AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.

Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit. During eight days, more than 1,400 cataracts were removed.

The patients camped out, sleeping side-by-side on military cots, eating donated food while fire trucks supplied water for showers and toilets. Many who had given up hope of seeing again left smiling after their bandages were removed.

"I've been blind for three years, and it's really bad," said Arlita Tobing, 65, whose sight was restored after the surgery. "I worked on someone's farm, but I couldn't work anymore."

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, making it a target country for Ruit who travels throughout the developing world holding free mass eye camps while training doctors to perform the simple, stitch-free procedure he pioneered. He often visits hard-to-reach remote areas where health care is scarce and patients are poor. He believes that by teaching doctors how to perform his method of cataract removal, the rate of blindness can be reduced worldwide.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, affecting about 20 million people who mostly live in poor countries, according to the World Health Organization.

"We get only one life, and that life is very short. I am blessed by God to have this opportunity," said Ruit, who runs the Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, Nepal. "The most important of that is training, taking the idea to other people."

During the recent camps, Ruit trained six doctors from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

Here, in images, are scenes from the mobile eye camps:

Read More..

After Sandy, World Hopes to Hear New US Voice on Climate Change

During a year with a monster storm and scorching heat waves, Americans have experienced the kind of freakish weather that many scientists say will occur more often on a warming planet.

And as a re-elected president talks about global warming again, climate activists are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. will be more than a disinterested bystander when the U.N. climate talks resume Monday with a two-week conference in Qatar.

"I think there will be expectations from countries to hear a new voice from the United States," said Jennifer Morgan, director of the climate and energy program at the World Resources Institute in Washington.

The climate officials and environment ministers meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha will not come up with an answer to the global temperature rise that is already melting Arctic sea ice and permafrost, raising and acidifying the seas, and shifting rainfall patterns, which has an impact on floods and droughts.

They will focus on side issues, like extending the Kyoto protocol — an expiring emissions pact with a dwindling number of members — and ramping up climate financing for poor nations.

They will also try to structure the talks for a new global climate deal that is supposed to be adopted in 2015, a process in which American leadership is considered crucial.

Many were disappointed that Obama didn't put more emphasis on climate change during his first term. He took some steps to rein in emissions of heat-trapping gases, such as sharply increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. But a climate bill that would have capped U.S. emissions stalled in the Senate.

"We need the U.S. to engage even more," European Union Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told The Associated Press. "Because that can change the dynamic of the talks."

The world tried to move forward without the U.S. after the Bush Administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 pact limiting greenhouse emissions from industrialized nations. As that agreement expires this year, the climate curves are still pointing in the wrong direction.

The concentration of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide has jumped 20 percent since 2000, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil, according to a U.N. report released this week. And each year, the gap between what researchers say must be done to reverse this trend, and what's actually being done, gets wider.

Bridging that gap, through clean technology and renewable energy, is not just up to the U.S., but to countries like India and China, whose carbon emissions are growing the fastest as their economies expand.

But Obama raised hopes of a more robust U.S. role in the talks when he called for a national "conversation" on climate change after winning re-election. The issue had been virtually absent in the presidential campaigning until Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast.

The president still faces domestic political constraints, and there's little hope of the U.S. increasing its voluntary pledge in the U.N. talks of cutting emissions by 17 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.

Still, just a signal that Washington has faith in the international process would go a long way, analysts said.

"The perception of many negotiators and countries is that the U.S. is not really interested in increasing action on climate change in general," said Bill Hare, senior scientist at Climate Analytics, a non-profit organization based in Berlin.

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Egypt's Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country's deep divisions.

The Judges' Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the rallying cry in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

Mursi's political opponents and supporters, representing the divide between newly empowered Islamists and their critics, called for rival demonstrations on Tuesday over a decree that has triggered concern in the West.

Issued late on Thursday, it marks an effort by Mursi to consolidate his influence after he successfully sidelined Mubarak-era generals in August. The decree defends from judicial review decisions taken by Mursi until a new parliament is elected in a vote expected early next year.

It also shields the Islamist-dominated assembly writing Egypt's new constitution from a raft of legal challenges that have threatened the body with dissolution, and offers the same protection to the Islamist-controlled upper house of parliament.

Egypt's highest judicial authority, the Supreme Judicial Council, said the decree was an "unprecedented attack" on the independence of the judiciary. The Judges' Club, meeting in Cairo, called on Mursi to rescind it.

That demand was echoed by prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei. "There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," he said.

"I am waiting to see, I hope soon, a very strong statement of condemnation by the U.S., by Europe and by everybody who really cares about human dignity," he said in an interview with Reuters and the Associated Press.

More than 300 people were injured on Friday as protests against the decree turned violent. There were attacks on at least three offices belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement that propelled Mursi to power.

POLARISATION

Liberal, leftist and socialist parties called a big protest for Tuesday to force Mursi to row back on a move they say has exposed the autocratic impulses of a man once jailed by Mubarak.

In a sign of the polarization in the country, the Muslim Brotherhood called its own protests that day to support the president's decree.

Mursi also assigned himself new authority to sack the prosecutor general, who was appointed during the Mubarak era, and appoint a new one. The dismissed prosecutor general, Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, was given a hero's welcome at the Judges' Club.

In open defiance of Mursi, Ahmed al-Zind, head of the club, introduced Mahmoud by his old title.

The Mursi administration has defended the decree on the grounds that it aims to speed up a protracted transition from Mubarak's rule to a new system of democratic government.

Analysts say it reflects the Brotherhood's suspicion towards sections of a judiciary unreformed from Mubarak's days.

"It aims to sideline Mursi's enemies in the judiciary and ultimately to impose and head off any legal challenges to the constitution," said Elijah Zarwan, a fellow with The European Council on Foreign Relations.

"We are in a situation now where both sides are escalating and its getting harder and harder to see how either side can gracefully climb down."

ADVISOR TO MURSI QUITS

Following a day of violence in Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said and Suez, the smell of tear gas hung over the capital's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the uprising that toppled Mubarak in 2011 and the stage for more protests on Friday.

Youths clashed sporadically with police near the square, where activists camped out for a second day on Saturday, setting up makeshift barricades to keep out traffic.

Al-Masry Al-Youm, one of Egypt's most widely read dailies, hailed Friday's protest as "The November 23 Intifada", invoking the Arabic word for uprising.

But the ultra-orthodox Salafi Islamist groups that have been pushing for tighter application of Islamic law in the new constitution have rallied behind Mursi's decree.

The Nour Party, one such group, stated its support for the Mursi decree. Al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, which carried arms against the state in the 1990s, said it would save the revolution from what it described as remnants of the Mubarak regime.

Samir Morkos, a Christian assistant to Mursi, had told the president he wanted to resign, said Yasser Ali, Mursi's spokesman. Speaking to the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Morkos said: "I refuse to continue in the shadow of republican decisions that obstruct the democratic transition".

Mursi's decree has been criticized by Western states that earlier this week were full of praise for his role in mediating an end to the eight-day war between Israel and Palestinians.

"The decisions and declarations announced on November 22 raise concerns for many Egyptians and for the international community," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The European Union urged Mursi to respect the democratic process.

(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy, Marwa Awad, Edmund Blair and Shaimaa Fayed and Reuters TV; Editing by Jon Hemming)

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Crunch time for defending champions Malaysia

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asian champions Malaysia will be desperate to put a run of poor performances behind them when they begin the defence of their AFF Suzuki Cup football title this weekend.

Malaysia host southern neighbours Singapore in what is set to be a hothouse atmosphere at Kuala Lumpur's Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Sunday, with the home fans hoping to see their team repeat their heroics of 2010.

The Tigers showed bite in that tournament when they overcame a poor start to win the Southeast Asian title for the first time with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Indonesia in the final.

Coach K. Rajagobal has maintained the nucleus of that winning side but their form has dipped alarmingly with warm-up losses to Vietnam and Thailand, and draws at home against unfancied Hong Kong and Bangladesh.

