GOSHEN, INDIANA USA - A northern Indiana hospital has fired eight employees who refused to get flu shots under a new policy intended to protect patients from the potentially deadly illness. IU Health Goshen Hospital officials told its staff in September that flu shots would no longer be optional for staff, affiliated physicians, volunteers and vendors. "The EEOC's guidelines specify that just because there are beliefs that are strongly held does not mean that they are protected by a religious blanket, so social, political and economic philosophies and personal preferences, those are not religious beliefs," Hospital spokeswoman McDonald said.

FALKLAND ISLANDS/UK - David Cameron has said he will "do everything" to protect the interests of the Falkland islanders following a demand by Argentina's populist president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, to hand back the islands, 30 years after Britain and Argentina went to war over them. A spokesman for [Mr] Cameron said that the people of the Falklands had shown "a clear desire to remain British" and the prime minister would "do everything to protect the interests of the Falklands islanders". The islanders are due to vote in a referendum in March that is expected to give overwhelming backing for the territory to remain British. The prime minister's spokesman said the Argentinian government should abide by the result.

USA - The "fiscal cliff" legislation passed this week included $76 billion in special-interest tax credits for the likes of General Electric, Hollywood and even Captain Morgan. But these subsidies weren't the fruit of eleventh-hour lobbying conducted on the cliff's edge - they were crafted back in August in a Senate committee, and they sat dormant until the White House reportedly insisted on them this week.

JORDAN - A Jordanian minister accused Israel on Wednesday of planning to partition the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount plaza surrounding it in order to erect the third Temple. Islamic Endowments Minister Abdul Salam Abadi told a visiting clerical delegation from Australia that he received instructions from the “Hashemite leadership” to safeguard the Arab and Islamic identity of Jerusalem, Jordanian media reported.

USA - Inundated with foods and drinks that contain high-fructose corn syrup, the US food industry is largely at fault for driving up obesity rates, since the cheap sweetener inhibits the brain from regulating the body’s appetite.

USA - The final bill, which included only tax increases and no cuts in spending, actually added $330 billion in spending over the next 10 years, and ensures an increase of $4 trillion to the federal deficit.

UK - The UK and other European countries must use the money saved by withdrawing from Afghanistan to re-equip their military and help reverse worrying cuts in defence spending, the American ambassador to NATO will warn on Tuesday. Ivo Daalder said if Europe did not invest in new capabilities, its over-reliance on America would continue at a time when Washington had made the far east and China its new strategic priority. His remarks offer a stark warning to European governments about cuts in defence spending at a time of turmoil in Syria and across the Middle East.

VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI has condemned "unregulated capitalism" for contributing to world tension, in a New Year address to worshippers. The Pope also thanked the world's peacemakers and said humanity had "an innate vocation for peace".

UK - Forty years ago today, in what was arguably the most fateful political move ever made by a British Prime Minister, Edward Heath took us into what was then called the ‘Common Market’. Such a step had scarcely been mentioned at the previous General Election, and the British people had very little idea of what they were letting themselves in for, other than a trading arrangement that might make it easier for us to sell our goods to our Continental neighbours.

HOLLAND - Thousands of Dutch Catholics are researching how they can leave the church in protest at its opposition to gay marriage, according to the creator of a website aimed at helping them find the information. Tom Roes, whose website allows people to download the documents needed to leave the Church, said traffic on ontdopen.nl – “de-baptize.nl” – had soared from about 10 visits a day to more than 10,000 after Pope Benedict’s latest denunciation of gay marriage this month. The country is famous for its liberal attitudes, for example to drugs and prostitution, and in April 2001 it was the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriages.

USA/NEW ZEALAND - The United States and New Zealand conducted secret tests of a "tsunami bomb" designed to destroy coastal cities by using underwater blasts to trigger massive tidal waves. The tests were carried out in waters around New Caledonia and Auckland during the Second World War and showed that the weapon was feasible and a series of 10 large offshore blasts could potentially create a 33-foot tsunami capable of inundating a small city. The top secret operation, code-named "Project Seal", tested the doomsday device as a possible rival to the nuclear bomb. About 3,700 bombs were exploded during the tests.

UK - London's FTSE 100 rose above 6,000 for the first time in seventeen months as stock markets around the world rose strongly on news that the US had made a deal to avert the 'fiscal cliff'. The index of leading shares rose 1.9 per cent - or 113 points - to 6012 within two hours of the start of the first trading day of the New Year. Investors were encouraged the US Congress had finally backed an agreement to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" of drastic tax rises and automatic spending cuts which had threatened to send the world's biggest economy back into recession.

USA - The Senate deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" will add roughly $4 trillion to the deficit when compared to current law, according to new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO determined Tuesday that the package, hammered out late Monday evening by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican for Kentucky) would — over the next decade — come with a $3.9 trillion price tag.

UK - A survey of small firms has found confidence remains low, but this year promises to be a better one than the previous two years. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said 2012 had been tough, but 2013 looked to be brighter. The FSB's national chairman, John Walker, said: "Confidence is still low, but our members are heading into 2013 with more confidence than they did going into either 2011 or 2012." He said, however, that it was early days and that the recovery would not be immediate: "The signs seem to be positive, but it's going to be a long road ahead, with some economists warning of a triple-dip recession and others expressing cautious optimism."

UK - One in 10 young people feel they cannot cope with day-to-day life - with those not in work, education or training more than twice as likely to feel this way - according to a Prince's Trust survey. Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Prince's Trust, said: "A frightening number of unemployed young people feel unable to cope - and it is particularly tough for those who don't have a support network in place".