For top donors, inauguration means access, influence and angling for next big job

The voters have spoken, but even after a $2 billion presidential campaign, the quest for dollars in Washington continues. This weekend, the high rollers are paying for inauguration parties that are almost always busts, a ceremony that’s better seen on TV and access that’s not exactly priceless but pretty darn expensive.

For the thousands of high-end donors who pay for the whole thing, the inauguration is about exclusive access to the president and vice president, as well as what insiders call “placement.” (Jobs, they mean.) Goodness knows it’s not the big public balls that lure the visitors; by universal accord, those mega-parties are mostly letdowns — people you don’t know and don’t like, bars you’d need a crowbar to reach, bad food and not enough of it.

“They’ve already written their checks and now they come for the celebration,” said David Rosen, a Chicago Democratic fundraiser who serves as a fixer for wealthy donors on their inauguration trips, making certain their schedule is properly packed with the right parties and the most intimate VIP gatherings. “This weekend is a marker in their lives, so they want to be invited to the White House or the small gathering at the vice president’s house.”

President Obama’s second inauguration is smaller, less emotionally powerful and less transparent than the first. There are fewer balls, fewer tourists and fewer details about the money being raised. Four years ago, promising a new openness, the president banned corporate giving to the inauguration, limited gifts from individuals to $50,000 and released a full accounting of donations.

This year, the sky’s the limit on gifts, corporations are good people and the official roster of donors won’t include addresses or amounts for up to 90 days. The list includes companies such as AT&T, Microsoft and Southern Co., a utility that says it gave $100,000. Individual supporters include donors such as Irwin Jacobs, founder of the tech company Qualcomm, who had already given more than $2 million to groups supporting Obama.

Administration officials have said the loosened donation rules were designed to reach out to businesses whose executives felt spurned in the first term and to ease pressure on Democratic donors who feel squeezed dry after the campaign. After the inaugural celebration’s expenses are paid, the remaining money could be used for an Obama foundation that would support his presidential library and other projects after he leaves office.

“It is just the wrong thing to do,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit group that pushes for transparency in government and campaign finance reform. “This is symbolic of doing business as usual in Washington, from an administration that has said it did not want to follow that path. It doesn’t make sense.”

Presidential Inaugural Committee spokesman Cameron French says that although it is taking corporate donations “to make sure we are able to meet our fundraising obligations” without burdening the public, it is not accepting gifts from political-action committees, lobbyists or firms that aren’t current on federal bailout loans from 2009. A committee statement says its “guidelines aren’t just consistent with the law — they are consistent with the president’s commitment to transparency and to reducing the influence of PACs and lobbyists in Washington.”

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Football: Pogba at double for Juve as Palermo hold Lazio

MILAN: French teenager Paul Pogba scored a sensational brace to inspire depleted Juventus to a 4-0 rout of Udinese which helped the Serie A champions extend their lead over Lazio on Saturday.

Juve started their 21st match of the campaign with a three-point lead on both Napoli and Lazio but missing key midfielders Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal due to recent injuries.

After Lazio had to settle for a share of the points in a 2-2 draw at strugglers Palermo, Juve took full advantage.

The champions now have a five-point lead over Lazio, who sit second on 43 points, and will be hoping Napoli, third on 42, find similar trouble Sunday in their away game against Fiorentina.

Pogba, signed in the off-season on a free transfer from Manchester United, had already scored two sensational goals earlier this season.

And the 19-year-old broke the deadlock near the end of a frustrating first half for the hosts by unleashing a 30-metre screamer which hit the crossbar before beating Daniele Padelli in the Udinese goal.

Juventus were struggling to build on their lead in the early stages of the second half when Udinese were unlucky not to score on the counter.

But again Pogba came to the rescue, this time with a long-range daisy-cutter which slotted into Padelli's bottom corner to give Juve a 2-0 lead.

Six minutes later Juve striker Mirko Vucinic made it 3-0 when Padelli parried the Montenegrin's close-range effort over his own body and into the net.

Udinese threatened through top striker Antonio Di Natale, who saw a snapshot shave the top of the crossbar.

However the former Italy striker appeared to be showing the effects of recent flu-like symptoms, which meant he only appeared early in the second half.

With 10 minutes to play, second half substitute Alessandro Matri made it 4-0 for the hosts when he latched on to a Vucinic through ball to nutmeg Padelli.

Despite missing Miroslav Klose, Abdoullay Konko and Ederson, Lazio had hoped to secure a win that would have kept them three points behind Antonio Conte's league leaders.

But after Vladimir Petkovic's side were stunned by two goals in less than two minutes the visitors were forced to launch a late fighback to grab a share of the points

Sergio Floccari gave Lazio a 10th minute lead when he headed Cristian Ledesma's cross over the static Samir Ujkani in the Palermo goal, only for Arevalo Rios (70) and Paulo Dybala (71) to give the hosts a shock lead.

It took a penalty from Brazilian Hernanes, after Floccari had been fouled in the box, for Lazio to draw level with six minutes left to play.

- AFP/de

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Sell off CPM offices, Mamata tells Delhi

KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee took her anti-Centre stance to a new high on Saturday asking the Congress-led UPA government to sell off CPM party offices to realise the interest against the loans it gave to Bengal during the Left Front rule.

"I have been working from morning till late in the night to break out of the debt trap left behind by CPM. Now some ministers in Delhi, I don't feel like taking their names (reference to Deepa Das Munshi) claim that we are announcing projects funded by the Centre. Let me tell you that a major portion of our revenue is spent on repaying the debt. I ask the Congress comrades in Delhi why they allowed CPM to take such loans. Why should I bear the burden? Let the Centre sell off CPM party offices and realise the interest," the chief minister said at a Trinamool rally at Esplanade on Saturday.

Mamata took a leaf out of former finance minister Ashok Mitra's book and argued how the Centre was giving crumbs to the state while grabbing most of the revenue in the form of central taxes.

"The Centre takes away as much as Rs 39,684 crore from Bengal in income tax, excise duty and other central tax heads, while it gives back a meagre Rs 18,557 crore to the state. I demand the remaining amount for rural development. I am not begging. It belongs to the people of our state out of which the Centre announces the assistance programmes," Mamata said.

The Bengal CM opposes the Centre on a whole range of issues - from hike in diesel and cooking gas prices and increase in railway fares to FDI in multi-brand retail. The Trinamool chief is aware that she is in for a tough battle by going it alone in the panchayat polls against Congress and CPM. She did not have to fight a three-cornered battle in the 2011 assembly polls.

Mamata is thus crying foul against the "Congress-CPM bonhomie" to marginalise Congress in the panchayat polls. By going ballistic against the Centre, she is not giving CPM the space to capitalise on the dissent against price rise.

Sensing the anti-incumbency against the Trinamool government, the chief minister listed her government's "achievements". "We have fulfilled 99% of the promises in our election manifesto. The government has made job reservations for OBCs and far outpaced the preceding CPM government in arranging scholarships for minority students. We have set up four new universities," the CM said.

Mamata again warned the media "to not cross the Lakshman rekha".

"You will get into trouble," she said, adding that crime against women has been blown beyond proportion in Bengal. "We are not worried about the safety of our sisters. Our brothers in the state will ensure the safety of their sisters," the CM said.

She, however, did not utter a word on Arabul Islam or Abdur Rezzak Mollah beyond a veiled reference: "The government will do its job. I am committed to the people and can be tough at times."

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")

As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and other companies evacuated personnel from Algeria, it was not immediately clear how widely the peril would spread in the wake of the hostage-taking at the sprawling In Amenas gas complex near the Libyan border.

Map by National Geographic

Algeria, the fourth-largest crude oil producer on the continent and a major exporter of natural gas and refined fuels, may not have been viewed as the most hospitable climate for foreign energy companies, but that was due to unfavorable financial terms, bureaucracy, and corruption. The energy facilities themselves appeared to be safe, with multiple layers of security provided both by the companies and by government forces, several experts said. (See related photos: "Oil States: Are They Stable? Why It Matters.")

"It is particularly striking not only because it hasn't happened before, but because it happened in Algeria, one of the stronger states in the region," says Hanan Amin-Salem, a senior manager at the industry consulting firm PFC Energy, who specializes in country risk. She noted that in the long civil war that gripped the country throughout the 1990s, there had never been an attack on Algeria's energy complex. But now, hazard has spread from weak surrounding states, as the assault on In Amenas was carried out in an apparent retaliation for a move by French forces against the Islamists who had taken over Timbuktu and other towns in neighboring Mali. (See related story: "Timbuktu Falls.")

