Recently in the Political News Category

Brian Boyd, The Irish Times

BONO, AFTER a few impatient months spent recuperating from back surgery, has resumed tour duties - and is also back bending politicians' ears and arguing the case of Africa's poor and the continuing scourge of HIV and Aids on the continent.

In Russia this week for a U2 show, the now 50-year-old singer took the time to meet the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev. Bono wasn't talking rock riffs with the music-loving leader: he was making the case for Russia to write off the money owed to it by poverty-stricken African countries, and explaining how 40 US cents a day could eliminate the transfer of HIV from mother to child by 2015.

Bono's humanitarian and advocacy work on behalf of the African continent has seen him nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded a knighthood in the British honours list. "Believe me, I know how absurd it is to have a rock star talk about the World Health Organisation or debt relief or HIV/Aids in Africa," he has said of his time strolling the corridors of power in his leather jacket and sunglasses.

Luke Harding, The Guardian

It had seemed like a relationship that was destined to be long and even meaningful, but now it appears to have gone wrong very quickly.

Against a balmy Black Sea backdrop, U2's frontman, Bono, and Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, had swapped views on poverty, ecology and music on Tuesday. Bono even made fun of Medvedev's devotion to Deep Purple. "I come here to cross the great divide between me, a Led Zeppelin fan and you, the Deep Purple fan," Bono joked, strolling next to Russia's leader at his summer residence.

A day later, U2's first concert in Russia ended in political controversy.

The Moscow authorities took a dim view when activists from Amnesty and Greenpeace put up tents at the concert venue and invited fans to sign petitions. Officials detained five Amnesty volunteers hours before the show started and ordered others to remove their Amnesty T-shirts and to tear down their headquarters.

Russia (Reuters Life!) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed U2 frontman Bono to tea on Tuesday ahead of the group's first ever Russian concert, and the Irish musician asked for Russia's help in fighting AIDS.

"Taking care of people is not just what politicians do," self-proclaimed rock music lover Medvedev told Bono, adding that U2's music has united generations of people.

Their meeting on the sun-drenched veranda of Medvedev's summer residence on the Black Sea comes a day before U2 take to the Moscow stage for their first ever performance in Russia.

Earlier this month in Italy, U2 resumed their 360 Degree Tour following a two-month absence while Bono recovered from a back injury.

Writes 'NY Times' piece on 1972 massacre in Northern Ireland

By Daniel Kreps, Rollingstone

In his latest New York Times op-ed piece, Bono relives his own experiences of "Bloody Sunday," one of the deadliest days of "The Troubles" conflict between Northern Ireland and England, and celebrates the new British Prime Minister's decision to take blame for the massacre. "Bloody Sunday," the tragic event that inspired U2's hit "Sunday Bloody Sunday," took place January 30th, 1972, when members of the British Army opened fire on a group of unarmed civil rights protesters in the Northern Irish town of Derry, killing 14, including seven teenagers.

"It was a day that caused the conflict between the two communities in Northern Ireland -- Catholic nationalist and Protestant unionist -- to spiral into another dimension: every Irish person conscious on that day has a mental picture of Edward Daly, later the bishop of Derry, holding a blood-stained handkerchief aloft as he valiantly tended to the wounded and the dying," Bono writes.

Nancy Koehn, Washington Post

Today, Bono, the U2 singer, global activist and one of the most powerful leaders on the world stage, turns 50. At this important milestone, it is worth briefly taking stock of his journey thus far--a journey of purpose, impact, passion, and humor. It is a path with lessons for leaders from all walks of life.

Let's begin by considering all the roads Bono (who was born Paul David Hewson in Dublin) did NOT take as he has traveled these last five decades. He has never been the CEO of a major company. He has never held public office or scored a big campaign contribution. He did not graduate from an elite university. He did not make most of his considerable wealth in the global equity or debt markets.

Candid moment between Bono and John McCain
at Wednesday night's event

A Bono-fied humanitarian's in town for an award

By Barbara Harrison, NBC Washington

An honorary knight and a former president are being feted by the prestigious Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.

U2 lead singer Bono and former President Bill Clinton will take home awards tonight, and not for the interest they share in music. They are being acknowledged in the nation's capital for their distinguished work on the international stage in the interest of peace around the globe.

Bono will receive the Council's first-ever Humanitarian Leadership Award. Known worldwide for his music, Bono also has earned respect and praise for his longtime crusade against global poverty. The Queen of England tapped the Ireland native for honorary knighthood two years ago for his outstanding efforts for the world's poor and downtrodden.

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.