Thousands celebrate at Australia's gay Mardi Gras

SYDNEY: Drag queens and scantily-dressed dancers joined with politicians and military personnel for Sydney's colourful gay and lesbian Mardi Gras, and to call for acceptance and equality.

Gloomy weather failed to dampen the celebration Saturday night, which exploded in a profusion of lights, dancing and music for its 35th anniversary event along Oxford Street, the hub of Sydney's gay and lesbian nightlife.

More than 9,000 revellers on 108 floats took part in the event which bills itself as the world's biggest night parade, while organisers said 300,000 watched the glitzy spectacle which has its origins in a 1978 protest march.

This year the event was dedicated to those "78ers" who took part in that first march which ended in violence and arrests, and some of the original activists took pride of place at the head of the parade.

"Last night's parade was a cheeky, colourful, irreverent and fun as Sydney expects it to be," said Mardi Gras chief executive Michael Rolik.

Sydney's irreverent Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a major tourist drawcard for the city, bringing A$30 million into the economy for the city's largest event behind the New Year's Eve fireworks.

For the first time, gay members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) marched in their uniforms for the parade which was hit by cooler temperatures and occasional sprinklings of rain.

"It's absolutely exhilarating. This is about us being proud of the uniform, and it allows us to show how proud we are of the ADF," Squadron Leader Vince Chong from the Royal Australian Air Force said.

Iconic Australian surf lifesavers were also part of the parade which was opened by the Dykes on Bikes motorcyclists who have been participating in the street party for 25 years.

"The message is that the lifesaver is for everybody, gay, straight, bisexual, whoever," said parade participant Grant Beaumont.

"Life saving is very inclusive and you know, we are very proud to be part of the gay community, we love coming to Mardi Gras every year, and being on the show. We just love it."

The parade had a political flavour in election year in Australia, with many calling for gay marriage to be legalised Down Under, while politicians were also represented, among them Greens leader Christine Milne who marched with other parents with gay children.

"Sydney Mardi Gras is well known as a good time, but it's so much more than a street parade," said Mardi Gras co-chair Peter Urmson.

"It's what we do to continue the struggle against discrimination and inequality as it impacts on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people."

But for thousands of others, the parade is an excuse to enjoy the spectacle and support the gay community, whether they are part of it or not.

"For the (gay) community, it's a really important... to show that we are not hiding... We are proud of who we are," onlooker Gary Aschmoneit said.

Italian tourist Alessandro Macali said he enjoyed the parade which police said this year had ended with significantly fewer arrests and incidents than previous years.

"It's really nice, I love it," Macali said.

- AFP/ir

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Dantewada Maoist attack case: CRPF to appeal against acquittal

NEW DELHI: The CRPF has decided to contest the acquittal of 10 arrested accused in the 2010 Tadmetla Maoist attack case in which 76 security personnel were killed in Chhattisgarh'sDantewada district.

Three years after the central paramilitary lost 75 of its men, the force has written to the Chhattisgarh government with a request to appeal against the January 7 verdict of a local court. A Chhattisgarh policeman was also killed in the attack.

"We have written to the state government. We certainly want the verdict to be challenged and see that the perpetrators are brought to justice," CRPF chief Pranay Sahay told PTI here.

Senior officials in Raipur said the CRPF has also approached local police, probing the case, and offered them help in gathering evidence and bringing on record witnesses for the incident that occurred in the wee hours of April 6.

Ten accused were recently acquitted by the court of additional district judge Anita Dahariya at Dantewada citing lack of evidence against these people.

The CRPF, the mainstay for anti-Naxal operations in the country with more than 80,000 personnel deployed for the task, suffered a huge setback in the deadly Maoist ambush.

The court acquitted the suspects, arrested from nearby areas of Chintalnar in Dantewada within a month of the Naxal attack, as there was no evidence against them.

The force has decided to fight the case and help police in preparing a better and water-tight case, a senior official in Raipur said.

During the case hearing, 43 witnesses of the Chhattisgarh government turned hostile and no witness was presented by the defence side.

Some CRPF jawans, who had sustained bullet injuries in the ambush, were not of much help to the prosecution as they could not re-count much about the incident.

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We Didn’t Domesticate Dogs. They Domesticated Us.

In the story of how the dog came in from the cold and onto our sofas, we tend to give ourselves a little too much credit. The most common assumption is that some hunter-gatherer with a soft spot for cuteness found some wolf puppies and adopted them. Over time, these tamed wolves would have shown their prowess at hunting, so humans kept them around the campfire until they evolved into dogs. (See "How to Build a Dog.")

But when we look back at our relationship with wolves throughout history, this doesn't really make sense. For one thing, the wolf was domesticated at a time when modern humans were not very tolerant of carnivorous competitors. In fact, after modern humans arrived in Europe around 43,000 years ago, they pretty much wiped out every large carnivore that existed, including saber-toothed cats and giant hyenas. The fossil record doesn't reveal whether these large carnivores starved to death because modern humans took most of the meat or whether humans picked them off on purpose. Either way, most of the Ice Age bestiary went extinct.

The hunting hypothesis, that humans used wolves to hunt, doesn't hold up either. Humans were already successful hunters without wolves, more successful than every other large carnivore. Wolves eat a lot of meat, as much as one deer per ten wolves every day-a lot for humans to feed or compete against. And anyone who has seen wolves in a feeding frenzy knows that wolves don't like to share.

Humans have a long history of eradicating wolves, rather than trying to adopt them. Over the last few centuries, almost every culture has hunted wolves to extinction. The first written record of the wolf's persecution was in the sixth century B.C. when Solon of Athens offered a bounty for every wolf killed. The last wolf was killed in England in the 16th century under the order of Henry VII. In Scotland, the forested landscape made wolves more difficult to kill. In response, the Scots burned the forests. North American wolves were not much better off. By 1930, there was not a wolf left in the 48 contiguous states of America.  (See "Wolf Wars.")

If this is a snapshot of our behavior toward wolves over the centuries, it presents one of the most perplexing problems: How was this misunderstood creature tolerated by humans long enough to evolve into the domestic dog?

The short version is that we often think of evolution as being the survival of the fittest, where the strong and the dominant survive and the soft and weak perish. But essentially, far from the survival of the leanest and meanest, the success of dogs comes down to survival of the friendliest.

Most likely, it was wolves that approached us, not the other way around, probably while they were scavenging around garbage dumps on the edge of human settlements. The wolves that were bold but aggressive would have been killed by humans, and so only the ones that were bold and friendly would have been tolerated.

Friendliness caused strange things to happen in the wolves. They started to look different. Domestication gave them splotchy coats, floppy ears, wagging tails. In only several generations, these friendly wolves would have become very distinctive from their more aggressive relatives. But the changes did not just affect their looks. Changes also happened to their psychology. These protodogs evolved the ability to read human gestures.

As dog owners, we take for granted that we can point to a ball or toy and our dog will bound off to get it. But the ability of dogs to read human gestures is remarkable. Even our closest relatives-chimpanzees and bonobos-can't read our gestures as readily as dogs can. Dogs are remarkably similar to human infants in the way they pay attention to us. This ability accounts for the extraordinary communication we have with our dogs. Some dogs are so attuned to their owners that they can read a gesture as subtle as a change in eye direction.

With this new ability, these protodogs were worth knowing. People who had dogs during a hunt would likely have had an advantage over those who didn't. Even today, tribes in Nicaragua depend on dogs to detect prey. Moose hunters in alpine regions bring home 56 percent more prey when they are accompanied by dogs. In the Congo, hunters believe they would starve without their dogs.

Dogs would also have served as a warning system, barking at hostile strangers from neighboring tribes. They could have defended their humans from predators.

And finally, though this is not a pleasant thought, when times were tough, dogs could have served as an emergency food supply. Thousands of years before refrigeration and with no crops to store, hunter-gatherers had no food reserves until the domestication of dogs. In tough times, dogs that were the least efficient hunters might have been sacrificed to save the group or the best hunting dogs. Once humans realized the usefulness of keeping dogs as an emergency food supply, it was not a huge jump to realize plants could be used in a similar way.

So, far from a benign human adopting a wolf puppy, it is more likely that a population of wolves adopted us. As the advantages of dog ownership became clear, we were as strongly affected by our relationship with them as they have been by their relationship with us. Dogs may even have been the catalyst for our civilization.

Dr. Brian Hare is the director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center and Vanessa Woods is a research scientist at Duke University. This essay is adapted from their new book, The Genius of Dogs, published by Dutton. To play science-based games to find the genius in your dog, visit www.dognition.com.