"What you're really seeing is an intensification of the fundamental problem of weak states, and empowerment of heavily armed groups that are really well motivated and want to pursue a set of aims," said Amin-Salem. In PFC Energy's view, she says, risk has increased in Mauritania, Chad, and Niger—indeed, throughout Sahel, the belt that bisects North Africa, separating the Sahara in the north from the tropical forests further south.

On Thursday, the London-based corporate consulting firm Exclusive Analysis, which was recently acquired by the global consultancy IHS, sent an alert to clients warning that oil and gas facilities near the Libyan and Mauritanian borders and in Mauritania's Hodh Ech Chargui province were at "high risk" of attack by jihadis.

"A Hot Place to Drill"

The attack at In Amenas comes at a time of unprecedented growth for the oil industry in Africa. (See related gallery: "Pictures: The Year's Most Overlooked Energy Stories.") Forecasters expect that oil output throughout Africa will double by 2025, says Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of the energy and sustainability program at the University of California, Davis, who has counted 20 rounds of bidding for new exploration at sites in Africa's six largest oil-producing states.

Oil and natural gas are a large part of the Algerian economy, accounting for 60 percent of government budget revenues, more than a third of GDP and more than 97 percent of its export earnings. But the nation's resources are seen as largely undeveloped, and Algeria has tried to attract new investment. Over the past year, the government has sought to reform the law to boost foreign companies' interests in their investments, although those efforts have foundered.

Technology has been one of the factors driving the opening up of Africa to deeper energy exploration. Offshore and deepwater drilling success in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil led to prospecting now under way offshore in Ghana, Mozambique, and elsewhere. (See related story: "New Oil—And a Huge Challenge—for Ghana.") Jaffe says the Houston-based company Anadarko Petroleum has sought to transfer its success in "subsalt seismic" exploration technology, surveying reserves hidden beneath the hard salt layer at the bottom of the sea, to the equally challenging seismic exploration beneath the sands of the Sahara in Algeria, where it now has three oil and gas operations.

Africa also is seen as one of the few remaining oil-rich regions of the world where foreign oil companies can obtain production-sharing agreements with governments, contracts that allow them a share of the revenue from the barrels they produce, instead of more limited service contracts for work performed.

"You now have the technology to tap the resources more effectively, and the fiscal terms are going to be more attractive than elsewhere—you put these things together and it's been a hot place to drill," says Jaffe, who doesn't see the energy industry's interest in Africa waning, despite the increased terrorism risk. "What I think will happen in some of these countries is that the companies are going to reveal new securities systems and procedures they have to keep workers safe," she says. "I don't think they will abandon these countries."

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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Ex-Teammate: Armstrong Showed 'Genuine Emotion'

While critics railed against Lance Armstrong for coming off as detached in the two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Thursday and Friday nights, former teammate and friend, Tyler Hamilton, told "Good Morning America" today that he felt Armstrong was displaying "genuine emotion."

"I've never seen Lance shed a tear until last night. Before I even heard one word from him Thursday night, I could tell he was a broken man," Hamilton said.

Armstrong's contrition turned tearful Friday when he revealed to Oprah Winfrey how difficult it was to betray his family -- particularly his 13 year old son -- who stood up for the fallen cycling star as rumors swirled that he was taking banned drugs.

Armstrong, 41, choked up when he recounted what he told his son, Luke, in the wake of the scandal.

"When this all really started, I saw my son defending me and saying that's not true…" Armstrong told Winfrey, "I told Luke. I said, 'Don't defend me anymore.'"

Armstrong's interview with Winfrey drew millions of viewers.

It was the first time Armstrong admitted using performance-enhancing drugs and oxygen-boosting blood transfusions to help him win the Tour de France.

"I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times," Armstrong said. "I know the truth. The truth isn't what was out there. The truth isn't what I said.

George Burns/Courtesy of Harpo Studios, Inc./AP Photo

Lance Armstrong Confession: 'I Could Not Believe Lance Apologized' Watch Video

Lance Armstrong-Winfrey Interview: How Honest Was He? Watch Video

Lance Armstrong-Winfrey Interview: Doping Confession Watch Video

"I'm a flawed character, as I well know," Armstrong added. "All the fault and all the blame here falls on me."

However, Hamilton said any hope for Armstrong's redemption would come if he came clean about others who were part of the doping scandal.

"The question now is where he goes from this, his actions moving forward. He needs to name names," Hamilton said.

READ MORE: Armstrong Admits to Doping

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in October 2012, after a report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found that he and 11 of his teammates orchestrated "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Despite the admissions of his teammates that they had doped with Armstrong and seen him complete blood transfusions for races, Armstrong condemned the report and denied that he had ever cheated.

As sponsors including Nike began to pull support of Armstrong following the report, Armstrong's carefully-built image began to crumble. He stepped down from Livestrong, the charity he started to help cancer patients after he survived testicular cancer.

"It was a mythic perfect story and it wasn't true," Armstrong said of his fairytale story of overcoming testicular cancer to become the most celebrated cyclist in history.

In the interview, Armstrong explained his competition "cocktail" of EPO, blood transfusions and testosterone that he used throughout his career. He also said he had previously used cortisone.

Armstrong refused to give Winfrey the details of when, where and with whom he doped during seven winning Tours de France between 1999 and 2005, which was the last year he said he doped. Armstrong specifically denied using banned substances when he placed third in 2009 and entered the tour again in 2010.

Investigators familiar with Armstrong's case, however, told ABC News that Armstrong did not come completely clean to Winfrey, and say they believe he doped in 2009.

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Earl Smith is the man behind a military patch that President Obama prizes

AUSTIN, Tex. — That February morning in 2008 found Barack Obama decidedly out of sorts.

He was locked in one battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination that showed no signs of ending — and another with a vicious cold that felt the same way.

As he rode the service elevator in the backway of a convention hotel here, the snowy-haired African American operating it turned suddenly. He held out a black-and-gold bit of fabric embroidered with a screaming eagle.

“Senator Obama, I have something I want to give you,” the man said. “I’ve carried this military patch with me every day for 40 years, and I want you to carry it, and it will keep you safe in your journey.” Obama tried to refuse, but the older man persisted.

Big endeavors can find their meaning in small moments.

Later that day, Obama and his aides discussed the encounter. The future president pulled the patch from his pocket, along with about a dozen other items people had pressed upon him.

“This is why I do this,” he said. “Because people have their hopes and dreams about what we can do together.”

Two American stories intersected that morning in that elevator. The more famous, of course, is the one that begins its next chapter on Monday, as the nation’s first black president takes the oath of office for a second term.

But the other story also tells a lot about where this country has been and how far it has come.

No one in Obama’s small party that day noticed the man’s name tag or, if anyone did, the fact that it said Earl Smith was quickly forgotten.

No one knew how much of Smith’s life had been woven into a patch that, over four decades, found its way from the shoulder of an Army private to the pocket of a future commander-in-chief.

It was the only shred of cloth he had saved from the uniform of a nightmarish year in Vietnam. Smith fired artillery with a brigade that suffered 10,041 casualties during the course of the war. The brigade’s soldiers received 13 Congressional Medals of Honor.

The patch was waiting among his possessions when Smith was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1977 after spending three years in prison for a crime he claimed was self-defense.

Smith kept it close as his lucky charm while he rebuilt his life and his reputation, starting with a job vacuuming hallways and changing sheets in an Atlanta Marriott. He carried it with him as he traveled halfway around the world again, to positions in hotels far from home, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Along the way, as he tended to travelers and made sure VIP gatherings went smoothly, he met three U.S. presidents.

His instincts told him Obama would make it four.

Like just about anyone else who was alive on Nov. 22, 1963, Smith can describe exactly where he was when he heard the horrific news: He was coming off a high school football practice field in his home town of San Benito, Tex.

Though not yet old enough to have voted for the man slain in Dallas, “I was devastated — a lot of us young people were — because John Kennedy was the young president,” recalled Smith, now 68.

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Football: Schalke edge nine-goal thriller

BERLIN: Schalke celebrated the resumption of the Bundesliga with a 5-4 win over Hanover on Friday, their first league triumph since November 10.

Schalke moved provisionally into fifth place in the table ahead of the rest of the weekend programme which will see Bayern Munich looking to boost their lead at the top when they face rock-bottom Greuther Fuerth.

Jefferson Farfan gave Schalke the lead just before the interval while eight further goals followed in the second half.

Julian Draxler made it 2-0 four minutes after the break before Sergio Pinto and Szabolcs Huszti drew Hanover level.

Marco Hoger and Cipiran Marica soon restored Schalke's two-goal lead.

