US Dollar falls as fiscal cliff worries grow






NEW YORK: The US dollar dropped to its lowest level against the euro in three months Friday, the euro going above US$1.31 as politicians in Washington appeared no closer to averting the economy-crunching fiscal cliff.

With just over two weeks to go before the deadline, markets began to show strains from worries that US leaders will not be able to carve out a compromise deal to beat the year-end deadline to skirt the cliff's harsh mandatory budget cuts and tax hikes.

At 2200 GMT, the euro was at US$1.3161, compared to US$1.3073 late Thursday.

The US dollar has slipped steadily for a week amid cliff fears and the Federal Reserve's extension of its bond-buying easy monetary accommodation, aimed at sparking more growth in the sluggish US economy.

The yen was mixed ahead of Sunday's Japanese general election: the euro gained to 109.94 yen from 109.38 yen, while the US dollar slipped to 83.52 yen from 83.64.

"According to most reports out of Japan, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is well ahead in polls and his coalition government should easily take more than 60 per cent of the seats in Parliament, leading to Abe's return to the PM seat," said Neal Gilbert of GFT.

"Abe has made many declarations that he wants to become more aggressive with monetary policy by lowering interest rates to 0 per cent, increasing the inflation target to 3 per cent, and increasing the amount of QE (quantitative easing)."

Gilbert added that if Abe regains the premiership, the yen's weakness "may be much more long lasting."

The US dollar slipped against the Swiss franc to 0.9172 francs, while the British pound edged higher to US$1.6173.

- AFP/jc



Read More..

20 Children Killed at Conn. Grade School, 7 Adults













Twenty children died today when a heavily armed man invaded a Newtown, Conn., elementary school and sprayed staff and students with bullets.


The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead in the school.


Lt. Paul Vance said 18 children died in the school and two more died later in a hospital. Six adults were also slain, bringing the total to 26.


In addition to the casualties at the school, Lanza's mother Nancy Lanza was killed in her home, federal and state sources told ABC News.


According to sources, Lanza shot his mother in the face, then left his house armed with at least two semi automatic handguns, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, and a semi automatic rifle. He was also wearing a bullet proof vest.


Lanza drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School and continued his rampage, killing 26 people, authorities said. He was found dead at the school. It appears that he died from what is believed to be a self inflicted gunshot wound. The rifle was found in his car.


In the early confusion surrounding the investigation, federal sources initially identified the suspect as Adam's older brother Ryan Lanza, 24. He is being questioned by police.


LIVE UPDATES: Newtown, Conn., School Shooting


"Evil visited this community today," Gov. Dan Malloy said at a news conference this evening.


First grade teacher Kaitlin Roig, 29, locked her 14 students in a class bathroom and listened to "tons of shooting" until police came to help.








Connecticut Elementary School Shooting: 'Several Fatalities' Watch Video









Connecticut Shooting: 27 Dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School Watch Video









Connecticut School Shooting: White House Response Watch Video





"It was horrific," Roig said. "I thought we were going to die."


She said that the terrified kids were saying, "I just want Christmas…I don't want to die. I just want to have Christmas."


A tearful President Obama said there's "not a parent in America who doesn't feel the overwhelming grief that I do."


The president had to pause to compose himself after saying these were "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10." As he continued with his statement, Obama wiped away tears from each eye.


He has ordered flags flown as half staff.


CLICK HERE for more photos from the scene.


The alert at the school ended when Vance announced, "The shooter is deceased inside the building. The public is not in danger."


The massacre prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today. Authorities initially believed that there were two gunmen and were searching cars around the school, but authorities do not appear to be looking for another gunman.


It is the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 when 32 were killed before the shooter turned the gun on himself. Today's carnage exceeds the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured.


The Newtown shooting comes three days after masked gunman Jacob Roberts opened fire in a busy Oregon mall, killing two before turning the gun on himself.


Today's shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which includes 450 students in grades K-4. The town is located about 12 miles east of Danbury.


State Police received the first 911 call at 9:41 a.m. and immediately began sending emergency units from the western part of the state. Initial 911 calls stated that multiple students were trapped in a classroom, possibly with a gunman, according to a Connecticut State Police source.


