US Gen Norman Schwarzkopf dies

28 December 2012 Last updated at 02:41 ET

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The BBC's Nick Childs looks back at Gen Norman Schwarzkopf's military career

Retired US General Norman Schwarzkopf, who led troops in the 1991 Gulf War, has died aged 78.

Gen Schwarzkopf - known as Stormin' Norman - was commander of coalition forces in the first Gulf War in 1990-91.

The US-led coalition drove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait.

Former US President George H W Bush described Gen Schwarzkopf as "one of the great military leaders of his generation".

Gen Schwarzkopf spent his retirement in Tampa, Florida, where he had served in his last military assignment as commander-in-chief of US Central Command.

His military success made him one of America's most famous modern generals, although some criticised him for negotiating ceasefire terms which allowed Saddam Hussein to remain in power, says the BBC's Ben Wright in Washington.

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"Start Quote

General Schwarzkopf was justly recognised as a brilliant strategist and inspiring leader"

End Quote Leon Panetta US Defence Secretary

President Bush, who was in office during the first Gulf War, said he "mourned the loss" of Gen Schwarzkopf, "one of the great military leaders of his generation".

Mr Bush, who remains in intensive care at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, issued a statement, saying: "A distinguished member of that Long Gray Line hailing from West Point, General Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomised the 'duty, service, country' creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises.

"More than that, he was a good and decent man - and a dear friend. Barbara and I send our condolences to his wife Brenda and his wonderful family."

US Republican Senator John McCain tweeted that Gen Schwarzkopf was "one of the great American heroes".

"We thank him for his service," he said.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta also paid tribute to the general, saying his 35 years of service had "left an indelible imprint on the United States military and on the country".

"His bravery during two tours in Vietnam earned him three silver stars, and set him on the path to lead our troops into battle in Grenada, and then to take charge of the overall allied effort in the first Gulf War as Commander of United States Central Command," he said.

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Gen Schwarzkopf: Career highlights

• Born on 22 August 1934 in Trenton, New Jersey
• Aged 12, he moves to Iran where his father, a high-ranking army officer, trained the police and was an adviser to the Shah
• Studies in Switzerland and Germany, attends US Military Academy at West Point, New York. Gains masters degree in guided-missile engineering from the University of Southern California
• Highly decorated for his services in the Vietnam and Grenada wars
• Named commander-in-chief of the US Central Command in 1988
• Best known for leading allied forces as part of Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War in 1991
• Often referred to as 'Stormin Norman', he used to taunt Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein

"General Schwarzkopf's skilled leadership of that campaign liberated the Kuwaiti people and produced a decisive victory for the allied coalition.

"In the aftermath of that war, General Schwarzkopf was justly recognised as a brilliant strategist and inspiring leader. Today, we recall that enduring legacy and remember him as one of the great military giants of the 20th Century."

During Operation Desert Storm, Gen Schwarzkopf famously used one of his regular news conferences to taunt his opponent.

"As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is schooled in the operational art, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier: other than that, he's a great military man - I want you to know that," he said.

Gen Schwarzkopf's sometimes fiery temper meant that he clashed with subordinates and superiors alike, including the then Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Colin Powell.

Despite this and his bluff appearance, he was smarter and more diplomatic than many critics gave him credit for, says BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs.

After the first Gulf War Gen Schwarzkopf became a national celebrity, but always rejected suggestions that he run for office himself.

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UK-wide scheme to protect witnesses

28 December 2012 Last updated at 02:51 ET

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Supergrass Paul: ''You feel like you have no-one, you have to start again under false pretences''

The UK's first national witness protection scheme has been launched to overhaul the currently "inconsistent" approach to keeping vulnerable people safe, the Ministry of Justice has said.

It said more than one in four collapsed prosecutions last year were because witnesses refused to give evidence.

Current services were "variable" and lacked "uniform standards", it added.

Victims' minister Helen Grant said witnesses whose lives were in danger needed "the best possible protection".

Witnesses to the 2007 murder of Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones as well as those who gave evidence about the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockle pickers tragedy, in Lancashire, are among those who have been given protected persons status.

