Andhra Pradesh CM’s busy day in Delhi triggers Telangana rumours

NEW DELHI: A flurry of meetings that chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had with top Congress leaders here on Monday once again triggered speculations that the UPA government is keen on an early solution to the Telangana issue. While Kiran Kumar avoided the media after the meetings, sources claimed that apart from the separate state imbroglio, several state-related issues were discussed.

The leaders whom the CM met included Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and indications are that he would stay on in the national capital for one more day on Tuesday. For the first time, the CM held a one-on-one meeting with the Congress chief that lasted for an hour and the two of them were later joined by Sonia's political secretary Ahmed Patel. "Telangana, including the timing of the announcement and what should precede it, figured prominently in the talks," claimed the sources.

Soon after landing in Delhi, the CM drove down straight to the residence of AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and was closeted with him for over an hour. During the day, Kiran also met Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, AICC treasurer Motilal Vora and senior leader Digvijay Singh. The CM also called on President Pranab Mukherjee in the afternoon.

All these meetings took place amid the mounting pressure from the TRS and TJAC for an early decision on statehood issue. The TJAC has given a call to target the T-ministers and has also threatened a social boycott of the ministers to pressure them to resign from the cabinet in protest against the delay in the announcement of T by the UPA government.

A close aide of the chief minister said Kiran Kumar presented a report to the central leadership on the party's performance in the elections to the primary agricultural cooperative societies. "This is the first time the CM has come with some encouraging news on the electoral front as the ruling party under him has won with a thumping majority in these elections at a time when even the party leaders were not hopeful of a good show," he said.

According to other sources, Azad questioned the CM about the manner in which the P Shanakr Rao episode was handled as well as the situation in Hyderabad in the wake of the arrest of MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi in the hate speech case and the growing tension between the Congress and the MIM.

In the meantime, Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah also landed in Delhi on Monday. The Congress sources said Rosaiah too might be consulted on the Telangana issue on Tuesday.

In another development, Union tourism minister K Chiranjeevi met AICC vice president Rahul Gandhi. Two aspirants for the post of PCC president, ministers Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Kanna Lakshminarayana are also in Delhi amid speculations that they are vying for the post of PCC president in case Botsa Satyanarayana is shifted. After the CM, Botsa is expected to be summoned to Delhi for consultations on Telangana.

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Space Pictures This Week: A Space Monkey, Printing a Moon Base

Illustration courtesy Foster and Partners/ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced January 31 that it is looking into building a moon base (pictured in an artist's conception) using a technique called 3-D printing.

It probably won't be as easy as whipping out a printer, hooking it to a computer, and pressing "print," but using lunar soils as the basis for actual building blocks could be a possibility.

"Terrestrial 3-D printing technology has produced entire structures," said Laurent Pambaguian, head of the project for ESA, in a statement.

On Earth, 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, produces a three-dimensional object from a digital file. The computer takes cross-sectional slices of the structure to be printed and sends it to the 3-D printer. The printer bonds liquid or powder materials in the shape of each slice, gradually building up the structure. (Watch how future astronauts could print tools in space.)

The ESA and its industrial partners have already manufactured a 1.7 ton (1.5 tonne) honeycombed building block to demonstrate what future construction materials would look like.

—Jane J. Lee

Published February 4, 2013

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Boy Safe, Kidnapper Dead as Ala. Standoff Ends

A week-long Alabama standoff in which a retired trucker held a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker has ended with the kidnapper dead and the child safe, according to law enforcement.

"FBI agents safely recovered the child who's been held hostage for nearly a week," FBI Special Agent Steve Richardson said at a news conference.

The agent said negotiations with the suspect, Richard Lee Dykes, "deteriorated" in the past 24 hours.

"Mr. Dykes was observed holding a gun," Richardson said. "At this point, the FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child."

The boy, identified only as Ethan, "appears physically unharmed" and is being treated at a hospital, authorities said.

Dykes, 65, is dead, but officials have not yet provided details on how he died.

Joe Songer/AL.com/AP Photo

Alabama Hostage Crisis: Boy Held Captive for 7 Days Watch Video

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"Right now, FBI special agent bomb technicians are in the process of clearing the property for improvised explosive devices," the FBI said in a written statement. "When it is safe to do so, our evidence response teams, paired with state and local crime scene technicians, will process the scene."

