India says two soldiers killed in clash with Pakistan troops

SRINAGAR, India: Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers on Tuesday near the tense disputed border between the nuclear-armed neighbours in Kashmir and one of the bodies was badly mutilated, the Indian army said.

The firefight broke out at about noon on Tuesday (0630 GMT) after an Indian patrol discovered Pakistani troops about half a kilometre (1,600 feet) inside Indian territory, an army spokesman told AFP.

A ceasefire has been in place along the Line of Control that divides the countries since 2003, but it is periodically violated by both sides and Pakistan said Indian troops killed a Pakistani soldier on Sunday.

Relations had been slowly improving over the last few years following a rupture in their slow-moving peace process after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which were blamed by India on Pakistan-based militants.

"There was a firefight with Pakistani troops," army spokesman Rajesh Kalia told AFP from the mountainous Himalayan region.

"We lost two soldiers and one of them has been badly mutilated," he added, declining to give more details on the injuries.

"The intruders were regular (Pakistani) soldiers and they were 400-500 metres (1,300-1,600 feet) inside our territory," he said of the clash in Mendhar sector, 173 kilometres (107 miles) west by road from the city of Jammu.

In Islamabad, a Pakistan military spokesman denied what he called an "Indian allegation of unprovoked firing". He declined to elaborate.

On Sunday, Pakistan said Indian troops had crossed the Line of Control and stormed a military post. It said one Pakistani soldier was killed and another injured.

It lodged a formal protest with India on Monday over what it called an unprovoked attack.

India denied crossing the line, saying it had retaliated with small arms fire after Pakistani mortars hit a village home.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Indian troops had undertaken "controlled retaliation" on Sunday after "unprovoked firing" which damaged a civilian home.

The deaths are set to undermine recent efforts to improve relations, such as opening up trade and offering more lenient visa regimes which have been a feature of talks between senior political leaders from both sides.

Muslim-majority Kashmir is a Himalayan region which India and Pakistan both claim in full but rule in part. It was the cause of two of three wars between the neighbours since independence from Britain in 1947.

- AFP/fa

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India to respond to 'ghastly' attack on troops: Salman Khurshid

NEW DELHI: Foreign minister Salman Khurshid said on Tuesday that New Delhi would give a "proportionate" response to the "ghastly" death of two soldiers at the hands of Pakistani troops along the Line of Control.

"We need to do something about this and we will, but it has to be done after careful consideration of all the details in consultation with the defence ministry," Salman Khurshid said in an interview to a news channel.

"It is absolutely unacceptable, ghastly, and really, really terrible and extremely short-sighted by their part," he added, saying any response would be "proportionate".

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Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.

Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer.

"There has been clear progress," said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer advocacy groups.

But bad diets, lack of physical activity and obesity together wield "incredible forces against this decline in mortality," Brawley said. He warned that over the next decade, that trio could surpass tobacco as the leading cause of cancer in the U.S.

Overall, deaths from cancer began slowly dropping in the 1990s, and Monday's report shows the trend holding. Among men, cancer death rates dropped by 1.8 percent a year between 2000 and 2009, and by 1.4 percent a year among women. The drops are thanks mostly to gains against some of the leading types — lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers — because of treatment advances and better screening.

The news isn't all good. Deaths still are rising for certain cancer types including liver, pancreatic and, among men, melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer.

Preventing cancer is better than treating it, but when it comes to new cases of cancer, the picture is more complicated.

Cancer incidence is dropping slightly among men, by just over half a percent a year, said the report published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Prostate, lung and colorectal cancers all saw declines.

But for women, earlier drops have leveled off, the report found. That may be due in part to breast cancer. There were decreases in new breast cancer cases about a decade ago, as many women quit using hormone therapy after menopause. Since then, overall breast cancer incidence has plateaued, and rates have increased among black women.

Another problem area: Oral and anal cancers caused by HPV, the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, are on the rise among both genders. HPV is better known for causing cervical cancer, and a protective vaccine is available. Government figures show just 32 percent of teen girls have received all three doses, fewer than in Canada, Britain and Australia. The vaccine was recommended for U.S. boys about a year ago.

Among children, overall cancer death rates are dropping by 1.8 percent a year, but incidence is continuing to increase by just over half a percent a year. Brawley said it's not clear why.

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Jodi Arias: Who Is the Admitted Killer?

Jodi Arias is a woman that many can't keep their eyes off of--a soft-spoken, small-framed 32-year-old who last year won a jailhouse Christmas caroling contest. But she is also an admitted killer who is now on trial in Arizona for the 2008 murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.

