Anger over Japan minister's N Korea rocket gaffe

TOKYO: A Japanese minister has come under fire from the opposition for saying North Korea should "waste no time" in holding its planned rocket launch so he can campaign in earnest for the upcoming election.

Pyongyang announced last week that it would launch a rocket -- ostensibly aimed at placing a satellite in orbit -- between December 10 and 22, prompting neighbouring countries to guard against a suspected long-range missile flight.

On a visit to his constituency in Osaka on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said government duties were limiting his time to campaign as a candidate for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), ahead of the general election on December 16.

Asked by reporters when he would come home again to put his campaign in full swing, he replied: "Basically, it depends on when the North Korean missile goes up. It will be great if they waste no time and send it up on Monday."

Opposition parties have taken advantage of his apparent gaffe to step up their attack on the centre-left party, widely criticised for being incompetent during its three years in power.

They demanded Fujimura's resignation, saying his duty was to help stop North Korea from launching a rocket.

"We cannot defend Japan with such a chief cabinet secretary. We aim to regain power," former prime minister Shinzo Abe, head of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said on Saturday in a campaign speech in northern Japan.

While Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has been touring the country to boost the DPJ's chances in the uphill election battle, Fujimura has stayed in the capital to perform his role as the premier's right-hand man and chief spokesman.

Fujimura was quick to try and control the damage by saying later on Friday: "I want to apologise if a lack of explanation gave a false impression."

He said he had wanted to emphasise his wish to talk with people in his constituency in person and as much as possible.

Japan has ordered its military to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it threatens the nation's territory, readying surface-to-air missiles in Tokyo and Okinawa, and deploying Aegis warships in neighbouring waters.

- AFP/xq

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India misguided, paranoid over China: Guha

MUMBAI: A good half-hour into the discussion on 'India, China and the World', historian Ramachandra Guha issued a disclaimer—all the three members on the panel had been to China only once. "We should learn their language, promote quality research, and have a panel on China driven by Chinese scholars," he said. And that was the general tenor of the debate—that the Indian attitude to China was influenced by a mix of ignorance, cautious optimism about partnerships and a whole lot of misguided paranoia. "Don't demonise the Chinese, please," Guha finally said in response to a question.

"China has existed in our imaginations," observed Sunil Khilnani, professor of politics and author of The Idea Of India. "There's been very little sustained engagement with the reality of China and very little of our own produced knowledge about China." It was after the events of 1962 ('war' in the popular imagination, 'skirmish' to the scholars participating in the discussion), explained Khilnani, that a miffed India "withdrew". It's the 50th anniversary of that exchange this year, and "what we haven't been able to do is learn from the defeat", observed Khilnani. Both could have benefited from greater engagement. "China has had a very clear focus on primary education and achieved high levels of literacy before its economic rise. It has also addressed the issue of land reform," said Khilnani. Guha added that China could learn from the "religious, cultural and linguistic pluralism" in India.

But China and India weren't always so out of sync with each other. Srinath Raghavan, a scholar of military history, got both Guha and Khilnani to talk about pre-1962 relations between the two when the picture was rosier. Tagore was interested in China and so was Gandhi. Both were very large countries with large populations and shared what Guha calls a "lack of cultural inferiority". "They were both," he continued, "also heavily dependent on peasant communities." Nehru was appreciative of China's will to modernize and industrialize and its adoption of technology to achieve those ends. In turn, Chinese politicians argued for Indian independence.

Things soured more, feel both Khilnani and Guha, after the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959. "He was welcomed here as a spiritual leader but the intensification of the conflict dates to the Dalai Lama's flight," said Guha. Both Guha and Khilnani argued that Nehru's decision to not react aggressively to China's occupation of Tibet was, in the long run, the right one and prevented further "militarization" of the region. An audience member wondered if that didn't make India "China's puppet". Guha disagreed. "If there's a Tibetan culture alive today," he said, "it's not because of Richard Gere. Don't believe in the hypocrisy of the Western countries. Will they give them land, employment, dignified refuge? The Tibetans is one of the few cases in which our record is honorable."

But the difference in levels of development and the lopsided trade relations between the two countries have only fuelled the suspicions many Indians seem to harbour about China. People were worried, said Guha, even about cricket balls made in China. Audience questions reflected those worries. A member asked about China's "strategy to conquer the world" and its likely impact on India. Guha cautioned against stereotypes; Khilnani explained, "History is littered with the debris of states that have tried to dominate the world. What we're doing may be more long-lasting."

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.

Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't need it to flourish. The research team from the University of Florida in Gainesville thinks this ability is related to a plant's inherent ability to orient itself as it grows. Seeds germinated on the International Space Station sprouted roots that behaved like they would on Earth—growing away from the seed to seek nutrients and water in exactly the same pattern observed with gravity. (Related: "Beyond Gravity.")

Since the flowers were orbiting some 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the Earth at the time, the NASA-funded experiment suggests that plants still retain an earthy instinct when they don't have gravity as a guide.

"The role of gravity in plant growth and development in terrestrial environments is well understood," said plant geneticist and study co-author Anna-Lisa Paul, with the University of Florida in Gainesville. "What is less well understood is how plants respond when you remove gravity." (See a video about plant growth.)

The new study revealed that "features of plant growth we thought were a result of gravity acting on plant cells and organs do not actually require gravity," she added.

Paul and her collaborator Robert Ferl, a plant biologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, monitored their plants from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida using images sent from the space station every six hours.

Root Growth

Grown on a nutrient-rich gel in clear petri plates, the space flowers showed familiar root growth patterns such as "skewing," where roots slant progressively as they branch out.

"When we saw the first pictures come back from orbit and saw that we had most of the skewing phenomenon we were quite surprised," Paul said.

Researchers have always thought that skewing was the result of gravity's effects on how the root tip interacts with the surfaces it encounters as it grows, she added. But Paul and Ferl suspect that in the absence of gravity, other cues take over that enable the plant to direct its roots away from the seed and light-seeking shoot. Those cues could include moisture, nutrients, and light avoidance.

"Bottom line is that although plants 'know' that they are in a novel environment, they ultimately do just fine," Paul said.

The finding further boosts the prospect of cultivating food plants in space and, eventually, on other planets.

"There's really no impediment to growing plants in microgravity, such as on a long-term mission to Mars, or in reduced-gravity environments such as in specialized greenhouses on Mars or the moon," Paul said. (Related: "Alien Trees Would Bloom Black on Worlds With Double Stars.")

The study findings appear in the latest issue of the journal BMC Plant Biology.

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Federal Agencies Brace for Deep Cuts Post-'Cliff'

Dec 7, 2012 4:22pm

Toby Jorrin/AFP/Getty Images

With the “fiscal cliff” quickly approaching, federal agencies are stepping up preparations for deep automatic budget cuts that will kick in Jan. 2 unless the White House and Congress can reach a deal.

The Office of Management and Budget told ABC News that a memo went out to federal agencies earlier this week seeking “additional information and analysis” in order to finalize spending cuts required if we go off the cliff.

