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| Tentative "fiscal cliff" deal emerges in Senate Monday, Dec 31, 2012 11:16 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate leaders were hammering out a last-minute deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" on Monday, but it was still unclear if rank-and-file lawmakers would back the agreement, particularly those in the Republican-led House of Representatives. A deal to avert the fiscal crisis was said to be in the works in the Senate that would raise tax rates on household income above $450,000, said a source familiar with the talks. The agreement would permanently extend the lower tax rates for those below the $450,000 cut off. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says fiscal cliff deal in sight, not done yet Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:58 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday said it appeared a deal on the "fiscal cliff" was within sight but it was not complete yet. "Today it appears that an agreement to prevent this New Year's tax hike is within sight, but it is not done," Obama said at the White House. "There are still issues left to resolve, but we're hopeful that Congress can get it done, but it's not done." (Reporting by White House team; Editing by Will Dunham) Full Story | Top |
| Fiscal deal would raise tax rates, sticking point remains: source Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:29 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An emerging deal to avoid the U.S. "fiscal cliff" would raise $600 billion in revenue over the next 10 years by increasing tax rates for individuals making more than $400,000 and households making above $450,000 annually, according to a source familiar with the talks. The deal would also delay a series of automatic government spending cuts, known as the "sequester," though a sticking point remains on how long that delay would last. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic rebels say divided over peace talks offer Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:27 AM PST DAKAR (Reuters) - Central African Republic's Seleka rebels are divided over whether to start peace talks with President Francois Bozize or carry on an assault to overthrow him, one of the insurgent group's spokesmen said on Monday. The rebels have advanced to within 75 km (45 miles) of the mineral-rich country's capital Bangui and their leaders are now considering a proposal from Bozize to hold negotiations and form a unity government. ... Full Story | Top |
| State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:23 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the U.S. mission in Benghazi open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before a deadly attack by militants, a Senate committee said on Monday. A report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission and a nearby CIA annex, in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died, faulted intelligence agencies for not focusing tightly enough on Libyan extremists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Market rallies on emerging "fiscal cliff" deal Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:22 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped on Monday after a deal emerged from negotiations in Washington to avert the "fiscal cliff," sources familiar with the talks said. Equities surged in a thinly traded session, on track to break a five-day streak of losses, as the sources said a majority of Senate Republicans were expected to support the legislation. If adopted by Congress and President Barack Obama, the plan would sidestep a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts that many feared could push the economy into recession. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fiscal cliff talks stuck on spending cut demand: source Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:19 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate negotiators trying to seal a pact to avert the "fiscal cliff" are hung up over demands that new spending cuts be found to pay for a cost associated with fixing a Medicare issue, according to a congressional aide. The aide, who asked not to be identified, said the disagreement revolves around demands that $30 billion in spending cuts be found to prevent a significant pay cut to doctors treating elderly Medicare patients. Without congressional action, that pay cut would begin on January 1 and it could discourage doctors from treating Medicare patients. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's leader sees currency stabilizing "within days" Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:12 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's pound fell to a record low on Monday as the president signaled his government would allow it to depreciate slowly for several more days to stop a drain on foreign reserves that has driven the economy into crisis since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Hit by a new bout of political turmoil in the last month, the pound had weakened to a record low on Sunday at a new dollar auction brought in by the central bank. It fell further at a second auction on Monday, last trading at 6.37 to the dollar on the interbank market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Potential fiscal cliff deal emerges in Senate: sources Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:10 AM PST WASHINGTON, Dec 31 - U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday appeared to be coalescing around a potential solution to the "fiscal cliff" crisis with a plan that would continue expiring tax cuts for household incomes of up to $450,000, congressional sources said on Monday. "I think a majority of our caucus will go along with it," a senior Senate Republican aide told Reuters. Senate Democrats had not yet expressed positions on the emerging deal. (Reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Richard Cowan and Kim Dixon; Editing by Will Dunham) Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: U.S. "fiscal cliff," tax impact of no deal Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:05 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Higher federal taxes for millions of businesses and individuals will become law on Tuesday unless Congress acts to stop them. These taxes, worth $500 billion, comprise the bulk of what is known as the "fiscal cliff" problem. The following shows the probable impact on taxpayers if Congress does not act on Monday, or does not come back later and undo these tax increases, based on data from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. INDIVIDUAL TAXES If midnight passes with no deal, lower individual tax rates enacted in 2001 on a temporary basis under former President George W. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan releases more Afghan Taliban members: official Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:03 AM PST ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has freed four Afghan Taliban prisoners, including a former justice minister, a Pakistani government official said on Monday, in the newest sign Islamabad is serious about backing peace efforts in Afghanistan. Regional power Pakistan is seen as critical to the success of U.S. and Afghan efforts to bring stability to the country, a task gaining urgency as the end of the U.S. combat mission in 2014 draws closer. Afghanistan has been pressing the strategic U.S. ally to free Taliban members who could help promote reconciliation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to make "fiscal cliff" statement at 1:30 P.M. ET Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:02 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will make a statement at 1:30 p.m. EST on Monday at an event with "middle class Americans," the White House said. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton) Full Story | Top |
| Assad's forces battle to retake Damascus suburb Monday, Dec 31, 2012 09:31 AM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - Elite Syrian government troops backed by tanks battled on Monday to recapture a strategic Damascus suburb from rebels who have advanced within striking distance of the center of Syria's capital. Five people, including a child, died from army rocket fire that hit the Daraya suburb during the fighting, opposition activists said. Daraya is part of a semi-circle of Sunni Muslim suburbs south of the capital that have been at the forefront of the 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. "This is the biggest attack on Daraya in two months. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF says welcomes Egypt's effort to safeguard reserves Monday, Dec 31, 2012 09:14 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it welcomed steps that Egypt has taken to stop a drain on its international reserves, which had let the Egyptian pound hit record lows. "We welcome the measures taken by the Central Bank of Egypt to ensure that the country will continue to maintain a level of international reserves that can support its international trade and payments," an IMF spokeswoman said. "IMF staff is in close contact with the authorities and we remain strongly committed to supporting Egypt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Venezuela's Maduro channels Chavez, lacks his charisma Monday, Dec 31, 2012 09:12 AM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - He uses Hugo Chavez's bombastic language, brandishes the constitution and showers opponents with vitriol at every turn. But Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro is struggling to replicate the extraordinary charisma of his boss, who is battling to recover from cancer surgery in Cuba. Named as heir apparent by Chavez just before the president returned to Havana for his fourth surgery in December, the 50-year-old former bus driver has become the face of the socialist government in South America's top oil exporter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spoiler alert: Word enthusiasts want to ban "fiscal cliff" Monday, Dec 31, 2012 09:09 AM PST (Reuters) - Whether or not the U.S. Congress acts to avoid the "fiscal cliff," the much-used phrase tops the list of words language aficionados want banned from everyday speech, according to a Michigan university's yearly roundup released on Monday. Also making the cut for Lake Superior State University's annual list of overused, misused and generally useless terms were "kick the can down the road," "bucket list" and, it may come as no surprise, "spoiler alert." Then there is "YOLO. ... Full Story | Top |
| Major banks close to big settlement on home loans Monday, Dec 31, 2012 09:07 AM PST  (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are close to securing another multibillion-dollar settlement with the largest banks to resolve allegations that they unlawfully cut corners when foreclosing on delinquent borrowers, a source familiar with the talks said. The settlement with five big banks would be part of a larger deal that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency hopes will include 14 banks and total about $10 billion, the source said. ... Full Story | Top |
| French government may water down 75 percent tax after setback Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:47 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - An embarrassing derailment of President Francois Hollande's 75 percent millionaires' tax may open an opportunity to water down a scheme that had damaged France's image with international investors, but he is unlikely to give up without a fight. Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici has promised a redrafted tax on the wealthy will be pursued next year, following the Constitutional Council's decision on Saturday to strike down the emblematic rate on income over 1 million euros ($1.32 million). ... Full Story | Top |
| 2012 one of "bloodiest years" for journalists: media body Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:44 AM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A heavy death toll in war zones such as Syria and Somalia made 2012 one of the bloodiest years for journalists, with 121 killed, an international journalists' group said on Monday. The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said the figure was up from 107 journalists and other media workers killed in targeted attacks, bomb blasts and cross-fire incidents in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian activists detained at protest for free assembly Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:41 AM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained a prominent opposition figure and several other people holding unauthorized protests in Moscow and St Petersburg on Monday to defend the right to assembly. Police grabbed Eduard Limonov, a leader of the Other Russia opposition movement, as he spoke to journalists shortly after arriving with a few dozen activists in Moscow's Triumph Square. Under a brisk snowfall, demonstrators chanted "Russia without Putin!" and slogans calling for the right to free assembly, as Muscovites shopped for the New Year holiday in the capital's main street nearby. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan closes think-tank after protest: director Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:21 AM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan shut down a leading pro-democracy think-tank on Monday, a day after the organization helped stage a protest against government crackdowns on campaigners, its director said. The Al-Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE) was one of a number of bodies that tried to deliver a petition to the country's human rights commission on Sunday. Police armed with batons blocked their way and, on Monday, a government official told the organization its operating license had been withdrawn, director Bakr Afif told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Differences remain on fiscal cliff, time running out: Reid Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:19 AM PST Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Monday that congressional negotiators still need to bridge differences in last-ditch talks to avert a New Year's Day tax hike on most Americans. "Discussions continue today on a plan to protect middle-class families from a tax increase tomorrow. There are a number of issues on which the two sides are still apart but negotiations are continuing as I speak," Reid, a Democrat, said on the Senate floor. "We really are running out of time. Americans are threatened with a tax hike in just a few hours." (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Bill Trott) Full Story | Top |