Huszti reduced the deficit to 4-3 before Tottenham-bound Lewis Holtby grabbed Schalke's fifth, two minutes from the end.

Mame Diouf completed the scoring in stoppage time for Hanover.

- AFP/de

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New surrogacy norms will hit ‘genuine couples’

MUMBAI: The home ministry's guidelines tightening visa norms for foreigners seeking children through an Indian surrogate have created confusion in various quarters. Foreigners who are midway in surrogacy procedures are worried that their future hangs in balance, even as doctors question the rationale behind some new provisions. There is, however, no denying the need for regulation given that the passage of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill 2010 has been long overdue.

TOI (January 18) highlighted that the home ministry has introduced new visa norms for foreigners seeking to rent-a-womb in India with stringent eligibility criteria. Only couples married for two years and those whose countries recognize surrogacy, among other clauses, could apply for a medical visa for surrogacy. They thus disqualify gay couples and single individuals.

"The new provisions have brought in a dilemma for several gay foreigners and singles, who are undergoing ART procedures in India before the norms came in," points out Hari G Ramasubramanian, partner of Indian Surrogacy Law Centre, Chennai. He said one of his clients was due to have a child in June-July as per the old norms but there is no clarity if the new norms would be applicable to him too. "The ministry has not given any date of commencement for the guidelines," he said.

Sources at the foreign regional registration office here said they had written to the ministry last week seeking a clarification about the cut-off date for implementation of the new norms.

In a letter to the deputy commissioner of police, Dr Gautam Allahbadia, medical director of the Rotunda centre for human reproduction, Bandra, questions the provision requiring foreigners seeking surrogacy in India to be married for at least two years. "The statement is not in accordance with certain clauses of the draft ART Regulation Bill 2010 issued by the ministry of health & family welfare," he states, pointing out that the bill in many clauses clearly mentions that unmarried couples, as well as single persons, can commission surrogacy.

Doctors question the rationale behind the "two years" clause, as a couple married in their forties, for instance, may want to bear a child through surrogacy within the first year itself.

Advocate Amit Karkhanis, on behalf of an apex body of IVF clinics, plans to petition the home ministry. "We are okay with the government coming out with guidelines, but there has to be some logic," he says. Doctors, for instance, explain that the registration of ART clinics is nascent and under way. In that backdrop, the ministry condition requiring foreigners to undergo the procedure only in registered clinics may be ahead of its time.

Dr Nayana Patel, who runs a clinic in Anand, Gujarat, which is considered the surrogacy hub of India, said the new guidelines would hit genuine couples hard. "While we need regulation, creating bureaucratic hurdles through such regulations contradicts India's claims of promoting medical tourism," she said, adding that the health ministry and home ministry must come up with unified norms quickly. Illustrating the red-tapism introduced, she said an American couple who arranged for all requisite documentation and was due to come to India on January 24 is uncertain about their trip as their documents are with the Indian embassy.

Home ministry officials were not available for comment despite repeated attempts.

Guidelines
The home ministry has issued new guidelines in July 2012 regulating visas of foreigners coming to India seeking surrogacy"

* They must be on a 'medical visa'

* Only a heterosexual couple married for two years is eligible for the visa

* The home country's foreign ministry or embassy must certify they recognize surrogacy

* There should be an official assurance that the child/children will be allowed to enter the home country as a biological child of the couple

* The procedure must be done at an assisted reproductive technology clinic recognized by the Indian Council of Medical Research

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First Human Contact With Large Emperor Penguin Colony

One of the largest emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica was discovered last month by a team from the International Polar Foundation's Princess Elisabeth station.

The penguin colony had previously been identified through satellite imagery by researchers from the British Antarctic Survey. The penguins themselves didn't show up very clearly, but their excrement stains on the ice did.

Expedition leader Alain Hubert, who has spent seven seasons in Antarctica, long suspected a colony existed somewhere along the vast coast near Princess Elisabeth station. "When you go on the coast," explained the Belgian explorer, "after ten minutes, penguins come out of the water to look at who you are and what you are doing."

The satellite images gave Hubert and his team a rough idea of where to start looking. When ice research brought them within 37 miles (60 kilometers) of the probable location, they hopped on their snowmobiles for a side trip. The team traversed steep crevasses from the continent's cliffs down to the ice shelf, which has been shifting 650 feet (200 meters) toward the sea each year. "We were lucky to find it," said Hubert.

They finally came upon the colony at 11 p.m. on December 3, when the sun was still shining during the Antarctic summer. Spread out on the ice were 9,000 emperor penguins, about three-quarters of them chicks. Despite his polar experience, Hubert had never seen a full colony before. "You can approach them," he said. "When you talk to them, it's like they are listening to you."

Researchers hope penguins will tell them—through population numbers and colony locations—how they are faring with climate change. Emperor penguins breed on the sea ice. If the ice breaks up early, before the chicks can fend for themselves, the chicks die and the future of the colony is imperiled.

Hubert has high hopes for his newly met neighbors because they located their nursery on top of an underwater rift, where the sea ice is less likely to melt. "They are quite clever, these animals."

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Manti Te'o Hoax Incredibly Detailed and Complex

Fresh details have emerged about how complex and layered was the hoax involving Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te'o and his fake girlfriend, "Lennay Kekua."

According to ABC News interviews and published reports, Te'o received phone calls, text messages and letters before every football game from his "girlfriend." He was in contact with her family, including a twin brother, a second brother, sister and parents. He called often to check in with them, just as he did with his own family. And "Kekua" kept in contact with Te'o's friends and family, and teammates spoke to her on the phone.

"There are a remarkable number of characters involved. We don't know how many people they represent," Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said at a news conference this week. "There are male and female characters, brothers, cousins, mother, and we don't know if it's two people playing multiple characters or multiple people."

"It goes to the sophistication of this, that there are all these sort of independent pieces that reinforce elements of the story all the way through," he said.

Click here for a who's who in the Manti Te'o case

One of Te'o's teammates who asked not to be identified told ABC News that it was normal for Te'o to pass his phone around to teammates when he was on the line with "Lennay" so they could say hello to her.

"I talked to her," this teammate said. "I wasn't suspicious."

When Te'o got the call telling him that Lennay had died last fall, he was in the locker room, the teammate said.

"He got real emotional, crying," the teammate said. "He's an emotional guy."

The teammate said he thinks Te'o genuinely got hoaxed. The fact that Te'o talked about meeting her and touching her hand - when really he only "met" her on the internet - makes this teammate think that he was not completely telling the truth about his relationship.

Manti Te'o Hoax: Was He Duped or Did He Know? Watch Video

Manti Te'o Hoax: Notre Dame Star Allegedly Scammed Watch Video

Tale of Notre Dame Football Star's Girlfriend and Her Death an Alleged Hoax Watch Video

"I think he was just embarrassed about it, the whole internet thing," the teammate said. The player said he hasn't talked to Te'o since this story broke.

With so many questions swirling around the revelation that Te'o's fake girlfriend, a source in the Notre Dame athletic department said the school would like Te'o to speak out publicly, but noted that they are not currently in touch with him.

"At some point the ball ends up in his court," the source said. "We're not involved right now."

A newly released transcript of "Sports Illustrated" writer Pete Thamel's Sept. 23 interview with Te'o gives a hint at the staggering depth of the deception.

Te'o told Thamel that Lennay Kekua's real name was Melelengei, but since no one could pronounce it properly it was shortened to Lennay. But her family nicknamed her Lala, he said.

Te'o's knowledge about the details of his girlfriend's life was often murky, including her majors in school, occupation and extent of her injuries after an alleged April 28 car accident with a drunk driver.

What he was absolutely clear about was how much time he spent in contact with her, especially while she was in the hospital recovering from the car accident, which led to the discovery of her leukemia.

"I talked to my girlfriend every single day," Te'o told Themel. "I slept on the phone with her every single day. When she was going through chemo, she would have all these pains and the doctors were saying they were trying to give her medicine to make her sleep. She still couldn't sleep. She would say, 'Just call my boyfriend and have him on the phone with me, and I can sleep.' I slept on the phone with her every single night."

He would spend eight hours a night with someone, somewhere, breathing on the other end, he told Thamel.

Te'o recounted how his girlfriend who was "on a machine" after being in a coma.

"We lost her, actually, twice. She flatlined twice. They revived her twice," he said. "It was just a trippy situation."

For a while Kekua was unable to talk and he described the nurse-deemed "miracle" of how Kekua's breathing would pick up when she heard his voice on the phone.

