Republican vows to block US defence, CIA picks

WASHINGTON: A Republican lawmaker threatened Sunday to block the confirmations of President Barack Obama's nominees for defence secretary and CIA director over the deadly attack on the US consulate in Libya.

Senator Lindsay Graham said he would put a "hold" on the nominations of Chuck Hagel and John Brennan until the White House provided more information about the president's actions during the September 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya.

"I want to know what our president did. What did he do as commander in chief? Did he ever pick up the phone and call anybody? I think this is the stuff the country needs to know," Graham said on CBS' Face the Nation.

The US Senate has held hearings on the nominations of Hagel as defence secretary and Brennan as CIA director, but has yet to confirm them.

Under parliamentary rules, a single senator can stop their nomination from coming to a vote of the full Senate.

"I don't think we should allow Brennan to go forward to the CIA directorship, (or) Hagel to be confirmed for secretary of defence, until the White House gives us an accounting," Graham said.

Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat, said it was "unprecedented, unwarranted" to block a vote on the defence secretary nomination.

"The men and women of the Department of Defense need a secretary of defense," he said on the same CBS talk show.

"These are critical offices," he said. "To dwell on a tragic incident and use that to block people is not appropriate."

Four Americans were killed in the attack, including US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.

Graham and other Republicans have accused the administration of misleading the public by initially blaming it on a mob inflamed by an anti-Muslim video, rather than a terrorist attack.

Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, withdrew from consideration for secretary of state amid controversy over her account of the attack.

On Sunday, Graham turned the focus on Obama, questioning whether he made any phone calls to Libyan leaders during the crisis to try to clear the way for a rescue team that had been sent from Tripoli to Benghazi as reinforcements after the attack.

"This was incredibly mismanaged. And what we know now, it seems to be a very disengaged president," he said.

- AFP/jc

Read More..

Tourism boom may bust J&K stir

NEW DELHI: Will tourism save Kashmir from large scale unrest in the aftermath of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's hanging? A mix of strict but cautious policing and anticipation of a good tourist season ahead in the Valley has given government hope that the ongoing phase of unrest in Kashmir may pass off with minor hiccups.

While Saturday saw violent protests in the Valley, largely concentrated in areas around Sopore (Guru's hometown) and Baramulla, leading to 38 people getting injured, Sunday was quieter with only 16 injuries (including four security personnel). While seven people were injured in Guru's village Mazbugh in Sopore, five were injured in police firing in Watergam, Rasiyabad near Baramulla. One of the injured, who took a bullet in the abdomen, is reported to be serious.

Despite these gaps in exercise of restraint and aggressive statements from various quarters in the Valley, there is a sense that things may not spin out of control as long as there is no civilian casualty. One of the reasons being cited is the expectation of profit from the second consecutive bumper tourist season.

Over 1,300 tourists had reached the state since Guru's hanging and the volume is expected to surge once tulips start blooming. Last season, 13 lakh tourists visited the Valley. This was in addition to six lakh who were there for Amarnath yatra and a crore who visited Vaishno Devi. Administration believes that people are hoping for a repeat; an expectation that may help temper the intensity of protests which if stretched will affect inflow of tourists.

Another belief in the establishment is that Guru's hanging has not come as too big a shock for the Valley which was somewhat expecting it after the hanging of Ajmal Kasab.

The relative quiet -- which led Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah to admit that his government had feared far worse - following the initial unrest was significant as the protests on Sunday were more organized unlike the spontaneous ones on Saturday.

This was controlled further by strict and cautious policing. Security forces patrolled highways and main roads through the night to ensure that the protesters didn't get to block traffic by placing boulders or felling trees. It was a busy night for Jammu and Kashmir police, Army and paramilitary forces but it ensured that vehicles had no trouble moving.

Through Sunday, forces restricted movements even in the interior parts of Srinagar, which are generally not monitored closely. It was taking advantage of this that in 2010, stone-palters had gathered in alleys and then launched attacks on security forces.