Lt. Paul Vance said that on-duty and off-duty officers swarmed to the school and quickly checked "every door, every crack, every crevice" in the building looking for the gunman and evacuating children.


A photo from the scene shows a line of distressed children being led out of the school.


Three patients have been taken to Danbury Hospital, which is also on lockdown, according to the hospital's Facebook page.






Read More..

U.S., rebels urge gloomy Moscow to help oust Assad


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's rebel leadership and the United States seized on Russian pessimism over President Bashar al-Assad's future to urge Moscow to help push its ally into ceding power and end the battles closing in around his capital.


"We want to commend the Russian government for finally waking up to the reality and acknowledging that the regime's days are numbered," the U.S. State Department spokeswoman said after a senior Kremlin envoy conceded publicly on Thursday that Assad's opponents could win the 20-month-old civil war.


"The question now is, will the Russian government join those of us in the international community who are working with the opposition to try to have a smooth democratic transition?" U.S. spokeswoman Victoria Nuland added in Washington.


In Marrakech, where his new coalition won recognition from other international powers as the legitimate leadership of Syria, rebel political leader Mouaz al-Khatib said he believed Russia, ally and arms supplier to the Assad dynasty since Soviet times, was looking for ways out of its support for a lost cause.


"I believe that the Russians have woken up and are sensing that they have implicated themselves with this regime, but they don't know how to get out," al-Khatib told Reuters. He held them "particularly responsible" for helping Assad with arms but said Moscow need not "lose everything" in Syria if it changed tack.


Under President Vladimir Putin, wary since last year's Libyan war of what Russia sees as a Western drive to use the United Nations to overthrow national leaders it dislikes, Russia has blocked U.N. efforts to squeeze Assad, who has also had strong support from his long-time sponsor Iran.


But Mikhail Bogdanov, a deputy foreign minister and the Kremlin's special envoy for Middle East affairs, was quoted as saying in Moscow: "One must look the facts in the face."


"Unfortunately, the victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be ruled out." The Syrian government, he said, was "losing control of more and more territory" and Moscow was preparing to evacuate Russian citizens if necessary.


Nuland said Bogdanov's comments demonstrated that Moscow now "sees the writing on the wall" on Syria and said Russia should now rally behind U.N. efforts to prevent a wider bloodbath.


"They can withdraw any residual support for the Assad regime, whether it is material support (or) financial support," she said. "They can also help us to identify people who might be willing, inside of Syria, to work on a transitional structure."


DIPLOMACY


International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has met Russian and U.S. officials twice in the past week, is seeking a solution based on an agreement reached in Geneva in June that called for the creation of a transitional government in Syria.


But Russia has repeated warnings that recognition of al-Khatib's coalition, notably by the United States, is undermining diplomacy, and rejected U.S. contentions that the Geneva agreement sent a clear message that Assad should step down.


Nuland said the Brahimi meetings could lay the framework for a political structure to follow Assad:


"We've said all along to the Russians that we are concerned that the longer that this goes on, and the longer it takes us to get to an alternative political path for Syria, the only path is going to be the military one and that is just going to bring more violence.


"We all ought to be working together."


Bogdanov, whose government has suggested that Assad himself should be allowed to see through a transition he has promised, suggested the rebels and their allies were set on a military solution and he gave little hint of detente with Washington.


"The fighting will become even more intense and (Syria) will lose tens of thousands and, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of civilians," Bogdanov was quoted as saying. "If such a price for the removal of the president seems acceptable to you, what can we do? We, of course, consider it absolutely unacceptable."


The head of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said elsewhere: "I think the regime in Damascus is approaching collapse."


A U.S. official said: "Assad probably still believes that Syria is his and illusions can die hard. But Assad and those closest to him have got to be feeling the psychological strain of fighting a long war that is not going their way."


DAMASCUS BATTLES


But Al-Khatib, who played down Western concerns of sectarian Sunni Islamists in rebel ranks, warned that the fighting was far from over, even as it has begun to rattle the heart of Assad's power in Damascus. On Wednesday, a car bomb killed at least 16 people in a nearby town which is home to many military families.


