Sahara Islamists take hostages, spreading Mali war

ALGIERS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Islamist fighters seized dozens of Western and Algerian hostages in a dawn raid on a natural gas facility deep in the Sahara on Wednesday and demanded France halt a new offensive against rebels in neighboring Mali.

Three people, among them one British and one French, were reported killed, but details were sketchy and numbers of those held at Tigantourine ranged from 41 foreigners - including perhaps seven Americans as well as Japanese and Europeans - to over 100 local staff, held separately and less closely watched.

What is clear is that with a dramatic counterpunch to this week's French build-up in Mali, the region's loosely allied, al Qaeda-inspired radicals have set Paris a daunting dilemma and spread fallout from Mali's hitherto obscure civil war far beyond northwest Africa, challenging Washington as well as Europeans and shutting down a major gas field that pumps energy to Europe.

The attack, which Algeria said was led by a veteran, Afghan-trained holy warrior-cum-smuggler dubbed "The Uncatchable" by French intelligence, came just as French ground troops in Mali launched their first assault after six days of air strikes.

The United States, which like European powers endorsed France's decision to intervene last week against Islamists who have seized vast tracts of northern Mali, confirmed Americans were among the hostages and said it would work to "secure" them.

Western and African governments have been alarmed by a flow of weapons and fighters across the unmarked Sahara borders following the end of Libya's civil war in 2011 and fear that Mali, where Islamists drive the national army from the north nine months ago, could become an Afghan-style al Qaeda haven.

The militants, who said they had dozens of fighters in the gas field, issued no explicit threat but made clear to media in neighboring Mauritania the hostages' lives were at risk.

"We hold the Algerian government and the French government and the countries of the hostages fully responsible if our demands are not met and it is up to them to stop the brutal aggression against our people in Mali," read one statement from the group, which called itself the "Battalion of Blood".

In other comments carried by the Mauritanian news agency ANI, the group said its fighters had rigged explosives around the site and any attempt to free the hostages would lead to a "tragic end". The unusually large numbers of gunmen and hostages involved pose serious problems for any rescue operation.

After dark, ANI quoted a militant source saying fighters had repelled a raid by Algerian troops. He added that the hostage-takers' weaponry included mortars and anti-aircraft missiles.

AMERICANS

The militants said seven Americans were among the 41 foreign hostages - a figure U.S. officials said they could not confirm.

Norwegian energy company Statoil, which operates the gas field in a joint venture with Britain's BP and the Algerian state company Sonatrach, said nine of its Norwegian employees and three of its Algerian staff were being held.

Also reported kidnapped by various sources were five Japanese working for the engineering firm JGC Corp, a French national, an Austrian, an Irishman and a number of Britons.

The Algerian government, which fought a bloody civil war against Islamists in the 1990s, said it would not negotiate.

French media said the militants were also demanding that Algeria release dozens of Islamist prisoners from its jails.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said: "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."

He said he lacked firm information on whether there were links to the situation in Mali. Analysts pointed to shifting alliances and rivalries among Islamists in the region to suggest the hostage-takers may have a range of motives.

In their own statements, they condemned Algeria's secularist government for "betraying" its predecessors in the bloody anti-colonial war against French rule half a century ago by letting French warplanes fly over its territory to Mali. They also accused Algeria of shutting its border to Malian refugees.

Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia told the state news agency APS there were about 20 hostage-takers led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an Algerian who fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s and set up his own group in the Sahara recently after falling out with other al Qaeda leaders.

Some of those held at the facility, near the small town of In Amenas, close to the Libyan border and about 1,300 km (800 miles) inland, had sporadic contact with the outside world.

The head of a French catering company said he had information from a manager who supervised some 150 Algerian employees at the site. Regis Arnoux of CIS Catering told France's BFM television the local staff were being prevented from leaving but were otherwise free to move around inside and keep on working.

"The Westerners are kept in a separate wing of the base," Arnoux said. "They are tied up and are being filmed. Electricity is cut off, and mobile phones have no charge.

"Direct action seems very difficult ... Algerian officials have told the French authorities as well as BP that they have the situation under control and do not need their assistance."