PHOTOS: Worst Hostage Situations

Dykes allegedly shot and killed a school bus driver last week and threatened to kill all the children on the bus before taking the boy, one of the students on the bus said.

"He said he was going to kill us, going to kill us all," Tarrica Singletary, 14, told ABC News.

Dykes had been holed up in his underground bunker near Midland City, Ala., with the abducted boy for a week as police tried to negotiate with him through a PVC pipe. Police had used the talks to send the child comfort items, including a red Hot Wheels car, coloring books, cheese crackers, potato chips and medicine.

Dykes was a decorated Vietnam vet who grew up in the area. He lived in Florida until two years ago, the AP reported, and has an adult daughter, but the two lost touch years ago, neighbor Michael Creel said. When he returned to Alabama, neighbors say he once beat a dog with a lead pipe and had threatened to shoot children who set foot on his property.

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Reid details positions in gun debate

The Senate’s top Democrat offered fresh details Sunday about his position in the renewed debate over guns, as he endorsed expanding background checks on gun sales and promised to consider bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

“Everyone acknowledges we should do something with background checks,” Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in an interview on ABC News’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”

While Reid pronounced his support for expanding background checks on gun purchases, he said he was undecided about proposed bans on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

“I didn’t vote for the assault weapons last time because it . . . didn’t make sense,” Reid said. Nonetheless, Reid said he plans to “take a look” at the latest proposal. And imposing new restrictions on high-capacity magazines is “something we definitely have to take a look at,” he said.

Reid’s support for expanding background checks is a boost to the gun-control measure that appears to stand the best chance of garnering broad support on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of senators has been working on a proposal to expand background checks, and polls show that most Americans support mandating background checks for all gun sales. Under current law, sales involving licensed gun dealers require background checks, but those between private citizens do not.

By comparison, it’s been much more difficult for gun-control advocates to build consensus around a proposed assault weapons ban, which a group of Democratic lawmakers introduced last month. It’s not just Republicans who are likely to oppose the ban; Democrats facing reelection in conservative states next year could face intense criticism from gun rights groups over a vote in favor of the measure, which might prompt some f them to oppose it.

The nation’s largest gun rights group, the National Rifle Association, staunchly opposes universal background checks. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre warned on “Fox News Sunday” that requiring universal checks would lead to “a “universal registry of law-abiding people.”

Reid is the recipient of a “B” rating from the NRA, a better mark than most Senate Democrats. “I know Wayne LaPierre; he’s always been extremely pleasant to me,” Reid said, but “just because they resist it doesn’t mean we can’t do things.”

As the gears turn in Congress, President Obama will make his latest push for stricter gun control laws in a Monday appearance in Minneapolis, where he will meet with local leaders and law enforcement officials and deliver remarks. The president last month unveiled a sweeping slate of new gun control proposals including a call for Congress to pass laws requiring background checks and banning assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

The White House released a photo Saturday of Obama skeet shooting at Camp David last summer. The president was recently asked by the New Republic magazine whether he had ever fired a gun. “Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time,” the president responded, prompting an outpouring of questions about whether the White House could validate the comment.

On Capitol Hill, the renewed gun-control debate officially kicked off last week, when the Senate Judiciary Committee called witnesses to testify at a hearing. LaPierre appeared before the committee, as did former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt that nearly took her life.

Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, recently announced the formation of a group designed to counteract the influence of the NRA. On Sunday, Kelly kept up his push for new gun control measures, citing December’s mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school as a reason to take urgent action.

“This is about public safety. We had 20 first-graders die in their classrooms because we don’t have sufficient gun violence legislation in the country,” Kelly said on “Fox News Sunday.”

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Obama urges Boy Scouts to end gay ban

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said in an interview Sunday that the Boy Scouts of America should end its controversial ban on gays and lesbians when its national executive board takes up the issue next week.

"My attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life," Obama told CBS News in a pre-Super Bowl interview.

"The Scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and exposing them to opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives," he said. "And I think nobody should be barred from that."

On January 28, the century-old youth group with 2.6 million boys in its membership ranks said it was rethinking its longstanding ban, and the group's national board of directors is expected to meet Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Unlike the Girl Scouts of the USA, a separate organisation, the Boy Scouts maintained for years a ban on "open or avowed homosexuals" from participating either as members or adult leaders.

Its stance was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2000, but it has come under pressure in recent years to change tack in the face of growing public acceptance of homosexuality.