"The noose is tightening around the regime," al-Khatib said.


"(But) the regime still has power. People think that the regime is finished, but it still has power left, but it is demoralized and however long it lasted its end is clear."


Day and night, Damascenes can hear the thunderous sound of bombardment aimed at rebel-held and contested neighborhoods.


The city's streets have now turned into a labyrinth of checkpoints and road blocks, with several major roads permanently closed off to traffic by concrete barriers.


"We escape from one place and trouble follows," said one grandmother, Um Hassan, as she described to Reuters her family's flight from one neighborhood to another as fighting seeps into the capital. "I don't know where we can keep running to."


Nonetheless, al-Khatib played down demands for their allies to provide heavier weaponry - a request long resisted by governments wary of anti-aircraft missiles and other hardware reaching Islamist rebels who might turn them against the West.


"The Syrian people ... no longer need international forces to protect them," he said, not specifying whether he meant a no-fly zone, arms supplies or other military support.


The opposition chief said he was willing to listen to proposals for Assad to escape with his life - "The best thing is that he steps down and stops drinking the blood of the Syrian people" - and outlined three scenarios for a change of power:


Al-Khatib ruled out the Russian proposal suggesting Assad hand over power to a transitional government while remaining president, saying it was "disgraceful for a slaughtered nation to accept to have a killer and criminal at its head".


The British-based Syrian Observatory said war planes bombed rebel-held eastern suburbs of Damascus on Thursday and artillery was hitting Daraya and Moadamiyeh, southwestern areas near the centre where rebels have been fighting for a foothold.


Syria has relied on war planes and helicopters to bombard rebel districts but Damascus denied accusations by U.S. and NATO officials that it had fired Scud missiles in recent days. The foreign ministry said the long-range missiles were not used against "terrorist groups," a term it uses for the rebels.


At least 40,000 people have been killed in Syria's uprising, which started in March 2011 with street protests which were met with gunfire by Assad's security forces, and which spiraled into the most enduring and destructive of the Arab revolts.


(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Michael Roddy) For an interactive look at the uprising in Syria, please click on http://link.reuters.com/rut37s



Read More..

EU leaders upbeat on euro future after deal on banks, Greece






BRUSSELS: EU leaders debated the euro's future in a bullish mood Thursday after deals on banks and Greece, despite fears that political uncertainty in Italy could cause new worries for the single currency.

As video showed the bloc's 27 leaders smiling and joking with each other at the beginning of a two-day summit, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said leaders should aim to cap a triumphant week that began with the European Union picking up the Nobel Peace Prize.

"We started the week well in Oslo. Let's finish it well here in Brussels with a further positive outcome," Van Rompuy said.

"The worst is now behind us, but of course much still needs to be done," he added as the leaders began deliberations on how to make the 17-nation eurozone more stable after a crippling three-year crisis.

The hero of the day was Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti, hailed for tough reforms that have brought Italy back from the brink of financial collapse but who announced last weekend he would be stepping down.

"Confidence has been returning in Italy's capacity to solve problems," said European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso. "Let me praise Mario Monti and his government for this."

Jitters over Italy's political situation loomed over the summit, after Monti said he would soon step down and former leader Silvio Berlusconi indicated he might run for a fourth term.

But on the sidelines of the talks, Berlusconi hinted he might not put himself forward, telling Belgian television channel VRT that he had "so much to do" outside politics.

At the talks, leaders will debate a report drawn up by Van Rompuy that proposes steps towards greater economic integration in the eurozone, eventually with a common "fiscal capacity" and binding reform commitments.

Following on the heels of a summit only last month that collapsed over the EU's seven-year budget, the atmosphere was noticeably brighter after ministers sealed much-heralded agreements on supervising big banks and aid to Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras exclaimed that "Grexit is dead", meaning the prospect of Greece leaving the euro currency area was no longer possible after ministers released bailout funds to avert bankruptcy.

After a buy-back programme designed to reduce Greece's debt mountain, Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said a first payment of 34.3 billion euros ($44.7 billion) would be flowing to Athens "as early as next week."

This instalment would go to help recapitalise Greece's crisis-wracked banks, to be followed by another 14.8 billion euros in the first quarter of next year.

