News Headlines - 28 December 2012

▽BBC News - Fiscal cliff: Obama 'optimistic' on Senate-led deal

US President Barack Obama says he is "modestly optimistic" that a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" is possible, after a last-ditch White House meeting.

▽Japan pushes world closer to currency wars - The Independent

The prospect of a global "currency war" between the world's major economies edged closer as the new Japanese Finance Minister, Taro Aso, pledged to prevent speculators driving up the value of the yen and reiterated Tokyo's plans to alter the Bank of Japan's mandate to deliver reflation.

▽Autonomy founder Mike Lynch faces US investigation into takeover by HP | This is Money

Autonomy founder Mike Lynch faces a probe by the US Department of Justice over an alleged ￡5billion accounting cover-up. Federal agents have launched an investigation into the software giant’s takeover by Hewlett-Packard last year, it was confirmed yesterday. After buying it for ￡7.1billion in October 2011, HP last month wrote down ￡5billion from the value of Autonomy, accusing former executives of a ‘wilful attempt to inflate’ the company’s numbers.

▽Abducted Atiya Anjum-Wilkinson returns to UK from Pakistan | The Guardian

Three long, agonising years after Gemma Wilkinson last saw her daughter, Atiya, the six-year-old has finally flown back to the UK after a multinational police operation tracked her down to a city in Pakistan. On 6 November 2009, Wilkinson believed the three-year old was going to Southport to celebrate her birthday. She was not on good terms with Atiya's father, Razwan Anjum, but had expected him to bring the toddler back the following week. Atiya finally returned this evening – landing at Manchester just after 7pm.

▽Victim of Gang Rape in India Dies at Hospital in Singapore - NYTimes.com

A young woman who had been in critical condition since she was raped two weeks ago by a group of men who lured her onto a bus here died early Saturday, an official at the hospital in Singapore that was caring for her said.