Sitting in a Maricopa County court, Arias, whose trial resumes today, cries every time prosecutors describe what she admits she did -- stab her one-time boyfriend Travis Alexander 27 times, slit his throat and shoot him in the head.

Arias grew up in the small city of Yreka, Calif. She dropped out of high school, but received her GED while in jail a few years ago. She was an aspiring photographer; her MySpace page includes several albums of pictures, one of which was called "In loving memory of Travis Alexander."

FULL COVERAGE: Jodi Arias Murder Trial

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"Jodi wanted nothing but to please Travis," defense attorney Jennifer Wilmot said in her opening statements, but added that there was another reality – that Arias was Alexander's "dirty little secret."

Arias' attorneys want the jury to believe she killed Alexander in June of 2008 in self defense, that he abused her, and she feared for her life when she attacked him in the shower of his Mesa, Ariz., home.

Alexander's family and friends say Arias was a stalker who killed him in cold blood. They say the 30-year-old was a successful businessman who overcame all the odds. His parents were drug addicts, and he grew up occasionally homeless until he converted to Mormonism and turned his life around.

Jodi Arias Trial: A Timeline of Events in the Arizona Murder Case

"He actually had everything going for him," said Dave Hall, one of Alexander's friends. "A beautiful home, a beautiful car, a great income."

Alexander kept a blog, and in a haunting last entry, just two weeks before his murder, he wrote about trying to find a wife.

"This type of dating to me is like a very long job interview," he wrote. "Desperately trying to find out if my date has an axe murderer penned up inside of her."

Alexander did date a killer. It's now up to the jury to decide if she killed in self defense.

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Five accused in India rape case charged in court

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Five men accused of raping and murdering an Indian student were read the charges in a near-empty courtroom on Monday after the judge cleared out lawyers for bickering over whether the men deserved a defense.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died two weeks after being gang-raped and beaten on a moving bus in New Delhi, then thrown bleeding onto the street. Protests followed, along with a fierce public debate over police failure to stem rampant violence against women.

With popular anger simmering against the five men and a teenager accused in the case, most lawyers in the district where the trial will be held refuse to represent them.

Before the men arrived for a pre-trial hearing on Monday, heckling broke out in a chamber packed with jostling lawyers, journalists and members of the public after two of the lawyers, Manohar Lal Sharma and V. K. Anand, offered to defend the men.

"We are living in a modern society," declared Lal Sharma, defending his decision. "We all are educated. Every accused, including those in brutal offences like this, has the legal right ... to defend themselves."

One woman lawyer prodded V. K. Anand in the chest, saying: "I'll see how you can represent the accused."

Unable to restore order, presiding magistrate Namrita Aggarwal ordered everyone to leave except the prosecution, and set police to guard the entrance.

She said the trial would now be held behind closed doors because of the sensitivity of the case.

FACES COVERED

Reuters video images showed the men stepping out of a blue police van that brought them from Tihar jail and walking, their faces covered, through a metal detector into the South Delhi court building.

The court was across the street from the cinema where the victim watched a film before she was attacked on her way home.

Aggarwal gave the men copies of the charges, which include murder, rape and abduction, a prosecutor in the case told Reuters.

Police have conducted extensive interrogations and say they have recorded confessions, even though the men have no lawyers.

If the men, most of them from a slum neighborhood, cannot arrange a defense, the court will offer them legal aid before the trial begins.

Two of them, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta, have offered to give evidence against the others - Mukesh Kumar, Ram Singh and Akshay Thakura - possibly in return for a lighter sentence.

Mohan, describing what he called a heinous crime, said: "The five accused persons deserve not less than the death penalty."

The case has sharpened long-standing anger against the government and police for a perceived failure to protect women.

A male friend who was assaulted with the woman on December 16 said on Friday that passers-by left her unclothed and bleeding in the street for almost an hour and that, when police arrived, they spent a long time arguing about where to take them.

The woman lived for two weeks after her attack, dying in a Singapore hospital where she had been taken for treatment.

FAST-TRACK COURT

Aggarwal said the next hearing would be on January 10. The case is due to move later to another, fast-track court set up since the woman was attacked to help reduce a backlog of sex crime cases in Delhi.

Legal experts say the lack of representation for the five men may give grounds for appeal if they are found guilty. Convictions in similar cases have often been overturned years later.

Some legal experts have also warned that previous attempts to fast-track justice in India in some cases led to imperfect convictions that were later challenged.