In 2009 and 2010, 18% of witnesses who went to court to give evidence said they or their families had felt intimidated at some point while 40% said they were worried about coming into contact with the defendant or their supporters.

The UK Protected Persons Service has been introduced thanks to a one-off £211,000 investment from the MoJ and Home Office.

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People think you get a new house, car and money but it isn't like that at all"

End Quote 'Supergrass' on being part of a witness protection programme

The MoJ, which said £19m a year was currently spent on protecting witnesses, said the new system would introduce national quality standards and ensure better co-ordination across "existing fragmented services".

It would also promote better intelligence-sharing between police forces, the MoJ added.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), which has long supported a move to a national system, has previously said the change would make the system more attractive and would lead to more people coming forward to give evidence.

Responding to the announcement, Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cooke said it would "strengthen the fight against organised crime".

Tory MP Mrs Grant said witnesses were "the unsung heroes of society - especially those who could be jeopardising their own safety".

"I cannot thank them enough for the vital role they play in bringing criminals to justice," she said. "We are clear any witness whose life could be in danger must be given the best possible protection."

And she later told BBC Radio 5 live: "We want to do everything we possibly can so that they know if they do take that decision and come forward they will be protected, supported and cared for wherever they are in this country.

"At the moment we have a system which is good but it's patchy and it's inconsistent and often witnesses don't know, if they do come forward, exactly what protection they will get."

Mrs Grant said people wanted to be witnesses because "it's a matter of doing the right thing - people call it a civic duty, some others just feel it's telling the truth".

In February, it was revealed the Met Police and the Crown Prosecution Service paid a family more than £600,000 in damages and costs after a child witness was identified to a gang.

The boy, 16, had been promised anonymity to give evidence about a violent attack, but details were inadvertently passed to gang members.

In August 2010, meanwhile, a coroner called for a review of systems to protect vulnerable witnesses following the 2004 murder of Joan and John Stirland at their home in Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire.

They were shot in retaliation after their son, Michael O'Brien, killed a friend of the notorious Gunn family, headed by crime boss Colin Gunn.

The couple fled to Lincolnshire eight months before their deaths after shots were fired at their former home in Carlton, Nottingham.

A jury at their inquest found Nottinghamshire Police failed to share with officers in Lincolnshire - or properly act on - intelligence about the threat posed by Colin Gunn's gang.

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Falklands attack surprised Thatcher

28 December 2012 Last updated at 04:14 ET By Peter Biles BBC World Affairs Correspondent

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The 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina took Margaret Thatcher by surprise, newly released government papers have shown.

The then-prime minister only saw it was likely after getting "raw intelligence" two days before the Argentines landed.

Papers released under the 30-year rule show Mrs Thatcher was acutely worried about retaking the islands.

One historian said the documents were among the "most powerful material" declassified in the last three decades.

In October 1982, a few months after the war ended, Mrs Thatcher gave evidence behind closed doors to the Falkland Islands Review Committee, chaired by Lord Franks.

The transcript of that dramatic testimony has now been published for the first time.

"I never, never expected the Argentines to invade the Falklands head-on. It was such a stupid thing to do, as events happened, such a stupid thing even to contemplate doing", Mrs Thatcher told the Franks Committee.

There had been some British contingency planning in the month before the Argentine invasion of the Falklands.

On 26 March 1982, Ministry of Defence officials came back to Mrs Thatcher with a plan to deter a full-scale invasion.

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• 2 April 1982: Argentine forces invade Falkland Islands. Other British South Atlantic territories including South Georgia are seized shortly afterwards
• 5 April: A British task force of more than 100 ships sets sail for the South Atlantic
• 25 April: South Georgia is recaptured by British forces.
• 2 May: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by HMS Conqueror, killing more than 320
• 21 May: Three thousand British troops begin landing at San Carlos on East Falkland
• 28-29 May: British forces recapture Goose Green.
• 8 June: British landing craft are bombed at Fitzroy, killing more than 50 men
• 13 June: Argentine positions on mountains overlooking the capital Port Stanley are taken
• 14 June: Argentine forces surrender. British troops march into Stanley

255 British servicemen and three Falklands civilians died during the conflict. The number of Argentine dead is estimated at about 650

One sentence shocked her, and she wrote it in her diary: "Moreover, if faced with Argentine occupation on arrival there would be no certainty that such a force would be able to retake the dependency."

