Obama Lunches With Romney as 'Cliff' Talks Falter

President Obama and Mitt Romney met face to face today for the first time since the election, breaking bread at the White House as talks over the looming "fiscal cliff" appeared to be faltering on Capitol Hill.

"I bet it was and is quite tasty," Obama spokesman Jay Carney said of the lunch as it was underway, "because [the chefs] know how to prepare very fine meals."

The menu included white turkey chili and Southwestern grilled chicken salad, the White House said in a written statement following the meal. The discussion was said to center on "America's leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future."

The former rivals concluded their 70-minute encounter with a visit to the Oval Office -- the symbolic center of American power to which Romney has long tried to accede -- shaking hands before the iconic "Resolute" presidential desk.

"Governor Romney congratulated the President for the success of his campaign and wished him well over the coming four years," the White House said. "They pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future."

The lunch took place in an elegant private dining room in the West Wing overlooking the manicured gardens of the White House South Lawn. Romney was seen coming and going from a side entrance in a black SUV. The former GOP nominee arrived without fanfare or entourage, opening his own car door both times.

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President Obama said during a news conference earlier this month that he was interested in speaking with Romney about his ideas on jobs and economic growth, noting that his rival had "presented some ideas during the course of the campaign that I actually agree with."

Administration officials said there was no formal agenda for today's lunch or a "specific ask" or assignment for the governor.

Romney, who has kept a relatively low profile since losing the election on Nov. 6, has not publicly addressed Obama's post-election overtures or the prospect of working together. Both men have little personal history and had a chilly relationship during the campaign.

Senior Romney campaign strategist Eric Fehrnstrom called Obama's lunch invitation "gracious" and said that Romney was "glad to accept." The governor also met earlier Thursday in Washington with former running mate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

The Obama-Romney detente comes as talks between the White House and congressional Republicans to prevent the economy from going over the "fiscal cliff" of mandatory spending cuts and tax increases set for Jan. 1 appeared to hit a snag.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the lead White House negotiator in the talks, and White House legislative chief Rob Nabors held a flurry of meetings today with congressional leaders of both parties in the House and Senate.

But following sessions, top Republicans poured cold water on what had been budding optimism of progress toward a deal.

"No substantive progress has been made over the last two weeks," said House Speaker John Boehner at a press conference.

"We know what the menu is. What we don't know is what the White House is willing to do to get serious about solving our debt crisis," he said, accusing the administration of failing to detail plans for significant spending cuts to correspond with desired tax revenue increases.

Obama and Boehner spoke by phone Wednesday night, sources told ABC News, their second conversation in four days. Boehner described it as "direct and straightforward," but suggested "disappointment" with Obama's reticence to waver on hiking tax rates on the wealthy.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in advance of his meeting with Geithner, said everything the White House has put down on the table so far has been "counterproductive," and he hopes that the Treasury Secretary brings "a specific plan from the president" with him today.

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Palestinians turn to U.N. for state recognition

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly is set to approve an implicit recognition of Palestinian statehood on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding funds for the West Bank government.

A resolution that would lift the Palestinian Authority's U.N. observer status from "entity" to "non-member state," like the Vatican, is expected to pass easily in the 193-nation General Assembly. At least 15 European states plan to vote for it.

Israel, the United States and a handful of other members are set to vote against what they see as a largely symbolic and counterproductive move by the Palestinians, which takes place on the 65th anniversary of the assembly's adoption of resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.

Granting Palestinians the title of "non-member observer state" falls short of full U.N. membership - something the Palestinians failed to achieve last year. But it would allow them access to the International Criminal Court and other international bodies, should they choose to join them.

"The ICC issue is what the Israelis are really worried about," a U.N. official said on condition of anonymity. "They know this whole process isn't really symbolic except for that."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been leading the campaign to win support for the resolution, which follows an eight-day conflict this month between Israel and Islamists in the Gaza Strip, who are pledged to Israel's destruction and oppose his efforts toward a negotiated peace.

