Silent Skype calls can hide secret messages

Got a secret message to send? Say it with silence. A new technique can embed secret data during a phone call on Skype. "There are concerns that Skype calls can be intercepted and analysed," says Wojciech Mazurczyk at the Institute of Telecommunications in Warsaw, Poland. So his team's SkypeHide system lets users hide extra, non-chat messages during a call.

Mazurczyk and his colleagues Maciej Karaś and Krysztof Szczypiorski analysed Skype data traffic during calls and discovered an opportunity in the way Skype "transmits" silence. Rather than send no data between spoken words, Skype sends 70-bit-long data packets instead of the 130-bit ones that carry speech.

The team hijacks these silence packets, injecting encrypted message data into some of them. The Skype receiver simply ignores the secret-message data, but it can nevertheless be decoded at the other end, the team has found. "The secret data is indistinguishable from silence-period traffic, so detection of SkypeHide is very difficult," says Mazurczyk. They found they could transmit secret text, audio or video during Skype calls at a rate of almost 1 kilobit per second alongside phone calls.

The team aims to present SkypeHide at a steganography conference in Montpellier, France, in June.

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Thousands stuck in China airport as country freezes

BEIJING: Thousands of angry passengers were stranded after heavy fog delayed flights at a Chinese airport early on Saturday, as the country was shivered through its coldest weather in almost three decades.

Ten thousand passengers were stuck in Changshui International Airport in the southern Chinese city of Kunming on Saturday morning after thick fog grounded more than 280 flights, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Angry passengers stranded at the airport for more than a day struggled with airline staff, damaging computer equipment belonging to an airline, while police broke up scuffles, a photographer present at the scene late on Friday told AFP.

"The passengers were really furious, they kept going to the service desk to ask for information, but didn't get any answers," the photographer said.

Flights at the airport resumed on Saturday afternoon after the fog lifted, Xinhua said.

China is suffering its coldest winter for 28 years, the news agency on Saturday quoted China's Meteorological Administration as saying.

Temperatures recorded over the country since November have averaged minus 3.8 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit), while northeast China saw average temperatures of minus 15.3 degrees Celsius, its coldest winter for 43 years.

Plunging temperatures trapped around 1,000 ships in sea ice off eastern China's Shandong province this week, Xinhua reported, while snowfall delayed more than 140 flights in Beijing last month, the China Daily said.

An annual Ice and Snow Festival in the northeastern city of Harbin, famous for its enormous ice-sculptures, is scheduled to open on Saturday, as temperatures in the city fall below minus 24 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures in northern China are expected to pick up next week, although parts of south China will continue to experience snow, Xinhua reported.

- AFP/xq

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Armstrong's lawyer: No mea culpa talks

By Jillian Martin and Chelsea J. Carter

updated 2:48 AM EST, Sat January 5, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The New York Times report cites unnamed associates and doping officials in its report


• Cyclist's lawyer says his client was not in discussion with U.S. or world anti-doping agencies


• Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life


• Cyclist has repeatedly denied using banned performance-enhancing drugs

(CNN) -- Lance Armstrong's attorney denied his client was in discussion with the U.S. or world anti-doping agencies following a report by The New York Times that the disgraced cycling icon was contemplating publicly admitting he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Attorney Tim Herman in an email to CNN Sports late Friday did not address whether Armstrong told associates -- as reported by the newspaper -- that he was considering the admission as a way to restore his athletic eligibility.

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life last year after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found there was overwhelming evidence that he was directly involved in a sophisticated doping program.

Lance Armstrong over the years

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Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is the subject of annual Bonfire Night celebrations in the British town of Edenbridge. An effigy of Armstrong will be burned during the celebrations, which mark the foiling of Guy Fawkes' "gunpowder plot" to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I in 1605. The Edenbridge Bonfire Soceity has gained a reputation for using celebrity "Guys," including Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Saddam Hussein.

Up in flames

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Armstrong has repeatedly and vehemently denied that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs as well as illegal blood transfusions during his cycling career.

In the past, Armstrong has argued that he took more than 500 drug tests and never failed. In its 202-page report that detailed Armstrong's alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions, the USADA said it had tested Armstrong less than 60 times and the International Cycling Union conducted about 215 tests.

The agency did not say that Armstrong ever failed a test, but his former teammates testified as to how they beat tests or avoided the tests altogether.

The New York Times, citing unnamed associates and anti-doping officials, said Armstrong has been in discussions with USADA officials and hopes to meet with David Howman chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The newspaper said none of the people with knowledge of Armstrong's situation wanted to be identified because it would jeopardize their access to information on the matter.

Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, an athlete who confesses to using performance-enhancing drugs may be eligible for a reinstatement.

Armstrong has been an icon for his cycling feats and celebrity, bringing more status to a sport wildly popular in some nations but lacking big-name recognition, big money and mass appeal in the United States.

He fought back from testicular cancer to win the Tour from 1999 to 2005. He raised millions via his Lance Armstrong Foundation to help cancer victims and survivors, an effort illustrated by trendy yellow "LiveSTRONG" wristbands that helped bring in the money.

The cyclist's one-time high-profile relationship with singer Sheryl Crow also kept him in the public eye.

But Armstrong has long been dogged by doping allegations, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test -- making a series of claims in 2011.

Armstrong sued the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency last year to stop its investigation of him, arguing it did not have the right to prosecute him. But after a federal judge dismissed the case, Armstrong said he would no longer participate in the investigation.

In October 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned. Weeks later, he stepped down from the board of his foundation, Livestrong.

It is unclear whether Armstrong would face criminal prosecution for perjury should he confess. Armstrong was involved in several cases where he gave sworn testimony that he never used banned drugs.

Armstrong and his publicist did not immediately respond to a CNN requests late Friday and early Saturday for comment on The New York Times report.

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Tsunami warning canceled for Alaska, Canada

JUNEAU, Alaska A powerful earthquake sparked a tsunami warning for hundreds of miles of Alaskan and Canadian coastline, but the alert was canceled when no damaging waves were generated.

The magnitude 7.5 quake did generate a tsunami, but the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said the waves didn't pose a threat.

The temblor struck at midnight Friday (1 a.m. PST Saturday) and was centered about 60 miles west of Craig, Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The tsunami followed minutes later and was eventually expanded to include coastal areas from Cape Fairweather, Alaska, to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada — an area extending more than 700 miles.

A center had warned that "significant widespread inundation of land is expected," adding that dangerous coastal flooding was possible.

In its cancellation statement, the center said that some areas were seeing just small sea level changes.