An ecstatic Samaras, who has pushed through painful reforms demanded by creditors often in the face of violent protest, told reporters: "Greece is back on its feet. The sacrifices of the Greek people have not been in vain."

"Today is not only a new day for Greece, it is indeed a new day for Europe," he added.

"It is flying. It is happening"

Hours before the Greece deal, ministers charged the European Central Bank with monitoring banks with assets of more than 30 billion euros, or equal to 20 percent of a state's economic output from March 2014.

The agreement, which German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "cannot be valued highly enough", is the first step on the path towards a banking union and clears the way for EU bailout funds to recapitalise struggling banks directly.

Merkel called the move a "big step towards more reliability and trust in the eurozone."

The new Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) for the eurozone -- which Britain and Sweden will not take part in -- will mean the ECB directly supervising some 200 of the biggest banks out of the estimated 6,000 eurozone lenders.

ECB chief Mario Draghi hailed the accord as "an important step towards a stable economic and monetary union, and towards further European integration".

More excitedly, Barroso said: "You remember, when we spoke about this some time ago, people said it will not fly. It is flying. It is happening."

Merkel voiced some satisfaction as she looked back on a year of seemingly endless crisis summits, damaging market volatility and, at times, near break-up of the eurozone bloc.

"All in all, I want to state at the end of 2012 that we have achieved a lot. It was a very heavy year in terms of work but it was also a year in which we managed to make big progress," said the leader of Europe's biggest economy.

The head of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, however complained that workers' rights had not been taken sufficiently into account.

"As the representatives of the people, we are annoyed that the social pact that we asked for has not been included in the report drawn up by Mr Van Rompuy," Schulz told reporters.

-AFP/ac



Read More..

Govt seeks Trai's opinion on cable monopolies

NEW DELHI: The government has sought broadcast regulator Trai's views to prevent monopolistic operations by cable operators and multi-system operators, expressing concern that it might have serious implications in terms of competition, pricing and healthy growth of the cable TV sector in the market.

In a statement, the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry said, "It has been observed that cable TV distribution is virtually monopolized in some states as operation of the entire cable TV network is dominated by a single entity. At present, there are no restrictions on the issue of accumulation of interest in terms of market share in a city, district, state or country by individual MSOs and LCOs in the cable sector."

MSOs and cable operators are free to operate in any area of their choice after obtaining registration from the ministry. "It is felt that such monopolies may not be in the interest of consumers and may have serious implications in terms of competition, pricing and healthy growth of cable TV sector in that market," the ministry said.

The ministry has requested Trai to provide its recommendations on whether "in order to ensure fair competition, improved quality of service, and equity, should any restriction be imposed on MSOs/LCOs to prevent monopolies/accumulation of interest? If yes, what restrictions should be imposed and what should be the form, nature and scope of such restrictions?" The regulator will also explore the necessity of amending the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

MSOs and cable operators are required to be registered with local post offices to be able to operate in the permitted areas of registration. However, as per recent amendments in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Rules 2012, it has become mandatory for MSOs to register with the I&B ministry to operate.

Read More..

Study: People worldwide living longer, but sicker


LONDON (AP) — Nearly everywhere around the world, people are living longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of modern life, according to the most expansive global look so far at life expectancy and the biggest health threats.


The last comprehensive study was in 1990 and the top health problem then was the death of children under 5 — more than 10 million each year. Since then, campaigns to vaccinate kids against diseases like polio and measles have reduced the number of children dying to about 7 million.


Malnutrition was once the main health threat for children. Now, everywhere except Africa, they are much more likely to overeat than to starve.


With more children surviving, chronic illnesses and disabilities that strike later in life are taking a bigger toll, the research said. High blood pressure has become the leading health risk worldwide, followed by smoking and alcohol.


"The biggest contributor to the global health burden isn't premature (deaths), but chronic diseases, injuries, mental health conditions and all the bone and joint diseases," said one of the study leaders, Christopher Murray, director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.


In developed countries, such conditions now account for more than half of the health problems, fueled by an aging population. While life expectancy is climbing nearly everywhere, so too are the number of years people will live with things like vision or hearing loss and mental health issues like depression.