The U.S. State Department made a last-ditch effort to get Abbas to reconsider, but the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, gave no sign that it was turning back.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated to reporters in Washington on Wednesday the U.S. view that the Palestinian move was misguided and efforts should focus instead on reviving the stalled Middle East peace process.

"The path to a two-state solution that fulfills the aspirations of the Palestinian people is through Jerusalem and Ramallah, not New York," she said. "The only way to get a lasting solution is to commence direct negotiations."

Acknowledging strong European support for the Palestinians, Clinton said on Thursday: "We and our European partners agree on the most fundamental issues and share a common objective - two states living side by side in peace and security."

Speaking at an annual U.N. event in support of the Palestinians, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki appealed to U.N. member states to support Thursday's U.N. resolution. He also repeated his support for peace with Israel.

"Despite diminishing hopes and the decline of the situation on the ground due to Israel violations, we remain committed to the two-state solution and our hand remains extended in peace," he said at U.N. headquarters in New York.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reiterated U.S. warnings that the move could cause a reduction of U.S. economic support for the Palestinians. The Israelis have also warned they might take significant deductions out of monthly transfers of duties that Israel collects on the Palestinians' behalf.

PALESTINIANS RALLY IN WEST BANK, GAZA

Despite its fierce opposition, Israel seems concerned not to find itself diplomatically isolated. It has recently toned down threats of retaliation in the face of wide international support for the initiative, notably among its European allies.

"The decision at the United Nations will change nothing on the ground," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Jerusalem. "It will not advance the establishment of a Palestinian state. It will delay it further.

But U.N. diplomats say that Israel's reaction might not be so measured if the Palestinians seek ICC action against Israel on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity or other crimes the court would have jurisdiction over.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as calling on Washington and Israel to avoid "any hasty and destructive decisions."

"Supporting the Palestinian authorities is not only in the interest of the Palestinian side, but also of Israel and the whole international community that is longing for a peaceful political settlement," he said.

The European Union, a key donor for the Palestinians, has made clear it will not curtail aid after Thursday's vote.

Flag-waving Palestinians thronged the squares of the West Bank and Gaza Strip before Thursday's vote. In a rare show of unity, Abbas's Islamist rivals Hamas, who have ruled Gaza since a brief civil war in 2007, let backers of the president's Fatah movement hold demonstrations there.

Peace talks have been stalled for two years, mainly over Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which have expanded despite being deemed illegal by most of the world. There are 4.3 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

In the draft resolution, the Palestinians have pledged to relaunch the peace process immediately following the U.N. vote, expected sometime after 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Thursday.

With strong support from the developing world that makes up the majority of U.N. members, it is virtually assured of securing more than the requisite simple majority. Palestinian officials hope for more than 130 yes votes.

Abbas has focused on securing as many votes as possible from Europe, and his efforts appear to have paid off.

Austria, Denmark, Norway, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland all pledged to support the resolution. Britain said it was prepared to vote yes, but only if the Palestinians fulfilled certain conditions.

The fiercely pro-Israel Czech Republic was planning to vote against the move, dashing European hopes of avoiding any no votes that would create a three-way split on the continent into supporters, abstainers and opposers.

It was unclear whether some of the many undecided Europeans would join the Czechs. Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Estonia and Lithuania plan to abstain.

(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 bureaux in Europe and elsewhere; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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EU backs Palestinian state even if split on UN vote

BRUSSELS: The European Union reiterated the bloc's support for a Palestinian state Thursday despite splits between its 27 member states over granting upgraded status to the Palestinians at the United Nations.

"The EU has repeatedly expressed its support and wish for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations as part of a solution to the conflict," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

"The EU reiterates its readiness to recognise a Palestinian state when appropriate," she added.

But her statement underlined that "only a political solution to the conflict can bring lasting security, peace and prosperity to Palestinians and Israelis."

