Arm transplant vet looking forward to swimming, diving

BALTIMORE A soldier who lost all four limbs in an Iraq roadside bombing says he looks forward to driving and swimming with his new arms.

Twenty-six-year-old Brendan Marrocco spoke at a news conference Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He was joined by the surgeons who performed the double-arm transplant there.

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Quadruple amputee vet gets double arm transplant

Marrocco says he's happy and amazed to have new arms. He has prosthetic legs but says that without arms, he felt "kind of lost for a while."

"It's given me a lot of hope for the future," Marrocco said. "I feel like it's given me a second chance."

The procedure was only the seventh double-hand or double-arm transplant ever conducted in the United States.

Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee, the lead surgeon on Marrocco's team, said this surgery "was the most extensive and complicated" transplant surgery ever performed, involving the connecting of bone, nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and other tissue. He said his team had rehearsed four times on cadavers in the last two years.

Marrocco said he already can twist the wrist in his left arm, which had a lower amputation than the right, allowing doctors to begin that arm transplant at his elbow. Lee said nerves regrow at about an inch per month, so given the length of an arm, it will take several months to more than a year for most normal arm movements to occur with Marrocco.

Lee said Marrocco, a New York native, will check out of the hospital Tuesday, and begin outpatient therapy while staying nearby for several months.

The infantryman was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009. The New York City man also received bone marrow from the same dead donor to minimize the medicine needed to prevent rejection.

The military is sponsoring operations like these to help wounded troops. About 300 have lost arms or hands in the wars.

Through all the procedures and the recovery, Marrocco has generally maintained a positive attitude.

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Young Injured Vet Tells Story

In a 2010 interview with CBS News correspondent David Martin (at left), he said: "I just seem to have a good lookout on things. I'm still alive. My buddy wasn't as fortunate."

Marrocco was referring to one of the other members of his squad, whom he described as his best friend, who was killed when their Humvee ran over a tripwire.

"I remember the flash, the sound, it was ridiculously loud. I remember all the screaming in the truck trying to see who was hurt. After that I remember waking up in the hospital," Marrocco said.

He described the thing that took his limbs as a "copper dart" that was "molten hot," saying it "cauterized my wounds." The New York native said he has marveled at the fact that he survived, when others did not, adding that his friend who died "wasn't hurt nearly as bad as I was."

Even after waking up in the hospital and realizing that he lost his arms, Marrocco said his father told him his reaction was relatively nonchalant, saying "I just shrugged my shoulders and went back to sleep."

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Palin and Fox Part Ways, but Is She Really Over?

Sarah Palin's break up with Fox News should not have been, well, breaking news, as she had publicly complained in August on Facebook that the network had canceled her appearances at the Republican National Convention. And going back even further, Palin didn't give Fox the scoop in October 2011 when she announced she wasn't going to run for president. Still, the news of the Fox split overtook Twitter and the news cycle by storm.

One thing I've learned in my years covering Palin, which began on Aug. 29, 2008, when Sen. John McCain stunned the country by selecting her as his running mate: Everyone has an opinion on whatever she does, and she can get clicks and coverage like no one else.

The prevailing theory now is that since Palin no longer has a megaphone like Fox News through which she can blast her opinions, her moment is now officially over.

The 'Ends' of Sarah Palin

It might be true, but there have been so many "ends of Sarah Palin" that it's almost too hard to keep track of them all. She was over when she lost the 2008 campaign, she was over when she quit the Alaska governorship, she was over when she decided to do a reality show, she was over when she decided not to run for president, and now again, she's over because her appearances on Fox News are over.

Secret Service Scandal: Fired Agent 'Checked Out' Sarah Palin Watch Video

I, for one, did think Palin would lose her relevancy when she quit the Alaska governorship, and also when she didn't run for president. But in both cases, people who both love her and hate her just couldn't get enough information about her, and she still got an incredible amount of news coverage. Her voice was heard loud and clear, even if it blasted only from her Facebook posts. That's just another example of what she's been able to pull off that others who've come before or after just haven't. Palin's been written off from Day One, but like a boomerang, she just keeps coming back.