"There were lengthy, long telephone conversations. There was sleeping with the phone on connected to each other," Swarbrick said. "The issue of who it is, who's playing what role, what's real and what's not here is a more complex question than I can get into."

Perhaps one of the most touching displays of love from Kekua to Te'o, he told the writer, was the one-page letter she would write him on her iPad before each game. One of her siblings, often her twin brother Noa, would then read him the letter over the phone before sending it to him.

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Decree shows Chavez still rules Venezuela: minister

CARACAS: Venezuela's newly appointed foreign minister said Thursday the decree that installed him in office is proof that ailing President Hugo Chavez is still in control of the oil-rich country.

Elias Jaua was named in Venezuela's official government gazette in a decree signed by Chavez, who remains gravely ill in a Havana hospital some five weeks after complications arose during his fourth round of cancer surgery.

"If I am the foreign minister, it is because President Chavez is governing and making decisions," Jaua told a Colombian radio station.

The decree has been heavily criticised by Venezuela's opposition, who have cited its publication as a further reason to demand that the absent president clarify how sick he is and what he can and cannot do.

The decree -- number 9,351 -- was marked "Caracas" and carries the signature of Chavez, who underwent surgery in Cuba on December 11 and has not been seen in public for more than a month.

Opposition lawmaker Carlos Berrizbeitia weighed in on the dispute Thursday, stating there was "reasonable doubt" about whether the signature on the decree was genuine and demanding the government release the original document.

"It is not possible that the president has signed the decree... in Caracas, because everyone knows he is in Havana," Berrizbeitia told local media.

The Venezuelan government has been releasing only minimal information on the condition of Chavez, a 58-year-old former paratrooper who first came to power in 1999 and won a third term in October elections.

He could not attend his scheduled inauguration on January 10 because of his poor health and the swearing-in has been postponed indefinitely.

Many in Venezuela find it hard to believe that Chavez -- a flamboyant and near constant fixture on television and radio -- would not address the nation in some way if he were able to do so.

Despite winning last year's election, Chavez urged his armed forces before leaving Caracas to look out for any attempt, "from outside or from within," to destabilise the country, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves.

The leader's absence, combined with his decision to be treated in secrecy in strictly-controlled Cuba, has fuelled speculation and concern not only about his health but the future of his leftist "Bolivarian Revolution."

- AFP/jc

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Anti-India broadcasts of Iran-Bangladesh radio service worries govt

NEW DELHI: Iran is a strategic partner for India. India and Iran are cooperating in Afghanistan and India has taken considerable flak from the US about maintaining ties with Iran. So is Bangladesh, which is now one of India's most important partners in the neighbourhood.

But for some time now, India's security establishment has been tracking radio broadcasts by IranBangla Radio, a Bengali-language radio service which is part of an Iran-Bangladesh goodwill initiative, broadcasting radio programmes inside Bangladesh. India would normally not have bothered with this except for the fact that the radio service has been consistently putting out anti-India polemic and messaging, which is now a matter of growing concern to the government.

Foreign minister Salman Khurshid is scheduled to visit Dhaka in the coming weeks. Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde is also expected to be in Dhaka to sign a visa and extradition agreement.

India and Bangladesh have worked hard to improve relations with each other in the past couple of years. In fact, this bilateral relationship has seen the greatest degree of investment by the UPA government. Despite the inability of the Indian government to seal a deal on sharing Teesta river waters, the relationship has moved to a different plane.

But there remains a strong constituency that hews to the anti-India line. India is concerned that broadcasts like this could undo all the good work being put into the relationship. "Bangladesh has made no move to stop anti-India programming," said officials tracking this development.

On the other hand, officials said, Iran's own motives are under the scanner. The radio station is publicly owned, which means the government would have to bear responsibility for running anti-India broadcasts in Bangladesh. No one is quite sure where the programming is done, but they say its unlikely this is done in Bangladesh. Therefore, Iran has a greater responsibility to oversee the tone and tenor of its radio programming.

The matter is likely to be discussed between India and Bangladesh in the forthcoming discussions.

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Opinion: Lance One of Many Tour de France Cheaters

Editor's note: England-based writer and photographer Roff Smith rides around 10,000 miles a year through the lanes of Sussex and Kent and writes a cycling blog at: www.my-bicycle-and-I.co.uk

And so, the television correspondent said to the former Tour de France champion, a man who had been lionised for years, feted as the greatest cyclist of his day, did you ever use drugs in the course of your career?

"Yes," came the reply. "Whenever it was necessary."

"And how often was that?" came the follow-up question.

"Almost all the time!"

This is not a leak of a transcript from Oprah Winfrey's much anticipated tell-all with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, but instead was lifted from a decades-old interview with Fausto Coppi, the great Italian road cycling champion of the 1940s and 1950s.

To this day, though, Coppi is lauded as one of the gods of cycling, an icon of a distant and mythical golden age in the sport.

So is five-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil (1957, 1961-64) who famously remarked that it was impossible "to ride the Tour on mineral water."

"You would have to be an imbecile or a crook to imagine that a professional cyclist who races for 235 days a year can hold the pace without stimulants," Anquetil said.

And then there's British cycling champion Tommy Simpson, who died of heart failure while trying to race up Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France, a victim of heat, stress, and a heady cocktail of amphetamines.

All are heroes today. If their performance-enhancing peccadillos are not forgotten, they have at least been glossed over in the popular imagination.

As the latest chapter of the sorry Lance Armstrong saga unfolds, it is worth looking at the history of cheating in the Tour de France to get a sense of perspective. This is not an attempt at rationalisation or justification for what Lance did. Far from it.

But the simple, unpalatable fact is that cheating, drugs, and dirty tricks have been part and parcel of the Tour de France nearly from its inception in 1903.

Cheating was so rife in the 1904 event that Henri Desgrange, the founder and organiser of the Tour, declared he would never run the race again. Not only was the overall winner, Maurice Garin, disqualified for taking the train over significant stretches of the course, but so were next three cyclists who placed, along with the winner of every single stage of the course.

Of the 27 cyclists who actually finished the 1904 race, 12 were disqualified and given bans ranging from one year to life. The race's eventual official winner, 19-year-old Henri Cornet, was not determined until four months after the event.

And so it went. Desgrange relented on his threat to scrub the Tour de France and the great race survived and prospered-as did the antics. Trains were hopped, taxis taken, nails scattered along the roads, partisan supporters enlisted to beat up rivals on late-night lonely stretches of the course, signposts tampered with, bicycles sabotaged, itching powder sprinkled in competitors' jerseys and shorts, food doctored, and inkwells smashed so riders yet to arrive couldn't sign the control documents to prove they'd taken the correct route.

And then of course there were the stimulants-brandy, strychnine, ether, whatever-anything to get a rider through the nightmarishly tough days and nights of racing along stages that were often over 200 miles long. In a way the race was tailor-made to encourage this sort of thing. Desgrange once famously said that his idea of a perfect Tour de France would be one that was so tough that only one rider finished.

Add to this the big prizes at a time when money was hard to come by, a Tour largely comprising young riders from impoverished backgrounds for whom bicycle racing was their one big chance to get ahead, and the passionate following cycling enjoyed, and you had the perfect recipe for a desperate, high stakes, win-at-all-costs mentality, especially given the generally tolerant views on alcohol and drugs in those days.

After World War II came the amphetamines. Devised to keep soldiers awake and aggressive through long hours of battle they were equally handy for bicycle racers competing in the world's longest and toughest race.

So what makes the Lance Armstrong story any different, his road to redemption any rougher? For one thing, none of the aforementioned riders were ever the point man for what the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has described in a thousand-page report as the most sophisticated, cynical, and far-reaching doping program the world of sport has ever seen-one whose secrecy and efficiency was maintained by ruthlessness, bullying, fear, and intimidation.

Somewhere along the line, the casualness of cheating in the past evolved into an almost Frankenstein sort of science in which cyclists, aided by creepy doctors and trainers, were receiving blood transfusions in hotel rooms and tinkering around with their bodies at the molecular level many months before they ever lined up for a race.

To be sure, Armstrong didn't invent all of this, any more than he invented original sin-nor was he acting alone. But with his success, money, intelligence, influence, and cohort of thousand-dollar-an-hour lawyers-and the way he used all this to prop up the Lance brand and the Lance machine at any cost-he became the poster boy and lightning rod for all that went wrong with cycling, his high profile eclipsing even the heads of the Union Cycliste Internationale, the global cycling union, who richly deserve their share of the blame.

It is not his PED popping that is the hard-to-forgive part of the Lance story. Armstrong cheated better than his peers, that's all.

