Asia holds breath as U.S. fiscal talks go to the wire

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets were eerily quiet in Asia as trade resumed on Wednesday with investors anxiously waiting to see if the U.S. Congress could strike a last-minute deal to avoid triggering tax rises and spending cuts that could threaten the global economy. The U.S. Senate early on Tuesday passed a bill that aims to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of $600 billion in automatic spending...

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12 Foreign Stories From 2012 Worth Revisiting

Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesThere were hundreds of memorable foreign stories from Times correspondents in 2012. Here is a sampling of 12 from across the world in reverse chronological order 1. For Congo Children, Food Today Means None Tomorrow KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Today, the big children will eat, Cynthia, 15, and Guellor, 13. Tomorrow, it will be the turn of...

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Eric Prydz Picks a New Year's Eve Playlist

By Dahvi Shira 12/31/2012 at 06:50 PM EST Unfortunately not everyone can be in Las Vegas when the ball drops this year, but Eric Prydz is bringing the party to PEOPLE.com readers in advance.The DJ and producer, 36 – best known for his 2004 hit single, "Call on Me" – is playing a three-hour extended set at Surrender...

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Clinton's blood clot an uncommon complication

The kind of blood clot in the skull that doctors say Hillary Rodham Clinton has is relatively uncommon but can occur after an injury like the fall and concussion the secretary of state was diagnosed with earlier this month.Doctors said Monday that an MRI scan revealed a clot in a vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind Clinton's right ear.The clot did not lead to a stroke or neurological...

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Wall Street ends 2012 riding high on "cliff" deal optimism

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out 2012 with their strongest day in more than a month, putting the S&P 500 up 13.4 percent for the year, as lawmakers in Washington closed in on a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. The S&P 500's gain for the year marks its best performance since 2009, as stocks navigated through debt crises in Europe and the United States that...

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IHT Rendezvous: Republicans Consider Changing Electoral Vote Counting to Improve Presidential Odds

WASHINGTON — Not too long ago, political analysts assumed the Republicans had a clear advantage in the Electoral College, the system according to which each state, based on population, is given electors that in almost all cases are awarded on a winner-take-all basis, determining who will be the president of the United States. Today, it’s the Democrats who have the edge.Page TwoPosts written by the...

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Purported photo of new BlackBerry phone with QWERTY keyboard leaks

Title Post: Purported photo of new BlackBerry phone with QWERTY keyboard leaksRating: 100%based on 99998 ratings.5 user reviews.Author: Fluser SeoLinkThanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comm...

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The 12 Biggest Stories of the Year on Social Media

UPDATED 12/28/2012 at 04:00 PM EST • Originally published 12/30/2012 at 06:45 PM EST Liam and Miley; Blake and Ryan Wireimage(2) Question: What do Miley Cyrus, Blake Lively and a teeny-weeny piglet have in common? Answer: They're all among the most popular PEOPLE.com stories...

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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated...

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Equity futures rise, but "cliff" stalemate suggests more losses

(Reuters) - Equity futures were slightly higher at the beginning of electronic trading on Sunday night as talks continued in Washington over resolving the "fiscal cliff." However, stocks still could end up falling on Monday when the cash markets open if lawmakers are unable to come to an agreement to avoid a series of $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that are expected to hurt...

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