Are Honeybees Losing Their Way?

A single honeybee visits hundreds, sometimes thousands, of flowers a day in search of nectar and pollen. Then it must find its way back to the hive, navigating distances up to five miles (eight kilometers), and perform a "waggle dance" to tell the other bees where the flowers are.

A new study shows that long-term exposure to a combination of certain pesticides might impair the bee's ability to carry out its pollen mission.

"Any impairment in their ability to do this could have a strong effect on their survival," said Geraldine Wright, a neuroscientist at Newcastle University in England and co-author of a new study posted online February 7, 2013, in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Wright's study adds to the growing body of research that shows that the honeybee's ability to thrive is being threatened. Scientists are still researching how pesticides may be contributing to colony collapse disorder (CCD), a rapid die-off seen in millions of honeybees throughout the world since 2006.

"Pesticides are very likely to be involved in CCD and also in the loss of other types of pollinators," Wright said. (See the diversity of pollinating creatures in a photo gallery from National Geographic magazine.)

Bees depend on what's called "scent memory" to find flowers teeming with nectar and pollen. Their ability to rapidly learn, remember, and communicate with each other has made them highly efficient foragers, using the waggle dance to educate others about the site of the food source.

Watch as National Geographic explains the waggle dance.

Their pollination of plants is responsible for the existence of nearly a third of the food we eat and has a similar impact on wildlife food supplies.

Previous studies have shown certain types of pesticides affect a bee's learning and memory. Wright's team wanted to investigate if the combination of different pesticides had an even greater effect on the learning and memory of honeybees.

"Honeybees learn to associate floral colors and scents with the quality of food rewards," Wright explained. "The pesticides affect the neurons involved in these behaviors. These [affected] bees are likely to have difficulty communicating with other members of the colony."

The experiment used a classic procedure with a daunting name: olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex. In layman's terms, the bee sticks out its tongue in response to odor and food rewards.

For the experiment, bees were collected from the colony entrance, placed in glass vials, and then transferred into plastic sandwich boxes. For three days the bees were fed a sucrose solution laced with sublethal doses of pesticides. The team measured short-term and long-term memory at 10-minute and 24-hour intervals respectively. (Watch of a video of a similar type of bee experiment.)

This study is the first to show that when pesticides are combined, the impact on bees is far worse than exposure to just one pesticide. "This is particularly important because one of the pesticides we used, coumaphos, is a 'medicine' used to treat Varroa mites [pests that have been implicated in CCD] in honeybee colonies throughout the world," Wright said.

The pesticide, in addition to killing the mites, might also be making honeybees more vulnerable to poisoning and effects from other pesticides.

Stephen Buchmann of the Pollinator Partnership, who was not part of Wright's study, underscored how critical pollinators are for the world. "The main threat to pollinators is habitat destruction and alteration. We're rapidly losing pollinator habitats, natural areas, and food—producing agricultural lands that are essential for our survival and well being. Along with habitat destruction, insecticides weaken pollinators and other beneficial insects."

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Dorner Not IDed, But Manhunt Considered Over

Though they have not yet identified burned remains found at the scene of Tuesday's fiery, armed standoff, San Bernardino, Calif., officials consider the manhunt over for Christopher Dorner, the fugitive ex-cop accused of going on a killing spree.

"The events that occurred yesterday in the Big Bear area brought to close an extensive manhunt," San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon told reporters this evening.

"I cannot absolutely, positively confirm it was him," he added.

However, he noted the physical description of the suspect authorities pursued to a cabin at the standoff scene, as well as the suspect's behavior during the chase and standoff, matched Dorner, 33.

The charred remains of the body believed to be Dorner were removed from the cabin high in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear, Calif., the apparent site of Dorner's last stand. Cornered inside the mountain cabin Tuesday, the suspect shot at cops, killing one deputy and wounding another, before the building was consumed by flames.

"We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," McMahon said tonight, though he noted pyrotechnic canisters known as "burners" were fired into the cabin during a tear gas assault in an effort to flush out Dorner. The canisters generate high temperatures, he added.

