Narayan Rane clears the air, no plan to join Shiv Sena

MUMBAI: Keeping party politics away, two key DF ministers, NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal and Congress's Narayan Rane, on Monday paid tributes to their political mentor and former boss Balasaheb Thackeray at a condolence meeting held at Mantralaya, the state government headquarters.

Thackeray died after protracted illness at his Bandra residence on November 17.

Even as he fondly recalled his long association with the late Thackeray, Rane made it clear that he had no intention of going back to Shiv Sena, the party he quit in 2005 after irreconcilable differences with Uddhav Thackeray.

"Sena is my past and Congress my future," said Rane, scotching speculation in political circles that he may well be keen on worming his way back to the Sena fold, in the post-Thackeray era. Rane headed the Sena-BJP government for eight months in 1999. The fiesty Congressman is seen as a strong contender for the chief ministership in the DF.

Stating that Balasaheb lived life king-size, Rane said, "He taught his followers to think big and positive. He loved them like head of the family. His popularity across Maharashtra was phenomenal."

Rane said Thackeray never believed in sham democracy. If he made up his mind, he would act swiftly. There was no hemming and hawing. He chose me to succeed Manohar Joshi as CM and that was that. Unlike other political parties, the Sena didn't believe in striking a balance between factions or taking an arduous route to choose a chief minister,'' said the industries minister.

Bhujbal said Balasaheb had transcended the narrow limits of party politics. "He was not a politician in the sense we understand. He came from a family of social reformers. He combined oratory, organizational skills and charisma to put the Sena on a firm footing. To me, both Balasaheb and his wife, Meenatai, were like parents. I and Rane got plum positions in NCP and Congress because we had done long years of apprenticeship in the Sena. This happened because of Balasaheb," Bhujbal added.

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.

Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.

The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.

The number of children aged 17 and younger who got emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses — from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.

"I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.

Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Only about 3 percent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones.

More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger. The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.

"There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk," he said.

Other recommendations, often listed in manufacturers' instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

The study didn't include deaths, but some accidents are fatal. Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.

Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.

A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.

Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

Trade group: http://www.naarso.com

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

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'Innocence of Muslims' Filmmaker: I Have No Regrets

From behind bars, the maker of the anti-Islam movie "Innocence of Muslims" says he has no regrets.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Egyptian-American Coptic Christian, told The New York Times that he stands by the incendiary movie, which portrays the religion'sbeloved Prophet Muhammad as a fraud and a pedophile.

"I thought, before I wrote this script," said Nakoula in his first public statement since his arrest, "that I should burn myself in a public square to let the American people and the people of the world know this message that I believe in." He said he didn't regret the film "at all" and wanted to communicate the "actual truth" about Muhammad.

Nakoula was sent to prison earlier this month for violating his probation on a prior federal fraud conviction. He admitted that he lied to his probation officer and used fake names, though prosecutors dropped other counts, which included the accusation that he had lied to authorities about the scope of his role in making "Innocence of Muslims."

While there is controversy over whether the video provoked the Benghazi terrorist attacks that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans this past September, the bizarre film undoubtedly provoked a series of deadly protests across the Muslim world.

After a clip was translated into Arabic and broadcast by TV networks in the Middle East, Egyptians stormed the U.S. embassy in Cairo and replaced the American flag with an Islamic banner. Protests spread even as details emerged that showed "Innocence of Muslims" was an amateurish, low-budget film shot in just over two weeks.

Gaza Cease-Fire: Celebrations in the Streets Watch Video

Nakoula, a former gas station manager and cancer survivor, was convicted of intent to manufacture methamphetamine in the 1990s. In 2010, he pleaded no contest to bank fraud. While in prison, said Nakoula, he closely followed the protests against the building of the Park 51 Islamic center near ground zero in New York and planned for his anti-Islam film.