The research appears in seven papers published online Thursday by the journal Lancet. More than 480 researchers in 50 countries gathered data up to 2010 from surveys, censuses and past studies. They used statistical modeling to fill in the gaps for countries with little information. The series was mainly paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.


As in 1990, Japan topped the life expectancy list in 2010, with 79 for men and 86 for women. In the U.S. that year, life expectancy for men was 76 and for women, 81.


The research found wide variations in what's killing people around the world. Some of the most striking findings highlighted by the researchers: — Homicide is the No. 3 killer of men in Latin America; it ranks 20th worldwide. In the U.S., it is the 21st cause of death in men, and in Western Europe, 57th.


— While suicide ranks globally as the 21st leading killer, it is as high as the ninth top cause of death in women across Asia's "suicide belt," from India to China. Suicide ranks 14th in North America and 15th in Western Europe.


— In people aged 15-49, diabetes is a bigger killer in Africa than in Western Europe (8.8 deaths versus 1 death per 100,000).


— Central and Southeast Asia have the highest rates of fatal stroke in young adults at about 15 cases per 100,000 deaths. In North America, the rate is about 3 per 100,000.


Globally, heart disease and stroke remain the top killers. Reflecting an older population, lung cancer moved to the 5th cause of death globally, while other cancers including those of the liver, stomach and colon are also in the top 20. AIDS jumped from the 35th cause of death in 1990 to the sixth leading cause two decades later.


While chronic diseases are killing more people nearly everywhere, the overall trend is the opposite in Africa, where illnesses like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are still major threats. And experts warn again shifting too much of the focus away from those ailments.


"It's the nature of infectious disease epidemics that if you turn away from them, they will crop right back up," said Jennifer Cohn, a medical coordinator at Doctors Without Borders.


Still, she acknowledged the need to address the surge of other health problems across Africa. Cohn said the agency was considering ways to treat things like heart disease and diabetes. "The way we treat HIV could be a good model for chronic care," she said.


Others said more concrete information is needed before making any big changes to public health policies.


"We have to take this data with some grains of salt," said Sandy Cairncross, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.


He said the information in some of the Lancet research was too thin and didn't fully consider all the relevant health risk factors.


"We're getting a better picture, but it's still incomplete," he said.


___


Online:


www.lancet.com


http://healthmetricsandevaluation.org


Read More..

Rice Withdraws From Sec. of State Consideration


ap susan rice tk 121128 wblog Susan Rice Withdraws From Secretary Of State Consideration; Kerry Emerges As Top Contender

Image Credit: Evan Vucci/AP Photo


UN Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration for Secretary of State, saying the criticism surrounding her comments on Benghazi had become an “irresponsible distraction.”


“I am fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama today. “However, if nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities.”


Read Susan Rice’s letter to President Obama


“That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country,” she added.


Rice has been criticized by Republicans for her response to questions on the Sunday talk shows shortly after the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi killed four Americans.


“The position of Secretary of State should never be politicized,” Rice wrote. “As someone who grew up in an era of comparative bipartisanship and as a sitting U.S. national security official who has served in two U.S. Administrations, I am saddened that we have reached this point, even before you have decided whom to nominate. We cannot afford such an irresponsible distraction from the most pressing issues facing the American people.”


Sources tell ABC News that even before Rice withdrew her name from consideration to be Secretary of State earlier today, Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., had emerged as the leading contender, with the president convinced he would be the better Secretary of State.


The president is all but certain to nominate Kerry, sources say, though no official decision has been made.


The position of Secretary of Defense is not as far along in the process, but sources say former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., seems to have an edge right now over other possible candidates such as former undersecretary of defense for policy Michelle Flournoy and deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.


The CIA director slot, sources say, will go to either acting director Michael Morrell or White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan.


President Obama, who publicly defended Rice on several occasions, has accepted her decision to remove her name from the running.


“I have every confidence that Susan has limitless capability to serve our country now and in the years to come, and know that I will continue to rely on her as an advisor and friend,” Obama said in a written statement. 