The deputies wounded in the firefight were airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said.

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The deceased deputy was identified tonight as Det. Jeremiah MacKay, 35, a 15-year veteran and the father of two children -- a daughter, 7, and son, 4 months old.

"Our department is grieving from this event," McMahon said. "It is a terrible deal for all of us."

The Associated Press quoted MacKay on the Dorner dragnet Tuesday, noting that he had been on patrol since 5 a.m. Saturday.

"This one you just never know if the guy's going to pop out, or where he's going to pop out," MacKay said. "We're hoping this comes to a close without more casualties. The best thing would be for him to give up."

The wounded deputy, identified as Alex Collins, was undergoing multiple surgeries for his wounds at a hospital, McMahon said, but was expected to make a full recovery.

Before the final standoff, Dorner was apparently holed up in a snow-covered cabin in the California mountains just steps from where police had set up a command post and held press conferences during a five-day manhunt.

The manhunt for Dorner, one of the biggest in recent memory, led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, but it ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.

Residents of the area were relieved today that after a week of heightened police presence and fear that Dorner was likely dead.

"I'm glad no one else can get hurt and they caught him. I'm happy they caught the bad guy," said Ashley King, a waitress in the nearby town of Angelus Oaks, Calif.

Hundreds of cops scoured the mountains near Big Bear, a resort area in Southern California, since last Thursday using bloodhounds and thermal-imaging technology mounted to helicopters, in the search for Dorner. The former police officer and Navy marksman was suspected to be the person who killed a cop and cop's daughter and issued a "manifesto" declaring he was bent on revenge and pledging to kill dozens of LAPD cops and their family members.

But it now appears that Dorner never left the area, and may have hid out in an unoccupied cabin just steps from where cops had set up a command center.

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Obama urges a move away from narrow focus on politics of austerity

Just about every argument in Washington since the 2010 midterm elections, which returned control of the House to Republicans, has centered on reducing the federal deficit. On Tuesday night, President Obama leaned into his second term by declaring that a single-minded focus on deficit reduction would jeopardize the nation’s future. And he sounded an urgent call to rebuild.

Reelected by an ascendent coalition, the president spoke from a position of strength in his fourth State of the Union address. The economy is improving. The Republican Party is in disarray. The time has come, Obama indicated, to pivot away from the politics of austerity.

“Most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of the agenda,” he said. “But let’s be clear: Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan. A growing economy that creates good middle-class jobs — that must be the North Star that guides our efforts.”

The president rejected the fiscal brinkmanship that defined the past two years. Instead, he framed future fiscal debates as opportunities to shape a “smarter government” — one with new investments in science and innovation, with a rising minimum wage, with tax reform that eliminates loopholes and deductions for what the president labeled “the well-off and well-connected.”

Second-term presidents have a narrow window of time to enact significant change before they become lame ducks, and Obama, while echoing campaign themes of reinforcing the middle class, made an urgent case for a more pragmatic version of populism, one that emphasizes economic prosperity as the cornerstone of a fair society.

Over and over, he noted that the time to rebuild is now.

The “Fix-It-First” program that Obama outlined to put people to work on “urgent repairs,” such as structurally deficient bridges, bore echoes of President Bill Clinton’s call in his 1999 State of the Union address to “save Social Security first.” Clinton’s was an effective line, one that stopped — at least until President George W. Bush took office two years later — a Republican drive to use the budget surplus to cut taxes.

Although Obama’s speech lacked the conciliatory notes of some of his earlier State of the Union addresses, he did make overtures to Republicans and cited Mitt Romney, his presidential challenger, by name.

He combined tough talk about securing the border, which brought Republicans to their feet, with a pledge to entertain reasonable reforms to Medicare, the federal entitlement program that fellow Democrats are fighting to protect.

“Those of us who care deeply about programs like Medicare must embrace the need for modest reforms,” he said.

Obama also pledged to cut U.S. dependence on energy imports by expanding oil and gas development. And he singled out one area where he and Romney found agreement in last year’s campaign: linking increases in the minimum wage to the cost of living.