"A tsunami was generated during this event but no longer poses a threat," the center said.

After one community reported seeing just a small wave, the police in the coastal town of Cordova said they had no reports of any problems.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the quake was widely felt but it received no reports of any damage.

In addition to the warning, a tsunami advisory was briefly in effect for some Alaska coastal areas to the north of the warning zone, as well as to the south of the zone, from the Washington state border to the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

A tsunami warning means an area is likely to be hit by a wave, while an advisory means there may be strong currents, but that widespread inundation is not expected to occur.

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Debt Limit Negotiating Tactic? No Negotiating

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden walk away from the podium after Obama made a statement regarding the passage of the fiscal cliff bill in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Analysis

New for 2013: In the Washington, D.C. fiscal wars we’ve gone from everything must be on the table to politicians declaring they won’t debate.

The fiscal cliff deal either averted disaster or compounded the problem, depending on who you ask. It certainly created new mini-cliffs in a few months as Congress and the president square off on the debt ceiling, spending cuts and government funding. But it also made sure the vast majority of Americans won’t see as big a tax hike as they might have.

President Obama was pretty clear late on New Year’s night as he reacted to Congress’s passage of a bill to take a turn away from the fiscal cliff. He won’t negotiate with Republicans about the debt ceiling.

“Now, one last point I want to make,” said the president, before wrapping up and hopping on Air Force One for a redeye to Hawaii. “While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they’ve already racked up through the laws that they passed.”

(Read more here about the Fiscal Cliff)

That’s pretty clear. No debt ceiling negotiation. Then he added for emphasis: ”Let me repeat: We can’t not pay bills that we’ve already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic — far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff.”

But in Washington, saying you won’t do something these days has almost become like an opening bid. At least, that’s how Republicans are treating the president’s line in the sand.

“The president may not want to have a fight about government spending over the next few months, but it’s the fight he is going to have because it’s a debate the country needs,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, in an op-Ed on Yahoo! News about 36 hours later. “For the sake of our future, the president must show up to this debate early and convince his party to do something that neither he nor they have been willing to do until now.”

“We simply cannot increase the nation’s borrowing limit without committing to long overdue reforms to spending programs that are the very cause of our debt,” McConnell said.

The national debt is soon set to reach $16.4 trillion. That’s not a problem that can be solved with one bill or budget. And the two sides will have to figure out some sort of way to talk about entitlement/social safety net reform – meaning things like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security – in addition to cutting spending and, most importantly, hope for an improving economy, to deal with those deficits.

House Speaker John Boehner, who has several times now failed to reach a big, broad fiscal deal with President Obama, told colleagues, according to The Hill newspaper, that he’s done with secret White House negotiations. He wants to stick with the constitutional way of doing things, with hearings and bills that are debated on Capitol Hill rather than hatched by the vice president and Senate Republicans.

Okay. Obama won’t negotiate on the debt ceiling. McConnell won’t not negotiate on the debt ceiling. Boehner doesn’t to do things by the book.

But McConnell won’t negotiate on taxes any more.

“Predictably,” McConnell had written earlier in his post, “the president is already claiming that his tax hike on the ‘rich’ isn’t enough. I have news for him: the moment that he and virtually every elected Democrat in Washington signed off on the terms of the current arrangement, it was the last word on taxes. That debate is over.”

It’s a new chapter in the ongoing fiscal saga in Washington. Back when the two sides were talking about a grand bargain or a big deal – some sort of all-inclusive reform that would right the listing deficit with one flip of the rudder – the popular trope was that “everything must be on the table.” That’s basically how Obama put it back in the summer of 2011 when he and Boehner failed to reach a grand bargain. He wanted higher taxes – they were calling them revenues back then. More recently, after Obama won the election and when he and Boehner were trying to hammer out another grand bargain to avert the fiscal cliff, Boehner wanted entitlements on the table. That means he wanted to find ways to curb future spending.

Both sides are declaring they won’t debate certain points, but this far – a full two months – before the mini-cliffs start, those are easier declarations to make than they will be when the government is in danger of defaulting or shutting down.

Even though they’re trying to take elements off the table, both men hope that coming negotiations can be a little more cordial and a little less down-to-the wire.

“Over the next two months they need to deliver the same kind of bipartisan resolution to the spending problem we have now achieved on revenue — before the 11th hour,” wrote McConnell.

“The one thing that I think, hopefully, in the New Year we’ll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much,” said Obama.

That’ll be tough if neither side will talk about what the other side wants to talk about.

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Your consciousness is your affair, says drug crusader

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Spare elephants or I'm off to Russia: Bardot

PARIS: French cinema legend Brigitte Bardot on Friday threatened to follow Gerard Depardieu to Russia unless two elephants under threat of being put down are granted a reprieve.

In a surreal twist to the saga over Depardieu's move into tax exile, the veteran animal rights campaigner said she would emulate his request for Russian nationality unless authorities intervened to save Baby and Nepal.

The two elephants face being put down because they have been diagnosed with tuberculosis and have been deemed a threat to the health of other animals and visitors to the Tete d'Or zoo in Lyon.

City authorities ordered the elephants to be put down last month but a petition organised by their original owner, circus master Gilbert Edelstein, resulted in them being granted a temporary reprieve over Christmas.

Bardot said in a statement she would be leaving France if the reprieve was not made permanent.

"If the powers that be have the cowardice and the shamelessness to kill Baby and Nepal... I have decided to take Russian nationality and quit this country that is nothing more an animal cemetery," Bardot said.

Bardot, 77, has been a high-profile supporter of Depardieu in his spat with the French government over his decision to take up residence in neighbouring Belgium for tax reasons.

She said last month that her fellow actor, who was branded "pathetic" by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, had been the "victim of extremely unfair persecution".

-AFP/fl

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Bill that caused GOP fight up for a vote

By Ben Brumfield and Tom Watkins, CNN

updated 7:23 AM EST, Fri January 4, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• FEMA warns money is running out of the flood insurance program


• The last House session canceled a vote on $60 billion in aid


• Congress will consider a $51 billion package later


• FEMA urges "timely congressional action"

(CNN) -- The House is poised to vote Friday on a $9.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package after delays over fiscal cliff bickering and a warning from federal officials that funds are running out.

Frustrated victims of the massive October storm in the Northeast watched this week as a vote on a much larger $60 billion package got canceled.

Lawmakers are expected to pass the first portion Friday and weigh in on the remaining $51 billion in broader aid on January 15.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency notified the outgoing Congress on Tuesday -- its last day in session -- that without additional borrowing authority, it will run out of money within days to compensate storm victims under the National Flood Insurance Program.