The agencies are considering which workers to furlough, projects to put on hold and offices that will have to close.

The request follows the administration’s release of a 400-page report in September that outlined the budget areas to be impacted by the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts and what percentages they would be slashed.

READ MORE: White House Details ‘Doomsday’ Budget Cuts

Billions of dollars could be slashed from defense operations and maintenance programs. Medicare would take a two-percent hit, trimming millions in payouts to health care providers. Scientific research programs would be gutted. Aid for the poor and needy would be sharply curtailed.

The report also detailed operations that would be exempt from any cuts, including active-duty military operations, nuclear watchdogs, homeland security officials, veterans care and other critical areas.

READ: Pentagon Begins Planning for ‘Cliff’ Cuts

Asked about the agency preparations underway, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that OMB “must take certain steps to ensure the administration is ready to issue such an order should Congress fail to act.”

“Earlier this week, OMB issued a request to federal agencies for additional information to finalize calculations on the spending reductions that would be required,” Carney said.

“This action should not be read … as a change in the administration’s commitment to reach an agreement and avoid sequestration.  OMB is simply ensuring that the administration is prepared, should it become necessary to issue such an order,” he said. “OMB will continue to consult with agencies and will provide additional guidance as needed.  This is just acting responsibly because of the potential for this happening.”

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com.

More ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Coverage From Today:

SHOWS: World News

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Survey shows falling satisfaction among federal employees

When he released a federal worker survey on the afternoon before Thanksgiving, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry forthrightly noted that “continued tight budgets and pay freezes” contributed to many lower ratings.

The report goes a bit further, suggesting “the downward trend of many of the survey items . . . suggest that the continued tight budgets, salary freezes and general public opinion of federal service are beginning to take a toll on even the most committed employees.”

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Ostrich arteries bring bypass hope: Japan scientists

TOKYO: Scientists in Japan have used ostrich blood vessels to create a viable bypass in pigs, raising hopes of easier and more effective artery transplants for heart patients.

The team found they could harvest blood vessels from the bird's long neck and use them to construct artificial pathways that are up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) long and as little as two millimetres (0.08 inches) in diameter.

Conventional substitutes - taken from dead human donors, animals or made of synthetic fibres or resins - need to be at least double that in order to prevent problems with clotting.

Chief researcher Tetsuji Yamaoka said the arteries, which carry blood to the ostrich's head, are processed and lined with clot-preventing molecules on a nano scale.

"Ostriches are good as they provide a stable supply of narrow and long vessels," said Yamaoka, who heads the Biomedical Engineering Department of the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre in Suita, western Japan.

Researchers at Yamaoka's laboratory used the new vessel in femoral artery bypass operations in five miniature pigs, bridging large arteries in their right and left thighs.

They confirmed the new vessel allowed blood to flow smoothly without the use of clot-prevention agents, Yamaoka said this week, calling it the world's first success in small-diameter, long bypass operations in animals.

There have been bypass operations using short artificial vessels in small animals such as rats, Yamaoka said.

"But vessels must be narrow and long to be used in humans," he said, adding at least 10 centimetres would be needed for human heart operations and 20 centimetres for legs.

Surgeons could cut the new vessel to size for specific operations, making it unnecessary to take blood vessels from elsewhere in the patient's body.

Yamaoka's team aims to start clinical tests in three years.

-AFP/fl

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Common man feels corruption has increased: Study

NEW DELHI: India may be witnessing popular agitations against graft but there is no respite for the common man from the menace with over 60 per cent of slum dwellers in major cities feeling that corruption has indeed increased in the past one year, a new study says.

The 'CMS-India Corruption Study 2012' says majority of the slum dwellers surveyed felt that corruption in public services has grown in the last 12 months, the season of protests against graft and scandals that rocked the country.

The study conducted by the Centre for Media Studies in the slums of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa, Kolkata and Mumbai also said slum dwellers in all these cities perceived an increase in corruption especially police services.

"More than half of the slum dwellers from nine major cities in the 2012 survey felt that corruption in general has increased in public services in the last 12 months while around 29 per cent opined that corruption in public services continues to remain the same," the study released today says.

88 per cent of the people said they faced corruption from police service in the last one year and least in water supply services (78 per cent).

The study threw up several interesting features like 'most often paid' amount among services was highest in police which is Rs 500 and the highest amount paid by a single slum household in Delhi to get a housing plot is Rs 7000.

One slum dweller in Kolkata also paid a paltry sum of Rs 5 to get monthly ration.

Among other findings of the survey include only 23 per cent of the people surveyed in Ahmedabad this year experienced corruption, a remarkable decrease when compared to 41 per cent in 2008.

However, in all other cities the percentage registered a phenomenal increase with 96 per cent of the slum dwellers in Mumbai saying that they have been a victim of the menace. In 2008, the percentage was just 17 per cent.

The study comes at a time when there is a clamour from civil society groups for enacting a stronger Lok Pal Bill and other steps to curb corruption in all spheres of the society.

"The incidence of corruption has doubled since 2008 in urban India from 34 per cent to 67 per cent. Out of those who were asked to pay, 84 per cent paid bribe to pay to avail the services," the study says.

It also says people paid bribe for availing basic services like monthly ration, a ration card, new electricity connection), water supply, removal of garbage), to get OPD card in public hospitals and to get an FIR registered or remove name as an accused from police records.

"Of those who experienced corruption in public services, about 47 per cent experienced once during the last 12 months while another 31 per cent came across such situations twice," it says.

Three out of every four slum dwellers (75 per cent) had been asked for a bribe in at least one of the three public services - PDS, Public Hospital/Health services and Municipal Services - in the previous 12 months prior to the survey.

The study also says around 35 per cent of slum dwellers were denied service at least once as they could not pay bribe.

The study also suggested measures like special review of policies to do with slums and slum dwellers in the specific context of basic services to free them from the menace of corruption.

"Social audit of services in urban slums will ensure better service delivery and plugging the gaps in supply and demand of public services. Rights to Service should be introduced in all big cities across the country for time-bound service delivery," the study said.

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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano

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  Cassiopeia’s Bubble

  Image courtesy T.A. Rector, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSF

  A new camera called the One Degree Imager, located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is responsible for this enticingly crisp image of the Bubble Nebula. Released on December 4, this closeup highlights the sphere of gas blown out by the nebula's central star, which is 45 times larger than our own sun.

  Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, the Bubble Nebula is ten light-years across. Intense radiation from the massive star causes the otherworldly glow that lights up what looks like a celestial soap bubble.

  (Related: "Amazing Hubble Images.")

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Midnight Light

  Photograph by Frank Olsen, My Shot

  Delicate green auroras light up the water at Buksnesfjord, Norway, in a picture taken just after midnight on December 4.

