“Fiscal cliff” struggle prompts Republican infighting

(Reuters) – Republicans in the Congress attacked each other on Tuesday over their leadership’s “fiscal cliff” offer to Democratic President Barack Obama as a group of governors visited the White House to voice concern about the impact on the states of the year-end tax-and-spending deadline.The disarray in Republican ranks over how far to compromise the party’s anti-tax stance could complicate what...

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Conservatives make Boehner's life difficult

WASHINGTON— Conservatives panned the House Republican proposal released Monday to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," yet again giving House Speaker and lead negotiator John Boehner little room to maneuver as he works toward a deal with the White House.The proposal includes extending current tax rates for all income levels and raising revenue by closing loopholes in the tax code."Rarely in modern...

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Gunmen assassinate peasant leader in Paraguay

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Gunmen murdered one of the surviving leaders of a peasant movement whose land dispute with a powerful politician prompted the end of Fernando Lugo‘s presidency last June.Vidal Vega, 48, was hit four times early Saturday by bullets from a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver fired by two unidentified men who sped away on a motorcycle, according to an official report...

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Nokia Siemens to sell optical networks unit

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Mobile telecoms equipment joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks, which is focusing on its core business, is to sell its optical fiber unit to Marlin Equity Partners for an undisclosed sum.Up to 1,900 employees, mainly in Germany and Portugal, will be transferred to the new company, NSN said on Monday.The company, owned by Nokia and Siemens, has sold a number of product lines since...

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Merck starts new trial to test Alzheimer’s drug

(Reuters) – Merck & Co Inc has started a new trial of its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, the first mid-stage clinical trial of a promising new class of oral medicines that has the potential to shut down the production of a protein that many researchers believe is the primary cause of the disease.The drugmaker said on Monday it had started the trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the...

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Duchess of Cambridge expecting a baby

ABC News' Christina Ng and Carolyn Durand report:Kate Middleton is pregnant.The most eagerly awaited pregnancy was announced today by St. James Palace on behalf of Middleton and her husband Prince William.The child, whether boy or girl, will eventually be heir to the British throne according to new legislation awaiting final approval.The duchess was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital today in central...

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Italy votes for center-left candidate for premier

ROME (AP) — Italians are choosing a center-left candidate for premier for elections early next year, an important primary runoff given the main party is ahead in the polls against a center-right camp in utter chaos over whether Silvio Berlusconi will run again.Sunday’s runoff pits a veteran center-left leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, 61, against the 37-year-old mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, who has...

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Verizon may soon launch Samsung Galaxy Camera with 4G LTE

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Germany’s Merck Serono to produce medicines in UAE

ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Germany’s Merck Serono said it would team up with an Abu Dhabi firm to produce medicines for the domestic and regional markets, the first multinational of its kind to make branded products in the United Arab Emirates.Merck Serono, the pharmaceutical arm of Merck KGaA, will initially produce two of its products at Neopharma‘s facilities in Abu Dhabi, the German firm’s first such...

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Geithner on averting cliff: 'I actually think we're going to get there'

Boehner, Geithner (AP/Getty)With the fiscal cliff looming--and Republicans, like House Speaker John Boehner, slamming the White House's latest proposal--U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner hit the Sunday morning talk show circuit, saying the partisan posturing is part of the "political theater" but that he's hopeful a deal will get done."I actually think that we're gonna get there," Geithner...

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