Rajagobal was livid after Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Bangladesh and warned he would make "drastic changes" if they slip-up again this weekend.

"We didn't get the desired result against Bangladesh and I'll take stern action if we don't get a positive result against Singapore," he said.

"I'm concerned with the team's display... Another below-par performance will force me to make drastic changes to the team."

Singapore will be looking to avenge a 2-0 loss to the Malaysians at the same venue in June, and the three-time Southeast Asian champions are coming off a 4-0 thumping of Pakistan in their final warm-up game on Monday.

Group B also includes Indonesia, who reached the final two years ago but now look a very different side following a rift which has split the country's football scene into two leagues with different governing bodies.

Players from the breakaway Indonesian Super League have been told by their clubs not to join up with the coach Nil Maizar's national team, although Persija Jakarta striker Bambang Pamungkas opted to put his country first.

"I came from my home to join the Indonesian national team training camp," said the 32-year-old. "As a professional, I hope that the Indonesian football dualism ends here."

Thailand are the hosts of Group A and they will kick off their campaign at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Saturday against the Philippines, the surprise package of the last Suzuki Cup.

The Thais have won the competition three times, but their last title came a decade ago in 2002. Led by wily coach Winfried Schafer, their squad blends experience with young talent and they will be fancied to end their long drought.

"The AFF Suzuki Cup is very important for this region and I hope we can at least reach the final, although it will not be easy," said the German. "We face three good teams but we are playing at home which is an advantage."

They face a tough opening test against the Filipinos, who reached the semi-finals for the first time in 2010 after a stunning 2-0 win over defending champions Vietnam in Hanoi.

The ambitious Azkals are looking to move a step beyond that and they are certainly well prepared after playing more than a dozen friendly matches in the past six months.

The match will be preceded by the tournament's opener between 2008 winners Vietnam and Myanmar.

Group matches are split between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok with the semis and final, all played over two legs home and away, starting on December 8. The tournament wraps up on December 22.

- AFP/ck

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Corporation related to IT works in Haryana gets fourth head in 6 months

CHANDIGARH: After shifting whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka from Hartron, a corporation to handle IT-related projects, two months after his posting, the Haryana government on Friday transferred his successor Nitin Yadav just four months after he took charge.

A Haryana civil services officer, Vivek Atrey, will be the next managing director of the corporation. With this appointment, the corporation will have its fourth managing director in just six months. The state government on May 20 had transferred then managing director of the corporation Ankur Gupta and replaced him with Ashok Khemka. Khemka, who had exposed various alleged irregularities in the corporation, was transferred within 50 days of his appointment to land consolidation department.

"There was a nexus to award software development works of petty nature without tenders to selected companies at inflated rates of Rs 25 to 50 lakh each, whereas the rudimentary software development work could have been done in-house or through NIC," Khemka had stated in a communication to the state chief secretary on October 12.

Apart from Hartron, Atrey will also handle two more cadre (mainly meant for IAS officers) posts - director of supplies and disposals, joint secretary and director of electronics and information technology. The post of joint secretary is usually occupied by a senior IAS officer. Earlier, Atrey had handled IT department of Chandigarh administration as its director. Khemka had recently hogged headlines for cancelling the mutation of a land deal between Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and DLF.

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.

Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit. During eight days, more than 1,400 cataracts were removed.

The patients camped out, sleeping side-by-side on military cots, eating donated food while fire trucks supplied water for showers and toilets. Many who had given up hope of seeing again left smiling after their bandages were removed.

"I've been blind for three years, and it's really bad," said Arlita Tobing, 65, whose sight was restored after the surgery. "I worked on someone's farm, but I couldn't work anymore."

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, making it a target country for Ruit who travels throughout the developing world holding free mass eye camps while training doctors to perform the simple, stitch-free procedure he pioneered. He often visits hard-to-reach remote areas where health care is scarce and patients are poor. He believes that by teaching doctors how to perform his method of cataract removal, the rate of blindness can be reduced worldwide.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, affecting about 20 million people who mostly live in poor countries, according to the World Health Organization.

"We get only one life, and that life is very short. I am blessed by God to have this opportunity," said Ruit, who runs the Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, Nepal. "The most important of that is training, taking the idea to other people."

During the recent camps, Ruit trained six doctors from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

Here, in images, are scenes from the mobile eye camps:

Read More..

Gas Explosion Levels Buildings Like 'Missile Strike'

A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday leveled a strip club with a boom heard for miles and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.

Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers in the area because of an earlier gas leak and odor report were among the 18 people injured in the blast, authorities said.

"This is a miracle on Worthington Street that no one was killed," Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said at a press conference.

The explosion in Springfield, 90 miles west of Boston, blew out all windows in a three-block radius, leaving three buildings irreparably damaged and prompting emergency workers to evacuate a six-story apartment building that was buckling, police said.

Police Sgt. John Delaney marveled at the destruction at the blast's epicenter, where a multistory building housing a Scores Gentleman's Club, evacuated earlier because of the gas leak, was leveled.

"It looks like there was a missile strike here," he said.

The victims were taken to two hospitals in the city. None of their injuries was considered life-threatening, officials said. Those hurt were nine firefighters, two police officers, four Columbia Gas of Massachusetts workers, two civilians and another city employee.

Don Treeger, Springfield Republican/AP Photo

Firefighters responded to the scene at 4:20 p.m. and were investigating the gas leak when the blast happened about one hour later. The cause of the explosion hadn't been identified but was under investigation, they said.

Springfield, which has about 150,000 residents, is the largest city in western Massachusetts. It's known as the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is not in the vicinity of the blast.

The city has been rebuilding from damage it sustained in a June 2011 tornado.

The explosion happened in an area of downtown Springfield with commercial properties and residences. Area resident Wayne Davis, who lives about a block away from the destroyed strip club building, said he felt his apartment shake.

"I was laying down in bed, and I started feeling the building shaking and creaking," he said.

The Navy veteran said the boom from the explosion was louder than anything he'd ever heard, including the sound of a jet landing on an aircraft carrier.

The blast was so loud it was heard in several neighboring communities for miles around. Video from WWLP-TV showed the moment of the explosion, with smoke billowing into the air above the neighborhood.

Mayor Domenic Sarno said it was through "God's mercy" that nobody had been reported killed in the explosion.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the individuals that have been injured and the people who have been displaced," he said, adding that emergency shelter was being set up for those unable to go home.

An official of the gas company said there were no signs of any additional gas leaks in the area but crews would be monitoring the area closely over the next two days.

———

Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy and Bob Salsberg in Boston contributed to this story.

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Clashes in Cairo after Mursi seizes new powers

CAIRO (Reuters) - Angry youths hurled rocks at security forces and burned a police truck as thousands gathered in central Cairo to protest at Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to grab sweeping new powers.

Police fired tear gas near Tahrir Square, heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak at the height of the Arab Spring. Thousands demanded that Mursi should quit and accused him of launching a "coup".

There were also violent protests in Alexandria, Port Said and Suez.

Mursi on Thursday issued a decree that puts his decisions beyond any legal challenge until a new parliament is elected. Opponents immediately accused him of turning into a new Mubarak and hijacking the Egyptian revolution.

"This is the point of no return for Mursi. He has dug himself deeper in a hole and won't know how to get out of it," said Ahmed Saleh, an activist who said many would stay in Tahrir square until Mursi withdrew the decree.

"The people want to bring down the regime," shouted protesters in Tahrir, echoing a chant used in the uprising that forced Mubarak to step down.

The United States, the European Union and the United Nations expressed concern at Mursi's move.

Mursi's rivals condemned him as an autocratic pharaoh who wanted to impose his Islamist vision on Egypt.

The president's aides said the decree was intended to speed up a protracted transition to democracy that has been hindered by legal obstacles

"I am for all Egyptians," Mursi said on a stage outside the presidential palace, adding that he was working for social and economic stability and remained committed to the revolution.

