Obama in Afghan troop level talks

US President Barack Obama is to discuss US policy in Afghanistan with his national security team, as speculation mounts over a decision on troop levels.

A White House spokesman said Mr Obama was considering four options as he headed into the meeting.
He denied reports that the president had already settled on a figure and said a decision was still weeks away.
The top US military commander in Afghanistan has asked for at least 40,000 more US troops there.
Wednesday's meeting comes as an exhaustive review of US strategy in Afghanistan, including troop levels, appears to be drawing to a close.
Reports citing anonymous officials have suggested that a figure somewhat below the 40,000 suggested by Gen Stanley McChrystal is likely to be chosen.
But on Tuesday White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president was yet to decide.
"Anybody who tells you the president has made a decision... doesn't have, in all honesty, the slightest idea what they are talking about," he said.
He gave no details about the four options that he said Mr Obama would weigh up.
Officials have stressed that the review is not just about numbers, but includes decisions on how troops should be deployed.
Among the key outstanding issues is said to be how much the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was recently declared the winner of a widely criticised election, can be relied upon.
One senior source told the BBC that whichever option was chosen, the focus would be on protection and training rather than going out and seeking to kill the Taliban.
Critics have said the decision on Afghanistan is taking too long, while Mr Obama has said he does not want to rush a decision that involves putting troops at risk.
The BBC's Caroline Wyatt says that there is a growing sense of frustration at the length of time it is taking for the White House to make its decision amongst military commanders and politicians from other coalition countries.
As public support for the campaign wanes in almost every Nato ally, the signal sent out by President Obama's decision will be crucial - and the fear is that the current delay sends out a message to other Nato members, to the Afghan people and to the Taliban and al-Qaeda that America and its partners may be wavering, she says.
Any reinforcement of troops is expected to start next spring.
The US currently has some 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, contributing to a coalition force of more than 100,000.

Kraft makes Cadbury takeover bid

US food company Kraft has launched £9.8bn ($16.43bn) hostile bid for UK confectioner Cadbury.

Kraft announced it will offer 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share, the same terms as it proposed in September.
Because Kraft shares have dropped in value since then, the bid is now worth less than the original £10bn approach.
Cadbury had rejected the original Kraft offer, saying it "fundamentally undervalued" the company.
Kraft is now taking its offer directly to its shareholders.
Under Takeover Panel rules, Kraft had until 1700 GMT on Monday to make a new offer or walk away for six months.
'Long-term value'
"We believe that our proposal offers the best immediate and long-term value for Cadbury's shareholders and for the company itself compared with any other option currently available, including Cadbury remaining independent," said Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft chairman.
Shares in Cadbury, which had been over 1% higher, fell by 0.5% to 754p.
Many investors had expected Kraft to increase its offer to tempt the board to back the offer.
Weekend reports had said that some Cadbury shareholders thought 820p a share would be a "starting point" for discussions with Kraft.
Cadbury chairman Roger Carr had previously said in a letter to Kraft chief executive Irene Rosenfeld that "Cadbury would be absorbed into Kraft's low growth, conglomerate business model" and that made the offer an "unappealing prospect".
Shares in Cadbury have risen about 30% since late August.
As well as Dairy Milk, Cadbury also owns the Green & Black's chocolate brand, Halls lozenges, Trident and Dentyne gum brands and liquorice allsorts maker Bassett's.
It spun off its drinks division as a separate business last year.
Kraft's brands include Kenco and Maxwell House coffee, Oreo biscuits, Jacobs, Terry's Chocolate Orange and Toblerone, as well as cheese products such as Philadelphia and Dairylea.

eBay in Skype deal with founders

Online auction site eBay has settled a lawsuit with the founders of Skype, ending uncertainty over the future of the internet phone company.