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Man's Body Recovery Effort Ends; Sinkhole 'Unstable'

Authorities have discontinued the rescue effort for a Florida man who was swallowed by a sinkhole when his home's foundation collapsed and said it is unlikely his body will ever be recovered.

"We feel we have done everything we can," Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrell said at a news conference this afternoon. "At this point, it's not possible to recover the body."

Merell said officials would bring in heavy equipment to begin demolishing the home on Sunday.

"We're dealing with a very unusual sinkhole," he said. "It's very deep. It's very wide. It's very unstable."

Jeff Bush was in his bedroom when a sinkhole opened up and trapped him underneath his home at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Two homes next door to Bush's residence were evacuated today after authorities said they had been compromised by the growing sinkhole.

With the assistance of rescuers, the homeowners will be allowed to enter their home for only 30 minutes to gather valuables, authorities said.

Rescuers returned to the site in Seffner, Fla., early this morning to conduct further testing, but decided it was too dangerous for the family initially affected by the sinkhole to enter their home, which was declared condemned.

Florida Sinkhole Opens Up Beneath Man's Home Watch Video

Florida Man Believed Dead After Falling into Sinkhole Watch Video

Florida Sinkhole Swallows House, Man Trapped Inside Watch Video

While the sinkhole was initially estimated to be 15 feet deep on Thursday night, the chasm has continued to grow. Officials now estimate it measures 30 feet across and is up to 100 feet deep.

The Hillsborough County Fire Rescue has set up a relief fund for all families affected by the growing sink hole.

MORE: How Sinkholes Can Develop

Rescue operations were halted Friday night after it became too dangerous to approach the home.

Bill Bracken, an engineer with Hillsborough County Urban Search and Rescue team said the house "should have collapsed by now, so it's amazing that it hasn't."

RELATED: Florida Man Swallowed by Sinkhole: Conditions Too Unstable to Approach

Using ground penetrating radar, rescuers have found a large amount of water beneath the house, making conditions even more dangerous for them to continue the search for Bush.

Hillsborough County lies in what is known as Florida's "Sinkhole Alley." More than 500 sinkholes have been reported in the area since 1954, according to the state's environmental agency.

Meanwhile, Bush's brother, Jeremy Bush, is still reeling from Thursday night.

Jeremy Bush had to be rescued by a first responder after jumping into the hole in an attempt to rescue his brother when the home's concrete floor collapsed, but said he couldn't find him.

"I just started digging and started digging and started digging, and the cops showed up and pulled me out of the hole and told me the floor's still falling in," he said.

"These are everyday working people, they're good people," said Deputy Douglas Duvall of the Hillsborough County sheriff's office. "And this was so unexpected, and they're still, you know, probably facing the reality that this is happening."

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Obama to refocus attention on immigration, gun control

President Obama signaled Friday a desire to refocus his attention on second-term priorities, such as immigration and gun control, after weeks of fruitless wrangling with Republicans over his fiscal agenda.

“What I want to try to do is make sure that we’re constantly focused . . . on how are we helping American families succeed,” Obama said at a news conference after failing to strike a deal with congressional leaders to avert $85 billion in mandatory budget cuts.

“Deficit reduction is part of that agenda, and an important part, but it’s not the only part,” he said. “And I don’t want us to be paralyzed on everything just because we disagree on this one thing.”

For a president who has bemoaned Washington’s penchant for lurching between self-manufactured political crises over the past two years, the inability to compromise with Republicans appeared to leave him simultaneously exasperated and emboldened.

Though he had run out of ideas on how to get Congress to support his plan on taxes and spending — “What more do you think I should do?” he asked a reporter — Obama sounded an upbeat note on other initiatives, including raising the minimum wage, expanding preschool programs and changing voting laws.

“There are other areas where we can make progress,” he said. “This is the agenda that the American people voted for. These are America’s priorities. They’re too important to go unaddressed.”

The president’s tone came as a relief to advocates who have fretted that the ongoing fight over the deficit would drain attention and critical momentum from Obama’s promise to champion reforms to gun control and immigration laws.

Though Obama touched on both during his State of the Union address Feb. 12, the last event he dedicated solely to gun control was a Feb. 4 appearance at a Minneapolis police station, and on immigration it was a Jan. 29 speech at a Las Vegas high school.

In the meantime, the administration has tried to remain engaged via less high-profile means. Vice President Biden made policy speeches and met with advocates on gun control, and Obama used phone calls to Capitol Hill and a private Oval Office meeting with two Republican senators to push quietly on immigration.

“There are plenty of issues Congress needs to be getting to,” said David Leopold, an executive committee member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “Manufactured crises like the ‘fiscal cliff’ or sequester do not advance anyone’s agenda, least of all the American people’s agenda.”

Advocates acknowledged that the White House’s decision to focus on the economy made sense in light of polls showing Americans overwhelmingly believe that jobs and growth should be Obama’s top priority. But they have learned from experience that momentum for their causes can disappear quickly.

Obama promised comprehensive immigration reform in his first term but pursued a major health-care overhaul that ate up his political capital and the administration’s attention. He gave a much-heralded speech about gun violence after the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., in January 2011 that wounded former representative Gabby Giffords (D), but no changes to gun laws followed.

Obama has “got to be an effective spokesperson on [gun violence] to do a good job, but the minute he changes focus from the economy, everybody goes bananas,” said Matt Bennett, a senior vice president at Third Way, a think tank that supports stricter gun control. “That puts him in a bit of a bind.”

On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan coalition of senators is working on legislation that would require mandatory background checks for all private gun sales, closing a long-standing loophole. The bill hit a snag after Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) opposed adding language to the bill that would require gun owners to keep transactional records of private firearms sales.

Another bipartisan Senate group is drafting a comprehensive immigration bill that would likely include a path to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants. Senators said they hope to produce a draft in March, but the bill could be delayed until after the Easter recess, which runs through April 5, several sources said.

In a pointed reminder of the difficulty of engaging on more than one issue at a time, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) were late to a meeting with the bipartisan immigration group last week because they were on the Senate floor blasting Democrats over the mandatory budget cuts. Only after their floor speeches ended did the pair join their colleagues for more cordial discussions.

On Friday, even as he bemoaned the lack of GOP cooperation on the spending cuts, Obama made a point to praise the Republican-led House for approving a renewed Violence Against Women Act this week.

“What I’m going to keep on trying to do is to make sure that we push on those things that are important to families,” Obama said. “We won’t get everything done all at once, but we can get a lot done.”

Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.

Discuss this topic and other political issues in the politics discussion forums.

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Anti-whalers say Japanese fleet heading north

SYDNEY: Militant anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd said Japan's entire harpoon fleet had left the Antarctic whale sanctuary on Saturday and was heading north, suggesting that their annual hunt may have come to an end.

Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd's director-turned-observer, said this year would likely see the lowest haul by the Japanese whalers in history, with "no more than 75" of the mammals killed due to the group's campaign of harassment.

That compares with a catch of 267 last year -- 266 minke whales and one fin whale -- and is dramatically below the target of 935 minke whales and up to 50 fin whales set for this season by Japan's Institute for Cetacean Research.

"The entire Japanese whaling fleet is now north of sixty degrees and out of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary," Watson said.

"Is whaling over for the season? We are not positive but we are 80 per cent sure that it may be over."

"This campaign will see the lowest take by the Japanese whaling fleet in the entire history of their Antarctic whale hunts."

Watson said the Korean-owned, Panamanian-flagged supply tanker the Sun Laurel was currently 48 hours from the factory ship Nisshin Maru, with a four-day return trip to the whaling sanctuary looking increasingly unlikely.

"This would leave about a week to kill whales and with the weather quickly deteriorating it would hardly be worth the effort."

Watson said Sea Shepherd had seen the Japanese kill just two Minke whales, and they had only had two days of unobstructed hunting in the whole season, which began in late December.

"My conservative estimate of the number of whales killed this year is no more than 75. It could be much lower but certainly not higher," he said.

Watson described the campaign, in which each side accused the other of ramming attacks, as "enormously successful" and said Sea Shepherd would "continue to follow the whaling fleet north to ensure that they do not return to kill whales."

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has chased the Japanese fleet hunting whales off Antarctica for several years in a bid to stop the animals being slaughtered.

Japan says it conducts vital scientific research using a loophole in an international ban on whaling, but makes no secret of the fact that the mammals ultimately end up as food.

- AFP/ck

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Lawyer accuses Pak of 'blocking' book on Sarabjit

MUMBAI: Pakistani lawyer-activist Awais Sheikh has accused the authorities of stalling the release of his book on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh.

