Senate Approves 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal, Sends to House













Two hours after a midnight deadline for action, the Senate passed legislation early New Year's Day to avert the so-called fiscal cliff with an overwhelming vote of 89-8.


Senate passage set the stage for a final showdown in the House, where a vote could come as early as today.


"While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay," President Obama said in a statement shortly after the vote.


"There's more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I'm willing to do it. But tonight's agreement ensures that, going forward, we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest Americans."


The bill extends Bush-era tax cuts permanently for individuals making less than $400,000 per year and couples making less than $450,000 but allows the top marginal tax rate on incomes above those levels to rise to 39.6 percent.


Capital gains taxes would rise to 20 percent from 15 percent.


The measure would raise the estate tax from 35 to 40 percent for estates larger than $5 million, prevent the alternative minimum tax from hammering millions of middle-class workers and extend unemployment benefits for one year.








'Fiscal Cliff': Lawmakers Scramble for Last-Minute Deal Watch Video









Lawmakers also decided at the last minute to use the measure to prevent a $900 pay raise for each member of Congress due to take effect this spring.


The steep "sequester" budget cuts scheduled to go into effect with the New Year -- a $1.2 trillion hit to defense and domestic programs -- would be postponed for two months.


"I've said all along our most important priority is protecting middle-class Americans, this legislation does that," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said early this morning prior to the vote.


The deal at hand does little to address the nation's long-term debt woes, however, and does not entirely solve the problem of the "fiscal cliff."


Indeed, the last-minute compromise -- far short from a so-called grand bargain on deficit reduction -- could set up a new showdown on the same spending cuts in two months amplified by a brewing fight on how to raise the debt ceiling beyond $16.4 trillion. That new fiscal battle has the potential to eclipse the "fiscal cliff" in short order.


Reid said he is "disappointed" they were unable to achieve a broader deal but that the compromise was necessary.


"We tried," he said. "If we did nothing, the threat of a recession is very real."


Speaking after Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the deal an "imperfect solution" and noted this should not be the model on how things get done in the Senate.


McConnell also thanked Vice President Joe Biden, who visited Capitol Hill late Monday night and brokered the deal with Senate Republicans.


The measure must now move to the Republican-led House.


Five Senate Republicans and three Democrats voted against the plan, but the large margin of passage was seen as boosting the bill's prospects in the House, even though fiscal conservatives were poised to vehemently oppose the deal when it comes to the floor for a vote.


House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio said the House would not vote on any Senate-passed measure "until House members, and the American people, have been able to review" it.






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HTC hopes to get ahead of competition in 2013






TAIPEI: Taiwan's economy has been one of the worst performing economies in Asia this year.

A decline in exports has slowed its full year economic growth to one per cent.

2012 was a tough year for Taiwan's technology industry, especially for smartphone maker HTC, which lost much of its global market to rivals Apple and Samsung.

Its falling sales had not only hurt HTC's bottom-line, but also dragged Taiwan's exports into negative growth.

HTC is stepping up efforts to woo consumers. It hopes to turn its fortune around with new gadgets.

"Our storage capacity for HTC One X has increased to 64GB from the previous 32GB. Plus, its battery life is longer by up to 37 per cent," said Eric Chen, HTC Taiwan's marketing director on its HTC One X handset.

As Asia's second largest handset maker, HTC saw its sales falling some 40 per cent this year.

Competition from Apple and Samsung halved its global market share to 4 per cent.

This took a toll on Taiwan's export growth, of which a quarter came from HTC.

Sam Shen, Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute director said: "HTC's shipments last year exceeded 53 million units. This year could shrink to some 40 million units. So the decline stood out in the overall export figures."

The island's exports in 2012 are likely to contract by more than 2 per cent, to their lowest level in three years.

But Taiwan's market intelligence agency believes the worst is over for HTC.

Mr Shen said: "With the continuing advancement of smartphones and their key components, there's going to be greater demand from the emerging economies. Overall, the market will remain competitive, but demand will be high."

Global shipments for smartphones are expected to grow by more than 20 per cent in 2013.

HTC is fighting back by expanding its presence in China, the fastest growing market in the world. Still, it could be a rough road ahead for the company.

"On the high-end smartphones, HTC is competing against Samsung and Apple. And on the low-end handsets, HTC is up against China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE. So it's going to be tough," said Masson Li, Taishin Securities Investment Advisory's co-vice president.