JUDGES MEET

Egyptian judges will meet on Saturday to respond to Mursi's move, which put him above the judicial oversight. The judges could threaten to go on strike, which would bring the judiciary to a halt.

Some non-Islamist political parties called for a million-strong march on Tuesday to demand that Mursi rescinds his decree.

But Islamist parties, including the Building and Development Party, accused Mursi's opponents of undermining the democratic process that brought him to office.

"Those calling for the downfall of President Mohamed Mursi have rejected democracy because President Mursi has been democratically elected by popular will," the party said in a statement. Mursi's decree would "save the revolution from the remnants of Mubarak's regime", it said.

Buoyed by accolades from around the world for mediating a truce between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, Mursi on Thursday ordered that an Islamist-dominated assembly writing the new constitution could not be dissolved by legal challenges.

Mursi, an Islamist whose roots are in the Muslim Brotherhood, also gave himself wide powers that allowed him to sack the unpopular public prosecutor and opened the door for a retrial for Mubarak and his aides.

TURBULENCE AND TURMOIL

The president's decree has consolidated his power but looks set to polarize Egypt further, threatening more turmoil in a nation at the heart of the Arab Spring.

In Alexandria, north of Cairo, protesters ransacked an office of the Brotherhood's political party, burning books and chairs in the street. Supporters of Mursi and opponents clashed elsewhere in the city, leaving 12 injured.

A party building was attacked by stone-throwing protesters in Port Said, and demonstrators in Suez threw petrol bombs that burned banners outside the party building.

Although Washington has praised Egypt for its part in bringing Israelis and Palestinians to a ceasefire on Wednesday, it expressed reservations about Mursi's latest move.

"The decisions and declarations announced on November 22 raise concerns for many Egyptians and for the international community," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

The European Union urged Mursi to respect the democratic process, while the United Nations expressed fears about human rights.

"The decree is basically a coup on state institutions and the rule of law that is likely to undermine the revolution and the transition to democracy," said Mervat Ahmed, an independent activist in Tahrir protesting against the decree.

Leading liberal Mohamed ElBaradei, who joined other politicians on Thursday night to demand the decree was withdrawn, wrote on his Twitter account that Mursi had "usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh".

Almost two years after Mubarak was toppled and about five months since Mursi took office, Egypt has no permanent constitution, which must be in place before new parliamentary elections are held.

An assembly drawing up the constitution has yet to complete its work. Many liberals, Christians and others have walked out accusing the Islamists who dominate it of ignoring their voices over the extent that Islam should be enshrined in the new state.

(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva and Sebastian Moffett in Brussels; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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National Conversation important in govt's decision making: PM Lee

SINGAPORE: The ruling People's Action Party's (PAP) Secretary General and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the government is about making choices and tradeoffs and the ongoing sessions of the National Conversation are important in this process.

Wrapping up the party's seminar, which was held as part of the National Conversation, Mr Lee said it is important for the party to think hard about what the country will be like in the next 20 to 30 years, especially in the context of an ever-changing global environment.

Mr Lee said the PAP has to remain the dominant party in the country and to engage the views of Singaporeans who form the middle ground.

As part of the seminar, teams from the different districts of the party made presentations on several topical issues, with Mr Lee summing up their presentations.

- CNA/xq

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Cash transfer: PM to play UPA-2's trump card on Monday

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister is expected to formally kick off cash transfer of subsidies and entitlements, one of the most ambitious policy initiatives of UPA-2, on Monday. The scheme for cash transfers is visualized as a game-changer for UPA-2, like NREGA was for UPA-1, and is expected to give rich dividends at the elections.

Manmohan Singh is expected to set January 1, 2013 as the launch date for the rollout when he meets his ministerial colleagues on Monday. The plan to transfer cash directly into bank accounts of beneficiaries instead of handing over subsidised foodgrains, fertilizer or fuel is aimed to not only check leakages from the system, but also empower consumers with the choices and ensure big savings for the cash-strapped government.

Compared to NREGA, the size and scale of the cash-transfer programme is several times the rural job guarantee scheme, with the government planning to transfer over Rs 4 lakh crore annually to the public, with each BPL (below poverty line) family getting over Rs 3,000 a month.

Sources said the PM is also planning to address the nation on the scheme in the coming days, explaining the ambitious plan that would be bigger than similar programmes around the world. The government, which accords high importance to the scheme, proposes to appoint a national coordinator to oversee the programme. It will also ensure its rapid scalability.

Singh on Monday will address a meeting of ministers in-charge of subsidies, pension and scholarships and there he will disclose the government intent to formally launch the programme on January 1. The programme would begin by covering 51 districts where the Aadhar card has a high penetration. By April 1 next year, 18 states will be covered.

A senior official said the Planning Commission has identified seven flagship programmes, including pensions and 22 scholarship schemes given by nine central ministries, for cash transfers, excluding those related to subsidies on food, fertilizer and fuel.

Ministries are being asked to digitize their databases of beneficiaries and link them with Aadhar, so that Aadhar-enabled bank accounts and Aadhar-enabled payment systems can function through what's being called the Aadhar Payment Bridge - essentially, a mechanism for giving cash cards to beneficiaries who don't have bank accounts.

According to latest estimates provided by the Department of Financial Services, by March 31, 2012 all banks will migrate to the core banking platform which will facilitate direct cash transfers. The plan is to cover all villages with a population of more than 5,000 with branches, and those with population of more than 2,000 with business correspondents. Seven states have committed to make electronic payments.

Times View

The government clearly believes that cash transfers can be a game-changer. In theory, they would indeed appear to be justified in this view. However, whether the practice lives up to the theory is what will ultimately determine how much of a game-changer this move is and whether the change is for the better or for worse. That is why it is important that the government acts as soon as possible to even out the more obvious glitches to smooth implementation of cash transfers, like a large proportion of the population having neither identification documents nor bank accounts. This is particularly true of the poorest sections, who really ought to be the main beneficiaries of the government's welfare programmes.

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.

Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit. During eight days, more than 1,400 cataracts were removed.

The patients camped out, sleeping side-by-side on military cots, eating donated food while fire trucks supplied water for showers and toilets. Many who had given up hope of seeing again left smiling after their bandages were removed.

"I've been blind for three years, and it's really bad," said Arlita Tobing, 65, whose sight was restored after the surgery. "I worked on someone's farm, but I couldn't work anymore."

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, making it a target country for Ruit who travels throughout the developing world holding free mass eye camps while training doctors to perform the simple, stitch-free procedure he pioneered. He often visits hard-to-reach remote areas where health care is scarce and patients are poor. He believes that by teaching doctors how to perform his method of cataract removal, the rate of blindness can be reduced worldwide.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, affecting about 20 million people who mostly live in poor countries, according to the World Health Organization.

"We get only one life, and that life is very short. I am blessed by God to have this opportunity," said Ruit, who runs the Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, Nepal. "The most important of that is training, taking the idea to other people."

During the recent camps, Ruit trained six doctors from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

Here, in images, are scenes from the mobile eye camps:

Read More..

Stores Work to Keep Black Friday Safe

With earlier-than-ever deals and 147 million people expected to hit the stores this holiday weekend, retailers such as Best Buy are taking extra steps to avoid the Black Friday shopper chaos -- and inevitable news stories -- of the past.

Best Buy officials said they've been prepping for the madness for days.

The retailer has created color-coded maps, moved merchandise around to ease congestion and held a dry run so that its employees can get practice.

"[We want to] get people in safely and out safely," said Jay Buchanan, a Best Buy employee. The goal is to get them "through the lines quick, fast and in a hurry so they can get what they need."

In Bloomington, Minn., the Mall of America extended its ban on young people younger than 16 shopping without an adult during the weekend evenings to Black Friday.

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images

At the Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, Calif., security planned to place barricades at the mall entrance to control the crowds and officials planned to double the number of security officers.