Sheikh wrote an email to say, "At 3pm on Friday my guests and I arrived at Lahore Press Club for the launch ceremony and were shocked to see the doors locked. The administration informed us that they were unable to allow the function owing to a security threat."

Invitees including Hamid Khan, former president of Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association and I A Rehman, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and other guests were reportedly displeased with the authorities for "blocking" the function.

Sheikh alleged that those who "feared that the facts of Sarabjit Singh's matter would be revealed through the book were responsible for this unlawful and unfair act".

He claimed his writings would make the people of Pakistan "aware of the gross injustice done to Sarabjit".

He also claimed that an anonymous letter addressed to his wife was delivered at his residence Friday morning by an "unknown person". The writer allegedly threatened to harm his family if he went ahead with the press conference on Sarabjit. Sheikh is yet to approach the police in this matter.

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Black Hole Spins at Nearly the Speed of Light

A superfast black hole nearly 60 million light-years away appears to be pushing the ultimate speed limit of the universe, a new study says.

For the first time, astronomers have managed to measure the rate of spin of a supermassive black hole—and it's been clocked at 84 percent of the speed of light, or the maximum allowed by the law of physics.

"The most exciting part of this finding is the ability to test the theory of general relativity in such an extreme regime, where the gravitational field is huge, and the properties of space-time around it are completely different from the standard Newtonian case," said lead author Guido Risaliti, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and INAF-Arcetri Observatory in Italy. (Related: "Speedy Star Found Near Black Hole May Test Einstein Theory.")

Notorious for ripping apart and swallowing stars, supermassive black holes live at the center of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way. (See black hole pictures.)

They can pack the gravitational punch of many million or even billions of suns—distorting space-time in the region around them, not even letting light to escape their clutches.

Galactic Monster

The predatory monster that lurks at the core of the relatively nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is estimated to weigh in at about two million times the mass of the sun, and stretches some 2 million miles (3.2 million kilometers) across-more than eight times the distance between Earth and the moon, Risaliti said. (Also see "Black Hole Blast Biggest Ever Recorded.")

Risaliti and colleagues' unprecedented discovery was made possible thanks to the combined observations from NASA's high-energy x-ray detectors on its Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) probe and the European Space Agency's low-energy, x-ray-detecting XMM-Newton space observatory.

Astronomers detected x-ray particle remnants of stars circling in a pancake-shaped accretion disk surrounding the black hole, and used this data to help determine its rate of spin.

By getting a fix on this spin speed, astronomers now hope to better understand what happens inside giant black holes as they gravitationally warp space-time around themselves.

Even more intriguing to the research team is that this discovery will shed clues to black hole's past, and the evolution of its surrounding galaxy.

Tracking the Universe's Evolution

Supermassive black holes have a large impact in the evolution of their host galaxy, where a self-regulating process occurs between the two structures.

"When more stars are formed, they throw gas into the black hole, increasing its mass, but the radiation produced by this accretion warms up the gas in the galaxy, preventing more star formation," said Risaliti.

"So the two events—black hole accretion and formation of new stars—interact with each other."

Knowing how fast black holes spin may also help shed light how the entire universe evolved. (Learn more about the origin of the universe.)

"With a knowledge of the average spin of galaxies at different ages of the universe," Risaliti said, "we could track their evolution much more precisely than we can do today."

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Obama Signs Order to Begin Sequester Cuts

President Obama and congressional leaders today failed to reach a breakthrough to avert a sweeping package of automatic spending cuts, setting into motion $85 billion of across-the-board belt-tightening that neither had wanted to see.

President Obama officially initiated the cuts with an order to agencies Friday evening.

He had met for just over an hour at the White House Friday morning with Republican leaders House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Democratic allies, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Vice President Joe Biden.

But the parties emerged from their first face-to-face meeting of the year resigned to see the cuts take hold at midnight.

"This is not a win for anybody," Obama lamented in a statement to reporters after the meeting. "This is a loss for the American people."

READ MORE: 6 Questions (and Answers) About the Sequester

Officials have said the spending reductions immediately take effect Saturday but that the pain from reduced government services and furloughs of tens of thousands of federal employees would be felt gradually in the weeks ahead.

Sequestration Deadline: Obama Meets With Leaders Watch Video

Sequester Countdown: The Reality of Budget Cuts Watch Video

Federal agencies, including Homeland Security, the Pentagon, Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education, have all prepared to notify employees that they will have to take one unpaid day off per week through the end of the year.

The staffing trims could slow many government services, including airport screenings, air traffic control, and law enforcement investigations and prosecutions. Spending on education programs and health services for low-income families will also get clipped.

"It is absolutely true that this is not going to precipitate the crisis" that would have been caused by the so-called fiscal cliff, Obama said. "But people are going to be hurt. The economy will not grow as quickly as it would have. Unemployment will not go down as quickly as it would have. And there are lives behind that. And it's real."

The sticking point in the debate over the automatic cuts -- known as sequester -- has remained the same between the parties for more than a year since the cuts were first proposed: whether to include more new tax revenue in a broad deficit reduction plan.

The White House insists there must be higher tax revenue, through elimination of tax loopholes and deductions that benefit wealthier Americans and corporations. Republicans seek an approach of spending cuts only, with an emphasis on entitlement programs. It's a deep divide that both sides have proven unable to bridge.

"This discussion about revenue, in my view, is over," Boehner told reporters after the meeting. "It's about taking on the spending problem here in Washington."

Boehner: No New Taxes to Avert Sequester

Boehner says any elimination of tax loopholes or deductions should be part of a broader tax code overhaul aimed at lowering rates overall, not to offset spending cuts in the sequester.

Obama countered today that he's willing to "take on the problem where it exists, on entitlements, and do some things that my own party doesn't like."

But he says Republicans must be willing to eliminate some tax loopholes as part of a deal.

"They refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit," Obama said. "We can and must replace these cuts with a more balanced approach that asks something from everybody."

Can anything more be done by either side to reach a middle ground?

The president today claimed he's done all he can. "I am not a dictator, I'm the president," Obama said.

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Sequester hits federal agencies. Now what for federal employees?

Now what?

Congress has failed the country — again.

Unable to avoid $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts, known as the sequester, the process of slicing agency spending starts Friday.

What does that mean for federal employees? What options do they have?

Agencies will begin informing staff members of furloughs that could last up to 22 days through September, when the fiscal year ends. In a few cases, agencies might be able to shave enough off of their budgets to avoid making employees take unpaid leave days.

But more than a million federal employees won’t be so fortunate. Many likely will get furlough notices sometime in March, 30 days before the first furlough.

That lag means there is still hope that Congress will do its job and reach an agreement that will allow federal workers to do theirs without anyone losing pay and without Americans losing services and any more faith in their leaders.

Unionized federal employees hope labor leaders can limit the pain of sequestration as much as possible through talks with agency managers before furloughs begin. Those talks are required for workers in bargaining units. Employees not covered by a collective-bargaining agreement don’t have that protection.

Just so there’s no mistake, the Office of Management and Budget reminded agencies this week of the need to include unions in the planning process.

Agencies “must allow employees’ exclusive representatives to have pre-decisional involvement in these matters,” Danny Werfel, OMB’s controller, said in a memo Wednesday to agency heads.

Managers “have a duty to notify their exclusive representatives and, upon request, bargain over any negotiable impact and implementation proposals the union may submit, unless the matter of furloughs is already covered by a collective bargaining agreement,” he added.

Already, there is one charge by a union official that these talks are not going as envisioned.

Gabrielle Martin, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 216, which represents Equal Employment Opportunity Commission staffers, said the agency has refused to engage in talks about furlough plans that the EEOC intends to issue next week.

No so, according to Claudia Withers, EEOC’s chief operating officer. She said agency officials briefed the union Monday “and consider this to be just the beginning of an important conversation about what the agency will do to respond to sequestration.”

Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said her organization has had off-the-record talks with agencies and expects formal bargaining to start in a week or two, once agencies issue furlough notices.

At the top of her list are negotiations to determine when employees can take days off.

“We want employees to have choices in that,” she said.

Kelley mentioned a mother who pays for child care by the week. If she is forced to take off one day a week, she would have to pay for a day of child care she doesn’t use. The mother’s preference would be to take five days consecutively, which would allow her to save a week’s worth of child-care payments.

Such savings would be particularly important because a one-day-a-week furlough for the rest of the fiscal year amounts to a 10 percent pay cut.

Although agencies must allow unions to bargain over the implementation of furloughs, management does not have to follow labor’s recommendations. And employees not in a union will have no one to even plead their case.

