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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Syria backs plan for talks to end conflict






DAMASCUS: Syria's government on Monday welcomed any initiative for talks to end bloodshed in the country, after UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said he had a peace plan acceptable to world powers.

The Damascus regime's stand, expressed by Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi, came amid a flurry of diplomatic activity led by Brahimi to find ways to end the 21-month conflict.

But the violence still raged, with activists reporting the gruesome discovery of dozens of tortured, headless corpses in the northern Damascus district of Barzeh and adding that nearly 90 percent of the 45,000 people killed so far died in 2012.

"The government is working to support the national reconciliation project and will respond to any regional or international initiative that would solve the current crisis through dialogue and peaceful means and prevent foreign intervention in Syria's internal affairs," Halaqi told parliament.

He said the revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad must be resolved only by the Syrian people, "without external pressures or decrees."

Halaqi said the country was "moving toward a historic moment when it will declare victory over its enemies, with the goal of positioning Syria to build a new world order that promotes national sovereignty and the concept of international law."

His remarks came after Brahimi said the conflict was worsening "by the day."

Speaking after talks in Russia, the veteran Algerian troubleshooter said on Sunday he had crafted a ceasefire plan "that could be adopted by the international community."

"I have discussed this plan with Russia and Syria... I think this proposal could be adopted by the international community," Brahimi said, without going into detail.

"There is a proposal for a political solution based on the Geneva declaration foreseeing a ceasefire, forming a government with complete prerogatives and a plan for parliamentary and presidential elections," he said, referring to a peace initiative world powers agreed to in June.

That plan was rejected by Syria's opposition, which insists Assad must go before any national dialogue can take place.

Russia and China have so far vetoed three UN Security Council draft resolutions seeking to force Assad's hand with the threat of sanctions.

The violence has escalated, with activists reporting the discovery of 30 tortured bodies in Damascus.

"Thirty bodies were found in the Barzeh district. They bore signs of torture and have so far not been identified," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on medics and activists on the ground in compiling its tolls.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a grassroots network of anti-regime activists, gave a higher estimate of 50 bodies, saying "their heads were cut and disfigured to the point that it was no longer possible to identify" them.

These reports could not be verified independently because of restrictions on international media.

The Observatory said three civilians were killed on Monday in air attacks on the town of Douma northeast of Damascus, while fierce clashes erupted in Daraya southwest of the city.

In Idlib province, fighters from Al-Nusra Front -- blacklisted by Washington as a terror group -- and other rebels who are besieging the Wadi Deif base also clashed with troops at a nearby military post, the Observatory said.

It said at least 160 people were killed on Sunday, including 78 civilians, and that nearly 90 percent of the 45,000 people killed so far died in 2012.

It put the 2012 death toll at 39,362 people, including 28,133 civilians.

On Sunday, regime forces unleashed a fierce offensive in the central city of Homs after overrunning Deir Baalbeh, a key neighbourhood, a day earlier in fighting which left dozens dead.

A video released by the Syrian Revolution General Commission showed the bodies of nine male victims from Deir Baalbeh lying on the ground, their faces bloody and mutilated.

- AFP/xq



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Armed forces cancel New Year parties, Sonia Gandhi to shun celebrations

NEW DELHI: The Armed Forces called off their Year's Eve parties while Congress president Sonia Gandhi will shun celebrations as the country numbed by the death of the gang-raped girl is set to usher in 2013 in a sombre mood.

Several hotels, clubs and residents associations in Delhi have decided to either cancel planned festivities or scale back parties in a show of sympathy for the 23-year-old physiotherapy student who died last Saturday in a Singapore hospital after she grimly fought for her life for nearly two weeks.

Several young protesters assembled at Jantar Mantar on a day when the Capital witnessed the season's coldest day at 13.3 degree Celsius said there will be no revelries for them and that they would light candles to express their solidarity with the victim.

Reports of toned down celebrations by business houses and star hotels were also coming in from across the country.