  (See pictures of auroras sparked by a massive solar flare.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Great Escape

  Image courtesy SDO/NASA

  Sheets of plasma—or superheated gas—break off from the surface of the sun in this image taken in extreme ultraviolet light. Before floating free, the plasma rose up and danced along pathways determined by magnetic fields. These unseen forces pushed and pulled the gas into contorted shapes.

  (Learn about the sun.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  New Look

  Image courtesy NASA

  What looks like a jawbreaker is actually a gravity map of the moon. Red areas indicate places with higher gravity fields while blue areas indicate lower gravity fields.

  (Learn about lunar exploration.)

  Twin probes circling the moon—part of NASA's GRAIL mission—since 2011 have been recording changes in gravity as they fly over peaks and valleys on the lunar surface. As one probe flies over an area with a greater gravity field, the washing-machine-size instrument speeds up slightly, increasing the distance between it and its sister probe. These minute changes in position have enabled scientists to construct this very detailed view of local changes in the moon's gravity.

  (How well do you know your moon myths? Take our quiz.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Grainy Picture

  Illustration courtesy L. Calçada, ESO/NAOJ/NRAO
  

  In this artist's conception of fine-grained particles around a brown dwarf—or a failed star—bits of debris are on their way to becoming a rocky planet.

  Current thinking on Earthlike, rocky planet formation says that random collisions between tiny debris occur in the disc of material surrounding newborn stars. But the recent discovery of such a disc surrounding a brown dwarf has some astronomers rethinking that hypothesis. If planets can form from the debris around these failed stars, then rocky planets may be much more common than previously thought.

  (Related: "Coldest Star Found-No Hotter Than Fresh Coffee.")

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Night Vision

  Image courtesy Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, Suomi NPP/NASA

  The Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime image of the aurora australis over the Antarctic coast south of South Africa. Despite the winter darkness and a waning crescent moon, the auroras produced enough light for sensors on board the new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite to capture the boundary between the ice shelf and what some scientists call the Southern, or Antarctic, Ocean (dark line across the bright center swirl).

  Launched last year, Suomi NPP enables scientists to capture nighttime images of the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The new sensor is so sensitive, it can capture the lights from one ship at sea.

  (Learn about Antarctica.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Pearl Islands

  Image courtesy Michael Taylor, Landsat/NASA

  In NASA's Landsat 5 satellite image, the Mergui Archipelago shows off the vibrant greens of its rain forests and the brilliant blues of the surrounding tropical ocean. Located along the southern border of Myanmar (Burma), next to Thailand, the area is known for valuable pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) and a highly diverse concentration of plants and animals.

  (See photos of Myanmar.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Venusian Volcano

  Illustration courtesy AOES Medialab/ESO

  The Venusian atmosphere is made mostly of carbon dioxide, along with periodic spikes in sulfur. Recent research has found that volcanoes on the planet's surface, seen here in an artist's conception, are likely injecting that sulfur into the upper atmosphere. Direct confirmation is difficult, however, since Venus's thick atmosphere precludes a peek at its peaks.

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Image courtesy SSI/ISA/ESA/NASA

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  

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John McAfee Out of Hospital, Back in Cell

Software millionaire John McAfee has been returned to an immigration detention cell in Guatemala after being rushed to a Guatemala City hospital via ambulance.

McAfee, 67 -- who soon may be deported back to Belize, where authorities want to question him about the shooting death of his neighbor -- was reportedly found prostrate on the floor of his cell and unresponsive.

He was wheeled into the hospital on a gurney. Photographers followed in pursuit right into the emergency room, but as emergency workers eased McAfee's limp body from the gurney and onto a bed and began to remove his suit, he suddenly spoke up, saying, "Please, not in front of the press."

Earlier today, McAfee had complained of chest pains, raising concerns he might be having a heart attack.

However, that did not appear to be the case. Hours after his emergency, hospital officials sent McAfee back to the detention center, telling ABC News they found no reason to keep him overnight.

In a phone interview overnight, McAfee told ABC News, "I simply passed out, everything went black."

He said he hit his head on the floor when he collapsed. McAfee explained that for the past 48 hours he hasn't eaten and had very little to drink.

McAfee had been scheduled to be deported to Belize, ABC News has learned. But a judge could stay the ruling if it is determined that McAfee's life is threatened by being in Belizean custody, as McAfee has claimed in the past several weeks.

McAfee's attorneys hope to continue delaying the deportation by appealing to the Guatemala's high court on humanitarian grounds.

Raphael Martinez, a spokesman for the Belize government, said that if McAfee is deported to Belize, he would immediately be handed over to police and detained for up to 48 hours unless charges are brought against him.

"There is more that we know about the investigation, but that remains part of the police work," he said, hinting at possible charges.

He added that a handover by Guatemala would be "the neighborly thing to do."

A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Guatemala said that "due to privacy considerations," the embassy would "have no comment on the specifics of this situation," but that, "U.S. citizens are subject to the laws of the countries in which they are traveling or residing, and must work within the host countries' legal framework."

Guatemala's National Police/AP Photo

Software Founder Breaks Silence: McAfee Speaks on Murder Allegations Watch Video

John McAfee Interview: Software Mogul Leaves Belize Watch Video

Just hours before McAfee's arrest, he told ABC News in an exclusive interview Wednesday he would be seeking asylum in Guatemala. McAfee was arrested by the Central American country's immigration police and not the national police, said his attorney, who was confident his client would be released within hours.

"Thank God I am in a place where there is some sanity," said McAfee before his arrest. "I chose Guatemala carefully."

McAfee said that in Guatemala, the locals aren't surprised when he says the Belizean government is out to kill him.

"Instead of going, 'You're crazy,' they go, 'Yeah, of course they are,'" he said. "It's like, finally, I understand people who understand the system here."

But McAfee added he has not ruled out moving back to the United States, where he made his fortune as the inventor of anti-virus software, and that despite losing much of his fortune he still has more money than he could ever spend.

In his interview with ABC News, a jittery, animated but candid McAfee called the media's representation of him a "nightmare that is about to explode," and said he's prepared to prove his sanity.

McAfee has been on the run from police in Belize since the Nov. 10 murder of his neighbor, fellow American expatriate Greg Faull.

During his three-week journey, said McAfee, he disguised himself as handicapped, dyed his hair seven times and hid in many different places during his three-week journey.

He dismissed accounts of erratic behavior and reports that he had been using the synthetic drug bath salts. He said he had never used the drug, and said statements that he had were part of an elaborate prank.

Investigators said that McAfee was not a suspect in the death of the former developer, who was found shot in the head in his house on the resort island of San Pedro, but that they wanted to question him.

McAfee told ABC News that the poisoning death of his dogs and the murder just hours later of Faull, who had complained about his dogs, was a coincidence.

McAfee has been hiding from police ever since Faull's death -- but Telesforo Guerra, McAfee's lawyer in Guatemala, said the tactic was born out of necessity, not guilt.

"You don't have to believe what the police say," Guerra told ABC News. "Even though they say he is not a suspect they were trying to capture him."

Guerra, who is a former attorney general of Guatemala, said it would take two to three weeks to secure asylum for his client.