In Los Angeles, the police were putting hundreds of extra officers on foot, on horseback and in the air to monitor shopping crowds.

"It seems like Black Friday's become bigger and bigger as the years have gone by," said Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Andrew Smith. "What we've seen across the country are huge problems with crowds. They just forget about everyday courtesy and sometimes go nuts."

According to today's news reports, though, things were already getting out of hand.

When a south Sacramento, Calif., K-Mart opened its doors at 6 a.m. today, a shopper in a line of people that had formed nearly two hours earlier reportedly threatened to stab the people around him.

And at two K-Marts in Indianapolis, police officers were called in after fights broke out among shoppers trying to score vouchers for a 32-inch plasma TV going for less than $200.

"When you have large crowds of people, control is the most important thing," Steve Reed, a security officer at the Arden Fair Mall, told ABC News affiliate News 10. "You want them [customers] to be able to get in the mall without getting trampled and having issues of any kind happening to them. That's really important for us."

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Gaza ceasefire holds but mistrust runs deep

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held firm on Thursday with scenes of joy among the ruins in Gaza over what Palestinians hailed as a victory, and both sides saying their fingers were still on the trigger.

In the sudden calm, Palestinians who had been under Israeli bombs for eight days poured into Gaza streets for a celebratory rally, walking past wrecked houses and government buildings.

But as a precaution, schools stayed closed in southern Israel, where nerves were jangled by warning sirens - a false alarm, the army said - after a constant rain of rockets during the most serious Israeli-Palestinian fighting in four years.

Israel had launched its strikes last week with a declared aim of ending rocket attacks on its territory from Gaza, ruled by the Islamist militant group Hamas, which denies Israel's right to exist. Hamas had responded with more rockets.

The truce brokered by Egypt's new Islamist leaders, working with the United States, headed off an Israeli invasion of Gaza.

It was the fruit of intensive diplomacy spurred by U.S. President Barack Obama, who sent his secretary of state to Cairo and backed her up with phone calls to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi.

Mursi's role in cajoling his Islamist soulmates in Gaza into the U.S.-backed deal with Israel suggested that Washington can find ways to cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood leader whom Egyptians elected after toppling former U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak, a bulwark of American policy in the Middle East for 30 years.

Mursi, preoccupied with Egypt's economic crisis, cannot afford to tamper with a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, despite its unpopularity with Egyptians, and needs U.S. financial aid.

MORE DEATHS

Despite the quiet on the battlefield, the death toll from the Gaza conflict crept up on both sides.

The body of Mohammed al-Dalu, 25, was recovered from the rubble of a house where nine of his relatives - four children and five women - were killed by an Israeli bomb this week.

That raised to 163 the number of Palestinians killed, more than half of them civilians, including 37 children, during the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza medical officials.

Nearly 1,400 rockets struck Israel, killing four civilians and two soldiers, including an officer who died on Thursday of wounds sustained the day before, the Israeli army said.

Israel dropped 1,000 times as much explosive on the Gaza Strip as landed on its soil, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

Municipal workers in Gaza began cleaning streets and removing the rubble of bombed buildings. Stores opened and people flocked to markets to buy food.

Jubilant crowds celebrated, with most people waving green Hamas flags but some carrying the yellow emblems of the rival Fatah group, led by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas.

That marked a rare show of unity five years after Hamas, which won a Palestinian poll in 2006, forcibly wrested Gaza from Fatah, still dominant in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israel began ferrying tanks northwards, away from the border, on transporters. It plans to discharge gradually tens of thousands of reservists called up for a possible Gaza invasion.

But trust between Israel and Hamas remains in short supply and both said they might well have to fight again.

"The battle with the enemy has not ended yet," Abu Ubaida, spokesman of Hamas's armed wing Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, said at an event to mourn its acting military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari, whose killing by Israel on November 14 set off this round.

"HANDS ON TRIGGER"

The exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said in Cairo his Islamist movement would respect the truce, but warned that if Israel violated it "our hands are on the trigger".

Netanyahu said he had agreed to "exhaust this opportunity for an extended truce", but told Israelis a tougher approach might be required in the future.

Facing a national election in two months, he swiftly came under fire from opposition politicians who had rallied to his side during the fighting but now contend he emerged from the conflict with no real gains for Israel.

"You don't settle with terrorism, you defeat it. And unfortunately, a decisive victory has not been achieved and we did not recharge our deterrence," Shaul Mofaz, leader of the main opposition Kadima party, wrote on his Facebook page.

In a speech, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's prime minister in Gaza, urged all Palestinian factions to respect the ceasefire and said his government and security services would monitor compliance.

According to a text of the agreement seen by Reuters, both sides should halt all hostilities, with Israel desisting from incursions and targeting of individuals, while all Palestinian factions should cease rocket fire and cross-border attacks.

The deal also provides for easing Israeli curbs on Gaza's residents, but the two sides disagreed on what this meant.

Israeli sources said Israel would not lift a blockade of the enclave it enforced after Hamas won a Palestinian election in 2006, but Meshaal said the deal covered the opening of all of the territory's border crossings with Israel and Egypt.

Israel let dozens of trucks carry supplies into the Palestinian enclave during the fighting. Residents there have long complained that Israeli restrictions blight their economy.

Barak said Hamas, which declared November 22 a national holiday to mark its "victory", had suffered heavy military blows.

"A large part of the mid-range rockets were destroyed. Hamas managed to hit Israel's built-up areas with around a metric tone of explosives, and Gaza targets got around 1,000 metric tonnes," he said.

He dismissed a ceasefire text published by Hamas, saying: "The right to self-defense trumps any piece of paper."

He appeared to confirm, however, a Hamas claim that the Israelis would no longer enforce a no-go zone on the Gaza side of the frontier that the army says has prevented Hamas raids.

(Additional reporting by Noah Browning in Gaza, Ori Lewis, Crispian Balmer and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Alistair Lyon; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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North-South line sleeper replacement works to begin

SINGAPORE: Phase One of SMRT's sleeper replacement programme will start this Monday along stretches of the North-South Line.

The programme is part of the on-going upgrading and renewal of the ageing MRT system.

The timber sleepers are part of the rail support system.

Phase One will involve replacing nearly 6,300 sleepers along 4.4 kilometres of tracks between Kranji and Yishun stations.

SMRT said to avoid any disruption, replacement works will be done during non-passenger service hours on weekdays, usually between 1am and 4.30am, and between two stations each night.

Replacement works along most sections will be limited to no more than six to eight weeks.

SMRT added it is exploring other ways to complete the works in the most efficient and least disruptive manner.

This includes the possibility of starting and ending train services later or earlier, during selected weekends.

These planned closures will be publicised in advance.

SMRT added train services may also be delayed or disrupted and affected stations may be closed temporarily.

The public will be updated via local radio stations, SMRT's Twitter account (@SMRT_Singapore), the SMRTConnect App (iPhone, iPad and iPod), or through its website.

Giving an update, SMRT said some 4,100 timber sleepers along both the North-South and East-West Lines have been replaced since January.

The overall sleeper replacement programme, which covers about 131 kilometres of tracks, along both lines, is expected to be completed in 2019.

- CNA/xq

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FDI in retail: PM's dinner fails to achieve breakthrough, BJP to continue to seek vote

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's dinner invite to senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday to attempt to end the political logjam in Parliament, appears to have not cut much ice with the main opposition, as it has resolved to continue to corner his government on the decision to allow foreign direct investment in the country's retail sector.

Manmohan Singh had hosted a dinner for L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, the three top BJP leaders, on Thursday night at his 7 Race Course Road residence in an effort to ensure that the winter session of Parliament is not lost to the standoff between the government and the opposition over the issue of FDI in multi-brand retail.

Television reports said there was no breakthrough.

At the dinner, the BJP was reportedly adamant that the only way it will allow Parliament to function without disruption is if the government agrees to discuss its major policy decision to allow 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail under Rule 184, which entails a vote.