Defence Ministry and the three Services have decided against organising their New Year bashes, Defence Ministry officials said. Like on previous occasions, defence minister A K Antony will have a quiet new year this time too.

In view of the December 16 gang-rape incident here, Antony had not even accepted birthday wishes from anyone on December 28.


The Army has issued advisories to all formations that they should not organise New Year parties, Army officials said.


The Navy and the Indian Air Force have also told their formations not to organise any bashes this year in view of the death of the gang-rape victim.

"Sonia Gandhi has appealed to partymen and well-wishers against coming to her to extend New Year greetings in the wake of gang-rape incident," party general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said.


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gandhi were present at the airport when the mortal remains of the victim were flown in here from Singapore in the small hours yesterday. Both Singh and Gandhi had spoken to the family members and consoled them.


"December 28 is close to New Year. Normally, we wish each other but not so this time as our thoughts are with the young woman...," she had told reporters on the 127th Foundation Day of Congress at AICC headquarters here on Friday.

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Deal or No Deal, 'Cliff' Debate Will Linger Into 2013


Dec 31, 2012 6:00am







ap obama cliff lt 121229 wblog Deal or No Deal, Washington Debacle Will Linger Into New Year

AP Photo/ Evan Vucci


Analysis


The fiscal cliff is just the beginning.


Regardless of whether Democrats and Republicans reach some kind of last-minute bargain to avoid the worst effects of tax hikes and spending cuts, the disaster that has been the fiscal cliff negotiations has broad implications for the Washington agenda in 2013 and beyond.


The tone has been set for the new year, and possibly for the rest of President Obama’s time in office: Washington’s divisions are the only point that matters anymore. Call if dysfunction or call it just plain broken, just don’t call it capable of even small legislative moves that involve compromise.


Hopes of a grand bargain on fiscal policy, involving entitlement spending, tax rates, and the debt ceiling, disappeared weeks ago. All that’s left are fading possibilities involving the delaying portions of tax increases and restoring some planned cuts.


Those are moves that actually make the deficit outlook worse. More saliently, they should be the politically easy things to get done, yet Congress is paralyzed and the president appears powerless to do anything meaningful to prod action.


The other items Obama ticked through this weekend as part of his second-term agenda – immigration reform, energy and environmental policy, infrastructure investments, gun control – look like dreams in this environment.


The causes are manifold, and the blame doesn’t have to be equally distributed for the ramifications to be real. The fact is that Republicans – who will control at least one house of Congress for at least half of the president’s second term – do not now and may not ever see sufficient political benefit to offer the types of concessions Democrats are insisting on.


If an election couldn’t change that, there’s precious little left that can. Name the issue and it’s all too easy to see similar dynamics derailing meaningful reform.


Washington is now broken beyond the point where bold individual leadership can even fix it. The forces at play are bigger than the ability of the president, House Speaker John Boehner, or any other person or persons to turn them around without the certain promise of a revolt in the party ranks that would leave them out of effective power.


The cliff metaphor suggests a jump into a void, but at least one that has a bottom. Yet as the nation watches this slow-motion wreck, the depths of dysfunction have yet to be fully explored.



SHOWS: World News







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Hotel occupancy rates rise during festive period






SINGAPORE: Despite the grim economic outlook, occupancy rates of hotels and budget hostels rose during the festive period this year.

Hotels which Channel NewsAsia spoke to say on average, room occupancy rates are more than 90 per cent.

Tan Ningxi, marketing communications manager at Royal Plaza on Scotts said: "During this festive period, our business travellers will be home for the holidays. So we'll have more leisure guests. These leisure guests come mainly from Asia Pacific and there are also some locals. There are about 5 to 10 per cent more of the locals and they're usually here for the countdown parties, shopping, or to see the Christmas light-up."

At a hotel located further from town, there are twice as many locals staying during the festive period, compared to non-peak periods.

Budget hostels have also seen occupancy rates rise by some 20 per cent.

As many venues at restaurants and hotels are may be fully booked at the end of the year, a youth hostel has decided to rent out its balcony.

This gives its guests or members of the public another option for events or gatherings.

