Psychiatrists OK vast changes to diagnosis manual

CHICAGO (AP) — For the first time in almost two decades the nation's psychiatrists are changing the guidebook they use to diagnose mental disorders. Among the most controversial proposed changes: Dropping certain familiar terms like Asperger's disorder and dyslexia and calling frequent, severe temper tantrums a mental illness.

The board of trustees for the American Psychiatric Association voted Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., on scores of revisions that have been in the works for several years. Details will come next May when the group's fifth diagnostic manual is published.

The trustees made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several task force groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

Board members were tightlipped about the update, but its impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide.

The manual "defines what constellations of symptoms health care professionals recognize as mental disorders and more importantly ... shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care," said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor who was not involved in the revision process.

The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

The guidebook's official title is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The new one is the fifth edition, known as the DSM-5. A 2000 edition made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

The manual "seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 ... there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders," Olfson said.

Expected changes include formally adopting a term for children and adults with autism — "autism spectrum disorder," encompassing those with severe autism, who often don't talk or interact, and those with mild forms including Asperger's. Asperger's patients often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on quirky subjects but lack social skills.

Some Asperger's families opposed the change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services. And some older Asperger's patients who embrace their quirkiness vowed to continue to use the label.

But experts say the change won't affect the special services available to this group.

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College who was on the psychiatric group's autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger's in the old manual would be included in the recommended new diagnosis.

One reason for the recommended change is that in some states and some school systems, children and adults with Asperger's receive no services or fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Other proposed changes include:

—A new diagnosis — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, which critics argued would medicalize kids' normal temper tantrums. Supporters said it would address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings from feeling sad and depressed to unusually happy or energetic. Affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums. The new diagnosis would be given to children and adults who can't control their emotions and have frequent temper outbursts in inappropriate situations.

—Eliminating the term "dyslexia," a reading disorder that causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words. The term would be encompassed in a broader learning disorder category.

—Eliminating the term "gender identity disorder." It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender — they dispute their normal biological anatomy. But many activists believe the condition isn't a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with "gender dysphoria," which means emotional distress over one's gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

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Online:

Diagnostic manual: http://www.dsm5.org

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

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Police: KC Chiefs Player Killed Girlfriend, Self

Jovan Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, committed suicide today in front of his coaches and police officers outside the team's stadium, shortly after he fatally shot his girlfriend, police said.

"We heard that they had been arguing in the past [and] as far as recently, they'd been arguing before the shooting occurred this morning," Kansas City Police spokesman Darin Snapp told ABC News Radio.

The victim was identified Kasandra Perkins, 22. Snapp said the couple had lived together and had a 3-month-old daughter.

Perkins' mother first alerted police this morning that her daughter had been shot by her boyfriend, who was a Kansas City Chiefs player, Snapp said.

It is believed Belcher drove to Arrowhead Stadium shortly after the shooting and police were called.

"When the officers arrived, when they were pulling up, they actually observed a black male who had a gun to his head and he was talking to a couple of coaches out in the parking lot," Snapp said. "As officers pulled up, and began to park, that's when they heard the gunshot and it appears the individual took his own life."

Snapp said the coaches told officers they didn't feel they were in any danger from Belcher.

Idaho Teacher Accused of Locking Boy, 5, in Dark Closet Watch Video

"They said the player was actually thanking them for everything they'd done for him," he said. "They were just talking to him and he was thanking them and everything. That's when he walked away and shot himself."

Kansas City is scheduled to host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and the league has told the Panthers to go ahead with their travel plans because the game will be played as scheduled.

In a statement posted on their website, the Chiefs said they are "cooperating with authorities in their investigation" and did not mention Belcher by name.

The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, and had spent all four seasons of his career with the team. He has played every in game since joining the team.

Originally from West Babylon, N.Y., where he was a three-time all-America wrestler in addition to playing on the football team, Belcher went undrafted out of the University of Maine, where he started all 45 games in which he played.

Maine Head Football Coach Jack Cosgrove described Jovan as a "tremendous student-athlete."