Mr Li added: "Actually the lines between smartphones and tablets are blurring. So more tablet makers may want to get a piece of the smartphone market."

While it may take a while for HTC to get back on its feet, Taiwan can still count on tablets for support.

Currently, more than 80 per cent of tablets in the world are made by Taiwanese firms.

According to IDC, global shipments for tablets are estimated to soar 40 per cent in the coming year.

If the global market regains momentum as expected, Taiwan's economic growth could exceed 3 per cent in 2013.

- CNA/xq



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UP government to give Rs 20 lakh compensation for Delhi-gang-rape victim's family

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh (UP) government on Monday announced Rs 20 lakh compensation for the family of the Delhi gang-rape victim who succumbed to injuries two days ago. The compensation will be given from the chief minister's discretionary fund.

Earlier, on December 21, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had announced to give Rs five lakh financial assistance to the family of the victim in addition to the the offer to all medical expenses and a job after recovery.

The family hails from a village in Ballia district of the state and had moved to Delhi 20 years ago but is still connected to its native place.

He had taken a loan for the education of his daughter who wanted to be a physiotherapist. His two sons are still studying.

The chief minister announced the Rs 20 lakh compensation overlooking the criticism of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Imam Bukhari. Mayawati had said that compensation is fine but the state government should focus on preventing rapes and provide speedy justice. She had also alleged that crime against women has increased manifold in first nine months of Samajwadi Party (SP) rule in the state. Bukhari had said that SP government should have also announced compensation for the Muslim rape victims.

Earlier today, the Delhi government announced financial aid of Rs 15 lakh for the next of the kin of the 23-year-old gang-rape victim and offered a job to a family member of the girl, who died two days ago.

The decisions were taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

The phsyiotherapy student was brutally gang-raped and assaulted in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16. She breathed her last in a Singapore hospital on Saturday morning and her mortal remains were cremated here on Sunday.

(Inputs from PTI)

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm









































































































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Time's Up: Sides Closing In on 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal













Congressional and White House negotiators are closing in on a deal to avert across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that take effect at midnight, as the nation teeters on the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff.


An emerging tentative agreement would extend current tax rates for households making $450,000 or less; extend the estate tax at its current level of 35 percent for estates larger than $5 million; and prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from hammering millions of middle-class workers, sources said.


The deal would also extend unemployment benefits set to expire Tuesday and avert a steep cut to Medicare payments for doctors.


Both sides also seem willing to delay by three months automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, the sources said, setting the stage for continued fiscal debate in the next few months tied to the debt ceiling.


Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are leading the negotiations, sources said, holding several "good" conversations late into Sunday night and continuing a dialogue early this morning.


They are trying to broker an elusive compromise on taxes and spending that can win the support of bipartisan majorities in the Senate and House.


Even if a deal is reached between Biden and McConnell, members in both chambers would still need to review it and vote on it later today. Passage is far from guaranteed.










"This is one Democrat that doesn't agree with that at all," Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin said of the tentative deal. "No deal is better than a bad deal, and this looks like a very bad deal the way this is shaping up."


Failure of Congress to act on a tax measure by Tuesday morning would trigger income tax hikes on all Americans. The average family would pay an extra $3,446 in 2013 under the higher rates, according to the Tax Policy Center.


Regardless of the "cliff," virtually all workers are due to see less in their paychecks starting in January when the temporary 2 percent payroll tax cut will expire.


More than $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs will also begin to take effect later this week unless Congress delays or replaces them.


"It is absolutely inexcusable that all of us find ourselves in this place at this time," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Sunday night on the Senate floor.


"Something has gone terribly wrong when the biggest threat to our American economy is our American Congress," he said, echoing a frustration shared by many Americans.


Republican and Democratic Senate leaders wrangled all weekend over the outlines of a deal, but those talks eventually hit a brick wall on GOP insistence that Social Security savings be included in a deal.


"I want everyone to know I'm willing to get this done, but I need a dance partner," McConnell said Sunday, noting that he had directly reached out to Biden to break the impasse.


As part of any deficit reduction deal, the White House wants to raise income tax rates on people making more than $250,000 a year, a threshold on which President Obama campaigned for re-election.