Obama set a bipartisan tone at the start of his speech, quoting from President John F. Kennedy’s address to Congress 51 years earlier when he said, “The Constitution makes us not rivals for power, but partners for progress.”

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UK police arrest six in new phone hacking probe

LONDON: British police arrested six current or former journalists on Wednesday in a new probe into alleged phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's now-closed News of the World tabloid, Scotland Yard said.

Investigators had identified a "further suspected conspiracy" by staff at the paper in 2005 and 2006 which was separate to the alleged hacking under which a number of people have been charged, it said in a statement.

The News of the World closed in disgrace in 2011 amid allegations that it had hacked the mobile phone voicemails of hundreds of celebrities, politicians and victims of crime and terrorism.

"Detectives on Operation Weeting have identified a further suspected conspiracy to intercept telephone voicemails by a number of employees who worked for the now defunct News of the World newspaper," the statement said.

"As part of the new lines of inquiry six people were arrested this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept telephone communications... All of them are journalists or former journalists."

Police arrested three men aged 46, 39 and 45 and two women aged 33 and 40 in London, and a 39-year-old woman in Cheshire, northwest England, and were questioning them at various police stations, the statement said.

Searches were also under way at a number of addresses.

"In due course officers will be making contact with people they believe have been victims of the suspected voicemail interceptions," the statement said.

British media reported that two of those arrested now work for Murdoch's daily tabloid The Sun.

Those already facing trial over hacking at the News of the World include British Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-spokesman Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Murdoch's British newspaper wing.

Operation Weeting was launched in January 2011 to investigate a string of allegations over hacking at the weekly News of the World, which was Britain's biggest selling newspaper.

-AFP/fl

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Is Railways’ 2,000cr train food business on track?

DELHI: Pawan Kumar Bansal, the Union minister for Railways, announced just a few days ago a slew of measures to improve the food on trains. But it's clearly an uphill task for the network to reclaim the faith its passengers earlier had on the dishes served to them.

With meals that are just about palatable, limited menu options and a take-it-orleave-it attitude, the Indian Railways has not been known for its catering services for many years now. In fact, stories from old-timers — of iconic dining cars in trains like the Calcutta Mail and Deccan Queen — that served baked beans on toast for breakfast and had an impressive English style full tea service almost sound like fairy tales.

The value of having good food onboard is not lost on the Railways though. The estimated market for catering on trains is worth about Rs 2000 crore annually. Since the past few years, the ministry of railways has been trying desperately to consolidate its share of this lucrative business. But most of its schemes have fallen flat.

"There have been too many ad-hoc experiments," says a former member of the Railway Board. "For instance, the railways catering policy of 2010 took away catering services from IRCTC, a unit that was specially formulated to provide such services. And now, there is the decision to do away with pantry cars and instead set up base kitchens to provide packaged meals. What purpose will it serve unless quality is strictly monitored and enforced? "

Food industry observers agree the move to outsource food services to private players may be, on the face of it, a sound one since catering is not the Railways' core business. But it has not worked because of poor quality control and limited accountability on the part of the contractors. "The expectations of the travelling public with regard to food are much more now," says Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman of Feedback Infrastructure Services who served as a member of the expert group for modernization of Indian Railways. "The Railways urgently needs to put in place rigorously enforced service standards to derive quality from its contractors."

For that, the Railways will first need to clean up its tendering process. "A review of the present tender system for catering is absolutely essential," says celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor. "In my opinion it is heavily tilted in favour of people who have been providing these services for years. As a result, very few new people are able to get into the system and there is no competitive environment that can help deliver a memorable food experience."

While the Railways is still struggling to get its act in place, a number of private players have latched onto the demand for good food on trains by setting up web and phone-based delivery services. These deliver hot and fresh meals to passengers right at their seats when their train stops at designated railway stations. "It's a huge opportunity," beams Piyush Kasliwal of Mera Food Choice, a webbased service that caters to around 500-800 passengers daily through its tie-up with restaurants located near stations." Considering there are 14,000 trains with around 1000 passengers daily, our business can only grow further." Remains to be seen who chugs ahead in this rail race.