According to McAfee, Guerra is also the uncle of McAfee's 20-year-old girlfriend, Samantha. McAfee said the government raided his beachfront home and threatened Samantha's family.

"Fifteen armed soldiers come in and personally kidnap my housekeeper, threaten Sam's father with torture and haul away half a million dollars of my s***," claimed McAfee. "If they're not after me, then why all these raids? There've been eight raids!"

Before his arrest, McAfee said he would hold a press conference on Thursday in Guatemala City to announce his asylum bid. He has offered to answer questions from Belizean law enforcement over the phone, and denied any involvement in Faull's death.

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Rubio, Ryan look to the future during award dinner speeches

Two high-profile Republican members of Congress who stand at the forefront of the effort to rebuild the party after a stinging presidential defeat delivered speeches Tuesday night aimed at turning the page with a fresh emphasis on inclusion and a renewed focus on growing the middle class.

“Nothing represents how special America is more than our middle class. And our challenge and our opportunity now is to create the conditions that allow it not just to survive, but to grow,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), the Leadership Award recipient at a dinner hosted by the Jack Kemp Foundation, a charitable nonprofit organization named for the late congressman and Housing and Urban Development secretary.

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Court grants permission for City Harvest member to travel overseas

SINGAPORE: The Subordinate Courts has granted permission for a senior member of City Harvest Church to travel overseas.

Chew Eng Han, an investment manager for the church, made the application in a pre-trial conference on Thursday.

In August, he had also applied for and was granted permission to go overseas.

His bail remains at S$1 million.

Chew will be back in court on 10 January next year.

He is one of the senior members of the church facing charges for misappropriating S$24 million from the church's building fund.

The other members charged include church founder and president of the management board Kong Hee, vice president and senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, finance director Serina Wee and management board member John Lam Leng Hung.

- CNA/de

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Supreme Court pulls up Centre on appointment of National Green Tribunal head

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Centre for its failure in putting on file the present Chief Justice of India's letter relating to the appointment of the chairman of National Green Tribunal (NGT), which is functioning without its head for a year.

"You have placed the record but where is the letter of the present CJI? Why you have not placed it when you knew that the matter will be taken at 10.30 am today? It's not acceptable.. the manner in which the things are going. We don't know what is happening?," a bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya said.

The bench made the remark after going through the file relating to the appointment placed before it by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A S Chandhiok.

The bench was upset that the matter was "lingering" despite the NGT being "without head" for the last one year.

"We have our own doubts about the manner in which it is being done. We are not sure when the chairman will be appointed," the bench said and reminded the ASG about its previous order of May 3 when the Centre had assured the court that things will be completed.

"It has not happened and it is very unfortunate," the court said.

On May 3, the Centre had submitted before the court that six expert and four judicial members would be appointed by October 31, however, the court had directed it to complete the process of appointments of the NGT chairman as well as its expert and judicial members by September 15.

The court on Thursday asked the Centre to give an undertaking as to by what time it would come out with the notification on appointment of the chairman and the judicial and expert members for the NGT.

The bench said it would take up the matter on Wednesday and would like the ASG to take instructions also on the issue of making available accommodation to the chairman and the judicial and expert members as per their previous status.

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A 2020 Rover Return to Mars?

NASA is so delighted with Curiosity's Mars mission that the agency wants to do it all again in 2020, with the possibility of identifying and storing some rocks for a future sample return to Earth.

The formal announcement, made at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting, represents a triumph for the NASA Mars program, which had fallen on hard times due to steep budget cuts. But NASA associate administrator for science John Grunsfeld said that the agency has the funds to build and operate a second Curiosity-style rover, largely because it has a lot of spare parts and an engineering and science team that knows how to develop a follow-on expedition.

"The new science rover builds off the tremendous success from Curiosity and will have new instruments," Grunsfeld said. Curiosity II is projected to cost $1.5 billion—compared with the $2.5 billion price tag for the rover now on Mars—and will require congressional approval.

While the 2020 rover will have the same one-ton chassis as Curiosity—and could use the same sky crane technology involved in the "seven minutes of terror"—it will have different instruments and, many hope, the capacity to cache a Mars rock for later pickup and delivery to researchers on Earth. Curiosity and the other Mars rovers, satellites, and probes have garnered substantial knowledge about the Red Planet in recent decades, but planetary scientists say no Mars-based investigations can be nearly as instructive as studying a sample in person here on Earth.

(Video: Mars Rover's "Seven Minutes of Terror.")

Return to Sender

That's why "sample return" has topped several comprehensive reviews of what NASA should focus on for the next decade regarding Mars.

"There is absolutely no doubt that this rover has the capability to collect and cache a suite of magnificent samples," said astronomer Steven Squyres, with Cornell University in New York, who led a "decadal survey" of what scientists want to see happen in the field of planetary science in the years ahead. "We have a proven system now for landing a substantial payload on Mars, and that's what we need to enable sample return."

The decision about whether the second rover will be able to collect and "cache" a sample will be up to a "science definition team" that will meet in the years ahead to weigh the pros and cons of focusing the rover's activity on that task.  

As currently imagined, bringing a rock sample back to Earth would require three missions: one to select, pick up, and store the sample; a second to pick it up and fly it into a Mars orbit; and a third to take it from Mars back to Earth.

"A sample return would rely on all the Mars missions before it," said Scott Hubbard, formerly NASA's "Mars Czar," who is now at Stanford University. "Finding the right rocks from the right areas, and then being able to get there, involves science and technology we've learned over the decades."

Renewed Interest

Clearly, Curiosity's success has changed the thinking about Mars exploration, said Hubbard. He was a vocal critic of the Obama Administration's decision earlier this year to cut back on the Mars program as part of agency belt-tightening but now is "delighted" by this renewed initiative.

(Explore an interactive time line of Mars exploration in National Geographic magazine.)

More than 50 million people watched NASA coverage of Curiosity's landing and cheered the rover's success, Hubbard said. If things had turned out differently with Curiosity, "we'd be having a very different conversation about the Mars program now."

(See "Curiosity Landing on Mars Greeted With Whoops and Tears of Jubilation.")

If Congress gives the green light, the 2020 rover would be the only $1 billion-plus "flagship" mission—NASA's largest and most expensive class of projects—in the agency's planetary division in the next decade. There are many other less ambitious projects to other planets, asteroids, moons, and comets in the works, but none are flagships. That has left some planetary scientists not involved with Mars unhappy with NASA's heavy Martian focus.

Future Plans

While the announcement of the 2020 rover mission set the Mars community abuzz, NASA also outlined a series of smaller missions that will precede it. The MAVEN spacecraft, set to launch next year, will study the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail; a lander planned for 2018 will study the Red Planet's crust and interior; and NASA will renew its promise to participate in a European life-detection mission in 2018. NASA had signed an agreement in 2009 to partner with the European Space Agency on that mission but had to back out earlier this year because of budget constraints.