The CBS interview was broadcast ahead of the Super Bowl, the American football sporting extravaganza that transfixes the country each year.

Obama also told CBS that he hopes to generate more revenue for the US budget without raising taxes by closing tax loopholes.

"There is no doubt we need additional revenue coupled with smart spending reductions to bring down our deficits," Obama said.

- AFP/jc

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Ramgopal Yadav named Rajya Sabha ethics panel chairman

NEW DELHI: Veteran Karan Singh has paved way for Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav as chairman of the ethics committee in Rajya Sabha, marking the growing bond between Congress and the UP outfit that has bailed out the Centre at critical junctures.

The chairmanship of a key Rajya Sabha panel, that commands respect on bipartisan lines, is seen as the Centre's 'thank you' message to Samajwadi Party. Karan Singh resigned as chairman of the ethics panel after the winter session of Parliament, having headed it for eight long years, and has since assumed charge of another committee. He was replaced by Yadav.

The swap has been in the works ever since SP refused to join the government but continued to help the UPA. The ruling party's dilemma revolved around how it could be seen as returning the favour. Recently, Mulayam Singh Yadav directed his party to walk out of the two Houses of Parliament on the FDI policy to help the government that stared at serious embarrassment.

Congress appeared to oblige the UP outfit when it did not press hard for 'reservation in promotions' measure in Lok Sabha. The constitutional amendment is the pet issue of BSP chief Mayawati but is a red rag to Samajwadis. The half-hearted attempts to promulgate 'promotion quota' drew strong allegations from the Bahujan supremo who accused the government of compromising the interests of dalits and tribals.

Samajwadi Party has shared a complex relationship with Congress, siding with UPA-2 despite the bitter falling out in 2009 elections. It continued to help the Centre in Parliament despite Congress leading a vitriolic campaign against the party in the state. The equations were expected to change after SP stormed to power in March 2012, with calculations that the groundswell in its favour would also help it in early Lok Sabha polls.

However, UPA pre-empted Mulayam's possible adventurism by ensuring that it would survive a pullout by SP. The evidence came after the withdrawal of support by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over the issue of petrol price hike and FDI in retail in September 2012. With BSP and the Left reluctant to pull the plug, Samajwadis too were compelled to maintain the status quo.

Congress has been careful in not provoking SP, keeping silent against the Akhilesh Yadav government and even catering to its interests at the Centre.

According to observers, the big test for the relationship will come in the budget session when the UPA will need to keep allies on its side to push through the finance bill. A section of SP argues that an impression of being aligned with the Centre, especially its tough economic reforms, would hurt the party if anti-incumbency is strong in the elections.

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Pictures We Love: Best of January

Photograph by Dieu Nalio Chery, AP

The magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, in January 2010 so devastated the country that recovery efforts are still ongoing.

Professional dancer Georges Exantus, one of the many casualties of that day, was trapped in his flattened apartment for three days, according to news reports. After friends dug him out, doctors amputated his right leg below the knee. With the help of a prosthetic leg, Exantus is able to dance again. (Read about his comeback.)

Why We Love It

"This is an intimate photo, taken in the subject's most personal space as he lies asleep and vulnerable, perhaps unaware of the photographer. The dancer's prosthetic leg lies in the foreground as an unavoidable reminder of the hardships he faced in the 2010 earthquake. This image makes me want to hear more of Georges' story."—Ben Fitch, associate photo editor

"This image uses aesthetics and the beauty of suggestion to tell a story. We are not given all the details in the image, but it is enough to make us question and wonder."—Janna Dotschkal, associate photo editor

Published February 1, 2013

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Super Bowl XLVII Live Blog: Ravens Draw First Blood

6:55  p.m. ET: And to the relief of 49ers fans, David Akers field goal attempt is good. 7-3 Ravens.

6:54  p.m. ET: Kaepernick sacked. 49ers going for field goal.

6:53  p.m. ET: Davis out and being worked on by trainers. Second and goal, incomplete in the end zone, off of Crabtree’s hands.

6:52  p.m. ET: Vernon Davis, a super speedy tight end, with another first down on a 24-yard reception from Kaepernick. 1st and goal.

6:51 p.m. ET: And Gore with another first down.

6:50 p.m. ET: Kaepernick scrambles for a gain of seven, 2nd and 3.

6:50 p.m. ET: Kaepernick, who shocked the league with his legs when he took over from Alex Smith, gets a 1st down and then some.