"His move to the NFL was in keeping with his dreams," Cosgrove said in a statement released by the university today. "This is an indescribably horrible tragedy. At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with Jovan, Kasandra and their families."

Belcher signed with the Chiefs as a rookie free agent, started 15 of 16 games his second season and last year started all 16 games as left inside linebacker.

Belcher expressed gratitude for his NFL career in an article posted on Nov. 21 on the Chiefs' website that has since been taken down.

"First and foremost, God. Family and friends just keeping me focused, coaches and just everyone," he said.

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Egyptians protest after draft constitution raced through

CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians protested against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday after an Islamist-led assembly raced through approval of a new constitution in a bid to end a crisis over the Islamist leader's newly expanded powers.

"The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted in Tahrir Square, echoing the chants that rang out in the same place less than two years ago and brought down Hosni Mubarak.

Mursi said a decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which sparked eight days of protests and violence by Egyptians calling him a new dictator, was "for an exceptional stage" and aimed to speed up the democratic transition.

"It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television while the constituent assembly was still voting on a draft, which the Islamists say reflects Egypt's new freedoms. "There is no place for dictatorship."

But the opposition cried foul. Liberals, leftists, Christians, more moderate Muslims and others had withdrawn from the assembly, saying their voices were not being heard.

Even in the mosque where Mursi said Friday prayers some opponents chanted "Mursi: void" before sympathizers surrounded him shouting in support, journalists and a security source said.

Tens of thousands gathered across the country, filling Tahrir Square and hitting the streets in Alexandria and other cities, responding to opposition calls for a big turnout. Rival demonstrators clashed after dark in Alexandria and the Nile Delta town of Al-Mahala Al-Kobra, some hurling rocks in anger.

An opposition leaflet distributed on Tahrir urged protesters in Cairo to stay overnight before Saturday's rallies by Islamists; the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies said they would avoid the square during their demonstrations backing Mursi.

The disparate opposition, which has struggled to compete with well-organized Islamists, has been drawn together and reinvigorated by the crisis. Tens of thousands had also protested on Tuesday, showing the breadth of public anger.

POTENT MACHINE

But Islamists have a potent political machine and the United States has looked on warily at the rising power of a group it once kept at arms length now ruling a nation that has a peace treaty with Israel and is at the heart of the Arab Spring.

Protesters said they would push for a 'no' vote in a constitutional referendum, which could happen as early as mid-December. If the new basic law were approved, it would immediately cancel the president's decree.

"We fundamentally reject the referendum and constituent assembly because the assembly does not represent all sections of society," said Sayed el-Erian, 43, a protester in Tahrir and member of a party set up by opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei.

ElBaradei said in a statement the constitution had "lost legitimacy" and called for ending the polarization of Egypt.

The plebiscite on the constitution is a gamble based on the Islamists' belief they can mobilize voters again after winning every election held since Mubarak was toppled in February 2011.

Despite the big numbers opposed to him, Mursi can count on backing from the disciplined Brotherhood and Islamist allies, as well as many Egyptians who are simply exhausted by the turmoil.

"He just wants us to move on and not waste time in conflicts," said 33-year-old Cairo shopkeeper Abdel Nasser Marie. "Give the man a chance and Egypt a break."

But Mursi needs the cooperation of judges to oversee the vote, and many have been angered by a decree from Mursi they said undermined the judiciary. Some judges are on strike.

The assembly concluded the vote after a 19-hour session, faster than many expected, approving all 234 articles of the draft, covering presidential powers, the status of Islam, the military's role and human rights.

It introduces a presidential term limit of eight years - Mubarak served for 30. It also bring in a degree of civilian oversight over the military - though not enough for critics.

An Egyptian official said Mursi was expected to approve the document on Saturday and then has 15 days to hold a referendum.

"This is a revolutionary constitution," said Hossam el-Gheriyani, head of the assembly, urging members to campaign for the new constitution across Egypt, after the all-night session.

DEEPENING DIVISIONS

Critics argue it is an attempt to rush through a draft they say has been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, which backed Mursi for president in a June election, and its Islamist allies.

