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Obama to rally Senate Dems on healthcare

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- President Obama prepared to rally Senate Democrats Sunday on a healthcare bill bogged down by abortion, a public option and a Medicare panel, officials said.

Obama was to meet with Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other Senators in a rare Sunday session ahead of possible debate Monday on key amendments.

Conservative Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has threatened to filibuster reform legislation unless it contains restrictions on abortion coverage and the Senate has yet to find common ground on a government-run public option for health insurance.

Also up for discussion is the scope of an independent Medicare Advisory Board, which would have the power to rein in Medicare spending if costs continue to rise after 2014, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

The Obama administration views the board as a critical to effective healthcare reform while the AARP, a powerful group representing retirees, has said the board would irreparably damage the Medicare program, The Post reported.

Senate Republicans Saturday failed to eliminate $42.1 billion in cuts to Medicare home care provisions in the proposed $848 billion healthcare bill, CNN reported Sunday.

If the Senate manages to pass a heathcare bill, it still would need to merge with the more than $1 trillion bill narrowly approved by the House of Representatives.

Romanians vote in presidential runoff

BUCHAREST, Romania, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Romanians voted Sunday in a presidential election runoff pitting incumbent Traian Basescu against former Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana.

Basescu, supported by the Democrat Liberal Party, sought a second five-year term. Geoana leads the Social Democratic Party.

Basescu and Geoana emerged on top in a first round of voting Nov. 29, with Basecu garnering 32.44 percent of the vote and Geoana 31.5 percent. Under Romanian law, a runoff is mandatory if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

Romania's deep economic crisis was a contentious point of debate during the presidential campaign, RIA Novosti reported Sunday.

The International Monetary Fund blocked a $2.2 billion bailout loan after Romanian leaders failed to resolve a political crisis and agree to budget cuts for 2010.

Morales favored in Bolivian election

LA PAZ, Bolivia, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Incumbent Evo Morales was favored by a wide margin in Sunday's presidential election in Bolivia, polls indicated.

Morales, 50, had strong support from the indigenous majority, which comprises more than 60 percent of Bolivia's population, The New York Times reported.

Morales, the first indigenous president, was seeking a second five-year term in an election against Manfred Reyes Villa, a former army officer, and Samuel Doria Medina, who made his fortune in the cement business.

Morales is so popular the election was played out in a wrestling ring in La Paz, where a wrestler portraying Morales physically flattened his opponents to the delight of the crowd, the BBC reported.

Morales gained popularity with Bolivia's indigenous people by nationalizing the natural gas industry in 2006 and redistributing profits to the poor. If elected to a second term, Morales has said he would develop his country's vast lithium reserves and start state cement, dairy, fertilizer and pharmaceutical companies, the BBC reported.

Witnesses: Club fire victims trapped

PERM, Russia, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The victims of a nightclub fire that killed more than 100 people in the Urals region of Russia were trapped behind locked doors, witnesses said Saturday.

Witnesses told RIA Novosti that security guards at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm tried to break down sealed doors as more than 200 people headed for the one marked exit. The fire has been blamed on a fireworks display during a celebration of the club's anniversary.

A witness who would give only his first name, Sergei, said he was a friend of two women who were dancing on stage and they were able to get out through a rear entrance. But he said most of those in the club did not know about the back door.

Five people, including the club's owner, manager and the designer of the pyrotechnics display, were arrested Saturday. Vladimir Markin of the Russian Investigation Committee said possible charges include the taking of lives by violation of fire safety regulations.

Officials put the death toll at 107 Saturday and said many survivors had been severely injured.

President Dmitry Medvedev called for "full punishment" for those responsible for the deadly fire, saying they have "no brains and no conscience."