Tennis: Stomach virus rules Nadal out of Abu Dhabi return

MADRID: Former men's tennis world number one Rafael Nadal's long-awaited return after an agonising six-month knee injury battle has been put off because of a stomach infection, he revealed on his Twitter and Facebook sites on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old Spaniard - who hasn't played since his shock second round exit to 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon in June - had been due to play in a six player exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi this week ahead of his return to the ATP circuit at Doha from December 31.

He was due to join world number one Novak Djokovic and US Open champion Andy Murray among others at the three day event.

"I am really sorry but I cannot compete this year in Abu Dhabi," wrote the seven-time French Open champion and presently ranked number four in the world.

"Everything was ready and I was really eager to return to competition, but the doctors have forbidden me to participate in Abu Dhabi because of a viral infection of the stomach which has provoked a fever."

Nadal, an 11-time Grand Slam title winner, has been plagued by knee injuries throughout his career, a legacy of his all-action style.

But earlier this week he shrugged off any fears that despite falling to number four in the world rankings, he is no longer a threat to Djokovic, Murray and world number two Roger Federer.

"I haven't forgotten how to play. I have played over 600 ATP matches and I have spent two years without playing. My feeling is good. I won Roland Garros and those emotions are still me," he said.

"The doctors say the knee is fine and that is great news for me. I still feel something, it's not perfect."

Nadal insisted he is not bitter over his recent experiences.

"I have accepted it as normal, as part of my career, part of my job. It's another challenge," he told marca.com.

"All I can do is try. But people have to realise that when you're so many months without competing you need time to progress."

- AFP/jc

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Kalyan's Rashtriya Jankranti Party to merge with BJP on Jan 21

LUCKNOW: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh on Tuesday said his party Rashtriya Jankranti Party would merge with the BJP in a rally to be held here on January 21.

Kalyan, who has made a re-entry into BJP, made the announcement while addressing a function to celebrate 88th birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Gulala ghat as the chief guest.

He said that Vajpayee worked for 'Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan' with dedication.

Terming him as a popular leader of the world, Kalyan said that height of morality in politics was witnessed in the regime of Vajpayee as the PM.

He said that while NDA government fell by only one vote in Lok Sabha, Atal did not got involved in politics of buying votes.

Kalyan alleged that UPA government was running on "bought" votes.

Terming Kalyan as his elder brother local MP Lalji Tandon said that he was and would remain with them.

BJP state president Laxmi Kant Bajpai said the party would win forthcoming Lok Sabha elections with huge votes in Kalyan's leadership.

Bajpai referred to Pokhran test, POTA and land and water schemes for development as historical decisions of Vajpayee's regime while urging party workers to prepare for the elections and BJP's victory in it.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of birthday of the former PM, BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak flagged off "Atal Sushasan Yatra" from Rae Bareli, parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Pathak said the yatra would cover various assembly segment in five days during which meetings would be held to make people aware with the "anti-people" policies of the UPA government and remind them of good governance of the former PM Vajpayee.

The spokesman alleged that by allowing FDI in retail the Centre was forcing the country towards another slavery and it would render crores of people unemployed.

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Photos: Humboldt Squid Have a Bad Day at the Beach

Photograph by Chris Elmenhurst, Surf the Spot Photography

“Strandings have been taking place with increased frequency along the west coast over the past ten years,” noted NOAA’s Field, “as this population of squid seems to be expanding its range—likely a consequence of climate change—and can be very abundant at times.” (Learn about other jumbo squid strandings.)

Humboldt squid are typically found in warmer waters farther south in theGulf of California (map) and off the coast ofPeru. “[But] we find them up north here during warmer water time periods,” said ocean sciences researcherKenneth Bruland with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).

Coastal upwelling—when winds blowing south drive ocean circulation to bring cold, nutrient-rich waters up from the deep—ceases during the fall and winter and warmer water is found closer to shore. Bruland noted that climate change, and the resulting areas of low oxygen, “could be a major factor” in drawing jumbo squid north.

Published December 24, 2012

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Winter Storms, Tornado Threats for Christmas in US

Forecasts of snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened to complicate Christmas Day travel around the nation's midsection Tuesday as several Gulf Coast states braced for a chance of twisters and powerful thunderstorms.