Two people have been killed and hundreds injured in protests since the decree was announced on November 22, deepening the divide between the newly empowered Islamists and their critics.

Seeking to placate opponents, Mursi welcomed criticism but said there was no place for violence. "I am very happy that Egypt has real political opposition," he told state television.

He said Egypt needed to attract investors and tourists. The crisis threatens to derail a fragile economic recovery after two years of turmoil. Egypt is waiting for the International Monetary Fund to finalize a $4.8 billion loan to help it out.

An alliance of opposition groups pledged to keep up protests and said broader civil disobedience was possible to fight what it described as an attempt to "kidnap Egypt from its people".

Several independent newspapers said they would not publish on Tuesday in protest. One of the papers also said three private satellite channels would halt broadcasts on Wednesday.

The draft injects new Islamic references into Egypt's system of government but keeps in place an article defining "the principles of sharia" as the main source of legislation - the same phrase found in the previous constitution.

The president can declare war with parliament's approval, but only after consulting a national defense council with a heavy military and security membership. That was not in the old constitution, used when Egypt was ruled by ex-military men.

Critics highlighted other flaws, such as articles pertaining to the rights of women and freedom of speech.

A new parliamentary election cannot be held until a new constitution is passed. Egypt has been without an elected legislature since a court ordered the dissolution of the Islamist-dominated lower house in June.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Alastair Macdonald)

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Mexico's incoming president unveils cabinet

MEXICO CITY: Mexico's incoming president Enrique Pena Nieto named his cabinet Friday, picking close advisors for key posts managing the drug war and the economy on the eve of his inauguration.

Pena Nieto takes the oath of office on Saturday, marking the return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) after a 12-year absence from the presidency. The PRI ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century.

His 20-member cabinet includes only three women, a few independents from the left and one holdover from the administration of President Felipe Calderon of the conservative National Action Party (PAN).

The cabinet was presented by Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, a 48-year-old former Hidalgo state governor and friend of Pena Nieto's who will become interior minister, one of the most high-profile jobs.

Pena Nieto wants to bestow more powers to the interior ministry, giving it the responsibility of coordinating a drug war that has left more than 60,000 people dead in the last six years.

The congress, however, must still approve changes that will transfer the responsibilities of the public security ministry, including the scandal-plagued federal police, to the interior ministry.

The new finance minister will be Luis Videgaray, a 44-year-old economist who is considered the "brain" of the new president's circle. Videgaray managed Pena Nieto's campaign and headed the transition team.

His tasks will include steering structural reforms that the next president wants to implement in order to boost the economy.

Pena Nieto also decided to bring on board Calderon's finance minister, Jose Antonio Meade, who will become foreign minister, handling ties with the world, especially the United States, Mexico's powerful neighbor and drug war partner.

-AFP/ac

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Around 40% states still have more than 5% as stamp duty

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) audit into Centre's urban renewal programme - Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) -- has shown that 40% of states and Union Territories have failed to rationalize stamp duty to 5% for property registration. The defaulting states include Delhi, Haryana, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala and Chhattisgarh.

High stamp duty discourages property registration at actual or market value and thereby increases scope of black money in the realty sector.

As per JNNURM norms, stamp duty was to be brought down to 5% or less, including surcharges by local municipal bodies, during implementation of the programme. "It was expected that a reduction in the rate would help develop a healthy real estate market, by providing a boost to the economy, and reduce black money. It was expected that reduction in stamp duty rates would lead to an increase in revenue both for the states and urban local bodies," the report said.

The CAG found that out of 30 states/UTs selected for scrutiny, only 16, including Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan had either 5% or less as stamp duty.

The report mentioned that in the case of Uttarakhand, stamp duty was reduced to 5% for men and 3.5% for women. On the contrary, in Haryana, stamp duty is 7% (5% plus 2% as local body surcharge) for men and 5% for women, including 2% surcharge for local bodies

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Kenya village pairs AIDS orphans with grandparents

NYUMBANI, Kenya (AP) — There are no middle-aged people in Nyumbani. They all died years ago, before this village of hope in Kenya began. Only the young and old live here.

