>> welcome to the journal coming to you live from berlin. >> welcome. >> coming up, only hours left for leaders in washington to reach a compromise. some officials say there is hope. >> happy new year to people in australia and asia. >> hugo chavez remained in a hospital in cuba as his condition worsens. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> as the midnight deadline for agreement on a budget deal approaches quickly, it looks like u.s. lawmakers may have put together is stopgap agreement. some details are emerging as sources close say the talks have been centering on staving off the worst of $600 billion in spending cuts. the president had this to say. >> the potential agreement would make sure it taxes do not go up on middle-class families but it would also extend tax credits for families with children, extend the tuition tax credit that has helped millions of families pay for college, and it would extend tax credits. >> lawmakers were also narrowing the income level at which they would increase to between $400,000.50 under

thousand dollars. no deal is reached, taxes will go up for all americans. >> let's now go live to washington. we have a correspondent following the story for us. what else does the president have to say? >> i think this is important to review the deficit. he said the compromise is being looked at and he is urging them to come together right now in the senate to pass this bill. he wants both parties to work together and you could really see in his body language that he feels well right now. >> should there be a deal, what needs to happen in both houses of congress for the stopgap effort to go through? >> first, the senate will come

together and decide the taxes for the wealthy will go up. now the question is who is wealthy? households to make more than $450,000 per year will see higher taxes. the next obstacle is what is going happen with the additional money? republicans would like to use that money to reduce the debts and democrats would like to spend it. they will find a compromise in the next hour. let's be optimistic. everyone is optimistic that they will finally pass a bill. mr. boehner will then try to find a common ground with democrats in the house and they will have to pass this bill as well. i'm not sure whether they will

be able to do that today, so what we might see is that the house will come together tomorrow morning and pass the bill then. >> what happens if there's no deal? to the bills get paid? >> i am somewhat optimistic. if they're not going to find a solution, i think the house will have to come together after the third of january and talk about that again. if they do not find a solution fast, they will still need a few months before america could face a new recession. >> thank you so much. >> talking about money, time to check out the market numbers. it was a bit of a surge on the u.s. markets. that has come back tonight but it is still holding at 12991.

eurostoxx 50. euro trading down $1.3194. >> secretary of state henry clinton in the hospital due to a blood clot from the concussion she's a reporter earlier this month. >> she is under observation and will be in the hospital at least until tuesday. she is 65 years old. she has stated that she will be stepping down next month. the egyptian pound continues to fall against the u.s. dollar despite financial authorities tried to hold it from sliding. mohamed morsi expects that it will stabilize. >> political turmoil has sent worried egyptian scrambling to

change their currency into pounds and dollars. they are imposing controls on how much cash can physically be carried out of the country. >> the latest attempt to stabilize the currency has had little impact on it slide. beside reserves in its currency auction, the egyptian pound falling to a new low. the currency have been losing value since the unrest began. two major factors are a drop in tourism and in foreign investment. many egyptians fear their cash will continue to fall in value causing a run on a changing the pound for dollars or euro. president mohamed morsi says it should stabilize soon and the central bank is warning they could run out of central bank currency reserves. egypt is still waiting for an imf aid package.

>> we hope the talks with the international monetary fund will continue in january. the government will ask for a resumption in loan negotiations. >> until then, the central bank may sell more reserves to stave off a currency crash. >> 2012 is coming to a close in just a few hours in berlin. in other parts of the world, they are already bringing in 2013. >> fireworks lit up the sky in aukland. there were plenty of pyrotechnics. >> sydney putting on a spectacular welcome to 2013. kylie minogue sang the tunes to the display. 7 tons of gunpowder bait.

the bridge in light for more than 1 million revelers. along with fireworks, they had a traditional bell ringing ceremony. even north korea accepts they cannot stop the passage of time. they clearly have money to burn in 2013. celebrations may be winding down in asia, berlin is still warming up in anticipation of the midnight hour. the biggest parties will be in front of the brandenburg gate with a 1 million people expected and a lavish pyrotechnic display lighting up the german capital. >> the prime minister of samoa was among the first to welcome in the new year. last year, they catapulted themselves across the

international date line by setting their clock 24 hours forward. >> citizens in venezuela are less happy as new year's approaches. they have called off public new year's eve after the government said the cancer stricken president hugo chavez had taken a turn for the worse. >> the streets of caracas were quiet as the newspapers said he had had respiratory issues up for his fourth cancer operation. >> the mood was somber at this press conference. he announced hugo chavez was struggling to recover from a six-hour operation earlier this month. >> 19 days up to the complex surgery, his health continues to be delicate. this presents publications that are being treated better not without risks.

>> he has called his five with cancer a battle for his life. he was reelected and was set to begin his new term on january 10th. if he is unable to do that, venezuela could holding new presidential election. >> with all of us wishing each other happy new year, we decided we wanted to slow things down and ask what your wishing for other people? >> what usually comes down to his happiness. it is a profoundly individual question, so we decided to travel around the world and find out what happiness and being happy means as we enter the new year. >> philosophically speaking, you're happy when you do not even feel it. happiness is this right here, being with our friends, our

sons. feeling good. that is happiness. >> we are always happy when we have worked. if you do not work, you do not make any money and then you have nothing to do. >> traveling around the world. these are moments of fun. >> happiness means everything to me. if you aren't happy, your heart starts to a can that will kill you. i let my anchor go because i do not want to be angry. -- i let my anger go. >> i think god that i'm alive. -- i thank god. you have to be grateful and happy that you are alive.

