Eminem says he's thankful to survive an addiction
US rap star Eminem has been speaking about his addiction problems.
During an interview with Zane Lowe, which was broadcast on Monday night on BBC Radio 1, the rapper said: "I certainly could have taken another path."
The 41-year-old, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, spent time in hospital in 2005 being treated for an addiction to sleeping pills.
He says now he is better, he is able to connect with audiences again.
"I know that there are so many addicts in this world and people who have problems like that that don't make it," he said.
"I think that one thing that keeps me pushing forward is the music, and the passion, so I am thankful for that."
The star's eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, was released on 5 November.
Asked by Lowe about how he deals with fame, he said: "I've never been an attention seeker.
"I don't like to go in public and walk around and be like, 'Here I am'."
During the interview, the rapper was asked about surviving addiction, and what it was like to perform again.
"I think back then it was so big in my head," he said.
"Let me take this and this, drink this and this and get through it, as opposed to see the people, connect with the crowd and have fun with it."
Eminem also went on to talk about his plans for the future.
"I always write, and I probably always will," he said. "Whatever point I decide I am going put the mic down or whatever happens like that, I always think I want something to do with the music."
Source-BBC
Bank of England says UK in sustained recovery
The UK is in a sustained recovery and does not face major inflation risks, Bank of England policymakers have said.
Minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee's November meeting showed the nine members all voted to leave interest rates at 0.5%.
The committee also signalled that it was in no rush to raise interest rates and might not do so immediately even after unemployment had fallen to 7%.
Last week, the bank said unemployment could fall faster than predicted.
The committee said there were uncertainties over the "durability" of the recovery.
It also said there were few signs that expectations of higher inflation were feeding into wage increases.
The Bank of England said: "There could be a case for not raising Bank Rate immediately when the 7% unemployment threshold was reached.”
The committee also decided not to add to its monetary stimulus programme of quantitative easing (QE), under which it has already made £375bn of bond purchases between March 2009 and October 2012.
Unemployment in the UK stands at 7.6%, according to the Office for National Statistics, while inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, fell to 2.2% in October.
The Bank of England has said it expects to see growth of 0.9% in the fourth quarter.
At the same time, business surveys and housing market indicators have reinforced the picture of improving economic conditions.
But the minutes said household spending was still under pressure and the UK could be vulnerable to instability in the eurozone.
"The UK economy remained vulnerable to disorderly adjustment in the euro area and some emerging economies," the minutes said.
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Businesses will be pleased with the unanimous decision to keep rates on hold, as well as the reiteration that reaching the 7% unemployment threshold will not automatically trigger a rate increase.
But he added: "The MPC's forecast for unemployment is optimistic, and while we expect growth to strengthen over the next few years, it is unlikely to be as rapid as the MPC expects."
Toyota eyes mass production of fuel cell car by 2015
Japanese carmaker Toyota has said it is looking to start commercial sales of fuel cell-powered cars by 2015.
Toyota set the target as it unveiled a concept fuel cell powered car, called the FCV, at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Its cells can be recharged within minutes and it can cover about 500km (300 miles) on a single charge, according to the firm.
Earlier this week, rival Hyundai said it plans to start mass production of such cars as early as next year.
The South Korean company has announced plans to start commercial sales of a fuel cell-powered version of its sports utility vehicle, the Tucson, in the US market.
Honda Motor is also expected to unveil its latest concept version of a fuel cell-powered vehicle later this week.
Many carmakers have been looking to develop the fuel cell technology further and bring it to mass production.
One of the main reasons is that it is emission-free.
The technology uses hydrogen to generate electricity to power the engine and the waste products are heat and harmless water.
At the same time, fuel cells charge much faster and travel a longer distance after being charged, compared with battery-operated electric cars.
However, there are concerns over the demand for such vehicles, not least because there are not enough hydrogen filling stations.
Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan, said that worries over infrastructure were the key reason for his firm to put some of their plans on hold.
"Frankly, I don't know how they are going to do it, because knowing all the problems we have, to have a charging system with electricity, where is the hydrogen infrastructure?" Mr Ghosn was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.
"That's why we have postponed, in a certain way, some of our ambitions in terms of fuel cells."
National debt to September is US$27.B: Central Bank
Dominican Republic’s debt as of September is US$27.1 billion, according to the Central Bank Website, which denies it’s 50% of GDP as some economists have stated.
It said the debt is 44.9% of GDP, of which “the biggest component is the foreign debt of the public non-financial Sector (NFP),” totaling US$13.8 billion (23% of GDP).
While the Central Bank’s internal and external debt tops US$8.3 billion, the intra-governmental debt (bonds and the Bank’s recapitalization) totals US$3.17 billion.
US prices fall 0.1% in October as petrol costs drop
US consumer prices fell 0.1% in October as petrol prices dropped, the US Labor Department has said.
Petrol prices fell 2.9%, the biggest drop since April. The cost of new cars, clothes and healthcare also fell.
The decrease meant that annual inflation in the 12 months to October was just 1%.
So-called core prices, excluding energy and food costs which vary more, were up 0.1% in October and increased 1.7% in the last 12 months.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank would maintain its liberal monetary policy for as long as needed and that could mean holding interest rates near zero until "well after" US unemployment falls to below 6.5%.
Analysts believe his comments make it more likely that the Fed will continue its $85bn (£53bn) bond-buying programme, aimed at stimulating the economy.
Critics of the programme fear it could lead to higher inflation in the future.