Strict instructions have gone out from state DG Ashok Prasad to security men to not aim their guns on protesters above waist in case of mob violence as a casualty at this stage could throw things out of gear with secessionists using the issue to whip up passions. The instructions have been largely followed with exceptions like the Rasiyabad incident and one person receiving a bullet injury in the shoulder on Saturday when an Army unit, freshly deployed in the state and, hence, not fully steeped in the doctrine of maximum restraint, fired in self-defence at Handwara.

The arrival of 2,000 CRPF personnel also helped the administration. These troops were returning from leave and had reached Jammu but the administration decided against moving them on Friday evening lest it aroused suspicion that something was amiss.

Valley sources, however, said it may well be the lull before the Friday storm. "Unless Friday, when the Valley is expected to see intensified protests, passes off without much incident, nothing can be said. There is anger against the Omar Abdullah government and the Centre in the Valley, but no one wants long-drawn unrest. If this stage passes off, the protests may die down within 15 days," the source said.

Meanwhile, militant groups have started fishing in troubled waters. Both LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed have issued threats to stage attacks and conduct blasts both within and outside the Valley. While all states have been put on alert, there is no immediate threat, security agencies said. "There is as yet no specific intelligence on any terror attack," an intelligence official said.

Read More..

After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.

The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.

The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia deaths also dropped the last two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

"It's likely that the worst of the current flu season is over," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

But flu is hard to predict, he and others stressed, and there have been spikes late in the season in the past.

For now, states like Georgia and New York — where doctor's offices were jammed a few weeks ago — are reporting low flu activity. The hot spots are now the West Coast and the Southwest.

Among the places that have seen a drop: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., which put up a tent outside its emergency room last month to help deal with the steady stream of patients. There were about 100 patients each day back then. Now it's down to 25 and the hospital may pack up its tent next week, said Terry Burger, director of infection control and prevention for the hospital.

"There's no question that we're seeing a decline," she said.

In early December, CDC officials announced flu season had arrived, a month earlier than usual. They were worried, saying it had been nine years since a winter flu season started like this one. That was 2003-04 — one of the deadliest seasons in the past 35 years, with more than 48,000 deaths.

Like this year, the major flu strain was one that tends to make people sicker, especially the elderly, who are most vulnerable to flu and its complications

But back then, that year's flu vaccine wasn't made to protect against that bug, and fewer people got flu shots. The vaccine is reformulated almost every year, and the CDC has said this year's vaccine is a good match to the types that are circulating. A preliminary CDC study showed it is about 60 percent effective, which is close to the average.

So far, the season has been labeled moderately severe.

Like others, Lehigh Valley's Burger was cautious about making predictions. "I'm not certain we're completely out of the woods," with more wintry weather ahead and people likely to be packed indoors where flu can spread around, she said.

The government does not keep a running tally of flu-related deaths in adults, but has received reports of 59 deaths in children. The most — nine — were in Texas, where flu activity was still high last week. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, the CDC says

On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.

According to the CDC report, the number of states with intense activity is down to 19, from 24 the previous week, and flu is widespread in 38 states, down from 42.

Flu is now minimal in Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

___

Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

Read More..

Paterno Family Fights 'Rush to Injustice'

The Paterno family is fighting to restore the legacy of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, flatly denying the allegations in the report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that the legendary coach was complicit in a coverup of child sexual abuse by a former assistant coach.

"The Critique of the Freeh Report: The Rush to Injustice Regarding Joe Paterno," the report prepared by King & Spalding and released on paterno.com this morning, is described as an attempt to set the record straight with independent expert analysis examining the "most glaring errors on which the Freeh report is based."

"The Freeh report reflects an improper 'rush to injustice,'" the 238-page critique says. "There is no evidence that Joe Paterno deliberately covered up known incidents of child molestation by Jerry Sandusky to protect Penn State football or for any other reason; the contrary statements in the Freeh report are unsupported and unworthy of belief."

In their critique of the Freeh report, former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and experts Jim Clemente and Fred Berlin examined the Freeh report and found that the report is "deeply flawed and that key conclusions regarding Joe Paterno are unsubstantiated and unfair."