NASA said that a request for proposals would go out soon, soliciting ideas about science instruments that might be on the rover. And as for a sample return system, at this stage all that's required is the ability to identify good samples, collect them, and then store them inside the rover.

"They can wait there on Mars for some time as we figure out how to pick them up," Squyres said. "After all, they're rocks."

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Guatemala Could Deport McAfee to Belize

Software anti virus pioneer John McAfee is in the process of being deported to Belize after he was arrested in Guatemala for entering the country illegally, his attorney told ABC News early Thursday.

ABC News has learned that John McAfee is scheduled to be deported to Belize later this morning. But a judge could stay the ruling if it is determined McAfee's life is threatened by being in Belizean custody, as McAfee has claimed over the past several weeks.

Just hours before McAfee's arrest, he told ABC News in an exclusive interview Wednesday he would be seeking asylum in Guatemala. McAfee was arrested by the Central American country's immigration police and not the national police, said his attorney, who was confident his client would be released within hours.

"Thank God I am in a place where there is some sanity," said McAfee, 67, before his arrest. "I chose Guatemala carefully."

McAfee said that in Guatemala, the locals aren't surprised when he says the Belizean government is out to kill him.
"Instead of going, 'You're crazy,' they go, 'Yeah, of course they are,'" he said. "It's like, finally, I understand people who understand the system here."

But McAfee added he has not ruled out moving back to the United States, where he made his fortune as the inventor of anti-virus software, and that despite losing much of his fortune he still has more money than he could ever spend.
In his interview with ABC News, a jittery, animated but candid McAfee called the media's representation of him a "nightmare that is about to explode," and said he's prepared to prove his sanity.

Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images

Software Founder Breaks Silence: McAfee Speaks on Murder Allegations Watch Video

John McAfee Interview: Software Mogul Leaves Belize Watch Video

John McAfee Interview: Software Millionaire on the Run Watch Video

McAfee has been on the run from police in Belize since the Nov. 10 murder of his neighbor, fellow American expatriate Greg Faull.

During his three-week journey, said McAfee, he disguised himself as handicapped, dyed his hair seven times and hid in many different places during his three-week journey.

He dismissed accounts of erratic behavior and reports that he had been using the synthetic drug bath salts. He said he had never used the drug, and said statements that he had were part of an elaborate prank.

Investigators said that McAfee was not a suspect in the death of the former developer, who was found shot in the head in his house on the resort island of San Pedro, but that they wanted to question him.

McAfee told ABC News that the poisoning death of his dogs and the murder just hours later of Faull, who had complained about his dogs, was a coincidence.

McAfee has been hiding from police ever since Faull's death -- but Telesforo Guerra, McAfee's lawyer in Guatemala, said the tactic was born out of necessity, not guilt.

"You don't have to believe what the police say," Guerra told ABC News. "Even though they say he is not a suspect they were trying to capture him."

Guerra, who is a former attorney general of Guatemala, said it would take two to three weeks to secure asylum for his client.

According to McAfee, Guerra is also the uncle of McAfee's 20-year-old girlfriend, Samantha. McAfee said the government raided his beachfront home and threatened Samantha's family.

"Fifteen armed soldiers come in and personally kidnap my housekeeper, threaten Sam's father with torture and haul away half a million dollars of my s***," claimed McAfee. "If they're not after me, then why all these raids? There've been eight raids!"

Before his arrest, McAfee said he would hold a press conference on Thursday in Guatemala City to announce his asylum bid. He has offered to answer questions from Belizean law enforcement over the phone, and denied any involvement in Faull's death.

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Rubio, Ryan look to the future during award dinner speeches

Two high-profile Republican members of Congress who stand at the forefront of the effort to rebuild the party after a stinging presidential defeat delivered speeches Tuesday night aimed at turning the page with a fresh emphasis on inclusion and a renewed focus on growing the middle class.

“Nothing represents how special America is more than our middle class. And our challenge and our opportunity now is to create the conditions that allow it not just to survive, but to grow,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), the Leadership Award recipient at a dinner hosted by the Jack Kemp Foundation, a charitable nonprofit organization named for the late congressman and Housing and Urban Development secretary.

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New framework to improve safety of working at heights to be launched

SINGAPORE: New guidelines to improve the safety of working at heights will be launched early next year.

Co-developed by the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council and Manpower Ministry (MOM), it is the first safety and health competency framework developed in Singapore, for a specific area of work.

Working at heights is the leading cause of workplace death.

More than 100 workers have died from falls over the past five years, while 16 have died so far this year.

The new guidelines will address concerns raised by industry on competencies.

It is also aimed at raising the capabilities of all stakeholders, from professionals to workers.

There will be training at four levels of vocation -- workers, supervisors, assessors and managers.

Workers will be trained on basic working at heights knowledge.

Supervisors will be trained to ensure that they know how to check that all fall preventive measures are in place before any work is carried out.

Managers will be trained to evaluate and ensure that all systems and processes are implemented.

While assessors, who will do independent checks to ensure all procedures have been adhered to, must be deemed as "competent" under the new framework.

The framework has undergone industry validation.

Highlighting the significance of improving the competency of the workers, Mr Suresh Navaratnam, MOM's director of Policy, Information and Corporate Services from the Occupational Safety and Health Division as well as member of the National Work at Heights Safety Taskforce said, "While best practices, systems and processes have been communicated to industry, they cannot be successfully implemented without a competent workforce.

"To effectively manage WAH (working at heights) risks on the ground, the solution must be to get every stakeholder group to understand the risks, plan the safe work procedures and implement them well.

"Hence, this comprehensive and encompassing framework will help us to ensure that the standards we hope to achieve can be practically carried out by managers, supervisors and workers."

All industry stakeholders are urged to sign up their employees for the courses once they are available in early 2013.

- CNA/lp

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FDI in retail will help India: Praful Patel

NEW DELHI: NCP leader Praful Patel on Wednesday said that FDI in retail trade will help India to progress.

"FDI in retail is the need of the nation. It will help the nation progress," Patel said while taking part in a parliamentary debate on the decision to allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand trade.

"The apprehensions are uncalled for. We have to move with time. The youth want to move ahead with time and stand on their own feet," the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP said.

"Just as we are opposing FDI in retail, in America, they are protesting import of software from India. Should we not export to them?"

He said FDI in retail would also help farmers. "The sourcing of materials will be local. Farmers will benefit."

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Scientific Results From Challenger Deep

Jane J. Lee

The spotlight is shining once again on the deepest ecosystems in the ocean—Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (map) and the New Britain Trench near Papua New Guinea. At a presentation today at the American Geophysical Union's conference in San Francisco, attendees got a glimpse into these mysterious ecosystems nearly 7 miles (11 kilometers) down, the former visited by filmmaker James Cameron during a historic dive earlier this year.