Despite hopes the 27 EU nations might line up on a single position at the UN -- for, against, or abstaining -- the bloc remained divided hours before the 2000 GMT vote.

The EU is Israel's leading economic partner and the Palestinians' leading donor. But in the end, the bloc split three ways: "yes", "no" and "abstain".

While three EU nations had been expected to vote against -- the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands, in the end, Germany and the Netherlands decided to abstain.

The Czechs seemed to be the only EU member to have come out against the Palestinian bid. A two-state solution could only be reached through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, said a Czech ministry statement Thursday.

Security Council member France was the first European state to come out in favour of the Palestinian bid, on Tuesday. It was followed by Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy and Spain. Diplomats expect around 15 EU nations to back the Palestinians.

But another Security Council member, Britain, said it was likely to abstain.

Foreign minister William Hague said Wednesday that Britain would abstain unless the Palestinians undertook to resume talks with Israel and foreswear any move to take Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Baltic states Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania will all abstain, expressing regret the EU couldn't muster a common stance.

Hungary also announced plans to abstain, as did Slovenia and Bulgaria, which said "the proposed resolution will not change for better the situation between Israel and the Palestinians."

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said it was "disappointing" the EU was unable to reach a common position.

But a senior EU official said the divisions did not mirror deep-seated differences between the EU states.

"We see pretty well eye-to-eye. Even if there is a three-way split there is a good understanding for the way forward on the peace process," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ashton's statement said "a comprehensive negotiated peace, which is a fundamental interest of the EU, as well as the parties in the region, must and can be achieved on the basis of a two-state solution.

"Looking ahead after today's vote, it is important for all parties and actors involved to work towards a settlement of the conflict with renewed purpose and sense of urgency," Ashton said.

She urged both sides in the conflict "to refrain from actions" that could undermine the peace process.

"The European Union urges both sides to seek constructive ways to overcome the current obstacles for a resumption of direct negotiations without delay or preconditions."

The Palestinians are poised to gain the backing of a majority of the UN's 193 member states, despite the opposition of the United States, Israel and some other countries.

-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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Clinton releases road map for AIDS-free generation

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ambitious road map for slashing the global spread of AIDS, the Obama administration says treating people sooner and more rapid expansion of other proven tools could help even the hardest-hit countries begin turning the tide of the epidemic over the next three to five years.

"An AIDS-free generation is not just a rallying cry — it is a goal that is within our reach," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who ordered the blueprint, said in the report.

"Make no mistake about it, HIV may well be with us into the future but the disease that it causes need not be," she said at the State Department Thursday.

President Barack Obama echoed that promise.

"We stand at a tipping point in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and working together, we can realize our historic opportunity to bring that fight to an end," Obama said in a proclamation to mark World AIDS Day on Saturday.

Some 34 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and despite a decline in new infections over the last decade, 2.5 million people were infected last year.

Given those staggering figures, what does an AIDS-free generation mean? That virtually no babies are born infected, young people have a much lower risk than today of becoming infected, and that people who already have HIV would receive life-saving treatment.

That last step is key: Treating people early in their infection, before they get sick, not only helps them survive but also dramatically cuts the chances that they'll infect others. Yet only about 8 million HIV patients in developing countries are getting treatment. The United Nations aims to have 15 million treated by 2015.

Other important steps include: Treating more pregnant women, and keeping them on treatment after their babies are born; increasing male circumcision to lower men's risk of heterosexual infection; increasing access to both male and female condoms; and more HIV testing.

The world spent $16.8 billion fighting AIDS in poor countries last year. The U.S. government is the leading donor, spending about $5.6 billion.

Thursday's report from PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, outlines how progress could continue at current spending levels — something far from certain as Congress and Obama struggle to avert looming budget cuts at year's end — or how faster progress is possible with stepped-up commitments from hard-hit countries themselves.

