IBT Staff Reporter

A multi-billion dollar scheme driving clean-energy investment in poorer nations is faltering and urgently needs reforms mandated by negotiators at this month's U.N. climate talks, a report released on Friday said.

Bank of America Corp's board is scheduled to meet next Tuesday and may discuss the appointment of a new chief executive, a bank spokesman said.

The World Health Organization launched a campaign on Friday to try to stop what could become a health catastrophe caused by rapidly rising levels of smoking in Africa.

Children who get vaccinated against chickenpox may have a lower risk of developing shingles, a painful rash caused by the chickenpox virus, U.S. researchers said on Friday.

Health experts on Thursday called for more research funding to develop better diagnostic tests, vaccines and drugs for tuberculosis, which killed 1.8 million people around the world last year.

Russia and the United States are close to a deal to cut vast arsenals of nuclear weapons, Russia said Friday, as the world's two biggest atomic powers rush to replace a Cold War treaty that expires at midnight.

Inventories at U.S. factories increased for the first time in more than a year in October, while factory orders also rose an unexpected 0.6 percent, the Commerce Department said on Friday, in signs the manufacturing sector is returning to health.

Nepal's cabinet began a meeting close to the base camp of Mount Everest on Friday to send a message on the impact of global warming on the Himalayas, days before global climate talks start in Copenhagen.

A spokesman for Somalia's al Shabaab rebels denied on Friday that the group was behind a suicide bombing at a medical graduation ceremony that killed at least 22 people, including three government ministers.

On a small beach on South Korea's popular honeymooning island of Jeju a large blade spins against a cloudy sky, a noisy oddity for locals but a source of hope for emerging wind power gear makers eyeing a niche market.

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Friday ahead of the key monthly jobs report for November.

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Iran said it will provide the U.N. nuclear watchdog with the bare minimum of information about its plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants, a stance sure to stoke Western suspicions about its atomic agenda.

A jailed Mafia hitman linked Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to the Cosa Nostra on Friday, telling a court that a godfather convicted for a 1993 bombing campaign had boasted of his links to the media mogul.

Sharon Byers is unconvinced that human activities such as the burning of coal and other fossil fuels are behind climate change.

Guinea junta chief Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was on Friday flying to Morocco for medical checks after surviving a gun attack by a former military aide, a spokesman said.

U.S. employers cut far fewer jobs than expected last month in the best showing for the labor market since the recession began, boosting the U.S. dollar and global stock prices on hopes for a strong economic recovery.

H1N1 swine flu has not peaked yet but seems to be waning in Canada and the United States, signaling that the end of the pandemic may be on the horizon, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Four Britons held for a week in Iranian custody after their yacht strayed into Iran's waters returned home on Friday and thanked everyone who helped to get them freed.

The U.S. Senate backed a plan on Thursday to make it easier for women to get preventive health screenings such as mammograms as it cast its first votes on a sweeping healthcare overhaul.

Twenty-five NATO allies promised on Friday to send 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan, backing President Barack Obama's new war strategy and stepping up international efforts to defeat the Taliban.

Royal Bank of Canada said on Friday that quarterly profit rose 10 percent as strong domestic banking offset losses in its big U.S. operations, but the results were not as impressive as rivals have reported.

Asia's largest wind power generator, Longyuan Power Group Corp, and China's biggest shipbuilder, China Shipping Industry, will each raise over $2 billion in initial public offerings in Hong Kong and Shanghai, testing market appetite strained by a glut of recent listings.

Japanese brewer Suntory Holdings, which is in talks to merge with domestic rival Kirin Holdings, said on Friday it will buy a U.S. Pepsi bottler and may consider more such acquisitions.

No Cash for Goldman Bonuses; GM's Video Games Vision; Airlines Seek Tie-up

Cisco Systems has control over more than 90 percent of Norwegian target Tandberg, allowing it to squeeze out remaining shareholders, and create the world's leader in videoconferencing equipment.

Google Inc prides itself on setting trends and its $750 million buy of mobile advertising group AdMob may be no exception.

Kraft Foods posted its offer document to Cadbury Plc shareholders on Friday, triggering a 9.8 billion pound ($16.3 billion) takeover fight for the British chocolate maker.

AOL Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong has studied the turnaround of Apple Inc to chart his own course for the revival of the once powerful Internet company, according to a report from BusinessWeek.