“While I deeply regret the unfair and misleading attacks on Susan Rice in recent weeks, her decision demonstrates the strength of her character, and an admirable commitment to rise above the politics of the moment to put our national interests first,” he said. “The American people can be proud to have a public servant of her caliber and character representing our country.”


Two Republican members of Congress who had adamantly opposed Rice’s potential nomination both reacted quickly.


Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC., tweeted, “I respect Ambassador Rice’s decision.” And a spokesperson for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote, “Senator McCain thanks Ambassador Rice for her service to the country and wishes her well. He will continue to seek all the facts surrounding the attack on our consulate in Benghazi that killed four brave Americans.”


–Jake Tapper and Mary Bruce

Read More..

North Korea rocket launch raises nuclear stakes


SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents.


The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far away as the continental United States.


"The satellite has entered the planned orbit," a North Korean television news reader clad in traditional Korean garb announced, after which the station played patriotic songs with the lyrics "Chosun (Korea) does what it says".


The rocket was launched just before 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), according to defense officials in South Korea and Japan, and was more successful than a rocket launched in April that flew for less than two minutes.


The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint U.S.-Canadian military organization, said that the missile had "deployed an object that appeared to achieve orbit".


North Korea followed what it said was a similar successful launch in 2009 with a nuclear test that prompted the U.N. Security Council to stiffen sanctions that it originally imposed in 2006 after the North's first nuclear test.


North Korea is banned from developing nuclear and missile-related technology under U.N. resolutions, although Kim Jong-un, the youthful head of state who took power a year ago, is believed to have continued the state's "military first" programs put in place by his late father, Kim Jong-il.


North Korea hailed the launch as celebrating the prowess of all three members of the Kim family to rule since it was founded in 1948.


"At a time when great yearnings and reverence for Kim Jong-il pervade the whole country, its scientists and technicians brilliantly carried out his behests to launch a scientific and technological satellite in 2012, the year marking the 100th birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung," its KCNA news agency said. Kim Il Sung, the current leader's grandfather, was North Korea's first leader.


The United States condemned the launch as "provocative" and a breach of U.N. rules, while Japan's U.N. envoy called for a Security Council meeting. However, diplomats say further tough sanctions are unlikely from the Security Council as China, the North's only major ally, will oppose them.


"The international community must work in a concerted fashion to send North Korea a clear message that its violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions have consequences," the White House said in a statement.


U.S. intelligence has linked North Korea with missile shipments to Iran. Newspapers in Japan and South Korea have reported that Iranian observers were in the North for the launch, something Iran has denied.


Japan's likely next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of an election on Sunday and who is known as a hawk on North Korea, called on the United Nations to adopt a resolution "strongly criticizing" Pyongyang.


A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated that the rocket was a "peaceful project".


"The attempt to see our satellite launch as a long-range missile launch for military purposes comes from hostile perception that tries to designate us a cause for security tension," KCNA cited the spokesman as saying.


"STUMBLING BLOCK"


China had expressed "deep concern" prior to the launch which was announced a day after a top politburo member, representing new Chinese leader Xi Jinping, met Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.


On Wednesday, its tone was measured, regretting the launch but calling for restraint on any counter-measures, in line with a policy of effectively vetoing tougher sanctions.


"China believes the Security Council's response should be cautious and moderate, protect the overall peaceful and stable situation on the Korean peninsula, and avoid an escalation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists.


Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation, said: "China has been the stumbling block to firmer U.N. action and we'll have to see if the new leadership is any different than its predecessors."


A senior adviser to South Korea's president said last week it was unlikely there would be action from the United Nations and Seoul would expect its allies to tighten sanctions unilaterally.


Kim Jong-un, believed to be 29 years old, took power when his father died on December 17 last year and experts believe the launch was intended to commemorate the first anniversary of his death. The April launch was timed for the centennial of the birth of Kim Il Sung.


Wednesday's success puts the North ahead of the South which has not managed to get a rocket off the ground.


"This is a considerable boost in establishing the rule of Kim Jong-un," said Cho Min, an expert at the Korea Institute of National Unification.


There have been few indications the secretive and impoverished state, where the United Nations estimates a third of people are malnourished, has made any advances in opening up economically over the past year.