Clinton warned Thursday that the U.S. must continue doing its share: "In the fight against HIV/AIDS, failure to live up to our commitments isn't just disappointing, it's deadly."

The report highlighted Zambia, which already is seeing some declines in new cases of HIV. It will have to treat only about 145,000 more patients over the next four years to meet its share of the U.N. goal, a move that could prevent more than 126,000 new infections in that same time period. But if Zambia could go further and treat nearly 198,000 more people, the benefit would be even greater — 179,000 new infections prevented, the report estimates.

In contrast, if Zambia had to stick with 2011 levels of HIV prevention, new infections could level off or even rise again over the next four years, the report found.

Advocacy groups said the blueprint offers a much-needed set of practical steps to achieve an AIDS-free generation — and makes clear that maintaining momentum is crucial despite economic difficulties here and abroad.

"The blueprint lays out the stark choices we have: To stick with the baseline and see an epidemic flatline or grow, or ramp up" to continue progress, said Chris Collins of amFAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

His group has estimated that more than 276,000 people would miss out on HIV treatment if U.S. dollars for the global AIDS fight are part of across-the-board spending cuts set to begin in January.

Thursday's report also urges targeting the populations at highest risk, including gay men, injecting drug users and sex workers, especially in countries where stigma and discrimination has denied them access to HIV prevention services.

"We have to go where the virus is," Clinton said.

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Powerball 'Strategies' Refuted by Experts

The Powerball jackpot, now a record $550 million, has led to "lotto fever" as millions rush to buy tickets ahead of the 11 p.m. ET drawing, but mathematicians and experts warn that strategies will do little to enhance your chance of winning.

Even Richard Lustig, seven-time lottery winner who has written the book, "Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery," says there is no sure-fire way to win.

"I don't guarantee or make promises to anybody that by following my method you're going to win the lottery," he previously told ABC News.

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Lustig advises lottery ticket buyers to set a budget and not to overspend, thinking it will increase your chances of winning.

Read more: $100 Million Winners Share Lottery Success Stories

While the odds of winning the jackpot are one in over 175.2 million, the odds of winning any of the smaller prizes from $4 to $1 million are one in 31.85.

The $550 million prize has a cash option of $360.2 million, the estimated jackpot based on national sales up to the time of the drawing, according to the official Powerball website.

Kent Sievers/The Omaha World-Herald/AP Photo

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Matthew Vea, an army reservist and programmer, created a website four years ago that has tracked some of the Mega Millions and Powerball numbers that have and have not been drawn.

With the bulging jackpot, Vea said he couldn't resist buying some tickets Tuesday night.

"I did a few quick picks, used some fortune cookies but also grabbed some numbers based on my site's number profiling," Vea said.

However, even Vea is realistic about his chances of winning.

"With true random odds at 1 in 175 million though, even having a 'strategy' isn't likely to make a difference," he said. "But it can sure make you more hopeful than just sticking your finger in the wind with a quick pick."

Lustig advises against using the "quick picks" or numbers picked by the lottery's computer, while Michael Shackleford, gaming mathematician and actuary who specializes in studying casino games, prefers it.

Still Shackleford, admits he has not purchased a lotto ticket in 25 years, "because it's a sucker's bet."

If you want to have a slightly smaller chance of sharing your winnings with others who chose the same numbers as you, he offers a few observations.

People often choose familiar numbers, including birthdays, which, if chosen, means you could share your winnings.

"Everyone was born in a month from one to 12 and days are one and 31, ignoring the late 30s and 40s. If someone were picking birthdays, they have a greater chance to split it with other birthday pickers," he said.

Shackleford has also said many people choose geometric progressions.

The most popular selection for a Quebec lottery drawing in January 2010 were numbers in multiples of seven.

In particular, 824 wagers chose 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42. The second most popular selection, chosen by 424 wagers, was the consecutive numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The third most popular selection was the mysterious set of numbers in the television series, "Lost." According to the Quebec lottery, 377 wagers chose: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.