The case was about whether the software of the site was owned by the founders via their firm, Joltid, or by eBay.
In a complicated deal, the founders will drop their lawsuit against eBay and take two seats on the board of Skype.
Skype will still be sold to a group of investors for about $2bn (£1.2bn).
Skype's software lets computer and mobile phone users talk to each other for free and make cut-price calls to mobiles and landlines.
The deal, announced by eBay in September, is is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2009.
As a result of the agreement, eBay will keep a 30% stake in Skype rather than the 35% it originally announced.
New owners
"Skype will be well positioned to move forward under new owners with ownership and control over its core technology," said eBay head John Donahoe.
"At the same time, eBay continues to retain a significant stake in Skype and will benefit from its continued growth."
Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will now own a 14% stake in the new Skype.
The other new owners are Andreessen Horowitz - run by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen - as well as private equity firm Silver Lake and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
But Index Ventures, which originally invested in Skype, will no longer be part of the new takeover.
Mr Zennstrom and Mr Friis had been trying to buy back Skype for the past year, which eBay bought for $2.6bn in 2005.
They sued the company in the UK, saying their company Joltid owned the rights to underlying source code that props up the Skype network.
Unlike traditional mobile calls, which are transmitted over a cellular network, Skype turns your voice into data and sends it over the internet.
Since being acquired, the number of registered Skype users has risen to 405 million from 53 million, though free user-to-user calls still dominate the service.

Argentine ex-leader goes on trial

The trial has begun of Argentina's last military ruler, Reynaldo Bignone, and five other retired generals.

The men are charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping, torture and disappearance of 56 opponents of the military government in the late 1970s.
The abuses are alleged to have taken place at the Campo de Mayo base on the outskirts of the capital, Buenos Aires.
Human rights groups say up to 30,000 people were killed or disappeared in Argentina between 1976 and 1983.
All of the eight accused, including two former military government officials, deny the charges.
Mr Bignone, 81, appeared frail and rocked back and forth in his chair as the charges were read out, correspondents said.
"This is a historic trial in the search for truth for all of those who disappeared," Alcira Rios, a lawyer for relatives of one of the victims, told Reuters news agency.
"We have to say no to impunity. We owe it to our Argentine society."
House arrest
The other retired generals on trial are Santiago Omar Riveros, Eugenio Guanabens Perello, Jorge Garcia, Fernando Exequiel Verplaetsen and Carlos Alberto Tepedino.
More than 130 witnesses are expected to be called to testify against the defendants. The trial is not expected to finish before February.
Mr Bignone, who has been living under house arrest, faces charges in connection with alleged torture, illegal break-ins and human rights violations from 1976 to 1978.
He was the last of Argentina's four military presidents, serving from 1982-83, and handed power over to democratically elected leader Raul Alfonsin when the dictatorship collapsed in 1983.
An estimated 5,000 prisoners were held at the Campo de Mayo barracks, one of the largest death camps in operation during the dictatorship, according to human rights groups.

Pelosi unveils House health bill

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has unveiled a healthcare bill that would extend coverage to 36m more Americans.

The top House Democrat said the legislation would provide affordable healthcare to 96% of all Americans.

It would also let the government sell insurance in competition with private companies and make insurers offer cover to those with pre-existing conditions.

The bill is the latest step in a long-running battle over healthcare reform.

President Barack Obama has made reform of the healthcare system a central plank of his domestic agenda.

Scaled-back

Speaking on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC, Ms Pelosi called the bill a "historic moment for our nation and families".

She said the legislation would also include a so-called "public option", referring to a controversial new government-run insurance option.

However, the public option she unveiled was a scaled-back version, falling short of the one liberal Democrats had demanded and which had thrown the bill into a logjam.

US President Barack Obama welcomed the legislation in a written statement, saying that "a public option that competes with private insurers is the best way to ensure choice and competition that are so badly needed in today's market".

The bill will now go before the House of Representatives, where it could be voted on as early as next week.

Once both the House and Senate have approved their own versions, a conference committee, made up of lawmakers from both houses, will convene to reconcile the two.

If both chambers then vote in favour of the reconciled version, it will be sent to Mr Obama for his approval, and become law.