Yes, she wasn't really helpful to Mitt Romney's campaign, but she also never really explicitly backed him. And what an odd pair they would have made if she had. In her interview last weekend with Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News who made "The Undefeated," the positive 2011 movie about her, she said, "The problem is that some on the right are now skittish because of the lost 2012 election. They shouldn't be. Conservatism didn't lose. A moderate Republican candidate lost after he was perceived to alienate working-class Reagan Democrats and independent voters." Not a sign that she wants to rethink some of her policy points, or that she will retreat into the shadows.

Another Possible TV Home

I think more likely than her fading away (we all still cover every eyebrow-raising Facebook post of hers) is that she will possibly find an on-air home elsewhere, at somewhere like CNN. She told Breitbart.com that she "encourages others to step out in faith, jump out of the comfort zone, and broaden our reach as believers in American exceptionalism. That means broadening our audience. I'm taking my own advice here as I free up opportunities to share more broadly the message of the beauty of freedom and the imperative of defending our republic and restoring this most exceptional nation. We can't just preach to the choir; the message of liberty and true hope must be understood by a larger audience."

Later in the interview, she added, "I know the country needs more truth-telling in the media, and I'm willing to do that. So, we shall see."

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Sixty-five found executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible. Assad's forces and rebels have been battling in Syria's commercial hub since July and both have been accused of carrying out summary executions.

More than 60,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian war, the longest and deadliest of the revolts that began throughout the Arab world two years ago.

The U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday the fighting had forced more than 700,000 people to flee. World powers fear the conflict could increasingly envelop Syria's neighbors including Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, further destabilizing an already explosive region.

Opposition activists posted a video of a man filming at least 51 muddied male bodies alongside what they said was the Queiq River in Aleppo's rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood.

The bodies had bullet wounds in their heads and some of the victims appeared to be young, possibly teenagers, dressed in jeans, shirts and trainers.

Aleppo-based opposition activists who asked not to be named for security reasons blamed pro-Assad militia fighters.

They said the men had been executed and dumped in the river before floating downstream into the rebel area. State media did not mention the incident.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which says it provides objective information about casualties on both sides of Syria's war from a network of monitors, said the footage was evidence of a new massacre and the death toll could rise as high as 80.

"They were killed only because they are Muslims," said a bearded man in another video said to have been filmed in central Bustan al-Qasr after the bodies were removed from the river. A pickup truck with a pile of corpses was parked behind him.

STALEMATE

It is hard for Reuters to verify such reports from inside Syria because of restrictions on independent media.

Rebels are stuck in a stalemate with government forces in Aleppo - Syria's most populous city which is divided roughly in half between the two sides.

The revolt started as a peaceful protest movement against more than four decades of rule by Assad and his family, but turned into an armed rebellion after a government crackdown.

About 712,000 Syrian refugees have registered in other countries in the region or are awaiting processing as of Tuesday, the U.N. refugee agency Said on Tuesday.

"We have seen an unrelenting flow of refugees across all borders. We are running double shifts to register people," Sybella Wilkes, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Reuters in Geneva.

On Monday, the United Nations warned it would not be able to help millions of Syrians affected by the fighting without more money and appealed for donations at an aid conference this week in Kuwait to meet its $1.5 billion target.

Speaking ahead of that conference, Kuwait's foreign minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah said on Tuesday there was concern Syria could turn into a failed state and put the entire region at risk.

Aid group Médecins Sans Frontières said the bulk of the current aid was going to government-controlled areas and called on donors in Kuwait to make sure they were even-handed.

MISSILES

In the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, insurgents including al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters captured a security agency after days of heavy fighting, according to an activist video issued on Tuesday.

Some of the fighters were shown carrying a black flag with the Islamic declaration of faith and the name of the al-Nusra Front, which has ties to al Qaeda in neighboring Iraq.

The war has become heavily sectarian, with rebels who mostly come from the Sunni Muslim majority fighting an army whose top generals are mostly from Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. Assad has framed the revolt as a foreign-backed conspiracy and blames the West and Sunni Gulf states.

Fighting also took place in the northern town of Ras al-Ain, on the border with Turkey, between rebels and Kurdish militants, the Observatory said.

In Turkey, a second pair of Patriot missile batteries being sent by NATO countries are now operational, a German security official said on Tuesday.

