LeT threatens to strike at Vaishno Devi

JAMMU: An email threatening to target the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi was purportedly sent by the banned terror outfit Lashker-e-Toiba to a hotelier in Katra to avenge the execution of 26/11 terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab, police said today.

The email was received by A H Bhat, a hotelier of Devi Grand hotel, on November 24 threatening to target the shrine to avenge the hanging of Kasab, a senior police officer said tonight.

"Investigation is going on...We cannot rule out either of the two angles to it, one hoax, the other threat from the terror outfit," the officer said.

"We cannot deliberate on the issue further since preliminary investigation into the matter is going on," he added.

Police have seized the computer and other equipments on which the email had been sent.

Efforts are on to decode the email, police said. DIG, Udhampur-Reasi, Jagjeet Kumar and other senior officials of central agencies visited Katra and reviewed the security arrangements there.

Meanwhile, an alert has been sounded in the region with additional security being being put in place.

Police have intensified frisking people, checking of vehicles and keeping an eye on suspected movements.

The email could be a prank by some anti-national elements but no chances can be taken, the senior police official said.

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.

Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.

The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.

The number of children aged 17 and younger who got emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses — from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.

"I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.

Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Only about 3 percent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones.

More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger. The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.

"There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk," he said.

Other recommendations, often listed in manufacturers' instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

The study didn't include deaths, but some accidents are fatal. Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.

Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.

A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.

Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

Trade group: http://www.naarso.com

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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President Obama Prepares for Cabinet Shuffle


Nov 26, 2012 6:45am







ap barack obama hillary clinton ll 120514 wblog President Obama Prepares for Cabinet Shuffle

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo


As President Obama prepares for his second term, preparations have begun for the traditional shuffling of the Cabinet.


Top priority for the president: filling slots for those top officials heading — if not running — for the door: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.


To replace Clinton, Democratic insiders suggest that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Susan Rice is the frontrunner, with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also a viable candidate.


Rice has been harshly criticized by Republicans for the erroneous comments she made on Sunday news talk shows after the attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, comments that were based on intelligence reports that falsely blamed the attack on a protest against an anti-Muslim video. When the president, during his recent press conference, offered a vociferous defense of Rice, many of those close to him began to suspect he was tipping his hand as to what he might decide.


To replace Geithner at Treasury, White House chief of staff Jack Lew is thought to have the inside track if he wants it, with other possibilities including Neal Wolin, the current deputy secretary of the Treasury and Lael Brainard, current under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs.


Other informed sources suggest that there is consideration being given to a business/CEO type such as investor Roger Altman, former Time/Warner chair Richard Parsons, and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg.


Those are the two most pressing jobs to fill, with Clinton exhausted from a long stretch in government — eight years as first lady, eight as senator, and four as secretary of state — and the president having personally promised Geithner’s wife that he could leave as soon as possible after the election.


Any of the business/CEO types being discussed for treasury secretary could also serve as secretary of commerce, a position that for the Obama administration has proved as troublesome as the role of drummer in Spinal Tap. Jeff Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management & Budget, is said to be under consideration.


It’s too flip to refer to it as a consolation prize, but informed sources say that — with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also planning on leaving — Kerry could be offered the position secretary of defense if he wants it, though the Massachusetts senator has suggested he only wants State. Another option, Michelle Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense for Policy, would be the first female to serve in that position. There was some discussion of National Security Adviser Tom Donilon moving across the river, but it seems clear, sources say, that he’s staying where he is.


If Lew leaves to take the position at Treasury, some possible replacements for him as chief of staff include deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough or Vice President Biden’s former chief of staff Ron Klain. Tom Nides, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, has also been discussed.


President Obama’s senior adviser David Plouffe has also long discussed leaving the White House. There are many options to fill his shoes, including the elevation of communications director Dan Pfeiffer. Also possible: bringing back former press secretary Robert Gibbs, or former deputy chief of staff/campaign manager Jim Messina. Another option might be to bring in some of the people who were part of the messaging shop in the campaign — David Simus, who served as director of opinion research for the campaign, or Larry Grisolano, who did ads for campaign.


– Jake Tapper



SHOWS: World News







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Egypt's Mursi to meet judges over power grab

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi negotiated with senior judges on Monday to try to defuse a crisis over his seizure of new powers which set off violent protests reminiscent of an uprising last year that led to the rise of his Islamist movement.