Nyumbani was born of the AIDS crisis. The 938 children here all saw their parents die. The 97 grandparents — eight grandfathers among them — saw their middle-aged children die. But put together, the bookend generations take care of one another.

Saturday is World AIDS Day, but the executive director of the aid group Nyumbani, which oversees the village of the same name, hates the name which is given to the day because for her the word AIDS is so freighted with doom and death. These days, it doesn't necessarily mean a death sentence. Millions live with the virus with the help of anti-retroviral drugs, or ARVs. And the village she runs is an example of that.

"AIDS is not a word that we should be using. At the beginning when we came up against HIV, it was a terminal disease and people were presenting at the last phase, which we call AIDS," said Sister Mary Owens. "There is no known limit to the lifespan now so that word AIDS should not be used. So I hate World AIDS Day, follow? Because we have moved beyond talking about AIDS, the terminal stage. None of our children are in the terminal stage."

In the village, each grandparent is charged with caring for about a dozen "grandchildren," one or two of whom will be biological family. That responsibility has been a life-changer for Janet Kitheka, who lost one daughter to AIDS in 2003. Another daughter died from cancer in 2004. A son died in a tree-cutting accident in 2006 and the 63-year-old lost two grandchildren in 2007, including one from AIDS.

"When I came here I was released from the grief because I am always busy instead of thinking about the dead," said Kitheka. "Now I am thinking about building a new house with 12 children. They are orphans. I said to myself, 'Think about the living ones now.' I'm very happy because of the children."

As she walks around Nyumbani, which is three hours' drive east of Nairobi, 73-year-old Sister Mary is greeted like a rock star by little girls in matching colorful school uniforms. Children run and play, and sleep in bunk beds inside mud-brick homes. High schoolers study carpentry or tailoring. But before 2006, this village did not exist, not until a Catholic charity petitioned the Kenyan government for land on which to house orphans.

Everyone here has been touched by HIV or AIDS. But only 80 children have HIV and thanks to anti-retroviral drugs, none of them has AIDS.

"They can dream their dreams and live a long life," Owens said.

Nyumbani relies heavily on U.S. funds but it is aiming to be self-sustaining.

The kids' bunk beds are made in the technical school's shop. A small aquaponics project is trying to grow edible fish. The mud bricks are made on site. Each grandparent has a plot of land for farming.

The biggest chunk of aid comes from the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has given the village $2.5 million since 2006. A British couple gives $50,000 a year. A tree-growing project in the village begun by an American, John Noel, now stands six years from its first harvest. Some 120,000 trees have already been planted and thousands more were being planted last week.

"My wife and I got married as teenagers and started out being very poor. Lived in a trailer. And we found out what it was like to be in a situation where you can't support yourself," he said. "As an entrepreneur I looked to my enterprise skills to see what we could do to sustain the village forever, because we are in our 60s and we wanted to make sure that the thousand babies and children, all the little ones, were taken care of."

He hopes that after a decade the timber profits from the trees will make the village totally self-sustaining.

But while the future is looking brighter, the losses the orphans' suffered can resurface, particularly when class lessons are about family or medicine, said Winnie Joseph, the deputy headmaster at the village's elementary school. Kitheka says she tries to teach the kids how to love one another and how to cook and clean. But older kids sometimes will threaten to hit her after accusing her of favoring her biological grandchildren, she said.

For the most part, though, the children in Nyumbani appear to know how lucky they are, having landed in a village where they are cared for. An estimated 23.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have HIV as of 2011, representing 69 percent of the global HIV population, according to UNAIDS. Eastern and southern Africa are the hardest-hit regions. Millions of people — many of them parents — have died.

Kitheka noted that children just outside the village frequently go to bed hungry. And ARVs are harder to come by outside the village. The World Health Organization says about 61 percent of Kenyans with HIV are covered by ARVs across the country.

Paul Lgina, 14, contrasted the difference between life in Nyumbani, which in Swahili means simply "home," and his earlier life.

"In the village I get support. At my mother's home I did not have enough food, and I had to go to the river to fetch water," said Lina, who, like all the children in the village, has neither a mother or a father.