She told the committee: "You can imagine that turned a knife in my heart, that lot."

However, in her oral evidence, she said she had still considered an invasion unlikely: "I again stress, I thought that they would be so absurd and ridiculous to invade the Falklands that I did not think it would happen.

"Nevertheless, one has always to make contingency plans, and soon after we got the South Georgia incident happening."

The picture changed on 31 March 1982 when Mrs Thatcher was shown intelligence suggesting that an invasion was on the cards: "I just say it was the worst I think moment of my life."

She also told the committee: "That night no-one could tell me whether we could retake the Falklands - no-one. We did not know - we did not know."

The British foreign secretary at the time, Lord Carrington, also gave evidence to the Franks Committee, where he too held the view that Argentina was not going to invade the Falklands.

"I have been accused, and was accused violently after 2 April in the House of Commons, and in the press and elsewhere - of wilfully ignoring signs and statements and evidence, and just ignoring it. I can truthfully say I did not do any of these things… they (the signs of an invasion) were not there," Lord Carrington said.

On 5 April, Lord Carrington resigned as foreign secretary, which prompted this reaction from Mrs Thatcher: "I had tremendous confidence in Peter Carrington, and his loss seemed to me a devastating blow for Britain and I would back him up all the way."

The political historian Lord Hennessy said Mrs Thatcher's evidence about the Falklands War was some of the most powerful material to be declassified by the National Archives in the last three decades.

"It's only three months after the end of the war, so it's immensely vivid. It's still coursing through her veins.

"She also has this great power of expression - she's a primary colours politician."

Argentina's invasion of the Falklands may have come as a surprise to Mrs Thatcher and her ministers, but the government papers do reveal some interesting pointers.

As early as 1977 there was a British intelligence assessment that Argentine military action was possible if talks over the Islands went badly.

At the end of that year, the British government decided to send a submarine and two frigates to the South Atlantic.

However, the ships' movements were kept secret.

Indeed, there was no conspicuous British naval presence in the South Atlantic in the five years that preceded the war. This may be why Argentina thought Britain would not launch an attack to retake the Falklands in April 1982.

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Also, Britain's ambassador in Buenos Aires in 1982, Anthony Williams, felt some of his warnings sent to London were simply ignored.

"Argentina is not just another 'banana republic' - a tin pot country led by a tinpot dictator," he wrote in his valedictory despatch in June 1982.

"Argentina has its share of vandals, hooligans and roughs. But this is not the whole story, nor was the seizure of the islands a simple act of brigandage."

Lord Armstrong was Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet secretary at the time. He told the BBC: "If we had failed to recover the Falklands she would have had to go.

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The BBC's Laurie Margolis speaks about how he found out exactly what was going on in the Falklands and broke the news story

"If we had lost it she couldn't have won the next election. Her own political career, and that of her party, were on the line.

"During those weeks, she lived more fully and more completely than at any time in the rest of her time as prime minister."

Argentine forces landed on the islands in 2 April 1982 and the recapture by a British task force was completed on 14 June.

Argentina says it inherited ownership of the islands - which it calls Las Malvinas - from Spain, arguing that British colonists occupied the islands by force in 1833 and expelled settlers - thus violating Argentina's territorial integrity. It also bases its claim on the islands' proximity to the South American mainland.

Some 255 British servicemen and three Falklands civilians died during the conflict. The number of Argentine dead is estimated at about 650

All document images courtesy of the National Archives

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Missing six-year-old on way home

28 December 2012 Last updated at 06:39 ET

A six-year-old girl who was abducted by her father and taken to Pakistan three years ago is on her way back to the UK.

Atiya Anjum-Wilkinson was last seen when she was taken from her home in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, on her third birthday in 2009.

Her father Razwan Ali Anjum is serving a prison sentence for refusing to reveal his daughter's whereabouts despite a court order.