The United States, Germany and the Netherlands each committed to sending two batteries and up to 400 soldiers to operate them after Ankara asked for help to bolster its air defenses against possible missile attack from Syria.

(Additional reporting by Sylvia Westall in Kuwait, Sabine Siebold in Berlin and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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British paper sorry for 'inexcusable' Israel cartoon

LONDON: The acting editor of Britain's Sunday Times newspaper apologised Tuesday for a "grotesque" cartoon that sparked accusations of anti-Semitism when it was printed on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Martin Ivens met with representatives of the Jewish community to say sorry for last Sunday's image by veteran cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, which showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu building a wall with Palestinian bodies.

"The Sunday Times abhors anti-Semitism and would never set out to cause offence to the Jewish people -- or any other ethnic or religious group," Ivens said.

"That was not the intention last Sunday. Everyone knows that Gerald Scarfe is consistently brutal and bloody in his depictions, but last weekend -- by his own admission -- he crossed a line."

The newspaper's owner, media baron Rupert Murdoch, had apologised on Monday, tweeting: "Gerald Scarfe has never reflected the opinions of The Sunday Times. Nevertheless, we owe major apology for grotesque, offensive cartoon."

The cartoon showed a scowling Netanyahu waving a blood-covered trowel, laying bricks in a wall in which Palestinian men, women and children were trapped. Underneath were the words, "Israeli elections -- will cementing peace continue?"

It sparked condemnation in Britain and Israel, particularly as it appeared on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews lodged a formal complaint to Britain's media regulators, calling the cartoon "shockingly reminiscent of the blood libel imagery more usually found in parts of the virulently anti-Semitic Arab press".

Ivens said the timing of the publication was "inexcusable".

"The associations on this occasion were grotesque and on behalf of the paper I'd like to apologise unreservedly for the offence we clearly caused," he added.

Scarfe has been a political cartoonist with The Sunday Times since 1967 and has also worked for The New Yorker magazine. He worked on the Disney film "Hercules" as well as the movie of Pink Floyd's rock opera "The Wall".

- AFP/jc

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5 great Android Wi-Fi calling apps

There are many reasons to enjoy Wi-Fi calling, from starting video chats with family far and wide, to giving your old phone a new lease on life as a Wi-Fi-only device in little Johnny's hands. However you want to use it, you still need to know which apps are best.

There are quite a few companies battling it out in the data calling space, each of which has its own benefits and drawbacks. Some offer voice-only calling while others allow for video calls, photo transfer, and group chat.

Select apps share the love with other services, but others prefer to keep things in-house. I've spent some time playing with a handful of these clients over the last few years and found some to be incredibly useful. Here are five of my favorite apps for making free Wi-Fi calls.

Google Voice
As the most used application on my phone, Google Voice also works well on
tablets. I enjoy being able to synchronize my text messages, missed calls, voicemails, and contacts across multiple devices. More importantly, however, I love the fact that I can use the same phone number on any and all devices. This not only means texting on tablets and Web browsers, but calls from any phone with a Wi-Fi connection.

Google Voice offers free calling, text, and voicemail.

(Credit:
Google)

I've been using Google Voice since 2007 when it was still known as Grand Central. I was mostly drawn to the fact that I could use one phone number for my home, work, and cell phone and fell fast in love with the service. It didn't matter where I was or what phone was nearby, I could be reached at the same number everywhere.

Unfortunately, Google has done very little with Google Voice in the last five years. Perhaps as a result of carriers being unwilling to play ball, the service is good but not great.

Indeed, I am still unable to send and receive picture messages. What's more, it is still only offered in the United States. Small drawbacks aside, I cannot say enough about swapping phones in and out and keeping the same phone number.

It is quite comforting to know that I can resume conversations from phone or tablet and even jump to PC for calls and messages. I'm willing to bet that many of your favorite smartphone bloggers use Google Voice.

Standout features: Number porting, call recording, calls from within Gmail, Do Not Disturb, inexpensive international rates, and computer web browser extensions

Fring
One of the features I appreciate the most in Fring is the ability to freely call other Fring users around the world. What's more, it doesn't cost a penny to use video chat or send messages. In cases where you need to call a landline or mobile in international countries, the fringOut option provides inexpensive rates.

Among other features, Fring allows for group calling with 4 friends at the same time.