When Sister Mary first began caring for AIDS orphans in the early 1990s, she said her group was often told not to bother.

"At the beginning nobody knew what to do with them. In 1992 we were told these children are going to die anyway," she said. "But that wasn't our spirit. Today, kids we were told would die have graduated from high school."

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On the Internet:

http://www.trees4children.org/

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Obama Warns of 'Scrooge Christmas' Without Deal

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks at the Rodon Group, which manufactures over 95% of the parts for K' NEX Brands toys, Nov. 30, 2012, in Hatfield, Pa. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo)

HATFIELD, Pa. — President Obama today accused Republicans of putting Americans at risk of a “Scrooge Christmas” if they fail to extend middle class tax cuts, telling workers in Pennsylvania that a tax increase would be like a “lump of coal.”

“This is not some run-of-the-mill debate. This isn’t about which political party can come out on top in negotiations. We’ve got important decisions to make that are going to have a real impact on businesses and families all across the country,” the president said.

Obama made his remarks about the negotiations to avert the impending “fiscal cliff” as he stood before piles of toys at the Rodon Group factory, which manufactures Lincoln Logs, K’Nex and Angry Bird toys.

“I’ve been keeping my own naughty and nice lists for Washington. So you should keep your eye on who gets K’NEX this year,” he quipped. “There are going to be some members of Congress who get them, and some who don’t.” One day after the fiscal cliff talks between the White House and House Republicans took a turn for the worse, the president admitted there are going to be “some prolonged negotiations” to get the deficit under control because “you know, in Washington, nothing’s easy.”

“We’ve got some disagreements about the high-end tax cuts, right?” he said of his insistence on raising taxes on the top 2 percent as part of a broader deficit reduction deal. “That’s a disagreement that we’re going to have and we’ve got to sort out. But we already all agree, we say, on making sure middle-class taxes don’t go up. So let’s get that done. Let’s go ahead and take the fear out for the vast majority of American families so that they don’t have to worry about $2,000 coming out of their pockets starting next year.”

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Shortly after the president spoke, House Speaker John Boehner told reporters on Capitol Hill, “There’s a stalemate. Let’s not kid ourselves. I’m not trying to make this more difficult. If you’ve watched me over the last three weeks, I’ve been very guarded in what I had to say, because I don’t want to make it harder for me or the president or members of both parties to be able to find common ground.”

As Americans head out to shop for the holidays, the White House has warned consumer spending would take a hit of $200 billion in 2013, or roughly 1.4 percent of the GDP, if Congress could not reach a budget deal by the end of the year. As he did earlier this week, the president enlisted the help of Americans to pressure lawmakers to act on middle class tax cuts and said he’s ready to do his part. “If we can just get a few House Republicans on board, we can pass the bill in the House, it will land on my desk, and I am ready. I’ve got a bunch of pens ready to sign this bill… There are no shortage of pens in the White House,” he joked.

On Thursday, the White House put forth a proposal of $1.6 trillion in tax increases over the next 10 years, $50 billion in new stimulus spending, $400 billion in unspecified Medicare cuts, and a measure to effectively end Congress’s ability to vote on the debt limit. The offer, which closely mirrors the president’s previous deficit-reduction plans, lacked concessions to Republicans including detailed spending cuts and was strongly rejected.

Get More Political Analysis from ABC’s The Note

Factories like the Rodon Group’s will see a tax increase if a deal is reached in Democrats’ favor. But K’Nex CEO Michael Araten told ABC News his third-generation company wouldn’t be forced to change practices and had planned several years in advance to compensate for any tax increase.

“If on an individual basis we have some taxes we’ll deal with that,” he said. “But we don’t think that an incremental difference of 2 or 3 percent will meaningfully move our budgets in a way that impacts our hiring or investment plans. Everyone who has a job is going to have a job on Jan. 1 whether we go over the cliff or not.”

Striking into the Obama tour’s territory, today Majority Whip. Rep. Kevin McCarthy circulated a video of another Pennsylvania small business owner, Jerry Gorski of Gorski Engineering, explaining how the tax increase on the top 2 percent of income earners would harm his establishment.