What I find troubling is the bullying and calculated destruction of anyone who got in his way, raised a question, or cast a doubt. By all accounts Armstrong was absolutely vicious, vindictive as hell. Former U.S. Postal team masseuse Emma O'Reilly found herself being described publicly as a "prostitute" and an "alcoholic," and had her life put through a legal grinder when she spoke out about Armstrong's use of PEDs.

Journalists were sued, intimidated, and blacklisted from events, press conferences, and interviews if they so much as questioned the Lance miracle or well-greased machine that kept winning Le Tour.

Armstrong left a lot of wreckage behind him.

If he is genuinely sorry, if he truly repents for his past "indiscretions," one would think his first act would be to try to find some way of not only seeking forgiveness from those whom he brutally put down, but to do something meaningful to repair the damage he did to their lives and livelihoods.

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Officials: 5 Americans Escaped from Algeria Terrorists

Five Americans who were at an Algerian natural gas facility when it was raided by al Qaeda linked terrorists are now safe and believed to have left the country, according to U.S. officials. At least three Americans, however, were being held hostage by the militants when the Algerian military mounted an rescue operation earlier today that reportedly resulted in casualties.

Reports that as many as 35 hostages and 15 Islamist militants at a BP joint venture facility in In Amenas have been killed during a helicopter raid have not been confirmed, though Algeria's information minister has confirmed that there were casualties. According to an unconfirmed report by an African news outlet, the militants say seven hostages survived the attack, including two Americans, one Briton, three Belgians and a Japanese national.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Algerian forces had attacked the compound, and that the situation "was ongoing."

"We face a very bad situation at this GP gas compound in Algeria," said Cameron. "A number of British citizens have been taken hostage. Already we know of one who has died. ... I think we should be prepared for the possibility for further bad news, very difficult news in this extremely difficult situation."

An unarmed U.S. Predator drone is now above In Amenas and is conducting surveillance. A U.S. official says the U.S. was not informed in advance by the Algerians of the raid they launched today.

In a statement, BP, a joint owner of the facility, said it had been told by both the British and Algerian governments that "the Algerian Army is attempting to take control of the In Amenas site."

"Sadly, there have been some reports of casualties but we are still lacking any confirmed or reliable information," said the statement. "There are also reports of hostages being released or escaping."

Algerian troops had surrounded the compound in the Sahara desert, where hostages from the U.S., Algeria, Norway, Japan, France and other countries are being held by terrorists who claim to be part of Al Qaeda and are led by a one-eyed smuggler known as Mr. Marlboro.

SITE Intel Group/AP Photo

Leon Panetta on Americans Held Hostage in Algeria Watch Video

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told ABC News that as many as 100 hostages are being held, and that there may be seven or eight Americans among them. "Right now, we just really don't know how many are being held," said Panetta, who said information about the situation, including the total number of hostages and where they are being held, is "pretty sketchy." The kidnappers have released a statement saying there are "more than 40 crusaders" held "including 7 Americans."

U.S. officials had previously confirmed to ABC News that there were at least three Americans held hostage at the natural gas facility jointly owned by BP, the Algerian national oil company and a Norwegian firm at In Amenas, Algeria.

"I want to assure the American people that the United States will take all necessary and proper steps that are required to deal with this situation," said Panetta. "I don't think there's any question that [this was]a terrorist act and that the terrorists have affiliation with al Qaeda." He said the precise motivation of the kidnappers was unknown. "They are terrorists, and they will do terrorist acts."

The terror strike came without warning Wednesday morning when an estimated 20 gunmen first attacked a bus carrying workers escorted by two cars carrying security teams.

At least one worker was killed. The terrorists moved on to the residential compound where they are now holed up with the American and other western hostages, including Norwegian, French, British, and Japanese nationals.

There is growing concern this morning about the fate of the hostages, and intelligence officials say the situation is tense. Without the element of surprise, they say, a raid to free them will be very dangerous.
"They are expecting an attack and therefore, it's going to be very, very difficult for Algerian special forces to sneak in without being seen," said Richard Clarke, a former White House counter terrorism advisor and now an ABC News consultant.

Mr. Marlboro: Kidnapper, Smuggler

Intelligence officials believe the attack was masterminded by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a rogue al Qaeda leader who also runs an African organized crime network that reportedly has made tens of millions of dollars in ransom from kidnappings and smuggling. He is known as Mr. Marlboro because of his success smuggling diamonds, drugs and cigarettes. Officials think it unlikely that Belmohktar would actually be in the middle of the hostage situation, but would be calling the shots from his base in Mali more than 1,000 miles away.

Belmokhtar fought in Afghanistan alongside the mujahideen against the Soviets in the 1990s, and lost an eye. He was formerly associated with al Qaeda's North African affiliate, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and was said to be a liaison with al Qaeda's international leadership. Belmokhtar split with AQIM late last year over what other Islamist militants considered his preference for lucre over jihad. He remains affiliated with al Qaeda, however, heading a breakaway group that calls itself the "Signers with Blood Brigade" or the "Veiled Brigade."

According to a Canadian diplomat who was held hostage by Belmokhtar, Mr. Marlboro is "very, very cold, very businesslike."

Robert Fowler was a UN diplomat in Africa when he was kidnapped and held hostage by Belmokhtar for four months in 2009.

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Football: Rooney hammers United into FA Cup fourth round

LONDON: Wayne Rooney marked his first Manchester United appearance since December 23 with the only goal of the game as they beat West Ham 1-0 in a FA Cup third round replay at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Victory saw Premier League leaders United, the record 11-time FA Cup winners, into a fourth round tie at home to fellow top flight side Fulham.

Rooney opened the scoring in the ninth minute after the recalled Anderson produced a superb, defence-splitting pass and Javier Hernandez bore down on goal before unselfishly squaring the ball to the England striker, who was never going to miss from a few yards out.

The forward could have put the result in this all-Premier League clash beyond doubt in the second half but Rooney blasted over the top from the penalty spot after Jordan Spence handled a cross from Ryan Giggs.

"In the FA Cup anything can happen so we are pleased to get through," United veteran Ryan Giggs told ITV. "Some players are coming back from injury which can be tough but they did well.

"West Ham are a tough team to play against. We couldn't get out of our half at the start of the second half but we kept it better when Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes came on."

Frustrated Hammers manager Sam Allardyce insisted his side had been denied a penalty for handball.

"We should have had a penalty," he said, before voicing the long-held belief that United are favoured by referees at Old Trafford.

"The difference is that Jordan Spence plays for West Ham and Rafael plays for Manchester United at Old Trafford," Allardyce said. "The incidents are the same. If you give one you've got to give both, simple as that."

Earlier, Arsenal left it late before seeing off Swansea 1-0 in a third round replay with England midfielder Jack Wilshere scoring four minutes before full-time with a powerful shot.

"It was a great set-up from Olivier Giroud," said Wilshere

His goal earned Arsenal -- bidding for a first major trophy in eight years -- a fourth round clash with second-tier Brighton, the 1983 FA Cup finalists.

"I didn't want extra-time. It was important we got the winner before 90 minutes. We know Brighton play football, they play great football."

- AFP/jc

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DGCA forms team to review Dreamliner safety

NEW DELHI: With Japanese airlines grounding all their Boeing 787 aircraft for thorough checks, India has decided to do a safety review of the aircraft as Air India has also been facing technical glitches in its Dreamliners.

The DGCA ( Directorate General of Civil Aviation) on Wednesday formed a technical panel to examine the issues affecting AI's six B-787s, but as of now there is no move to ground them.

While AI maintains that it has so far not faced any issue that affects safety on the Dreamliner, the airline's engineers and pilots are checking the aircraft before each flight. It will do as advised by Boeing or US Federal Aviation Administration as DGCA will also base its recommendations on the basis of what these two say. DGCA chief Arun Mishra said, "We are taking all details from Boeing and AI. As of now there is no move to ground the Dreamliners here but we are constantly monitoring the situation," Mishra said.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have grounded their 24 B-787s for thorough checks following major problems like fuel leaks and a battery problem triggering a cockpit error message that forced some pilots to land in southwestern Japan.

AI chief Rohit Nandan said, "None of those issues have so far been such that they affect passenger safety. We had some time back called a special team from Boeing for addressing the issues we face with our B-787s. Our engineers and flight safety department is reviewing these aircraft before each flight. As of now there is no plan to ground the B-787 but we are watching the situation very closely and are in constant touch with Boeing. We will not hesitate in taking any step in the interest of passenger safety." AI currently has six B-787s and uses it on both domestic and international routes.