“They don’t have that kind of involvement that’s spelled out for the unions,” said Carol Bonosaro, president of the Senior Executives Association (SEA).

Like their unionized colleagues, however, employees not in a bargaining unit can appeal furloughs to the Merit Systems Protection Board. But Bill Bransford, SEA’s general counsel, said “it would be unusual” for an appeal of uniform furloughs to be successful.

Werfel also told agency managers that they should give “heightened scrutiny” to the hiring of employees, monetary awards to staffers and spending on training, travel and conferences. OMB didn’t prohibit these activities, but Werfel’s directive said they should be “conducted only to the extent they are the most cost-effective way to maintain critical agency mission operations under sequestration.”

Union negotiations can lessen the pain of a furlough, but employees should not expect it to go away. “What is not on the table,” said David Borer, AFGE
’s general counsel, “is negotiating the furlough away.”

Previous columns by Joe Davidson are available at wapo.st/JoeDavidson.

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Taiwan turns plastic junk into blankets, dolls

TAIPEI: Some 40 people stand ankle-deep in used plastic bottles in the yard of a recycling station in Taipei, stamping them flat in the first step of a process that will transform the junk into usable goods.

At the station operated by Taiwan's largest charity group Tzu Chi Foundation, hundreds of volunteers help sort and recycle plastic waste along with used glass bottles and electronic appliances.

"Plastic bottles won't be decomposed even if they are buried for 1,000 years so we started to recycle and re-use them to reduce garbage and pollution," said Chien Tung-yuan, a spokesman for the foundation.

"The used bottles are being treated and processed in a 13-step procedure to be made into textiles such as blankets and clothes and even dolls."

Tzu Chi runs 5,400 recycling stations across Taiwan with the help of more than 76,000 volunteers and has distributed more than 460,000 blankets made from plastic bottles since 2007 for relief use at home and abroad.

For the volunteers in charge of crushing the plastic bottles, who are from two nearby nursing homes for the mentally ill, the recycling work has also become part of their therapy, Chien said.

"They come in twice a week as the simple task helps them concentrate and stabilise their emotions. It's not only therapeutic for them but also for a very good cause."

Taiwan started recycling plastic more than a decade ago and today it boasts more than 70 percent recycling rates, according to the Environmental Protection Administration.

In 2011, 193,000 tonnes of used plastic were collected and turned into raw materials worth Tw$5.0 billion ($172 million).

Taiwan made international headlines with the "eco-fabric" used to make the jerseys for nine teams in the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa.

-AFP/sb

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BJP national executive to meet today

NEW DELHI: BJP will chalk out a road-map for evolving its strategy to project itself as an alternative in the next general elections, at the meeting of its national executive and national council starting on Friday.

While the BJP national executive will hold a closed-door meeting on Friday, its national council, a broader body having members from across the country, will hold its two-day meeting on Saturday and Sunday.

The conclave is crucial as it will be the first such meeting after the election of Rajnath Singh as party chief.

During the next three days, the party leadership will discuss a host of issues including the internal security situation in the wake of Hyderabad blasts, scams including the VVIP chopper deal, economic slowdown and Indo-Pak ties.

The BJP national executive and council will also examine details of how to take on the UPA government by highlighting its "failures" on the economic and security front.

Sources said significant decisions like appointment of the new team of central office-bearers and elevation of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the central parliamentary board are likely to take place after the conclave.

These issues are likely to come up for discussion informally during the meet, sources said.

BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the meeting will start with the address of party president Rajnath Singh and will discuss the economic, social and political issues of the country.

Naqvi said the national executive and nation council meetings will have four and nine sessions, respectively. "In three days of the meeting we will discuss the strategy for upcoming elections with the motto 'Sushasan sankalp BJP vikalp' (BJP is promise to good governance).

Naqvi said the economic, social, political situation and challenges before the country will be discussed in the council and executive meeting.

Issues like graft, inflation, internal and national security will also be discussed along with "antyodaya and good governance", he added.

The national council, will pass two resolutions. There will be a resolution on the political situation prevailing in the country and will deal with the "policy paralysis" within the UPA government and the "grim" internal security scenario.

It will mainly focus on terrorism in the wake of the Hyderabad blasts. The government's allegations of BJP and RSS sponsoring terrorism, and the Ram Settu issue are also likely to figure in the discussions.

All members of the national council and executive, MPs and MLAs in state assemblies, state office bearers, national co-ordinators of morchas, co-coordinators, all district presidents and general secretaries among others will participate in the council meeting.

The national executive meeting, with about 200 members, will be held in NDMC convention centre and the national council comprising of over 2,000 leaders will be held in Talkatora Indoor stadium.

The economic resolution will point out the "wrong economic policies" of the UPA government which has led to price rise, fall in GDP growth to 5 per cent, plight of farmers, lack of foreign investment in multi-brand retail sector among other issues.

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Scarred Duckbill Dinosaur Escaped T. Rex Attack

A scar on the face of a duckbill dinosaur received after a close encounter with a Tyrannosaurus rex is the first clear case of a healed dinosaur wound, scientists say.

The finding, detailed in the current issue of the journal Cretaceous Research, also reveals that the healing properties of dinosaur skin were likely very similar to that of modern reptiles.

The lucky dinosaur was an adult Edmontosaurus annectens, a species of duckbill dinosaur that lived in what is today the Hell Creek region of South Dakota about 65 to 67 million years ago. (Explore a prehistoric time line.)

A teardrop-shaped patch of fossilized skin about 5 by 5 inches (12 by 14 centimeters) that was discovered with the creature's bones and is thought to have come from above its right eye, includes an oval-shaped section that is incongruous with the surrounding skin. (Related: "'Dinosaur Mummy' Found; Have Intact Skin, Tissue.")

Bruce Rothschild, a professor of medicine at the University of Kansas and Northeast Ohio Medical University, said the first time he laid eyes on it, it was "quite clear" to him that he was looking at an old wound.

"That was unequivocal," said Rothschild, who is a co-author of the new study.

A Terrible Attacker

The skull of the scarred Edmontosaurus also showed signs of trauma, and from the size and shape of the marks on the bone, Rothschild and fellow co-author Robert DePalma, a paleontologist at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History in Florida, speculate the creature was attacked by a T. rex.

It's likely, though still unproven, that both the skin wound and the skull injury were sustained during the same attack, the scientists say. The wound "was large enough to have been a claw or a tooth," Rothschild said.

Rothschild and DePalma also compared the dinosaur wound to healed wounds on modern reptiles, including iguanas, and found the scar patterns to be nearly identical.

It isn't surprising that the wounds would be similar, said paleontologist David Burnham of the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute, since dinosaurs and lizards are distant cousins.

"That's kind of what we would expect," said Burnham, who was not involved in the study. "It's what makes evolution work—that we can depend on this."

Dog-Eat-Dog

Phil Bell, a paleontologist with the Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Initiative in Canada who also was not involved in the research, called the Edmontosaurus fossil "a really nicely preserved animal with a very obvious scar."

He's not convinced, however, that it was caused by a predator attack. The size of the scar is relatively small, Bell said, and would also be consistent with the skin being pierced in some other accident such as a fall.

"But certainly the marks that you see on the skull, those are [more consistent] with Tyrannosaur-bitten bones," he added.

Prior to the discovery, scientists knew of one other case of a dinosaur wound. But in that instance, it was an unhealed wound that scientists think was inflicted by scavengers after the creature was already dead.

It's very likely that this particular Edmontosaurus wasn't the only dinosaur to sport scars, whether from battle wounds or accidents, Bell added.

"I would imagine just about every dinosaur walking around had similar scars," he said. (Read about "Extreme Dinosaurs" in National Geographic magazine.)

"Tigers and lions have scarred noses, and great white sharks have got dings on their noses and nips taken out of their fins. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and [Edmontosaurus was] unfortunately in the line of fire from some pretty big and nasty predators ... This one was just lucky to get away."

Mysterious Escape

Just how Edmontosaurus survived a T. rex attack is still unclear. "Escape from a T. rex is something that we wouldn't think would happen," Burnham said.

Duckbill dinosaurs, also known as Hadrosaurs, were not without defenses. Edmontosaurus, for example, grew up to 30 feet (9 meters) in length, and could swipe its hefty tail or kick its legs to fell predators.

Furthermore, they were fast. "Hadrosaurs like Edmontosaurus had very powerful [running] muscles, which would have made them difficult to catch once they'd taken flight," Bell said.

