Biden, McConnell continue ‘cliff’ talks as clock winds down

Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) continued urgent talks Monday over a deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff” after Democrats offered several significant concessions on taxes, including a proposal to raise rates only on earnings over $450,000 a year.

With a New Year’s Eve deadline hours away, Democrats abandoned their earlier demand to raise tax rates on household income over $250,000 a year. President Obama had vowed repeatedly during his reelection campaign to allow tax cuts to expire for incomes over that level.

Democrats also relented on the politically sensitive issue of the estate tax, according to a detailed account of the Democratic offer obtained by The Washington Post. They promised instead to hold a vote in the Senate that would guarantee that taxes on inherited estates remain at their current low levels, a key GOP demand.

McConnell’s office reported that talks continued between the Republican leader and Biden early Monday, with conversations taking place at 12:45 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. EST. A spokesman for McConnell expressed some hope of reaching a deal.

McConnell was holding out to set the income threshold for tax increases even higher, at $550,000, according to people close to the talks in both parties. And he was protesting a Democratic proposal to raise taxes on investment profits for households with income above $250,000.

The two sides were also sharply at odds over automatic spending cuts set to decimate budgets at the Pentagon and other federal agencies next month. Democrats were seeking to delay the cuts, known as the “sequester,” until 2015, without identifying other savings to compensate. They were also pressing to extend unemployment benefits, farm subsidies and Medicare payments to doctors, again without offsetting cuts as Republicans demand.

“The Leader and the VP continued their discussion late into the evening and will continue to work toward a solution,” Don Stewart, McConnell’s spokesman, said in a statement Monday.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Monday morning that a “lot of progress” has been made in the fiscal cliff talks, but he cautioned that “there is no agreement yet,” Reuters news agency reported.

“Conversations are still ongoing,” Kyl said. “There has been a lot of progress.” Asked how long the talks could go on, Kyl said, “I guess until 11:59.”

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, also expressed some optimism Monday.

“I think there is some good news,” he said on CNN. “I think now there’s a better than 50-50 chance that we will avoid the fiscal cliff by midnight tonight.” He added: “It is a very open question about whether or not something put together in the Senate would be able to get enough votes in the House. But first things first. Let’s first see if they can get an agreement in the Senate.”

Van Hollen declined to get into specifics publicly about the latest tax-rate levels, but he said, “There’s been a lot of flexibility on the Democratic side on that issue, and now we’re waiting for additional flexibility on the Republican side.” He said that lawmakers still would like to “find an alternative set of deficit reduction to replace these meat-ax, across-the-board cuts. So that remains part of the conversation.”

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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.

The victim's father is a daily-wage loader at the IGI airport in Delhi. 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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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.

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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Delhi gang rape: New Year party plans dropped, toned down

CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: Some hotels, clubs and business houses dropped or toned down New Year's Eve party plans, as the death of the Delhi gang-rape victim cast a shadow on revelry.

The Press Club of India (PCI) cancelled its New Year's Eve celebrations in New Delhi while a Congress MLC in Maharashtra Charan Singh Sapra appealed to people to stay away from merrymaking.

Following nation-wide grief and anger over the death of the 23-year-old girl, the Punjab and Haryana governments have also cancelled their planned programmes to usher in the New Year, officials said in Chandigarh.

While Haryana government cancelled its lunch tomorrow, several hotels and clubs in the region, including Press Club of Chandigarh, too decided not to host any party.

Several business houses in Chandigarh have also decided to cancel or tone down events, the officials said.

"We are not going to celebrate New Year's Eve in the club as a mark of respect to the brave girl who died after battling for life for 13 days," Anil Anand, secretary general PCI, said in New Delhi, condoling the death of the physiotherapy student.

The club will remain open but there will be no celebrations, he said.

In Mumbai, Sapra said people should offer prayers in memory of the gang-raped girl who died yesterday after battling for life for nearly two weeks.

"This (New Year's Eve) may be marked as a mourning period and a tribute to the brave-heart," Sapra said in a statement issued in Mumbai.

He said New Year may be ushered by organising prayer meetings in various religious places so that the victim's soul rests in peace.

Following the death of the Delhi gang-rape victim, bookings in five-star hotels in Delhi and Mumbai are reportedly down by at least 15-20 per cent because the sentiment has been impacted by the horrific incident.

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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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Delhi gang rape: Girl's condition deteriorates with severe organ failure, put on maximum life support

NEW DELHI: The 23-year-old Delhi gang-rape victim who is undergoing treatment in Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore remains to be critical. The latest medical bulletin issued by the hospital on her health said that the condition of the girl has deteriorated with signs of severe organ failure.

The girl has been put on maximum artificial ventilation support now.

Dr Kelvin Loh, CEO of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, in his latest statement said, "Her vital signs are deteriorating with signs of severe organ failure. This is despite doctors fighting for her life including putting her on maximum artificial ventilation support, optimal antibiotic doses as well as stimulants which maximise her body's capability to fight infections."

According to reports, officials from the Indian high commission in Singapore are with the girl's parents for encouragement.

Earlier, the hospital said that has significant brain injury, infection in lungs and abdomen and she is currently struggling against all odds at Mount Elizabeth Hospital where her condition continues to be "extremely critical".