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Obama Pledges U.S. Action on Climate, With or Without Congress

If there were anything in President Barack Obama's State of the Union to give hope to wistful environmentalists, it was the unprecedented promise to confront climate change with or without Congress, and to pursue new energy technology in the process.

Following his strong statements in his inaugural address about the ripeness of the moment to address a changing climate, Obama outlined a series of proposals to do it. Recognizing that the 12 hottest years on record all occurred in the last decade and a half, Obama said his most ambitious goal would be a "bipartisan, market-based solution," similar to the cap-and-trade system that died in Congress during his first term.(See related story: "California Tackles Climate Change, But Will Others Follow?")

But without legislative action, Obama threatened to act himself using executive authority. "I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy," he said. That will translate, White House officials said earlier in the week, to new regulations for existing coal-burning power plants and directives to promote energy efficiency and new technology research. (See related story: "How Bold a Path on Climate Change in Obama's State of the Union?")

The effort isn't one that can be stalled, he noted. Not just because of a warming planet, but also because of international competition from countries like China and parts of Western Europe that have gone "all in" on clean energy.

Energy experts signaled support of Obama's comments on energy security, including a plan for an Energy Security Trust to use revenue from oil and gas production on public lands to fund new energy research. "Clean energy businesses commend the president for reaffirming his commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to address the damaging and costly impacts of climate change," Lisa Jacobson, president of Business Council for Sustainable Energy, said in a statement. The influential League of Conservation Voters perked up to Obama's vow to act on climate change, even if alone.

Noticeably unmentioned in the speech was the Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil from Canadian tar sands to the refining centers of Texas. Environmentalists have urged Obama to reject the project's application for federal approval in order to hold the line against carbon-intensive production from the oil sands. (See related blog post: "Obama and Keystone XL: The Moment of Truth?") Energy analysts believe Obama is likely to approve the project in the coming weeks, yet at the same time offer new regulations on domestic oil and natural gas development.

Other environmental analysts took Obama's remarks as simple talk, so far not backed by action. “How many times do we have to have the problem described?” David Yarnold, president of the Audubon Society said after the speech. “Smarter standards for coal-fired power plants are the quickest path to a cleaner future, and the president can make that happen right now.”

Obama's path toward accomplishing those goals will likely be lonely. In the Republican rebuttal to Obama's speech, Florida Senator Marco Rubio sidelined climate change as an issue of concern and highlighted the deep partisan distrust. "When we point out that no matter how many job-killing laws we pass, our government can’t control the weather, he accuses us of wanting dirty water and dirty air," Rubio said. He echoed the long-held Republican concern that remaking an economy may not be the wisest way to confront the problem of extreme weather.

Central to Obama's efforts will be his nominees to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in his second term. Both roles were at times attacked over his first term, notably when EPA instituted new air and water regulations and DOE was caught making a bad investment in the now-defunct solar manufacturer Solyndra. If the tone of his State of the Union offers a blueprint, he'll choose people unafraid to act.

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

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Charred Human Remains Found in Burned Cabin

Investigators have located charred human remains in the burned out cabin where they believe suspected cop killer and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was holed up as the structure burned to the ground, police said.

The human remains were found within the debris of the burned cabin and identification will be attempted through forensic means, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department said in a press release early this morning.

Dorner barricaded himself in the cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Tuesday afternoon after engaging in a gunfight with police, killing one officer and injuring another, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.

Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which is the lead agency in the action, said Tuesday night investigators would remain at the site all night.

FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Dorner Manhunt

When Bachman was asked if police thought Dorner was in still in the burning cabin, she said, "Right… We believe that the person that barricaded himself inside the cabin engaged in gunfire with our deputies and other law enforcement officers is still inside there, even though the building burned."

Bachman spoke shortly after the Los Angeles Police Department denied earlier reports that a body was found in the cabin, contradicting what law enforcement sources told ABC News and other news organizations.

Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Police Exchange Fire With Possible Suspect Watch Video

Fugitive Ex-Cop Believed Barricaded in Cabin, California Cops Say Watch Video

Police around the cabin told ABC News they saw Dorner enter but never leave the building as it was consumed by flames, creating a billowing column of black smoke seen for miles.

A press conference is scheduled for later today in San Bernardino.

One sheriff's deputy was killed in a shootout with Dorner earlier Tuesday afternoon, believed to be his fourth and victim after killing an LAPD officer and two other people this month, including the daughter of a former police captain, and promising to kill many more in an online manifesto.

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

Cops said they heard a single gunshot go off from inside the cabin just as they began to see smoke and fire. Later they heard the sound of more gunshots, the sound of ammunition being ignited by the heat of the blaze, law enforcement officials said.

Police did not enter the building, but exchanged fire with Dorner and shot tear gas into the building.

One of the largest dragnets in recent history, which led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, apparently ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.

Police got a break at 12:20 p.m. PT, when they received a 911 call that a suspect resembling Dorner had broken into a home in the Big Bear area, taken two hostages and stolen a car.

The two hostages, who were tied up by Dorner but later escaped, were evaluated by paramedics and were determined to be uninjured.

Officials say Dorner crashed the stolen vehicle and fled on foot to the cabin where he barricaded himself and exchanged fire with deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office and state Fish and Game officers.

Two deputies were wounded in the firefight and airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said. The second deputy was in surgery and was expected to survive, police said.

Police sealed all the roads into the area, preventing cars from entering the area and searching all of those on the way out. Are schools were briefly placed on lockdown.

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Obama’s 2012 State of the Union proposals: what flopped and what succeeded

(Evan Vucci/AP)

Every president announces a slew of initiatives in his State of the Union address. Here, in order of delivery, is a summary of the key proposals, pledges or priorities announced by President Obama a year ago — and what happened to them.

Given election-year politics and conflicts with congressional Republicans, Obama’s success rate on legislative proposals in 2012 is relatively poor — at least until the year-end “fiscal cliff” negotiations.

The Proposals

Obama:
“We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas.  Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it.  So let’s change it.”

 No progress has been made on reforming the tax code. Obama has repeatedly proposed changing tax breaks to reward companies that stay in the United States and punish those that leave, but there is little enthusiasm in Congress, even when Democrats controlled the House.

Obama:
“We’re also making it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world.  Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years.  With the bipartisan trade agreements we signed into law, we’re on track to meet that goal ahead of schedule.” 

 Oops, Obama spoke too soon. Obama’s goal was already set from a fairly low bar — the depths of the recession, after exports had fallen 15 percent — but export growth lagged dramatically in 2012. Exports in 2012 are only up about 39 percent above 2009, making it increasingly unlikely Obama’s goal can be met in the next two years. As we have noted, just counting exports — rather than a gain in net exports — does not tell you much.

Obama: “Tonight, I’m announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trading practices in countries like China.” 

 By executive order, Obama created the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center (ITEC), and it has challenged trade practices by China, India, Indonesia, and Argentina.

Obama: “Join me in a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job.”

 This has been a frequent refrain for the president. He first proposed in 2009 a $12-billion “American Graduate Initiative” for community colleges, but the plan was scaled back to just $2 billion over four years; only $1 billion in grants have been awarded. After the State of the Union address, the president called for an $8 billion fund called the “Community College to Career Fund.” But the plan had gone nowhere.

Obama:
“Tonight, I am proposing that every state — every state — requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.”

One state, Maryland, in the past year has adopted legislation that would eventually require students to stay in school until age 18, bringing the number to 22 states plus the District of Columbia.

Obama:
“At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July.”

 Congress acted to extend the 3.4 percent interest rate on federally subsidized Stafford loans for another year.

Obama:
“Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves millions of middle-class families thousands of dollars.”

 The American Opportunity Tax Credit was extended for another five years as a result of the end of the year deal between the White House and Congress that averted the so-called fiscal cliff.

Obama:
“Give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.”

 As part of this proposal, the president had hoped to add an additional 110,000 federal work-study jobs in fiscal year 2013, on top of about 700,000 students. But not only was his plan not accepted by Congress but the program now is threatened with a cut of 50,000 jobs because of the looming automatic sequester.