Republicans, caving on outright opposition to any tax increases, want a higher income threshold for the tax hike of around $450,000, sources said. They also want to prevent the estate tax from rising above its current 35 percent rate on estates of $5.1 million or more.


"There is still significant distance between the two sides, but negotiations continue," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Sunday evening. "There is still time to reach an agreement, and we intend to continue negotiations."


Both sides say the cost of failure is high.


"If we are not able to reach an agreement, it will be dire," Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Probably at least another million jobs lost, an unemployment rate over 9 percent, and putting us back into recession."



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Chris Brown arrives with Rihanna for Africa's Kora Awards






ABIDJAN: US rapper Chris Brown arrived with singer Rihanna in the Ivory Coast city Abidjan on Sunday, when he was due to perform at an African music awards show.

Brown was billed as the star attraction at the glitzy Kora Awards, dubbed the "African Grammys", that recognise musical achievements from around the continent.

The event was initially set to take place on Saturday, but was delayed at the last minute. Organiser Ernest Adjovi initially blamed the delay on Brown missing his flight, but later said heavy rains and other logistical hiccups were behind the postponement.

R&B star Brown landed overnight in Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital. Rihanna, who hails from Barbados, was by his side, wearing dark glasses.

The pair have a tumultuous history, and celebrity watchers obsessed about whether they are an item again after Brown admitted assaulting Rihanna in a case dating back to the 2009 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Past Kora ceremonies have been attended by South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela and the late "King of Pop" Michael Jackson.

Brown, whom fans call Breezy, was also slotted to perform at a "Peace for Africa" concert at a stadium in Abidjan on Sunday afternoon.

Artists including the Nigerian duo P-Square, winner of the last top Kora prize in Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou in 2010, will also take part in that event.

The Kora Awards were due to start at 8:30 pm (2030 GMT) at a luxury hotel.

For Ivory Coast, which is still recovering from four months of post-election violence that ended in April 2011 after claiming some 3,000 lives, the event signals a return to normalcy.

But the awards have drawn fire over the price of admission, with tickets costing one million CFA francs (US$2,000) for a seat in the luxury hotel for the ceremony.

Such a sum is far from the reach of this poor west African country, the world's top cocoa producer.

Brown was sentenced to five years probation, a year-long domestic violence programme and 180 days of community labour after pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2009.

- AFP/xq



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Security forces bust Naxalite training camp in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: Security forces have busted a Naxalite training camp following an encounter with the ultras during a search operation conducted in Jappemarka forests in Bijapur district of Chhattishgarh, a top police official said on Sunday.

A couple of detonators, battery, wire, Maoist literature, ration, medicines in large quantity and other naxalite-related materials, besides books, stationary items and stitching machines were recovered from the camping site, inspector general of police (Bastar range) Himanshu Gupta told reporters here.

"Joint forces comprising CRPF, district force and STF were on combing operation in the forest area of Kamkanar, Chokhanpal and Jampemarka of the district since last three days.

"On Friday, the jawnas mobilized on a tip-off about a Naxal training camp in village Jappemarka Posewada and later busted it after a fierce gun-battle with ultras," Gupta said.

On seeing the security forces, the naxals opened indiscriminate firing following which the jawans also launched retaliatory attack, after which the ultras fled, he added.

"Even when the joint team was returning after conducting the search operation, they came across a group of Maoist insurgents who opened firing on them in Marriwada village under Gangalur police station area," Gupta said, adding the naxals fled after jawans returned the fire.

The IG said that besides naxal literature and other related materials, the search party also recovered a table, a chair, an alphabetical chart, some question papers and answers sheets from the camping site which indicates that the naxalites were running a temporary school there.

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How to Banish That New Year's Eve Hangover


For those of us who enjoy the occasional cocktail, the holiday season would be incomplete without certain treats of the liquid variety. Some look forward to the creamy charms of rum-laced eggnog; others anticipate cupfuls of high-octane punch or mugs of warm, spiced wine.

No matter what's in your glass, raising one as the year winds down is tradition. What could be more festive? The problem is, one drink leads to two, then the party gets going and a third is generously poured. Soon, the music fades and the morning arrives—and with it, the dreaded hangover. (Explore a human-body interactive.)

Whether it's a pounding headache, a queasy stomach, sweating, or just general misery, the damage has been done. So now it's time to remedy the situation. What's the quickest way to banish the pain? It depends who you ask.