Duckbills were also herd animals, so maybe this one escaped with help from neighbors. Or perhaps the T. rex that attacked it was young. "There's something surrounding this case that we don't know yet," Burnham said.

Figuring out the details of the story is part of what makes paleontology exciting, he added. "We construct past lives. We can go back into a day in the life of this animal and talk about an attack and [about] it getting away. That's pretty cool."

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Arias Recounts Each Moment of Stabbing, Slashing

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was forced to recount today each detail of how she killed her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, including re-enacting how he allegedly tackled her when she shot him, leaving her crying in her hands on the witness stand.

During hours of dramatic cross-examination by prosecutor Juan Martinez, Arias bawled as he asked her about stabbing, slashing and shooting Alexander on June 4, 2008.

"You would acknowledge that Mr. Alexander was stabbed, and that the stabbing was with the knife, and it was after the shooting according to you, right?" Martinez said in rapid succession.

"Yes, I don't remember," Arias said, covering her face with her hands.

"Do you acknowledge the stab wounds, and we can count them together, were to the back of the head and the torso?" Martinez said, flashing a photo of Alexander's bloodied body onto the courtroom projector. " Do you want to take a look at the photo?"

Arias, burying her face in her hands and shutting her eyes on the stand, mumbled, "No."

Alexander's sisters, seated in the front row of the gallery, also looked away, crying.

Arias, 32, is accused of killing Alexander on June 4, 2008 out of jealousy. He was stabbed 27 times, his throat was slashed and he was shot in the head twice.

Arias claims she killed in self-defense after Alexander had become increasingly violent with her. She could face the death penalty if convicted.

Martinez also forced Arias to demonstrate in court today how she claims Alexander lunged at her "like a linebacker," causing her to fire the gun at him. The pair argued over how exactly Alexander was positioned, and Martinez pushed her to explain what she meant.

"He lunges at me like a linebacker," Arias said.

"Like a linebacker, what does that mean?" Martinez asked.

Jodi Arias Under Attack in Third Day of Cross-Examination Watch Video

Jodi Arias, Prosecutor Butt Heads in Cross-Examination Watch Video

Jodi Arias Maintains She 'Felt Like a Prostitute' Watch Video

"He was low. It was almost like he dove," she said, and trying to explain it further, added, "He was like a linebacker is the only way I can describe it unless I get up to act it out which I'd rather not do."

Catching Up on the Trial? Check Out ABC News' Jodi Arias Trial Coverage

Timeline of the Jodi Arias Trial

"Go ahead and do it," Martinez said. "Just stand. Go ahead."

Judge Sherry Stephens initially cleared the court as Arias demonstrated and then Martinez had her do it again after the jury and spectators were allowed back into the courtroom.

Standing and moving away from the witness box, Arias bent at the waist and spread out her arms and meekly made a slight lunging motion.

According to her testimony, Arias fired the gun as Alexander rushed at her, tackling her to the ground. She said she does not remember how she stabbed or slashed him.

It was a day of dramatics and anger as the prosecution pressed Arias on the details of the killing, with Martinez ending the afternoon of questioning by accusing Arias of lying throughout her direct testimony.

At one point Arias dissolved into tears, unable to answer pointed questions when shown a photo of Alexander's body lying crumpled in the bottom of the stall shower.

After a short pause, Martinez asked dryly, "Were you crying when you were shooting him?"

"I don't remember," Arias moaned.

"Were you crying when you stabbed him?" he said. "How about when you slashed his throat?"

"I don't remember, I don't know."

Martinez pressed on, "You're the one that did this right? And lied about all this right?"

"Yes."

"So then take a look at it," he barked.

Arias did not answer Martinez's question, crying into her hands instead. The judge, after a moment, called for the lunch recess to take a break from the testimony. Arias' attorney walked over and consoled her, telling her to "take a moment."

Until that moment, Arias had given vague answers to Martinez as he asked about the hours leading up to the murder. Arias, 32, has testified that she drove to Alexander's house on June 4, 2008, for a sexual liaison, that she had sex with Alexander and the pair took nude photos before an explosive confrontation ended with her killing him. She claims she doesn't remember stabbing Alexander, but insists it was in self-defense.

Martinez questioned her claims, asking exactly what they argued about and who encouraged whom to take the nude photos. He pointed out that Arias told Detective Esteban Flores of the Mesa police department that she had to convince Alexander to take the nude photos in the shower, but that she testified on the stand that Alexander had wanted them.

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House to vote on Violence Against Women Act measures

Seeking to avoid a protracted and politically damaging fight over reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, Republican leaders are prepared to allow the House to vote Thursday on a version of the bill favored by Democrats, an unusual move that acknowledges GOP divisions on the touchy issue.

The House will vote first on a Republican version of the bill, which authorizes funding for programs to aid prosecution of domestic violence and sexual assault cases and assist victims.

But with Democrats unified in opposition and Republicans divided, the GOP’s alternative appears likely to fail.

The House would then move to a vote on a version adopted by the Senate this month on a broadly bipartisan 78 to 22 vote. It broadens the bill’s protections to gays and lesbians and expands the authority of tribal courts to prosecute non-native Americans accused in domestic violence cases on Indian reservations. It is supported by the White House and domestic violence advocates.

That bill is expected to pass on the strength of votes from Democrats and some Republicans — and over objections from a bloc of conservatives, an increasingly common pathway for successful legislation in a House roiled by divisions inside the GOP majority.

The outcome would send the Senate bill to President Obama for his signature, reauthorizing the landmark measure which has been credited with raising awareness of the problems of violence against women since it was first enacted in 1994.

“The majority of the country feels strongly this is something we ought to do,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a Native American. He prefers the Senate bill because of how it would deal with crimes committed on Indian reservations. “It’s better to resolve this and move on, rather than be hung up on the issue.”

VAWA has been reauthorized on noncontroversial and bipartisan votes twice.

But a third reauthorization stumbled on a partisan dispute last year after the House adopted a Republican bill in response to opposition expansions in VAWA’s protections that had been adopted by the Senate.

The two chambers could not work out differences in their bill before it expired with the end of the last Congress.

But after a campaign season marred by GOP missteps on the sensitive issue of rape and an election won by Democrats in part because of women’s support, Republican leaders are now eager to find a resolution on the issue.

When the Senate took up a bill similar to one that passed last year with 15 Republican Senate votes, its GOP support grew to 23 senators. A bloc of House Republicans then began urging their leaders to allow the bipartisan version to receive a vote.

“Elections have consequences,” said Terri O’Neal, president of the National Organization for Women, which is part of a broad coalition pushing the Senate version, explaining the shift.

“House Republicans look increasingly out of touch with the American public if they’re the place where these bipartisan bills come to die. I think wiser heads among their leadership recognize that,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

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Australian government pension fund dumps tobacco

SYDNEY: The Australian government's pension fund for public servants Thursday announced it would sell off its A$222 (US$228) million holdings in tobacco companies following the nation's move towards plain packaging.

The Future Fund, which manages some A$80 billion in retirement savings for government workers, said it had decided to "exclude primary tobacco producers from its investment portfolio" after a review of its holdings.

"The board noted tobacco's very particular characteristics including its damaging health effects, addictive properties and that there is no safe level of consumption," said fund chairman David Gonski.

"In doing so the board also considered its investment policies and approach to environmental, social and governance issues."

It relates to shares worth A$222 million in 14 companies engaged in tobacco production -- 0.3 per cent of the fund's total holdings -- including the four giants that took legal action against Australia's plain packets plan.

Health groups and Australia's left-wing Greens party had questioned the fund's investment in tobacco as inconsistent with public values following the shift in December to plain packaging for tobacco in a bid to curb smoking.

The fund has previously jettisoned holdings on ethical grounds, selling off its stock in 10 defence companies that manufactured cluster munitions and land-mines in 2011.

Similar moves against tobacco firms were taken by the Norwegian government's pension fund in 2010.

Australia estimates there are 15,000 deaths nationally each year from tobacco-related illnesses and that smoking costs more than A$30 billion a year in healthcare and lost productivity.

- AFP/ck

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Assembly polls: Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura to get new govts today

NEW DELHI/KOHIMA/AGARTALA/ SHILLONG: Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura will get new governments today. Counting of votes began at 8am in all the three northeast states.

Tight security for Nagaland assembly poll counting

PARTY	LEADS	WINS
CONGRESS	4	0
UNDP	1	0
NPF	15	0
OTHERS	2	0

Adequate security arrangements have been made for the counting of votes to the 59 assembly seats of the 60-member House in Nagaland today.

Peaceful elections were held in the state on February 23 while re-polling was done in nine polling stations at eight assembly constituencies spread over seven districts on Wednesday.