Obama:
“So let me put colleges and universities on notice:  If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down.”

 This proposal has met with resistance in Congress and no action has been taken.

Obama:
“We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now.”

Virtually nothing happened in the election year but prospects are much brighter for a deal this year.

Obama:
“We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits. Create these jobs.”

 Obama made no progress on taking away tax benefits for oil companies — which he has long advocated — but did win an extension of wind energy tax credits as part of the fiscal cliff deal.

Obama:
“Here’s a proposal:  Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs.”

This idea went nowhere in Congress, and no bill was passed.

Obama:
“I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low rates.”

 Congress has balked at Obama’s plan, but the White House is now considering taking action via an executive order.

Obama:
“Tonight, I’m asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorney general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis.”

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was appointed to head the task force and in October it filed a civil suit against JP Morgan Chase alleging a “systemic fraud on thousands of investors.” The task force also filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse in November over an alleged $11 billion scheme.

Obama:
“Our most immediate priority is stopping a tax hike on 160 million working Americans while the recovery is still fragile. People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. There are plenty of ways to get this done. So let’s agree right here, right now: No side issues. No drama. Pass the payroll tax cut without delay. Let’s get it done.”

 Republicans, who had balked at extending the payroll tax cut, caved quickly and extended it for another year — in what was seen as a clean win for Obama. But the tax cut died a quiet death at the end of 2012 as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations.

Obama:
“If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes.” 

 Obama’s proposal of a minimum tax for the wealthy was largely ignored by Congress.

Obama:
“On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn’t go up.”

  In the fiscal cliff negotiations, Obama did win a permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts for individuals making less than $400,000 and couples making less than $450,000 as well as a modest increase in taxes on wealthier Americans. That’s not quite what he wanted, but we’ll count it as a win.

Obama:
“I ask the Senate to pass a simple rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days.”

 No such idea — especially with a time frame — had been adopted by the Senate, though the time for debate has been reduced after there is already a bipartisan consensus for a final vote.

Obama:
“In Syria, I have no doubt that the Assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change cannot be reversed, and that human dignity cannot be denied.  ….We will stand against violence and intimidation. We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings — men and women; Christians, Muslims and Jews.”

 The Pentagon’s top leaders recently revealed that they supported a plan — advocated by then CIA director David Petraeus and then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton — to supply weapons to rebels fighting against the Syrian government in a brutal civil war. But the president rejected the idea, and there is little indication it will be revived. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remains in power and a report for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that at least 60,000 people have died in the conflict.

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Catholic world in shock after pope resigns

VATICAN CITY: The Catholic Church faced a tricky transition on Tuesday as it prepared to elect a new pope, with many faithful still reeling from the shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

The 85-year-old Benedict told a group of cardinals in a speech in Latin on Monday that he will step down on February 28 because he could no longer fulfil his duties in a fast-changing world -- the first pope to resign of his own free will in more than 700 years.

A report in Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore said his decision may have been for health reasons.

The newspaper said Benedict underwent heart surgery less than three months ago to replace his pacemaker -- an operation that was kept out of the public eye.

While the surgery went well, the report quoted advisors as saying that it made the pope reflect on whether he could continue to guide the Church.

The Vatican has emphasised that the momentous decision was not due to any specific illness and said the pope will retire to a monastery building inside the Vatican -- creating an unprecedented situation in which the new pope and his predecessor will live in the same place.

The rumour mill over who could be the next pope was in full swing within hours of the pontiff's speech but no clear favourites have emerged yet.

Benedict's next scheduled appearance is on Wednesday at around 0930 GMT, when he is to hold an audience with hundreds of faithful in the Vatican.

He will later celebrate mass in St Peter's basilica at 1600 GMT for Ash Wednesday -- the start of the period of Lent before Easter for Christians.

The mass had been due to be held in the much smaller church of Santa Sabina in Rome but plans have been changed at the last-minute.