"He said it might have been a blessing to go to prison because he had time to work on the script," his son told The New York Times. Nakoula also told the Times that he was motivated by violence against his fellow Copts in Egypt, as well as other violent acts by Muslims, including the Ft. Hood massacre of 2009, allegedly committed by U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan.

Many of the people involved in the production of "Innocence of Muslims," including cast and crew, say they were not aware of the film's controversial content.

"They put words in my mouth that were not in the script and I never said," Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who starred in the film, told ABC News. She claims that after shooting, dialogue was dubbed over with inflammatory remarks about Islam that were not in the original script.

"Now, I'm sick that people died over this. I'm exhausted and really hurt and angry," she said.
Morris Sadek, an activist Copt from Virginia who helped publicize the trailer on the internet, said he thought the movie was created to raise awareness about the persecution of Copts in Egypt. Joseph Nassralla Abdelmasih, the head of the non-profit organization "Media for Christ," which provided Nakoula with free studio space, echoed Sadek's sentiments and asserted that his group provided no cameras or other production assistance, according The Times.

Nakoula has used multiple aliases over the years. Though he was convicted under the name Nakoula Bassely Nakoula, he told the cast and crew of "Innocence of Muslims" that his name was Sam Bacile. He changed his name to Mark Bassely Youssef in 2002, and then to Ebrahem Fawzy Youssef in 2009.

Media for Christ and Nakoula's son did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Mursi to meet judges over power grab

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will meet senior judges on Monday to try to ease a crisis over his seizure of new powers which has set off violent protests reminiscent of last year's revolution which brought him to power.

Egypt's stock market plunged on Sunday in its first day open since Mursi issued a decree late on Thursday temporarily widening his powers and shielding his decisions from judicial review, drawing accusations he was behaving like a new dictator.

More than 500 people have been injured in clashes between police and protesters worried Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood aims to dominate the post-Hosni Mubarak era after winning Egypt's first democratic parliamentary and presidential elections this year.

The country's highest judicial authority hinted at compromise to avert a further escalation, though Mursi's opponents want nothing less than the complete cancellation of a decree they see as a danger to democracy.

The Supreme Judicial Council said Mursi's decree should apply only to "sovereign matters", suggesting it did not reject the declaration outright, and called on judges and prosecutors, some of whom began a strike on Sunday, to return to work.

Mursi will meet the council on Monday, state media said.

Mursi's office repeated assurances that the measures would be temporary, and said he wanted dialogue with political groups to find "common ground" over what should go in Egypt's constitution, one of the issues at the heart of the crisis.

Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo University, saw an effort by the presidency and judiciary to resolve the crisis, but added their statements were "vague". "The situation is heading towards more trouble," he said.

Sunday's stock market fall of nearly 10 percent - halted only by automatic curbs - was the worst since the uprising that toppled Mubarak in February, 2011.

Images of protesters clashing with riot police and tear gas wafting through Cairo's Tahrir Square were an unsettling reminder of that uprising. Activists were camped in the square for a third day, blocking traffic with makeshift barricades. Nearby, riot police and protesters clashed intermittently.

One Muslim Brotherhood member was killed and 60 people were injured on Sunday in an attack on the main office of the Brotherhood in the Egyptian Nile Delta town of Damanhour, the website of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party said.

"BACK TO SQUARE ONE"

Mursi's supporters and opponents plan big demonstrations on Tuesday that could be a trigger for more street violence.

"We are back to square one, politically, socially," said Mohamed Radwan of Pharos Securities, an Egyptian brokerage firm.

Mursi's decree marks an effort to consolidate his influence after he successfully sidelined Mubarak-era generals in August. It reflects his suspicions of a judiciary little reformed since the Mubarak era.

Issued just a day after Mursi received glowing tributes from Washington for his work brokering a deal to end eight days of violence between Israel and Hamas, the decree drew warnings from the West to uphold democracy. Washington has leverage because of billions of dollars it sends in annual military aid.