According to the critique, the Freeh report "uncovers little new factual information as to Joe Paterno and does very little to advance the truth regarding his knowledge, or more accurately lack of knowledge, of Jerry Sandusky's molestation of children."

Freeh called the critique a "self-serving report" that "does not change the facts."

Patrick Smith/Getty Images|Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

Jerry Sandusky Sentenced: 30 to 60 Years in Prison Watch Video

Jerry Sandusky Insists Innocence Before Sentencing Watch Video

Jerry Sandusky Sentencing: Why Did He Release Statement? Watch Video

READ: Louis Freeh's Statement in Response to Critique

Penn State, which commissioned Freeh to conduct the investigation, stood by the report and said it is moving forward with the 119 recommendations Freeh made.

"To date, the University has implemented a majority of those recommendations, which are helping to make the University stronger and more accountable," the school said in a statement today. "The University intends to implement substantially all of the Freeh recommendations by the end of 2013."

Former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced last year to 30 to 60 years in prison after he was convicted of 45 criminal counts of sexually abusing young boys.

Some of the abuse occurred at the Penn State campus, and at least one incident was observed by a graduate assistant who said he reported it to Paterno. However, school officials did not report the allegations to law enforcement.

PHOTOS: Jerry Sandusky Gets 30 Years in Prison for Sex Abuse

In the wake of the Sandusky scandal, Joe Paterno, who coached the Nittany Lions for 46 years and became the winningest coach in Division 1 football history in 2011, was dismissed.

The allegations of Paterno's involvement in a coverup came as a shock that reverberated beyond the Penn State campus, because of his reputation as a coach who valued character and academic achievement as much as winning.

Following his dismissal, Paterno was diagnosed with lung cancer and broke his hip. He died on Jan. 22, 2012, at the age of 85.

Former Penn State University President Graham Spanier, along with Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, and school vice president Gary Schultz are awaiting a hearing after they were accused of lying and concealing the sex abuse allegations against Sandusky.

Freeh Report Critique

Released in July, the 267-page report by Freeh concluded that Joe Paterno and his superiors valued the football program and the image of Penn State more than they valued the safety of Sandusky's victims.

Read More..

Israel's Lieberman says Palestinian peace accord impossible

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has no chance of signing a permanent peace accord with the Palestinians and should instead seek a long-term interim deal, the most powerful political partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

The remarks by Avigdor Lieberman, an ultranationalist whose joint party list with Netanyahu narrowly won a January 22 election while centrist challengers made surprise gains, seemed designed to dampen expectations at home and abroad of fresh peacemaking.

A spring visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories by U.S. President Barack Obama, announced this week, has stirred speculation that foreign pressure for a diplomatic breakthrough could build - though Washington played down that possibility.

In a television interview, ex-foreign minister Lieberman linked the more than two-year-old impasse to pan-Arab political upheaval that has boosted Islamists hostile to the Jewish state.

These include Hamas, rivals of U.S.-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who control the Gaza Strip and spurn coexistence with Israel though they have mooted extended truces.

"Anyone who thinks that in the center of this socio-diplomatic ocean, this tsunami which is jarring the Arab world, it is possible to arrive at the magic solution of a comprehensive peace with the Palestinians does not understand," Lieberman told Israel's Channel Two.

"This is impossible. It is not possible to solve the conflict here. The conflict can be managed and it is important to manage the conflict ... to negotiate on a long-term interim agreement."

Abbas broke off talks in late 2010 in protest at Israel's settlement of the occupied West Bank. He angered Israel and the United States in November by securing a U.N. status upgrade that implicitly recognized Palestinian independence in all the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

Israel insists it will keep East Jerusalem and swathes of West Bank settlements under any eventual peace deal. Most world powers consider the settlements illegal because they take up land seized in the 1967 Middle East war.

Lieberman, himself a West Bank settler, said the ball was "in Abu Mazen's (Abbas') court" to revive diplomacy.