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Palestinians win implicit U.N. recognition of sovereign state

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate."

There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions. Three countries did not take part in the vote to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity."

The assembly approved the upgrade despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinians by withholding funds for the West Bank government. U.N. envoys said Israel might avoid harsh retaliation as long as the Palestinians did not seek to join the International Criminal Court.

The much-anticipated vote came after Abbas denounced Israel for its "aggressive policies and the perpetration of war crimes" from the U.N. podium, remarks that elicited a furious response from the Jewish state.

"Sixty-five years ago on this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181, which partitioned the land of historic Palestine into two states and became the birth certificate for Israel," Abbas told the 193-nation assembly after receiving a standing ovation.

"The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded quickly, condemning Abbas' critique of Israel as "hostile and poisonous," and full of "false propaganda."

"These are not the words of a man who wants peace," Netanyahu also said in a statement released by his office in Israel.

At least 17 European nations voted in favor of the Palestinian resolution, including Austria, France, Italy, Norway and Spain. Abbas had focused his lobbying efforts on Europe, which supplies much of the aid the Palestinian Authority relies on. Britain, Germany and others chose to abstain.

The Czech Republic was unique in Europe, joining the United States, Israel, Canada, Panama and tiny Pacific Island states likes Nauru, Palau and Micronesia in voting against the move.

After the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice called for the immediate resumption of peace talks.

"The Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed save that the prospects of a durable peace have only receded," she said.

"The United States calls upon both the parties to resume direct talks without preconditions on all the issues that divide them and we pledge that the United States will be there to support the parties vigorously in such efforts," Rice said.

She added that both parties should "avoid any further provocative actions in the region, in New York or elsewhere."

(Andrew Quinn in Washington, Noah Browning in Ramallah, Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Michelle Nichols in New York, Robert Mueller in Prague, Gabriela Baczynska and Reuters bureau in Europe and elsewhere; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Motor Racing: Ecclestone blasts Vettel row as 'joke'

LONDON: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Thursday blasted the controversy surrounding world champion Sebastian Vettel's Brazilian Grand Prix overtaking manoeuvre as a "joke".

Ferrari had contacted Formula One's governing body, the FIA, concerning the move by the Red Bull driver during last weekend's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix that won him a third successive title.

There had been speculation that the manoeuvre could have been illegal and, if so, Vettel could have been sanctioned and thereby stripped of his title in favour of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso who missed out on the championship by just three points.

But Formula One ringmaster Ecclestone said it was a shame that the climax to the season had been overshadowed by the row.

"It's a shame because everything had gone so well," he told the Daily Telegraph.

"It was a super race, a super championship. Now everyone is talking about this. The problem is that no-one knows what is going on."

Earlier Thursday, the respected Autosport magazine said there was "no doubt" at the FIA that Vettel had overtaken legitimately on lap four of the race because a green flag had already been displayed in the yellow flag sector, allowing drivers to resume passing.

No team had asked for a review of the incident, it added.

"In the rules and regs normally you have to protest," added Ecclestone.

"They (Ferrari) missed that time. Then there is the fact that a green flag was shown, which nobody seems to dispute. It's a complete joke. What they are saying in that letter is wrong. I don't think there needs to be any action taken. It's completely and utterly wrong."

On Wednesday, footage emerged on YouTube which appeared to show Vettel, the youngest triple world champion in history, overtaking Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne under yellow flags.

Overtaking under caution is outlawed and is usually punished with a drive-through penalty.

But in cases where the infringement is not spotted, the sanction is a 20-second penalty handed out retrospectively.

Vettel was sixth in Sunday's rain-lashed race, while double world champion Alonso was second behind McLaren's Jenson Button.

Ferrari said they had wanted the FIA to clarify the rules.

"Ferrari asked, by means of a letter, for a clarification from FIA regarding VET's (Vettel's) overtaking move on VER (Vergne) during lap 4 of the Brazilian GP," the Italian team said on its Twitter account @insideferrari.