The government was equally adamant that it was an executive decision that does not need Parliament's approval. It is ready to discuss the issue, but it does not want a vote.

To that, the BJP reminded the government that it had promised last December, in both Houses, that all stakeholders, including political parties, would be consulted before a decision was taken on the FDI issue.

Interacting with media here late last evening, BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, said the opposition would firmly demand a debate on the matter of reforms in economy like foreign direct investment (FDI) in domestic retail sector, insurance and public provident fund.

"This government has no right to continue to be in power, the BJP has been maintaining that. But we can't allow any privilege to the government through our actions; we will try to corner it by the issues, which are most effective. So we thought that the best way to achieve this was to get voting done on (rule no.) 184, and would stand firm on this demand," said Hussain.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh avoided a no confidence vote, which could have led to an announcement of mid-term general elections before 2014.

Opposition leaders pushed for the vote in parliament, but the proposal was rejected.

Although for the moment, there is no threat of the government falling, an obstructive opposition and unreliable allies could mean there is little progress on reforms like FDI being opened up for multi-brand retail sector, insurance and pension businesses in the parliament's month-long winter session.

On this score, Hussain questioned as to why the federal government was hesitating debate on FDI.

"The country should be aware of the fact that the stubborn and arrogant attitude of the Congress party is stopping the parliament from functioning. Why is the government hesitating in obliging for a debate on FDI under (rule no.) 184 when political parties want the same? Last time as well, the government consumed an entire session by acting rigid and then later agreed upon it later on. So if the BJP wants a debate under (rule no.) 184 why is this problematic for the government to accept if they have the numbers for support? This is the question before the government," added Hussain.

The reform does not require parliamentary approval.

But left and right wing opposition parties, with an eye to upcoming state and national elections, want to use the session to hold the government to account on the policy, which they say does not have popular support.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), which is the strong arm of the Left Front, is pushing hard for a symbolic vote against the measure.

If the government loses the vote, it would be an embarrassing setback for a policy on which it has staked so much political capital, said federal lawmaker and politburo member of CPM, Sitaram Yechury.

It could also sap its political will to pursue more difficult reforms to cut high spending and reduce a ballooning budget deficit.

As for the FDI, the CPM slammed the Congress party-led federal government of going back on its word for a debate on the floor of the house.

"That assurance (from government) has been clearly violated and therefore in our opinion another round of discussion without voting is meaningless, because the government is not honouring its own assurances, apart from being a matter of breach of privilege," said Yechury.

Most of the initiatives Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced to date have required only an executive order, so this session of parliament poses the biggest test yet of his reform drive. If he fails to get key allies and the BJP on board, his reformist legislative agenda could stall.

Among the reform bills due to be introduced are measures to allow up to 49 percent foreign investment in local insurance companies and domestic pension funds.

Currently, the cap for insurers is at 26 percent and foreign investors are barred from buying into pensions.

In this context, Yechury also lashed out at former coalition partner of the federal coalition government, the regional Trinamool Congress (TMC) for demanding a no confidence motion when aware that it is a game of numbers.

"As far as the Trinamool Congress is concerned, I don't know they are now today acting as the 'B' team of the Congress. The confidence motion that they sought to bring would have given the Congress a reprieve, because on the confidence motion the SP (Samajwadi Party), BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) all of them said that they are not going to go for the destabilisation of government so clearly the confidence motion was not going to win," remarked Yechury.

The TMC party that was the major partner in the ruling United Progressive Alliance, withdrew its support over the issue of reforms, leaving Manmohan Singh in charge of a minority administration at a time when he is trying to revive growth in Asia's third-largest economy.

And any setback on FDI in retail could also sap the government's political will to pursue more difficult reforms to cut high spending and reduce a ballooning budget deficit.

Uncertainty surrounding the passage of these bills has contributed to a 3.8 percent fall in the benchmark BSE stock market index since the start of October.

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Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.

Up to one-third of breast cancers, or 50,000 to 70,000 cases a year, don't need treatment, the study suggests.

It's the most detailed look yet at overtreatment of breast cancer, and it adds fresh evidence that screening is not as helpful as many women believe. Mammograms are still worthwhile, because they do catch some deadly cancers and save lives, doctors stress. And some of them disagree with conclusions the new study reached.

But it spotlights a reality that is tough for many Americans to accept: Some abnormalities that doctors call "cancer" are not a health threat or truly malignant. There is no good way to tell which ones are, so many women wind up getting treatments like surgery and chemotherapy that they don't really need.

Men have heard a similar message about PSA tests to screen for slow-growing prostate cancer, but it's relatively new to the debate over breast cancer screening.

"We're coming to learn that some cancers — many cancers, depending on the organ — weren't destined to cause death," said Dr. Barnett Kramer, a National Cancer Institute screening expert. However, "once a woman is diagnosed, it's hard to say treatment is not necessary."

He had no role in the study, which was led by Dr. H. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth Medical School and Dr. Archie Bleyer of St. Charles Health System and Oregon Health & Science University. Results are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer and cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. Nearly 1.4 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Other countries screen less aggressively than the U.S. does. In Britain, for example, mammograms are usually offered only every three years and a recent review there found similar signs of overtreatment.

The dogma has been that screening finds cancer early, when it's most curable. But screening is only worthwhile if it finds cancers destined to cause death, and if treating them early improves survival versus treating when or if they cause symptoms.

Mammograms also are an imperfect screening tool — they often give false alarms, spurring biopsies and other tests that ultimately show no cancer was present. The new study looks at a different risk: Overdiagnosis, or finding cancer that is present but does not need treatment.

Researchers used federal surveys on mammography and cancer registry statistics from 1976 through 2008 to track how many cancers were found early, while still confined to the breast, versus later, when they had spread to lymph nodes or more widely.

The scientists assumed that the actual amount of disease — how many true cases exist — did not change or grew only a little during those three decades. Yet they found a big difference in the number and stage of cases discovered over time, as mammograms came into wide use.

Mammograms more than doubled the number of early-stage cancers detected — from 112 to 234 cases per 100,000 women. But late-stage cancers dropped just 8 percent, from 102 to 94 cases per 100,000 women.

The imbalance suggests a lot of overdiagnosis from mammograms, which now account for 60 percent of cases that are found, Bleyer said. If screening were working, there should be one less patient diagnosed with late-stage cancer for every additional patient whose cancer was found at an earlier stage, he explained.

"Instead, we're diagnosing a lot of something else — not cancer" in that early stage, Bleyer said. "And the worst cancer is still going on, just like it always was."

Researchers also looked at death rates for breast cancer, which declined 28 percent during that time in women 40 and older — the group targeted for screening. Mortality dropped even more — 41 percent — in women under 40, who presumably were not getting mammograms.

"We are left to conclude, as others have, that the good news in breast cancer — decreasing mortality — must largely be the result of improved treatment, not screening," the authors write.

The study was paid for by the study authors' universities.

"This study is important because what it really highlights is that the biology of the cancer is what we need to understand" in order to know which ones to treat and how, said Dr. Julia A. Smith, director of breast cancer screening at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. Doctors already are debating whether DCIS, a type of early tumor confined to a milk duct, should even be called cancer, she said.

Another expert, Dr. Linda Vahdat, director of the breast cancer research program at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said the study's leaders made many assumptions to reach a conclusion about overdiagnosis that "may or may not be correct."

"I don't think it will change how we view screening mammography," she said.

A government-appointed task force that gives screening advice calls for mammograms every other year starting at age 50 and stopping at 75. The American Cancer Society recommends them every year starting at age 40.

Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the cancer society's deputy chief medical officer, said the study should not be taken as "a referendum on mammography," and noted that other high-quality studies have affirmed its value. Still, he said overdiagnosis is a problem, and it's not possible to tell an individual woman whether her cancer needs treated.