The large aid package not voted on included more than $9.7 billion in new borrowing authority, according to the federal emergency agency.

It urged "timely congressional action" to meet survivors' needs.

Rep. Peter King blasts his own party

Outgoing lawmakers dropped what seemed like a sure thing for the suffering region into the lap of the new Congress, which convened Thursday. It will now consider it in two parts.

Republicans in the last Congress criticized proposed congressional "pork" spending in the bill that was unrelated to Sandy needs.

Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the region, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, had unleashed a firestorm of criticism at their own party in the House for not addressing the measure as originally planned.

"New Jersey deserves better than the duplicity we saw on display," Christie said, adding, that this is "why the American people hate Congress."

GOP civil war over Sandy relief

Later, closed-door meetings with House Republicans from the Northeast and their leaders Eric Cantor and John Boehner calmed some sentiments.

Boehner is the House speaker while Cantor is the Majority leader.

Democrats were less mollified.

"It's really unbelievable how Speaker Boehner and his party could just walk away," said Christine Quinn, speaker of the New York City Council. "To promise us a vote weeks from now? Why should we believe him at all? It's just shocking."

In a statement, Boehner and Cantor said "critical aid" to storm victims should be the first priority of the new Congress. Both were re-elected and have retained their leadership positions in the new House.

The Senate, which had already approved the larger Sandy plan that the House declined to consider, is expected to sign off on the scaled-back version Friday as well, according to a Democratic leadership aide.

But Senators will hold off on any further action.

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Video shows teens joking about alleged rape victim

(CBS) In August, the family of a 16-year-old girl accused multiple Steubenville, Ohio, high school students of raping her while she was passed out during a night of pre-football-season partying.

Two Steubenville High School football players have been indicted for rape, and the case is set to go to trial in February. But on Wednesday, a video appeared online that depicts teenage males who appear to be joking about details of the alleged rape.

The nearly 13-minute video posted on YouTube consists mostly of one teenage male hysterically laughing as he entertains an unseen cameraman and others in the room with remarks such as "They raped her harder than that cop raped Marcellus Wallace in 'Pulp Fiction'," and, "They raped her quicker than Mike Tyson raped that one girl." 

The New York Times reported last month that photos of the alleged rape victim were posted on social media. In one, according to the paper, the girl "is shown looking unresponsive as two boys carry her by her wrists and ankles."

The case has generated controversy partly because it has been playing out online, and partly because in Steubenville, where the high school football team is a source of great civic pride, the Times reports that some say the incident is an example of the perils inherent in granting teen athletes special stature. 

Multiple versions of the video were posted on YouTube on Jan. 2. A group of hackers called KnightSec, who claim affiliation with Anonymous, say they have collected and posted information about the students accused in the attack - as well as those they believe shot and appeared in the video. In an online message, the group threatened to release what they compiled, "unless all accused parties come forward by new years day and issue a public apology to the girl and her family."

The video, which has more than 100,000 total views, appears to have been recorded on the night of the incident. One male recalls seeing the girl vomit, and more than one of the males refer to "that girl" as being drunk. So drunk, apparently, that the teen on whose face the video camera is focused cracks himself up joking that she is "so dead."

"She is deader than Trayvon Martin," he laughs, referring to the Florida teen killed in February 2012.

The teen also makes remarks implying that he may have witnessed at least some of the incident: "You didn't see how they carried her out," he says. And: "They peed on her, that's how you know she's dead."

And also: "She is so raped right now."

The alleged victim is not named in the video and her name has not been released. CBS affiliate WTRF reports that Anonymous plans to rally in support of the alleged victim at the Jefferson County Courthouse on Jan. 5.

Steubenville Police Chief Bill McCafferty did not return Crimesider's calls for comment, but released a statement to WTRF that reads, in part, "The Steubenville police department has been aware of this recent video that was released. Since late August 2012 the subject who made the video was interviewed. This has all been turned over to the prosecutors which are the Ohio Attorney General's Office, who is prosecuting this case."

In the video now being circulated, excerpts of which are above, one voice off camera tells the speaker, "this isn't funny" and that his remarks are "childish."

"That's like, rape," says the unseen male. "They raped her."

"What if that was your daughter?" says another off-camera male.

"But it isn't," says the teen making the jokes. "If that was my daughter I wouldn't care, I'd just let her be dead."

Eventually, someone asks the cameraman, "Are you still videotaping?"

The cameraman replies with a laugh: "Yes."

Additional reporting by Will Goodman

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Chelsea Clinton Raises Profile During Mom's Illness

While Hillary Clinton was in the hospital it was daughter Chelsea -- not the secretary of state or the former president Bill Clinton -- who spoke for the family.

She, along with the State Department, doled out what little information the family wanted to share in a series of tweets and when her mother was released from the hospital, it was Chelsea who delivered the thanks on behalf of her parents, tweeting her gratitude to the doctors as well as those who kept her mother in their thoughts while she recovered from a blood clot.

When Hillary Clinton leaves office, possibly at the end of this month, it will be the first time since 1982 that a Clinton will not be holding a public office.

The watch will be on whether Hillary Clinton makes another run for the White House in 2016, but almost inevitably people will also be watching to see if Chelsea Clinton decides to run for office, too.

"Americans always look for dynasties: Bush, Kennedy, Cuomo, Clinton … it's some kind of continuity. There will always be pressure on her to run for public office," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political strategist in New York.

"She's learning from the two best politicians in recent American history and she understands when to hold them and when to fold them," Sheinkopf said.

That sense of dynasty could also present a significant hurdle.

James Devaney/Getty Images

Secretary of State Clinton: Mystery Health Issues Watch Video

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Undergoing Blood-Thinning Therapy Watch Video

"She's got to A, demonstrate that she has the charisma of her father, or B, demonstrate that she has the policy chops of her mother. And I think like most people she is somewhere in between," a former Hillary Clinton aide from her 2008 campaign said. "People are judging her through each of her parents and it's an impossible standard."

Chelsea Clinton, 32, has inched towards a possible political career in recent statements and has become more politically active.

In an interview with Vogue published in August she was more open to it than she has been in the past, telling the magazine, "Before my mom's (presidential) campaign I would have said no," but "now I don't know."

"I believe that engaging in the political process is part of being a good person. And I certainly believe that part of helping to build a better world is ensuring that we have political leaders who are committed to that premise. So if there were to be a point where it was something I felt called to do and I didn't think there was someone who was sufficiently committed to building a healthier, more just, more equitable, more productive world? Then that would be a question I'd have to ask and answer."

