Geithner invites Republican counter-offer

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama is ready for tough concessions to reach a deficit deal, but Republicans must commit to higher tax rates on the rich. That was the view of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who made appearances on five Sunday talk shows...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Diggers non-combat injuries 'intolerable'

AT least one in eight Australian soldiers who served in Afghanistan suffered a non-combat related injury or physical or mental illness between 2005 and October 2012. A senior soldier welfare advocate said a 12.5 per cent casualty rate would...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Zealand slams Kyoto extension

NEW Zealand's climate minister on Sunday strongly defended a decision not to sign an extension of the Kyoto treaty that limits greenhouse gas emissions, saying the pact is outdated, and his country's policy is "ahead of the curve." At climate...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bombing in Syria's Homs kills 15

FIFTEEN civilians were killed in a bomb attack on Sunday in a government-held district of the central Syrian city of Homs, state media reported. "A terrorist attack struck the Hamra district of Homs," the state SANA news agency said, adding...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Israel called to explain targeting reporters

ISRAEL must provide an "immediate and detailed explanation" for its targeting of journalists during last month's Gaza conflict. In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "gravely...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Now we have a state,' Abbas says

PALESTINIAN president Mahmud Abbas returned to the West Bank on Sunday after winning upgraded UN status for the Palestinians, telling cheering crowds: "Yes, now we have a state." "Palestine has accomplished a historic achievement at the UN," Abbas...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rudd, Turnbull voters' choice, poll shows

ABSENCE has made voters' hearts grow fonder for Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull, who hold big leads over Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, a Galaxy poll shows. After a brutal week in federal parliament, Mr Rudd is preferred leader by 27 per cent...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More

No US budget deal without tax hikes

LEAD White House negotiator Timothy Geithner insisted Sunday there would be no deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" unless Republicans allowed tax rates on the wealthiest Americans to rise. Talks to avoid the dreaded "fiscal cliff" are at a dangerous...

23.41 | 0 komentar | Read More