BARACK OBAMA

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee opened consideration of its long-delayed healthcare reform bill on Tuesday, with affordability topping the list of concerns for Democrats who control the panel.

President Barack Obama challenged the world on Tuesday to act swiftly to fight global warming but offered no new proposals that could jumpstart stalled talks on a U.N. climate pact.

President Barack Obama Tuesday urged world action to fight climate change, saying a failure to tackle the problem could lead to an irreversible catastrophe in years to come.

Following is a list of major meetings in the run-up to a climate talks in Copenhagen in December meant to agree a new pact to fight global warming.

China appealed at the last minute on Tuesday against a World Trade Organization ruling upholding parts of a U.S. complaint about Chinese restrictions on imports of films, books and other audio-visual material.

Troops shot dead a Palestinian motorist in Israel on Tuesday, saying he failed to stop at a border checkpoint coming from the West Bank and later drove at soldiers seeking to detain him at a fuel station.

China and the United States, the world's top greenhouse gas emitters, will try to ignite efforts on Tuesday to secure a U.N. global warming pact as worries grow of a dangerously close deadlock in talks.

The White House kept insurance companies squarely in its sights on Tuesday in the push for healthcare reform by releasing research showing that health insurance premiums have risen far faster than inflation in every U.S. state.

Hassan Nemazee, a fund-raiser for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, has been indicted for defrauding Bank of America, HSBC and Citigroup Inc out of more than $290 million in loan proceeds, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday.

President Barack Obama will broker his first summit of Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday but is given little chance of achieving a breakthrough toward relaunching long-stalled peace talks.

Honduras was deep in crisis after President Manuel Zelaya's surprise return to the Central American country raised the specter of violent street protests and a diplomatic fight with Brazil.

President Barack Obama insisted he can overhaul the U.S. healthcare system without raising taxes for anyone but the wealthiest Americans, in a media barrage on Sunday as he sought to take control of the debate on his top domestic policy priority.

The United States will urge world leaders this week to launch a new push in November to rebalance the world economy, but there are doubts national governments will bow to external advice.

President Barack Obama will deliver his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday and lay out his foreign policy vision.

President Barack Obama's multitasking abilities will be tested this week as he juggles war, diplomacy and finance on a high-profile world stage along with the American public's top concern: the U.S. economy.

The Afghan war will be lost unless more troops are sent to pursue a radically revised strategy, the top U.S. and NATO commander said in a confidential assessment that lays out stark choices for President Barack Obama.

Persuading Europe, the United States and China to accept International Monetary Fund advice on economic polices may be difficult, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday.

Recession is set to cause the sharpest fall in world greenhouse gas emissions in 40 years, according to an estimate on Monday as world leaders gathered in New York to try to break deadlock on a new climate treaty.

Russia's top general said on Monday that plans to deploy missiles in an enclave next to Poland had not been shelved, despite a decision by the United States to rethink plans for missile defense in Europe.

President Barack Obama travels to New York on Monday to promote his strategy to improve the U.S. economy by spending on education and innovation, as he shifts his focus from healthcare reform to a week of diplomacy and international economic issues.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan says in a confidential assessment of the war that without additional forces the mission will likely result in failure.