encyclopedia of current events

WASHINGTON - Representative Anthony D. Weiner, Democrat of New York, a fierce champion in Congress of a single-payer health system that would be fully run by the government, said Friday that he had agreed not to insist on a vote on that issue, in an effort to help Democratic leaders pass their plan.

Previously, Mr. Weiner had obtained a commitment from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to allow a vote on a proposal to create a single-payer system like the one used by Canada and many countries in Europe, including England, France and Spain.

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UN representatives have been working to create a draft political agreement to be presented at next month's climate change talks in Copenhagen.

But the lack of a legally binding deal at the five-day summit in Barcelona has left many at the talks disappointed.

With the clock ticking, this was meant to be the final step towards a global agreement. 

This gathering in Barcelona was to produce the next blueprint for the fight against climate change - the document all leaders would sign next month in Copenhagen.  Only - it hasn't - and they won't.

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Al Gore has sought to inject fresh momentum into the Copenhagen build-up, saying he is certain Barack Obama will attend and predicting a rise in civil disobedience against fossil-fuel polluters unless drastic action is taken over global warming.

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New research shows that ornamental plants can drastically reduce levels of stress and ill health and boost performance levels at work because they soak up harmful indoor air pollution.

Researchers have now identified five "super ornamental plants" which every workplace should have to clean up indoor air.

They include English ivy, waxy leaved plants and ferns.

According to a World Health organisation report in 2002, harmful indoor pollutants represent a serious health problem that is responsible for more than 1.6 million deaths each year.

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It seems that Hamid Karzai just can't be trusted on his own.

When he breasted the microphone at the presidential palace on October 20, to make an oblique admission that he attempted to steal the election and would go along with the second poll which he had resisted for weeks, he was flanked by a high-powered international posse - lest he depart from the agreed script.

On one side was the US Senator John Kerry; on the other, the United Nations special envoy Kai Eide; and riding shotgun were the British and French ambassadors.

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America's rate of unemployment crossed the 10 per cent mark in October to reach a 26-year high after jobless figures rose by 190,000 last month.

The non-farm payroll figure is above forecasts that 176,000 jobs had been lost last month. The rate of unemployment in America is now 10.2 per cent -- the highest since April 1983. The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 45.5 points to 9,960.46.

While October's job losses are above expectations, the total is below the 219,000 cuts recorded in September.

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The United Nations General Assembly has voted in favour of resolution endorsing a UN-sponsored report into war crimes committed during Israel's war on Gaza.

The Goldstone report, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes, was endorsed by the assembly on Thursday by a margin of 114 to 18, after two days of debate. 

Forty-four member-nations abstained from voting.

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Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced new legislation on Friday that should, he claims, solve the phenomenon of massive and failing financial institutions holding the nation's economy captive.

It's all of two pages long.

The Vermont Democrat-Socialist unveiled the "Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist Act" -- which he billed as a succinct remedy for tackling financial risk and avoiding a repeat of the taxpayer-funded bailouts that occurred just one year ago.

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Tegucigalpa - Ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya said Friday a deal aimed at ending the country's months-long crisis had failed after the interim leader announced a government without his participation.

"Practically speaking, we have decided not to continue with this theater of Mr Micheletti," Zelaya said, speaking on Radio Globo.

"The international community will have to see what measures" to take after the agreement faltered, he added. A Zelaya aide had earlier said the deal had "failed."

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Credit card companies are rushing to increase interest rates to historic highs of more than 30 percent, cut credit limits, and add new fees, even for customers who pay their bills on time.

Lenders are making the moves in advance of tougher federal regulations for credit cards scheduled to take effect on Feb. 22. The new rules will limit how companies can modify credit card agreements, specifically prohibiting them from retroactively raising interest rates and fees on existing balances.

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Of all the candidates, bills, and proposals on ballots around the country yesterday, one of the most exciting is a proposition that didn't pass.

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the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General is conducting a new investigation into a covert Bush administration Defense Department program that used retired military analysts to produce positive wartime news coverage.

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An amendment to allow states to pursue single-payer health care without incurring insurance-industry lawsuits was stripped from the House bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday, adding that it would break President Obama's commitment to people keeping their current insurance plan if they like it.

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Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan - Angry Afghan villagers protested Thursday against what they said was the killing of 11 civilians by foreign troops, but local authorities said only fighters were killed.

The NATO-led force said it had fired a rocket from the ground at a group it believed to be planting a roadside bomb in Babaji in Helmand province. It said it was not aware of any civilians in the area and was investigating the incident.

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The American Academy of Family physicians has prompted outcry and lost members over its new six-figure alliance with the Coca-Cola Co. The deal will fund educational materials about soft drinks for the academy's consumer health and wellness Web site, http://www.FamilyDoctor.org.

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