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Bikes and Buses Propel Mexico City to Prize in Sustainable Transport

Bicycles, pedestrian-friendly plazas and walkways, new bus lines, and parking meters are combining to transform parts of Mexico City from a traffic nightmare to a commuter's paradise. The Mexican capital, one of the world's most populated urban areas, has captured this year's Sustainable Transport Award, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) announced Tuesday.

As recently as late 2011, Mexico City commuters reported enduring the most painful commute among respondents to an IBM survey. Based on factors such as roadway traffic, stress levels, and commute times, the city scored worse than 19 cities, including Beijing, China, and Nairobi, Kenya. Mexico City has seen its roadways swell beyond capacity to more than four million vehicles, which are owned, increasingly, by a growing middle class.  (See related photos: "Twelve Car-Free City Zones")

But the city has also made strides to reorient itself around public spaces and people, rather than cars and driving. "They really changed quite fundamentally the direction and vision of the city, and a lot of it was in 2012," said Walter Hook, chief executive of ITDP, an international nonprofit that works with cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve quality of urban life.

Change at the Heart of the City

Throughout history, the heart of this metropolis has been a place of reinvention. After initial construction of the great Templo Mayor in 14th-century Tenochtitlan, each successive Aztec ruler added a new layer to the monumental complex. And in the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors built Mexico City on (and from) the ruins of the old Aztec capital.

Since 2011, Mexico City has added two new bus corridors to its Metrobus system, connecting the narrow streets in the historic center to the airport and making it the longest bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Latin America. The city also added nearly 90 stations and 1,200 new bicycles to the Ecobici bike-sharing program, began to reform on-street parking, improved sidewalks, and established new walkways. Cars were removed entirely from some narrow streets to make room for free flow of buses and pedestrians, and marketplaces were established for street vendors to help unclog the corridors. "If you want to walk to the Zócalo now, you can walk directly on the pedestrian promenade," Hook said. "It used to be that that street was just choked with traffic." (See related story: "To Curb Driving, Cities Cut Down on Car Parking.")

The day-to-day experience of getting around the city center has changed dramatically. Two years ago, Hook said in an interview, "If you tried to get across the historical core of Mexico City, you couldn't take a bus or a taxi or anything that would travel more than three miles [five kilometers] an hour. It was virtually at a standstill." Most likely, he said, you would ride in an old minibus run by an unregulated operator, or drive a car. And the narrow streets of the historic city center—a UNESCO World Heritage site—would be crowded with street vendors, trash, and illegally parked vehicles, he said. "Now you'd be on a beautiful street, in an ultramodern bus—very clean, absolutely safe."

ITDP's Sustainable Transport Award positions Mexico City among an elite group of cities honored over the past nine years, including Guangzhou, China; Medellín, Colombia; and San Francisco, California, in the United States. (See related stories: "Green Moves: Medellín Cable Cars, San Francisco Parking Reform" and "Guangzhou, China, Wins Sustainable Transport Prize.")

A committee of experts from organizations that include the United Nations Center for Regional Development, the EMBARQ program in the World Resources Institute for Sustainable Transport, and the German Society for International Cooperation (known as GIZ) was tasked with judging the vision and accomplishments of cities over the preceding year.

"We are looking for things that are new and innovative," Hook explained. Referring to Mexico City's expanded BRT system, he added, "There has been a lot of nervousness about putting in a BRT in a dense historic core," so the fact that Mexico City's bus project has been "used to sort of revitalize the historic core was really liked."

Turning the Tide

The judging committee selected Mexico City from just a handful of finalists, including Bremen, Germany; Lviv, Ukraine; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Rosario, Argentina. According to ITDP, Bremen made the cut based on its car-sharing programs and efforts to encourage nonmotorized transport in a city where as many as 60 percent of trips are now made by cycling or walking. (See related story: "Car Sharing Widens the Lanes of Access for City Drivers.") Rosario stood out for its adoption of a mobility plan in 2012 that calls for development of a new bike-path network, bike-share program, and public transport in central areas.

Sporting events were important catalysts for change in the remaining two finalist cities. Lviv made it to the final round based on improvements to public transport, walking, and cycling in preparation for the EURO2012 soccer championship. Rio won recognition for an expanded bike-sharing program and the creation of what ITDP calls the city's "first world-class BRT corridor." After the build-out of transportation infrastructure for the 2016 Olympics, Hook said, the former Brazilian capital may have a better shot at winning next year's award. (See related story: "Bike-Share Schemes Shift Into High Gear.")

Not all of the changes in Mexico City have received a universally warm welcome. The new parking system, called ecoParq, introduced multispace meters to thousands of parking spots on streets where parking previously had been free—officially free, anyway. In reality, much on-street parking was controlled by unregulated valets or attendants known as franeleros, who would stake out territories and charge drivers small fees to park and receive protection in their spaces. When the city hired a contractor to take over parking management, starting in the upscale Polanco district, franeleros protested. They reportedly marched through the neighborhood carrying signs bearing messages such as, "The streets are not for sale," and "A parking meter doesn't take care of your car."

However, ecoParq has proven to be popular among many residents. Former mayor Marcelo Ebrard, previously a police commissioner "known for being fairly tough on the informal sector," Hook commented, was instrumental in launching ecoParq in Polanco, as well as Ecobici and other sustainable transport projects. "He convinced the district government of Polanco. When they did it, it worked really well, and surrounding neighborhoods wanted it. It created a chain reaction."

According to Hook, committee members took note of the hurdles. "We try to recognize political courage and guts." The mayor's office had to spend political capital taking on the franeleros, he said. "If they do that, we feel we ought to reward them with a little bit of political payback."

This is only the second year that the Sustainable Transport Award has recognized a city's parking program. Last year it was San Francisco that made its mark with parking reform, introducing pricing schemes that vary based on time of day and real-time availability, while also trading some parking spots for public space as part of its "Pavement to Parks" program. (See related story: "With a Deep Dig Into Its Past, Perugia Built an Energy-Saving Future.")

Mexico City's efforts are part of much larger shifts taking place internationally. "Sustainable transport systems go hand in hand with low emissions development and livable cities," remarked Sophie Punte, executive director of Clear Air Asia, in a statement. "Mexico City's success has proven that developing cities can achieve this, and we expect many Asian cities to follow suit."

The pool of cities moving toward more sustainable transport systems is only growing, said Hook. "Each year we're finding more and more cities that have made fairly dramatic changes to really retake the city," Hook said. "Cities are looking at their mass transit investments now not only as a way of getting people from point A to point B, but also as a way of revitalizing strategic locations and bringing parts of the city back to life."

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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Republicans Criticize Obama's Gun Proposals

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Less than an hour after President Obama finished outlining his plan to address gun violence in America, Republicans in Congress fired back, criticizing the president for attacking the Second Amendment.

Sen. Marco Rubio, who many conservatives look to as a viable presidential candidate in 2016, said he would “oppose the president’s attempts to undermine Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.” Instead, he believes Congress should focus its efforts on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

“Nothing the president is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook. President Obama is targeting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of seriously addressing the real underlying causes of such violence,” Rubio, R-Fla., wrote. “Rolling back responsible citizens’ rights is not the proper response to tragedies committed by criminals and the mentally ill.”

PHOTOS: Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Michael Steel, spokesman to Speaker John Boehner, reacted to the president’s proposals in a brief statement, putting the onus on the Democratic Senate to lead the legislative path to tougher gun laws.

“House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations,” Steel wrote in an email after the announcement. “And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that.”

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said House Republicans “welcome the recommendations of this task force and will consider them” but his committee will plot its own course in addressing gun violence.

Transcript: Obama’s Remarks On Gun Violence

“Good intentions do not necessarily make good laws,” Goodlatte, who received an A rating from the NRA, stated. “As we investigate the causes and search for solutions, we must ensure that any proposed solutions will actually be meaningful in preventing the taking of innocent life and that they do not trample on the rights of law-abiding citizens to exercise their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights.”

House Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., also said his committee would convene a hearing “to examine school safety and ways to protect our children.” Rep. Fred Upton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee is also planning to review mental health laws.

Other House Republicans were skeptical of the effectiveness of the president’s ideas, such as enacting another ban on assault weapons.

“The fact is these firearms are no different than other legal firearms except for their exterior design,” Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, wrote. “Claiming to address gun violence by offering a failed, illogical action is nothing more than a red herring to target the constitutionally protected liberties of law abiding gun owners.”

“More gun restrictions may allow Washington to congratulate itself, but will never change the sickness and depravity that drive someone to murder indiscriminately,” Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., wrote in a statement.

