At a glance

Flower Power: A flower arranging demonstration will be takingplace in Cheadle.

Staff from Forget-Me-Not Florists, in High Street, will beshowcasing their talents at St Giles The Abbot Parish Church onFriday.

The creative event, which starts at 7pm, is being hosted to raisefunds for the church.

Tickets, at Pounds 2.50, are available from the florists.Alternatively pay on the door.

For further information call 01538 752216.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING: Great Wood Primary School is to hold a fund-raising Christmas shopping trip …

Republican Opposition to Iraq Plan Grows

WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans pushed back Monday against President Bush's decision to increase troop strength in Iraq, some voicing opposition while others urged holding the administration and Iraqi government more accountable for the war effort.

"We've had four other surges since we first went into Iraq," said Sen. Susan Collins, referring to the administration's plan for an additional 21,500 troops. "None of them produced a long-lasting change in the situation on the ground.

"So I am very skeptical that this surge would produce the desired outcome," said the Maine Republican.

In the Senate, Collins joined two Republicans and one Democrat to unveil …

Canadian auto workers OK GM restructuring deal

Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union have voted 87 percent in favor of a new cost-cutting contract with General Motors, helping to qualify the struggling automaker for government aid.

The agreement reached between the union and company last weekend includes a wage freeze to September 2012, the elimination of an annual bonus and a reduction in paid time off, among other concessions.

GM has also promised workers that Detroit-based parent General Motors Corp. will keep 20 percent of its total North American manufacturing volume in Canada. CAW national president Ken Lewenza has said a key goal would be that Canada maintain its market share and that …

Deep cleaning may bring back carpet's beauty

There may be more life in old carpeting than you suspect -whether you've had it for years or inherited it from the previousowner when you bought a house.

"Don't count carpet that is down as necessarily out," saysShannon Rench Tyler of Racine Industries, which makes a carpetdry-cleaning system called Host. She advises trying to restorecarpet by deep cleaning.

"Make cleaning the carpet the first step before moving into anew home," she says. "If you start by bringing out the carpet's truecolor, that can set up the color scheme for wall finishes andfurnishings."

Once you've moved in, she advises, concentrate on high-trafficareas and spills, spot-cleaning …

U.S. Open Largest Margins

15 — 2000, Tiger Woods (272), Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els (287), Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.

11 — 1899, Willie Smith (315), George Low, Val Fitzjohn and W.H. Way (326), Baltimore …

Beckenbauer criticizes FIFA over World Cup vote

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Franz Beckenbauer said Tuesday he has less confidence in FIFA after it released the results of votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts.

Beckenbauer, one of the 22 executive committee members who voted, said the losing candidates, "especially England and Australia," were left be "embarrassed" when FIFA revealed how many votes they got.

England got only two of 22 votes for the 2018 World Cup that went to Russia, and Australia picked up only one in the ballot for 2022, which was won by Qatar.

Beckenbauer, who is retiring from the executive committee in March, said his "confidence in FIFA has been diminished."

"I'm disappointed how FIFA handled things after the voting," Beckenbauer told Bild newspaper. "We, the executive members, were told that neither we nor the public would learn the exact number of votes. We were only told after each round of voting which country was out.

"And then I hear a couple of hours later on the radio who got how many votes."

Russia also beat joint bids from Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium, while South Korea, Japan and the United States missed out in the 2022 vote.

Stocks advance as pending home sales rise 1 pct

Better news from the housing industry sent U.S. stocks higher Tuesday, including an increase in the number of people in contracts to buy homes.

The National Association of Realtors, a trade group, said its index of sale contracts rose 1 percent in December. It was the ninth improvement over the past 10 months as buyers scrambled to take advantage of a first-time homebuyer tax credit before it was set to expire last November.

The home sales report was the latest bit of encouraging news on the economy. Stocks rose on Monday after a surprisingly strong reading on the manufacturing sector, and on Friday the government reported that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the final three months of 2009, a faster pace than expected.

Homebuilder stocks also rose sharply after D.R. Horton Inc. posted its first profit since 2007 during its fiscal first quarter. Much of its $192 million profit during the October-December period came from a tax gain, but its revenue rose because of a 36 percent jump in home sales. Orders increased 45 percent.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 41.19, or 0.4 percent, to 10,226.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.14, or 0.5 percent, to 1,094.32, while Nasdaq composite index rose 4.38, or 0.2 percent, to 2,175.58.

Investors are turning their attention throughout this week to a series of economic reports to determine if the growth seen late last year has a good chance of continuing. The most important indicator will come on Friday when the Labor Department releases its January employment report.

In other earnings, candy maker Hershey's Co.'s earnings climbed 54 percent. The company said it would boost its dividend by about 7.5 percent.

UPS's fourth-quarter profit tripled thanks to a strong holiday shopping season and international business.

January auto and truck sales reports will also be released throughout the day.

Crude oil rose $1.04 to $75.47 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.