Among those whose electoral fortunes will be decided today are chief minister Neiphiu Rio, Speaker Kiyanilie Peseyie, opposition leader Tokheho Yepthomi, state Congress president S I Jamir and former home minister Imkong L Imchen.

A total of 59 halls have been provided in the districts with three-tier security layers created in each counting hall.

Over 10,000 counting personnel including counting supervisors and counting assistants are engaged in the counting process along with micro observers and Election Commission appointed observers.

In consonance with an Election Commission directive, the international border has been sealed so that no unwanted elements can enter into the state during the counting of votes.

The entire process will be videographed, he said.

Meghalaya: Amid split verdict fears, Congress dreams victory

PARTY	LEADS	WINS
CONGRESS	12	0
UDP	6	0
NCP	1	0
OTHERS	6	0
Hill state People's Democratic party	2	2

With counting of votes underway in Meghalaya, both the ruling Congress and non-Congress parties are confident of winning the elections.

A whopping 88 percent of the 1.5 million voters exercised their franchise Feb 16 to pick a new 60-member house in the state bordering Bangladesh.

There were 345 candidates, including 25 women and 122 independents.

But some experts fear that Meghalaya may be headed for a fractured mandate.

"I have always believed that Meghalaya will never get a clear mandate since elections here are conducted based on the personality of the candidate and trivial issues," AK Baruah, a retired professor of political science who taught at the North Eastern Hill University said.

Carved out of Assam in 1972, Meghalaya has seen 23 chief ministers in a span of 41 years.

Captain Williamson Sangma, who led the government for the first time, was the only one to ever lead a single-party government in the state.

Since then, Meghalaya has seen fractured mandates, leading to volatile coalition governments.

However, outgoing chief minster Mukul Sangma, 47, hopes to return to the assembly for a fifth consecutive time from Ampati constituency.

"We are close to half-way mark and we are hoping to get more," the Congress leader said.

The Congress fielded candidates in all 60 constituencies while the United Democratic Party (UDP) contested 50 seats.

The Purno Sangma-led Nationalist People's Party (NPP) had 32 candidates, and the Nationalist Congress Party 21.

The UDP is confident of ousting the Congress.

"We will cross 15 seats and if luck favours we might even cross 20," UDP leader Bindo M Lanong said.

Lanong said UDP was in touch with "like-minded parties" for post-poll alliances.

Predicting a Congress failure, Purno Sangma's son Conrad, leader of the opposition in the assembly, claimed that Chief Minister Mukul Sangma would bite the dust.

"We are hopeful of increasing our tally," Conrad said.

Counting begins in Tripura

PARTY	LEADS	WINS
CONGRESS	4	0
CPM	32	0
CPI	1	0
OTHERS	2	0

Counting of votes for the 60 assembly seats in Tripura began at 8am on Thursday morning amidst tight security.

The counting began at 17 venues in eight districts of the state with three-tier security in each counting hall, sources in the office of chief electoral officer said.

Among prominent candidates whose electoral fates would be decided are chief minister Manik Sarkar from Dhanpur, finance minister Badal Chowdhury from Hrishyamukh, higher education minister Anil Sarkar from Pratapgarh, industries and commerce minister Jitendra Chowdhury from Manu (ST).

The electoral fortunes of TPCC President Sudip Ray Barman from Agartala, leader of the opposition Ratan Lal Nath of Congress from Mohanpur and president of the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura Bijay Hrankhwal from Ambassa would also be decided.

Around 2,500 employees, including counting supervisors and counting assistants, have been engaged together with micro observers and Election Commission appointed observers.

Prohibitory orders have been imposed within 100 meter of each counting hall where CCTV have been installed.

The 856 km border with neighbouring Bangladesh has been sealed since Wednesday.

The elections were held on February 14.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Why African Rhinos Are Facing a Crisis

The body count for African rhinos killed for their horns is approaching crisis proportions, according to the latest figures released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

To National Geographic reporter Peter Gwin, the dire numbers—a rhinoceros slain every 11 minutes since the beginning of 2013—don't come as a surprise. "The killing will continue as long as criminal gangs know they can expect high profits for selling horns to Asian buyers," said Gwin, who wrote about the violent and illegal trade in rhino horn in the March 2012 issue of the magazine.

The recent surge in poaching has been fueled by a thriving market in Vietnam and China for rhino horn, used as a traditional medicine believed to cure everything from hangovers to cancer. Since 2011, at least 1,700 rhinos, or 7 percent of the total population, have been killed and their horns hacked off, according to the IUCN. More than two-thirds of the casualties occurred in South Africa, home to 73 percent of the world's wild rhinos. In Africa there are currently 5,055 black rhinos, listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, and 20,405 white rhinos. (From our blog: "South African Rhino Poaching Hits New High.")

Trying to snuff out poaching by itself won't work, said Gwin. The South African government is fighting a losing battle on the ground to gangs using helicopters, dart guns, high-powered weapons—and lots of money. (National Geographic pictures: The bloody poaching battle over rhino horn [contains graphic images].)

"Every year they get tougher on poaching, but rhino killings continue to rise astronomically," said Gwin. "Somehow they have to address the demand side in a meaningful way. This means either shutting down the Asian markets for rhino horn, or controversially, finding a way to sustainably harvest rhino horns, control their legal sale, and meet what appears to be a huge demand. Either will be a formidable endeavor."

Hope and Hurdles

The signing in December of a memorandum of understanding between South Africa and Vietnam to deal with rhino poaching and other conservation issues raises hope for some concrete action. Observers say the next step is for the two governments to follow through with tangible crime-stopping efforts such as intelligence sharing and other collaboration. The highest hurdle to stopping criminal trade, though, is cultural, Gwin believes. "In Vietnam and China, a lot of people simply believe that as a traditional cure, rhino horn works." (Related: "Blood Ivory.")

The recent climb in rhino deaths threatens what had been a conservation success story. Since 1995, due to better law enforcement, monitoring, and other actions, the overall rhino numbers have steadily risen. The poaching epidemic, the IUCN warns, could dramatically slow and possibly reverse population gains.

The population growth is also being stymied by South Africa's private game farmers, who breed rhinos for sport hunting and tourism and for many years have helped rebuild rhino numbers. Many of them are getting out of the business due to the high costs of security and other risks associated with the poaching invasions.

Those who still have rhinos on their farms will often pay a veterinarian to cut the horns off—under government supervision—to dissuade poachers, but the process costs more than $2,000 and has to be repeated when the horns grow back every two years. Even then the farmers are stuck with horns that are illegal to sell—and which criminals seek to obtain.

Room for Debate

Rhino killings and the trade in their horns will be a major topic at a high-profile conference, the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which opens in Bangkok March 3. What won't surprise Gwin is if the issue of sustainably harvesting rhino horns from live animals comes up for discussion.

"It's an idea that seems to be gaining traction among some South African politicians and law enforcement circles," he said, noting that the international conservation community strongly opposes any talk of legalizing the trade of rhino horn, sustainably harvested or not. The bottom line for all parties in the discussion is clear, said Gwin: "The slaughter has to stop if rhinos are to survive."

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Arias Prosecutor Too Combative, Experts Say

He has barked, yelled, been sarcastic and demanded answers from accused murderer Jodi Arias this week.

And in doing so, prosecutor Juan Martinez and his aggressive antics may be turning off the jury he is hoping to convince that Arias killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in June 2008, experts told ABCNews.com today.

"Martinez is his own worst enemy," Mel McDonald, a prominent Phoenix defense attorney and former judge, told ABC News. "He takes it to the point where it's ad nauseam. You have difficulty recognizing when he's driving the point home because he's always angry and pushy and pacing around the courtroom. He loses the effectiveness, rather than build it up."

"He's like a rabid dog and believes you've got to go to everybody's throat," he said.

"If they convict her and give her death, they do it in spite of Juan, not because of him," McDonald added.

Martinez's needling style was on display again today as he pestered Arias to admit that she willingly participated in kinky sex with Alexander, though she previously testified that she only succumbed to his erotic fantasies to please him.

Arias, now 32, and Alexander, who was 27 at the time of his death, dated for a year and continued to sleep together for another year following their break-up.

Arias drove to his house in Mesa, Ariz., in June 2008, had sex with him, they took nude photos together and she killed him in his shower. She claims it was in self-defense. If convicted, Arias could face the death penalty.

