US President Obama delivers State of the Union Address

(Vatican Radio) US President Barack Obama has delivered his fifth official State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Taking a pragmatic tone, he told lawmakers in the chamber that he plans to take several executive actions - meaning he won't need their backing - on issues including the minimum wage, calling 2014 a 'year of action', in particular on economic inequality.

Mr Obama told his audience, of around 30 million Americans, that despite economic recovery, there is still too much inequality in America, and he would use his own power, without Congress, to try and change that.

In his wide ranging address, the US President focused mainly on domestic issues, including raising the federal minimum wage and restoring unemployment benefits, as well as his signature health care reform. Obama spoke, too, about the need for a broad reform of the nation’s immigration policy.

On foreign policy, Obama called for support of an interim nuclear deal on Iran, and spoke about the role of American diplomacy in peace talks in the Middle East, especially in Syria. He also spoke about the need to close the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Listen to Sean Patrick Lovett's report: