Shah Rukh Khan: Never said I feel unsafe in India

NEW DELHI: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has clarified that he never said that he felt unsafe in India.

Describing the controversy centered around him as "nonsense", Shah Rukh Khan said that he felt sad that he had to prove his patriotism in his own country.

"I implore you all that please read the article. Nowhere does it say that I feel unsafe in my country," Shah Rukh Khan said. Shah Rukh Khan was speaking to mediapersons in Mumbai.

Earlier in the day, the government as well as the political class slammed Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik's demand that India provide security for actor Shah Rukh Khan, saying it was "uncalled for" and he should be more worried over security of its citizens.

Malik was also reminded that India was capable of looking after its citizens and that it treated all of them equally. BJP said the minister's advice to India was "laughable".

"We are capable of looking after our own citizens, let him worry about the security of his country's citizens," Union Home Secretary R K Singh told reporters.

Stressing that Indian government treated all citizens equally, Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari asked Malik to pay attention to the plight of minorities in his own country.

"...He(Malik) would be better served by bothering about the internal situation in Pakistan and really introspecting about the treatment of minorities in Pakistan and see as to what they can do as a state to improve the condition and the plight of their own minorities," Tewari said.

"The test of a democracy is not how you treat your majority but the test of a democracy is how do you treat your minorities. And the UPA government, under the Indian constitution has endeavoured to treat each citizen and each individual with the same respect, the same equanimity which the constitution entitles it," he added.

BJP termed as "uncalled for and unacceptable" Malik's demand, saying Islamabad should be more concerned about the minorities living in that country.

"The statement of Pakistan interior minister offering advice to India is uncalled for and unacceptable. A statement coming from the Interior Minister of a failed state which had the distinction of harbouring world's most notorious terrorist Osama Bin Laden in its backyard is laughable," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.

Rudy also demanded that the government of India should call the Pakistan High Commissioner and convey its protest.

Congress said Malik should not interfere in the country's internal affairs while the Shiv Sena said India was "capable" of protecting its citizens and is not "answerable" to Pakistan.

Maik had on Monday waded into the controversy over the Bollywood star's remarks about the problems purportedly faced by Indian Muslims, saying the Indian government should provide the actor security.

"He (Shah Rukh) is a born Indian and he would like to remain Indian, but I will request the government of India (to) please provide him security. I would like to request all Indian brothers and sisters and all those who are talking in a negative way about Shah Rukh, they should know he is a movie star," Malik had said.

On Sunday, LeT founder and India's most wanted terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed had also said that the actor can move to Pakistan if he didn't feel safe in India.

In an interview, the actor had reportedly mentioned that he has sometimes become the inadvertent object of political leaders who choose to make him a symbol of all that they think is wrong and unpatriotic about Muslims in India.

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi condemned Malik's statement and said he should not interfere in India's internal affairs.

"India knows how to protect its citizens. Pakistan's Interior Minister should protect his own citizens," he added.

"They (Pakistan) should not meddle in our internal affairs. The government in India is capable of protecting its citizens. Our government is not answerable to Pakistan. Pakistan should instead protect the Hindu minority in their country," Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said in Mumbai.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Study says leafy greens top food poisoning source

NEW YORK (AP) — A big government study has fingered leafy greens like lettuce and spinach as the leading source of food poisoning, a perhaps uncomfortable conclusion for health officials who want us to eat our vegetables.

"Most meals are safe," said Dr. Patricia Griffin, a government researcher and one of the study's authors who said the finding shouldn't discourage people from eating produce. Experts repeated often-heard advice: Be sure to wash those foods or cook them thoroughly.

While more people may have gotten sick from plants, more died from contaminated poultry, the study also found. The results were released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans — or 48 million people— gets sick from food poisoning. That includes 128,000 hospitalization and 3,000 deaths, according to previous CDC estimates.

The new report is the most comprehensive CDC has produced on the sources of food poisoning, covering the years 1998 through 2008. It reflects the agency's growing sophistication at monitoring illnesses and finding their source.

What jumped out at the researchers was the role fruits and vegetables played in food poisonings, said Griffin, who heads the CDC office that handles foodborne infection surveillance and analysis.

About 1 in 5 illnesses were linked to leafy green vegetables — more than any other type of food. And nearly half of all food poisonings were attributed to produce in general, when illnesses from other fruits and vegetables were added in.

It's been kind of a tough month for vegetables. A controversy erupted when Taco Bell started airing a TV ad for its variety 12-pack of tacos, with a voiceover saying that bringing a vegetable tray to a football party is "like punting on fourth-and-1." It said that people secretly hate guests who bring vegetables to parties.

The fast-food chain on Monday announced it was pulling the commercial after receiving complaints that it discouraged people from eating vegetables.

Without actually saying so, the CDC report suggests that the Food and Drug Administration should devote more staff time and other resources to inspection of fruits and vegetables, said Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety.

Earlier this month, the FDA released a proposed new rule for produce safety that would set new hygiene standards for farm workers and for trying to reduce contact with animal waste and dirty water.

Meanwhile, CDC officials emphasized that their report should not be seen as discouraging people from eating vegetables.

Many of the vegetable-related illnesses come from norovirus, which is often spread by cooks and food handlers. So contamination sometimes has more to do with the kitchen or restaurant it came from then the food itself, Griffin noted.

Also, while vegetable-related illnesses were more common, they were not the most dangerous. The largest proportion of foodborne illness deaths — about 1 in 5 — were due to poultry. That was partly because three big outbreaks more than 10 years ago linked to turkey deli meat.

But it was close. CDC estimated 277 poultry-related deaths in 1998-2008, compared to 236 vegetable-related deaths.

Fruits and nuts were credited with 96 additional deaths, making 334 total deaths for produce of all types. The CDC estimated 417 deaths from all kinds of meat and poultry, another 140 from dairy and 71 from eggs.

Red meat was once seen as one of the leading sources of food poisoning, partly because of a deadly outbreak of E. coli associated with hamburger. But Griffin and Doyle said there have been significant safety improvements in beef handling. In the study, beef was the source of fewer than 4 percent of food-related deaths and fewer than 7 percent of illnesses.

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Online:

CDC journal: http://www.cdc.gov/eid/

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Army warns unrest pushing Egypt to the brink

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief said political unrest was pushing the state to the brink of collapse - a stark warning from the institution that ran the country until last year as Cairo's first freely elected leader struggles to curb bloody street violence.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a U.S.-trained general appointed by President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the armed forces, added in a statement on Tuesday that one of the primary goals of deploying troops in cities on the Suez Canal was to protect the waterway that is vital for Egypt's economy and world trade.

Sisi's comments, published on an official army Facebook page, followed 52 deaths in the past week of disorder and highlighted the mounting sense of crisis facing Egypt and its Islamist head of state who is striving to fix a teetering economy and needs to prepare Egypt for a parliamentary election in a few months that is meant to cement the new democracy.

Violence largely subsided on Tuesday, although some youths again hurled rocks at police lines in Cairo near Tahrir Square.

It seemed unlikely that Sisi was signaling the army wants to take back the power it held for six decades since the end of the colonial era and through an interim period after the overthrow of former air force chief Hosni Mubarak two years ago.

But it did send a powerful message that Egypt's biggest institution, with a huge economic as well as security role and a recipient of massive direct U.S. subsidies, is worried about the fate of the nation, after five days of turmoil in major cities.

"The continuation of the struggle of the different political forces ... over the management of state affairs could lead to the collapse of the state," said General Sisi, who is also defense minister in the government Mursi appointed.

He said the economic, political and social challenges facing the country represented "a real threat to the security of Egypt and the cohesiveness of the Egyptian state" and the army would remain "the solid and cohesive block" on which the state rests.

Sisi was picked by Mursi after the army handed over power to the new president in June once Mursi had sacked Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, in charge of Egypt during the transition and who had also been Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years.

The instability has provoked unease in Western capitals, where officials worry about the direction of a powerful regional player that has a peace deal with Israel. The United States condemned the bloodshed and called on Egyptian leaders to make clear violence was not acceptable.

DEEPLY POLARISED

The 58-year-old previously headed military intelligence and studied at the U.S. Army War College. Diplomats say he is well known to the United States, which donates $1.3 billion in military aid each year, helping reassure Washington that the last year's changes in the top brass would not upset ties.

One of Sisi's closest and longest serving associates, General Mohamed el-Assar, an assistant defense minister, is now in charge of the military's relations with the United States.