Clinton also spoke of a change in her private to public life:

"Historically I deliberately tried to lead a private life in the public eye," she told the magazine. "And now I am trying to lead a purposefully public life."

Besides her work as a special correspondent with NBC, Chelsea Clinton has taken on high profile roles with her father's Clinton Global Initiative. She sits on several corporate boards and has both moderated and sat on panels discussing both women in politics and childhood obesity, among other issues.

She has also worked toward making same-sex marriage legal in New York last year, as well as gay marriage referendums in Maine, Maryland, Wisconsin and Washington state, all of which were successful in November. She has also been active in superstorm Sandy recovery, most notably delivering aid to the devastated Rockaways with her father.

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Are there really 50 Eskimo words for snow?

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Guang Ming Industrial Building at Paya Lebar up for collective sale

SINGAPORE: Guang Ming Industrial Building, located at No 65 Upper Paya Lebar Road, has been put up for collective sale.

The freehold industrial 'white site' has a land area of 19,789 square feet.

Its marketing agent Cushman & Wakefield says the site is expected to fetch more than S$58 million.

Among the likely interested parties for the site include small to mid-sized developers and those companies looking for a site to locate their corporate headquarters, adds Cushman and Wakefield.

Developers can build up to a gross floor area of some 70,000 sq ft, including some 20,000 sq ft of retail and commercial space.

This is based on a maximum allowable plot ratio of 3.5.

Cushman & Wakefield's Director of Investment Sales Christina Sim says prime locations like Tai Seng and Paya Lebar will make the building a "hot commodity".

She adds that "the special 'white zoning' of the site will give an added boost to its development potential.

The tender will close on 5 February 2013.

- CNA/de

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Argentina presses claim to Falklands

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner during the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war, in Ushuaia, Argentina on April 2, 2012.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Argentina says Britain stripped the Falkland Islands away 180 years ago


• The countries went to war over the islands in 1982, when Argentina put troops there


• Argentina, which calls the islands Las Malvinas, wants sovereignty negotiations


• British government says there won't be sovereignty talks unless islanders want them

London (CNN) -- Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is once again calling on the UK to hand back the Falkland Islands -- known in Argentina as Las Malvinas -- accusing Britain of blatant colonialism.

In an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron, which was published in the British press, she says that Britain stripped the islands away from Argentina 180 years ago on Thursday's date: January 3.

Read more: Falkland Islands will vote on political status

The two countries went to war over the territory in 1982, when the then-Argentinian military government landed troops on the islands.

Argentina put its death toll from the conflict at around 645. Britain's civil and military losses amounted to 255.

Falklands war wounds still fresh, 30 years later

In the letter, which was copied to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Argentinian president writes: "The Argentines on the Islands were expelled by the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom subsequently began a population implantation process similar to that applied to other territories under colonial rule.

"Since then, Britain, the colonial power, has refused to return the territories to the Argentine Republic, thus preventing it from restoring its territorial integrity."

She quotes a 1965 U.N. resolution inviting the two countries to negotiate a solution to the sovereignty dispute and calls on the British to abide by the resolution.

Read more: Why tensions are rising over Falklands

Located in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 480 kilometers (298 miles) east of the tip of South America, the Falklands have long been coveted as a strategic shipping stopover and potential wellspring of natural resources.

The Falklands, which raise their own taxes but rely on the United Kingdom for defense and foreign policy, are one of 14 British overseas territories and have been under British rule since 1833.

Read more: Chavez, allies call for sanctions against Britain over Falklands

The British government swiftly rejected the idea of negotiations, saying the Falkland Islanders have chosen to be British.

In a statement, the British Foreign Office said the islanders remain free to choose their own futures and "have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the U.N. Charter. This is a fundamental right for all peoples."

The statement added: "There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend. The islanders can't just be written out of history.

"As such, there can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falklands Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish."

The islanders are due to hold a referendum on their political status this March but were also quick to dismiss the Argentinian position.

"We are not a colony," said Barry Elsby, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands. "Our relationship with the United Kingdom is by choice."

The exchange comes amid rising tension over the islands, which are home to about 3,000 people.

In February of last year, the Argentinian leader accused the British of militarizing the South Atlantic after the Royal Navy sent its warship HMS Dauntless to the region. Then, in June of 2012, Fernandez confronted Cameron at the G-20 meeting and tried to hand him a letter about the islands -- something he refused to accept.

Argentinian leader denounces 'militarization' of the South Atlantic

The dispute flared again ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, when Argentina released a video boosting its Olympic team that was filmed on the islands. The advertisement showed Argentinian field hockey star Fernando Zylberberg training in the streets of Port Stanley in the Falklands. The video ends with the slogan: "To compete on English soil, we train on Argentine soil."

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Obama signs "fiscal cliff" bill into law

HONOLULU President Obama signed a bill late Wednesday night boosting taxes on the wealthiest Americans, while preserving tax cuts for most American households.

The bill, which averts a looming fiscal cliff that had threatened to plunge the nation back into recession, also extends expiring jobless benefits, prevents cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors and delays for two months billions of dollars in across-the-board spending cuts in defense and domestic programs.

The GOP-run House approved the measure by a 257-167 vote late Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after the Democratic-led Senate passed it 89-8.

Obama, who is vacationing in Hawaii, signed the bill using an autopen, a mechanical device that copies his signature.

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"Cliff" deal loaded with special interest tax breaks

The "fiscal cliff" law passed so quickly, many in Congress never realized it was full of special interest tax breaks, reports CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews.

One allows auto racetrack owners to speed up their tax deductions. Another tax write off goes to Hollywood -- a $20 million break anytime a TV show or movie is shot in an economically depressed area of the United States.

There's a subsidy for rum made in Puerto Rico, a tax break if you train a mine rescue worker, and a tax credit for every kilowatt of electricity produced by wind.

All told, the fiscal cliff law designed to reduce the deficit, added $74 billion in spending through changes in the tax law.

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Senate Swears in a Historic 20 Female Senators

Today the Senate will make history, swearing in a record-breaking 20 female senators – 4 Republicans and 16 Democrats – in office.

As the 113th Congress is sworn in today on Capitol Hill, ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer has an exclusive joint interview with the historic class of female Senators.

Diane Sawyer's complete interview will air on World News this evening.

"I can't tell you the joy that I feel in my heart to look at these 20 gifted and talented women from two different parties, different zip codes to fill this room," Sen. Barbara Mikulksi, D-Md., said while surrounded by the group of women senators. "In all of American history only 16 women had served. Now there are 20 of us."