Another consideration, Shackleford has said, is when to play the game.

"It's good for you when the jackpot increases but it also induces more people to play, increasing your chance of sharing it," he said.

But at an estimated $550 million, sharing might not be such a bad thing.

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Egypt assembly seeks to wrap up constitution

CAIRO (Reuters) - The assembly writing Egypt's constitution said it could wrap up a final draft later on Wednesday, a move the Muslim Brotherhood sees as a way out of a crisis over a decree by President Mohamed Mursi that protesters say gives him dictatorial powers.

But as Mursi's opponents staged a sixth day of protests in Tahrir Square, critics said the Islamist-dominated assembly's bid to finish the constitution quickly could make matters worse.

Two people have been killed and hundreds injured in countrywide protest set off by Mursi's decree.

The Brotherhood hopes to end the crisis by replacing Mursi's controversial decree with an entirely new constitution that would need to be approved in a popular referendum, a Brotherhood official told Reuters.

It is a gamble based on the Islamists' belief that they can mobilize enough voters to win the referendum: they have won all elections held since Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power.

But the move seemed likely to deepen divisions that are being exposed in the street.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies called for protests on Saturday in Tahrir Square, setting the stage for more confrontation with their opponents, who staged a mass rally there on Tuesday.

The constitution is one of the main reasons Mursi is at loggerheads with non-Islamist opponents. They are boycotting the 100-member constitutional assembly, saying the Islamists have tried to impose their vision for Egypt's future.

The assembly's legal legitimacy has been called into question by a series of court cases demanding its dissolution. Its popular legitimacy has been hit by the withdrawal of members including church representatives and liberals.

"We will start now and finish today, God willing," Hossam el-Gheriyani, the assembly speaker, said at the start of its latest session in Cairo, saying Thursday would be "a great day".

"If you are upset by the decree, nothing will stop it except a new constitution issued immediately," he said. Three other members of the assembly told Reuters there were plans to put the document to a vote on Thursday.

ENTRENCHING AUTHORITARIANISM

Just down the road from the meeting convened at the Shura Council, protesters were again clashing with riot police in Tahrir Square. Members of the assembly watched on television as they waited to go into session.

"The constitution is in its last phases and will be put to a referendum soon and God willing it will solve a lot of the problems in the street," said Talaat Marzouk, an assembly member from the Salafi Nour Party, as he watched the images.

But Wael Ghonim, a prominent activist whose online blogging helped ignite the anti-Mubarak uprising, said a constitution passed in such circumstances would "entrench authoritarianism".

The constitution is supposed to be the cornerstone of a new, democratic Egypt following Mubarak's three decades of autocratic rule. The assembly has been at work for six months. Mursi had extended its December 12 deadline by two months - extra time that Gheriyani said was not needed.

The constitution will determine the powers of the president and parliament and define the roles of the judiciary and a military establishment that had been at the heart of power for decades until Mubarak was toppled. It will also set out the role of Islamic law, or sharia.

The effort to conclude the text quickly marked an escalation, said Nathan Brown, a professor of political science at George Washington University in the United States.

"It may be regarded with hostility by a lot of state actors too, including the judiciary," he said.

Leading opposition and former Arab League chief figure Amr Moussa slammed the move. He walked out of the assembly earlier this month. "This is nonsensical and one of the steps that shouldn't be taken, given the background of anger and resentment to the current constitutional assembly," he told Reuters.

Once drafted, the constitution will go to Mursi for approval, and he must then put it to a referendum within 15 days, which could mean the vote would be held by mid-December.

COURTS DECLARE STRIKE

Deepening the crisis further on Wednesday, Egypt's Cassation and Appeals courts said they would suspend their work until the constitutional court rules on the decree.

The judiciary, largely unreformed since the popular uprising that unseated Mubarak, was seen as a major target in the decree issued last Thursday, which extended his powers and put his decisions temporarily beyond legal challenge.