6:49 p.m. ET: Gore gains nine, after having a rough few carries early.

6:48 p.m. ET: Huge, 19-yard game for Michael Crabtree, who broke out this season once Kaepernick took over the starting QB job.

6:46 p.m. ET: Already looking to be a really physical game as scuffle between players breaks out after 49ers loss of two yards.

6:45 p.m. ET: And here’s the GoDaddy commercial everybody has already been talking about – supermodel makes out with Hollywood’s favorite extra.

6:44 p.m. ET: Penalties already hurting the 49ers – big game jitters?

6:41 p.m. ET: And the extra point is good. 7-0 Ravens

6:40 p.m. ET: TOUCHDOWN BALTIMORE. Ravens take an early lead with a reception by Anquan Boldin.

6:39 p.m. ET: On 3rd and 9, same thing happens, but flag is down for defensive offsides – five yard penalty and replay of 3rd down.

6:39 p.m. ET: Given some time, Flacco throws ball beyond end zone for an incompletion on 2nd and 9.

6:38 p.m. ET: Ravens QB, Joe Flacco, known for his exceptionally strong arm, gets the ball to Torrey Jones at the SF 19.

6:37 p.m. ET: And a first down for the Ravens from SF 39.

6:36 p.m. ET: Better start for the Ravens, who pick up eight yards on their first down of the game.

6:36 p.m. ET: And the first drive of the game goes nowhere; Andy Lee punts on 4th down, and Jacoby Jones returns to near the 50-yard line.

6:34 p.m. ET: On first and 15, no gain for 49ers all-time leading rusher, Frank Gore.

6:33 p.m. ET: Five yard penalty for the 49ers for illegal formation.

6:32 p.m. ET: Kaepernick connects with Vernon Davis for a gain of 20, but a flag is down.

6:31 p.m. ET: Here we go – 49ers start the first drive at the 20-yard line.

6:28 p.m. ET: Ravens chose heads, and elected to defer their choice until the second half. 49ers to receive at kickoff.

6:27 p.m. ET: Newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame join the team captains for the coin toss.

6:22 p.m. ET: Alicia Keys performs the Star Spangled Banner, wearing a red dress and playing a white piano at the 50-yard line.

6:21 p.m. ET: Joint Armed Forces Color Guard present the flags.

6:20 p.m. ET: Hudson wearing a green ribbon in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting while performing with the students.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

6:19 p.m. ET: In a touching performance, Sandy Hook Elementary School students perform “America the Beautiful,” with Jennifer Hudson.

6:18 p.m. ET: Jason Witten wins the 2012 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

6:12 p.m. ET: And out come the 49ers.

6:11 p.m. ET: The Ravens players are introduced in the stadium to a raucous crowd.

6:09 p.m. ET: And another historic first tonight – the two head coaches are brothers, born just 15 months apart. John Harbaugh, 50, is in his fifth season as the Baltimore Ravens head coach, and has won playoff games in each of his previous seasons. Jim Harbaugh, 49, is in his second season as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, leading his team to the playoffs both seasons.

6:05 p.m. ET: The San Francisco 49ers are going for their 6th Lombardi trophy, which would tie them for the most championships ever with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens are trying for their second Super Bowl victory. Neither team has ever lost a Super Bowl game – and at the end of the night, there will only be one team left in the NFL to have never lost a Super Bowl game.

6:00 p.m. ET: It’s here – the biggest spectacle in American sports, the Super Bowl. We’ll be covering the game, performances and, of course, the commercials right here.

It’s been an incredible season so far, and everything has led up to tonight’s game in New Orleans, where the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers face the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII. Keep refreshing for the latest updates throughout what promises to be a great game.

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In immigration debate, same-sex marriage comes to the fore

In his final legislative act as a senator, Secretary of State John F. Kerry sought to resolve an international dilemma. He filed Senate Bill 48, seeking “permanent resident status for Genesio Januario Oliveira,” a gay Brazilian national facing deportation because he does not qualify for a spousal visa.

Now, President Obama is aiming to grant same-sex couples like Oliveira and his American husband, Tim Coco, equal immigration rights as their heterosexual counterparts. The proposal could allow up to 40,000 foreign nationals in same-sex relationships to apply for legal residency and, potentially, U.S. citizenship.

But the measure has inspired fierce pushback from congressional Republicans and some religious groups, who say it could sink hopes for a comprehensive agreement aimed at providing a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.