(Credit:
Fring)

Android phones and tablets that feature front-facing cameras can take advantage of video calling with up to four friends at a time. Fring is a great place to start for those looking for a Skype alternative and has improved over time. I have been impressed with the quality in both voice and video calls.

Standout features: Free Fring-to-Fring calling anywhere in the world, inexpensive international rates, up to four video callers at once.

Skype
As the biggest name in Wi-Fi calling, the Skype app for Android has seen more than 100 million installs. Much like the desktop counterpart, the mobile version allows for a variety of ways to stay connected. Most readers are familiar with the free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls and IMs, all of which translate nicely
Android.

Skype for Android now offers landscape mode for video calls.

(Credit:
Skype)

Skype works quite well on Android phones, especially for those with a front-facing camera. Along those lines, a recent update enables landscape calling for tablets that offer a front-side shooter. Additional details include low-cost calling and SMS to landlines or mobile devices as well as integration with Windows Live Messenger.

I have come to use Skype on Android more than a desktop these last few years and think that the new tablet experience is wonderful. Many of my contacts have Skype accounts and I appreciate that I can go mobile and still be just a ring away. With more than 600 million Skype users across the globe it is a safe bet that you know a few as well.

Standout features: Free Skype-to-Skype calling, inexpensive international rates, simple and intuitive interface, massive user base.

KakaoTalk
Much like the others on this list, KakaoTalk allows for free calling and messages within the network. Where things differ, however, comes in the fun and playful user experience that includes animated emoticons and custom themes. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of higher quality themes and options available and quite enjoy being able to change things up on occasion.

KakaoTalk works across multiple mobile platforms.

(Credit:
KakaoTalk)

While I didn't have too many contacts using the KakaoTalk network, I noticed that there are more than 50 million Android users. Indeed, the service also works across multiple mobile platforms, including iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone. My instincts tells me that this is one of those fast-growing networks used by a younger demographic, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Additionally, a pair of free plug-ins create a more robust experience, including polls and photo sharing. For what it's worth, the recent 0.8.2 release of KakaoPoll is a bit buggy so you may want to hold off for now. With that in mind, the developers have been pretty active in updates and bug fixes so it should not be long.

Standout features: Custom themes, animated emoticons, free calling within KakaoTalk network, plug-in support.

Tango
Another popular cross-platform service, Tango works for desktops as well other mobile devices. Features include free international voice and video calling as well as messages and photos. Recent updates to the Android include support for sending audio messages, sharing photos to Facebook, and avatars and video filters for calls. Note that some of the features require Android 4.0 and higher to work properly.

Tango Surprises add a touch of fun to your conversations.

(Credit:
Tango)

I am also fond of the Tango Surprises which are animations that work over top of your text conversations. Designed around specific themes, there are a great way to add flair to an otherwise standard conversation. A quick glimpse through the growing list of packs yields familiar names such as Care Bears, Elmo, and the Pink Panther. Of course, you could also opt for more romantic themes for Valentines Day. Note that these packs cost $1.99 each but include multiple animations.

Other features that add to the Tango experience include the ability to play games from withing video calls and avatars. Because, face it, a cartoon cat looks better than I do in the morning.

Standout features: Free Tango-to-Tango calling anywhere in the world, inexpensive international rates, animation packs, games over video calls.

Your favorites?
Which Android applications are you using for calling over Wi-Fi or data connections? Is it one of the five highlighted here or do you prefer a different client? I would love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

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State Dept.: Iranian space monkey launch unconfirmed

When the Iranian government announced this morning the successful launch of a monkey into space, animal lovers and national security experts alike had reason for concern: Such a move would represent a significant scientific development with regard to Iran's ability to launch long-range ballistic missiles; also, in pictures provided by the Iranian government, the monkey looked pretty terrified.

According to the State Department, however, the U.S. can't confirm whether or not "the poor little monkey" ever actually made it into orbit.

"I saw the monkey - the pictures of the poor little monkey preparing to go to space," said Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the State Department, when asked about "extraterrestrial primates." "We don't have any way to confirm this one way or the other with regard to the primate."

Still, Nuland noted general U.S. concern with "Iran's development of space launch vehicle technologies," and said the State Department would be working closely with partners and allies "to address our concerns about Iran's missile developments, including by promoting implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions."