Almost seven months after Mursi took office, Egyptian politics have become even more deeply polarized.

Opponents spurned a call by Mursi for talks on Monday to try to end the violence. Instead, protesters have rallied in Cairo and Alexandria, and in the three Suez Canal cities - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where Mursi imposed emergency rule.

On Tuesday, thousands were again on the streets of Port Said to mourn the deaths of two people in the latest clashes there, taking the total toll in Mediterranean port alone to 42 people. Most were killed by gunshots in a city where weapons are rife.

Mohamed Ezz, a Port Said resident speaking by telephone, heard heavy gunfire through the night. "Gunshots damaged the balcony of my flat, so I went to stay with my brother," he said.

Residents in the three canal cities had taken to the streets in protest at a nightly curfew now in place there. The president's spokesman said on Tuesday that the 30-day state of emergency could be shortened, depending on circumstances.

In Cairo on Tuesday afternoon, police again fired teargas at stone-throwing youths in a street near Tahrir Square, the center of the 2011 uprising. But the clashes were less intense than previous days and traffic was able to cross the area. Street cleaners swept up the remains of burnt tires and other debris.

The police have been facing "unprecedented attacks accompanied by the appearance of groups that pursue violence and whose members possess different types of weapons", the state news agency reported, quoting the Interior Ministry spokesman.

Street flare-ups are a common occurrence in divided Egypt, frustrating many people desperate for order and economic growth.

WARY MILITARY

Although the general's comments were notably blunt, Egypt's military has voiced similar concerns in the past, pledging to protect the nation. But it has refused to be drawn back into a direct political role after its reputation as a neutral party took a pounding during the 17 months after Mubarak fell.

"Egyptians are really alarmed by what is going on," said Cairo-based analyst Elijah Zarwan, adding that the army was reflecting that broader concern among the wider public.

"But I don't think it should be taken as a sign that the military is on the verge of stepping in and taking back the reins of government," he said.

In December, Sisi offered to host a national dialogue when Mursi and the rivals were again at loggerheads and the streets were aflame. But the invitation was swiftly withdrawn before the meeting went ahead, apparently because the army was wary of becoming embroiled again in Egypt's polarized politics.

Protests initially flared during the second anniversary of the uprising which erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later. They were exacerbated in Port Said when residents were angered after a court sentenced to death several people from the city over deadly soccer violence.

Since the 2011 revolt, Islamists who Mubarak spent his 30-year rule suppressing have won two referendums, two parliamentary elections and a presidential vote.

But that legitimacy has been challenged by an opposition that accuses Mursi of imposing a new form of authoritarianism. Mursi's supporters says protesters want to overthrow Egypt's first democratically elected leader by undemocratic means.

The army has already been deployed in Port Said and Suez and the government agreed a measure to let soldiers arrest civilians as part of the state of emergency. Sisi reiterated that the army's role would be to support the police in restoring order.

Mursi's invitation to rivals to a national dialogue with Islamists on Monday was spurned by the main opposition National Salvation Front coalition, which described it as "cosmetic".

The presidency said a committee would be formed to look at changes to the constitution, but it ruled out changing the government before the parliamentary election.

Mursi's pushing through last month of a new constitution which critics see as too Islamic remains a bone of contention.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Omar Fahmy in Cairo, Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Peter Millership)

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Iran sends monkey into space

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday successfully sent a monkey into orbit, paving the way for a manned space flight, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi told state television.

Arabic-language channel Al-Alam and other Iranian news agencies said the monkey returned alive after travelling in a capsule to an altitude of 120 kilometres (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight.

"This success is the first step towards man conquering the space and it paves the way for other moves," General Vahidi said, but added that the process of putting a human into space would be a lengthy one.

"Today's successful launch follows previous successes we had in launching (space) probes with other living creatures (on board)," he added.

"The monkey which was sent in this launch landed safely and alive and this is a big step for our experts and scientists."

Iranian state television showed still pictures of the capsule and of a monkey being fitted with a vest and then placed in a device similar to a child's car-seat.

A previous attempt in 2011 by the Islamic republic to put a monkey into space failed. No official explanation was ever given.

A defence ministry statement quoted by Iranian media said earlier Iran had "successfully launched a capsule, codenamed Pishgam (Pioneer), containing a monkey and recovered the shipment on the ground intact".