"The president wants to create a new dictatorship," said 38-year-old Mohamed Sayyed Ahmed, an unemployed man, in Tahrir.

Showing the depth of distrust of Mursi in parts of the judiciary, a spokesman for the Supreme Constitutional Court, which earlier this year declared void the Islamist-led parliament, said it felt under attack by the president.

In a speech on Friday, Mursi praised the judiciary as a whole but referred to corrupt elements he aimed to weed out.

"The really sad thing that has pained the members of this court is when the president of the republic joined, in a painful surprise, the campaign of continuous attack on the Constitutional Court," said the spokesman Maher Samy.

Senior judges have been negotiating with Mursi about how to restrict his new powers.

Mursi's administration insists that his actions were aimed at breaking a political logjam to push Egypt more swiftly towards democracy, an assertion his opponents dismiss.

The West worries about turbulence in a nation that has a peace treaty with Israel and is now ruled by Islamists they long kept at arms length.

Trying to ease tensions with judges, Mursi said elements of his decree giving his decisions immunity applied only to matters of "sovereign" importance, a compromise suggested by the judges.

A constitution must be in place before a new parliament can be elected, and until that time Mursi holds both executive and legislative powers. An election could take place in early 2013.

(Additional reporting by Tom Perry and Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair and Tom Perry; Editing by Will Waterman and Giles Elgood)

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Britain's Cameron warns press regulation must change

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron warned Wednesday that the current newspaper regulation system was unacceptable, as he received a key report into the Rupert Murdoch phone-hacking scandal.

Cameron's comments came a day before senior judge Brian Leveson was due to publish his findings from a year-long judicial inquiry into press ethics, which are widely expected to include recommendations for statutory regulation.

But Britain's oldest political magazine said it would refuse to sign up to any government-enforced regulator system, and other newspapers warned that introducing new laws were a threat to 300 years of press freedom.

Cameron set up the Leveson inquiry in July 2011 after the discovery of widespread hacking of voicemails and other illegal practices at Murdoch's News of the World tabloid, which the Australian-born tycoon then closed down.

The prime minister told parliament on Wednesday he hoped the process would lead to "an independent regulatory system" for the press and called for a cross-party consensus, but did not say if he supported new laws.

"The status quo, I would argue, does not just need updating -- the status quo is unacceptable and needs to change," Cameron said.

The British press is currently regulated by itself through the Press Complaints Commission, a body staffed by editors which critics say is toothless.

Cameron will give a statement to parliament on Thursday following the publication of Leveson's report and there will be a parliamentary debate next week on its recommendations, probably followed by a non-binding vote.

The prime minister's Downing Street office received "half a dozen" advance copies of Leveson's 1,000-page report so that Cameron could prepare his statement, a spokesman told AFP.

He is not obliged to follow the report's recommendations but they are likely to present him with a dilemma amid splits in his Conservative party over the need for statutory regulation.

More than 80 lawmakers from the three major parties said in a letter published Wednesday that any introduction of statutory regulation would be the biggest blow to media freedom in Britain for 300 years.

"As parliamentarians, we believe in free speech and are opposed to the imposition of any form of statutory control even if it is dressed up as underpinning," said the letter published in the Guardian and Daily Telegraph newspapers.

But 42 MPs from the centre-right Conservatives -- who are the senior partners in a coalition government with the centrist Liberal Democrats -- have previously written a letter calling for strong new press laws.

British newspapers are thought to be ready to accept a tougher independent regulator that could hand out big fines but insist that signing up should be voluntary.

The Spectator, a right-leaning political magazine which says it is the oldest continuously published weekly in the English language, said that laws aimed at tackling tabloid abuses could have a "chilling effect" on the rest of the press.

"If the press agrees a new form of self-regulation, perhaps contractually binding this time, we will happily take part. But we would not sign up to anything enforced by government," it said in a leader article.

News International chief executive Tom Mockridge also warned against state-backed regulation.

