BBC News with Marion Marshall
Pakistani government officials say they’ve (released) another eight senior members of the Afghan Taliban—all are ex-government ministers or provincial governors. The Afghan government welcomed the move, but said it needed to locate those released to get them involved in the peace process.Amir Basali of the BBC Pashto service reports.
Among those released according to Pakistani officials are the former Taliban Justice Minister Mullah Nooruddin Turabi and the former governor of Helmand province Abdul Bari. Mullah Turabi is thought to be in poor health. But Pakistan’s most high-profile Taliban detainee, former deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, remains in custody. Last month Pakistan freed at least nine other Afghan Taliban following a visit to Islamabad by the head of the Afghanistan Peace (Council).
Politicians in the United States are making a final push to reach a deal that would avoid what’s become known as the “fiscal cliff”, a combination of major spending cuts and tax rises that are due to begin (automatically) on New Year’s Day. President Obama expressed some optimism that a deal could still be reached. Paul Adams reports from Washington.
Amid reports that a deal was beginning to take shape Mr Obama took to the podium at the White House to cajole Congress one more time. With two rows of middle-class Americans standing behind him, the president said a deal to prevent a tax increase on all but the very (wealthiest) was now in sight but not yet in place. Those making over $400,000 a year will find their taxes going up reverting to rates last in place during the presidency of Bill Clinton. A deal could also put off the swingeing automatic spending cuts that are supposed to come into effect at mid-night local time.
Portugal’s President Aníbal Cavaco Silva has signed next year’s budget which includes big tax increases described by critics as a fiscal earthquake. These come in at the start of the new year. The government says the tax increases are necessary if Portugal is to reduce its debts as agreed with international (creditors).
Rebels in the Central African Republic who’ve made rapid advances towards the capital Bangui have (dismissed) a series of concessions offered on Sunday by President Francois Bozize. The rebels told the BBC it was impossible to trust the president because his security forces were still attacking their supporters in Bangui. Here’s our West Africa (correspondent) Thomas Fessy.
The rebel coalition warns it will have to act soon if President Bozize doesn’t stop what it calls a campaign against its supporters. It says it is still committed to talks, but accuses of Mr Bozize of sending out (contradictory) messages. The main human rights group in the Central African Republic told the BBC that dozens of people suspected of supporting the rebels had been arrested in the capital, though it’s not possible to confirm these reports and the government has denied them.
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A ban has been imposed in Ghana on the import of second-hand refrigerators which often contain (chemicals) banned in many Western countries because they are seriously harmful to the environment. The Ghanaian energy commission says people handing in old fridges will also be able to buy new ones at a discount. The head of Ghana’s energy commission Alfred Ofosu-Ahenkora told the BBC he hopes the move will provide new employment opportunities. “I know some investors have already drawn up plans to come and visit Ghana to see how they can go ahead. So it is not a matter of stopping some business, but it rather encouraging the manufacturing. I think (manufacturing) will create more jobs than importation of second-hand refrigerators.”
Israel has confirmed that it started to allow some building materials into the Gaza Strip, supplies which have been banned under the long-running Israeli blockade. The decision is part of the ceasefire deal which ended the eight-day conflict between Israel and the Hamas-run Palestinian territory in November.
The daughter of the former Iranian President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani has been moved to solitary confinement at the Tehran prison where she’s serving a six-month sentence. A spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said that Faezeh Hashemi was put in solitary confinement after (participating) in protests against conditions at the jail. Faezeh Hashemi, who is herself a former MP, was sentenced in September for propaganda against the state.
Burma has welcomed in the New Year with a big public firework display for the first time, the latest sign of an easing of political controls on daily life. Public gatherings were banned under military rule, but organisers said tens of thousands of people (congregated) in Rangoon this year to watch the fireworks. The display was held against the backdrop of Burma’s most sacred site, the golden Shwedagon pagoda. BBC News