Senator-elect Deb Fischer, R-Neb., becomes today the first women to be elected as a senator in Nebraska.

"It was an historic election," Fischer said, "But what was really fun about it were the number of mothers and fathers who brought their daughters up to me during the campaign and said, "Can we get a picture? Can we get a picture?' Because people realize it and -- things do change, things do change."

The women senators all agree that women will be getting things done in this new Congress, a sign of optimism felt for the new Congress, after the bruising battles of the 112th Congress.

"We're in force and we're in leadership positions, but it's not just the position that we hold. I can tell you this is a can-do crowd," Mikulski said of both Democrats and Republican senators in the room. "We are today ready to be a force in American politics."

And while the number of women in the Senate today makes historic, many of the women agreed that they want to keep fighting to boost those numbers. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said that women are still "underrepresented" in the Senate.

"I think that until we get to 50, we still have to fight because it's still a problem," Boxer said. "I think this class as you look around, Republicans and Democrats... I think that because of this new class and the caliber of the people coming and the quality of the people coming, I think that hopefully in my lifetime -- and I really do hope and pray this is the case -- we will see 50 percent. "

No Sorority Here, Even With the Will to Work Together

The cooperation does not make them a "sorority," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says. There are real differences in ideology and personality and they don't want their gender to define them as senators.

But the women also admit that they believe having more women in the room would help in fierce negotiations, compromise, and legislating on Capitol Hill, traits they say do not come as naturally to their male colleagues in the Senate. That sentiment enjoys bipartisan support among the women of the Senate.

"What I find is with all due deference to our male colleagues, that women's styles tend to be more collaborative," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said by nature women are "less confrontational." Sen-elect Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, says that women are "problem solvers."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., says that women have a camaraderie which helps in relationships that are key to negotiations on Capitol Hill, something she says comes natural to women more than men.

"I think there's just a lot of collaboration between the women senators and... advice and really standing up for each other that you don't always see with the men," she said.

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Shell oil rig runs aground in Arctic

Michael Marshall, environment reporter

(Image: Jonathan Klingenberg/US Coast Guard)

A drilling rig has run aground on an island off the coast of Alaska. It is the latest setback for Shell, which has been trying to drill for oil in the frigid northern waters.

The Kulluk rig broke free from a tow ship on Monday night and grounded itself on the south-east coast of Sitkalidak Island. The BBC reports that it is carrying "about 143,000 gallons [650,000 litres] of diesel and about 12,000 gallons [45,500 litres] of other oil products": a relatively small amount. So far it appears to be stable and there is no sign of a leak.

The rig is one of two operated by Shell in the Arctic waters, after it was granted permission to undertake exploratory drilling last year.

Shell's project is part of a global dash for the Arctic, as resources like oil are exposed by the retreating ice. However the company has run into many problems, including equipment failures and accidents.

While this latest accident may prove harmless to the environment, it will give environmentalists another stick with which to beat Shell. The growing catalogue of mishaps looks very bad for the company.

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Gold rallies on fiscal deal

SINGAPORE: Gold prices receive a boost as US lawmakers finally approved a bill to address the fiscal cliff.

The precious metal rose as much as US$29 an ounce from last week's close of US$1,655.70 a troy ounce on December 28.

The deal struck in the US Congress has helped arrest the threat of the world's largest economy falling into a deep recession.

But some analysts said it is just a knee-jerk reaction and the rally may not be sustainable.

Gold is often seen as a safe haven for investors and is commonly used as a hedge against inflation and a store of wealth especially in times of uncertainty.

Despite a bullish outlook on gold in 2012, the precious metal only managed a modest gain of seven per cent from the start of the year.

It also underperformed against equities which saw Asian stock markets gaining about 20 per cent. For instance the Hang Seng Index up 22.9 per cent , STI gained 20.6 per cent, Nikkei's up 23 per cent in 2012.

The latest move by the US Congress to pass a bill to end the fiscal cliff crisis has lifted sentiment on gold investing.

Some investors expect gold prices to propel higher since the deal may lead to a weakening of the US dollar and this means gold prices will rise as investors switch into the precious metal.

Yet, most experts are not too sanguine of its prospects and expect the impact on gold prices to be muted at best.

"We have the debt ceiling issue which we address somewhere in end February, early March and then we expect a gradual recovery in the US economy in the second half of this year," said Roy Wellington Teo, a foreign exchange and precious metals strategist at ABN Amro (Asia).

He added: "Therefore, we think a stronger US dollar towards the second half of this year could potentially lead to gold prices trend lower towards US$1,500 an ounce end of this year."

Swiss lender UBS expect gold prices to make a steady climb later this year when investors start to worry about inflation when economic growth returns.

During inflation, the value of key currencies like the US dollar and Japanese yen will weaken and this will prompt investors to switch into gold and boost prices.

US said it expects the precious metal to reach USD$1,950 a troy ounce by the first half of this year and is likely to show better performance in 2013.

Dominic Schnider, head of NTAC Research at UBS, said: "Overall the gold price will definitely lag equities but it is still going to be a good asset in your portfolio if you consider we still have a lot of risk factors out there including monetary debasement which is actually a big topic especially with the recent development in Japan."

Looking ahead, experts said gold prices will get a further boost if the US Federal Reserve extends its stimulus programme.

This is expected to inject more liquidity into the financial system.

Avtar Sandu, a business development senior manager at Phillip Futures, said: "We have low interest rate environment, we have all the QEs and we have all the central banks that are buying gold. All these will slowly drive the prices of gold forward."

Yet, some analysts warned that it may not be all glitter for gold this year.

They said that inflation may ease in 2013 and concerns over inflation may be misplaced.

- CNA/fa

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Crises averted, but more fights loom

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: U.S. stocks are expected to rise


• The vote prevents tax increases for more than 98% of Americans


• It also wards off $110 billion in automatic cuts to domestic and military spending


• Reid accused Boehner of "dictatorship" Friday; Boehner responded with profanity

Washington (CNN) -- After exhaustive negotiations that strained the country's patience, the House approved a bill to avert the dreaded fiscal cliff, staving off widespread tax increases and deep spending cuts.

In the 257-167 vote late Tuesday, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans favored the bill; 16 Democrats and 151 Republicans opposed it.

The approved plan maintains tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 per year and couples earning less than $450,000. It will raise tax rates for those who make more, marking the first time in two decades the rates jump for the wealthiest Americans.

The bill also extends unemployment insurance and delays for two months a series of automatic cuts in federal spending.