"Our technology has brought us to the place where we can find a lot of cancer. Our science has to bring us to the point where we can define what treatment people really need," he said.

___

Online:

Study: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1206809

Screening advice: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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Egypt's Morsi Wins U.S., Israeli Gratitude

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is being credited with brokering the cease-fire today between Israel and Hamas, but the international gratitude and praise he is gettting could come with a political price at home.

Both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama heaped praise on the Egyptian president. Obama called his Egyptian counterpart today to thank him for his efforts in the negotiations, and Clinton expressed her gratitude personally in the press conference announcing the deal.

"I want to thank President Morsi for his personal leadership to de-escalate the situation in Gaza and end the violence," said Clinton. "This is a critical moment for the region. Egypt's new government is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country a cornerstone of regional stability and peace."

FULL COVERAGE: Israel-Gaza Conflict

In the last week Egypt emerged as the third and maybe the most pivotal party in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Both Obama and Clinton made multiple calls to Morsi, understanding the long-term diplomatic consequences for America's historically strongest Arab ally in the Middle East, an ally that receives billions of dollars in aid annually.

Khaed Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

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The latest crisis was considered a crucial moment for Morsi. Both the U.S. and Israel for years had come to trust and depend on former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's right hand man, Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman. He brokered the initial peace deal between Hamas and Israel and was respected by both sides. Suleiman lost power when Mubarak stepped down and died in July.

Under Morsi, Egypt, whose new governing Muslim Brotherhood party has a relationship with Hamas, also must maintain its peace treaty with Israel to keep diplomatic relations with the United States. But Morsi has a different mandate. As the first democratically-elected president, he is accountable to the people of Egypt, and must walk a fine line between meeting his constituents wants' and maintaining Egypt's diplomatic needs.

Throughout the crisis Morsi and Egyptian officials have spouted harsh rhetoric against Israel, calling the Jewish state the aggressors in the conflict and declaring that the Palestinians have the right to self-defense.

PHOTOS: Israel, Hamas Fight Over Gaza

Behind the scenes, however, Morsi has received high marks by his Israeli counterparts with Israeli President Shimon Peres calling the Egyptian president a "nice surprise" at the height of the talks on Tuesday.

Those familiar with how the cease-fire was eventually brokered credit the Egyptians, and say this was an Egyptian achievement, announced in Egypt.

But the fact that the announcement was made by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, allowed Morsi some political cover from the negative swelling of Egyptian opinion over this deal.

While the U.S., Israel and Hamas may be happy about the deal, there has been significant backlash from Egyptian citizens who claim that despite the election and Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood background, he is no different than Mubarak, a puppet of the West. There are reports of calls for national protests this Friday.

There are also Egyptians who claim the president they elected cares more about the Palestinians than the many domestic problems Egyptians are facing.

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Hamas-Israel ceasefire takes hold but mistrust runs deep

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last.

Even after the ceasefire came into force late on Wednesday, a dozen rockets from the Gaza Strip landed in Israel, all in open areas, a police spokesman said. In Gaza, witnesses reported an explosion shortly after the truce took effect at 9 p.m (14:00 EDT), but there were no casualties and the cause was unclear.

The deal prevented, at least for the moment, an Israeli ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave following bombing and rocket fire which killed five Israelis and 162 Gazans, including 37 children.

But trust was in short supply. The exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said his Islamist movement would respect the truce if Israel did, but would respond to any violations. "If Israel complies, we are compliant. If it does not comply, our hands are on the trigger," he told a news conference in Cairo.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had agreed to "exhaust this opportunity for an extended truce", but told his people a tougher approach might be required in the future.

Both sides quickly began offering differing interpretations of the ceasefire, brokered by Egypt's new Islamist government and backed by the United States, highlighting the many actual or potential areas of discord.

If it holds, the truce will give 1.7 million Gazans respite from days of ferocious air strikes and halt rocket salvoes from militants that unnerved a million people in southern Israel and reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time.

"Allahu akbar, (God is greatest), dear people of Gaza you won," blared mosque loudspeakers in Gaza as the truce took effect. "You have broken the arrogance of the Jews."

Fifteen minutes later, wild celebratory gunfire echoed across the darkened streets, which gradually filled with crowds waving Palestinian flags. Ululating women leaned out of windows and fireworks lit up the sky.

Meshaal thanked Egypt for mediating and praised Iran for providing Gazans with financing and arms. "We have come out of this battle with our heads up high," he said, adding that Israel had been defeated and failed in its "adventure".

Some Israelis staged protests against the deal, notably in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi, where three people were killed by a Gaza rocket during the conflict, army radio said.

Netanyahu said he was willing to give the truce a chance but held open the possibility of reopening the conflict. "I know there are citizens expecting a more severe military action, and perhaps we shall need to do so," he said.

The Israeli leader, who faces a parliamentary election in January, delivered a similar message earlier in a telephone call with U.S. President Barack Obama, his office said.

"AN OPEN PRISON"

According to a text of the agreement seen by Reuters, both sides should halt all hostilities, with Israel desisting from incursions and targeting of individuals, while all Palestinian factions should cease rocket fire and cross-border attacks.

The deal also provides for easing Israeli restrictions on Gaza's residents, who live in what British Prime Minister David Cameron has called an "open prison".

The text said procedures for implementing this would be "dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire".

Israeli sources said Israel would not lift a blockade of the enclave it enforced after Hamas, which rejects the Jewish state's right to exist, won a Palestinian election in 2006.

However, Meshaal said the deal covered the opening of all of the territory's border crossings. "The document stipulates the opening of the crossings, all the crossings, and not just Rafah," he said. Israel controls all of Gaza's crossings apart from the Rafah post with Egypt.

Hamas lost its top military commander to an Israeli strike in the conflict and suffered serious hits to its infrastructure and weaponry, but has emerged with its reputation both in the Arab world and at home stronger.

Israel can take comfort from the fact it dealt painful blows to its enemy, which will take many months to recover, and showed that it can defend itself from a barrage of missiles.

"No one is under the illusion that this is going to be an everlasting ceasefire. It is clear to everyone it will only be temporary," said Michael Herzog, a former chief of staff at the Israeli ministry of defence.

"But there is a chance that it could hold for a significant period of time, if all goes well," he told Reuters.

Egypt, an important U.S. ally now under Islamist leadership, took centre stage in diplomacy to halt the bloodshed. Cairo has walked a fine line between its sympathies for Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood to which President Mohamed Mursi belongs, and its need to preserve its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and its ties with Washington, its main aid donor.

Announcing the agreement in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said mediation had "resulted in understandings to cease fire, restore calm and halt the bloodshed".

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, standing beside Amr, thanked Mursi for peace efforts that showed "responsibility, leadership" in the region.

The Gaza conflict erupted in a Middle East already shaken by last year's Arab uprisings that toppled several veteran U.S.-backed leaders, including Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, and by a civil war in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad is fighting for survival.

In his call with Netanyahu, Obama in turn repeated U.S. commitment to Israel's security and promised to seek funds for a joint missile defence program, the White House said.

BUS BOMBING

The ceasefire was forged despite a bus bomb explosion that wounded 15 Israelis in Tel Aviv earlier in the day and despite more Israeli air strikes that killed 10 Gazans. It was the first serious bombing in Israel's commercial capital since 2006.

Israel, the United States and the European Union all classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. It seized the Gaza Strip from the Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007 in a brief but bloody war with his Fatah movement.

"This is a critical moment for the region," Clinton said. "Egypt's new government is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country a cornerstone for regional stability and peace."

In Amman, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged both sides to stick to their ceasefire pledges. "There may be challenges implementing this agreement," he said, urging "maximum restraint".

(Additional reporting by Noah Browning in Gaza, Ori Lewis, Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem, Yasmine Saleh, Shaimaa Fayed and Tom Perry in Cairo, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Margaret Chadbourn in Washington; Writing by Alistair Lyon and David Stamp; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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Australian swim chief quits over Olympics' poor performance

SYDNEY: Swimming Australia chief executive Kevin Neil has quit his post in the wake of the team's poor showing at the London Olympics, which was tarred by reports of pranks and ill-discipline.