MALI OFFENSIVE

Just days after a bold deployment of French troops to Mali, another former colony, that had largely silenced critics questioning his leadership after eight months in office, French President Francois Hollande faced a possible further escalation of the conflict, with Western targets at risk across Africa.

He has called for international support against insurgents who France says pose a threat to Africa and the West, and admits it faces a long struggle against well-equipped fighters who seized Timbuktu and other oasis towns in northern Mali and have imposed Islamic law, including public amputation and beheading.

Islamists have warned Hollande that he has "opened the gates of hell" for all French citizens.

French army chief Edouard Guillaud said ground forces were stepping up their operation to engage directly "within hours" the alliance of Islamist fighters, grouping al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM and Mali's home grown Ansar Dine and MUJWA.

Residents said a column of some 30 French Sagaie armored vehicles has set off toward rebel positions from the town of Niono, 300 km (190 miles) from the capital Bamako.

A Malian military source said French special forces units were taking part in the operation. Guillaud said France's strikes, involving Rafale and Mirage jet fighters, were being hampered because militants were sheltering among civilians.

Many inhabitants of northern Mali have welcomed the French attacks though some also fear being caught in the cross-fire.

Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian acknowledged that France faced a hard slog, particularly in western Mali where AQIM's mostly foreign fighters have camps: "It's tough. We were aware from the beginning it would be a very difficult operation."

Hollande said on Tuesday that French forces would remain in Mali until stability returned to the West African nation. Hollande said France hoped, however, to hand over to African forces in its former colony, "in the coming days or weeks".

West African military chiefs met for a second day in Bamako to hammer out details of a U.N.-mandated deployment that had been expected to start only in September but was suddenly kick-started by French intervention. They said their aim was to send in the first units of a 2,000-man emergency force on Thursday.

Hollande's intervention in Mali brings risks for eight French hostages held by AQIM in the Sahara as well as the 30,000 French citizens living across West Africa. A French helicopter pilot was killed on Friday, France's only combat death so far.

The conflict in Mali, a landlocked state of 15 million twice the size of France, has displaced an estimated 30,000 people and raised concerns across mostly Muslim West Africa of a radicalization of Islam in the region.

"There is a great hope," one man said from Timbuktu, where he said Islamist fighters were trying to blend into civilian neighborhoods. "We hope that the city will be freed soon."

(Additional reporting by Pascal Fletcher and Andrew Callus in London, Balazs Koranyi in Oslo, Laurent Prieur in Nouakchott, Daniel Flynn in Dakar, John Irish, Catherine Bremer and Nick Vinocur in Paris, David Alexander in Rome and Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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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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Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy

NEW YORK (AP) — A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It's safe to get a flu shot.

The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a fetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.

The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their fetus. U.S. health officials began recommending flu shots for them more than five decades ago, following a higher death rate in pregnant women during a flu pandemic in the late 1950s.

But the study is perhaps the largest look at the safety and value of flu vaccination during pregnancy, experts say.

"This is the kind of information we need to provide our patients when discussing that flu vaccine is important for everyone, particularly for pregnant women," said Dr. Geeta Swamy, a researcher who studies vaccines and pregnant women at Duke University Medical Center.

The study was released by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday as the United States and Europe suffer through an early and intense flu season. A U.S. obstetricians group this week reminded members that it's not too late for their pregnant patients to get vaccinated.

The new study was led by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. It tracked pregnancies in Norway in 2009 and 2010 during an international epidemic of a new swine flu strain.

Before 2009, pregnant women in Norway were not routinely advised to get flu shots. But during the pandemic, vaccinations against the new strain were recommended for those in their second or third trimester.

The study focused on more than 113,000 pregnancies. Of those, 492 ended in the death of the fetus. The researchers calculated that the risk of fetal death was nearly twice as high for women who weren't vaccinated as it was in vaccinated mothers.

U.S. flu vaccination rates for pregnant women grew in the wake of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, from less than 15 percent to about 50 percent. But health officials say those rates need to be higher to protect newborns as well. Infants can't be vaccinated until 6 months, but studies have shown they pick up some protection if their mothers got the annual shot, experts say.