World markets rose after the news. U.S. stocks were poised to rise, too.

Just hours before the bill passed, House Speaker John Boehner pitched to fellow Republicans the idea of amending the Senate-approved bill to add a package of spending cuts. He cautioned about the risk in such a strategy, saying there was no guarantee the Senate would act on it.

By the end of the night, he was among the Republicans who voted for the bill as written.

President Barack Obama said he would sign the bill into law, but he did not say when. After the vote, he flew to Hawaii to rejoin his wife and daughters on their winter vacation.

Had the House not acted, and the Bush-era tax cuts expired fully, broad tax increases would have kicked in. In addition, $110 billion in automatic cuts to domestic and military spending would have taken place.

The combined effect could have dampened economic growth by 0.5%, possibly tipping the U.S. economy back into a recession and driving unemployment from its current 7.7% back over 9%, according to economists' estimates.

While the package provides some short-term certainty, it leaves a range of big issues unaddressed.

It doesn't mention the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling that the United States reached Monday.

It also puts off the so-called sequester, cuts in federal spending that would have taken effect Wednesday and reduced the budgets of most agencies and programs by 8% to 10%.

Come late February, Congress will have to tackle both those thorny issues.

Obama warned Congress that he will not tolerate another act of prolonged brinksmanship.

"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they've already racked up through the laws that they've passed," he said after the Tuesday night vote.

"We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills in time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic -- far worse than the impact of the fiscal cliff."

How they voted: House | Senate

A partial victory

While the deal gives Obama bragging rights for raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, it also leaves him breaking a promise.

Obama had vowed to raise tax rates for the top-earning 2% of Americans, including those with household income above $250,000 and individuals earning more than $200,000.

Raising the threshold for higher tax rates shrinks the number of Americans affected.

While nearly 2% of filers have adjusted gross incomes over $250,000, only 0.6% have incomes above $500,000, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Some House Republicans weren't exactly overjoyed in voting for the plan.

"I'm a very reluctant yes," said Rep. Nan Hayworth, an outgoing Republican representative from New York.

"This is the best we can do, given the Senate and the White House sentiment at this point in time, and it is at least a partial victory for the American people," she said. "I'll take that at this point."

Conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist, whose Americans for Tax Reform pushes candidates to sign a pledge never to raise taxes, said the plan preserves most of the Bush tax cuts and won't violate his group's beliefs.

"The Bush tax cuts lapsed at midnight last night," Norquist tweeted Tuesday. "Every (Republican) voting for Senate bill is cutting taxes and keeping his/her pledge."

The timing of the vote was crucial, as a new Congress is set to be sworn in Thursday. And without a breakthrough, the entire process would have had to start over.

Specifics of the plan

The legislation will raise roughly $600 billion in new revenues over 10 years, according to various estimates.

According to the deal:

-- The tax rate for individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000 will rise from the current 35% to the Clinton-era rate of 39.6%.

-- Itemized deductions will be capped for individuals making $250,000 and for married couples making $300,000.

-- Taxes on inherited estates will go up to 40% from 35%.

-- Unemployment insurance will be extended for a year for 2 million people.

-- The alternative minimum tax, a perennial issue, will be permanently adjusted for inflation.

-- Child care, tuition and research and development tax credits will be renewed.

-- The "Doc Fix" -- reimbursements for doctors who take Medicare patients -- will continue, but it won't be paid for out of the Obama administration's signature health care law.

The Democratic-led Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill early Tuesday before passing it to the House.

As news about the fiscal cliff's deflection spread across the world, several markets reacted positively Wednesday.

Australia's ASX All Ordinaries index added 1.2%. South Korea's KOSPI gained 1.5%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 1.9%. Tokyo's Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite remain closed for holiday celebrations but will reopen later in the week.

More fiscal cliffs loom

Payroll taxes still set to go up

Despite the last-minute fiscal cliff agreements, Americans are still likely to see their paychecks shrink somewhat because of a separate battle over payroll taxes.

The government temporarily lowered the payroll tax rate in 2011 from 6.2% to 4.2% to put more money in the pockets of Americans. That adjustment, which has cost about $120 billion each year, expired Monday.

Now, Americans earning $30,000 a year will take home $50 less per month. Those earning $113,700 will lose $189.50 a month.

With the latest battle round over, lawmakers will next set their sights on the other items on their docket of congressional squabbles over money: the debt ceiling and resolving the sequester.

Obama said he hopes leaders in Washington this year will focus on "seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship (and) not scare the heck out of folks quite as much."

He thanked bipartisan House and Senate leaders for finally reaching a resolution Tuesday, but said Congress' work this year is just beginning.

"I hope that everybody now gets at least a day off I guess, or a few days off, so that people can refresh themselves, because we're going to have a lot of work to do in 2013."

Read more: 5 things to know about the fiscal cliff

Angry rhetoric flew

In the tense days leading up to the deal, heated words flew between some Democrats and Republicans.

On Friday, after Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Boehner of holding a "dictatorship" in his chamber, the House speaker responded with a profanity.

"Go f— yourself," Boehner said to Reid, according to a source with knowledge of the exchange in a White House lobby.

Dana Bash reported from Washington, and Holly Yan reported from Atlanta. CNN's Rich Barbieri, Charles Riley, Josh Levs, Dana Ford, Matt Smith, Jessica Yellin, Deirdre Walsh and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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House GOP blasted for scrapping Sandy aid vote

WASHINGTON New York area-lawmakers in both parties erupted in anger late Tuesday night after learning the House Republican leadership decided to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he was told by the office of Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia that Speaker John Boehner of Ohio had decided to abandon a vote this session.

Cantor, who sets the House schedule, did not immediately comment. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland told reporters that just before Tuesday evening's vote on "fiscal cliff" legislation, Cantor told him that he was "99.9 percent confident that this bill would be on the floor, and that's what he wanted."

A spokesman for Boehner, Michael Steel said, "The speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month."

A House Republican aide confirmed to CBS News producer Jill Jackson that the House would not take up the bill during this session.

In remarks on the House floor, King called the decision "absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We cannot just walk away from our responsibilities."

The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states. The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure, and a vote had been expected before Congress' term ends Thursday at noon.

29 Photos

Cleaning up after Sandy

29 Photos

Superstorm Sandy: State-by-state snapshots

More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm, one of the worst ever to hit the Northeast. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring, according to officials. The unspent FEMA money can only be used for emergency services, said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal aid.

