The government of Cyprus has confirmed that it will have to raise nearly twice as much money as previously thought towards an international bailout. An extra six billion euros on top of the seven billion it had already agreed. Officials said a deeper recession had resulted in more government spending on benefits and further recapitalization of troubled banks.
The Untied States senators have voted to debated new gun restrictions for the first time in 20 years. The vote was prompted by a massacre at a Connecticut primary school last year. Republicans who'd threatened to filibuster the motion were defeated by 68 votes to 31. The Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid said the killings at Newtown had changed attitudes. "America has a different view of this and blame us just a while ago. We all believe in the constitution, we all know what all these amendments are about and what they're supposed to do and we're going to make sure that during this debate we keep the constitution in mind. But the families of the most recent tragedy in Newtown deserve a debate."
World news from the BBC
The founder and chief executive of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has joined a campaign for immigration reform in the United States. He's launched a pressure group Forward US backed by other leading entrepreneurs from companies such as Google, Yahoo and Linkedin as well as Silicon Valley investors. Mr Zuckergerg called the current US immigration policy unfit for today's world. He said he wanted comprehensive reform to allow businesses to attract the most talented and hardest working people no matter where they were born.