Police said Atiya would return to the UK from Pakistan this afternoon.

The BBC's correspondent in Islamabad, Aleem Maqbool, said it appeared the Pakistani authorities were involved and that she was found in Lahore.

Atiya's mother, Gemma Wilkinson, 32, of Ashton-under-Lyne, whose relationship with Anjum ended in 2008, has made several appeals for information about her whereabouts since her disappearance.

Four jail terms

The latest was last month, when she said not knowing Atiya was even alive was an "absolute nightmare".

Ms Wilkinson took legal action against her former partner in an attempt to force him to reveal her whereabouts.

Courts have been told Anjum said he was taking Atiya to Southport, but instead took her to Lahore, Pakistan, and told Ms Wilkinson that she would never see her again.

The former insurance salesman was handed a fourth consecutive jail term by a High Court judge in April after he refused to reveal where his daughter was.

Mr Justice Moor imposed a 12-month prison sentence after he found him in contempt of a High Court order instructing him to disclose Atiya's whereabouts.

Anjum indicated that Atiya was in Pakistan or Iran but said he did not know her exact whereabouts.

The judge said: "I am certain that he is in contempt. It is absolutely absurd for him to suggest that he does not know the whereabouts of his daughter and he cannot contact her.

"I am certain he is lying."

'Trauma and nightmares'

Another judge has previously said the case was "as bad a case of child abduction as I have encountered".

Speaking ahead of Atiya's sixth birthday, Ms Wilkinson said: "It's been an absolute nightmare.

"As to her whereabouts we know nothing. We've had no contact. I'm worrying every day, every single day. Everything is affected by it."

She added: "It's ongoing, it's been three years of trauma and nightmares. I can't sleep at night. I just want to know she's OK, she's being looked after.

"We haven't celebrated her birthday since she went missing but I've bought her presents each year - they are waiting for her to open when she comes home.

"I had no reason to believe that she was at any risk. There had been a standard routine, there hadn't been any problems with the arrangements."

It is thought Atiya was traced after police published a computer-generated image of what she would look like now - a day before her sixth birthday in November.

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Winter vomiting cases top a million

28 December 2012 Last updated at 07:03 ET

Cases of the winter vomiting bug norovirus in England and Wales have topped a million, latest figures from the Health Protection Agency show.

It said there were 3,538 lab-confirmed cases up to 16 December - but that for each another 288 go unreported.

Cases are significantly higher than at this stage last year - but have not increased greatly since last week.

Norovirus is a highly contagious short-term illness and causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

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China tightens rules on internet

28 December 2012 Last updated at 07:12 ET

China has tightened its rules on internet usage to enforce a previous requirement that users fully identify themselves to service providers.

The move is part of a package of measures which state-run Xinhua news agency said would protect personal information.

But critics believe the government is trying to limit freedom of speech.

The announcement will be seen as evidence China's new leadership is targeting the internet as a threat.

In recent months, the internet and social media have been used to orchestrate mass protests and a number of corrupt Communist Party officials have been exposed by individuals posting criticisms on the internet.

The Chinese authorities closely monitor internet content that crosses its borders and regularly block sensitive stories through use of what is known as the Great Firewall of China.

However, it has not stopped hundreds of millions of Chinese using the internet, many of them using micro-blogging sites to expose, debate and campaign on issues of national interest, including government corruption.

The measures come a month after a new leadership, led by Xi Jinping, was installed by the ruling Communist Party.

The new man in charge of the internet, Liu Qibao, has a reputation for taking a hard line on media control. He recently called for "more research on how to strengthen the construction, operation and management of the Internet and promote mainstream online themes".

'Safeguards'

The new measures now formally require anyone signing agreements to access the internet, fixed-line telephone and mobile devices to provide network service operators with "genuine identification information", known as real-name registration, Xinhua reports.

Real-name registration was supposed to be have been implemented in 2011 but was not widely enforced.

China's biggest internet firm, Sina Corp, warned earlier this year in a public document that such a move would "severely reduce" traffic to its hugely-successful micro-blogging site Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter with more than 300 million users.