Co-op Bank to face independent inquiry, says PM David Cameron
Chancellor George Osborne is to order an independent inquiry into how Paul Flowers was deemed a suitable chairman of the Co-op Bank.
The inquiry is also expected to examine whether the bank's recent leadership crisis has had any financial impact on its customers.
Its exact terms of reference and the name of its chair are likely to be formally announced in coming days.
Mr Flowers, 63, apologised after he was filmed allegedly buying drugs.
The Methodist Church said Mr Flowers had been "suspended indefinitely" from his post as a minister.
He had stepped down as chairman of Co-op Bank and as deputy chairman of Co-op Group in June.
It has also emerged that he was found to have had "inappropriate" adult images on his computer in 2011 while he was a Labour councillor in Bradford and before he was appointed chair of governors at a primary school in Bradford.
A council spokeswoman noted that the material was not illegal, but Glen Miller, leader of the Conservative group at Bradford Council, said: "Apparently no-one thought it sensible to inform the local school of the material that was found on his computer."
The inquiry into the Co-op is to be ordered by the chancellor and arranged by the Prudential Regulation Authority, under powers Mr Osborne obtained in the 2012 Financial Services Act, the BBC's Robert Peston has reported.
"This would be a long and detailed investigation by an independent expert into events at the Co-op Bank," he said.
Source-BBC
More Iran Nuclear Talks Thursday
Iranian and international negotiators are set to continue key talks Thursday that officials on both sides say could lead to an eventual deal limiting Iran's nuclear activities, in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
The Geneva talks, which convened Wednesday, are building on a first round of negotiations that ended two weeks ago without visible signs of progress. Analysts say those talks failed, in large part because France -- one of six governments at the talks -- said the preliminary deal under consideration did not sufficiently curb Iran's uranium enrichment program.
Wednesday's talks resumed as political leaders in Tehran and in the West sought to highlight their respective positions and assure their constituencies that their envoys will not compromise on basic demands.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an address Wednesday, said the Tehran government "will not step back one iota" from what it insists is an absolute right to enrich uranium.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry vowed that the United States will not accept any deal that lets Iran buy time to increase its nuclear capability.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with Germany, want an interim agreement that calls for Iran to stop some of its enrichment activity and accept more inspections in return for limited sanctions relief.
The White House on Tuesday described the current talks as "an opportunity to halt the progress on the Iranian program...while testing whether a comprehensive resolution can be achieved."
That statement came after President Barack Obama asked key Senate leaders to hold off on any new sanctions against Tehran while the Geneva talks continue.
China Criticizes Spanish Court's Arrest Orders for Chinese Officials
China has criticized a Spanish court's decision to order the arrest of five former Chinese leaders accused of involvement in "genocidal" policies in Tibet.
At a Wednesday briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Beijing wants a "clarification" of the court decision from the Spanish government. He said that if reports of the Spanish National Court ruling are correct, China is "strongly displeased" with what it called the court's "repeated manipulation" of the Tibet issue.
Hong said the Spanish government should "change" the court decision and repair "severe damage" to China-Spain relations. He also urged Madrid to refrain from sending "wrong signals" to Tibetan forces.
In Monday's ruling, distributed to the media a day later, the Spanish National Court called for the arrest of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin and four other officials who held senior roles in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Associated Press quoted a Spanish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman as saying Madrid has no comment on China's reaction because the case is a judicial matter.
A group of Spain-based activists who support Tibetan rights initiated the "genocide" case against the five Chinese officials.
The activists filed the lawsuit in Spain under the country's universal jurisdiction system, which allows Spanish courts to prosecute alleged war crimes and genocide committed anywhere, provided the victims include Spaniards.
US, Afghanistan Agree on Text for Security Pact
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States and Afghanistan have reached an agreement on the final text of a bilateral security pact that will determine the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai negotiated the agreement with U.S. officials, but a grand council of more than 2,500 Afghan elders, known as a Loya Jirga, must give its approval before the document goes to the Afghanistan parliament for a vote.
The group can revise or reject any clause of the draft agreement, and a flat-out rejection would most likely prevent the Afghan government from signing it.
The three-day gathering of Jirga delegates, including tribal, political and intellectual leaders, begins Thursday. Kabul remains on high alert with offices closed and dozens of checkpoints set up along the route leading to the site of the meeting.
A key sticking point had been whether Washington would agree to offer assurances that U.S. troops will enter Afghan homes only in "exceptional" circumstances to save lives.
The issue gained attention Tuesday after Afghan presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said the two sides had agreed to allow home raids if President Barack Obama writes a letter acknowledging mistakes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
But Kerry said Mr. Karzai did not ask the U.S. to apologize for civilian casualties.
The so-called Bilateral Security Agreement is seen as vital to lasting peace in the war-torn nation, where the United Nations said the Taliban insurgency this year reached levels of violence not seen since 2010.
Also Wednesday, Afghanistan's election commission announced the final list of candidates for next year's presidential poll, which will be the country's first-ever democratic power transfer.
Mr. Karzai, appointed following the U.S.-led invasion of 2001, must step down after serving two terms.
US President Obama Honors JFK at Gravesite
U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to former President John F. Kennedy's legacy to mark the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
Mr. Obama was joined Wednesday by former President Bill Clinton, along with First Lady Michelle Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, for a wreath-laying at Kennedy's grave in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
Extended members of the Kennedy family also gathered for the tribute.
Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mr. Clinton and 16 prominent Americans who made significant contributions to significant contributions to U.S. culture, politics, sports and science. President Kennedy established the modern version of the award, but was assassinated two weeks before he planned to honor the first group of recipients.