>> that was pretty funny, going to the championships with the local band. [bagpipes] ♪ >> to us, happiness is peace on all over the world, but especially in the middle east. >> going to work every day, waking up to see another day. >> it is still 2012 in ireland, but they are set to take over the presidency of the european union. it changes every six months and it has been held by cyprus since july. ireland, since the bailout, they have won praise for their austerity measures.

nearly half of what was spent when ireland last held the ball in 1940. switching gears to formula one. >> the german driver has been on a nonstop promotional blitz since being crowned the august for the crown champion. >> he has taken some time off to reflect on his latest achievement. >> finally, a formula one world champion is getting some much deserved a rest and recuperation. he is taking stock of what was a very turbulent and, at times, emotional season. and all came down to a certain strength. >> it is such a long season to start with. a difficult start, everything that could happen happened. everything that could go wrong did. i said we have to keep pushing and fighting until the end.

if we do that, from deep inside us until the end, we cannot fail. >> the champion took an extended victory tour wowing fans across europe, but his first stop was the party are at rebel headquarters. he knows that seymour can trust are key components to peak performance. >> to look back what we have achieved as a team in the last three-four years, it is the emotions we have, believing until the last lap of the race that they could not be crazier. in the end, the winner takes at all. it's just tastes of the best when you are on the top step. >> they will be a try to keep together their winning team. he will be extending his

contract until 2014 with rebel racing. -- red bull racing. >> much more after the break. >> including the eu address. stay with us.

>> if you have never traveled around the country, you have probably climbed on to retrain. >> trains could just about everywhere in the national network has enjoyed competition protection for decades which has ended and long-distance domestic bus services taking into the road. >> the passengers are tired on this bus from frankfurt to berlin, but many welcome the new long distance lines as an alternative to trains. >> it is cheaper, direct, no delays, very punctual. >> there is no bus the

hamburger, but that would be good. i have of friends there -- no bus to hamburg. >> i think it's great i can take the bus there. >> they passed the time by playing cards or taking advantage of the free wifi. they have plenty of time and not a lot of money. it is almost like a social events. >> it is just more cozy. >> the company, dein bus of, is showing promise. they're targeting young clientele with quirky videos, but there is a catch. it happens only if enough passengers buy tickets. their advertising one-year wrote tickets and the price is a key. they see this as the dawning of a new era. >> in many other countries is a

well established form of travel so it has a good image. in germany, its image will be improving. >> they have already staked out their position on the market this year. >> next sure we will be expanding. we have a lot of new lines and we will be increasing our inventory of buses extensively. this is just the beginning. >> finally, the arrival at the main bus station in berlin. it continues to expand, they will be reaching full capacity. >> in just a moment, we will be hearing from chancellor angela merkel in her new year's message. >> first, a look at other stories making headlines around the world. the turkish prime minister has told all loans assyrian refugees the other countries on the brink of a new beginning. they will be replacing president

assaad. he was joined by the head of the leader of the opposition coalition. turkey has taken on 150,000 syrian refugees. >> at least 16 people have been killed and 76 injured in a series of bomb attacks across iraq. they mainly targeted government officials and police. seven people were killed south of the capital, baghdad. >> india remains in morning two days after the death of a woman who's a gang rape earlier this month shocked the country. many hotels and clubs have closed down in respect of the woman. the rate and death triggered widespread demonstrations.

>> rescue teams in colombia are searching for survivors after this varied parts of a road. they believed 20 people may be trapped under the road and there are unconfirmed reports of at least two dead. >> as mentioned, we're going to leave you with chancellor angela merkel's new year's address. >> think you for being with us and happy new year. -- thank you for being with us.

these are small medical miracles. they are marks of our research's success. for this boy in this woman, research means hearing or a heartbeat. it means daily life and quality of life. for our country, research means jobs. if we can do something that others cannot, we preserve and create prosperity. that is why we are investing more than ever before in

education and research. that is why we are building a germany into one of the most modern energy producers in the world. that is why we are preparing our country for demographic change, and that is why we are bringing public finances into order. these objectives will continue to guide us into 2013. we need the right balance for prosperity and cohesion. we need a willingness to achieve as well as social security for all. the european sovereign debt crisis shows us how important this balance is. the reforms we have agreed to are beginning to take effect. but we still need a lot of patience. the crisis is far from over. more needs to be done internationally, as well, to monitor the financial markets. the world has not sufficiently learned the lesson of the devastating financial crisis of 2008.

for never again must such irresponsibility be allowed to take cold as it did then. in the social market economy, the state is the guardian of order, and the public must be able to place its trust in it. my fellow citizens -- at this hour in particular, we should think about those to ensure our security, both here and far away. they are our soldiers, police officers, and civilian helpers' to do their job for us at great personal sacrifice. i know from my conversations with them, how much it means to them when we at home think of them. i especially want to express my thanks to them tonight. our confidence for the coming year may take sustenance from a san of the greek philosopher democritus. he says, courage marks the beginning of action, fortune in

the end. in this spirit, let us in 2013 continue to share the burden of those who are facing difficulty, people who are lonely or sick, or in need of comfort. together, let us make the new year one in which we again put our great strengths to the test -- our togetherness, our continued capacity for new ideas that give us economic power. then it germany will continue to be compassionate and successful. and so, i wish you and your family is a healthy, for filling, and happy new year in 2013 and got the's blessings. -- and god's blessings.