Jodi Arias, Prosecutor Butt Heads in Cross-Examination Watch Video

Jodi Arias Maintains She 'Felt Like a Prostitute' Watch Video

Jodi Arias Admits to Killing Man, Lying to Police Watch Video

Martinez also attempted to point out inconsistencies in her story of the killing, bickering with her over details about her journey from Yreka, Calif., to Mesa, Ariz., including why she borrowed gas cans from an ex-boyfriend, when she allegedly took naps and got lost while driving, and why she spontaneously decided to visit Alexander at his home in Mesa for a sexual liaison.

"I want to know what you're talking about," Arias said to Martinez at one point.

"No, I'm asking you," he yelled.

Later, he bellowed, "Am I asking you if you're telling the truth?"

"I don't know," Arias said, firing back at him. "Are you?"

During three days of cross examining Arias this week, Martinez has spent hours going back and forth with the defendant over word choice, her memory, and her answers to his questions.

"Everyone who takes witness stand for defense is an enemy," McDonald said. "He prides himself on being able to work by rarely referring to his notes, but what he's giving up in that is that there's so much time he wastes on stupid comments. A lot of what I've heard is utterly objectionable."

Martinez's behavior has spurred frequent objections of "witness badgering" from Arias' attorney Kirk Nurmi, who at one point Tuesday stood up in court and appealed to the judge to have a conference with all of the attorneys before questioning continued. Judge Sherry Stephens at one point admonished Martinez and Arias for speaking over one another.

Andy Hill, a former spokesperson for the Phoenix police department, and Steven Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist who has testified as an expert witness at many trials in the Phoenix area, both said that despite his aggressive style, Martinez would likely succeed in obtaining a guilty verdict.

"When it comes to cross examination, one size does not fit all," said Pitt. "But if you set aside the incessant sparring, what the prosecutor I believe is effectively doing is pointing out the various inconsistencies in the defendant's version of events."

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McCain, Graham say Obama understands border security’s link to immigration reform

President Obama understands Republican concerns about the need to link improved border security to changes in immigration law, two key Republicans involved in the effort said Tuesday after a White House meeting with Obama.

Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said they covered a variety of topics in the unusual meeting with Obama, including a robust discussion of how to reshape the nation’s immigration laws.

The GOP duo — members of a bipartisan group of eight senators working to write an immigration bill for introduction in March — emerged with strong praise for Obama’s leadership and optimism for the fate of the effort.

“It was one of the best meetings I’ve ever had with the president,” Graham said. “I think the president’s very sincere in wanting a bill and wanted to know what he could do to help.”

According to a joint statement of principles issued by the Senate group last month, illegal immigrants would be able to quickly seek temporary legal status after passage of possible legislation. But they would not be able to seek permanent residency until the border is more secure.

Republicans have said the linkage is key to a bipartisan agreement, although it worries immigrant advocates. Obama has presided over a record number of deportations during his time in office.

McCain and Graham said after Tuesday’s meeting that they believe Obama understands GOP concerns about the border.

“He understands that we need border security that we can afford,” Graham said. “Sen. McCain made a strong point about the border. The president understands the working components of it.”

White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The meeting represented an unusual outreach from Obama to rank-and-file Republicans. It grew out of phone calls Obama placed to the two senators last week, along with a call to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

Some Republicans had said they doubted the president’s commitment to a bipartisan process after the draft of a separate White House bill was leaked to the press. Obama has said the bill is merely a fallback in case the Senate talks falter.

The White House meeting could be an attempt to quiet criticism from the Hill, where lawmakers in both parties have long griped that they rarely hear from the president.

McCain and Graham have also been warning publicly about the impact on national defense of allowing $85 billion in spending cuts to take effect Friday. Neither would say Tuesday whether they discussed the looming sequester with Obama.

David Nakamura contributed to this report.

Discuss this topic and other political issues in the politics discussion forums.

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Blaze in illegal Kolkata market kills 13: officials

KOLKATA: A fire swept through a six-storey building housing an illegal market in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, killing 13 people who were unable to escape the inferno, local officials said.

"The death toll in the Surya Sen Market fire has jumped to 13," state fire services minister Javed Khan told AFP. "The market has only one exit point and those who stayed in the market at night were trapped after the fire broke out."

Hundreds of firefighters were at the scene of the blaze near the railway station in the centre of the former colonial capital of India, where decrepit and poorly maintained buildings are vulnerable to fires.

The victims of Wednesday's blaze were thought to be men who were sleeping in the building when the fire broke out at around 04:00 am (2230 GMT) director of fire services for West Bengal state Gopal Bhattacharya told AFP.

"The market housed in the two floors of the building has no legal sanction," he explained.

In late 2011, 90 people were killed when a fire engulfed a hospital in Kolkata while in March 2010 a huge blaze on one of the city's most exclusive streets left at least 43 dead.

- AFP/ck

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No need to be ashamed of House attack: Afzal Guru's letter

NEW DELHI: Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru had in a letter purportedly written by him over four years ago said that there was no need to be ashamed of the December 13 attack on Parliament, but had stopped short of owning any responsibility for it.

In the letter written to editor of a local Urdu weekly, Guru, asked Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin not to be "ashamed of December 13" and stop terming the attack as a "conspiracy".

Editor of the Urdu weekly Shabnum Qayoom said that he has been receiving Guru's letters and articles and is sure that this letter was written by him. "I used to receive his (Guru's) letters and articles, so this was nothing new. The handwriting is the same as the previous letters and articles" he said.

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A History of Balloon Crashes

A hot-air balloon exploded in Egypt yesterday as it carried 19 people over ancient ruins near Luxor. The cause is believed to be a torn gas hose. In Egypt as in many other countries, balloon rides are a popular way to sightsee. (Read about unmanned flight in National Geographic magazine.)

The sport of hot-air ballooning dates to 1783, when a French balloon took to the skies with a sheep, a rooster, and a duck. Apparently, they landed safely. But throughout the history of the sport, there have been tragedies like the one in Egypt. (See pictures of personal-flight technology.)

1785: Pioneering balloonist Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and pilot Pierre Romain died when their balloon caught fire, possibly from a stray spark, and crashed during an attempt to cross the English Channel. They were the first to die in a balloon crash.

1923: Five balloonists participating in the Gordon Bennett Cup, a multi-day race that dates to 1906, were killed when lightning struck their balloons.

1924: Meteorologist C. LeRoy Meisinger and U.S. Army balloonist James T. Neely died after a lightning strike. They had set off from Scott Field in Illinois during a storm to study air pressure. Popular Mechanics dubbed them "martyrs of science."

1995: Tragedy strikes the Gordon Bennett Cup again. Belarusian forces shot down one of three balloons that drifted into their airspace from Poland. The two Americans on board died. The other balloonists were detained and fined for entering Belarus without a visa. (Read about modern explorers who take to the skies.)

1989: Two hot air balloons collided during a sightseeing trip near Alice Springs, Australia. One balloon crashed to the ground killing all 13 people on board. The pilot of the other balloon was sentenced to a two-year prison term for "committing a dangerous act." Until today, this was considered the most deadly balloon accident.

2012: A balloon hit a power line and caught fire in New Zealand, killing all 11 on board. Investigators later determined that the pilot was not licensed to fly and had not taken  proper safety measures during the crash, like triggering the balloon's parachute and deflation system.

2012: A sightseeing balloon carrying 32 people crashed and caught fire during a thunderstorm in the Ljubljana Marshes in Slovenia. Six died; many other passengers were injured.

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Inside Organized Retail Crime Raids

We used to call it shoplifting, but these days the foot soldiers of retail crime rings are known as boosters. Police even have an acronym for these operations: ORC, which stands for Organized Retail Crime.

"It's just like a Fortune 500 company," said Sergeant Eric Lee of the Gardena Police Department in Gardena, Calif. "All of this is just organized."

Watch the full story on "Nightline" TONIGHT at 12:35 a.m. ET

Police say big retail stores, from Walgreens to J.C. Penny, are getting hit by highly sophisticated shoplifting networks that steal and resell everything from underwear to razors to milk. According to the National Retail Federation, theft can amount to annual losses as high as a $37 billion for retail businesses.

"Every store in every city has to go through this," Lee said. "They wait until no one's paying attention and they walk out."

Tide detergent is currently a hot target because it is compact, expensive and easy to sell on the streets for profit, police said. The Street name: "liquid gold."

"Sometimes we get rings that just do alcohol," Lee said. "And then we get some that do just meat and seafood."

Investigators say boosters move the loot for cents on the dollar to fencing operations -- the black market resellers of the stolen goods -- which sell the stolen merchandise in plain sight in stores. Boosters, fencers, Mr. Bigs, all of those involved in these shoplifting operations can potentially make millions a year from boosting and re-selling stolen goods.

