President Obama’s rough week closes with some allies turning on him – Crack-smoking Toronto Mayor Rob Ford won’t quit, but lawmakers are acting to neutralize him – And Brazil acknowledges a land reform law is speeding up clear cutting in the rainforest.  That, and a lot more in your CareerSpot World News briefs.

Some of US President Obama’s supposed allies in the lower house of congress sided with the republicans to pass a bill that could have gutted his health care law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  It has no chance of becoming law, as Obama said he would veto it should it get to his desk, which it won’t because the Senate will not even bring it up.  The ACA will bring affordable health care to 40 Million uninsured Americans, but has been plagued by problems in the rollout, including a slow website.

The Toronto City Council has voted to strip at least some of the powers from crack-smoking, binge drinking, drink-driving Mayor Rob Ford.  Councilors voted 39 to three to suspend the mayor's ability to appoint and dismiss important positions such as deputy mayor.  Next week, they’ll consider a further measure to take away Ford’s budgetary authority.

While the Rob Ford saga has often been hilarious, this is not:  Toronto Police were concerned the mayor subjected his wife Renata Ford to domestic abuse.  Police say she displayed bruises consistent with domestic abuse, however she rejected follow-up attempts to interview her about it.  In 2008, Ford was charged with making death threats against her, but the charges were dropped when prosecutors found inconsistencies in Renata Ford's allegations that they said raised “credibility issues.”

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says it has finalized and adopted a detailed plan for the destruction of Syria's stockpile by mid-2014.  Even though France and Belgium have been named as possible locations to get it done, the final destination for Syria’s chemical weapons will be transported to be destroyed remains unclear.

Albania will not provide a site to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, turning down an American request.  Protesters and opposition lawmakers criticized Prime Minister Edi Rama for even considering it.  The Balkan nation recently destroyed its own chemical stockpile, and no one had time for reopening that chapter.  Norway has already said it will not allow Syria’s former chemical weapons on its land.

The Italian conservative party headed by Sylvio Berlusconi is splitting in half, dealing a setback to the former Prime Minister.  A formerly loyal deputy is splitting off to form a center-right party, after Berlusconi’s convictions on tax fraud and child prostitution. 

The European Commission says Spain did not do anything wrong when it instituted stringent security checks at the border crossing with British-held Gibraltar which stalled traffic for hours earlier this year.  Spain did this shortly after Gibraltar started work on an artificial reef that Spanish fishers said lessened their catches.  The UK maintains the checks were politically motivated and therefore unlawful.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased by 28 percent between August 2012 and July of this year. Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira says the government is working to reverse this “crime”.  Environmentalists blame a land reform law last year that they say was too friendly to agriculture, which burns the forests to create more farmland.

China plans to relax its “One Child” policy of restricting most couples to having only a single child.  Soon, families will be allowed to have two children if one of the parents is an only child.  Other announced reforms include the abolition of “re-education through labor” camps and moves to boost the role of the private sector in the economy.

The UN Security Council is denying a request to delay the trials of Kenya's president and vice-president at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for one year.  The plan floated by Rwanda had seven votes on the Security Council – but America, Britain, and France abstained, blocking a nine-vote majority needed for passage.  Both President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto deny charges of instigating deadly violence following disputed elections in 2007.