Microbiologist Douglas Bartlett with the University of California, San Diego described crustaceans called amphipods—oceanic cousins to pill bugs—that were collected from the New Britain Trench and grow to enormous sizes five miles (eight kilometers) down. Normally less than an inch (one to two centimeters) long in other deep-sea areas, the amphipods collected on the expedition measured 7 inches (17 centimeters). (Related: "Deep-Sea, Shrimp-like Creatures Survive by Eating Wood.")

Bartlett also noted that sea cucumbers, some of which may be new species, dominated many of the areas the team sampled in the New Britain Trench. The expedition visited this area before the dive to Challenger Deep.

Marine geologist Patricia Fryer with the University of Hawaii described some of the deepest seeps yet discovered. These seeps, where water heated by chemical reactions in the rocks percolates up through the seafloor and into the ocean, could offer hints of how life originated on Earth.

And astrobiologist Kevin Hand with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, spoke about how life in these stygian ecosystems, powered by chemical reactions, could parallel the evolution of life on other planets.

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Subway Push Murder Suspect Implicated Self: Police

A suspect believed to be responsible for throwing a man into the path of an oncoming New York City subway train who was taken into custody today has made statements implicating himself, police said.

According to Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne, the suspect has been questioned by police since at least early afternoon and while the suspect is in police custody, he has not been officially charged.

Police are continuing to question the suspect and more lineups have been scheduled for tomorrow, Browne said.

Police have not released the suspect's name but began questioning him Tuesday afternoon about the death of Ki-Suck Han, 58, of Queens, N.Y.

Han was tossed onto the subway track at 49th Street and Seventh Avenue around 12:30 p.m. Monday after Han confronted a mumbling man who was alarming other passengers on the train platform. Han tried to scramble back onto the platform, but was crushed by an oncoming train.

The suspect fled the station, prompting a police dragnet for a man described by witnesses and see on surveillance video as a 6-foot-tall, 200-pound black man wearing dreadlocks in his hair.

Witnesses tried to revive the victim after he was hit and provided descriptions of the suspect to police.

Dr. Laura Kaplan, medical resident at Beth Israel Medical Center who was standing on the platform during the incident rushed to give Han aid after he was hit, she said in a statement released by her medical practice today.

New York Police Department

Bystanders Pull Mom, Son From Subway Tracks Watch Video

"A security guard and I performed 3-4 minutes of chest compressions. I hope the family may find some comfort in knowing about the kindness of these good Samaritans, as they endure this terrible loss," Kaplan said.

"I would like the family to know that many people in the station tried to help Mr. Han by alerting the subway personnel," she said.

Kaplan said she wanted to console the family of Han, who she called "a brave man trying to protect other passengers that he did not know."

The suspect had reportedly been mumbling to himself and disturbing other passengers, according to ABC News affiliate WABC. Police told WABC that the suspect could be mentally disturbed.

The suspect could be heard arguing with Han just moments before he hurled Han onto the track bed, according to surveillance video released by the police. The suspect is heard telling the victim to stand in line and "wait for the R train."

A freelance photographer for the New York Post was on the platform and said he ran towards the train flashing his camera hoping to alert the train to stop in time, but the train caught Han against the shoulder deep platform wall.

The photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, caught an eerie photo of Han with his head and arms above the platform and staring at the oncoming train.

Han was treated by EMS workers on the platform for traumatic arrest and rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Fire Department of New York.

"I just heard people yelling. The train came to an abrupt stop about three-quarters into the station and that's when I heard a man was hit by a train," Patrick Gomez told ABC News affiliate WABC.

Police set up a command post outside the train station Monday night searching nearby surveillance cameras to try and get a clear image of the suspect, reports WABC. They said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

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AARP lobbies against Medicare changes that could hurt its bottom line

As Washington debates whether to cut federal retirement programs as part of a deal to tackle the nation’s debt, one of the most powerful advocates for preserving them could have millions of dollars riding on the outcome.

AARP, the highly influential lobby for older Americans, is fiercely opposing any Medicare or Social Security cuts and emphasizes that it is fighting for the good of its members. But the proposals for changing Medicare also could affect AARP’s bottom line.

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Hockey: India lose to Germany but finish top of pool

MELBOURNE: India finished top of Pool A despite going down 3-2 in their pool game to Olympic champions Germany at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne on Tuesday.

India will now face win-less Belgium, who finished fourth in Pool B, in a quarter-final on Thursday.

Elsewhere, England blew their chance to finish on top of Pool A after being held to a 1-1 draw against New Zealand, while the Netherlands had a scare against Belgium, but hung on to win 5-4.

A win will put India into the semi-finals and a chance for their first Champions Trophy medal since their bronze at Amstelveen in 1982.

Striker S.K. Uthappa said his team still took confidence going forward despite the loss to the Germans.

"Team morale is very high because we knew that it wouldn't be an easy game to play against the Olympic gold medallists, so we were prepared for a good fight and that's what happened," he said.

"It was most important that we finished on top and that is what we did."

German captain Moritz Fuerste said his team would reassess now they were at the quarter-final stage.

"The first three games weren't that important, but we are definitely happy to avoid Australia or Holland," Fuerste said.

Germany have to await the outcome of the match between Australia and Pakistan later on Tuesday to see who their quarter-final opponents.

India made the best possible start with Gurwinder Chandi finding space in the circle to deliver a powerful shot for the opening goal.

Germany worked themselves back in the game minutes later, with Oliver Korn following up his first shot which hit the post to fire home the rebound and level the game.

The match continued at a frantic pace, with India producing several shots on goal which were all stopped by German goalkeeper Nicolas Jacobi.

India continued on with their form after half-time, with a deflection from Nithin Thimmaiah from a penalty corner retrieving the lead.

India continued to play attacking hockey in search for another goal, however the disciplined German defence held firm.

This eventually paid dividends with a lapse in concentration from India allowing Germany back in the game.

Tobias Matania levelled with 13 minutes remaining and scored again two minutes later to seal the win.

The Netherlands improved their claims of finishing on top of Pool B despite a close call against Belgium 5-4.

While they came away with the win, they were pushed by the Belgians, who fought back from a 3-0 half-time deficit.

Dutch captain Klaas Vermeulen said despite the close call they would take the positives heading into the quarter-finals.

"The tournament is starting now (with the quarter finals). We have to forget the second half and remember the first and stay focused," he said.

Earlier, England let slip a chance to finish on top of Pool A when they were held to a 1-1 draw with New Zealand.

They scored the first goal of the game through Mark Gleghorne, however the Kiwis controlled the second half with veteran Phillip Burrows levelling the score.

New Zealand will next play whoever finishes on top of pool B in the quarter-finals, with captain Dean Cousins saying his team has more scope for improvement.

"We are pleased (today), but need to keep getting better as it is going to get tougher as we go on (throughout the tournament)," he said.

- AFP/de

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Govt aware of Chinese activities along borders: Antony

NEW DELHI: Government is aware of the Chinese activities along the borders and has taken necessary steps to secure the desired national security objectives, the defence ministry told the Lok Sabha.

