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President Barack Obama will push back the start of his year-end vacation by a day and remain in Washington while the Senate completes work on healthcare legislation, his top domestic priority.

“I will not leave until my friends in the Senate have completed their work,” the president told reporters Tuesday after a meeting with community bankers.

“My attitude is if they are making these sacrifices to provide health care to all Americans, the least I can do is be around and provide them any encouragement and last-minute help” they may need.

The first family was supposed to leave Wednesday for Hawaii, where Obama grew up, and where he likes to spend Christmas with his family every year.

The Senate voted in favour of the package early Tuesday in a party-line split, and is expected to have another preliminary vote Wednesday and a final vote Thursday at 8 a.m.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said at the morning briefing that the White House will “make a decision later this evening about when the president will leave” for Hawaii.

“As soon as we know the outcome of that decision, we will let you guys know. But, no decisions have been made at this point,” he said.

US President Barack Obama has vowed to remain in Washington until the health care reform bill wins Senate approval, effectively pushing back the departure date for his holiday vacation in Hawaii.

“I will not leave until my friends in the Senate have completed their work,” Obama said.

“My attitude is, is that if they’re making these sacrifices to provide health care to all Americans, then the least I can do is to be around and to provide them any encouragement and last-minute help if necessary,” he said.

Obama was scheduled to fly out Wednesday, but it appears the Senate won’t hold a final vote on the health care legislation until at least Thursday morning – Christmas Eve.

The Senate has been in late night and weekend sessions as it tries to wrap up business before the year ends, mostly focusing on a legislation that would overhaul the health care system and extend medical coverage to uninsured Americans.

This is the longest Senate session in years, and the first time since 1963 it has met on Christmas Eve, according to the Washington Post.

Reforming health care has been among Obama’s top priorities since he took office, and he appears close to the historic achievement that would mark the most significant change to the health system in decades.

The Senate bill nudged closer to passage earlier Tuesday when Democrats mustered the 60 votes needed in a key test vote. There will be one more vote to end debate in the next day before the final, simple majority vote.

Republicans have united in opposing the bill, arguing it will turn into a costly enlargement of the federal government. The bill would extend medical coverage to 30 million Americans without insurance. Democrats, along with two independents, control 60 of the 100 Senate seats.

The House of Representatives passed their version in November. Once the Senate measure passes, both chambers will have to work out differences in their respective bills before Obama can sign it into law, which could take place early next year.

Having arrived from Chinese capital Beijing, US President Barack Obama said here on Thursday that he will send a special envoy to North Korea next month to continue talks on ending Pyongyang’’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for massive aid.

Speaking at a joint news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Obama also said discussions are under way with U.S. allies about the consequences of Iran’’s lack of response to the nuclear deal offered to them.

Seoul is Obama’’s final stop of his eight-day mission to Asia. Prior to his arrival in the South Korean capital, Obama visited the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China, and described it as majestic.

As he descended from the Chinese landmark, he said:. “It reminds you of the sweep of history. And that our time here on Earth is not that long. So, we”d better make the best of it.”

In Seoul, Obama and Lee held a lengthy meeting with a focus on global economic concerns, and their desire to strengthen a critical security alliance.

They also discussed the situation on ground in Afghanistan, and how best to restart talks involving six countries over efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Obama has visited Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing.

US President Barack Obama has new concerns to address in addition to the stock of national and international problems – greying hair.

The 48-year-old leader confessed in a one of several interviews before heading for Seoul, that he had shed pounds and was left with more grey hair during his first year in the White House.

“My weight fluctuates by 30 pounds – it has for years,” the Telegraph quoted him as telling NBC television.

“I”m still wearing some of the same stuff I did when I got married 17 years ago.

“My hair’’s gotten a lot greyer, there’’s no doubt about that, but I”m not sure that’’s (not) just because I was about the age where my hair was going to start getting grey.”

Describing Tibet as part of China, US President Barack Obama on Tuesday supported the early resumption of talks between Beijing and representatives of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

“We did note that while we recognise that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China, the United States supports the early resumption of dialogue” between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing,” Obama said after his meeting with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.

China, which has governed Tibet since its troops occupied the territory in the 1950s, has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of leading a campaign to split the Himalayan region from the rest of the country.

The 74-year-old Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, has denied the allegations.

The last formal talks between the Dalai Lama’s envoys and Chinese officials, the seventh since 2002, ended in an impasse in July last year, with China demanding that he prove that he did not support Tibetan independence.

Obama, who is in on his maiden state visit to the Communist nation, warned Iran that it faced “consequences” if it failed to show greater openness on its nuclear programme.