"The United States should be saying this is unacceptable," former presidential nominee John McCain, leading Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Fox News.

"We thank Mr. Mursi for his efforts in brokering the ceasefire with Hamas ... But this is not what the United States of America's taxpayers expect. Our dollars will be directly related to progress toward democracy."

The Mursi administration has defended his decree as an effort to speed up reforms that will complete Egypt's democratic transformation. Yet leftists, liberals, socialists and others say it has exposed the autocratic impulses of a man once jailed by Mubarak.

"There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday.

WARNINGS FROM WEST

Investors had grown more confident in recent months that a legitimately elected government would help Egypt put its economic and political problems behind it. The stock market's main index had risen 35 percent since Mursi's victory. It closed on Sunday at its lowest level since July 31.

Political turmoil also raised the cost of government borrowing at a treasury bill auction on Sunday.

"Investors know that Mursi's decisions will not be accepted and that there will be clashes on the street," said Osama Mourad of Arab Financial Brokerage.

Just last week, investor confidence was helped by a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan needed to shore up state finances.

Mursi's decree removes judicial review of decisions he takes until a new parliament is elected, expected early next year.

It also shields the Islamist-dominated assembly writing Egypt's new constitution from a raft of legal challenges that have threatened it with dissolution, and offers the same protection to the Islamist-controlled upper house of parliament.

"I am really afraid that the two camps are paving the way for violence," said Nafaa. "Mursi has misjudged this, very much so. But forcing him again to relinquish what he has done will appear a defeat."

Many of Mursi's political opponents share the view that Egypt's judiciary needs reform, though they disagree with his methods. Mursi's new powers allowed him to sack the prosecutor general who took his job during the Mubarak era and is unpopular among reformists of all stripes.

(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Marwa Awad in Cairo and Philip Barbara in Washington; Editing by Peter Graff and Philippa Fletcher)

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French right close to collapse after talks fail

PARIS: France's main right-wing opposition party was close to collapse on Sunday after talks failed to resolve a bitter leadership dispute and an ex-prime minister vowed to take the battle to the courts.

The contested leadership vote has thrown into turmoil ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP -- still reeling from its loss of the presidency and parliament this year -- and raised the spectre of an unprecedented split on the right.

Called in to mediate the damaging dispute, party heavyweight Alain Juppe threw in the towel after only 45 minutes of talks between ex-prime minister Francois Fillon and party secretary-general Jean-Francois Cope late Sunday.

Fillon quickly blamed his rival and raised the stakes by promising to turn to the courts.

"Jean-Francois Cope holds sole responsibility for a failure that hurts our party and, furthermore, undermines the image of political activity," Fillon said in a statement.

"Anxious to break the deadlock into which Jean-Francois Cope's successive power grabs have plunged our party, I will refer the matters to the courts to restore the truth of the results and give a voice back to (party) activists," he said.

Cope held his ground, saying he was awaiting the decision of a party electoral appeals commission. He did not want to "mix the judicial process with the political process," he added.

Fillon, 58, and Cope, 48, have traded accusations of fraud and bad faith since last Sunday's party vote ended with Cope ahead by a handful of votes.

Cope was declared the winner of the leadership battle by a margin of just 98 votes in a contest in which more than 150,000 party members voted.

The party electoral commission has since said that ballots cast in France's overseas territories that were not counted would have reversed the result. The Cope camp meanwhile has claimed he would have won by a clear margin but for vote-rigging in the Mediterranean city of Nice.

The party has faced ridicule over the debacle, at a time it could be taking advantage of Socialist President Francois Hollande's falling popularity over his handling of France's struggling economy.

And Sarkozy himself waded into the debate Sunday. He is attending a conference in Shanghai, but a source close to the ex-president told AFP he had telephoned Juppe and was "in favour of all initiatives that could resolve the situation".

But Juppe, a former prime minister and Sarkozy-era foreign minister, had expressed pessimism he could resolve the conflict. On Sunday evening, after the talks broke up, he said he was giving up his efforts.