In a written reply to a question in the House, defence minister A K Antony said yesterday, "Government is aware of the activities of China along the border and is fully seized of the security imperatives of the country."

The threat perception is reviewed from time to time including the need for developing requisite infrastructure in the border areas, he added.

On the steps taken by the Ministry in this regards, the minister said, "Necessary steps, as required, have been initiated through development of infrastructure as well as operational capabilities of the armed forces to secure the desired national security objectives."

Replying to a query on setting up strategic rail links in the country, Antony said a Comprehensive Capability Development Plan (CCDP) has been drawn by the Services, based on the inputs from their operational commands.

"CCDP pertaining to strategic railway lines, including those in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and North East states, has been drawn up by the Services, based on the inputs from operational command and validated from an operational and logistics perspective," he said.

On status of the project, the Minister said that out of the 14 lines, railways have completed survey for 10.

"Survey for three lines is in progress and for one it is yet to start. Railways have expressed inability to fund these highly capital intensive lines in view of huge throwforward of ongoing sanctioned projects and limited availability of resources," Antony said.

In reply to a question on impact of delay in defence projects, the defence minister said that DRDO has written a letter to concerned stakeholders in the Ministry in October 2012 regarding likely delay in systems developed by it, including armaments.

"This delay is likely in case the platform on which these systems are based, is changed. The delay would be in both ongoing projects (which are in fairly advanced stage) as well as in case of systems where development work has been completed and orders have been placed by stakeholders on production agencies," he said.

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Mars Rover Detects Simple Organic Compounds

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has detected several simple carbon-based organic compounds on Mars, but it remains unclear whether they were formed via Earthly contamination or whether they contain only elements indigenous to the planet.

Speaking at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco, Curiosity mission leaders also said that the compound perchlorate—identified previously in polar Mars—appeared to also be present in Gale Crater, the site of Curiosity's exploration.

The possible discovery of organics—or carbon-based compounds bonded to hydrogen, also called hydrocarbons—could have major implications for the mission's search for more complex organic material.

It would not necessarily mean that life exists now or ever existed on Mars, but it makes the possibility of Martian life—especially long ago when the planet was wetter and warmer—somewhat greater, since available carbon is considered to be so important to all known biology.

(See "Mars Curiosity Rover Finds Proof of Flowing Water—A First.")

The announcements came after several weeks of frenzied speculation about a "major discovery" by Curiosity on Mars. But project scientist John Grotzinger said that it remains too early to know whether Martian organics have been definitely discovered or if they're byproducts of contamination brought from Earth.

"When this data first came in, and then was confirmed in a second sample, we did have a hooting and hollering moment," he said.

"The enthusiasm we had was perhaps misunderstood. We're doing science at the pace of science, but news travels at a different speed."

Organics Detected Before on Mars

The organic compounds discovered—different combinations of carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine—are the same or similar to chlorinated organics detected in the mid-1970s by the Viking landers.

(Related: "Life on Mars Found by NASA's Viking Mission?")

At the time, the substances were written off as contamination brought from Earth, but now scientists know more about how the compounds could be formed on Mars. The big question remains whether the carbon found in the compounds is of Martian or Earthly origin.

Paul Mahaffy, the principal investigator of the instrument that may have found the simple organics—the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)—said that while the findings were not "definitive," they were significant and would require a great deal of further study.

Mahaffy also said the discovery came as a surprise, since the soil sample involved was hardly a prime target in the organics search. In fact, the soil was scooped primarily to clean out the rover's mobile laboratory and soil-delivery systems.

Called Rocknest, the site is a collection of rocks with rippled sand around them—an environment not considered particularly promising for discovery. The Curiosity team has always thought it had a much better chance of finding the organics in clays and sulfate minerals known to be present at the base of Mount Sharp, located in the Gale Crater, where the rover will head early next year.

(See the Mars rover Curiosity's first color pictures.)

The rover has been at Rocknest for a month and has scooped sand and soil five times. It was the first site where virtually all the instruments on Curiosity were used, Grotzinger said, and all of them proved to be working well.

They also worked well in unison—with one instrument giving the surprising signal that the minerals in the soil were not all crystalline, which led to the intensive examination of the non-crystalline portion to see if it contained any organics.

Rover Team "Very Confident"

The simple organics detected by SAM were in the chloromethane family, which contains compounds that are sometimes used to clean electronic equipment. Because it was plausible that Viking could have brought the compounds to Mars as contamination, that conclusion was broadly accepted.

But in 2010, Chris McKay of NASA's Ames Research Center and Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez of the National Autonomous University of Mexico published an influential paper describing how dichloromethane can be a byproduct of the heating of other organic material in the presence of the compound perchlorate.

They conducted the experiment because NASA's Phoenix mission had discovered large amounts of perchlorate in the northern polar soil of Mars, and it seems plausible that it would exist elsewhere on the planet.

"In terms of the SAM results, there are two important conclusions," said McKay, a scientist on the SAM team.

"The first is confirming the perchlorate story—that it's most likely there and seems to react at high temperatures with organic material to form the dichloromethane and other simple organics."

"The second is that we'll have to either find organics without perchlorates nearby, or find a way to get around that perchlorate wall that keeps us from identifying organics," he said.

Another SAM researcher, Danny Glavin of Goddard, said his team is "very confident" about the reported detection of the hydrocarbons, and that they were produced in the rover's ovens. He said it is clear that the chlorine in the compounds is from Mars, but less clear about the carbon.

"We will figure out what's going on here," he said. "We have the instruments and we have the people. And whatever the final conclusions, we will have learned important things about Mars that we can use in the months ahead."

Author of the National Geographic e-book Mars Landing 2012, Marc Kaufman has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including the past 12 as a science and space writer, foreign correspondent, and editor for the Washington Post. He is also author of First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth, published in 2011, and has spoken extensively to crowds across the United States and abroad about astrobiology. He lives outside Washington, D.C., with his wife, Lynn Litterine.

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Kate's Illness Sometimes Linked to Twins

Hyperemesis gravidarum, the reason newly pregnant Kate Middleton is in the hospital, is a rare but acute morning sickness that results in weight loss and accounts for about 2 percent of all morning sickness, doctors say.

The condition is sometimes associated with women having twins, experts said.

Women diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum have lost 5 percent of their pre-pregnancy weight, or 10 pounds, said Dr. Ashley Roman, a professor and OB/GYN at New York University Langone Medical Center.

It poses little danger to the tiny heir, doctors said.

"It's traditionally thought that nausea and vomiting is a sign of a healthy pregnancy," Roman said

Dr. Nancy Cossler, an OB/GYN at University Hospitals in Ohio said the condition does not cause loss of pregnancy or birth defects, but it can be a torture to endure.

"The biggest problem with this is how it interferes with your life," Cossler said. "Constantly feeling sick and puking is difficult."

Click here to read about other women with hyperemesis gravidarum.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is thought to be caused by higher levels of the pregnancy hormone, hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, Cossler said. Extra hCG can often be brought on by carrying more than one fetus, she said.