"They need an effective watchdog, they need a tough watchdog, they need a watchdog with a majority of people outside the industry, they need a watchdog with bite and a watchdog with investigative powers," he said.

"What they don't need is the state sending people into newspapers to determine what's a good story or what's a bad story."

But actor Hugh Grant, who has spoken out on behalf of victims of phone hacking, called for new laws.

"What people are campaigning for is an end to newspapers being able to regulate themselves, marking their own homework," he told the BBC.

The Leveson inquiry heard eight months of testimony from hacking victims, politicians and media figures.

British police have launched three linked investigations into alleged misdeeds by newspapers, while Cameron's former spokesman Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, former head of Murdoch's British newspaper wing News International, have each been charged with phone hacking and bribery. Both are former Murdoch newspaper editors.

-AFP/ac

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Centre refuses to equate blind employees with deaf & dumb

NEW DELHI: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that deaf and dumb government employees could not be equated with blind and physically handicapped ones, who face much more difficulty in commuting and are hence given double the transport allowance paid to other employees.

Citing a health ministry office memorandum, the government said it was advised that "it would not be just and fair to equate the disability of deaf and dumb persons with those of blind persons in so far as grant of transport allowance facility is concerned".

The ministry in the 2003 memorandum said that deaf and dumb people generally do not require physical assistance for commuting to and from their residence to the place of duty. However, the proposal to give deaf and dumb employees enhanced transport allowance was again considered in 2006.

The Centre said the Sixth Central Pay Commission did not make any recommendation on this aspect while revising the transport allowance. "As per the recommendation of the commission, as accepted by the government, status-quo continues regarding the categories of physically disabled employees eligible for transport allowance at enhanced rate," it said.

"In view of the aforesaid position, it is not considered feasible to extend the benefit of enhanced transport allowance to hearing impaired employees," the government said. However, solicitor general R F Nariman sought 12 weeks time from a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra to make a fresh attempt to find an amicable resolution to the grievances of deaf and dumb employees.

A PIL filed by 'Deaf Employees Welfare Association' had alleged that the government remained unmoved despite several representations by hearing impaired employees seeking enhancement of transport allowance to bring at par with that paid to blind and physically handicapped.

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing surgery-linked infections is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.

A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million, the Joint Commission hospital regulating group and the American College of Surgeons announced Wednesday. The two groups directed the 2 1/2-year project.

Solutions included having patients shower with special germ-fighting soap before surgery, and having surgery teams change gowns, gloves and instruments during operations to prevent spreading germs picked up during the procedures.

Some hospitals used special wound-protecting devices on surgery openings to keep intestine germs from reaching the skin.

The average rate of infections linked with colorectal operations at the seven hospitals dropped from about 16 percent of patients during a nine-month phase when hospitals started adopting changes to almost 11 percent once all the changes had been made.

Hospital stays for patients who got infections dropped from an average of 15 days to 13 days, which helped cut costs.

"The improvements translate into safer patient care," said Dr. Mark Chassin, president of the Joint Commission. "Now it's our job to spread these effective interventions to all hospitals."

Almost 2 million health care-related infections occur each year nationwide; more than 90,000 of these are fatal.

Besides wanting to keep patients healthy, hospitals have a monetary incentive to prevent these infections. Medicare cuts payments to hospitals that have lots of certain health care-related infections, and those cuts are expected to increase under the new health care law.

The project involved surgeries for cancer and other colorectal problems. Infections linked with colorectal surgery are particularly common because intestinal tract bacteria are so abundant.

To succeed at reducing infection rates requires hospitals to commit to changing habits, "to really look in the mirror and identify these things," said Dr. Clifford Ko of the American College of Surgeons.

The hospitals involved were Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; Cleveland Clinic in Ohio; Mayo Clinic-Rochester Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minn.; North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, NY; Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago; OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill.; and Stanford Hospital & Clinics in Palo Alto, Calif.

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

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