North Korea remains reliant on minerals exports to China and remittances from tens of thousands of its workers overseas.


Many of its 22 million people need handouts from defectors, who have escaped to South Korea, for basic medicines.


Given the puny size of its economy - per capita income is less than $2,000 a year - one of the few ways the North can attract world attention is by emphasizing its military threat.


It wants the United States to resume aid and to recognize it diplomatically, although the April launch scuppered a planned food deal.


The North is believed to be some years away from developing a functioning nuclear warhead although it may have enough plutonium for about half a dozen nuclear bombs, according to nuclear experts.


It has also been enriching uranium, which would give it a second path to nuclear weapons as it sits on big natural uranium reserves.


"A successful launch puts North Korea closer to the capability to deploy a weaponized missile," said Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii.


"But this would still require fitting a weapon to the missile and ensuring a reasonable degree of accuracy. The North Koreans probably do not yet have a nuclear weapon small enough for a missile to carry."


The North says its work is part of a civil nuclear program although it has also boasted of it being a "nuclear weapons power".


(This story has been refiled to clarify reference to NORAD in paragraph five)


(Additional reporting by Jumin Park and Yoo Choonsik in SEOUL; David Alexander, Matt Spetalnick and Paul Eckert in WASHINGTON; Linda Sieg in TOKYO, Sui-Lee Wee and michael Martina in BEIJING,; Rosmarie Francisco in MANILA; Writing by David Chance; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Robert Birsel)



Read More..

Will there be a by-election in Punggol East?






SINGAPORE: While the by-election in Hougang earlier this year was called under identical circumstances - where an incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) vacated his seat because of an extramarital affair - political analysts TODAY spoke to were split over whether it could be used to gauge if and when a by-election will be held in Punggol East, following the resignation of its MP, Mr Michael Palmer.

The Hougang by-election was called about three months after former MP Yaw Shin Leong was expelled from the Workers' Party for "indiscretions in personal life", after rumours had emerged about an affair with a fellow party member.

Institute of Policy Studies Senior Research Fellow Gillian Koh said any by-election could follow a timeline and process that is similar to the recent Hougang by-election.

Dr Koh said: "The public and residents in the SMC (Single Member Constituency) may expect the same kind of resolution as the Hougang case even if (the constituency) is supported by the massive PAP machinery and voted the PAP in the majority in the General Election last year."

Former Nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin felt that a by-election would be called in less than three months.

"(The PAP) would make a quick decision. Looking at the way they have been handling this whole matter, I think they would get on with it as fast as possible, as there is no point in dragging this," he said.

But Assistant Professor Eugene Tan, a law lecturer at the Singapore Management University, disagreed.

It could be much longer - in about six to 12 months - before one might be held, given the packed political calendar in the months ahead, he said.

Asst Prof Tan, who is also a Nominated Member of Parliament, noted that for example, Parliament is set to discuss a White Paper on population and Budget 2013 in the first few months of next year.

He added: "Generally, the longer the time interval is between the vacating of the seat, and the by-election, the better it is (for the party)."

In fact, there is no certainty that a by-election will be called in Punggol East, Asst Prof Tan pointed out.

There is the question of "whether the People's Action Party wants to create a political norm, to call for a by-election whenever a seat is being vacated", he added.

Should a by-election be called in Punggol East, it will be the fourth election held in the country in a short span of time - after the General Election and Presidential Election last year, and the Hougang by-election earlier this year.

- TODAY



Read More..

'Robu, surely you've not forgotten...!'

Hoye gelo. Over. But he hasn't gone - Robu shesh hoye jayeni. He is there and he will be there... in all our tomorrows.

Ravi Shankar's sitar taught the world what Indian Classical ragas are all about. Indian music is eternal - saswat. It is universal - world music. Robu, Ananda, (Uday) Shankar, they don't go away. But there are times when I feel like asking God: Why am I still around? I ask God - although I've never met him - because today I have lost a brother, a friend, a colleague in the demise of one person: Ravi Shankar.

