US: President Obama wins laughs in stand-up routine at correspondent's ball

US President Barack Obama revealed he's a master of comic timing, as he poked fun at his political friends and foes during a speech.

The president was speaking at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where his annual stand-up routine is always a talking-point.

Mr Obama made a playful dig at Hillary Rodham Clinton who is the current front-runner to be the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential election.

The former First Lady recently embarked on a road trip to a key early-voting state in her bid to win the party's nomination. Commenting on a time of instability and uncertainty for Americans, Mr Obama joked: "For example, I have one friend just a few weeks ago, she was making millions of dollars a year and she's now living out of a van in Iowa."

The President also made fun of John Boehner, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, who invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress last month against a nuclear deal with Iran that the White House was negotiating with other world powers. The diplomatic spat deepened the rift between Washington and Tel Aviv.

Commenting on how his time in office has aged him, Mr Obama joked: "I look so old that John Boehner has already invited Netanyahu to speak at my funeral."

Clearly on a roll, the president won laughs as he quipped: "After the midterm elections, my advisers asked me, 'Mr. President, do you have a bucket list?' And I said, well, I have something that rhymes with bucket list ..."

During the speech the president employed an anger translator played by comedian Keegan-Michael Key, to vent his frustrations.

In a more serious moment during the proceedings, the President paid tribute toUS journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley who were murdered by Islamic State militants.