Abbas has demanded Israel first freeze all settlement construction. With two decades gone since Palestinians signed their first interim deal with Israel, he has ruled out any new negotiations that do not solemnize Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev noted that Lieberman, in the Channel Two interview, had said he was expressing his own opinion.

Asked how Netanyahu saw peace prospects for an accord with the Palestinians, Regev referred to a speech on Tuesday in which the conservative prime minister said that Israel, while addressing threats by its enemies, "must also pursue secure, stable and realistic peace with our neighbors".

Netanyahu has previously spoken in favor of a Palestinian state, though he has been cagey on its borders and whether he would be prepared to dismantle Israeli settlements.

Lieberman's role in the next coalition government is unclear as he faces trial for corruption. If convicted, he could be barred from the cabinet. Lieberman denies wrongdoing and has said he would like to regain the foreign portfolio, which he surrendered after his indictment was announced last year.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Stephen Powell)

Read More..

Tennis: Czechs eye Fed Cup semi-finals, US, Japan fight back

PARIS: Defending champions the Czech Republic, bidding to become the first country in 18 years to capture three successive Fed Cup titles, opened a 2-0 lead over Australia in their first round clash on Saturday.

Petra Kvitova gave the holders a convincing start in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava when the world number eight beat Australia's 168-ranked Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.

Lucie Safarova, the world number 18, then snatched two tie-breaks for a 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4) win over ninth-ranked Samantha Stosur.

The other three World Group One ties were level after the first day.

Italy and the United States, Russia against Japan and the tie between Serbia and Slovakia were all heading for a dramatic conclusion on Sunday with two reverse singles and a doubles to play.

Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, who led the Czechs to victory in 2011 and 2012, struggled for composure in the first set before dominating the second.

"It wasn't an easy match and she had moments when she played very well, but she also helped me a few times," said the 22-year-old.

Safarova then battled Stosur in a tight match, with each woman giving up five breaks.

"It was very hard, the matches with her are always tight. But I handled it very well," said the 26-year-old Safarova.

Stosur, 28, failed to convert five set points in the first set and then gave up a break as she served for the second set.

"Unfortunately for me, I guess she got all those important points to get it back even and then kick on and get each set," said the 2011 US Open champion.

Seventeen-time champions United States battled back on the Rimini clay courts against Italy, the 2006, 2009 and 2010 champions, to stand 1-1.

Italy had defeated the USA in the 2009 and 2010 finals and looked on course for another comfortable win when Sara Errani outclassed Jamie Hampton 6-2, 6-1.

But Varvara Lepchenko, the Americans' top player in the absence of Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens, marked her debut with a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over Roberta Vinci.

In Moscow, Ayumi Morita drew Japan level 1-1 against Russia by dismantling Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-2.

Earlier, Maria Kirilenko, Russia's leading player after Maria Sharapova was not selected, put the home team in front with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win over 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.

"Katya (Makarova) is a very strong player, who is in the world's top 20, and I needed to perform my best tennis against her to win," said Morita.

In Nis, Serbia, last year's runners-up, and Slovakia were locked at 1-1 but the visitors suffered a heartbreaking end to the day when Dominika Cibulkova was serving for the match against Vesna Dolonc.

Cibulkova was 6-4, 5-4 ahead but had to concede the match after suffering cramps.

"The cramps started in her right calf muscle and although we gave her magnesium the pain soon spread to the rest of the body," said Slovakia team captain Matej Liptak.

"These things can happen and I feel really sorry for Dominika, but more importantly the first priority for us is that she recovers fully. We can't say now whether she will be fit to play on Sunday."

Daniela Hantuchova had earlier seen off Bojana Jovanovski 7-5, 6-2 to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead.

- AFP/jc

Read More..

Maoists plan to resurrect movement in Andhra Odisha Border

VISAKHAPATAM: CPI (Maoist ), the banned Naxalite outfit, is quietly working on a strategy to regain lost ground and resurrect the movement in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts. Top Maoist leaders are learnt to be seriously chalking out plans to reclaim control over the AOB (Andhra Odisha Border) that acts as a bridge for Maoists moving from Chhattisgarh to Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh.