Only a few advisors knew of the pope's plan and many in the Vatican hierarchy were caught off guard, with Cardinal Angelo Sodano saying it was "like a lightning bolt in a clear blue sky."

Within hours, a lightning bolt did strike the very tip of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, an eerie image captured by AFP photographer Filippo Monteforte.

Sodano embraced the pope following the momentous announcement, after which the pope returned to his rooms in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace and broke down in tears, Italian daily La Stampa reported.

"He could not hold back the emotion any more," the report said, adding that the pope had taken his decision after suffering a fall during a trip to Mexico and Cuba last year that was not made public.

Several observers said Benedict wanted to avoid the fate of his predecessor and mentor, John Paul II, who suffered a long and debilitating illness.

Ordinary faithful among the world's 1.1 billion Catholics were stunned by the decision.

"An historic, unexpected and humble announcement," read a headline in Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference.

Some faithful said the move was a courageous act that would breathe new life into a Roman Catholic Church struggling with multiple crises and could possibly set a precedent for ageing popes.

"This signals the end of the tradition of popes for life. It is an example and a suggestion for future popes," said Marco Politi, a biographer of Benedict and columnist for Il Fatto Quotidiano daily.

Others expressed dismay that a leader whose election by the Church's cardinals is believed to be divinely inspired could simply decide to quit.

World leaders said they respected the decision and generally praised his pontificate, particularly for his efforts to promote inter-religious dialogue.

The pope's eight-year rule -- one of the shortest in the Church's modern history -- also earned him plenty of enemies, however, from the gay community and AIDS activists to the many shocked by the abuses of paedophile priests and multiple cover-ups.

An academic theologian and the author of numerous tomes, including a trilogy on the life of Jesus Christ, the pope was often seen as somewhat distant from the day-to-day running of the Church.

Still he tried hard to reach out to a younger, global audience -- including by opening a Twitter account just before Christmas with the handle "Pontifex" ("Pontiff" in Latin).

The Vatican said the ex-pope would initially stay at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo while his new home is being renovated.

Only one other pope has resigned in the Church's 2,000-year history -- Celestine V in 1294 -- a humble hermit who stepped down after just a few months saying he could no longer bear the intrigue of Rome and was not able to fulfil his duties.

In 1415, Gregory XII was forced out as part of a deal to end the "Western Schism", when two rival claimants declared themselves pope and threatened to tear apart Roman Catholicism.

Speculation over who could be the next pope was already rife in Rome, although even seasoned observers cautioned that predictions of future popes are notoriously unreliable.

The field appears wide open, with some saying the papacy could return to an Italian for the first time since 1978, others saying it could go to a North American candidate and still others saying Africa or Asia could yield the next pope.

Several analysts said the fact that the pope was resigning precisely because of his advancing age could favour the choice of a relatively young pope.

The Vatican has said it expects a new pope to be in place in time for Easter, which falls on March 31 this year, although the decision is ultimately up to the cardinals meeting in a secret conclave.

They send a signal of black smoke each day until a decision is taken with a two-thirds majority.

White smoke is then put out from the Vatican palace when a candidate has been approved.

The new pope is then presented to cheering crowds in St Peter's Square with the famous Latin cry: "Habemus Papam!" ("We have a pope!).

-AFP/ac

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Electioneering picks up in Mizoram bypoll

AIZAWL: With only nine days left for campaigning, electioneering has picked up for the by-poll to Chalfilh assembly seat in Mizoram to be held on February 23.

The ruling Congress nominee Dr Ngurdingliana began the second phase of campaigning from yesterday with ruling legislators and senior party leaders reaching different villages in the constituency yesterday.

More Congress leaders and legislators today left Aizawl for the constituency even as almost all the villages have been covered already.

The main opposition, Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate Lalvenhima Hmar also continued his campaign which he began just after the scrutiny of the nomination papers were conducted.

Besides top MNF leaders canvassing in the seat, groups led by party chief Zoramthanga, Senior Vice President Tawnluia, Vice President R Tlanghmingthanga and the lone Rajya Sabha member Lalhming Liana would begin the campaign from this week, MNF sources said.

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