After pursuing US rights to an untitled Barack Obama documentary produced by actor Edward Norton for several months, HBO has finally closed the deal running into seven-figures.

The deal with HBO was negotiated by Endeavor Independent and Andrew Hurwitz. HBO plans to air the feature-length documentary next year.

The project was financed by GOOD, Green Film Co. Citi Prods., and Norton’s Class 5 Films. The Obama campaign was approached in early 2006 for the documentary chronicling the new president-elect’s history in politics.

Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama pledged Friday to move toward resolving the country's financial woes "immediately" after taking office in January, saying the nation was facing its worst economic crisis in a lifetime.

Speaking to reporters in Chicago in his first public appearance since winning Tuesday's election, Obama sought to reassure Americans that he was ready to address the country's urgent challenges.

Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama on Friday called for swift steps to halt the economic downturn and to prevent the financial crisis from damaging other sectors of the economy.

"We're gonna have to act swifty," Obama said in his first public appearance since winning Tuesday's election.

Obama held a lengthy meeting with a team of economic advisors, before going in front of reporters in Chicago, to assure the public that he is prepared to quickly address the country's economic woes.

San Francisco - Obama fever may have swept the world, following the Democratic presidential candidate's historic election victory Tuesday. Now millions of computer users are under threat from an Obama virus, network security companies said Friday.

Authors of the virus are hoping to benefit from the huge interest in US president-elect Barack Obama, with an avalanche of spam messages purporting to offer news of his victory.

Ramallah  - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Friday on US president-elect Barack Obama not to waste any time in getting involved in the Israel-Palestinian peace process, after the US admitted that a peace deal by the end of the year is unlikely.

Addressing a joint news conference in Ramallah with visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Abbas said Palestinians wanted to continue their efforts to reach a final settlement with Israel.

Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged at last year's Annapolis peace summit to try and reach a peace agreement by the end of 2008.

Rome - Oops he's done it again.

Barely 24 hours had passed since Barack Obama's election win and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was, it seems, unable to resist making an unfortunate quip on the US president-elect's racial background.

The 72-year-old, three times Italian premier, had initially greeted Obama's election triumph in almost avuncular terms.

He would, he said, offer the 47-year-old US president-elect "some advice given my age and experience."