Doctors typically recommend water for hydration and ibuprofen to reduce inflammation. Taking B vitamins is also good, according to anesthesiologist Jason Burke, because they help the body metabolize alcohol and produce energy.

Burke should know a thing or two about veisalgia, the medical term for hangover. At his Las Vegas clinic Hangover Heaven, Burke treats thousands of people suffering from the effects of drinking to excess with hydrating fluids and medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"No two hangovers are the same," he said, adding that the unfavorable condition costs society billions of dollars-mostly from lost productivity and people taking sick days from work.

Hot Peppers for Hangovers?

So what's the advice from the nonmedical community? Suggestions range from greasy breakfasts to vanilla milkshakes to spending time in a steamy sauna. A friend insists hot peppers are the only way to combat a hangover's wrath. Another swears by the palliative effects of a bloody mary. In fact, many people just have another drink, following the old "hair of the dog that bit you" strategy.

Whether such "cures" actually get rid of a hangover is debatable, but one thing's for sure: the sorry state is universal. The only people immune to hangovers are the ones who avoid alcohol altogether.

So for those who do indulge, even if it's just once in awhile, see our interactive featuring cures from around the world (also above). As New Year's Eve looms with its attendant excuse to imbibe, perhaps it would be wise to stock your refrigerator with one of these antidotes. Pickled herring, anyone?


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NYC Subway Pusher Held For Hate-Crime Murder













A woman who allegedly told New York City police she pushed a man onto the subway tracks because she hated Hindus and Muslims has been charged with murder as a hate crime.


Erica Menendez, 31, allegedly told police that she "pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I've been beating them up."


Menendez was taken into custody this morning after a two-day search, and when detectives were interviewing her she allegedly made the statements implicating herself in Thursday night's subway-platform death.


"The defendant is accused of committing what is every subway commuter's worst nightmare -- being suddenly and senselessly pushed into the path of an oncoming train," Queen District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. "The victim was allegedly shoved from behind and had no chance to defend himself. Beyond that, the hateful remarks allegedly made by the defendant and which precipitated the defendant's actions can never be tolerated by a civilized society."


Menendez was due to be arraigned this evening. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the second degree murder charge.


On Thursday night, a woman shoved a man from a subway platform at Queens Boulevard, and the man was crushed beneath an oncoming train. Police had searched the area for her after the incident.










New York City Subway Pusher Charged With Murder Watch Video







The victim was Sunando Sen, identified by several media outlets as a graphic designer and Indian immigrant who opened a print shop, Amsterdam Copy, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Sen was struck by the No. 7 train after the unidentified woman allegedly pushed him from the northbound platform at 40th Street and Queens Boulevard at 8:04 p.m. on Thursday.


Witnesses told police they had seen the woman mubling to herself, pacing along the platform. She gave Sen little time to react, witnesses said.


"Witnesses said she was walking back and forth on the platform, talking to herself, before taking a seat alone on a wooden bench near the north end of the platform. When the train pulled into the station, the suspect rose from the bench and pushed the man, who was standing with his back to her, onto the tracks into the path of the train," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne said earlier today. "The victim appeared not to notice her, according to witnesses."


READ: What to Do If You Fall on the Subway Tracks


Police released brief surveillance video of the woman fleeing the subway station, and described the suspect as a woman in her 20s, "heavy set, approximately 5'5" with brown or blond hair."


It was New York's second death of this kind in less than a month. On Dec. 3, 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han of Queens was shoved onto the tracks at New York's Times Square subway station. Two days later, police took 30-year-old Naeem Davis into custody.


On Friday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked whether the attack might be related to the increase of mentally ill people on the streets following closures of institutions over the past four decades.


"The courts or the law have changed and said, no, you can't do that unless they're a danger to society. Our laws protect you," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show.



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Tennis: Nadal out of Australian Open






MADRID: World number four Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Australian Open on Friday, claiming he was still suffering from the stomach virus which caused him to cancel his plans to return to action in the Gulf this week.

Nadal, the 11-time Grand Slam title winner, has also withdrawn from the Qatar Open which starts on Monday and where he was due to play his first official tournament since losing in the second round at Wimbledon in June.

The Spaniard, who has been battling a crippling knee injury, had missed the Olympics, the US Open and Davis Cup final.

"My knee is much better but the virus didn't allow me to practice this past week and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open," Nadal said.

- AFP/xq



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