Chris Jackson/AFP/Getty Images

Kate Middleton Pregnant, Admitted to Hospital Watch Video

Kate Middleton, Prince William Expecting Their First Child Watch Video

Prince William and Kate Middleton's Big News Watch Video

In other words, it could be a sign that Middleton is carrying twins. Although there's very little data on twins and hyperemesis gravidarum, one study showed that women carrying twins had a 7.5 percent higher risk of experiencing the acute morning sickness, Roman said.

The extreme morning sickness is usually diagnosed about nine weeks into the pregnancy, and in most cases resolves itself by 16 or 20 weeks, Roman said. In rare cases, it can last the whole pregnancy.

"As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter," a statement from St. James Palace said. Prince William is at the hospital with Middleton, according to the Britain's Press Association.

Click here for photos of Kate through the years.

Roman said doctors prescribe vitamins and ginger capsules at first. If that doesn't stop the vomiting, they will prescribe antihistamines and stronger anti-nausea medications.

Women with hyperemesis gravidarum are also treated with fluids, said Dr. Jessica Young, an OB/GYN at Vanderbilt University. But if left untreated, a pregnant woman who is severely dehydrated for a long period of time could die, "just like any person," Young said.

In extreme cases in which the woman is losing weight and unable to eat, doctors will treat her with intravenous nutrition, Young said.

Hospital stays can vary, and women will often have to be admitted more than once before the condition passes, doctors said.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is somewhat mysterious because some expectant mothers have acute morning sickness during only one of their pregnancies, but have no morning sickness for subsequent pregnancies.

There is a chance that higher levels of hCG, which likely caused Middleton's nausea, could be a sign of a molar pregnancy instead of twins, Cossler said. This would mean Middleton is carrying only a benign growth in her uterus instead of a fetus, or she is carrying a fetus with abnormal DNA and a benign growth. Neither is considered a viable pregnancy.

However, Cossler said molar pregnancies become apparent early on, and doctors would already know whether Middleton had one.

"They would not have released this information," Cossler said of the birth announcement. "I'm certain that they have already eliminated both of those [types of molar pregnancies]."

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Retired military officers’ letter seeks to amend gun law to help battle suicides

A group of senior retired generals and admirals are calling for Congress to amend a recent law that they say “dangerously interferes” with the ability of commanders to battle the epidemic of suicides among members of the military.

Legislation added to the 2011 defense authorization bill at the urging of gun-rights advocates prohibits commanders from collecting any information about weapons privately owned by troops.

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PM Lee meets former US National Security Advisor Scowcroft at Istana

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met former US National Security Advisor General Brent Scowcroft at the Istana on Monday morning.

Mr Scowcroft is also President of the Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory firm.

PM Lee and General Scowcroft exchanged views on a wide range of issues, including developments in the US as well as international and regional developments, according to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While in Singapore, General Scowcroft will also meet Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law Mr K Shanmugam and former Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

- CNA/jc

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FDI in retail to safeguard international market mafias' interest: BJP

ANI Dec 1, 2012, 03.28PM IST

NEW DELHI: India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said retail reform is a step taken by the Congress led-federal government to safeguard the interests of the international market mafias at the cost of national interest.

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday that voting inside the parliament would decide as to who is in favour of national interest and who is working for international interests.

"The government feels that their responsibility is to safeguard the interest of international market mafias instead of national interest and for saving the interest of international market mafias, the government is ready to compromise with national interests. Now, the parliament will decide as to who is in support of international market mafias and who are supporting national interests," said Naqvi.

The government's decision to allow foreign supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart had triggered protest not only from opposition parties but also from some of its allies.

BJP had sought debate on the issue of allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the retail sector, under the rule that entails voting after discussions.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister Office (PMO), V Narayanaswamy said the government would answer all the queries raised by the opposition parties in the parliament and will explain the benefits of allowing FDI in retail sector.

The lower house of parliament has set December 04 and 05 as the date to vote and debate on FDI. The dates for the upper house are yet to be decided.

Narayanaswamy said the government is confident of becoming victorious in the debate.

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Photos: Kilauea Lava Reaches the Sea

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  Into the Sea

  Photograph by Hugh Gentry, Reuters

  A spectacular natural phenomenon was on display early this week as lava from a vent in Hawaii's Kilauea volcano flowed into the ocean, sending up plumes of steam as it made contact with the waves.

  Though lava can still be viewed from Kalapana near the Big Island's Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, ocean entry is no longer occurring, according to the National Park Service.

  Published November 30, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Sea of Fire

  
  Photograph by Hugh Gentry, Reuters
  

  The lava traveled 7 miles (11 kilometers) from Kilauea’s Pu'u O'o vent to the ocean. When lava reaches the water, it cools and hardens, forming a lava delta that can be dangerous to nearby onlookers, according to Reuters.

  The news service reported that no communities on the Big Island were threatened by the lava flow.

  Published November 30, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Volcanic Flare

  
  Photograph by Hugh Gentry, Reuters
  

  A burst of volcanic activity erupts from Kilauea’s crater in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on November 27.

  The volcano has been erupting continuously for nearly 30 years. No major damage has been suffered by a town since 1986, according to Reuters.

  Published November 30, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Fiery Encounter

  Photograph by Hugh Gentry, Reuters

  “Ocean entries are beautiful but dangerous,” said Janet Babb, spokeswoman for the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, in a statement reported by Reuters. She warned that the steam could be more hazardous than it appears.

  Published November 30, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Point of Contact

  
  Photograph by Matt Northam, My Shot
  

  A plume of smoke billows where lava from Kilauea meets the sea in this aerial photo taken November 27.

  Published November 30, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Photograph by Peter Vancoillie, Your Shot

  Published November 30, 2012

  
  

');

---

 $'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_saleprice_t +'';
} else {
html += ' $'+ doc.ngstore_price_t +'';
}
html += '

';

$("#ecom_43331 ul.ecommerce_all_img").append(html);




o.totItems++;

}// end for loop
} // end if data.response.numFound != 0

if(o.totItems != o.maxItems){
if(o.defaultItems.length > 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage && !o.searchComplete){
o.doSearchPage();
} else if(!o.searchComplete) {
o.byID = false;
o.doSearch();
}
}// end if
}// end parseResults function

o.trim = function(str) {
return str.replace(/^\s\s*/, '').replace(/\s\s*$/, '');
}

o.doSearchPage = function(){
o.byID = false;

var tempSearch = window.location.search;
var searchTerms ="default";
var temp;

if( tempSearch.substr(0,7) == "?search"){
temp = tempSearch.substr(7).split("&");
searchTerms = temp[0];
} else {
temp = tempSearch.split("&");
for(var j=0;j 0){
o.getItemByID(o.defaultItems.shift());
} else if(o.isSearchPage){
o.doSearchPage();
} else {
o.doSearch();
}

}// end init function

}// end ecommerce object

var store_43331 = new ecommerce_43331();





store_43331.init();

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