Iran announced in mid-January its intention to launch a monkey into orbit as part of "preparations for sending a man into space," which is scheduled for 2020.

Iran's space programme deeply unsettles Western nations, which fear it could be used to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads they suspect are being developed in secret.

The same technology used in space launch rockets can also be used in ballistic missiles.

The Security Council has imposed on Iran an almost total embargo on nuclear and space technologies since 2007.

Tehran has repeatedly denied that its nuclear and scientific programmes mask military ambitions.

Iran's previous satellite launches were met by condemnation from the West who accused Tehran of "provocation."

The Islamic republic has previously sent a rat, turtles and worms into space. It has also successfully launched three satellites -- Omid in February 2009, Rassad in June 2011 and Navid in February 2012.

In mid-May last year, Tehran announced plans to launch an experimental observation satellite Fajr (Dawn) within a week but it did not happen and Iran gave no explanation for the delay.

The Fajr satellite was presented by Iranian officials as "an observation and measurement" satellite weighing 50 kilos (110 pounds), built by Sa-Iran, a company affiliated to the defence ministry.

- AFP/ir

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Haryana min for early tax reforms, seeks compensation for states

CHANDIGARH: Haryana excise and taxation minister, Kiran Choudhary, on Monday urged the Empowered Committee of state finance ministers as well as Union finance ministry to work more resolutely for bringing about tax reform in the country at an early date.

Choudhry was speaking at a meeting of the Empowered Committee of state finance ministers in Bhubaneswar today.

She said that it may take some time before GST is finally introduced, in the meantime it is equally important that loss being caused to the states on account of reduction in the rate of CST from 4 per cent to 2 per cent is fully compensated by the Central government.

She pointed out that CST collections have taken a massive hit by showing decline of nearly 38 per cent. The state is losing very heavily on account of reduction in the rate of CST and non-payment of the compensation by the Central government. She also stressed the need taking corrective steps.

Choudhry said that upto December 2012, Haryana has shown an increase in VAT collection by about 17 per cent as compared with that of the same period of the year 2011. She said that upto December, 2011 total VAT collection was about Rs 9,150 crores which in the corresponding period for 2012 was Rs 10,709 crores. Collection of VAT revenue accordingly is satisfactory in Haryana.

Incase the recommendations of the Committee for 75 per cent and 50 per cent compensation in the years 2011-12 and 2012-13 respectively is accepted, it will result into loss of approximately Rs 2600 crores to the state. It is a huge amount of money for a small state like Haryana, but in the overall circumstances as explained by the committee on CST compensation, we accept the recommendation, she added.

The committee however has not specified the time period during which the compensation will be released. We would desire that the entire amount of withheld compensation should be partly released in the current financial year that is 2012-13 and remaining in the next financial year that is 2013-14. Extending the time period beyond 2013-14 will not only cause hardship to the state but it may create unforeseen complications, she added.

She pointed out that the officials of the Union finance ministry have made a serious calculation error which has resulted into double deduction from the compensation claim of Haryana on account of one per cent extra compensation granted to the Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL).

The Haryana state had accounted for this loss while filing its compensation claim, but the Union finance ministry has made double deduction for the same reason.

"While I may request the representatives of Union finance ministry to resolve this issue at an early date, I may also request the Empowered Committee to resolve that in future while finalising the due compensation claim of the states, prior consultation with officers of the states should be held to avoid such errors", she added.

She suggested that a workable model of GST should inter-alia take into account with features like robust IT infrastructure. She said that in her considered view the Union finance ministry or the Empowered Committee should get a standard design for the IT infrastructure on GST prepared, and a proof of concept of such a model should be presented to all the states at the earliest possible.

All the states thereafter should be given time to orient their infrastructure with this standard design. Needless to mention that this will be a time consuming activity.

After the proposed amendment of the Constitution comes through, a central legislation containing the structure of GST will be prepared on the basis of which system of GST will be regulated. "In my view a committee of experts comprised of legal and taxation experts should be constituted to prepare a draft legislation which may form the basic document for discussion amongst the states and the other stake holders", she added.

She said that several issues like role and functions of GST council, central authority for redistribution of taxes on account of inter-state sales; arbitration of disputes between central authorities and the state authorities; dual control; administrative infrastructure to be created for both the Central government and the states; revenue neutral rates etc also needs further detailed examination. Separate groups of experts for giving recommendation on each of these issues should be set up.

She said that if CST at a rate of two per cent is retained, then RNR of the state declines significantly and comes at around 12.50 per cent, that is in the same range as computed by the NIPFP. Accordingly, to keep the RNR of the state at a reasonable level of 12 to 13 per cent, CST at a rate of two per cent needs to be retained even after the GST is actually implemented.

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Wounded soldier gets double-arm transplant in Md.

BALTIMORE (AP) — A soldier who lost all four limbs in a roadside bomb attack in 2009 in Iraq has received a double-arm transplant in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Hospital officials said Monday.

Surgeons who treated the unidentified infantryman plan to discuss the transplant Tuesday at a news conference with the soldier. The soldier is one of seven in the U.S. who have undergone successful double-arm transplants, the hospital said.

The transplant last month is the first for the hospital and involved an innovative treatment to prevent rejection of the new limbs. The treatment used the dead donor's bone marrow cells and so far has prevented rejection and reduced the need for anti-rejection drugs. Those drugs can cause complications, including infection and organ damage, hospital officials said.

The novel treatment to help prevent rejection was pioneered by Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, plastic surgery chief at Johns Hopkins, when he previously worked at the University of Pittsburgh.

In his previous job, Lee led five single-hand transplant operations on five patients, giving them new hands plus marrow from their donors. In an interview last fall, Lee said that all five recipients had done well and that four were taking only one anti-rejection drug instead of combination treatments most transplant patients receive.

Minimizing anti-rejection drugs is important because they have side effects and raise the risk of cancer over the long term. Those risks have limited the willingness of surgeons and patients to do more hand, arm and even face transplants. Unlike a life-saving heart or liver transplant, limb transplants are aimed at improving quality of life, not extending it.

Quality of life is a key concern for people missing arms and hands — prosthetics for those limbs are not as advanced as those for feet and legs.

Lee has received funding for his work from AFIRM, the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a cooperative research network of top hospitals and universities around the country that the government formed about five years ago. With government money, he and several other plastic surgeons around the country are preparing to do more face transplants, possibly using the new minimal immune suppression approach.

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Grand Jury Wanted to Indict JonBenet's Parents

A grand jury believed there was enough evidence in 1999 to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on charges relating to the still-unsolved killing of their beauty queen daughter JonBenet Ramsey, ABC News sources say.

Six-year-old JonBenet was found dead in the basement of her family's upscale Boulder, Colo., home Christmas Day 1996. Suspicion fell on her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, but they insisted an intruder was to blame and they were never prosecuted.

In an interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters after her death, both of the girl's parents denied that they had killed her. They were eventually cleared by prosecutors.

JonBenet Ramsey Case: New Grand Jury Report Watch Video

After meeting for more than a year, a grand jury found sufficient evidence to indict the couple on charges of child abuse resulting in death, as first reported Sunday by the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper and confirmed by two separate sources by ABC News.

"This grand jury, in effect, came up with a compromise finding, 'No, it's not murder,' but, 'Yes, we think they were responsible' for the death based on abuse," ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said.

PHOTOS: JonBenet Ramsey: Never-Before-Seen Photos

But District Attorney Alex Hunter refused to sign off on the grand jury's decision, saying there was too little proof.

"I and my prosecution task force believe we do not have sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of charges against anyone who has been investigated at this time," Hunter said then.

Hunter believed a conviction would be impossible. Abrams said that he agrees with the decision.

"I've seen the majority of the case files and I think Alex Hunter made the right call," he said. "I think there simply was not enough evidence to move forward."

Patsy Ramsey died in 2006 after a battle with ovarian cancer. John Ramsey remarried. His attorney told ABC News that Hunter is "a hero who wisely avoided a miscarriage of justice."

The case is still officially open but, as in 1996, investigators seem no closer to solving the crime this year, when JonBenet would have turned 23.

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Violence flares in Egypt after emergency law imposed

CAIRO (Reuters) - A man was shot dead on Monday in a fifth day of violence in Egypt that has killed 50 people and prompted the Islamist president to declare a state of emergency in an attempt to end a wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world's biggest nation.

Emergency rule announced by President Mohamed Mursi on Sunday covers the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. The army has already been deployed in two of those cities and cabinet approved a measure to let soldiers arrest civilians.