A blizzard watch was posted for parts of Indiana and western Kentucky for storms expected to develop Tuesday amid predictions of up to 4 to 7 inches of snow in coming hours. Much of Oklahoma and Arkansas braced under a winter storm warning of an early mix of rain and sleet later turning to snow.

Some mountainous areas of Arkansas' Ozark Mountains could get up to 10 inches of snow amid warnings travel could become "very hazardous or impossible" in the northern tier of the state from near whiteout conditions, the National Weather Service said.

Early Tuesday, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety said some bridges and overpasses were already becoming slick. Also, Kathleen O'Shea with Oklahoma Gas and Electric said the utility was tracking the storm system to see where repair crews might be needed among nearly 800,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

Elsewhere, areas of east Texas and Louisiana braced for possible thunderstorms as forecasters eyed a swath of the Gulf Coast from east Texas to the Florida Panhandle for the threat of any tornadoes.

Storms expected during the day Tuesday along the Gulf Coast could bring strong tornadoes or winds of more than 75 mph, heavy rain, quarter-sized hail and dangerous lightning in Louisiana and Mississippi, the weather service said.

"Please plan now for how you will receive a severe weather warning, and know where you will go when it is issued. It only takes a few minutes, and it will help everyone have a safe Christmas," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said.

Ten storm systems in the last 50 years have spawned at least one Christmastime tornado with winds of 113 mph or more in the South, said Chris Vaccaro, a National Weather Service spokesman in Washington, via email.

The most lethal were the storms of Dec. 24-26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32; and those of Dec. 24-25, 1964, when two people were killed and about 30 people injured by 14 tornadoes in seven states.

In Alabama, the director of the Emergency Management Agency, Art Faulkner, said he has briefed both local officials and Gov. Robert Bentley on plans for dealing with a possible outbreak of storms.

No day is good for severe weather, but Faulkner said Christmas adds extra challenges because people are visiting unfamiliar areas and often thinking more of snow than possible twisters.

"We are trying to get the word out through our media partners and through social media that people need to be prepared," Faulkner said

During the night, flog blanketed highways at times in the Southeast, including arteries in Atlanta where motorists slowed as a precaution. Fog advisories were posted from Alabama through the Carolinas into southwestern Virginia.

Several communities in Louisiana went ahead with the annual Christmas Eve lighting more than 100 towering log teepees for annual bonfires to welcome Pere Noel along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. That decision came after fire chiefs and local officials decided to go ahead with the tradition after an afternoon conference call with the National Weather Service.

In California, after a brief reprieve across the northern half of the state on Monday, wet weather was expected to make another appearance on Christmas Day. Flooding and snarled holiday traffic were expected in Southern California.

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Associated Press writer Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City, Okla., contributed to this report.

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Two firefighters shot dead in New York state: media

NEW YORK: Two firefighters were shot dead and two others wounded in New York state on Monday when at least one gunman opened fire as the emergency personnel responded to a blaze, local media reported.

The incident -- which comes as debate rages in the United States about gun control following the Newtown school massacre -- happened in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper reported, citing officials.

- AFP/xq

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Ananth Kumar attacks Yeddyuarappa, calls KJP a 'B team'

BANGALORE: After chief minister Jagadish Shettar, it was BJP national general secretary HN Ananth Kumar's turn to attack Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) president B S Yeddyurappa.

Describing KJP as the 'B team' of Congress, created to trouble BJP in the assembly elections, Kumar said "Yeddyurappa became CM chanting Rama's name. Now he has embraced Rome by floating KJP on the birthday of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi." Kumar was addressing the Bangalore Urban BJP workers meeting at Palace Grounds on Monday.

Yeddyurappa officially took over as KJP president on December 9, which was also the birth date of Sonia Gandhi, at a convention in Haveri. Sources perceive Kumar's remark as an attack on Yeddyurappa and the Congress for their alleged tacit understanding.

"Yeddyurappa became CM with the blessings of leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani and the hard work of lakhs of party workers, not because of his efforts alone. He lost the chair because of his own mistakes and nobody is to blame for this," Kumar said.

Comparing KJP with Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartana Party (GPP), Kumar said the party always considered GPP a non-performer as it worked as the B team for the Congress in Gujarat. "They (Congress) had only one B in Gujarat. In Karnataka, Congress has B, C and D teams," he said.

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Pictures: Fungi Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Photograph courtesy Stephanie Mounaud, J. Craig Venter Institute

Mounaud combined different fungi to create a Santa hat and spell out a holiday message.