The standoff may force Obama to choose between two key interest groups — Hispanics and gays — that helped power his reelection last fall. The president must weigh how forcefully to push the bill, known as the Uniting American Families Act, while not endangering a long-sought deal to resolve the status of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Latino.

The same-sex measure was not included in the immigration proposals issued last week by a bipartisan Senate working group, whose overall framework Obama largely embraced. Several key Christian groups that have supported the White House’s immigration push have objected to the measure on the grounds that it would erode traditional marriage.

The issue has prompted an intense lobbying effort on both sides, including a letter to the White House from a coalition of influential church organizations and a series of urgent conference calls between advocates, administration officials and lawmakers.

For Obama, the political sensitivity was evident in the public rollout of his immigration plans last Tuesday. Although the same-sex provision was included in documents distributed by the White House, the president did not mention it in his immigration speech in Las Vegas.

“The president in his plan said that you should treat same-sex families the same way we treat heterosexual families,” White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Friday on “Political Capital With Al Hunt.” “It’s wrong to discriminate. It’s a natural extension of the president’s view about same-sex marriage, the view about providing equal rights, no matter who you love.”

But congressional Republicans immediately condemned the idea and warned that the measure imperils broader immigration reform. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the senators on the eight-member bipartisan working group on immigration, said at a Politico breakfast last week that injecting social issues into the debate over immigration legislation “is the best way to derail it.”

“Which is more important: LGBT or border security?” McCain said, using an abbreviation for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. “I’ll tell you what my priorities are.”

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Football: Ronaldo's own goal condemns Real Madrid to defeat

MADRID: Real Madrid's dismal season went from bad to worse when Cristiano Ronaldo scored an own goal to hand relegation-threatened Granada a shock 1-0 win on Saturday.

Real coach Jose Mourinho announced he had already given up winning the league before Christmas and this latest blow means that Barcelona can increase their lead over them to 18 points if they win away to Valencia on Sunday.

There were doubts over whether or not Ronaldo would play as he is struggling with an ankle injury and his mood didn't improve when he headed a Granada corner into his own goal after 22 minutes.

Real had scored nine goals in their last two league games but they lacked the necessary drive perhaps as a result of a draining El Clasico in midweek where they scraped a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their King's Cup tie with Barcelona.

With Iker Casillas injured, Mourinho once again put his confidence in Diego Lopez in goal rather than youth product Antonio Adan while Raphael Varane also kept his place after an inspirational performance against Barca.

It was a baptism of fire for Granada coach Lucas Alcaraz who only had a few training sessions with the team after being appointed this week with the side only a place above the relegation zone.

He decided against making sweeping changes but did play new signing Nolito from Benfica on the left wing, with Dani Benitez injured, while Diego Buonanotte, who moved from Malaga, waited his chance on the bench.

Madrid started with plenty of the ball but they were sluggish in their passing and with Granada defending in numbers they were able to close them down without any alarms.

The home side set out their stall to allow Madrid to keep possession in the middle of the pitch while Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria struggled to make any inroads down the wings and they lacked the in-form Mesut Ozil through suspension.

Inigo Lopez headed over for Granada from a corner after 13 minutes and they looked dangerous on several breaks but they lacked a quality final ball.

Eventually Carlos Aranda sent over a telling cross with the Madrid defence stretched after 20 minutes and Alvaro Arbeloa arrived just before Nolito at the far post to knock it behind.

From the resulting corner Granada took the lead as Nolito's cross was flicked into his own net by Ronaldo jumping at the near post.

Madrid offered little in response with shots from distance from Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso.

After the break a 25-yard strike from Ronaldo forced a good save from Tono Rodriguez and they gradually raised the pace of their game in the final half hour.

Substitute Karim Benzema had a glaring miss from a few yards out in the final minutes.

Earlier bottom side Deportivo La Coruna's plight got worse as they lost 3-1 away to Getafe despite going ahead through a Luis Pizzi penalty after eleven minutes and having a man extra with the dismissal of keeper Miguel Moya.

Getafe responded with a penalty of their own through Diego Costa and scored further goals from Alvaro Vazquez and Adrian Colunga while Depor's Abel Aguilar was also sent off in the second half.

Osasuna moved out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo and Espanyol continued their improvement under coach Javier Aguirre with a 3-2 victory over Levante.

- AFP/de

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