The justice minister said he believed Mursi would agree with Egypt's highest judicial authority on its proposal to limit the scope of the new powers. Mursi's spokesman said the president was "very optimistic Egyptians would overcome the crisis".


But the protesters, some camped in Cairo's Tahrir Square, have said only retracting the decree will satisfy them, a sign of the deep rift between Islamists and their opponents that is destabilizing Egypt two years after Hosni Mubarak was ousted.


"There is no use amending the decree," said Tarek Ahmed, 26, a protester who stayed the night in Tahrir, where tents covered the central traffic circle. "It must be scrapped."


One person has been killed and about 370 injured in clashes between police and protesters since Mursi issued the decree on Thursday shielding his decisions from judicial review, emboldened by international plaudits for brokering an end to eight days of violence between Israel and Hamas.


The stock market is down more than 7 percent.


Mursi's political opponents have accused him of behaving like a dictator and the West has voiced its concern, worried by more turbulence in a country that has a peace treaty with Israel and lies at the heart of the Arab Spring.


Mursi's administration has defended his decree as an effort to speed up reforms and complete a democratic transformation. Leftists, liberals, socialists and others say it has exposed the autocratic impulses of a man once jailed by Mubarak.


"President Mursi is very optimistic that Egyptians will overcome this challenge as they have overcome other challenges," presidential spokesman Yasser Ali told reporters, shortly before the president started his meeting with members of Egypt's highest judicial authority, the Supreme Judicial Council.


COMPROMISE?


The council has hinted at a compromise, saying Mursi's decree should apply only to "sovereign matters". That suggests it did not reject the declaration outright. It urged judges and prosecutors, some of whom went on strike, to return to work.


Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky, speaking about the council statement, said: "I believe President Mohamed Mursi wants that."


The protesters are worried that Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood aims to dominate the post-Mubarak era after winning the first democratic parliamentary and presidential elections this year.


A deal with a judiciary dominated by Mubarak-era judges, which Mursi has pledged to reform, may not placate them.


A group of lawyers and activists has also challenged Mursi's decree in an administrative court, which said it would hold its first hearing on December 4. Other decisions by Mursi have faced similar legal challenges brought to court by opponents.


Banners in Tahrir called for dissolving the assembly drawing up a constitution, an Islamist-dominated body Mursi made immune from legal challenge. Many liberals and others have walked out of the assembly saying their voices were not being heard.


Only once a constitution is written can a new parliamentary election be held. Until then, legislative and executive power remains in Mursi's hands, and Thursday's decree puts his decisions above judicial oversight.


One Muslim Brotherhood member was killed and 60 people were hurt on Sunday in an attack on the main office of the Brotherhood in the Egyptian Nile Delta town of Damanhour, the website of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party said.


The party's offices have also been attacked in other cities.


ASSURANCES


One politician said the scale of the crisis could push opponents towards a deal to avoid a further escalation. Mursi's opponents have called for a big demonstration on Tuesday.


"I am very cautiously optimistic because the consequences are quite, quite serious, the most serious they have been since the revolution," said Mona Makram Ebeid, former member of parliament and prominent figure in Egyptian politics.


Mursi's office repeated assurances that the steps would be temporary, and said he wanted dialogue with political groups to find "common ground" over what should go into the constitution.


Talks with Mursi have been rejected by members of a National Salvation Front, a new opposition coalition that brings together liberal, leftist and other politicians and parties, who until Mursi's decree had been a fractious bunch struggling to unite.


"There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday. He has said he expected to act as the Front's coordinator.


The military has stayed out of the crisis after leading Egypt through a messy 16-month transition to a presidential election in June. Analysts say Mursi neutralised the army when he sacked top generals in August, appointing a new generation who now owe their advancement to the Islamist president.


Though the military still wields influence through business interests and a security role, it is out of frontline politics.


Egypt had hoped to stop the economic rot by signing an initial deal last week for a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. As well as tumbling share prices, yields at a Sunday treasury bill auction rose, putting even more pressure on the government that faces a crushing budget deficit.


"We are back to square one, politically, socially," said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities, an Egyptian brokerage firm.


(Additional reporting by Tom Perry, Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad in Cairo; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Giles Elgood)


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Portugal MPs to adopt unpopular austerity budget






LISBON: Portugal's parliament is due to adopt on Tuesday a massively unpopular 2013 budget that will make unprecedented austerity reforms in a bid to satisfy international creditors helping the country fight off economic collapse.

Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho's centre-right government has a comfortable majority in parliament, virtually guaranteeing the budget will pass.

But lawmakers will face anger from many constituents, with a protest outside parliament against "austerity and recession" called by the country's main labour federation, the CGTP.

The CGTP organised a crippling general strike on November 14, a day of anti-austerity protests across southern Europe that boiled over into sporadic clashes -- including in Portugal, where protests outside parliament turned violent, leaving 50 people wounded.

Police officers, soldiers, firefighters and students have also staged major protests in recent weeks as public angst over the country's dire economic straits has grown.

The Portuguese economy, in recession since 2010, is expected to contract by three percent this year and one percent in 2013, while unemployment hit a record 15.8 percent of the workforce in the third quarter of this year.

The European Union and International Monetary Fund granted the country rescue funding of 78 billion euros ($100 billion) in May 2011 in exchange for drastic economic reforms aimed at reducing the country's swollen public deficit and debt.

But the austerity underpinning the reforms is weighing heavily on economic activity and the government's ability to fight unemployment.

The new budget aims at 5.3 billion euros in additional savings, achieved in part through further spending cuts but mostly through a tax hike that even Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar acknowledged is "enormous".

Next year, the government will also introduce a package of state reforms seeking to cut public spending by another four billion euros by the end of 2014.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warmly praised the government for its efforts at reform during a visit to Portugal this month, and the country has just passed a new quarterly audit by its creditors, the EU, IMF and European Central Bank -- the so-called "troika".

But the IMF has acknowledged the country faces serious economic risks.

"The near-term outlook is uncertain, and sizeable medium-term economic challenges remain," said an IMF statement on November 20.

As the government fights an uphill battle to cut spending and raise tax revenues wherever it can, the IMF said the success of Portugal's international rescue plan would depend in part on a factor beyond the country's control: the economic environment across the 17-nation eurozone.

The Socialist opposition has for its part condemned the austerity policies as "excessive", despite signing off on the international rescue plan.

"The deficit is not under control, the debt has risen to nearly 120 percent (of gross domestic product), unemployment is the highest in our history and the economy is collapsing," Socialist party secretary-general Antonio Jose Seguro said Saturday.

-AFP/ac



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Mamata intolerant, wants only yes men: Katju

KOLKATA: Terming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as "intolerant", Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju Sunday said she only wants "yes men" around her. However, he praised her for feeling for the 'aam aadmi'.

"I had praised her earlier...She has got the good quality of integrity. I think she feels for the aam aadmi," said Katju.

"But she must realise that in democracy you have to act in a democratic manner. This is the defect in her. She is very intolerant," he said at a Calcutta Press Club programme.

The press council chief's criticism of the chief minister came on a day the local media reported about the disciplinary proceedings launched against an Indian Police Service officer for writing two books critical of the government.

"She is not prepared to listen to others. You have to listen to others. Ultimately you take the decision yourself, but after getting good advice," said Katju, a retired Supreme Court judge.

Quoting Chanakya - the shrewd minister of Maurya emperor Chandragupta - Katju said: "A good ruler is he who appoints good advisers and listens to good advisers."

He quoted a saying in Hindi which means if the king says cat has carried away the camel, you must say yes. "Yes, this is the defect of your chief minister," he said.

"She wants yes men. But you must not have yes men around you," he warned.

But Katju also said that Banerjee has shown some improvement in the state. "But she needs to improve more."

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Badminton: Lee, Chen in Hong Kong Open men's final






HONG KONG: Lee Chong Wei will meet Chinese second seed Chen Long in the final of the Hong Kong Open after the Malaysian world number one breezed past Japan's Kenichi Tago on Saturday.

The top-seed and Olympic silver medallist saw off sixth seeded Tago 21-19, 21-15 in 45 minutes, with the Malaysian smashing his way to the $350,000 Badminton World Federation Super Series tournament final.

Lee will face Chen after the latter beat unseeded Tommy Sugiarto from Indonesia 21-18, 21-10.

In the women's draw, China's top seed Wang Yihan overcame Germany's Juliane Schenk 21-8, 19-21, 21-15, to set up an all-Chinese final after her compatriot Li Xuerui defeated another Chinese player Wang Ling 21-12, 21-13.