Australia's swimmers won just one gold, six silver and three bronze in London, their lowest tally in the pool since the 1992 Barcelona Games, and were without an individual gold medallist for the first time since Montreal in 1976.

"I have witnessed great changes and seen how swimming continues to be Australia's premier Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport," Neil said in a statement.

"Following the below-expected results at the London Olympics, swimming is now undertaking various reviews to set the new course for the future and it is therefore appropriate to step aside to allow the sport to progress to its next exciting phase."

Earlier this month, Australian swimming officials announced an independent review of the sport's culture at elite level after rumours of initiation rituals involving prescription drugs in London.

Swimming Australia, the sport's governing body in the country, said consultancy Bluestone Edge would lead a probe of top level "culture and leadership", in parallel with a broader post-Olympics review already under way.

That review launched in August is examining why the once-dominant swimming team fell so short.

In the lead-up to the Games, reports suggested some members of the much-vaunted but ultimately unsuccessful six-man freestyle relay team had an initiation ritual that involved taking the sedative Stilnox.

Stilnox was banned by Australian Olympic officials ahead of the London Games.

There were also claims of swimmers upsetting teammates and coaches by prank-calling and knocking on their doors late at night at their camp in Manchester, two days before the team went to London.

Neil was appointed to Swimming Australia's board of directors in February 2008, taking over as chief from Glenn Tasker later the same year.

- AFP/sf

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Four Tamil Nadu fishermen attacked by Lankan navy

RAMESWARAM: Four fishermen were injured today when they were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits.

Sticks, bottles and stones were allegedly hurled by the Lankan navalmen at the fishermen and their boats also suffered damage in the attack, officials said.

They also snapped the fishing nets, and seized global positioning and wireless equipment.

The injured fishermen have been admitted to a hospital at Ramanathpuram.

Katchatheevu is an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India under a 1974 agreement between the two countries.

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OB/GYNs back over-the-counter birth control pills

WASHINGTON (AP) — No prescription or doctor's exam needed: The nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists says birth control pills should be sold over the counter, like condoms.

Tuesday's surprise opinion from these gatekeepers of contraception could boost longtime efforts by women's advocates to make the pill more accessible.

But no one expects the pill to be sold without a prescription any time soon: A company would have to seek government permission first, and it's not clear if any are considering it. Plus there are big questions about what such a move would mean for many women's wallets if it were no longer covered by insurance.

Still, momentum may be building.

Already, anyone 17 or older doesn't need to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill — a higher-dose version of regular birth control that can prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration held a meeting to gather ideas about how to sell regular oral contraceptives without a prescription, too.

Now the influential American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is declaring it's safe to sell the pill that way.

Wait, why would doctors who make money from women's yearly visits for a birth-control prescription advocate giving that up?

Half of the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended, a rate that hasn't changed in 20 years — and easier access to birth control pills could help, said Dr. Kavita Nanda, an OB/GYN who co-authored the opinion for the doctors group.

"It's unfortunate that in this country where we have all these contraceptive methods available, unintended pregnancy is still a major public health problem," said Nanda, a scientist with the North Carolina nonprofit FHI 360, formerly known as Family Health International.

Many women have trouble affording a doctor's visit, or getting an appointment in time when their pills are running low — which can lead to skipped doses, Nanda added.

If the pill didn't require a prescription, women could "pick it up in the middle of the night if they run out," she said. "It removes those types of barriers."

Tuesday, the FDA said it was willing to meet with any company interested in making the pill nonprescription, to discuss what if any studies would be needed.

Then there's the price question. The Obama administration's new health care law requires FDA-approved contraceptives to be available without copays for women enrolled in most workplace health plans.

If the pill were sold without a prescription, it wouldn't be covered under that provision, just as condoms aren't, said Health and Human Services spokesman Tait Sye.

ACOG's opinion, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, says any move toward making the pill nonprescription should address that cost issue. Not all women are eligible for the free birth control provision, it noted, citing a recent survey that found young women and the uninsured pay an average of $16 per month's supply.

The doctors group made clear that:

—Birth control pills are very safe. Blood clots, the main serious side effect, happen very rarely, and are a bigger threat during pregnancy and right after giving birth.

—Women can easily tell if they have risk factors, such as smoking or having a previous clot, and should avoid the pill.

—Other over-the-counter drugs are sold despite rare but serious side effects, such as stomach bleeding from aspirin and liver damage from acetaminophen.

—And there's no need for a Pap smear or pelvic exam before using birth control pills. But women should be told to continue getting check-ups as needed, or if they'd like to discuss other forms of birth control such as implantable contraceptives that do require a physician's involvement.

The group didn't address teen use of contraception. Despite protests from reproductive health specialists, current U.S. policy requires girls younger than 17 to produce a prescription for the morning-after pill, meaning pharmacists must check customers' ages. Presumably regular birth control pills would be treated the same way.

Prescription-only oral contraceptives have long been the rule in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and a few other places, but many countries don't require a prescription.

Switching isn't a new idea. In Washington state a few years ago, a pilot project concluded that pharmacists successfully supplied women with a variety of hormonal contraceptives, including birth control pills, without a doctor's involvement. The question was how to pay for it.

Some pharmacies in parts of London have a similar project under way, and a recent report from that country's health officials concluded the program is working well enough that it should be expanded.

And in El Paso, Texas, researchers studied 500 women who regularly crossed the border into Mexico to buy birth control pills, where some U.S. brands sell over the counter for a few dollars a pack. Over nine months, the women who bought in Mexico stuck with their contraception better than another 500 women who received the pill from public clinics in El Paso, possibly because the clinic users had to wait for appointments, said Dr. Dan Grossman of the University of California, San Francisco, and the nonprofit research group Ibis Reproductive Health.

"Being able to easily get the pill when you need it makes a difference," he said.

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Online:

OB/GYN group: http://www.acog.org

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Ceasefire or 'De-Escalation'? Words Chosen Carefully

Nov 20, 2012 7:27pm

AP Photo/Hatem Moussa

As news reports emerged Tuesday of a cease-fire or truce to end the crisis in Gaza, American officials made it a point not to use either of those terms.

Instead, U.S. officials were  talking about “de-escalating” the violence in Gaza as a step toward a long-term resolution.

Briefing White House reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia,  Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes repeatedly said “de-escalation” was the goal for ending the violence in Gaza and Israel.

When asked if he was avoiding using the term “cease-fire,” Rhodes said,  ”No, I mean, there are many ways that you can achieve the goal of a de-escalation.”  He added, ” Our bottom line is, is an end to rocket fire. We’re open to any number of ideas for achieving that goal. We’ve discussed any number of ideas for accomplishing that goal. But it’s going to have to begin with a reduction of tensions and space created for the situation to calm. ”

At the State Department briefing earlier in the day, spokesperson Victoria Nuland was also using “de-escalation.”

Nuland was asked several times why she was using that term instead of “ceasefire”  or “truce.”  She indicated it was because the State Department did not want to get into characterizing acceptable terminology.  “I’m not going to characterize X is acceptable, Y is not acceptable. That’s a subject for negotiation,” she said.

Furthermore, she said, “because the parties are talking, we’re going to be part of that, and we’re not going to negotiate it here from the podium. We’re not going to characterize it here from the podium.”

The message she did want to get across was that “any de-escalation is a step forward.”

Of the long-term aims of Secretary of State Clinton’s last minute mission to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo, Nuland said you “obviously start with a de-escalation of this conflict.”  From there, “we have to see an end to the rocket fire on Israel. We have to see a restoration of calm in Gaza. And the hope is that if we can get through those stages, that will create space for the addressing of broader issues, but I don’t want to prejudge. This is obviously ongoing and live diplomacy.”