Under the new rules, network service providers will also be required to "instantly stop the transmission of illegal information once it is spotted" by deleting the posts and saving the records "before reporting to supervisory authorities".

The measures, to "ensure internet information security, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of citizens... and safeguard national security and social public interests", were approved China's top legislature at the closing session of a five-day meeting on Friday, Xinhua reports.

The calls for tighter controls of the internet have been led by state media, which said that rumours spread on the web could harm the public and sow chaos and confusion.

The government has said officially that it welcomes the exposure of such abuses, but a new generation of ever bolder bloggers and commentators pose a threat that the leadership seems determined to counter, the BBC's Charles Scanlon reports.

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Flood-hit areas face further rain

28 December 2012 Last updated at 07:17 ET

Flood-hit areas have been warned they face renewed problems from storms, as further rain is forecast across the UK.

There are 77 flood warnings and 177 flood alerts in England and Wales, and six alerts and one warning in Scotland.

The main rail line in the South West of England, which was closed between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton due to flooding, is expected to reopen later.

Meanwhile, Met Office figures suggest 2012 is set to be one of the wettest years since records began in 1910.

It said just 46mm of rain was needed to fall before 31 December to make this year the wettest on record for the UK overall, with 1,291.2mm recorded between 1 January and 26 December.

A new record has already been set for England with 1,095.8mm falling in the year up to Boxing Day.

The Thames Barrier was raised twice in 24 hours to keep the high tide out of London and reduce the risk of flooding as water from days of downpours with water levels expected to peak in the next 48 hours.

Localised flooding

BBC weather forecaster Mike Silverston said much of the UK would see heavy rain and strong winds over the weekend, with two bands of rain causing concern.

Western Scotland will see the most heavy rain on Friday, with winds gusting up to 80mph expected in the Hebrides, where there is an amber warning, which means people should be aware.

Up to 40mm of rain is expected fall in the South West on Saturday, with Wales and areas of north-west England expected to see between 60-80mm.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of rain for much of north-west and south-west England and Wales parts of southern Scotland.

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Travel and weather information

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Elsewhere:

He said because of the continuing saturated state of the ground this might lead to further localised flooding.

Another period of very wet weather will sweep eastwards on Sunday night into New Year's Eve, with another 20 to 30mm of rain, affecting those areas already badly affected by flooding.

The Environment Agency said Saturday's predicted rain posed the threat of minor disruption, including the flooding of properties and disruption to travel.

It said the prolonged rain from Sunday into Monday threatened a "low likelihood of more significant impacts locally", including flooding affecting parts of communities.

About 520 properties had flooded since Wednesday, a spokeswoman said.

It had issued flood warnings and alerts to 110,000 properties and over 21,000 properties had been protected by its flood defences, she said.

A number of flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected and immediate action should be taken, and flood alerts, calling on people to be prepared for possible flooding, remain in place. There are currently no severe flood warnings, which signal a danger to life.

Buses continue to replace trains between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall, with the line possibly opening on Saturday, National Rail said.

Services also continue to be disrupted between Exeter St Davids and Exmouth, and Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple.

An amber landslide warning was put in place by the British Geological Survey has for the South West, who urged walkers to take care along coastal routes.

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Minister wants magazine diets axed

27 December 2012 Last updated at 04:30 ET

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Jo Swinson MP: "We need a more positive body image message"

A government minister has written to magazine editors asking them not to promote post-Christmas "miracle" diets because they pose a "health risk".

Equalities minister Jo Swinson wrote an open letter asking magazines to "shed the fad diets and fitness myths" in their January editions.

She suggested they "celebrate the beauty of diversity in body shape, skin colour, size and age" instead.

Ms Swinson is one of the co-founders of the Campaign for Body Confidence.

The letter was sent to magazines aimed at women and men, as well as health, celebrity and gossip publications.

'Negative consequences'

Ms Swinson wrote: "I am sure that you want to promote a healthy lifestyle for your readers but at this time of year in particular far too much of magazine coverage tends to focus on irresponsible, short-term solutions and encourages readers to jump on fad diet bandwagons.

"As editors you owe more to your readers than the reckless promotion of unhealthy solutions to losing weight.