The sixth member of the group alleged to have lured the student and a male friend into the private bus is under 18 and will be tried in a separate juvenile court.

The government is aiming to lower the age at which teenagers can be tried as adults, acknowledging public anger that the boy will face a maximum three-year sentence.

The victim was identified by a British newspaper at the weekend but Reuters has opted not to name her.

Indian law generally prohibits the identification of victims of sex crimes. The law is intended to protect victims' privacy and keep them out of the glare of media in a country where the social stigma associated with rape can be devastating.

The dead woman's father repeated on Monday that he wanted her identified and said he would be happy to release a photograph of her.

"We don't want to hide her identity. There is no reason for that. The only condition is it should not be misused," he told Reuters.

He said he was confident the trial would be quick and reiterated a call that the perpetrators be hanged.

(Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Robert Birsel and Tom Pfeiffer)

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Airbus unveils deal for Indian air refuelling tankers

PARIS: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said Monday that it has won a tender to supply India with six A330 air refuelling tankers, a deal potentially worth more than US$1.0 billion.

"Airbus Military is pleased to confirm that it has been selected by the Government of India as the preferred bidder to supply its A330 MRTT Multi Role Tanker Transport to the Indian Air Force," an Airbus statement said.

A spokesman for Airbus Military, the group's defence division, declined to comment on the deal's value, which would have a catalogue price of US$1.25-1.38 billion.

Airbus still has a way to go before it can take a signed contract to the bank however, as the development opened the door to a long process of negotiations between Delhi and the aircraft manufacturer.

As an example, the French company Dassault Aviation was chosen by India in January 2012 to supply 126 Rafale combat jets, but that deal has yet to be finalised.

Airbus Military chief executive Domingo Urena Raso was quoted as saying: "We are fully committed to the next stage of the negotiations, and ultimately to providing the IAF with what is unquestionably the most advanced tanker/transport aircraft flying and certified today."

Airbus had already won a contract to build air refuelling tankers for India, but that deal was cancelled owing to irregularities in the tender process.

This time around, Airbus was competing head-to-head with the Russian group Ilyushin, which has already supplied aircraft to India.

If the Airbus contract with India is finalised, it would mark the sixth country to buy or say it will buy the tankers.

The others are Australia, Britain, France, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

An industry source said that India might need many more than just six of the planes, meanwhile.

The A330 MRTT (multirole tanker transport) can supply two aircraft with fuel at the same time, and in the configuration now being used by the Australian air force, can carry 111 tonnes of fuel, 37 tonnes of material and 270 passengers.

The deal would be a welcome fillip to Airbus, which suffered a bitter defeat in the United States almost two years ago when arch rival Boeing won a US Air Force contract for 179 air refuelling tankers.

- AFP/jc

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CJI asks all high courts to fast-track cases of crimes against women

NEW DELHI: Citing the spontaneous outburst of outrage over the brutal gang-rape and death of a woman in Delhi, Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir has urged the chief justices of all high courts to take immediate steps for prioritizing trial in the case of crimes against women.

In a letter addressed to all the chief justices, Chief Justice Kabir asked them to "ensure that cases relating to offences against women are fast-tracked and taken up for hearing on priority basis, both at the high court and district court level."

"The spontaneous outburst of outrage and anger," Chief Justice Kabir's letter said, "is a measure of how the incident has left an indelible mark and shaken the conscience of the nation."

"Rape is not only physical barbarism, but afflicts the very soul of a victim," he said, adding that a large number of cases involving crime against women are pending in various high courts and trial courts and in recent times, there was a marked increase in such cases.

Delay might be one of the factors contributing in the rise of cases of offences against women, Chief Justice Kabir said adding that "on account of such delay, deterrence pales into insignificance".

"Time has come when these cases have to be dealt with expeditiously, lest we should fail in our endeavour to arrest the sharp increase of crimes of violence against women," the letter said.

Urging the chief justices to take steps for setting up fast-track courts to exclusively deal with offences against the women, Chief Justice Kabir asked them to identify the number of requisite posts required to be created at the level of session judges as well as the magistrates along with supporting staff and judicial infrastructure.

Asking the chief justices to take up the matter with the state governments with "promptitude", he said: "I am sure that, judging the present day scenario, the state government/Union territory will not decline the genuine demand of the judiciary."

Pointing to one of the five fast-track courts inaugurated by him January 2, Chief Justice Kabir said the Delhi government has already taken steps to appoint 150 new judicial officers with 1,085 posts of supporting staff.

He also urged the chief justices to take steps for filling 3,670 vacancies in the subordinate judiciary as well as vacancies in the high courts.

