Obama calls on House to follow Senate and back fiscal cliff deal
Senate votes 89-8 – two hours after midnight deadline – to pass legislation to block impact of tax increases and spending cuts
Barack Obama has called for the House of Representatives to follow the Senate's lead and pass the fiscal cliff deal "without delay" to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans and raise tax rates on top earners.
The Senate voted 89-8 early on Tuesday to pass legislation to block the impact of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the beginning of the new year. The legislation would prevent middle-class taxes from rising, and raise rates on incomes over $400,000 (£246,0000) for individuals and $450,000 for couples.
Could Saudi Arabia be next?
Nobody can predict which way the ‘Arab Awakening’ will turn this year. But Robert Fisk has ventured a very tentative punt or two..
NORTH KORE NORTH KOREA
Kim seeks reconciliation with South, economic turnaround
North Korea's leader has used a rare New Year’s address to announce a new focus on improving the country’s economy. He also said he would seek to end the North’s decades-old confrontation with the South.
Kim Jong Un, who came to office just over a year ago, following the death of his predecessor and father, Kim Jong Il, said in the nationally televised speech that the coming year would be marked by "great creations and changes" in the country's economy.
"The entire party, the whole country and all the people should wage an all-out struggle this year to effect a turnaround in building an economic giant and improving the people's standard of living," he said.
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The slum that bred alleged gang rapists
January 1, 2013 - 5:56PM
Jason Burke
DELHI: The sun slides away behind the dome of a medieval tomb and, as the shadows fall across the cluttered homes of Ravi Das colony, the temperature drops. Winter in Delhi is short but here, in this slum colony in the south of the city, the cold bites hard while it lasts.
The new year will bring little cheer. Most of the men work on the booming city's many construction sites. Others drive rickshaws, one of the Indian capital's most distinctive sights. The women sell vegetables or sew, earning enough to put a chicken in the pot a couple of times a month.
One newspaper described Ravi Das colony as "the den of the rapists", "Delhi's underbelly" and "a fertile breeding ground for criminals".
AU to hold Central African Republic crisis talks as rebels advance
Rebels in the Central African Republic who have advanced towards the capital Bangui warned they could enter the city.
Their warning came as the head of the African Union preparing to launch peace negotiations.
AU chief Thomas Boni Yayi, president of Benin, is expected to travel to Bangui to try to initiate talks between the government of President Francois Bozize and the rebel coalition known as Seleka.
But a rebel spokesperson told AFP that Bozize's departure should be on the agenda, and that rebel forces have not ruled out entering the capital of the chronically instable country.
"Bozize intends to give battle in Bangui, and if the situation demands it, we will take action," Eric Massi told AFP by telephone from the Gabonese capital Libreville, while reiterating that the rebels were not currently planning to seize the capital.
Technology teaser: Who will call it right in 2013?
The world didn't end, the turkey has reached the dubious curry stage of its lifecycle, and the the tree has dropped needles all over the shag pile.
This can mean only one thing.
It is time for part one of the traditional Technology of Business lookahead to what 2013 holds.
So select the device of your choice and settle down to find out what our experts have to say.
Robert Scoble, blogger and start-up liaison officer, Rackspace
A contextual future will arrive in 2013
If you are skiing this winter you might see the Oakley Airwave ski goggles.
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