Washington - US President George W Bush plans to meet Thursday in Washington with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain as well as congressional leaders to discuss the ongoing US financial crisis and a proposed 700-billion-dollar rescue.

Congress turned increasingly skeptical in hearings Wednesday toward the Bush administration's bailout plan. The president was scheduled to give a television address to the nation late Wednesday.

Washington - Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain issued a joint statement late Wednesday on the ongoing financial crisis and proposed 
700-billion-dollar rescue plan to revive credit markets.

The American people are facing a moment of economic crisis. No matter how this began, we all have a responsibility to work through it and restore confidence in our economy. The jobs, savings, and prosperity of the American people are at stake," the two senators said.

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.