Once a safe haven for Naxals, AOB has in the past three years become hostile terrain due to heavy combing by security forces that has resulted in their hideouts, arms dumps and medical centres being unearthed and shut down.

With hundreds of surrenders and arrests of cadres, mostly from the militia network (the backbone of the banned outfit), posing a threat to their survival, Maoist leaders are trying to revive old squads to counter the growing police clout in the region.

Sources said, initially they plan to revive old squads with five to six members and beef them up gradually with cadres from the other side of AOB to show their presence in every nook and corner of the East Division and counter government claims that the movement is flagging.

"Instead of carrying big weapons, the squads will be equipped with small arms and will try to divert the attention of security forces with small strikes to aid hassle-free movement of rebels," said a source from the Agency area.

These revived squads would also take up a 'war campaign' against security forces and their 'atrocities' against tribals. Maoists are also planning to revive bauxite area committees by giving active militia commanders charge of educating tribals and sparking off agitations against the proposed bauxite mining and for rights of tribals on coffee plantations, which are under the control of State Forest Development Corporation (APFDC).

According to reliable sources, though they have not been too visible in Visakhapatnam district for the past six months, the Reds have already started sending out messages to active members of the Revolutionary Peoples Committees (RPCs) in villages, militia network and sympathizers in the area to join their rank and file and have been quietly conducting meetings in several villages for the past three weeks.

They also held a meeting at Rachakota in the Visakha agency about five days ago to utilize their militia network to gather information about the present conditions in the tribal belt.

In the early 80's, Maoists, then the People's War Group, had entered East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts with small squads of five members led by the present Central Military Commission (CMC) chief Namballa Kesava Rao alias Ganganna alias Basava Raju and went on to build strong squads like Yallavaram, Tandava, Nagulakonda, Sabari, Maredmilli, and Gurtedu, before area committees were set up in early 2000.

But, after 2005, these squads vanished due to strong action by security forces, lack of proper recruitment from among the educated classes and a change in the mindset of the younger generation.

However, police authorities said though they had heard about the move, nothing concrete had happened so far. "We have no information about the revival of squads. They have drastically lost ground in Visakhapatnam and are operating with only one area committee in Korukonda.

With surrenders and arrests of hundreds of militia members, they have almost lost ground in Galikonda. People are now coming to police stations without fear. Even if they try to revive old squads, they will not get the expected results because of the lack of cadres and leaders," said Visakha Rural SP and anti-insurgency expert G Srinivas.

Cops have lately intensified efforts to penetrate Maoist strongholds and establish their intelligence network in interiors like Gunukurai, Budaralla, Gorrelametta, Annavaram and Kannavaram and have also embarked on a 'Sadhbavana Yatra' to reach out to people in the interiors and coax the families of underground cadres to give up arms even as the government has enhanced cash rewards for underground (UG) cadres.

Read More..

After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.

The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.

The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia deaths also dropped the last two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

"It's likely that the worst of the current flu season is over," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

But flu is hard to predict, he and others stressed, and there have been spikes late in the season in the past.

For now, states like Georgia and New York — where doctor's offices were jammed a few weeks ago — are reporting low flu activity. The hot spots are now the West Coast and the Southwest.

Among the places that have seen a drop: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., which put up a tent outside its emergency room last month to help deal with the steady stream of patients. There were about 100 patients each day back then. Now it's down to 25 and the hospital may pack up its tent next week, said Terry Burger, director of infection control and prevention for the hospital.

"There's no question that we're seeing a decline," she said.

In early December, CDC officials announced flu season had arrived, a month earlier than usual. They were worried, saying it had been nine years since a winter flu season started like this one. That was 2003-04 — one of the deadliest seasons in the past 35 years, with more than 48,000 deaths.

Like this year, the major flu strain was one that tends to make people sicker, especially the elderly, who are most vulnerable to flu and its complications

But back then, that year's flu vaccine wasn't made to protect against that bug, and fewer people got flu shots. The vaccine is reformulated almost every year, and the CDC has said this year's vaccine is a good match to the types that are circulating. A preliminary CDC study showed it is about 60 percent effective, which is close to the average.