In 1930, I was merely 11 when my father Akshay Nandi took me to Paris for an International Colonial Exhibition. Baba used to bring out a magazine named Matri Mandir where writers like Ashapurna Devi, Mankumari Devi, Radharani Devi were all regulars. In the Indian pavilion Baba had mounted an exhibition of our handiwork - the term 'handicraft' had yet to add value to such work. One day we were surprised by the visit of some Indians in suits and trousers who were introduced to us as "Uday Shankar" and "Timir Baran". Now, although I'd heard a lot about Uday Shankar and his work with Indian dance, I was taken aback as I was expecting someone old with snow-white, flowing beard a la Rabindranath.

While leaving he invited us to his house where his mother and brothers were staying. That's where I first met Robu. A year younger to me, he came out of a room, still trying to tuck in the string of his pajamas! From the very first moment I got a brother and a friend. His mother took me under her wings: she draped me in a sari and tied my long hair. I spent the weekend with them and was dropped back on a Monday. Later that week we went to watch Uday Shankar perform with his troupe - and was left speechless.

Long 81 years have passed since that visit to Paris. I did not return to France until this May, when I went to Cannes for the screening of the restored Kalpana. Meanwhile my father, who initially said 'no' to my dancing as I was good at writing, agreed to send me to Almora where Uday Shankar proposed to me, we got married, we made Kalpana, Ananda and Mamata were born....

Through all these years, Robu has remained a brother, friend, companion. We played together, we danced together, we made music together, we read Ramayan together, we would share ideas and thoughts. That's why, every time we met, at whatever age, he'd say, "Boudi, you remember that day...?" or "Boudi, surely you haven't forgotten that time...!"

One day in Almora Shankar was concerned. "Where've you been?" he asked Robu and me. We'd gone out for a walk in the jungles and lost track of time! Sometimes he'd be dushtu, naughty. A photographer wanted to take a photo of us together. He suddenly posed like Krishna with his flute. I responded by becoming Radha. I think this is the best encapsulation of our friendship. I used to challenge him: "Tell me, do you have a more affectionate bond with any other person?" No, he'd agree, no one else was friend and sister rolled into one.

Robu always said, he had two gurus - Uday Shankar and Baba Allauddin Khan. From his elder brother Robu had mastered his showmanship: he knew what, and how much, to play, where. Uday Shankar loved Western music but he gave Robu to Baba's care. When he married Annapurna, I decked her up in bridal finery although I was still not married. Years later, one day Annapurna was complaining that Robu is deviating from Baba's signature music. "That's all!" I said. "You've married the younger brother, I, the elder. If you find five faults in Robu, I can find seven. Instead, why don't you see the qualities that have endeared him to all?"

In Uday Shankar's troupe there were 360 Indian instruments though we toured with only 130! Robu learnt the strength of each of these. That is why he could create Vrinda Gaan (Choral Music) for AIR. In Kalpana, there's a sequence where he used dekchi, handi, pitcher etc to create the robust 'noisy' music of street kids.

Ravi Shankar could understand Uday Shankar's talent, and he understood Robu's. This came out when we staged Samanya Kshati to mark Tagore Centenary in 1961, at Nehru's behest. "Got it!" Shankar had said soon as I recited the poem. But the subject was difficult to translate into a dance drama. When the Queen of Kashi sets afire some jhuggis to warm herself after a bath in the Ganga, the king banished her from the palace until she rebuilds them. But how to show realisation dawning on the repentant queen? How to translate Tagore's introspective lines into movement when Shankar never used words?

That's where Robu's music stepped in. The minute I recited the line Robu, whose sitar was playing the queen's dialogue while Ali Akbar's sarod was speaking for the king, stopped in his track. "Repeat it exactly as you spoke!" he urged. I did so, and he played the bols in his gayaki-ang, giving birth to a masterpiece.

Although in its sunset years, Robu and his brothers were born into a zamindar family where it was routine for them to be served six kinds of meat with 16 bottles of alcohol evening. I came from a rural background where we routinely had milk and flattened rice (chira) for breakfast. But we never had any gulf in our lives because we were knit together by the values and common ideals of eternal India.

That bond will continue beyond our lives.

(As told to Ratnottama Sengupta)

Read More..