After a ‘fiscal cliff’ deal, what next?

The “fiscal cliff” was designed by Washington for Washington — it was intended to set up a scenario so severe that the president and Congress would, at last, have to take on the nation’s major tax and spending problems. Instead, lawmakers again found a way to sidestep many of the prickliest issues and in the process set up other, potentially more severe, showdowns in the new year. The...

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Motorcycle bomb kills four in Pakistan's Karachi

KARACHI: A motorcycle bomb exploded Tuesday near the venue of a major political rally in Pakistan's largest city Karachi, killing four people and injuring 42 others, officials said.The bombing appeared to be targeted at buses carrying supporters of the city's dominant political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which organised the rally attended by thousands of people."The latest...

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Tourism ministry to set up multi-lingual helpline

NEW DELHI: Tourism ministry will set up a multi-lingual helpline to provide tourism-related information and local assistance to foreign travelers.Initially, the helpline will be in French, German, Spanish, Korean and Italian besides Hindi and English. The helpline will be a 1800 number that will be accessible from anywhere in India and should start functioning in the new calendar year.The primary...

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

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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'Fiscal cliff' deal talk, Apple lift US stocks at year-end

WASHINGTON: US markets closed out the year on Monday with a sharp jump on news that Congress was close to a deal to avert the fiscal cliff - but also on a 4.4 percent gain by market giant Apple.The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 166.03 points (1.28 percent) at 13,104.14.The broad-market S&P 500 gained 23.79 points (1.69 percent) at 1,426.19, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite...

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Delhi gang-rape: Nirbhaya case rarest of rare, Krishna Tirath says

NEW DELHI: Favouring imprisonment till death for the six accused in the Nirbhaya gang rape, Union minister Krishna Tirath on Monday said that the case was an exceptional one and should be treated as "rarest of rare".Following hectic consultations last week with over 40 NGOs, social and women's rights activists, the ministry plans to consult with the ministries of home and law to recommend life term...

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

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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Fiscal Cliffhanger: Tax Deal 'Within Sight,' Not Done

President Obama said an 11th-hour agreement to avert year-end tax hikes on 98 percent of Americans is "within sight" but not yet complete with just hours to go before the nation reaches the so-called fiscal cliff."There are still issues left to resolve but we're hopeful Congress can get it done," Obama said at a midday White House news conference. "But it's not done."Congressional...

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Senate negotiators search for deal to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appealed directly to Vice President Biden Sunday to try to break an impasse in negotiations over a last-ditch deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” as Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid stepped back from talks. McConnell came to the Senate floor and announced he’d reached out directly to the White House for help shortly after Democratic aides said negotiations...

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E. Timor bids farewell to peacekeepers after 13 years

DILI: The UN ends its peacekeeping mission in East Timor Monday after 13 years of boots on the ground in Asia's youngest nation following a bloody transition to independence.The mission, which saw the presence of some 1,500 UN troops and police, will take down its flag and send home the last of its peacekeepers, including five Portuguese officers, while a "liquidation team" of 79 will...

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