In the men's doubles China's second seed Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng fended off a fierce challenge from compatriots Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 in a 62-minute encounter.

They will meet Malaysia's top pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong after they advanced to the finals beating Taipei's unseeded Lee Sheng-mu and Tsai Chia-hsin 22-20, 21-13.

In the women's doubles, it will be another all-Chinese finals between top seed Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei and the controversial duo Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang, who were disqualified during this summer's Olympic Games for playing to lose.

Yu, who along with Wang, raised eyebrows when she won last week's China Open, after apparently announcing her retirement a day after her expulsion in August.

But Yu on Tuesday denied she was quitting and said she now wants to focus on the sport.

-AFP/ac



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1,534 candidates in fray for phase one of Gujarat polls

AHMEDABAD: A total of 1,534 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the 87 constituencies in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections on December 13, the officials said.

It was the last day today for filing nomination papers for the first phase of the polls. The scrutiny of nomination forms will take place on November 26.

"We have received nomination forms of 1,534 candidates for the first phase. 988 candidates filed their nominations today. The scrutiny of the nominations will take place on November 26," Additional chief electoral officer Ashok Manek told reporters here.

Last date of withdrawal of forms is November 28, he said. Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Arjun Modhwadia filed his nomination papers from Porbandar assembly seat today where the BJP has fielded Babubhai Bokhiriya.

There was heavy rush to file nominations on the last day as parties like Congress and Gujarat Parivartan Party finalised their candidates last night.

About 1.81 crore electors from Saurashtra, South Gujarat and four talukas - Sanand, Viramgam, Dholka and Dhandhuka - in western part of Ahmedabad will exercise their franchise in the first phase of voting on December 13.

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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:

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Egypt's Top Judges Slam President's New Powers













Egypt's highest body of judges slammed on Saturday a recent decision by the president to grant himself near-absolute power, calling the move an "unprecedented assault" on the judiciary.



The statement from the Supreme Judicial Council came as hundreds protested outside a downtown courthouse against Thursday's declaration by President Mohammed Morsi. The president's decision means that courts cannot overrule his decrees until a new constitution and parliament is in place, several months if not more in the future.



The judges' condemnation of the president's edicts are the latest blow to Morsi, whose decision set off a firestorm of controversy and prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets in nationwide protests on Friday.



Through their statement, carried by the official MENA agency, the judges join a widening list of leaders and activists from Egypt's political factions, including some Islamists, who have denounced the decree.



The Supreme Judicial Council is packed with judges appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak. It regulates judicial promotions and is chaired by the head of the Court of Cassation.



Their move reflects a broader sense of anger within the judiciary against the president. Some judges' groups and prosecutors have already announced partial strikes to protest Morsi's decree.






AP Photo/Egyptian Presidency












Morsi has accused pro-Mubarak elements in the judiciary of blocking political progress. In the last year, courts have dissolved the lower house of parliament as well as the first panel drafting the constitution, both led by his Muslim Brotherhood group.



The edicts Morsi issued mean that no judicial body can dissolve the upper house of parliament or the current assembly writing the new constitution, which are also both led by the Brotherhood. Supporters of Morsi feared that courts reviewing cases against these bodies might have dissolved them, further postponing Egypt's transition under the aegis of a new constitution.



They say Morsi has a mandate to guide this process as Egypt's first freely elected president, having defeated one of Mubarak's former prime ministers this summer in a closely contested election.



The judges' council's stand against the president sets the ground for an uneasy alliance between former regime officials and activist groups that helped topple Mubarak's regime and have in the past derided those officials as "felool," or remnants.



The presidents' opponents nonetheless see the judiciary as the only remaining civilian branch of government with a degree of independence, since Morsi already holds executive power and as well as legislative authority due to the dissolution of parliament.



The judges released their statement following an emergency meeting Saturday. They said Morsi's decision is an "unprecedented assault on the judiciary and it rulings" and called on the president to "distance himself from the declaration and all things that touch judicial authority, its specifications or interference in its members or its rulings."



The primary court in Alexandria and the judges' club there announced Saturday they and public prosecutors have suspended all work until the declaration is withdrawn, according to the state news agency MENA.



One of the most controversial edicts states that the president has the right to take any steps to prevent "threats to the revolution," wording that activists say is vague and harkens back to the type of language employed by Mubarak to clamp down on dissent.





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