britain and Ireland.

London - The political leaders of Northern Ireland Wednesday hailed the election of Barack Obama as the next US president and said they wished to continue their "mutual beneficial relationship" with the United States.

Peter Robinson, the Protestant leader of Northern Ireland's power- sharing government, said he was looking forward to working with an Obama administration and to continuing the "mutually beneficial relationship that Northern Ireland has developed with the United States over the years."

Dublin - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen on Wednesday congratulated Senator Barack Obama on being elected president of the United States, saying Obama's election was "a day of hope for the world".

"Barack Obama's remarkable personal story - allied to his eloquence and his huge political talents - sends a powerful message of hope to America's friends across the world."

"There is a palpable sense of history with the election of the first African-American president.

Dublin - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen on Wednesday congratulated Senator Barack Obama on being elected president of the United States, saying Obama's election was "a day of hope for the world".

"Barack Obama's remarkable personal story - allied to his eloquence and his huge political talents - sends a powerful message of hope to America's friends across the world."

"There is a palpable sense of history with the election of the first African-American president.

"On this day, we are all reminded of those who struggled for civil rights in America for so many years, as well as all of those who work for justice and peace around the world today."