A cabinet source told Reuters any trials would be before civilian courts, but the step is likely to anger protesters who accuse Mursi of using high-handed security tactics of the kind they fought against to oust President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's politics have become deeply polarized since those heady days two years ago, when protesters were making most of the running in the Arab Spring revolutions that sent shockwaves through the region and Islamists and liberals lined up together.

Although Islamists have won parliamentary and presidential elections, the disparate opposition has since united against Mursi. Late last year he moved to expand his powers and push a constitution with Islamist leanings through a referendum, punctuated by violent street protests.

Mursi's call for a national dialogue meeting on Monday to help end the crisis was spurned by his main opponents.

They accuse Mursi of hijacking the revolution, listening only to his Islamist allies and breaking a promise to be a president for all Egyptians. Islamists say their rivals want to overthrow by undemocratic means Egypt's first freely elected leader.

Anti-Mursi protesters were out on the streets again in Cairo and elsewhere on Monday, the second anniversary of one of the bloodiest days in the revolution that erupted on January 25, 2011, and ended Mubarak's iron rule 18 days later.

CONCERNS

Hundreds of demonstrators in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, cities which all lie on the economically vital Suez Canal, had turned out against Mursi's decision on Sunday within moments of him speaking. Activists there pledged to defy a curfew that starts at 9 p.m. (1700 GMT).

Instability in Egypt has raised concerns in Western capitals, where officials worry about the direction of a key regional player that has a peace deal with Israel.

The political unrest has been exacerbated by street violence linked to death penalties imposed on soccer supporters convicted of involvement in stadium rioting a year ago.

In Cairo on Monday, police fired volleys of teargas at stone-throwing protesters near Tahrir Square, cauldron of the anti-Mubarak uprising. A 46-year-old bystander was killed by a gunshot, a security source said. It was not clear who opened fire.

"We want to bring down the regime and end the state that is run by the Muslim Brotherhood," said Ibrahim Eissa, a 26-year-old cook, protecting his face from teargas wafting towards him.

Propelled to the presidency in a June election by the Muslim Brotherhood, Mursi has lurched through a series of political crises and violent demonstrations, complicating his task of shoring up the economy and of preparing for a parliamentary election to cement the new democracy in a few months.

"The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law," Mursi said, angering many of his opponents when he wagged his finger at the camera.

The president offered condolences to families of victims of violence and also called a dialogue meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) between Islamist allies and their liberal, leftist and other opponents to discuss the crisis.

The main opposition National Salvation Front coalition rejected the offer as "cosmetic and not substantive" and set several conditions that have not been met in the past, such as forming a national salvation government. They also demanded that Mursi announce his responsibility for the bloodshed.

SECURITY MEASURES

"We will send a message to the Egyptian people and the president of the republic about what we think are the essentials for dialogue. If he agrees to them, we are ready for dialogue," opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei told a news conference.

The opposition Front has distanced itself from the latest flare-ups but said Mursi should have acted far sooner to impose security measures that would have ended the violence.

"Of course we feel the president is missing the real problem on the ground, which is his own policies," Front spokesman Khaled Dawoud said after Mursi made his declaration.

Other activists said Mursi's measures to try to impose control on the turbulent streets could backfire.

"Martial law, state of emergency and army arrests of civilians are not a solution to the crisis," Ahmed Maher of the April 6 movement that helped galvanize the 2011 uprising said. "All this will do is further provoke the youth. The solution has to be a political one that addresses the roots of the problem."

Thousands of mourners joined funerals in Port Said for the latest victims in the Mediterranean port city. Seven people were killed there on Sunday when residents joined marches to bury 33 others who had been killed a day earlier, most by gunshot wounds in a city where arms are rife.

Protests erupted there on Saturday after a court sentenced to death several people from the city for their role in deadly soccer violence last year, a verdict residents saw as unfair. The anger swiftly turned against Mursi and his government.

Rights activists said Mursi's declaration was a backward step for Egypt, which was under emergency law for Mubarak's entire 30-year rule. His police used the sweeping arrest provisions to muzzle dissent and round up opponents, including members of the Brotherhood and even Mursi himself.

Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch in Cairo said the police, still hated by many Egyptians for their heavy-handed tactics under Mubarak, would once again have the right to arrest people "purely because they look suspicious", undermining efforts to create a more efficient and respected police force.

"It is a classic knee-jerk reaction to think the emergency law will help bring security," she said. "It gives so much discretion to the Ministry of Interior that it ends up causing more abuse, which in turn causes more anger."

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh in Cairo and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia; Editing by Giles Elgood and Peter Millership)

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Iraq inks oil exploration deal with Kuwait Energy

BAGHDAD: Iraqi energy officials on Sunday signed an oil exploration deal with a Kuwait-led group, finalising a deal that was altered to expel a Turkish firm amid worsening ties with Ankara.

A contract was inked with Kuwait Energy and Dragon Oil of the United Arab Emirates to explore a 900-square-kilometre (350-square-mile) block thought to contain oil in south Iraq, near the country's border with Iran.

The contract was signed by Abdul Mehdi al-Amidi, the Iraqi oil ministry's head of contracts and licensing, a representative of the state-owned South Oil Company, Hussein al-Mosawy of Kuwait Energy and Mark Sawyer of Dragon Oil, according to an AFP journalist present.

Kuwait Energy has a 70 percent stake in the project, with Dragon Oil holding the remainder. The companies have agreed to be paid a service fee of $6.24 per barrel of oil equivalent eventually extracted.

It is one of several agreements between Baghdad and foreign energy firms to boost oil output and explore for new deposits of energy as Iraq looks to cement its role as a key global supplier.

The original consortium that won the contract had included Turkey's TPAO, but officials announced in November that the Turkish firm would be expelled due to "non-technical issues", one of several signs of worsening ties between Baghdad and Ankara.

The two countries have been at odds over the Syrian conflict and Iraq has publicly urged Turkey to hand over fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who has been sentenced to death in Baghdad on charges of running a death squad.

Iraq has proven reserves of 143.1 billion barrels of oil and 3.2 trillion cubic metres (111.9 trillion cubic feet) of gas, both of which are among the largest in the world.

- AFP/de

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Declaring PM candidate before elections could split BJP-NDA: VHP

BHOPAL: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader PraveenTogadia on Sunday said that the BJP should not announce a prime ministerial candidate before the 2014 general elections. Togadia said that such an attempt would weaken the BJP and the NDA alliance. Announcing the name of the prime ministerial candidate could work as a strategy in favour of the UPA parties. It could split both the BJP and its NDA alliance partners. Best would be for the BJP to democratically elect its leader after the elections are won,'' Togadia said speaking to reporters here.

Asked if the VHP would support the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Togadia explained: The VHP neither supports nor opposes any political party or person. The VHP's one and only intention is to strengthen Hindutva. However, we are not in favour of political parties that hit-out and defame Hindus.''

Togadia argued that the recent controversy over Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's comment on Hindu terrorism is one such instance of how greed of minority vote-bank politics makes political parties to give statements that work in favour of Pakistan.''

In the present day, rebellion against Hindus is equated with secularism. The Congress party should press home minister Shinde to withdraw his statement which might work out as an advantage to Pakistan on the international forum. And voters should start contemplating on such remarks of the Congress and democratically give a fitting reply to such allegatuions,'' he added.

Meanwhile, the VHP stands firm on the issue of the disputed Bhojshala structure in Dhar in Madhya Pradesh. It could be yet another trying law and order situation as Basant Panchami fall on Friday February 15 this year. Bhojshala belongs to Hindus and Muslims have nothing to do with it. The VHP will keep up the struggle for Bhojshala. There will be no compromise on the issue.''

Bhojshala is an 11th century Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monument in Dhar town, 350 km south of Bhopal, which Hindus believe is a temple of goddess Waghdevi (Saraswati) while Muslims treat it as a mosque. In 2003, the VHP started a movement claiming the structure was a university established by Raja Bhoj with a temple of the goddess of learning inside the premises.

That year, the law courts opened the gates of the structure for Hindus to worship on Tuesdays and Basant Panchami while directing that Muslims could also hold namaz on Fridays. This year Basant Panchami falls on a Friday, the day for offering Namaz. A similar situation was witnessed in 2006 when Basant Panchami fell on a Friday and there were violent clashed between the VHP-RSS combine and the state police in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. The VHP was uncompromising on Bhojshala then and remains so now.

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