Washington  - The US Chamber of Commerce Tuesday threw its weight behind a bill being introduced in the US Senate which would eliminate the ban on most US travel to the Caribbean island.

The bill, which has strong momentum in both parties, is seen as a first step towards reexamining the overall restrictions on US trade with the communist island.

"The US embargo on Cuba is a 50-year failure, and lifting the ban on travel is a good first step toward a more rational policy," said Myron Brilliant, a top official in the business group.

Washington - US legislators on Tuesday unveiled far-reaching climate legislation that would boost incentives for renewable energy and for the first time force companies to pay for pollution that is blamed for global warming.

The draft bill, introduced in the Energy and Commerce Committee in the US House of Representatives, marks the first step in what promises to be a long and contentious battle in Congress.

Washington  - General Motors Corp is keeping open the option of bankruptcy in order to restructure the flagging US carmaker, GM's new chief executive Fritz Henderson said Tuesday.

Henderson, who took over the top job from Rick Wagoner Monday as part of a White House-forced shake-up, said he was confident the company could make the necessary changes to survive either way.

"If we're not successful doing it out of court, we will do it in court," Henderson told reporters in his first press conference from Detroit.

New York - A 43-year-old New York man has been awarded 2.6 million dollars as compensation for spending nearly 14 years in jail for a crime he did not commit, reported the New York Times Monday.

Olmedo Hidalgo was sentenced in 1992 to 25 years in prison for the murder of a bouncer at a New York discotheque. In 2005, after an extended legal process, he was freed after an ex-drug dealer confessed to the crime.

New York - Italian carmaker Fiat Motor SA is expected to increase its holdings in nearly bankrupt US carmaker Chrysler LLC to 20 per cent, according to a report Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal.

Fiat and Chrysler previously announced a partnership in January. On Monday, the White House rejected additional emergency aid for Chrysler unless it can finalize a merger with Fiat within 30 days.