“The president’s plan approaches the problem of gun violence from the wrong direction,” Louisiana Republican Rep. Rodney Alexander, who also received an A rating from the NRA, wrote in a statement. “This proposal will not stop criminals from getting their hands on weapons and using them for harm.”

“Guns are not the problem, evil people are,” Rep. Dan Beneshik, R-Mich., wrote in a statement. “The only thing these proposed restrictions would do is prevent law-abiding individuals from protecting their homes, children, and businesses.”

“The Second Amendment is non-negotiable,” Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, wrote in a statement. “The right to bear arms is a right, despite President Obama’s disdain for the Second Amendment and the Constitution’s limits on his power.”

INFOGRAPHIC: Guns in America: By The Numbers

Huelskamp said the debate should instead focus on “what fuels a very small segment of the population to inflict harm and instill fear” and the Obama administration should enforce gun laws already on the books.

“This means holding Hollywood accountable for its culture of violence and death, and talking about mental health issues and the responsibilities of families and communities,” Huelskamp, who received an A+ rating from the NRA, stated. “The Obama Administration is neglecting its obligation to enforce current law. Apparently public safety matters only when there’s political gain to be had.”

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Tennis: Nadal said to be targeting Brazil Open

SAO PAULO: Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, out of action since the middle of last season because of injury, could return to the court at next month's ATP Brazil Open in Sao Paulo, organisers said Tuesday.

A statement from tournament sponsors DGW Comunicacion, which recently was involved with a Roger Federer exhibition appearance in Brazil, said the event will "mark the return to the circuit of one of world tennis' top stars".

And Luis Felipe Tavares, chairman of sports company Koch Tavares, told Estado de Sao Paulo daily that "a name such as Nadal will definitely whip up a lot of interest".

Contacted by AFP, the company had not made any further comment by Tuesday afternoon.

Nadal, currently ranked fourth in the world, has won 11 Grand Slams but injuries have dogged him and the 26-year-old Spaniard has not played since June.

He had to miss the Australian Open because of a stomach virus while a succession of knee injuries have plagued his career.

Nadal, who had been widely expected to return to action at the end of February, won the Brazil Open in 2005.

- AFP/jc

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Centre fine tunes blueprint for anti-Red operations in four states

NEW DELHI: Staring at a fight-to-finish war against Red Ultras in the next two years, the Centre on Tuesday fine-tuned the scheme to create anti-Naxal special forces in four states - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha - on the lines of Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh to fight Maoists and pitched for a deadline to deploy commandos on ground to step up operation.

The specialized forces — capable of hot pursuit across inter-state borders — will be set up with personnel fully trained in guerilla warfare and required infrastructure within six months.

On Tuesday, the department of expenditure under the finance ministry approved Rs 280 crore for setting up these forces, where the Centre will spend 75% of the sum and the rest (25%) will be borne by the state concerned.

The home ministry, which has already decided to deploy 10,000 more paramilitary personnel in Maoist-affected areas over the months, also set guidelines for the specialized force and decided to fund infrastructure, weaponry and equipment needed to fill the critical gap.

An official said, "This step is being initiated in the background of the success achieved by the elite commando force of Andhra Pradesh. It is also decided to upgrade the Greyhounds under the existing Scheme for Special Infrastructure (SSI)".

The official said that the special forces will be set up in such a manner that it will be capable of staying and operating in interior and inhospitable terrain\jungles for at least a week at a stretch with a view to take on extremists in their strongholds.

Trained to reach inaccessible, remote forest areas throughout a state in the shortest possible time and conduct swift operations, the forces will have instructions to travel "mostly by road or on foot" to avoid landmines in the Red zones.

In order to ensure effectiveness of the scheme by adhering to set guidelines, the home ministry also put certain conditions before states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha Bihar which already have special force of its own to fight Maoists.

In its notes to the states, the ministry said, "The special force of the state concerned has to be upgraded as per the approved guidelines on the lines of Greyhounds. Even if a special force has been raised in some form in states, they are required to be reoriented through the entire process mentioned in the guidelines".

The ministry has asked states to give a "written undertaking" that they will strictly adhere to these guidelines. "Only states providing such an undertaking will be considered for funding under the scheme," said the ministry.

Besides, the states have been asked to raise a "highly professional, well trained and motivated Special Task Force (STF) - headed by an officer of the rank of additional director general or inspector general of police with adequate operational experience — to monitor training, infrastructure and induction of personnel as per guidelines. It will also ensure 60% special allowance to the commandos as incentive and rewards as well as out of turn promotions for conspicuous acts of bravery".

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A Wild Start for Weather in the New Year

Here we go again. The weather's going to extremes: a snowstorm in Jerusalem, wildfires in Australia, a cold snap in China, a heat wave in Brazil. Based on the first two weeks of the new year, 2013's picking up right where 2012 left off.

(What's up with the weather? Read the September 2012 National Geographic story and see a gallery of extreme weather pictures.)

As much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow fell on Jerusalem (map) last Thursday, closing roads across the city. It was the biggest winter storm there in 20 years. Scores of trees fell from the weight of the snow, snowball fights broke out in the parks, and Israeli President Shimon Peres was photographed building a snowman outside his residence with help from his bodyguards.

In Australia, where a heat wave was smashing records across the country, the national weather agency added two new colors to its maps to handle the possibility of unprecedented temperatures: deep purple for above 122°F (50°C) and pink for above 125.5°F (52°C). The first eight days of the year were among the warmest on record, with January 7 ranking as Australia's hottest day ever, with an average temperature of 104.6°F (40°C). Some beaches were so hot swimmers couldn't walk to the water without burning their feet on the sand.

Elsewhere around the globe, the weather has been equally extreme. While much of the eastern U.S. and northern Europe basked in springlike weather, Tokyo (map) saw 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of snow fall on the city this weekend, nearly half of its typical total for a full year.

In China, the average temperature fell to 25°F (-4°C) in early January, the lowest in nearly three decades. More than a thousand ships in China's Laizhou Bay (map) have been frozen into the ice.

At the same time, a heat wave and drought in northeast Brazil prompted officials to consider rationing electricity for the first time in a decade, and the temperature in Rio de Janeiro (map) reached a record 109.8°F (43°C).

The New Normal

Extremes like these are becoming the norm, a team of 240 U.S. scientists warned in a draft report released Friday. In an open letter to the American people, the authors of the latest National Climate Assessment said that the frequency and duration of extreme conditions are clear signs of a changing climate.

"Summers are longer and hotter, and periods of extreme heat last longer than any living American has experienced," they wrote. "Winters are generally shorter and warmer. Rain comes in heavier downpours, though in many regions there are longer dry spells in between."

The impacts of such changes are easy to see, they added. "Corn producers in Iowa, oyster growers in Washington State, and maple syrup producers in Vermont have observed changes in their local climate that are outside of their experience. So, too, have coastal planners from Florida to Maine, water managers in the arid Southwest and parts of the Southeast, and Native Americans on tribal lands across the nation."

Their report followed by a week the announcement by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center that 2012 ranked as the warmest year on record for the lower 48 states. Across the nation, more than 99 million people sweltered in temperatures above 100°F (38°C) for more than ten days. The average temperature last year was more than three degrees higher than the average for the 20th century.

On top of all the heat waves, the nation suffered 11 disasters with damages of at least $1 billion each, including the severe drought across the Midwest and superstorm Sandy along the East Coast. (See top reader photos of superstorm Sandy.)

Rough Waters Ahead

In another troubling sign of a changing climate, the amount of ice covering the Arctic Ocean shrank to its lowest level ever in late 2012. Nearly half of the ocean was free of ice in mid-September, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported. Some scientists have speculated that the warming ocean is changing the pattern of the jet stream over the Arctic, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather for lower latitudes. (Related: "Polar Ice Sheets Shrinking Worldwide, Study Confirms.")

Even with all this weird weather, things could have been even worse if El Niño conditions had developed this winter, as many experts had predicted. During an El Niño phase, the pattern of storms across the Pacific typically increases the amount of warm, dry weather that reaches places like Australia, leading to severe drought or extended heat waves.

But last November, the anticipated El Niño fizzled out. If it hadn't, the Australian heat could have been even worse. "The fact that we have neutral El Niño conditions this year is helping to keep things less extreme than they might be otherwise," said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Weather Underground.

Looking ahead to the spring, Masters cautioned that the U.S. may be in for still more extreme weather. "The great drought of 2012 is now a two-year drought," he said, referring to the record-breaking dry spell that wiped out crops across the Midwest last summer. "If we come into spring with drought conditions as widespread and intense as they are now, we're at high risk of another summer of extreme drought, which could cost tens of billions of dollars—again." (Pictures: Surprising Effects of the U.S. Drought.)

