A French presidential official has said that France's president, Francois Hollande, has agreed to act with the US on Syria.

A last-minute deal to avoid the US “fiscal cliff” sent world stocks climbing today but did not solve the massive budget deficit, meaning other battles on deep spending cuts are looming.

As the first polls closed in the US elections, Republican Harold Rogers and Democrat Ben Chandler easily won re-election in Kentucky to the House of Represntatives.