"Alain Juppe, noting that his proposals were not accepted, considers that the conditions for a mediation did not come together," said a statement. "Therefore he considers that his mission his over."

The party's former secretary-general, ex-labour minister Xavier Bertrand, urged the UMP to clean up its act and warned its existence was at stake.

"This spectacle, this image we have put forward this week, is shameful, not worthy of a great political party," he told France 2 television.

"We must emerge from the crisis we are sinking into, I don't think that in the last 10 years the UMP has ever been in as much danger."

In a IFOP poll published on Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, 71 percent of respondents and 67 percent of UMP supporters said the leadership vote should be run again.

-AFP/ac

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Syed Ibrahim set to be first Muslim chief of IB

NEW DELHI: Syed Asif Ibrahim, a 1977 batch IPS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, is set to take over as the new director of Intelligence Bureau. Ibrahim, who will succeed incumbent Nehchal Sandhu who is due to retire in December end, will be the first Muslim officer to head the country's premier intelligence agency.

External intelligence agency RAW will also see a change at the helm, with Alok Joshi, a 1976 batch officer of the Haryana cadre, being chosen to succeed Sanjeev Tripathi as the new head.

The two appointments, which have been cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), will be notified soon as part of the usual practice of having the new heads of IB and RAW in place a month before the incumbents retire. This is to ensure a smooth transition in the intelligence leadership, sources told TOI.

Ibrahim will supersede at least four IB officers who ranked ahead of him in terms of seniority. While R N Gupta, V Rajagopal and Yashovardhan Azad belong to the 1976 batch, S Jayaraman, though from the 1977 batch, is also senior to Ibrahim. All four are likely to be accommodated in key posts outside the IB, considering the sensitivities involved.

Both Joshi and Ibrahim will have a fixed tenure of two years until December 31, 2014. They will be part of the changeover regime that will serve for some months, in case the general election is held as per schedule in April-May 2014.

Ibrahim is currently serving as a special director in the IB and looks after cyber operations and security. His earlier stints included as private secretary to late Madhavrao Scindia when he was railway minister and civil aviation minister and as OSD to home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in the V P Singh government.

While Gupta and Rajagopal are expected to be accommodated in the cabinet secretariat and National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Azad may be moved out as secretary (security) in the PMO.

Meanwhile, another set of appointments in central paramilitary forces is expected soon. The home ministry has recommended a three-month extension for BSF chief U K Bansal, besides suggesting Arun Choudhary, currently special DG in the CISF, as Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) chief. With the post of ITBP chief also falling vacant following the appointment of Ranjit Sinha as CBI chief, a successor is expected to be decided in the coming days.

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AP PHOTOS: Simple surgery heals blind Indonesians

PADANG SIDEMPUAN, Indonesia (AP) — They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses — all in the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would restore their eyesight.

Many patients were elderly and needed help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit. During eight days, more than 1,400 cataracts were removed.

The patients camped out, sleeping side-by-side on military cots, eating donated food while fire trucks supplied water for showers and toilets. Many who had given up hope of seeing again left smiling after their bandages were removed.

"I've been blind for three years, and it's really bad," said Arlita Tobing, 65, whose sight was restored after the surgery. "I worked on someone's farm, but I couldn't work anymore."

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world, making it a target country for Ruit who travels throughout the developing world holding free mass eye camps while training doctors to perform the simple, stitch-free procedure he pioneered. He often visits hard-to-reach remote areas where health care is scarce and patients are poor. He believes that by teaching doctors how to perform his method of cataract removal, the rate of blindness can be reduced worldwide.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness globally, affecting about 20 million people who mostly live in poor countries, according to the World Health Organization.

"We get only one life, and that life is very short. I am blessed by God to have this opportunity," said Ruit, who runs the Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, Nepal. "The most important of that is training, taking the idea to other people."