“Iran has an opportunity to present and demonstrate its peaceful intentions but if it fails to take this opportunity, there will be consequences,” he said.

The US President said he and Hu want climate change talks in Copenhagen next month to result in a global deal that has “immediate operational effect.”

We “agreed to work toward a successful outcome in Copenhagen,” Obama told reporters.

“Our aim there is… not a partial accord or a political declaration, but rather an accord that covers all the issues in the negotiations and one that has immediate operational effect,” he said.

On North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, Obama said the six-party talks process should resume “as soon as possible”.

“We agreed on resuming the six-party talks process as soon as possible,” Obama said.

On his part, Hu said that both sides were “committed to dialogue and consultation in resolving the Korean peninsula nuclear issue.”

Hu said that the two countries “will continue to have consultations on an equal footing to properly resolve economic and trade frictions.”

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Iran has promised a reply by next week. At the same time the U.S. officials say they’re willing to wait a few more days for an Iranian response to the nuclear proposal.

The United States has signaled impatience with Iran after the Tehran government ignored a Friday deadline to respond to a U.N.-brokered deal aimed at easing concerns over its nuclear program.

The comments from the State Department came after Iran failed to provide a final response Friday.

The fact that if Tehran surrendered most of the uranium it has been processing at its Natanz enrichment facility it would ease worries that its effort is weapons related.

Under the scheme, Russia would further enrich the uranium to the 20 per cent purity needed for use in a research reactor in Tehran which produces medical isotopes but is running out of fuel.

Barack Obama is making attempts to inject some energy into Democrats and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s campaign for re-election. Having this in mind, today he appeared at a rally in the Garden State.

The event taking place at Fairleigh Dickinson Hackensack campus follows campaigns of Joe Biden and Bill Clinton for Corzine this week.

The Star-Ledger informs that in his yesterday’s statement before a crowd of more that 1,000 people Clinton said that the election could be really runaway if not people who are hurting.

This can be also said about their bank accounts. The Democratic party is looking for so vitally essential support.

On Tuesday, the president introduced Bill Thompson, Democratic mayoral candidate, at the Hammerstein ballroom in New York City. The president spent the day trying to raise funds.

According to recent polls, Corzine competed with Chris Christie representing the Republicans, who was leading with a double number of votes.

The polls also indicated hat minimum one-fourth of the Democrats are not going to give votes for Corzini.

Barack Obama celebrated Diwali by lighting the ceremonial lamp at the White House amidst chanting of Vedic mantras seeking world peace, becoming the first US President to personally grace the occasion.

“I think it’s fitting that we begin this work in the week leading up to the holiday of Diwali — the festival of lights — when members of some of the world’s greatest faiths celebrate the triumph of good over evil,” Obama said in his remarks on the occasion at a White House function held at its historic East Room on Wednesday.

This is for the first time that a US President attended and celebrated Diwali at the White House – thus giving an official recognition to the festival of lights celebrated across the world by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.

“This coming Saturday, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, here in America and around the world, will celebrate this holiday by lighting ‘Diyas’, or lamps, which symbolise the victory of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance,” Obama said.

Among those present at the occasion were several eminent members of the Indian community, nearly half a dozen members of his Cabinet and several Indian American members of his administration.

The visiting Union Minister of Commerce, Anand Sharma, and Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar graced the occasion.

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Washington: Receiver of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009, US President Barack Obama, would like to donate his prize money of USD 1.4 million, to charity, White House has said.

“He (Obama) mentioned specifically to me on Friday that the (prize) money would be donated to charity,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

“There will be a process to evaluate that, from his perspective. I assume it will be many different charities. But he has not told me or anybody else here the specifics of what those might be,” he said.

Gibbs, however, said the US President has not told anybody to what charities the money would go.

It is unusual to hear that a person who created dynamite can get award of the Nobel Peace Prize as it is always considered that such prize should be related to peace, hope and progress in the world.

Such situation is paradoxical as when President Barack Obama who got a peace prize, decided to increase military spending in the Middle East and at the same time reduced forces.

But on should speak not about those people who get such prizes but the corruption and political correctness of the Nobel Peace Prize committee.

Moreover this is not the first time when it happens so, it is better even to look back at past winners as several of them did not present the ideal and virtues of peace.

On can take Yasser Arafat for instance, he was involved with the 1972 Munich Olympic Games Massacre and the 1973 Khartoum diplomatic assassinations that were related to the Palestinian militant group, but he got the Nobel prize.

Alfred Nobel, the creator of the prize, considers that the prize is awarded to those who brought the greatest benefit on mankind.

But still it will be right to award those people who promote peace on a localized or state basis. A person generating value by his acts should be recognized and treated.