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And Mike Swett is on the case. A former Riverside County sheriff's deputy in Los Angeles, Swett was badly injured in a car wreck and now works as a full-time private investigator on the ORC beat who has worked with Target, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx. Stores hire him to do his own undercover police work, catching thieves before involving local law enforcement.

"Kind of like working a narcotics case, it's like you've got low-level, mid-level and then top dog," Swett said. "We like to go after the top dog and the only way to get to the top dog is mid-level first."

At his command center -- his apartment -- Swett showed off the boxes upon boxes of tapes and photographs he has collected, the fruits of countless silent stake-out hours.

Swett said he has been casing two joints in L.A. for months, both alleged to be mid-level fencing operations. "Nightline" was invited to ride along with him when he sent undercover agents in for a final reconnaissance mission.

At some stores and shopping malls, clerks do little to stop shoplifters and often let them run, which has contributed to the growing fencing operations.

"[The stores] don't want their employees to get injured," Swett said. "So oftentimes they will call the police, but by the time we get there they are already in their car and they are gone."

This leaves professional investigators like Swett to put the pieces together and bust open the gangs to lead over-stretched police departments to the prey.

When raid day arrived, a motorcade of squad cars departed from the Gardena, Calif., police department and pulled up to one fencing operation. Swett said the merchandise being sold was boosted goods.

"There is Victoria's Secret, expensive Victoria's Secret, the gift sets," he said, pointing down a line of tables. "J.C. Penny, Miramax, its real stuff not counterfeit."

He spotted a bottle of Katy Perry brand perfume, which usually retails for around $90 but one seller had it priced at $59.

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Sequestration doesn’t fly

Forget threats of furloughed workers or reduced security at embassies.

Here’s what might be the most powerful incentive yet for members of Congress to come up with a deal to avert the sequester: The head of the Air Force warned Monday that the spending cuts that will go into effect March 1 could cause the military to eliminate those lovely miljet flights that lawmakers enjoy.

Members of Congress adore flying on Air Force jets, particularly for overseas trips — there are no security lines, check-in is a breeze, the service couldn’t be better, and all seats are business-class.

But if the government-wide cuts aren’t thwarted and the military has to pinch pennies, lawmakers might have to kiss those perks goodbye, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told the crowd at the Air Force Association’s winter conference in Orlando, according to a transcript. They might have to nix “interagency and congressional senior leader travel,” he warned.

Lawmakers flying commercial? The horror.

And if members of Congress are forced into such dire circumstances, they’re in for even more delays. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
cautioned Friday that the sequester could cause major backups in airports around the country.

So much for all those fact-finding trips.

The House divided?

It may not have snagged the Oscar for best picture, but the movie “Lincoln” is still a smash hit in official Washington.

LaHood suggested last week that the flick about the 16th president could offer a template for averting the sequester.

“Go and see ‘Lincoln,’ ” the transportation secretary advised Republicans during an appearance at a White House press briefing during which he outlined the impact of the budget cuts (think airport delays, angry passengers calling lawmakers, etc.).

He indicated that congressional negotiators should learn from Honest Abe, who “gathered people around him” to negotiate and solve tough problems.

Not that the sequester can be equated with, you know, the potential dissolution of the Union, but still . . .

Maybe if the White House offered to buy the popcorn?

Something in the airwaves

Speculation has long been swirling around who might replace Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Julius Genachowski
. But hold the phone — all that sturm and drang may be for naught.

It appears he’s staying put for a bit.

Yes, technically, Genachowski’s term expires June 30. But by law, he can remain until Congress leaves town at the end of 2014. Other signs that he’s sticking around include a planned appearance at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in April, and his continued interest in the FCC’s plan to buy back television licenses and auction the spectrum to wireless providers, something we’re told Genachowski feels ownership of.

The White House is plenty busy filling all the actual vacancies that have cropped up in President Obama’s second term (starting with seven Cabinet or Cabinet-rank jobs), so finding a replacement for Genachowski apparently isn’t high on the to-do list.

For his part, Genachowski has deflected questions about when he might step down.

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Hong Kong court begins hearing on maid residency

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's top court on Tuesday began hearing a challenge to the right of abode law in a long-running case that could pave the way for thousands of foreign maids to claim residency in the city.

The Court of Final Appeal hearing centres on Filipina maid Evangeline Banao Vallejos, who won a High Court ruling in 2011 granting her the right to request permanent residency status, denied to foreign maids until then.

The government appealed against that ruling last March, successfully arguing the authorities had discretionary power to decide who was eligible for residency and that restrictions on maids were not unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Campaigners for the rights of migrant workers argue that Hong Kong's 300,000 maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, should not be treated any differently from other foreigners who flock to the former British colony to find work as lawyers, bankers, accountants and managers.

Most of those workers are eligible to apply for permanent residency, granting them additional rights and access to government services once they have lived in the city for at least seven years.

Foreign maids earn a minimum wage of HK$3,920 (US$505) a month and receive benefits such as one guaranteed day off a week but rights groups say they still face discrimination and a lack of legal protection from abusive employers.

A maid's visa is tied to a specific employer, leaving her in a difficult situation if she wants to change jobs, activists say.

Many live with their employers for years and send portions of their pay back to relatives at home, providing a huge source of foreign remittances to the Philippine and Indonesian economies.

Government officials have warned that making domestic helpers eligible for permanent residency could open the floodgates to hundreds of thousands of residency requests from maids, some of whom have lived in Hong Kong for decades.

The case has also highlighted the issue of the city's judicial independence from Beijing.

Some lawmakers had called on Hong Kong to refer the case to mainland authorities for their reinterpretation of the Basic Law, the mini-constitution which sets out the city's semi-autonomous status and rights since its return to China in 1997.

The present case could impact on another controversial right of abode case.

In 1999 the Court of Final Appeal ruled that children of people who have right of abode also have that right, even if their parents were not permanent residents at the time of their birth.

Hong Kong's government asked Beijing to "reinterpret" the Basic Law after claiming an extra 1.6 million people in China could obtain the right of abode, causing a severe social and economic strain on the densely populated city.

Beijing subsequently ruled that children born outside Hong Kong were only eligible for right of abode if at least one parent was already a permanent resident.

However, in 2001 the Court of Final Appeal ruled that children born in Hong Kong to mainland parents had right of abode regardless of whether their parents were legal residents.

- AFP/ck

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Isro does it again, 7 SATS in orbit

A five-minute delay to pre-empt an encounter withdebrisdid not dampen the spirit at Sriharikota on Monday as the satellite launch vehicle PSLV-C20 took to the skies to catapult seven satellites into orbit,including Indo-Frenchsatellite SARAL.

While initially the control room at Sriharikota was bristling with activity, a deadsilence prevailed as launch time drew close. While initially the launch time was slated for 5.56pm, the PSLV, dubbed workhorse of the Indian Space Research Organisation, took off at 6.01pm after Isro officials got wind of some debris, close to three hours before the scheduled lift-off time.

Five minutes is a significant amountof timeduring a launch since any object in space at above 500km moves at 8km per second. The delay ensured that the rocket reached the altitude after thedebrishad moved away.

Besides the Indo-French satellite with ARgos and ALtika (SARAL), India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C20), on its 23rd flight, also launched six commercial payloads from Austria, Britain, Canada and Denmark into a 785km polar sun synchronous orbit.

With seven satellites in total, this is the second highest number of satellites to be flown on a PSLV. In April 2008, it put in orbit 10 satellites, including the national Cartosat-2A, on the PSLV-C9 rocket.

The 668.5kg 44.4-metre tall rocket, with a lift-off mass of 229.7 tonnes, has been configured in a 'core-alone' format without solid strap-on motors. According to officials this is the ninthcore-aloneflightof a PSLV.

The PSLV put the 407-kg Indo-French satellite with ARgos and ALtika (SARAL) into orbit in 1077-72 seconds. SARAL will help study ocean surface and the environment using the two devices — ARgos and the ALtika. The French ALtika altimeter works on the principle of RADAR,emitting microwave pulse and picking up signals that bounce back. The time taken for the signal to return provides the distance between satellite and the sea. "This way we'll be able to measure the height of the waves and assess changes in the ocean,"said an Isro official.

Of the six smaller satellites, two each are from Canada and Austria and one each from the U K and Denmark. This includes NEOSSAT from Canada which will detect and track either near-earth asteroids or satellites in geostationary orbit.

President Pranab Mukherjee, who witnessed the launch, hailed Isro for its track record and wished the team success in its future ventures.

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