During the recent camps, Ruit trained six doctors from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

Here, in images, are scenes from the mobile eye camps:

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No Powerball Winner; Jackpot Grows to $425 Million

Nov 25, 2012 10:37am

                                                                (Image Credit: Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

The Powerball jackpot has swelled to $425 million, the largest in the lottery’s history, after no tickets matched the winning numbers in a drawing Saturday night.

The Powerball numbers for Saturday were 22-32-37-44-50, and the Powerball was 34.

Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said the jackpot could get even bigger before Wednesday, because sales tend to increase in the run-up to a big drawing.

The previous top windfall was $365 million. The jackpot was claimed by eight co-workers in Lincoln, Neb., in 2006.

PHOTOS: Biggest Lotto Jackpot Winners

While millions of Americans can have fun dreaming about how they’d spend the jackpot, the odds of winning are 1 in 175,000,000, according to lottery officials.

To put that in perspective, a ticket holder is 25 times less likely to win the jackpot then they are to win an Academy Award.

Even still, the old saying holds true: “You’ve got to be in it to win it.”

SHOWS: Good Morning America

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Egypt's Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country's deep divisions.

The Judges' Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the rallying cry in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

Mursi's political opponents and supporters, representing the divide between newly empowered Islamists and their critics, called for rival demonstrations on Tuesday over a decree that has triggered concern in the West.

Issued late on Thursday, it marks an effort by Mursi to consolidate his influence after he successfully sidelined Mubarak-era generals in August. The decree defends from judicial review decisions taken by Mursi until a new parliament is elected in a vote expected early next year.

It also shields the Islamist-dominated assembly writing Egypt's new constitution from a raft of legal challenges that have threatened the body with dissolution, and offers the same protection to the Islamist-controlled upper house of parliament.

Egypt's highest judicial authority, the Supreme Judicial Council, said the decree was an "unprecedented attack" on the independence of the judiciary. The Judges' Club, meeting in Cairo, called on Mursi to rescind it.

That demand was echoed by prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei. "There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," he said.

"I am waiting to see, I hope soon, a very strong statement of condemnation by the U.S., by Europe and by everybody who really cares about human dignity," he said in an interview with Reuters and the Associated Press.

More than 300 people were injured on Friday as protests against the decree turned violent. There were attacks on at least three offices belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement that propelled Mursi to power.

POLARISATION

Liberal, leftist and socialist parties called a big protest for Tuesday to force Mursi to row back on a move they say has exposed the autocratic impulses of a man once jailed by Mubarak.

In a sign of the polarization in the country, the Muslim Brotherhood called its own protests that day to support the president's decree.

Mursi also assigned himself new authority to sack the prosecutor general, who was appointed during the Mubarak era, and appoint a new one. The dismissed prosecutor general, Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, was given a hero's welcome at the Judges' Club.

In open defiance of Mursi, Ahmed al-Zind, head of the club, introduced Mahmoud by his old title.

The Mursi administration has defended the decree on the grounds that it aims to speed up a protracted transition from Mubarak's rule to a new system of democratic government.

Analysts say it reflects the Brotherhood's suspicion towards sections of a judiciary unreformed from Mubarak's days.

"It aims to sideline Mursi's enemies in the judiciary and ultimately to impose and head off any legal challenges to the constitution," said Elijah Zarwan, a fellow with The European Council on Foreign Relations.

"We are in a situation now where both sides are escalating and its getting harder and harder to see how either side can gracefully climb down."

ADVISOR TO MURSI QUITS

Following a day of violence in Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said and Suez, the smell of tear gas hung over the capital's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the uprising that toppled Mubarak in 2011 and the stage for more protests on Friday.

Youths clashed sporadically with police near the square, where activists camped out for a second day on Saturday, setting up makeshift barricades to keep out traffic.

Al-Masry Al-Youm, one of Egypt's most widely read dailies, hailed Friday's protest as "The November 23 Intifada", invoking the Arabic word for uprising.

