BBC News with Iain Purdon

The senior Democrat in Congress Harry Reid says the United State seems to be heading for the financial crisis known as the fiscal cliff unless politicians stop scrambling. Mr Reid, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, criticize the Republicans for ruling out any taxes rises as a part of a deal. He called for an urgent senate vote.

"Come first of this year, Americans will have less income than they have today. If we go over the cliff, and it looks like that’s where we’re headed, the House of Representatives — as we speak with four days left after today before the first year — aren’t here. With the speaker having told them, they'll have, they'll give 48 hours notice. I can’t imagine their consciences - they are out wherever they are, around the country. And we are here tying to get something done".

President Obama has returned to Washington after cutting short his Christmas holiday to try to bring the parties together.

Egypt's public prosecutor has ordered an inquiry into the country's top opposition leaders over allegations they tried to incite the overthrow of president Mohammed Morsi. The men were named as the Nobel laureate Mohammed El Baradei, the former Secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, and the former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi. Bethany Bell reports from Cairo.

This investigation doesn't mean the charges will be filed against the opposition leaders but it comes at a sensitive time. Egypt has been in the group of political crisis ever since president Morsi temporarily gave himself sweeping new powers last month. The three opposition leaders formed a coalition, the National Salvation Front to lead protests against the president. They organize mass rallies, some of which turned violent when their supporters clashed with the president's Islamist backers.