So far, the season has been labeled moderately severe.

Like others, Lehigh Valley's Burger was cautious about making predictions. "I'm not certain we're completely out of the woods," with more wintry weather ahead and people likely to be packed indoors where flu can spread around, she said.

The government does not keep a running tally of flu-related deaths in adults, but has received reports of 59 deaths in children. The most — nine — were in Texas, where flu activity was still high last week. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, the CDC says

On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.

According to the CDC report, the number of states with intense activity is down to 19, from 24 the previous week, and flu is widespread in 38 states, down from 42.

Flu is now minimal in Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

___

Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

Read More..

After Blizzard, Northeast Begins to Dig Out

The Northeast began the arduous process of cleaning up after a fierce storm swept through the region leaving behind up to three feet of snow in some areas.

By early this morning, 650,000 homes and businesses were without power and at least five deaths were being blamed on the storm: three in Canada, one in New York and one in Connecticut, The Associated Press reported.

The storm dumped snow from New Jersey to Maine, affecting more than 25 million people, with more than two feet falling in areas of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The Postal Service closed post offices and suspended mail delivery today in New England.

As the storm waned, officials in the hardest hit areas cautioned residents to remain indoors and off the roads to ease the clean-up.

Massachusetts was hard hit by the storm, with more than two feet of snow in Boston and even more in coastal areas. State police and national guard troops helped rescue more than 50 stranded motorists and even helped deliver a baby girl, according to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

Patrick enacted the first statewide driving ban since the 1978 blizzard, which left 27 inches of snow and killed dozens. The ban was to be lifted at 4 p.m. today, the governor said.

However, Patrick cautioned residents to act with extreme caution even after the ban is over.

"Stay inside and be patient," Patrick said.

In Massachusetts a boy reportedly died of carbon monoxide poisoning as he helped his father shovel snow on Saturday, according to ABCNews.com affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston.

For residents along the coast, the waning snowfall didn't mean the end of the storm. Storm surges along the Massachusetts coastline forced some residents out of their homes Saturday morning.

"We've got 20-foot waves crashing and flooding some homes," Bob Connors on Plum Island told WCVB. "We have power and heat and all that. We just have a very angry ocean. In my 33 years, I've never seen the seas this high."

Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Blizzard Shuts Down Parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts Watch Video

Blizzard 2013: Power Outages for Hundreds of Thousands of People Watch Video

Blizzard 2013: Northeast Transportation Network Shut Down Watch Video

FULL COVERAGE: Blizzard of 2013

In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy declared a state of emergency and closed all roads in the state. The state police responded to more than 1,600 calls over the last 24 hours and the governor called up an additional 270 National Guard members.

"If you're not an emergency personnel that's required to be somewhere, stay home," Malloy said.

Overnight, snow fell at a rate of up to five to six inches per hour in parts of Connecticut. In Milford, more than 38 inches of snow had fallen by this morning.

In Fairfield, Conn. firefighters and police officers on the day shift were unable to make it to work, so the overnight shift remained on duty.

PHOTOS: Blizzard Hits Northeast

The wind and snow started affecting the region during the Friday night commute.

In Cumberland, Maine, the conditions led to a 19-car pile-up and in New York, hundreds of commuters were stranded on the snowy Long Island Expressway. Police and firefighters were still working to free motorists early this morning.

"The biggest problem that we're having is that people are not staying on the main portion or the middle section of the roadway and veering to the shoulders, which are not plowed," said Lt. Daniel Meyer from the Suffolk County Police Highway Patrol.

In New York, authorities are digging out hundreds of cars that got stuck overnight on the Long Island Expressway.

Bob Griffith of Syosset, N.Y., said he tried leave early to escape the storm, but instead ended up stuck in the snow by the side of the road.

"I tried to play it smart in that I started early in the day, when it was raining," said Griffith. "But the weather beat us to the punch."

Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone said the snow had wreaked havoc on the roadways.

"I saw state plows stuck on the side of the road. I've never seen anything like this before," Bellone said.

However, some New York residents, who survived the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, were rattled by having to face another large and potentially dangerous storm system with hurricane force winds and flooding.

"How many storms of the century can you have in six months?" said Larry Racioppo, a resident of the hard hit Rockaway neighborhood in Queens, New York.

READ: Weather NYC: Blizzard Threatens Rockaways, Ravaged by Sandy

Snowfall Totals

In New York, a little more than 11 inches fell in the city.

By this morning, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said nearly all of the primary roads had been plowed and the department of sanitation anticipated that all roads would be plowed by the end of the day.

"It looks like we dodged a bullet, but keep in mind winter is not over," said Bloomberg.

Read More..

China, Japan engage in new invective over disputed isles

BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Japan engaged on Friday in a fresh round of invective over military movements near a disputed group of uninhabited islands, fuelling tension that for months has bedeviled relations between the Asian powers.

An increasingly muscular China has been repeatedly at odds with others in the region over rival claims to small clusters of islands, most recently with fellow economic giant Japan which accused a Chinese navy vessel of locking radar normally used to aim weapons on a Japanese naval ship in the East China Sea.

China's Defence Ministry rejected Japan's complaint about the radar, its first comment on the January 30 incident. It said Japan's intrusive tracking of Chinese vessels was the "root cause" of the renewed tension.

A Japanese official dismissed the Chinese explanation for incident saying China's actions could be dangerous in the waters around the islets, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, believed to be rich in oil and gas.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led his conservative party to a landslide election victory in December, promising to beef up the military and stand tough in territorial disputes.

On Thursday, another border problem was brought into focus when Japan said two Russian fighter jets briefly entered its air space near long-disputed northern islands, prompting Japan to scramble combat fighters. Russia denied the accusation.

The commander of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific said the squabble between Japan and China underlined the pressing need for rules to prevent such incidents turning into serious conflict.

"What we need in the South China Sea is a mechanism that prevents us turning our diplomacy over to young majors and young (naval) commanders ... to make decisions at sea that cause a problem (that escalates) into a military conflict that we might not be able to control," Admiral Samuel Locklear told a conference in the Indonesian capital.

China is in dispute with several Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines and Vietnam over parts of the South China Sea, which is potentially rich in natural resources.

Locklear said governments and their leaders had to understand the potential for things to get out of hand.

"In this case, I think that point has been made pretty clear," he said in reference to international reaction to the dispute between China and Japan.

"IRRESPONSIBLE"

China's Defence Ministry, in a faxed statement late on Thursday, said Japan's complaints did not "match the facts". The Chinese ship's radar, it said, had maintained regular alerting operations and the ship "did not use fire control radar".

The ministry said the Chinese ship was tracked by a Japanese destroyer during routine training exercises. Fire control radar pinpoints the location of a target for missiles or shells and its use can be considered a step short of actual firing.

Japan, the ministry said, had "made irresponsible remarks that hyped up a so-called China threat, recklessly created tension and misled international public opinion".

"Japanese warships and airplanes have often conducted long periods of close-range tracking and surveillance of China's naval ships and airplanes," the Chinese Defence Ministry said.

"This is the root cause of air and maritime security issues between China and Japan."

In Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference Japan could not accept China's explanation and Japan's accusation came after careful analysis.

"We urge China to take sincere measures to prevent dangerous actions which could cause a contingency situation," Suga said.

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said this week that the radar incident could have become very dangerous very quickly, and it could have been seen as a threat of military force under U.N. rules.

Hopes had been rising recently for an easing of the tension, which was sparked, in part, by Japan's nationalization of three of the privately owned islets last September.

Fears that encounters between aircraft and ships could bring an unintended clash have given impetus to efforts to improve links, including a possible summit between Abe and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who takes over as head of state in March.

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in TOKYO, Joathan Thatcher in JAKARTA; Editing by Ron Popeski and Robert Birsel)

Read More..