But the ultra-orthodox Salafi Islamist groups that have been pushing for tighter application of Islamic law in the new constitution have rallied behind Mursi's decree.

The Nour Party, one such group, stated its support for the Mursi decree. Al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, which carried arms against the state in the 1990s, said it would save the revolution from what it described as remnants of the Mubarak regime.

Samir Morkos, a Christian assistant to Mursi, had told the president he wanted to resign, said Yasser Ali, Mursi's spokesman. Speaking to the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Morkos said: "I refuse to continue in the shadow of republican decisions that obstruct the democratic transition".

Mursi's decree has been criticized by Western states that earlier this week were full of praise for his role in mediating an end to the eight-day war between Israel and Palestinians.

"The decisions and declarations announced on November 22 raise concerns for many Egyptians and for the international community," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The European Union urged Mursi to respect the democratic process.

(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy, Marwa Awad, Edmund Blair and Shaimaa Fayed and Reuters TV; Editing by Jon Hemming)

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Football: Arsenal frustrated in Villa Park stalemate

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom: Arsenal were left to rue poor finishing after their Premier League encounter with Aston Villa ended in a frustrating 0-0 draw on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger's side created plenty of chances at Villa Park but were unable to strike the decisive blow, with Wales international Aaron Ramsey particularly guilty of wastefulness in front of goal.

Villa substitute Brett Holman went closest for the home side with a shot that rattled the crossbar from distance, but the point was still enough for Paul Lambert's side to climb out of the relegation zone.

Arsenal, meanwhile, remain sixth, a point below fifth-place Everton and four points outside the Champions League qualifying places.

The visitors made three changes from their mid-week game against Montpellier as Thomas Vermaelen, Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna were dropped to the bench in favour of Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson and Ramsey.

Aston Villa coach Lambert made one change from the side that lost 5-0 to Manchester City last weekend, with Karim El Ahmadi replacing Stephen Ireland in midfield.

Villa carved out an opportunity in the 13th minute when Ashley Westwood's cross-field pass picked out Andreas Weimann and the Austria international saw his shot from a tight angle beaten away at the near post by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Moments later, Villa forward Christian Benteke laid the ball into Barry Bannan but his ambitious 30-yard shot was comfortably gathered by Szczesny.

Arsenal started to find their rhythm as the first half wore on and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain threatened when he cut in from the right flank in the 21st minute, only to drag his shot wide.

The Gunners opened up the home side's defence again seven minutes later and Ramsey's low angled shot through a crowd of bodies forced Brad Guzan to make a smart diving save in the Villa goal.

Villa had the ball in the net in the 28th minute when a Bannan free-kick caused a scramble inside the penalty area and Weimann squeezed the ball home, but the assistant referee had already raised his flag for offside.

Arsenal missed a golden chance to break the deadlock shortly before half-time when Laurent Koscielny lifted a shot over the crossbar from close range after he had been picked out by Olivier Giroud.

The visitors began the second half brightly and the lively Santi Cazorla curled a shot round the post just after the break following a swift counter-attack.

Villa were dealt a blow in the 50th minute when captain Ron Vlaar limped out through injury and was replaced by Eric Lichaj, with Matthew Lowton shifting to centre-back.

Ramsey failed to capitalise on a teasing cross into the six-yard area from Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 55th minute and then lifted a shot over the bar from close range seven minutes later when the ball fell to him from a corner.

Gabriel Agbonlahor teed up substitute Holman in a Villa counter-attack shortly afterwards but his low, stinging shot from 12 yards was saved by Szczesny.

The Polish goalkeeper then produced a stunning full-stretch save to touch Holman's brilliant long-range effort onto the bar.

Ciaran Clark's last-ditch interception denied Gervinho at the back post as the Arsenal forward attempted to get on the end of a cross from fellow substitute Andrey Arshavin late on, but Villa held on to claim a point.

-AFP/ac

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