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Arias Called Ex-Boyfriend 4 Times After Killing Him

Jodi Arias tried to cover her tracks after killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, by making a flurry of phone calls to his cell phone and hacking into his voice mailbox, prosecutors alleged today.

Phone records presented in court today showed Arias persistently calling Alexander in the days before the killing. Ten calls were made from Arias' cell phone to Alexander's cell phone in the days leading up to his death, Verizon Wireless records expert Jody Citizen testified. Many of the calls were forwarded by Alexander straight to voice mail, Citizen said.

After Arias killed Alexander around 5:30 p.m. on June 4, 2008. , Arias called his phone four more times. The first call was made just hours after the killing at 11:37 p.m., the records showed. At least one of the calls was made as late as June 15, nearly a week after Alexander's body was found by friends.

At one point, Arias dialed into his voice mail system for 16 minutes, which indicated she was accessing his voice mail messages, Citizen said.

"If a person is in his phone for 16 minutes and they're not leaving a message what is going on?" prosecutor Juan Martinez asked.

Jodi Arias Murder Trial: Interrogation Tapes Played in Court Watch Video

"Somebody is listening to messages," Citizen answered.

See Full Coverage of Jodi Arias Trial

Watch the Jodi Arias Trial Live

See Jodi Arias Trial Videos

Arias' attorneys, who argue that she killed her ex-boyfriend out of self-defense, said that she could have been recording a message, and then listening to it and deleting it before recording again, accounting for the 16 minutes spent on the voice mail system.

"On Verizon, is it possible to change your voice mail, to erase it and do it over again?" defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked Citizen. "Could someone have been doing that for a 16 minute phone call?"

"Yes," Citizen said.

Nurmi pointed out that phone records showed that two days before his death Alexander also called Arias, initiating two phone calls that lasted nearly 20 minutes and more than 40 minutes in the middle of the night.

The defense has said that Alexander was controlling and abusive toward Arias and was a "sexual deviant" whom she had to kill in self defense.

The prosecution, however, alleges that Arias was obsessed with Alexander, stalked him, and killed him out of jealousy after spending the afternoon having sex with him and taking naked photos of one another. She is accused of stabbing Alexander 27 times, slashing his throat, and shooting him in the head.

Arias could face the death penalty if convicted.

The jury returned to court today for the seventh day of testimony in the murder trial, after watching a series of graphic sexual photos of Arias and Alexander displayed on Monday, including the last photos of Alexander alive. The photos show both individuals lying naked on Alexander's bed, separately, and then Alexander naked in the shower.

The final photo shows a body part covered in blood around 5:30 p.m., which the prosecution alleges is when the attack on Alexander began and the camera fell to the floor.

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Bernanke urges Congress to lift debt ceiling

WASHINGTON: US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday urged Congress to raise the nation's borrowing limit as Democrats and Republicans battle over the federal budget.

"It's very, very important that Congress take the necessary action to raise the debt ceiling to avoid the situation where the government doesn't pay its bills," Bernanke said at a University of Michigan forum.

The United States ran up against its current borrowing limit of US$16.4 trillion at the end of 2012, but the Treasury says it is using "extraordinary measures" to extend the limit until late February.

"The right way to deal with this problem... is for Congress to do what it needs to do," Bernanke said.

"The way to address it is to have a sensible plan for spending and a sensible plan for revenue."

Earlier on Monday US President Barack Obama delivered a stern warning to rival Republicans against using the debt ceiling as leverage to get more spending cuts, saying the failure to raise it would sew financial chaos.

Congress's refusal to raise the debt limit beyond its current level of US$16.4 trillion could delay key government payments.

Obama warned that this could include Social Security checks and veterans benefits, paychecks to troops, air traffic controllers, and the honouring of contracts with small businesses.

- AFP/jc

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LoC killings may delay NIA visit to Pakistan

MUMBAI: The National Investigation Agency's (NIA) plan to visit Pakistan to collect voice samples of the 26/11 terror attack conspirators and the Pakistan's judicial commission's likely visit to Mumbai next month to cross-examine four witnesses may be delayed following the tension after the killings of two Indian soldiers.

The NIA was planning to visit Pakistan collect the voice samples of six Laskhar-e-Taiba operatives—Sayyed Hafeez, Zaki Ur Rahman Lakhvi, Abu Kahafa, Abdul Rahman, Sajid Majid and Zarar Shah— who were arrested in Pakistan.

Sources said the killings of two army jawans last week at the LOC by the Pakistan army has dampened the spirit of mutual talks and cross investigations. "Till recently, the security establishments of the two countries were exchanging notes through the ministry of external affairs. Now the establishments will have to wait till the situation becomes normal," said a senior government official.

A police official said though there was no word from Pakistan cancelling its commission's visit, the Indian government is no mood to send the NIA to Pakistan in the wake of the tension.

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Space Pictures: 7 Ways You Could Blast Off by 2023

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  Space Available

  Photograph courtesy Mark Greenberg, Virgin Galactic

  While humans may be running out of unexplored regions on Earth, space remains a deep and intriguing frontier, especially for tourists. NASA's push to get private "space taxis" flying to the International Space Station in five years is fueling interest in retail space travel. And private companies are rushing to launch the non-astronauts among us into space, albeit for a high price.

  One of the more immediately plausible new efforts is SpaceShipTwo, a jet-propelled spacecraft developed by London-based Virgin Group and an aeronautical design company called Scaled Composites. The companies are finishing orbital tests and aim to offer suborbital flights for several hours at around 60 miles (96 kilometers) above Earth's surface by the end of this year. The price? A hefty $200,000 per seat. Virgin Group's Virgin Galactic is already taking bookings.

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  











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  Fly Me to the Moon

  Illustration courtesy Golden Spike Company

  The former NASA scientists behind the Golden Spike Company aren't afraid to dream big. Last year they unveiled their ambitious vision for routine trips to the moon within the next decade. Their spacecraft, shown here in a concept drawing, would recycle existing rockets and technology, some of which have been decommissioned. The market: smaller governments, corporations, and wealthy individuals with galactic or scientific ambitions. The ticket for a lunar jaunt for two: $1.4 billion.

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  











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  Station Stop

  Photograph from NASA

  The private firm Space Adventures has been coordinating tourist visits to the International Space Station since 2006—Anousheh Ansary, shown here in flight, was one of the first space tourists, orbiting the Earth for eight days. The company offers suborbital and orbital flights, with plans for a lunar mission in the next decade. If you snag one of the three seats that may come open this year, it will cost you. A base price of $35 million can secure a roughly 12-day visit circling Earth at 17,500 miles (28,000 kilometers) per hour.

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  











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  Darting Into Orbit

  Illustration courtesy PlanetSpace

  Chicago-based PlanetSpace continues work on the Silver Dart, a hypersonic glider (shown in this conceptual image) capable of orbital flight. The program doesn't yet take reservations but plans to use the vehicle to shuttle both people and cargo into space.

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  











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  Martian Base Camp

  Illustration courtesy Bryan Versteeg, Mars One

  The nonprofit Mars One seeks to build a permanent human settlement on Mars (illustrated above) by 2023. This would be no tourist jaunt: The project's website promises prospective travelers that a central point to Mars One's mission objective is the emigration of the human astronauts. According to the website, "Mars becomes their new home, where they will live and work for what will likely be the remainder of their lives." Despite the one-way ticket, more than a thousand people volunteered when the project was announced last year. (Watch: Why psychology may be the key to sending humans to Mars.)

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  











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  Quick Getaway

  Photograph courtesy Armadillo Aerospace

  A leading developer of spacecraft, Armadillo Aerospace has begun taking reservations for short suborbital space flights just over 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth—and with a price tag of just over $100,000—within the next few years. While the company hasn't set specific dates for those flights, or said how long they would be, it partnered with Space Adventures to start selling seats. In this photo, Armadillo tests one of its spacecraft, which would use a propulsion system to take off and land vertically.

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  











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  Cheap Seats

  Illustration courtesy XCOR Aerospace

  On a budget? If XCOR Aerospace Lynx gets off the ground, a 30-minute suborbital flight would cost just $95,000 per seat. Shown here in a conceptual image, the spacecraft being developed by this California company would be reusable and is slated to conduct up to four flights a day. While still in development, XCOR's technology might also be used someday for quicker travel here on Earth.

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  











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  Photograph by Volkmar K. Wentzel, National Geographic

  Published January 14, 2013

  
  

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Great Energy Challenge Blog

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