"Our medical team's investigations upon her arrival at the hospital yesterday showed that in addition to her prior cardiac arrest, she also had infection of her lungs and abdomen, as well as significant brain injury," said Dr Kelvin Loh, chief executive officer, Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

In a statement, Dr Loh said, "The patient is currently struggling against the odds, and fighting for her life."

Briefing reporters here on girl's condition, Loh said, "As at 28 December, 11am (8:30 IST) the patient continues to remain in an extremely critical condition."

The girl, who was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus on December 16, was brought here in an air ambulance yesterday and admitted to the intensive care unit.

She had undergone three surgeries at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where she remained on ventilator support during most part of the treatment. Doctors removed major part of her intestines which had become gangrenous.

"A multi-disciplinary team of specialists has been working tirelessly to treat her since her arrival, and is doing everything possible to stabilise her condition over the next few days," Dr Loh said.

"The High Commission of India has been fully supportive in helping the hospital and her family, and ensuring that the best care is made available," he added.

The security was tightened at the hospital, favoured by well-heeled patients, with each visitor screened before being allowed into the ICU.

In Delhi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi stressed that no time should be lost in bringing the perpetrators of such barbarous act to justice.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured that those found guilty of lapses in the aftermath of the incident will not be spared.

"We are committed to bringing the guilty to justice as soon as possible," Singh said, adding that best possible medical care was being provided to the victim.

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How to Live to a Ripe Old Age

Cento di questi giorni. May you have a hundred birthdays, the Italians say, and some of them do.

So do other people in various spots around the world—in Blue Zones, so named by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner for the blue ink that outlines these special areas on maps developed over more than a decade. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society.)

In his second edition of his book The Blue Zones, Buettner writes about a newly identified Blue Zone: the Greek island of Ikaria (map). National Geographic magazine Editor at Large Cathy Newman interviewed him about the art of living long and well. (Watch Buettner talk about how to live to a hundred.)

Q. You've written about Blue Zones in Sardinia, Italy; Loma Linda, California; Nicoa, Costa Rica and Okinawa, Japan. How did you find your way to Ikaria?

A. Michel Poulain, a demographer on the project, and I are always on the lookout for new Blue Zones. This one popped up in 2008. We got a lead from a Greek foundation looking for biological markers in aging people. The census data showed clusters of villages there with a striking proportion of people 85 or older. (Also see blog: "Secrets of the Happiest Places on Earth.")

In the course of your quest you've been introduced to remarkable individuals like 100-year-old Marge Jetton of Loma Linda, California, who starts the day with a mile-long [0.6-kilometer] walk, 6 to 8 miles [10 to 13 kilometers] on a stationary bike, and weight lifting. Who is the most memorable Blue Zoner you've met?

Without question it's Stamatis Moraitis, who lives in Ikaria. I believe he's 102. He's famous for partying. He makes 400 liters [100 gallons] of wine from his vineyards each year, which he drinks with his friends. His house is the social hot spot of the island. (See "Longevity Genes Found; Predict Chances of Reaching 100.")

He's also the Ikarian who emigrated to the United States, was diagnosed with lung cancer in his 60s, given less then a year to live, and who returned to Ikaria to die. Instead, he recovered.

Yes, he never went through chemotherapy or treatment. He just moved back to Ikaria.

Did anyone figure out how he survived?

Nope. He told me he returned to the U.S. ten years after he left to see if the American doctors could explain it. I asked him what happened. "My doctors were all dead," he said.

One of the common factors that seem to link all Blue Zone people you've spoken with is a life of hard work—and sometimes hardship. Your thoughts?

I think we live in a culture that relentlessly pursues comfort. Ease is related to disease. We shouldn't always be fleeing hardship. Hardship also brings people together. We should welcome it.

Sounds like another version of the fable of the grasshopper and the ant?

You rarely get satisfaction sitting in an easy chair. If you work in a garden on the other hand, and it yields beautiful tomatoes, that's a good feeling.

Can you talk about diet? Not all of us have access to goat milk, for example, which you say is typically part of an Ikarian breakfast.

There is nothing exotic about their diet, which is a version of a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes vegetables, beans, fruit, olive oil, and moderate amounts of alcohol. (Read more about Buettner's work in Ikaria in National Geographic Adventure.)

All things in moderation?

Not all things. Socializing is something we should not do in moderation. The happiest Americans socialize six hours a day.

The people you hang out with help you hang on to life?

Yes, you have to pay attention to your friends. Health habits are contagious. Hanging out with unhappy people who drink and smoke is hazardous to your health.

So how has what you've learned influenced your own lifestyle?

One of the big things I've learned is that there's an advantage to regular low-intensity activity. My previous life was setting records on my bike. [Buettner holds three world records in distance cycling.] Now I use my bike to commute. I only eat meat once a week, and I always keep nuts in my office: Those who eat nuts live two to three more years than those who don't.

You also write about having a purpose in life.

Purpose is huge. I know exactly what my values are and what I love to do. That's worth additional years right there. I say no to a lot of stuff that would be easy money but deviates from my meaning of life.

The Japanese you met in Okinawa have a word for that?

Yes. Ikigai: "The reason for which I wake in the morning."

Do you have a non-longevity-enhancing guilty pleasure?

Tequila is my weakness.

And how long would you like to live?

I'd like to live to be 200.

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