| Ban on demanding Facebook passwords among new 2013 state laws Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:11 AM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Employers in California and Illinois will be prohibited from demanding access to workers' password-protected social networking accounts and teachers in Oregon will be required to report suspected student bullies thanks to new laws taking effect in 2013. In all, more than 400 measures were enacted at the state level during 2012 and will become law in the new year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Some of the statutes, which deal with everything from consumer protection to gun control and healthcare, take effect at the stroke of midnight. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan Taliban freed in Pakistan close to Mullah Omar: official Monday, Dec 31, 2012 07:58 AM PST KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan Taliban figures freed from detention in Pakistan were close to the movement's reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and could help the Kabul government with peace efforts, a senior Afghan official said on Monday. "Their release will certainly have a positive impact on the mindsets of other senior Taliban, especially on field commanders who took orders from them for years," the official who is close to reconciliation efforts, told Reuters. (Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| U.N. expert condemns move to oust Sri Lanka's chief justice Monday, Dec 31, 2012 07:37 AM PST  GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations expert on Monday criticized Sri Lanka's move to impeach its chief justice, saying it was part of a pattern of attacks on lawyers and a bid to stop judges carrying out their work independently of politicians. Parliament could vote next month to impeach Shirani Bandaranayake, the first woman to head Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, after she was found guilty by a parliamentary panel of financial irregularities and a failure to declare assets. The case risks a destabilizing clash between President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government and the judiciary. ... Full Story | Top |
| Desperate for weapons, Syrian rebels make their own, fix tanks Monday, Dec 31, 2012 07:35 AM PST ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - At a converted warehouse in the midst of a block of residential homes in a northern Syrian town, men are hard at work at giant lathes, shavings of metal gathering around them. Sacks of potassium nitrate and sugar lie nearby. In a neat row against the wall is the finished product, homemade mortars. Syrian rebels say they have been forced to make them because their calls for heavy weapons and ammunition to fight President Bashar al-Assad have gone unanswered. "No one's giving us any support. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan releases Chinese caught illegally fishing Monday, Dec 31, 2012 07:22 AM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese fishermen detained for illegal fishing in Japan's waters were released Monday after promising to pay a 4.28 million yen ($49,700) fine, China's state news agency Xinhua said, citing the consulate general in Japan's southwestern city of Fukuoka. Xinhua said the detention of the three fishermen for unauthorized coral fishing within Japanese waters was "peacefully resolved" within 48 hours. The detention comes as tensions simmer between China and Japan over ownership of disputed islands near Taiwan, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republican Senator Kyl cites progress in fiscal cliff talks Monday, Dec 31, 2012 07:01 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Jon Kyl on Monday said a "lot of progress" has been made in talks to avert the "fiscal cliff" but he cautioned that it is unclear if the progress will spur legislation the Senate can vote on before a midnight EST/0500 GMT deadline when taxes and spending cuts kick-in. "There is no agreement yet," Kyl said. "Conversations are still ongoing. There has been a lot of progress." Asked how long talks could go on, Kyl said: 'I guess until 11:59." (Reporting By Richard Cowan; Writing by Kim Dixon; Editing by Bill Trott) Full Story | Top |
| Bombs kill 16 across Iraq as sectarian strife grows Monday, Dec 31, 2012 06:49 AM PST  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Explosions killed at least 16 people and wounded 76 across Iraq on Monday, police said, underlining sectarian and ethnic divisions that threaten to further destabilize the country a year after U.S. troops left. Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been on the rise this year. Militants strike almost daily and have staged at least one big attack a month. The latest violence followed more than a week of protests against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by thousands of people from the minority Sunni community. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kosovo struggles to shake Wild West image among investors Monday, Dec 31, 2012 06:07 AM PST  ASTRAZUB, Kosovo (Reuters) - When Briton Christopher Gilbert and London-educated Etrur Albani teamed up to dig marble in Albani's native Kosovo, they knew they were taking a gamble. For two years, Albani and Gilbert, who was better known in Britain as an entertainment industry entrepreneur, knocked on literally hundreds of doors in search of intrepid investors. They eventually turned up 12, convincing them that the risk associated with investing in this young Balkan nation was overblown and that the image of crime and corruption did not match the reality. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt budget deficit expected to widen to 200 bln pounds: agency Monday, Dec 31, 2012 06:00 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's budget deficit in the year to end-June 2013 could widen by 50 percent from the original forecast made in July, according to a figure released by the planning minister on Monday. "The budget deficit is expected to rise to 200 billion Egyptian pounds in the current fiscal year unless strict economic policies are put in place to confront it," the state news agency quoted Ashraf al-Araby as saying on Monday. The 2012/13 budget released in July had forecast a deficit of 135 billion pounds compared to an actual deficit of 166.7 billion pounds for the previous year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's leader sees currency stabilising "within days" Monday, Dec 31, 2012 05:59 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's pound fell to a record low on Monday as the president signalled his government would allow it to depreciate slowly for several more days to stop a drain on foreign reserves that has driven the economy into crisis since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Hit by a new bout of political turmoil in the last month, the pound had weakened to a record low on Sunday at a new dollar auction brought in by the central bank. It fell further at a second auction on Monday, last trading at 6.37 to the dollar on the interbank market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt budget deficit expected to widen to 200 billion pounds: agency Monday, Dec 31, 2012 05:47 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's budget deficit in the year to end-June 2013 could widen by 50 percent from the original forecast made in July, according to a figure released by the planning minister on Monday. "The budget deficit is expected to rise to 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($31.5 billion) in the current fiscal year unless strict economic policies are put in place to confront it," the state news agency quoted Ashraf al-Araby as saying on Monday. The 2012/13 budget released in July had forecast a deficit of 135 billion pounds compared to an actual deficit of 166. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal president signs 2013 budget into law: TSF Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:50 AM PST  LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's president has signed into law a 2013 budget that includes the biggest tax hikes in living memory but will ask the constitutional court to check its legality, private radio station TSF reported on Monday. The president's move at least allows the budget to take effect as of January 1. However, far-left political parties have said they would challenge the tax plans in the courts and political analysts have said the increases in the tax burden could be unconstitutional. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey accuses EU of bigotry, says its reforms are ignored Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:26 AM PST  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey accused the European Union of bias and bigoted attitudes towards the EU candidate country on Monday and blamed it for undermining the Turkish public's trust in the bloc. Turkey criticized the European Commission's latest report on its progress towards EU membership as it presented for the first time its own report highlighting its reforms over the last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli Supreme Court shortens whistleblower's prison term Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:17 AM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Supreme Court on Monday shortened by a year the 4-1/2-year prison term of a soldier who gave a journalist classified military documents, some relating to operations against Palestinian militants. Ruling on Anat Kamm's appeal against the length of her sentence, the court said it was disproportionate to the penalty of four months of community service imposed on Uri Blau, a reporter for Haaretz, an Israeli left-wing daily. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese dissidents in rare visit to Nobel laureate's wife Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:12 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - A small group of Chinese dissidents forced their way past security guards last week to visit the detained wife of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and deliver a message of support, one of the dissidents said on Monday. Liu, a veteran dissident involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests crushed by the Chinese army, won the prize in 2010. He was jailed the year before and is serving an 11-year sentence. His wife Liu Xia is under house arrest. She is rarely allowed out and is almost never allowed to receive visitors. ... Full Story | Top |
| China to keep prudent monetary policy in 2013: central bank Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:03 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China will stick to a prudent monetary policy next year and keep consumer prices stable, its outgoing central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said on Monday, in fresh sign that Beijing won't be changing direction when the new government takes over in 2013. Reiterating China's long-stated vow to reduce the level of central planning in its economy and make room for more market forces, Zhou also said China will deepen reforms in its financial sector in 2013. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assad's forces push to retake Damascus suburb Monday, Dec 31, 2012 03:51 AM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - Heavy fighting raged on the outskirts of Damascus on Monday as elite troops backed by tanks tried to recapture a strategic suburb from rebels in one of the largest military operations in that district in months, opposition activists said. Five people, including one child, died from army rocket fire that hit Daraya, the activists said. Daraya is one of a series of interconnected Sunni Muslim suburbs that ring Syria's capital and have been at the forefront of the 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. "This is the biggest attack on Daraya in two months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda in Yemen offers bounty for U.S. ambassador Monday, Dec 31, 2012 02:50 AM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - The Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda has offered a bounty for anyone who kills the U.S. ambassador to Yemen or an American soldier in the impoverished Arab state, a group that monitors Islamist websites said. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said it was offering three kilograms of gold for the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa, Gerald Feierstein, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said, citing an audio released by militants. AQAP will also pay 5 million rials ($23,350) to whoever kills any American soldier in Yemen, it said. ... Full Story | Top |
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