Closing Tax Loopholes Not Enough to Avert 'Cliff'?

Closing "corporate tax loopholes" sure sounds good to the average, non-corporate American -- so good, in fact, that politicians talk about it all the time.House Speaker John Boehner's fiscal-cliff proposal purports to raise $1.6 trillion in revenue by "clos[ing] special-interest loopholes and deductions while lowering rates."The White House, meanwhile, has complained that Boehner...

Read More..

Insight: Congo army debacle at Goma raises specter of betrayal

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - When Congo's government army retreated in panic from the eastern city of Goma last month, many observers blamed the poor morale and leadership, ill discipline and corruption that have sapped its fighting capacity for years. In the hours before Goma fell to M23 rebels on November 20, drunk and terrified Congolese soldiers roamed the streets...

Read More..

Morsi gives Egypt army police powers before referendum

CAIRO: President Mohamed Morsi has ordered Egypt's army to take on police powers from Monday -- including the right to arrest civilians -- in the run-up to a divisive constitutional referendum that has triggered mass street protests.The decree, published in the government gazette, takes effect on the eve of mass rival protests on the referendum and follows street clashes that have left...

Read More..

Cauvery water dispute: SC not to interfere with Cauvery monitoring committee award

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today made it clear that it will not interfere with the Cauvery monitoring committee's order directing Karnataka to provide Tamil Nadu with 12 TMC of Cauvery water during December despite both warring states expressing dissatisfaction over the award. A bench of justices D K Jain and Madan B Lokur turned down the plea of Tamil Nadu which contended that the report is factually...

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

Read More..

Mexican-American Star Dead in Plane Crash: Father

UPDATED: Multiple reports, including one from Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transports, confirm that the remains of the private jet carrying Jenni Rivera have been found, with no survivors. Rivera, 43, was one of seven passengers.Rivera's father, Pedro, confirmed the news of his daughter's passing to reporters stationed outside of his home in...

Read More..

Egypt president scraps decree that sparked protests

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has canceled a decree that gave him sweeping powers and sparked violent unrest but did not delay this month's referendum on a new constitution that was a major demand of his opponents. Islamist supporters of Mursi have insisted the referendum should go ahead on time on December 15, saying it is needed to complete a democratic transition...

Read More..

Residents urged to keep common areas clutter-free

SINGAPORE: Pasir Ris West constituency organised Vertical Challenge on Sunday morning to demonstrate difficulties which rescue workers face when navigating past cluttered areas during emergencies.The challenge was coordinated by the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Seven participating teams had to evacuate a casualty and manoeuvre the stretcher along a narrow corridor past various obstacles.Deputy...

Read More..

India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

Shreya Roy Chowdhury, TNN Dec 8, 2012, 06.12AM ISTMUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the...

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they...

Read More..