Because some drugs and vaccines can be harmful to a fetus, there is a long-standing concern about giving any medicine to a pregnant woman, experts acknowledged. But this study should ease any worries about the flu shot, said Dr. Denise Jamieson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The vaccine is safe," she said.

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Online:

Medical journal: http://www.nejm.org

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Obama Unveils Sweeping Plan to Curb Gun Violence

Flanked by four children from across the country, President Obama today unveiled a sweeping plan to curb gun violence in America through an extensive package of legislation and executive actions not seen since the 1960s.

Obama is asking Congress to implement mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, including private sales; reinstate a ban on some assault-style weapons; ban high-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds; and crackdown on illicit weapons trafficking.

The president's proposal also includes new initiatives for school safety, including a call for more federal aid to states for hiring so-called school resource officers (police), counselors and psychologists, and improved access to mental health care.

Obama also signed 23 executive actions on gun violence, policy directives not needing congressional approval. Among them is a directive to federal agencies to beef up the national criminal background-check system and a memorandum lifting a freeze on gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality," Obama said at a midday news conference. "If there's even one thing that we can do to reduce this violence, if there's even one life that can be saved, then we have an obligation to try.

Maqndel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

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"And I'm going to do my part."

The announcement comes one month after a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., left 26 dead, including 20 children. Obama called it the worst moment of his presidency and promised "meaningful action" in response.

The proposals were the work of an Obama-appointed task force, led by Vice President Joe Biden, that held 22 meetings on gun violence in the past three weeks. The group received input from more than 220 organizations and dozens of elected officials, a senior administration official said.

As part of the push, Obama nominated a new director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which leads enforcement of federal gun laws and has been without a confirmed director for six years. The president appointed acting director Todd Jones, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, to the post, if the Senate confirms him.

The administration's plan also calls for aid to states for the hiring of more school resource officers, counselors and psychologists. Obama also directed the Department of Education to ensure all schools have improved emergency-response plans.

He also called on Congress to make it illegal to possess or transfer armor-piercing bullets; it's now only illegal to produce them.

Officials said some of the legislative measures Obama outlined could be introduced on Capitol Hill next week.

"House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations," a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said in response to Obama's announcement. "And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that."

The proposals are already being met with stiff opposition from gun rights advocates, led by the National Rifle Association, which overnight released a scathing ad attacking the president as an "elitist hypocrite."

"Are the president's kids more important than yours?" the narrator of the NRA ad says. "Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools, when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?"

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France to stay in Mali until stability restored

BAMAKO/DUBAI (Reuters) - France pledged on Tuesday to keep troops in Mali until stability returned to the West African country, raising the specter of a long campaign against al Qaeda-linked rebels who held their ground despite a fifth day of air strikes.

Paris has poured hundreds of soldiers into Mali and carried out 50 bombing raids since Friday in the Islamist-controlled northern half of the country, which Western and regional states fear could become a base for terrorist attacks in Africa and Europe.

Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that, despite French air support, Malian forces had not been able to dislodge Islamist fighters from the central Malian towns of Konna or Diabaly, just 350 km (220 miles) northeast of Bamako.

A column of French armored vehicles rolled northward from the dusty riverside capital of Bamako towards rebel lines on Tuesday, the first major northward deployment of ground troops. A military official declined to comment on their objective.

Thousands of African soldiers are due to take over the offensive. Regional armies are scrambling to accelerate an operation which was initially not expected until September and has been brought forward by France's surprise bombing campaign aimed at stopping a rebel advance on a strategic town last week.

President Francois Hollande, on a visit to the United Arab Emirates during which he sought Gulf states' financial backing for the African-led mission, suggested France would retain a major role in its former colony for months to come.

"We have one goal. To ensure that when we leave, when we end our intervention, Mali is safe, has legitimate authorities, an electoral process and there are no more terrorists threatening its territory," Hollande told a news conference.

Paris has said it plans to deploy 2,500 soldiers to bolster the Malian army and work with the intervention force provided by West African states.

AFRICAN TROOPS

West African Defense chiefs met in Bamako on Tuesday to approve plans for the swift deployment of 3,300 regional troops, foreseen in a United Nations-backed intervention plan. After failing to reach a final agreement, they adjourned their talks until Wednesday.