Chief Justice Kabir's letter also said that fast-tracking of matters relating to offences against women would be one of the agenda items of the Chief Justices Conference scheduled for April 5-7, 2013.

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Your medical chart could include exercise minutes

CHICAGO (AP) — Roll up a sleeve for the blood pressure cuff. Stick out a wrist for the pulse-taking. Lift your tongue for the thermometer. Report how many minutes you are active or getting exercise.

Wait, what?

If the last item isn't part of the usual drill at your doctor's office, a movement is afoot to change that. One recent national survey indicated only a third of Americans said their doctors asked about or prescribed physical activity.

Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's largest nonprofit health insurance plans, made a big push a few years ago to get its southern California doctors to ask patients about exercise. Since then, Kaiser has expanded the program across California and to several other states. Now almost 9 million patients are asked at every visit, and some other medical systems are doing it, too.

Here's how it works: During any routine check of vital signs, a nurse or medical assistant asks how many days a week the patient exercises and for how long. The number of minutes per week is posted along with other vitals at the top the medical chart. So it's among the first things the doctor sees.

"All we ask our physicians to do is to make a comment on it, like, 'Hey, good job,' or 'I noticed today that your blood pressure is too high and you're not doing any exercise. There's a connection there. We really need to start you walking 30 minutes a day,'" said Dr. Robert Sallis, a Kaiser family doctor. He hatched the vital sign idea as part of a larger initiative by doctors groups.

He said Kaiser doctors generally prescribe exercise first, instead of medication, and for many patients who follow through that's often all it takes.

It's a challenge to make progress. A study looking at the first year of Kaiser's effort showed more than a third of patients said they never exercise.

Sallis said some patients may not be aware that research shows physical inactivity is riskier than high blood pressure, obesity and other health risks people know they should avoid. As recently as November a government-led study concluded that people who routinely exercise live longer than others, even if they're overweight.

Zendi Solano, who works for Kaiser as a research assistant in Pasadena, Calif., says she always knew exercise was a good thing. But until about a year ago, when her Kaiser doctor started routinely measuring it, she "really didn't take it seriously."

She was obese, and in a family of diabetics, had elevated blood sugar. She sometimes did push-ups and other strength training but not anything very sustained or strenuous.

Solano, 34, decided to take up running and after a couple of months she was doing three miles. Then she began training for a half marathon — and ran that 13-mile race in May in less than three hours. She formed a running club with co-workers and now runs several miles a week. She also started eating smaller portions and buying more fruits and vegetables.

She is still overweight but has lost 30 pounds and her blood sugar is normal.

Her doctor praised the improvement at her last physical in June and Solano says the routine exercise checks are "a great reminder."

Kaiser began the program about three years ago after 2008 government guidelines recommended at least 2 1/2 hours of moderately vigorous exercise each week. That includes brisk walking, cycling, lawn-mowing — anything that gets you breathing a little harder than normal for at least 10 minutes at a time.

A recently published study of nearly 2 million people in Kaiser's southern California network found that less than a third met physical activity guidelines during the program's first year ending in March 2011. That's worse than results from national studies. But promoters of the vital signs effort think Kaiser's numbers are more realistic because people are more likely to tell their own doctors the truth.

Dr. Elizabeth Joy of Salt Lake City has created a nearly identical program and she expects 300 physicians in her Intermountain Healthcare network to be involved early this year.

"There are some real opportunities there to kind of shift patients' expectations about the value of physical activity on health," Joy said.

NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago's northern suburbs plans to start an exercise vital sign program this month, eventually involving about 200 primary care doctors.

Dr. Carrie Jaworski, a NorthShore family and sports medicine specialist, already asks patients about exercise. She said some of her diabetic patients have been able to cut back on their medicines after getting active.

Dr. William Dietz, an obesity expert who retired last year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said measuring a patient's exercise regardless of method is essential, but that "naming it as a vital sign kind of elevates it."

Figuring out how to get people to be more active is the important next step, he said, and could have a big effect in reducing medical costs.

___

Online:

Exercise: http://1.usa.gov/b6AkMa

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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New Evidence Expected in Colo. Shooter Hearing

A preliminary hearing for accused Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes begins today in Colorado, with victims and families expected to be present. One family member likened attending the hearing to having to "face the devil."

This is the most important court hearing in the case so far, essentially a mini-trial as prosecutors present witness testimony and evidence—some never before heard—to outline their case against the former neuroscience student.

The hearing at the Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo., could last all week. At the end, Judge William Sylvester will decide whether the case will go to trial.