If such a launch were to have taken place, according to Nuland, it would be illegal under the 1929 U.N. Security Council resolution, adopted in 2010, that prohibits Iran from undertaking any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.

"But I'm not in a position here today to confirm whether or not there was a launch," she insisted.

Asked to clarify if she meant whether she could not confirm the successful launch of the monkey, or a launch at all, Nuland said she could confirm "neither monkey nor launch... nor launched monkey."

Iran would hardly be the first country to send a monkey into space: NASA sent a monkey, named Albert, to space in 1948. Unlike Iran's monkey, which according to its government returned from orbit safe and sound, Albert died.

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Boy Scouts to Discuss Lifting National Gay Ban

The Boy Scouts of America, under growing pressure from troops across the country to end its 100-year-old ban on gay leaders and members, said today it is "discussing" ending its national discrimination policy, leaving such decisions to the discretion of individual troops.

"Currently, the BSA is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation," BSA spokesman Deron Smith said in a prepared statement.
"This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, and the chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization's mission, principles, or religious beliefs."

Individual members and parents would be able to set policy guidelines as they see fit when organizing their troops and leadership, according to the statement.

The BSA will review the matter at its regularly scheduled board meeting next week, Smith said.

Rich Ferraro, a spokesman for the gay advocacy group GLAAD, pointed to two factors upon hearing the announcement today.

"I think it was a mix of the change.org petitions and the corporate sponsors that had dropped out," Ferraro said.

Last September, the Intel Foundation announced it would end $700,000 in annual donations to the Boys Scouts. The Merck Foundation also severed its ties in December.

"UPS adopted a new policy that stated that grantees had to follow their nondiscrimination policy," Ferraro said. "There were also more in the coming weeks that were dropping their support of Scouts."

Several U.S. councils have tried to buck the longtime ban, putting the issue to a vote with their local parents in recent months, including a Boy Scout troop in California and a Cub troop in Maryland.

"I am extraordinarily excited," said Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, who has spent the past seven months heading up Scouts for Equality, which advocates for ending the ban. "It's a positive step, and big change.

"This is absolutely a step in the right direction, but we have a long way to go," Wahls, 21, said today. "Discrimination has no place in scouting."

Wahls, whose parents are lesbians, was a YouTube sensation two years ago when he testified before the Iowa legislature on same-sex marriage.

He delivered a petition in June from change.org with more than 1 million signatures, demanding that the Boy Scouts end the ban on openly gay membership.

"Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout," Wahls said at the time. "I am unwilling to quit because of a single policy. They do so many things right."

The policy change under discussion would allow individual groups -- religious, civic or educational ones -- to determine their own rules.

"The national organization has to make it clear to all units that being anti-gay is unacceptable," said Wahls, who identifies as straight. "What happens next is little unclear, but it seems the Boy Scouts of America is starting to thaw on this issue."

BSA's Smith said, "The Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents. Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organization's mission, principles or religious beliefs."

In October, California Boy Scout
Ryan Andresen of Moraga, Calif., was denied the coveted Eagle Scout award, even though he had completed all the requirements because he is gay.

His mom, Karen Andresen, was so upset by the troop's decision that she posted a petition on change.org.

A local troop committee approved his award, but the council did not send it on to the national organization because of the gay ban.

Advocacy groups have been vocal on the issue.

"The Boy Scouts of America have heard from scouts, corporations and millions of Americans that discriminating against gay scouts and scout leaders is wrong," GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said. "Scouting is a valuable institution and this change will only strengthen its core principles of fairness and respect."

Until now, the Boy Scouts have stood firm on the issue, even taking it to the highest court.

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Egypt protesters defy curfew after emergency rule imposed

ISMAILIA/CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Thousands of Egyptian protesters ignored a curfew on Monday to take to the streets in cities along the Suez canal, defying a state of emergency imposed by Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to end days of violence that has killed at least 51 people.

One man was killed in violence late on Monday in Port Said and another was shot dead earlier in Cairo as a wave of violence raged on, unleashed last week on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the popular revolt that brought down autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Political opponents spurned a call by Mursi for talks to try to end the violence, with main opposition groups refusing to attend a meeting.