"If your aim is to give practical, sensible advice about losing weight - and not how to drop a stone in five days - you should encourage reasonable expectations, instead of dangerous ones, along with exercise and healthy eating."

She later told the BBC she was opposed to "any diet that is encouraging you to lose weight at a miracle speed, which is an unhealthy speed, or cutting out food groups, or skipping meals.

"Any of these kind of fad diets actually can have negative health consequences, and most diets don't even work anyway."

Trusted advice

Jane Johnson, former editor of Closer and The Sun's Fabulous magazine, told the BBC that magazines do care about their readers and are very careful about the advice they give.

"Most magazines now are very much about holistic wellbeing.

"I don't think many magazines nowadays do the whole miracle fad diet thing. It's seen as very irresponsible and they want to make sure their readers stay with them, trust them and are loyal to them.

"Readers do go to them for advice, rather than the government," Ms Johnson said.

Ms Swinson did concede that magazine editors would have decided their January content some time ago, making any late change to their content difficult, but added: "I hope that the editors will recognise that this is something their readers really do worry about.

"It's something which affects people of all ages and in particular, many parents are worried about the message that this sends to their children."

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Obama back for fiscal cliff talks

27 December 2012 Last updated at 04:30 ET

US President Barack Obama has cut short his holidays in Hawaii and is flying to Washington to try to reach a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

Unless a compromise is found, tax increases and huge spending cuts come into force on 1 January, threatening to tip the US back into recession.

However, Democrats and Republicans are still at loggerheads over the issue.

Meanwhile, the US Treasury has announced measures to prevent it hitting a legal limit on its borrowing.

Default warning

In an open letter to the Democrat US Senate majority leader Harry Reid, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Treasury would enact a series of extraordinary accounting measures to free up about $200bn from the government's official borrowing figure.

He said that the measures should prevent the government from reaching the $16.4tn "debt ceiling" - the legal limit set by Congress on how much the US government can borrow - for about another two months beyond 31 December.

The measures include:

• halting certain financial assistance provided by the federal government to state and local governments
• temporarily halting investments in new government debts by state retirement funds for civil servants and postal workers, and by an emergency fund that the government can draw on to defend the value of the dollar

Mr Geithner warned that without them, the government would run out of cash on Monday and "the United States would otherwise default on its legal obligations".

Legislation passed by Congress sets out how much the US government spends on the likes of social security and defence, whilst also legally defining how much the government can raise in taxes.

By imposing a third legal limit - the debt ceiling - the government faces a potentially impossible situation in which it must either disregard the debt ceiling, raise taxes without legal authority, or else default on some of its spending obligations.

The last time that the US government ran up against the debt ceiling, in the summer of 2011, President Obama negotiated a last-minute increase with the Republican-controlled Congress, from $14.3tn to the current $16.4tn limit.

That deal effectively created the phenomenon known as the fiscal cliff - $600bn in automatic tax rises and spending cuts due to come into force on 1 January 2013.

Republicans and Democrats agreed to these draconian measures to slash the government's rate of overspending - its deficit - as a fall-back position, on the assumption that a more sensible agreement on how to cut the deficit would be reached in the meantime.

'Silent corridors'

Continue reading the main story

What is the fiscal cliff?

• On 1 January 2013, tax increases and huge spending cuts are due to come into force - the so-called fiscal cliff
• Deadline was put in place in 2011 to force president and Congress to agree ways to save money over the next 10 years
• Fear is that raising taxes while massively cutting spending will have huge impact on households and businesses
• Experts believe it could push the US into recession, and have a global impact on growth

Mr Obama is expected to meet Republican leaders again to try to negotiate a solution, although no new date has been announced.

Republicans oppose cuts to defence spending as well as the expiration of income tax cuts on the highest earners, which date from George W Bush's presidency.

Democrats want to maintain financial support for lower-income families - including a payroll tax cut and extended unemployment benefits - and oppose cuts to entitlements such as Medicare and social security.

Both sides are keen to avoid taking the blame for the sudden contraction in the government's rate of overspending that would result if no deal is reached.