With the arrival of more tourists and changing minds of locals, those in the hospitality sector feel demand for rooms during the festive season will remain strong.

- CNA/xq



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Congress anti-rape draft bill proposes 30 years jail, chemical castration

NEW DELHI: Imprisonment of upto 30 years for rape convicts has been proposed by Congress in a draft bill for a tougher law to check crimes against women which could also include chemical castration in rare cases.

The final draft of the Congress' bill, which is to be submitted to Justice JS Verma-led committee set up by the Centre in the wake of the horrific gang rape of the 23-year-old girl, who died yesterday, has not been readied yet, sources said today.

Some of the provisions of this tougher law includes imprisonment up to 30 years for rape convicts and setting up of fast track-courts to decide the cases within 3 months were discussed in the presence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on December 23 when she met a group of people protesting against the gang-rape incident a week earlier.

There is also a suggestion to re-define the Juvenile Act and lower their age.

One of the accused in the rape case is a juvenile and aged a few months less than 18 years. A view has been expressed by a section that only those below 15 years should be described as juvenile.

Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, which has framed and helped frame many landmark legislations like RTI is likely to be involved in the whole exercise.

Sources said the women and child development ministry, headed by Krishna Tirath, held a marathon meeting with stakeholders on this issue on Friday during which several suggestions have been made.

The ministry will prepare a summary of suggestions received and will submit it to the Justice Verma-headed three-member committee set up to review existing laws and make recommendations for changes in them to effectively check crimes against women.

"There is no government draft till now. The summary that we submit to JS Verma committee will be the first written document on which the new law will be based," sources told.

At the meeting with the protestors at her 10 Janpath residence, Gandhi had favoured fast track courts for trying rape cases with a 90-day cap while party spokesperson Renuka Chowhdary made a strong pitch for chemical castration to rape convicts. Chowdhary such a punishment is already in vogue in various countries and that it had a deterrent effect, sources said. PTI

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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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Skiing: Fenninger wins women's World Cup giant slalom






SEMMERING, Austria: Austria's Anna Fenninger won the women's World Cup giant slalom on Friday going fastest on both legs of the race.

She was quickest on the first leg 00.56 seconds ahead of Tessa Worley of France and 00.90 second clear of overall World Cup leader Tina Maze of Slovenia.

With gusting winds and poor visibility making the going tough for all the skiers, Maze, who had won four of the five giant slaloms completed so far this season, took the lead with a fine second run.

Worley failed to match her and it was left up to Fenninger, who promptly produced the best time of the second run to win by 1.13 seconds.

It was only the second World Cup win of Fenninger's career coming a year after she broke though to win, also on home territory at Lienz. She came second in a giant slalom in Are before the Christmas break.

The consolation for Maze was that the points she pocketed for second place meant that she moved further ahead atop the overall World Cup standings with nearest rival Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany a huge 417 points adrift.

- AFP/de



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Maharashtra drought situation alarming, says Pawar

MUMBAI: Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Friday described the drought situation in Maharashtra as "alarming" and called for urgent steps to overcome water shortage in the state.


A central team has recommended an assistance of Rs 778 crore to Maharashtra government for setting up fodder and cattle camps and the state government would get the amount in a week, the NCP leader said.


"This year's drought is very serious. Serious enough to make one lose his sleep," Pawar said after inaugurating the renovated office of his party's state unit here.


Explaining the gravity of water shortage in Maharashtra, Pawar recalled a meeting with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in which the latter dwelt on relocating the three lakh populace of Jalna town in Marathwada region in April-May owing to water shortage.


"There is a need to look at the problem seriously, or else, one cant be sure of what will happen," Pawar said.


Priority should be accorded to providing drinking water for people and cattle in view of the depleting water stock, he said.


The district planning bodies should allocate their remaining budget solely for the purpose of tiding over the water crisis, he said.


Pawar asked his party ministers and public representatives to take the lead in helping the state combat the prevailing water scarcity.


As many as 123 talukas (blocks) in the State were declared drought-hit in August this year.

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