Instead, huge crowds of protesters took to the streets in the capital Cairo, Alexandria and in the three Suez Canal cities - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where Mursi imposed emergency rule and a curfew on Sunday.

"Down, down with Mohamed Mursi! Down, down with the state of emergency!" crowds shouted in Ismailia in defiance of the curfew. In Cairo, flames lit up the night sky where protesters set police vehicles ablaze.

In Port Said, men attacked police stations after dark. A security source said some police and troops were injured. A medical source said one man was killed in clashes.

"The people want to bring down the regime," crowds chanted in Alexandria. "Leave means go, and don't say no!" they shouted.

The demonstrators accuse Mubarak's successor Mursi of betraying the revolution that brought down Mubarak. Mursi and his supporters accuse the protesters of seeking to overthrow the country's first ever democratically elected leader through undemocratic means.

Monday was the second anniversary of one of the bloodiest days in the revolution, which erupted on January 25, 2011 and ended Mubarak's iron rule 18 days later.

The past two years have seen the Islamists win two referendums, two parliamentary elections and a presidential vote. But that legitimacy has been challenged by an opposition that accuses Mursi of imposing a new form of authoritarianism, and punctuated by repeated waves of unrest that have prevented a return to stability in the most populous Arab state.

The army has already been deployed in Port Said and Suez and the government agreed a measure to let soldiers arrest civilians as part of the state of emergency.

A cabinet source told Reuters any trials would be in civilian courts, but the step is likely to anger protesters who accuse Mursi of using tactics like those used by Mubarak.

VOLLEYS OF TEARGAS

Propelled to the presidency in a June election by the Muslim Brotherhood, Mursi has lurched through a series of political crises and violent demonstrations while trying to shore up the economy and of prepare for a parliamentary election to cement the new democracy in a few months.

The instability unnerves Western capitals, where officials worry about the direction of a key regional player that has a peace deal with Israel. The United States condemned the deadly violence and called on Egyptian leaders to make clear violence is not acceptable. ID:nW1E8MD01C].

In Cairo on Monday, police fired volleys of teargas at stone-throwing protesters near Tahrir Square, cauldron of the anti-Mubarak uprising. Protesters stormed into the down town Semiramis Intercontinental hotel and burned two police vehicles.

A 46-year-old bystander was killed by a gunshot early on Monday, a security source said. It was not clear who fired.

"We want to bring down the regime and end the state that is run by the Muslim Brotherhood," said Ibrahim Eissa, a 26-year-old cook, protecting his face from teargas wafting towards him.

The political unrest has been exacerbated by street violence linked to death penalties imposed on soccer supporters convicted of involvement in stadium rioting in Port Said a year ago.

As part of emergency measures, a daily curfew will be imposed on the three canal cities from 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) to 6 a.m. (0400 GMT).

The president announced the measures on television on Sunday: "The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law," Mursi said.

His demeanor in the address infuriated his opponents, not least when he wagged a finger at the camera.

He offered condolences to families of victims. But his invitation to Islamist allies and their opponents to hold a national dialogue was spurned by the main opposition National Salvation Front coalition. Those who attended were mostly Mursi's supporters or sympathizers.

SENDING A MESSAGE

The Front rejected the offer of talks as "cosmetic and not substantive" and set conditions for any future meeting that have not been met in the past, such as forming a government of national unity. The group also demanded that Mursi declare himself responsible for the bloodshed.

"We will send a message to the Egyptian people and the president of the republic about what we think are the essentials for dialogue. If he agrees to them, we are ready for dialogue," opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei told a news conference.

The opposition Front has distanced itself from the latest flare-ups but said Mursi should have acted far sooner to impose security measures that would have ended the violence.

"Of course we feel the president is missing the real problem on the ground, which is his own policies," Front spokesman Khaled Dawoud said after Mursi made his declaration.

Other activists said Mursi's measures to try to impose control on the turbulent streets could backfire.

"Martial law, state of emergency and army arrests of civilians are not a solution to the crisis," said Ahmed Maher of the April 6 movement that helped galvanize the 2011 uprising. "All this will do is further provoke the youth. The solution has to be a political one that addresses the roots of the problem."