Different fungal grow at different rates, so Mounaud's artwork rarely lasts for long. There's only a short window of time when they actually look like what they're suppose to.

"You do have to keep that in perspective when you're making these creations," she said.

For example, the A. flavus fungi that she used to write this message from Santa grows very quickly. "The next day, after looking at this plate, it didn't say 'Ho Ho Ho.' It said 'blah blah blah,'" Mounaud said.

The message also eventually turned green, which was the color she was initially after. "It was a really nice green, which is what I was hoping for. But yellow will do," she said.

The hat was particularly challenging. The fungus used to create it "was troubling because at different temperatures it grows differently. The pigment in this one forms at room temperature but this type of growth needed higher temperatures," Mounaud said.

Not all fungus will grow nicely together. For example, in the hat, "N. fischeri [the brim and ball] did not want to play nice with the P. marneffei [red part of hat] ... so they remained slightly separated."

Published December 21, 2012

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4 Firefighters Shot, 2 Killed Responding to NY Blaze

Two firefighters were shot and killed and two others taken to a nearby hospital after a gunman opened fire on them as they responded to a house fire in Webster, N.Y., this morning, according to authorities and local media.

Officials at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., told ABCNews.com that two men were taken there this morning and were in "guarded condition" after suffering gunshots.

There is "no active shooter, or shooters" at this time, Webster Police Chief Gerald L. Pickerin told reporters this morning, according to ABC affiliate WHAM-TV.

The fire spread to three homes on Lake Road, according to WHAM.

The fire department was waiting for police to safely evacuate nearby residents and secure the scene before battling the blaze.

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Petitioners ask Obama to retaliate for Russia adoption ban

WASHINGTON: Tens of thousands of petitioners are calling for US President Barack Obama to escalate the diplomatic feud that led Moscow to propose a law barring Americans from adopting Russian children.

Two petitions on the White House web site are asking for US sanctions on the Russian lawmakers who help pass the law that one of the petitions says will "jeopardize lives and well-being of thousands of Russian orphans."

Moscow sees the ban on adoptions as retaliation for a US human rights law that allows the seizure of assets from Russian officials implicated in the 2009 death of a Russian lawyer who blew the whistle on a US$235 million police embezzlement scheme.

Under the US law -- dubbed the Magnitsky Act in tribute to the late lawyer -- those same officials would also be barred from entering the United States.

More than 37,000 people have signed one of the petitions saying they are "outraged with the actions of Russian law-makers."

According to the White House rules, there will be an official response if the petition reaches 25,000 signatures within 30 days.

These lawmakers "breached all imaginable boundaries of humanity, responsibility, or common sense and chose to jeopardize lives and well-being of thousands of Russian orphans, some of whom, the ill and the disabled ones, now might not have a chance of survival if the ban on international adoption is to be put in place," the petition continues.

The petitioners "urge this Administration to identify those involved in adopting such legislature responsible under 'Magnitsky Act' and thus included to the relevant list."

Likewise, a second petition, signed by more than 5,000 people, asks that the Magnitsky Act "be extended to supporters of this law in (the) Russian Duma."

The Duma passed the adoption ban without debate in a quick 420-7 vote on Friday as protesters picketed the building demanding the measure be voted down.

The Kremlin-dominated upper house is now expected to approve the bill next Wednesday before passing it on to President Vladimir Putin for his signature.

The Russian leader has indicated he is ready to put his name on the measure so that it could enter law on January 1.

The measure, which underscores the severity of the recent strain in Russia-US ties, would end about 1,000 adoptions a year.

Caregivers in particular fear the new rules will hit the most disadvantaged children because foreign adoptive parents are often ready to adopt kids rejected by Russian families.

- AFP/xq

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Road accidents claim 967 lives, militancy 95 in J&K in 2012

JAMMU: Road accidents have claimed ten times more lives than militancy in Jammu and Kashmir this year, according to official statistics.

As many as 967 people were killed and 8,305 injured in road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir till October-end this year.

A total of 95 people, including 58 ultras, were killed and 115 injured in militancy-related incidents in the state this year, the home ministry's data said.

A total of 1120 people were killed and 10108 injured in 6,644 road accidents in the state last year as compared to 1042 dead and 8709 injured in 6136 accidents during 2010.

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