Nigeria pledged to deploy soldiers within 24 hours, and Belgium said it was sending transport planes and helicopters to help, but West Africa's armies need time to become operational.

Mali's north, a vast and inhospitable area of desert and rugged mountains the size of Texas, was seized last year by an Islamist alliance combining al Qaeda's north African wing AQIM with splinter group MUJWA and the home-grown Ansar Dine rebels.

Any delay in following up on the French air bombardments of Islamist bases and fuel depots with a ground offensive could allow the insurgents to slip away into the desert and mountains, regroup and counter-attack.

The rebels, who French officials say are mobile and well armed, have shown they can hit back, dislodging government forces from Diabaly on Monday.

Residents said the town was still under Islamist control on Tuesday despite a number of air strikes that shook houses.

An eye witness near Segou, to the south, told Reuters he had seen 20 French Special Forces soldiers driving toward Diabaly.

In Konna, whose seizure on Thursday sparked French involvement, residents said Islamist fighters were camped just outside town. Army troops had also withdrawn after entering the town on Saturday.

Malians have largely welcomed the French intervention, having seen their army suffer a series of defeats by the rebels.

"With the arrival of the French, we have started to see the situation on the front evolve in our favor," said Aba Sanare, a resident of Bamako.

QUESTIONS OVER READINESS

Aboudou Toure Cheaka, a senior regional official in Bamako, said the West African troops would be on the ground in a week.

The original timetable for the 3,300-strong U.N.-sanctioned African force - to be backed by western logistics, money and intelligence services - did not initially foresee full deployment before September due to logistical constraints.

Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Guinea have all offered troops. Col. Mohammed Yerima, spokesman for Nigeria's Defense ministry, said the first 190 soldiers would be dispatched within 24 hours.

But Nigeria, which is due to lead the mission, has already cautioned that even if some troops arrive in Mali soon, their training and equipping will take more time.

Sub-Saharan Africa's top oil producer, which already has peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur and is fighting a bloody and difficult insurgency at home against Islamist sect Boko Haram, could struggle to deliver on its troop commitment of 900 men.

One senior government adviser in Nigeria said the Mali deployment was stretching the country's military.

"The whole thing's a mess. We don't have any troops with experience of those extreme conditions, even of how to keep all that sand from ruining your equipment. And we're facing battle-hardened guys who live in those dunes," said the adviser, who asked not to be named.

FRENCH LINING UP SUPPORT

France, which has repeatedly said it has abandoned its role as policeman of its former African colonies, said on Monday that the U.S., Canada, Denmark and Germany had also offered logistical support.

Fabius has said Gulf Arab states would help the Mali campaign, while Belgium said on Tuesday it would send two C130 transport planes and two medical helicopters following a request from Paris.

A meeting of donors for the operation was expected to be held in Addis Ababa at the end of January.

Security experts have warned that the multinational intervention in Mali, couched in terms of a campaign by governments against "terrorism", could provoke a jihadist backlash against France and the West, and African allies.

U.S. officials have warned of links between AQIM, Boko Haram in Nigeria and al Shabaab Islamic militants fighting in Somalia.

Al Shabaab, which foiled a French effort at the weekend to rescue a French secret agent it was holding hostage, urged Muslims around the world to rise up against what it called "Christian" attacks against Islam.

"Our brothers in Mali, show patience and tolerance and you will win. War planes never liberate a land," Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, al Shabaab's spokesman, said on a rebel-run website.

U.S. officials said Washington was sharing information with French forces in Mali and considering providing logistics, surveillance and airlift capability.

"We have made a commitment that al Qaeda is not going to find any place to hide," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters as he began a visit to Europe. Panetta later said the U.S. had no plans to send troops to Mali.

One U.S. military source said the haphazard nature of French involvement reminded him of the U.S. entry into Afghanistan.

"I don't know what the French endgame is for this," the source said. "Air strikes are fine, but pretty soon you run out of easy targets. Then what do you do? What do you do when they head up into the mountains?"