Click here for full coverage of the Aurora movie theater shooting.

Prosecutors say they will present potentially gruesome photos and videos in addition to 911 calls from the night of the shooting that left 12 people dead and 58 wounded. They will aim to convince the judge that there is enough evidence against Holmes to proceed to a trial.

It is expected that the prosecution's witnesses will include the Aurora police lead detective, first responders, the coroner and a computer forensic specialist.

Arapahoe County Sheriff/AP Photo

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In an unusual move, defense attorneys may call two witnesses. Last week, the judge ruled that Holmes can call the witnesses to testify on his "mental state," but it is not clear who the witnesses are.

A court-imposed gag order days after the shooting has kept many of the details under wraps, so much of the information could be new to the public.

Hundreds of family members and victims are expected to attend the hearing.

Holmes allegedly opened fire at the crowded Aurora movie theater during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20, 2012. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest, dyed his hair red and was wearing a gas mask.

Holmes has been charged with 166 counts of murder, attempted murder, possession of explosives and crime of violence. The district attorney has not decided whether to seek the death penalty, and Holmes' defense team believes Holmes is mentally ill. He has not entered a plea.

One of the attendees will be MaryEllen Hanson, whose great-niece Veronica Moser Sullivan, 6, was killed in the shooting. Veronica's mother Ashley was shot and is now a quadriplegic and suffered a miscarriage.

"It's one of those things that you almost have to face the devil," Hanson told ABC News. "I don't feel he has the right to intimidate people. I think it's really important to know the details."

Hanson said she will have to "brace herself" to see and hear photos and videos, but is firm in her desire to have a "first-hand experience" with the proceedings.

"I want to know the facts," she said. "There's been a lot of misinformation out there and a lot of information that hasn't been revealed…I need to know what happened that night so I have a better understanding of the horror." Hanson said that she sees Holmes as a "very troubled person."

"The first time I was in court to see him…I felt he was a personification of evil, extremely troubled," she said. "I just can't wrap my head around how someone can be like that and do the things he's done."

She hopes that an understanding of what happened can provide some closure, even though she doesn't foresee ever fully healing from what happened.

"I hope to get to a place where we can move forward," she said. "I really don't think that James Holmes should leave a large footprint in the community."

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Football: Graham denies Arsenal FA Cup victory

LONDON: Danny Graham poached an 87th-minute equaliser to earn Swansea City a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in an FA Cup third-round tie that finished with a rapid exchange of goals at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.

Arsenal had fought back from behind to lead through a quick-fire pair of goals from Lukas Podolski and Kieran Gibbs in the last 10 minutes, only for Graham to pounce at the death to take a gripping tie to a replay.

Swansea had led through a 58th-minute effort by Michu, scorer of both goals in a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium in December, but Swansea appeared to be heading out until Graham found the roof of the net with three minutes to play.

"We should have won this game," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"It's frustrating to concede a goal just like that on a corner, where we couldn't clear the ball before the corner. Even on the corner, we were first to the ball and didn't win the ball.

"We have shown quality and heart and it's quite good if we can repeat that."

Michu began on the bench for Swansea, perhaps with an eye on Wednesday's League Cup semi-final first leg against Chelsea, while Arsenal made three changes and deployed Olivier Giroud as a lone striker.

Arsenal threatened through Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla, but it was Swansea who created the clearest openings in the first half.

Graham extended Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a crisp strike in the 13th minute, while former Arsenal trainee Kyle Bartley rattled the crossbar with a header nine minutes before half-time.

Giroud tested Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm twice early in the second period, before Michu rose from the dug-out to tip the tie in the hosts' favour.

The Spaniard had only been on the pitch for a minute and 13 seconds when he collected Nathan Dyer's knock-down, lobbed the ball over Per Mertesacker, and then beat Szczesny to claim his 15th goal of the campaign.

Podolski swivelled on a loose ball to level in the 81st minute and Gibbs then slammed in a sumptuous volley from Giroud's chipped pass to put Arsenal ahead two minutes later, but Graham had the final say.

The winners of the replay will face a trip to second-tier Brighton and Hove Albion, who eliminated Newcastle United for the second season in succession on Saturday.

Holders Chelsea will face lower-league opposition in the form of either Southend United or Brentford, while either Fulham or Blackpool will await the victors of the replay between Manchester United and West Ham United.

One of the most evocative ties of the third round takes place later on Sunday, when Liverpool bid to avoid an upset at fifth-tier Mansfield Town.

- AFP/jc

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