Sandy was blamed for at least 120 deaths and battered coastline areas from North Carolina to Maine. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were the hardest hit states and suffered high winds, flooding and storm surges. The storm damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.

"This is an absolute disgrace and the speaker should hang his head in shame," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.

"I'm here tonight saying to myself for the first time that I'm not proud of the decision my team has made," said Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. "It is the wrong decision, and I' m going to be respectful and ask that the speaker reconsider his decision. Because it's not about politics, it's about human lives."

"I truly feel betrayed this evening," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.

"We need to be there for all those in need now after Hurricane Sandy," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.

The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, said she didn't know whether a decision has been made and added, "We cannot leave here doing nothing. That would be a disgrace."

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Obama Hails 'Cliff' Deal, Warns of Next Fiscal Fight

Minutes after the House of Representatives approved a bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and preserve Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans making less than $400,000 per year, President Obama praised party leaders and wasted little time turning to the next fiscal fight.

"This is one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy for everybody," Obama said.

Obama lamented that earlier attempts at a much larger fiscal deal that would have cut spending and dealt with entitlement reforms failed. He said he hoped future debates would be done with "a little less drama, a little less brinksmanship, and not scare folks quite as much."

But Obama drew a line in the sand on the debt ceiling, which is set to be reached by March.

"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether they should pay the bills for what they've racked up," Obama said. "We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred."

An hour after his remarks, Obama boarded Air Force One to rejoin his family in Hawaii, where they have been since before Christmas.

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

House Republicans agreed to the up-or-down vote Tuesday evening, despite earlier talk of trying to amend the Senate bill with more spending cuts before taking a vote. The bill delays for two months tough decisions about automatic spending cuts that were set to kick in Wednesday.

A majority of the Republicans in the GOP-majority House voted against the fiscal cliff deal. About twice as many Democrats voted in favor of the deal compared to Republicans. One hundred fifty-one Republicans joined 16 Democrats to vote against the deal, while 172 Democrats carried the vote along with 85 Republicans.

The Senate passed the same bill by an 89-8 vote in the wee hours of New Year's Day. If House Republicans had tweaked the legislation, there would have been no clear path for its return to the Senate before a new Congress is sworn in Thursday.

The vote split Republican leaders in the House. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, voted yes, and so did the GOP's 2012 vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., the No. 2 Republican in the House, voted no. It was his opposition that had made passage of the bill seem unlikely earlier in the day.

The deal does little to address the nation's long-term debt woes 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 -- sets 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.

"Now the focus turns to spending," said Boehner in a statement after the vote. "The American people re-elected a Republican majority in the House, and we will use it in 2013 to hold the president accountable for the 'balanced' approach he promised, meaning significant spending cuts and reforms to the entitlement programs that are driving our country deeper and deeper into debt."

Republicans hope that allowing the fiscal cliff compromise, which raised taxes without an equal amount of spending cuts, will settle the issue of tax rates for the coming debates on spending.

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In-depth 2012: The best long reads of the year

Read more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"

Dig deeper, look closer and think harder – these are the goals of New Scientist's in-depth articles. Each one is perfect for saving in your favourite read-it-later app and curling up in front of a glowing tablet for a good long read.

These are our editors' picks of our best features of the year, and all are prime examples of the amazing breadth of big ideas that were ripe for the tackling in 2012. When you have finished digesting these readable meals, visit our in-depth articles archive if you're hungry for more.

Richard Webb: "You might not have heard of the algorithm that runs the world." I certainly hadn't, or that its mathematical foundations are starting to look a little wobbly. An eye-opening examination of how seemingly abstruse mathematics is in fact deeply embedded in modern life: "The algorithm that runs the world"

Sally Adee: Gastric bypass surgery is the best surgery you're not getting, said Dr Oz on his popular medical advice show in the US. Because of enthusiasm from people like him, this operation has become massively popular – but by whimsically hacking at our stomach, might we might be messing with a system far more complicated than anyone really understands? Samantha Murphy had the surgery and began to realise that losing 45 kilograms could come with some profound neurological trade-offs: "Change your stomach, change your brain"

Michael Le Page: Nowadays most people either haven't heard of the 1970 book The Limits to Growth, or believe – wrongly – that the research it was based on has been discredited. But the main message of Limits is perhaps more relevant than ever – that a delayed response to mounting environmental problems leads to catastrophe further down the line: "Boom and doom: Revisiting prophecies of collapse"

Richard Fisher: This is a simple story about a scientific mystery. Strange rumbles, whistles and blasts have been reported all over the world for centuries. In New York state, they are called "Seneca guns"; in the Italian Apennines they are described as brontidi, which means thunder-like; in Japan they are yan; and along the coast of Belgium they are called mistpouffers – or fog belches. Yet the cause is often unexplained – what on Earth could be behind them? "Mystery booms: The source of a worldwide sonic enigma"

Valerie Jamieson: It's been a sensational year for particle physics, but the Higgs boson isn't the only fascinating particle in town. Meet 11 more particles that change our understanding of the subatomic world: "11 particles for 11 physics puzzles"

David Robson: What is the secret of the legendary "flow state" that seems to mark out genius in everyone from piano virtuosos to tennis champions? With the latest brain stimulation techniques, it may soon be within everyone's reach, and Sally Adee writes with panache as she describes her own use of the technology during a terrifying marksmanship training session. This has everything I want to read in a story – drama, a revolutionary idea and some practical advice for anyone to try at home: "Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus"

Graham Lawton: The writer of this article, Christopher Kemp, is a self-confessed lover of marginalia – nooks and crannies of science that are often overlooked. But as this beautifully written story reveals, those nooks and crannies often contain rich and fascinating material. Material, in fact, like ambergris: "Heaven scent: The grey gold from a sperm whale's gut"

Ben Crystall: Many people may remember the wonder material Starlite from an episode of BBC TV's Tomorrow's World – it seemed to have a miraculous ability to withstand fire and heat. So what happened to it? In this feature Richard Fisher uncovers the strange tale of Starlite and its eccentric inventor Maurice Ward, and on the way reveals fascinating details about Ward and his creation. And though Ward is dead, the story may not be over – it now looks like Starlite could get a second chance… "The power of cool: Whatever became of Starlite?"

Clare Wilson: I enjoyed working on this feature the most this year because to me it truly represents the future of medicine. New Scientist often predicts that some new medicine or technology will be available in five years' time. When it comes to using gene therapies or stem cell therapies on babies in the womb – the subject of this feature – the timeline is probably more uncertain, yet I don't see how anyone can doubt that some day it will happen: "Fetal healing: Curing congenital diseases in the womb"

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

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Sengkang West LRT loop now fully operational

SINGAPORE: Some commuters in Sengkang will find it easier to get around the estate on the LRT.