Rights activists said Mursi's declaration was a backward step for Egypt, which was under emergency law for Mubarak's entire 30-year rule. His police used sweeping arrest provisions to muzzle dissent and round up opponents, including members of the Brotherhood and even Mursi himself.

Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch in Cairo said the police, still hated by many Egyptians for their heavy-handed tactics under Mubarak, would once again have the right to arrest people "purely because they look suspicious", undermining efforts to create a more efficient and respected police force.

"It is a classic knee-jerk reaction to think the emergency law will help bring security," she said. "It gives so much discretion to the Ministry of Interior that it ends up causing more abuse, which in turn causes more anger."

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh in Cairo, Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria; Editing by Peter Graff)

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IMF grants Mali US$18m emergency loan

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund agreed Monday to provide an US$18.4 million emergency loan to Mali, a move likely to lead other donors to release more funds after having cut off aid following the March 2012 coup.

The IMF executive board approved the loan under the Rapid Credit Facility aiming to help the government bridge a huge budget hole as its fights off an Islamist insurgency with French help.

Mali mission chief Christian Josz said the fund was confident that the country, battered by drought, the March coup and a rebellion by Islamist militants in the north, would stick to efforts at reducing its fiscal deficit and implementing economic reforms.

"We decided to go ahead with the board meeting (to decide the loan) in spite of the foreign military intervention because we could see that the authorities were still committed and eager to implement their program of fiscal prudence."

"At the same time we could also see that donors were prepared to re-engage in Mali and considered this operation of the IMF with Mali a precondition to re-engage."

Other donors include the World Bank, the European Union, the African Development Bank and individual countries.

The IMF board said the government's economic program was well-founded and called a resumption of aid from all donors "critical to Mali's economic recovery."

"The authorities' 2013 program appropriately reflects near-term priorities. It aims to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability by keeping spending in line with available revenues and avoiding the emergence of new arrears."

Josz told reporters in a briefing that after the Malian economy contracted by 1.5 per cent last year, growth could hit 4-5 per cent in 2013 if conditions, like the weather, stay positive.

The insurgency, which has drawn the intervention of French troops to help protect the government, remains focused in the north of Mali, while 95 per cent of the economy, heavily dependent on cotton farming and mining, is in the stable south.

"Of course there are many uncertainties. But we expect a recovery" this year, Josz said.

The success of the military intervention has reduced uncertainty in the south, he added, allowing a new gold mine to go ahead as well as an important investment by a third mobile carrier in the country.

Josz said the government had set a "minimalist" budget for 2013 that had not banked on foreign donors resuming aid.

The budget includes around US$300 million for security spending -- up 37 per cent in two years -- that leaves it with a large shortfall of US$110 million.

"With this approval by the IMF board... there is hope that these donors will together cover at least the US$110 million" fiscal gap, Josz said.

- AFP/jc

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Facebook photo of a gun and his 1-year-old gets man arrested

Babies and guns go together like salmon and WD-40. Still, in the inevitable quest to amuse, excite, fascinate or merely catch the eye of those who saunter around Facebook's dark corners, sometimes people feel the need to post odd things.

Domonic Gaines thought it might be (perhaps) fun to post a picture of him holding his 1-year-old daughter while also holding a gun.

The desired effect is unknown. But the slightly less desirable result was that he was arrested for child endangerment.

As Fox 19 in Cincinnati reports, Gaines, a 22-year-old from Colerain Township, Ohio, is currently being held without bond in Hamilton County Jail.

More Technically Incorrect

It seems that the child's maternal grandmother saw the photo and, perhaps unsurprisingly, wasn't entirely enamored. Her reaction was reportedly to call the police. Well, guns have been in the news lately.

The weapon turned out to be a BB gun. However, the police still weren't impressed, hence the child endangerment charges.

It still seems a foreign notion to many that when you post something on Facebook, it might be worth thinking about who might see your post and what they might think of it. People are strange. You can't always trust their impulses on being offered certain visual stimuli.

Some might imagine that, say, posting a picture of your 1-year-old while holding a gun might just upset someone.

On the other hand, Gaines's father, Wilson Dykes, told Fox 19 that he hopes reason might prevail. "It's really been blown out of proportion," he said.

Oh, if only everyone in the world had the same proportions.

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