Washington - Republican candidate John McCain upstaged Democratic opponent Barack Obama by suspending his campaign to deal with the nation's financial crisis, an attempt to overcome the Arizona senator's perceived disadvantage on economic issues.

In taking the extraordinary step away from the campaign trail and heading to Washington, McCain hopes to show that he can set aside politics for the good of he country. He called on Obama to agree to a delay of the first presidential debate scheduled for Friday, so the two candidates can return to the US Senate.

Vienna - The European Union and the United States said Wednesday they were ready to start comprehensive talks with Iran on its nuclear programme, but also indicated their support for new measures should Tehran continue to defy the UN Security Council.

Many IAEA members are concerned about Iran's refusal to answer lingering questions over past research that could have been related to the development of nuclear weapons.

"We have to react," French Ambassador Francois-Xavier Deniau told the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. France holds the rotating EU presidency.

Washington- Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke Wednesday defended the US government's unprecedented interventions in capital markets over the past months, telling Congress that the stability of the US financial system faced "grave threats."

He painted a gloomy picture for future growth, saying "greater- than-normal uncertainty" surrounded any forecast of the pace of activity.

"The downside risks to the outlook ... remain a significant concern," Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress.

Washington - The economic turmoil in the United States has pushed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ahead of Republican rival John McCain, a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday showed.

Obama got the nod from 52 per cent of likely voters in the poll to 43 per cent for McCain. It was the first time since the primary season ended that Obama has taken a clear lead over McCain, the newspaper said. As recently as two weeks ago the race was a virtual tie, with McCain leading by a narrow margin.

Dublin - Dublin and Washington have signed a deal to allow 20,000 Irish school leavers to live and work in the US for 12 months and also allow 5,000 US citizens to live and work in Ireland for the same length of time, the Irish Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Micheal Martin signed the deal on Wednesday with US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte in Washington.

"This represents one of the most significant developments in our visa arrangements with the US in almost two decades," Martin said in a statement.