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Raissa Kasolowsky in Abu Dhabi, Felix Onuah in Abuja and Tim Cocks in Lagos, Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu, Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations,; Richard Valdmanis in Dakar, Joe Bavier in Abidjan, Jan Vermeylen in Brussels; Writing by Pascal Fletcher, Daniel Flynn and David Lewis; editing by Richard Valdmanis, Giles Elgood and Will Waterman)

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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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Risk to all ages: 100 kids die of flu each year

NEW YORK (AP) — How bad is this flu season, exactly? Look to the children.

Twenty flu-related deaths have been reported in kids so far this winter, one of the worst tolls this early in the year since the government started keeping track in 2004.

But while such a tally is tragic, that does not mean this year will turn out to be unusually bad. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, and it's not yet clear the nation will reach that total.

The deaths this year have included a 6-year-old girl in Maine, a 15-year Michigan student who loved robotics, and 6-foot-4 Texas high school senior Max Schwolert, who grew sick in Wisconsin while visiting his grandparents for the holidays.

"He was kind of a gentle giant" whose death has had a huge impact on his hometown of Flower Mound, said Phil Schwolert, the Texas boy's uncle.

Health officials only started tracking pediatric flu deaths nine years ago, after media reports called attention to children's deaths. That was in 2003-04 when the primary flu germ was the same dangerous flu bug as the one dominating this year. It also was an earlier than normal flu season.

The government ultimately received reports of 153 flu-related deaths in children, from 40 states, and most of them had occurred by the beginning of January. But the reporting was scattershot. So in October 2004, the government started requiring all states to report flu-related deaths in kids.

Other things changed, most notably a broad expansion of who should get flu shots. During the terrible 2003-04 season, flu shots were only advised for children ages 6 months to 2 years.

That didn't help 4-year-old Amanda Kanowitz, who one day in late February 2004 came home from preschool with a cough and died less than three days later. Amanda was found dead in her bed that terrible Monday morning, by her mother.

"The worst day of our lives," said her father, Richard Kanowitz, a Manhattan attorney who went on to found a vaccine-promoting group called Families Fighting Flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gradually expanded its flu shot guidance, and by 2008 all kids 6 months and older were urged to get the vaccine. As a result, the vaccination rate for kids grew from under 10 percent back then to around 40 percent today.

Flu vaccine is also much more plentiful. Roughly 130 million doses have been distributed this season, compared to 83 million back then. Public education seems to be better, too, Kanowitz observed.

The last unusually bad flu season for children, was 2009-10 — the year of the new swine flu, which hit young people especially hard. As of early January 2010, 236 flu-related deaths of kids had been reported since the previous August.

It's been difficult to compare the current flu season to those of other winters because this one started about a month earlier than usual.

Look at it this way: The nation is currently about five weeks into flu season, as measured by the first time flu case reports cross above a certain threshold. Two years ago, the nation wasn't five weeks into its flu season until early February, and at that point there were 30 pediatric flu deaths — or 10 more than have been reported at about the same point this year. That suggests that when the dust settles, this season may not be as bad as the one only two years ago.

But for some families, it will be remembered as the worst ever.

In Maine, 6-year-old Avery Lane — a first-grader in Benton who had recently received student-of-the-week honors — died in December following a case of the flu, according to press reports. She was Maine's first pediatric flu death in about two years, a Maine health official said.

In Michigan, 15-year-old Joshua Polehna died two weeks ago after suffering flu-like symptoms. The Lake Fenton High School student was the state's fourth pediatric flu death this year, according to published reports.

And in Texas, the town of Flower Mound mourned Schwolert, a healthy, lanky 17-year-old who loved to golf and taught Sunday school at the church where his father was a youth pastor.

Late last month, he and his family drove 16 hours to spend the holidays with his grandparents in Amery, Wis., a small town near the Minnesota state line. Max felt fluish on Christmas Eve, seemed better the next morning but grew worse that night. The family decided to postpone the drive home and took him to a local hospital. He was transferred to a medical center in St. Paul, Minn., where he died on Dec. 29.

He'd been accepted to Oklahoma State University before the Christmas trip. And an acceptance letter from the University of Minnesota arrived in Texas while Max was sick in Minnesota, his uncle said.

Nearly 1,400 people attended a memorial service for Max two weeks ago in Texas.