Failure to do so could damage the US and global markets, and threatens to send the US economy into recession.

Brinkmanship over the 2011 debt ceiling negotiations prompted the rating agency Standard & Poor's to strip the US of its top-ranking AAA credit rating.

The two sides remain far apart, but analysts say a short-term deal may be agreed that will postpone the cuts until spring.

On Wednesday, the Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner called on the Democrat-led Senate to come up with legislation on how it would avoid the cliff, and pass it to the House for consideration.

However, a senior administration official said it was up to Republican leaders not to stand in the way of an agreement.

Despite this, there is little sense of urgency in the capital - the corridors of Congress are silent, the BBC's Zoe Conway in Washington reports.

Changing taxation across the years
Tax year	1993-2000	2001	2002	2003-2008	2009-2012	2012 tax brackets	2013 scenarios
							Tax cuts expire	Tax cuts expire for top incomes
Source: Tax Foundation, IRS Tax brackets shown for unmarried individuals
President	Bill Clinton	George W Bush			Barack Obama
Bottom rate	15%	10%	10%	10%	10%	Up to $8,700	15%	10%
		15%	15%	15%	15%	$8,700- $35,350		15%
	28%	27.5%	27%	25%	25%	$35,350- $85,650	28%	25%
	31%	30.5%	30%	28%	28%	$85,650- $178,650	31%	28%
	36%	35.5%	35%	33%	33%	$178,650-$388,350	36%	33% or 36%*
Top rate	39.6%	39.1%	38.6%	35%	35%	Over $388,350	39.6%	39.6%
*President Obama has previously called for the tax cut to expire for those earning over $250,000

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Antarctic lake project called off

27 December 2012 Last updated at 05:08 ET

An ambitious mission to drill through 3km (1.8 miles) of Antarctic ice to a lake that has been sealed off for thousands of years has been cut short.

The team at Lake Ellsworth decided to call off the mission in the early hours of Christmas Day UK time.

They were unable to join the main borehole with a parallel hole that was to be used to recover drilling water.

The team is now "weatherising" the equipment and it is unclear when they will be able to resume the project.

The £8m ($13m) project, headed by the British Antarctic Survey (Bas), aimed to drill carefully down using near-boiling water to pierce the lake, which has been untouched for as much as half a million years. The hope had been to find hints of life from long ago, or even still surviving today.

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Searching for life in the hidden waters of Lake Ellsworth was one of the most ambitious British science projects of recent years, so this failure in the drilling programme will come as a huge blow.

The team knew that the risks were high, but the idea of exploring an ancient and mysterious body of water isolated for hundreds of thousands of years had inspired passion and determination.

The challenge of designing and engineering equipment that could remain sterilised on the long journey to Antarctica, and then down through the 3km of ice-sheet, was immense and involved hundreds of people.

So the disappointment will be felt far beyond the 12 men at their remote camp on the ice. Engineers, technicians, support staff - and researchers eager for the results - will feel heavy disappointment. They may try again next year. But this was frontier science, a gamble, and it did not pay off.

The programme ran into trouble last week as the main boiler used to heat drilling water broke down, with a replacement part being flown from the UK reaching the remote site last Friday.

With the boiler working, the team aimed to make two parallel boreholes, intended to join 300m below the surface.

A first borehole was drilled and left for 12 hours to create a hot-water cavity. This was to be used to re-circulate drilling water and to balance pressures when the sequestered lake was finally breached.

However, the team were unable to reach the cavity during the course of drilling the second, main borehole - despite trying for over 20 hours.

During that time, drilling water seeped into porous surface layers, and the team used a significant fraction of its fuel. It eventually became clear that the mission could not be concluded.

Audrey Stevens, spokesperson for Bas, said: "We will try again, but it is uncertain when that will be. There will have to be a full report into what's gone wrong."

The team is packing up its equipment and protecting it against the bitter Antarctic winter. It may be more than another season before the team can return to try again.

There are a number of other lakes beneath the ice sheet, which may prove easier for other nations to reach.

"We have never depicted it as a race, but it may well happen that others get there first," Ms Stevens told BBC News.

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