Vettel's victory had already been overshadowed by claims from Ferrari that Alonso should have been crowned champion, pointing to controversial races in Belgium and Japan to support their argument.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said that Alonso paid a heavy price for first lap exits in Belgium and Japan where he was shunted out of contention by Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen respectively.

The Italian giants had been further aggrieved when Vettel, accused of blocking Alonso in qualifying in Japan before going on to win the race, escaped with just a reprimand.

Vettel refused to get involved in a war of words although he did allude to his rivals' controversial decision in Texas to change the gearbox on Felipe Massa's Ferrari in order to allow Alonso to enjoy a starting advantage on the grid.

"A lot of people tried to play dirty tricks but we did not get distracted by that and kept going our way and all the guys gave a big push right to the end," Vettel said.

-AFP/ac

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White paper on irrigation a dud, Maharashtra skirts corruption

MUMBAI: The much-awaited white paper on irrigation, which was placed before the state cabinet on Thursday, has turned out to be a dud. As expected, it skirts the core issue of corruption and irregularities in the water resources department, and merely collates data on projects approved in the last decade.

Addressing a news conference on Thursday night, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the two-volume report, which was not discussed in the cabinet meeting — with observers saying it was part of a Congress strategy — will be uploaded on the state government's website by Friday. The first volume addresses issues pertaining to land brought under irrigation, while the second sheds light on big and medium projects executed by five state irrigation corporations.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who resigned as deputy chief minister last September following a series of exposes in TOI, is believed to be desperate to make a comeback in the government based on the findings of the white paper, which many in official circles described as a "whitewash". Pawar was the state's water resources minister between 1999 and 2010, when most of the dubious contracts were awarded to select contractors. Political sources said infighting between rival groups in the NCP may scuttle Pawar's re-entry plans.

According to an estimate, as much as Rs 35,000 crore may have been siphoned off by the politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus in dud irrigation projects in the past ten years.

Government sources said only a criminal investigation will unravel the extent of the scam, described as the largest in Maharashtra's history.

"If there is an independent judicial inquiry, the Democratic Front government will collapse, considering the involvement of powerful politicians and officials," they said.

As reported by TOI on Thursday, the white paper has justified irrigation project cost escalations, blaming them on delays in relief and rehabilitation, land acquisition and environmental clearances. It says the escalations were commensurate with hikes approved for similar projects in other states.

Debunking the claim that Rs 70,000 crore was spent on irrigation projects in the past ten years, the document puts the figure at just Rs 42,000 crore. The paper, prepared by the state water resources department, claims that of this amount, Rs 30,000 crore was spent towards relief and rehabilitation; Rs 5,000 crore is shown under administrative expenses. The paper adds that over 30% of the relief and rehabilitation cost went towards projects that are yet to be completed. It is pertinent to note that departments controlled by the Congress are responsible for relief and rehabilitation and land acquisition.

The paper says 69 ongoing mega projects and 189 medium projects were taken up under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) and bore approvals of the Central Water Commission and the Planning Commission. It says the central agencies ratified the cost escalations.

The paper says the scheduled rates for materials used by the department while awarding contracts (department scheduled rates) were lower than those used for similar projects in other states and also less than rates used by other agencies in Maharashtra like the public works department and the MMRDA.

The paper claims that the scope of project work was often increased on account of demand from local politicians. The document gives status reports for mega projects, including details like original cost, escalations and their reasons.

Of the state's 226 lakh hectares of cultivable land, the white paper says irrigated land stood at 48.5 lakh hectares in 2010, which it says is a 28% increase from 2001 when the area was 37 lakh hectares. The paper says the cropped irrigated area (the ratio of irrigation potential generation to land under irrigation) grew by 5.17% during the ten-year period.

According to the economic status report (ESR), the cropped irrigated area only rose by 0.1% during this period (from 17.8% in 2001 to 17.9% in 2010). The chief minister had cited ESR data while asking the department to prepare the white paper in May this year.

The paper also refuted allegations that the department had created liabilities worth Rs 70,000 crore. It said that while projects worth Rs 80,000 crore were in the pipeline, liabilities had been booked only for Rs 35,000 crore.

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