Before her meeting  in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Clinton too avoided using the term “cease-fire.”

After describing America’s commitment to Israel’s security as “rock-solid and unwavering,” Clinton said, “That is why we believe it is essential to de-escalate the situation in Gaza.”

Clinton said that the rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza “must end and a broader calm restored.”  She added that the focus was on  ”a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

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Gaza shakes, Israelis killed as Clinton seeks truce

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes shook the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rockets struck across the border as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks in Jerusalem in the early hours of Wednesday, seeking a truce that can hold back Israel's ground troops.

Hamas, the Islamist movement controlling Gaza, and Egypt, whose new, Islamist government is trying to broker a truce, had floated hopes for a ceasefire by late Tuesday; but by the time Clinton met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu it was clear there would be more argument, and more violence, first.

Hamas leaders in Cairo accused the Jewish state of failing to respond to proposals and said an announcement on holding fire would not come before daylight on Wednesday. Israel Radio quoted an Israeli official saying a truce was held up due to "a last-minute delay in the understandings between Hamas and Israel".

An initial halt to attacks may, however, not see the sides stand their forces down from battle stations immediately; Clinton, who flies to Cairo to see Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi later on Wednesday, spoke of a deal "in the days ahead".

As she arrived in Israel after nightfall, Israel was stepping up its bombardment. Artillery shells and missiles fired from naval gunboats offshore slammed into the territory and air strikes came at a frequency of about one every 10 minutes.

After seven days of hostilities that have killed over 130 Palestinians and five Israelis, two of these on Tuesday, both sides are looking for more than a return to the sporadic calm that has prevailed across the blockaded enclave since Israel ended a much bloodier air and ground offensive four years ago.

ELECTION

Netanyahu, who faces an election in two months that he is, for now, favored to win, told Clinton he wanted a "long-term" solution. Failing that, Netanyahu made clear, he stood ready to step up the military campaign to silence Hamas's rockets.

Hamas for its part is exploring the opportunities that last year's Arab Spring has given it to enjoy favor from the new Islamist governments of states once ruled by U.S. proteges, and from Sunni Gulf powers keen to woo it away from Shi'ite Iran. It has used longer-range missiles, some sent by Tehran, and hopes to eclipse Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas has spoken of an easing of Israel's blockade on the 40-km (25-mile) slice of Mediterranean coast that is home to 1.7 million people. It may count on some sympathy from Mursi, though Egypt's first freely elected leader, whose Muslim Brotherhood inspired Hamas's founders, has been careful to stick by the 1979 peace deal with Israel struck by Cairo's former military rulers.

Clinton, who broke off from an Asian tour with President Barack Obama and assured Netanyahu of "rock-solid" U.S. support for Israel's security, spoke of seeking a "durable outcome" and of Egypt's "responsibility" for promoting peace.

She repeated international calls for the kind of lasting, negotiated, comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian settlement that has eluded the two peoples for decades - something neither of the two warring parties seems seriously to be anticipating.

"In the days ahead, the United States will work with our partners here in Israel and across the region toward an outcome that bolsters security for the people of Israel, improves conditions for the people of Gaza and moves toward a comprehensive peace for all people of the region," Clinton said.

"It is essential to de-escalate the situation in Gaza. The rocket attacks from terrorist organizations inside Gaza on Israeli cities and towns must end and a broader calm restored.

"The goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike."

"SELF-DEFENCE"

Netanyahu, who has appeared in no immediate rush to repeat the invasion of winter 2008-09 in which over 1,400 Palestinians died, said: "If there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution to this problem with diplomatic means, we prefer that.

"But if not, I'm sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever action is necessary to defend its people."

As Israeli aircraft have carried out hundreds of strikes on rocket stores, launchpads and suspected Hamas command posts since assassinating the head of its military wing a week ago, tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers have been preparing tanks and infantry units for a possible invasion.

During the night, explosions again rocked the city of Gaza and other parts of the Strip, while rockets from the enclave, some essentially home-made, others Iranian-designed and smuggled through tunnels from Egypt, landed in southern Israel.

One reached as far as Rishon Lezion, near Tel Aviv, on Tuesday, the latest to jar Israel's metropolis, long untroubled by Palestinian attacks. Another rocket fell close to Jerusalem, the holy city claimed by both sides in the conflict.

Medical officials in Gaza said 31 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday. An Israeli soldier and a civilian died when rockets exploded near the Gaza frontier, police and the army said.

Gaza medical officials say 138 people have died in Israeli strikes, mostly civilians, including 34 children. In all, five Israelis have died, including three civilians killed last week.

AMMUNITION STORES

Obama, whose relations with the hawkish Netanyahu have long been strained, has said he wants a diplomatic solution, rather than a possible Israeli ground operation in the densely populated territory, home to 1.7 million Palestinians.

Israel's military on Tuesday targeted more than 130 sites in Gaza, including ammunition stores and the Gaza headquarters of the National Islamic Bank. Israeli police said more than 150 rockets had been fired from Gaza by the evening.

"No country would tolerate rocket attacks against its cities and against its civilians," Netanyahu said with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who arrived in Jerusalem from talks in Cairo, at his side. "Israel cannot tolerate such attacks."

Critics have accused Israel of using disproportionate force that has killed civilians. Israel accuses Hamas of putting Gaza's people in harm's way by siting rockets among them.

Media groups have criticized attacks on Gaza media facilities. On Tuesday, three local journalists died in air strikes on their vehicles.

A building housing AFP's bureau was bombed. The French news agency said its staff were unhurt. Israel's military said it had been targeting a Hamas intelligence center in the tower.

Hamas executed six Palestinians accused of spying for Israel, who a security source quoted by Hamas Aqsa radio said had been "caught red-handed" with "filming equipment to take footage of positions". The radio said they had been shot.

Militants on a motorcycle dragged the body of one of the men through the streets.

A delegation of nine Arab ministers, led by the Egyptian foreign minister, visited Gaza in a further signal of heightened Arab solidarity with the Palestinians.

(Additional reporting by Cairo bureau; Writing by Alastair Macdonald)

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Former Japan PM dubbed "The Alien" to quit party

TOKYO: Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama has reportedly announced he is to leave the party he founded as it heads to a general election it is likely to lose.

Hatoyama, whose wild-eyed expression contributed to his being dubbed "The Alien" by Japanese press -- a moniker he adopted -- said his beliefs were too far from the policies now espoused by the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

"I don't have a choice but to leave the party because the party's policy is way too different from my ideals," he told supporters, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

"I will talk to you after seeing the prime minister," he told reporters late Tuesday, after being asked about his retirement.

Hatoyama's opposition to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's sales tax hike and plans to join a trans-Pacific free trade deal were instrumental in the decision, the report said.

Reports on Wednesday said the millionaire former academic would not be contesting a parliamentary seat. However, his personal wealth may appeal to some of the smaller parties that are mushrooming around single issues ahead of the December 16 poll.

Hatoyama became prime minister in 2009 when the Democratic Party of Japan ended half a century of almost unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party in a general election.

He was initially lauded as the bringer of change, but his reputation took a battering when he reversed course on a plan to remove a controversial US airbase in Okinawa.

Having angered voters and needlessly provoked Washington in a short space of time, he resigned from the post after just nine months in office, short even by the standards of Japan's revolving-door premiership.

Hatoyama, whose sometimes oddball comments proved a stumbling block for party managers, hails from a powerful political and business clan sometimes dubbed "Japan's Kennedys".

One of his grandfathers was a prime minister, while another founded tyremaker Bridgestone.

His wife Miyuki is a former actress-turned-lifestyle guru with an interest in spirituality. She famously said her soul once visited Venus on a triangular spaceship, and that she met Tom Cruise in a previous life.

Opinion polls suggest no one party will achieve a majority in the election and that a possibly-shaky coalition is a likely outcome.

- AFP/xq

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