On Tuesday, the trains on the Sengkang West LRT ran in both directions throughout the day, instead of only during the morning and evening peak hours.

Cheng Lim LRT Station, which is on the Sengkang West LRT, also started operations on Tuesday.

Previously, trains on the Sengkang LRT ply either one of the two loops - the East Loop or the West Loop.

The trains were crowded, especially during the peak hours on weekdays and on weekends.

SBS Transit hopes the move will better meet the travel needs of commuters.

It added that an additional 1,033 trips will be added to the line each week.

- CNA/fa

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Senate passes fiscal cliff deal; House makes no promises

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The measure now goes to the House where a vote could come Tuesday


• A statement from House leadership made no promises


• Under the Senate package, taxes would stay the same for most Americans


• It leaves a range of big issues unaddressed.

As the fiscal cliff looms, what's your New Year's message to Washington? Go to CNN iReport to share your video.

(CNN) -- A full two hours after a midnight deadline, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a deal Tuesday to avert the feared fiscal cliff on an 89-8 vote.

The Senate package would put off budget cuts for two months and preserve Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 or couples earning less than $450,000.

The measure now goes to the House where it faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled body.

"Glad it's over," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, after the vote. "We'll see if the Republicans in the House can become functional instead of dysfunctional."

A statement from House leadership made no promises.

"Decisions about whether the House will seek to accept or promptly amend the measure will not be made until House members -- and the American people -- have been able to review the legislation," the statement said.

A vote could come as early as New Year's Day. The House is scheduled to convene at noon.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, was hopeful the House will follow suit.

"The vote was 89 to 8. Bipartisan vote. 89 votes," he said. "I think it sends a strong message and I think it will be approved by the House."

What the package proposes

Read the bill (pdf)

Under the Senate package:

-- Taxes would stay the same for most Americans. But it will rise for individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making more than $450,000. For them, it will go from the current 35% to the Clinton-era rate of 39.6%.

-- Itemized deductions would be capped for those making $250,000 and for married couples making $300,000.

-- Taxes on inherited estates will go up to 40% from 35%.

-- Unemployment insurance would be extended for a year for 2 million people.

-- The alternative minimum tax -- a perennial issue -- would be permanently adjusted for inflation.

-- Child care, tuition and research and development tax credits would be renewed.

-- The "Doc Fix" -- reimbursements for doctors who take Medicare patients -- will continue, but it won't be paid for out of the Obama administration's signature health care law.

-- Prevents a spike in milk prices. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said milk prices would have doubled to $7 a gallon because a separate agriculture bill had expired.

What's not addressed

While the package provides some short-term certainty, it leaves a range of big issues unaddressed.

It doesn't mention the debt ceiling, and temporarily puts off for two months the so-called sequester -- a series of automatic cuts in federal spending that would have taken effect Wednesday. It would have reduced the budgets of most agencies and programs by 8% to 10%.

This means that, come late February, Congress will have to tackle both those thorny issues.

"We're going to have to deal with the sequester, that's true," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, "but look, this is better than nothing."

Reid said the agreement was a win for average Americans.

"I've said all along that our most important priority was to protect the middle class families," he said. "This legislation does that."

And maybe a bit more.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in 2011 was $50,054, which is well below the tax cut threshold approved by the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, praised the effort, but said it shouldn't have taken so long to get an agreement.

"We don't think taxes should be going up on anyone but we all knew that if we did nothing they would be going up on everyone today," he said. "We weren't going to let that happen."

All eyes on the House

As lawmakers left the chamber around 2 a.m., there was no sentiment of celebration, more a sense of relief that the vote was done.

One of the last members to leave was 88-year-old retiring Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka. He walked down the steps bent over his cane, assisted by an aide, but smiling.

Others rubbed their eyes from lack of sleep. It was the end to a very long, down-to-the wire day -- and all eyes now turn to the House.

There's a lot at stake.

If the House doesn't act and the Bush administration's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire, broad tax increases will kick in as will $110 billion in automatic cuts to domestic and military spending.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has predicted the combined effect could dampen economic growth by 0.5%, possibly tipping the U.S. economy back into a recession and driving unemployment from its current 7.7% back over 9%.

President Barack Obama urged House members to pass the package "without delay."

GOP sources said House members saw little practical difference in settling the issue Monday night versus Tuesday.

But if tax-averse House Republicans approve the bill on Tuesday -- when taxes have technically gone up -- they can argue they've voted for a tax cut to bring rates back down, even after just a few hours, GOP sources said. That could bring some more Republicans on board, one source said.

Read more: Why your paycheck is getting smaller, no matter what

Concerns persist

Read more: What if there's no deal on fiscal cliff

The White House budget office noted in September that sequestration was designed during the 2011 standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling as "a mechanism to force Congress to act on further deficit reduction" -- a kind of doomsday device that was never meant to be triggered. But Congress failed to substitute other cuts by the end of 2012, forcing the government to wield what the budget office called "a blunt and indiscriminate instrument."

In its place, the Senate plan would use $12 billion in new tax revenue to replace half the expected deficit reduction from the sequester and leave another $12 billion in spending cuts, split half-and-half between defense and domestic programs.

Despite the progress, the White House cautioned that deficit reduction still requires more work.

"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," Obama said.

Read more: Medicare patients may suffer if country goes over fiscal cliff

Conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist, whose Americans for Tax Reform pushes candidates to sign a pledge never to raise taxes, said the plan "right now, as explained" would preserve most of the Bush tax cuts and wouldn't violate his group's pledge.

"Take the 84% of your winnings off the table," Norquist told CNN. "We spent 12 years getting the Democrats to cede those tax cuts to the American people. Take them off the table. Then we go back and argue about making the tax cuts permanent for everyone."

But Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary in the Clinton administration, said the $450,000 threshold "means the lion's share of the burden of deficit reduction falls on the middle class, either in terms of higher taxes down the road or fewer government services." In addition, he said, the plan does nothing to raise the federal debt ceiling just as the federal government bumps up against its borrowing limit.

And that, Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain told CNN, is likely to be "a whole new field of battle."

"We just added 2.1 trillion in the last increase in the debt ceiling, and spending continues to go up," McCain said. "I think there's going to be a pretty big showdown the next time around when we go to the debt limit."

CNN's Matt Smith, Mike Pearson, Jessica Yellin, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh, Lisa Desjardins, Ted Barrett and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.

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