"He exuded care and love for other people," Phil Schwolert said.

"The bottom line is take care of your kids, be close to your kids," he said.

On average, an estimated 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who are elderly and with certain chronic health conditions are generally at greatest risk from flu and its complications.

The current vaccine is about 60 percent effective, and is considered the best protection available. Max Schwolert had not been vaccinated, nor had the majority of the other pediatric deaths.

Even if kids are vaccinated, parents should be watchful for unusually severe symptoms, said Lyn Finelli of the CDC.

"If they have influenza-like illness and are lethargic, or not eating, or look punky — or if a parent's intuition is the kid doesn't look right and they're alarmed — they need to call the doctor and take them to the doctor," she advised.

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CDC advice on kids: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/children.htm

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Jodi Arias: The New Casey Anthony?

The murder trial of Jodi Arias is drawing comparisons to the trial of Casey Anthony, another woman who initially told elaborate lies and then claimed at trial that she was a victim.

Arias, 32, eventually admitted that she killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, but insists it was in self defense because he was an abusive and sexually deviant lover.

Anthony, now 25, insisted her daughter Caylee had been stolen by a nanny and didn't drop that story until the first day of her murder trial when she said the toddler drowned in a backyard pool. Anthony said she had become accustomed to lying to hide alleged sexual abuse by her father for much of her life.

Both women lied about their jobs, sought out sex immediately after the deaths, and even had similar hair styles.

Anthony was found innocent by a jury in 2011, while Arias is still on trial and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

Nancy Grace, a legal analyst for ABC News, says the Arias trial is also similar to Scott Peterson's murder of his wife Laci, who was eight months pregnant when she was killed in 2002. Peterson was having an affair with a masseuse at the time of his wife's death.

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"The obvious one is that all three of them killed the one they professed to love the most...their love object, the thing they held dearest," said Grace, who has covered all three trials on her TV show.

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"You also have of course the promiscuity, a very obvious (similarity)," Grace said. "You could argue all three were sexually driven murders. 'Tot Mom' [Grace's nickname for Casey Anthony] clearly wanted a wild carefree single life. She was dancing in a push-up bra and go-go boots while her daughter's body was rotting. She's going from one man's arms to another man's arms."

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"Scott Peterson was a dog, there's no other way I can put it. And then Jodi Arias, who went from slashing the throat of her lover to literally hopping on top of another guy within a few hours," Grace said.

Ryan Burns testified that the day after Arias killed Alexander, he had a date with Arias and she laid on top of him and began kissing him.

"It could also be argued that all three are physically attractive," Grace said, "though I find none of them attractive. But all three use their looks and their charisma."

Each of the three changed their looks, dying their hair different colors and drastically changing their appearances for court. Grace was particularly struck by the similarity of Arias' and Anthony's hair style.

"With Arias coming in like 'Tot Mom' with the long hair draping their faces. If I sat 'Cousin It' at the table I don't think anyone would notice," the commentator said.

Grace claimed that none of the defendants looked at their juries. "They all sit in a position where their lawyers are kind of shielding them," she said.

There are other similarities. Anthony claimed falsely to work at Universal Studios while Arias told friends falsely that she worked at a Margaritaville bar.

Anthony said her daughter was taken by a fictitious nanny while Peterson said he wife was the victim of a Satanic cult. At one point Arias said she was present when a man and woman entered Alexander's apartment and killed him.

"All three lied about their jobs and positions in life, their relationships, what they do," Grace said. "All three changed their stories over and over and all three are caught on tape."

There is one other similarity, Grace said.

"I truly believe that their most important deadly common flaw is that they cannot empathize with others, they can't feel for someone who is suffering, and the murders don't mean anything to them," she said.

Grace predicted that unlike Anthony's trial, Arias will be convicted of murdering Alexander the same way Peterson was convicted of murdering Laci Peterson. In that case, Peterson was sentenced to the death penalty, a fate that Arias could face if convicted.

"It's very hard to get a woman sent to death row," Grace said. "Tot Mom' was acquitted, but I don't think Jodi Arias will be acquitted. The question is will they [jury] have the back bone to send her to death row."

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