'Time for India, Pak to stop blame game'

NEW DELHI: Pakistan senate chairman Syed Hussain Bokhari said here on Thursday that there was a wrong notion in India that relations with the neighbouring country improve only when a dictator is in power there.

Bukhari is leading a delegation of seven Pakistani senators—three of them Hindus—to India at the invitation of vice president Hamid Ansari on a goodwill visit aimed to "create better understanding" of each other.

"There is this misconception that only under a Pakistani dictator or military can relations improve with India," said Bokhari, shortly after his visit to both Houses of Parliament here. "It is under people's representatives accountable and answerable to the people that Pakistan and India have embarked on a reengagement process," he added.

"The democratic constitution of Pakistan had been polluted at times by dictators but the power now lies with Parliament and it shows the commitment of Pakistani leadership to strengthening parliamentary democracy," said Bokhari, adding that the civilian government is keen on having better ties with India.

Bokhari said that despite the "very unfortunate" Mumbai attacks; it was time for the two countries to stop making allegations and counter-allegations against each other to facilitate the ongoing process of reengagement between them.

"Allegations are not going to help; even in our country people talk about what India is doing in Balochistan or Kashmir or alleged violation of the Indus Water Treaty but it is not enough to merely agitate and not find solutions to issues," said Bokhari adding that Parliament in Pakistan had to "play the role of an oversight" in the functioning of the government.

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Study could spur wider use of prenatal gene tests


A new study sets the stage for wider use of gene testing in early pregnancy. Scanning the genes of a fetus reveals far more about potential health risks than current prenatal testing does, say researchers who compared both methods in thousands of pregnancies nationwide.


A surprisingly high number — 6 percent — of certain fetuses declared normal by conventional testing were found to have genetic abnormalities by gene scans, the study found. The gene flaws can cause anything from minor defects such as a club foot to more serious ones such as mental retardation, heart problems and fatal diseases.


"This isn't done just so people can terminate pregnancies," because many choose to continue them even if a problem is found, said Dr. Ronald Wapner, reproductive genetics chief at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. "We're better able to give lots and lots of women more information about what's causing the problem and what the prognosis is and what special care their child might need."


He led the federally funded study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.


A second study in the journal found that gene testing could reveal the cause of most stillbirths, many of which remain a mystery now. That gives key information to couples agonizing over whether to try again.


The prenatal study of 4,400 women has long been awaited in the field, and could make gene testing a standard of care in cases where initial screening with an ultrasound exam suggests a structural defect in how the baby is developing, said Dr. Susan Klugman, director of reproductive genetics at New York's Montefiore Medical Center, which enrolled 300 women into the study.


"We can never guarantee the perfect baby but if they want everything done, this is a test that can tell a lot more," she said.


Many pregnant women are offered screening with an ultrasound exam or a blood test that can flag some common abnormalities such as Down syndrome, but these are not conclusive.


The next step is diagnostic testing on cells from the fetus obtained through amniocentesis, which is like a needle biopsy through the belly, or chorionic villus sampling, which snips a bit of the placenta. Doctors look at the sample under a microscope for breaks or extra copies of chromosomes that cause a dozen or so abnormalities.


The new study compared this eyeball method to scanning with gene chips that can spot hundreds of abnormalities and far smaller defects than what can be seen with a microscope. This costs $1,200 to $1,800 versus $600 to $1,000 for the visual exam.


In the study, both methods were used on fetal samples from 4,400 women around the country. Half of the moms were at higher risk because they were over 35. One-fifth had screening tests suggesting Down syndrome. One-fourth had ultrasounds suggesting structural abnormalities. Others sought screening for other reasons.


"Some did it for anxiety — they just wanted more information about their child," Wapner said.


Of women whose ultrasounds showed a possible structural defect but whose fetuses were called normal by the visual chromosome exam, gene testing found problems in 6 percent — one out of 17.


"That's a lot. That's huge," Klugman said.


Gene tests also found abnormalities in nearly 2 percent of cases where the mom was older or ultrasounds suggested a problem other than a structural defect.


Dr. Lorraine Dugoff, a University of Pennsylvania high-risk pregnancy specialist, wrote in an editorial in the journal that gene testing should become the standard of care when a structural problem is suggested by ultrasound. But its value may be incremental in other cases and offset by the 1.5 percent of cases where a gene abnormality of unknown significance is found.


In those cases, "a lot of couples might not be happy that they ordered that test" because it can't give a clear answer, she said.


Ana Zeletz, a former pediatric nurse from Hoboken, N.J., had one of those results during the study. An ultrasound suggested possible Down syndrome; gene testing ruled that out but showed an abnormality that could indicate kidney problems — or nothing.


"They give you this list of all the things that could possibly be wrong," Zeletz said. Her daughter, Jillian, now 2, had some urinary and kidney abnormalities that seem to have resolved, and has low muscle tone that caused her to start walking later than usual.


"I am very glad about it," she said of the testing, because she knows to watch her daughter for possible complications like gout. Without the testing, "we wouldn't know anything, we wouldn't know to watch for things that might come up," she said.


The other study involved 532 stillbirths — deaths of a fetus in the womb before delivery. Gene testing revealed the cause in 87 percent of cases versus 70 percent of cases analyzed by the visual chromosome inspection method. It also gave more information on specific genetic abnormalities that couples could use to estimate the odds that future pregnancies would bring those risks.


The study was led by Dr. Uma Reddy of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.


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Online:


Medical journal: http://www.nejm.org


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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP


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WH 'Absolutely' Willing to Go Off Fiscal Cliff













President Obama's lead negotiator in the "fiscal cliff" talks said the administration is "absolutely" willing to allow the package of deep automatic spending cuts and across-the-board tax hikes to take effect Jan. 1, unless Republicans drop their opposition to higher income tax rates on the wealthy.


Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview with CNBC that both sides are "making a little bit of progress" toward a deal to avert the "cliff" but remain stuck on Obama's desired rate increase for the top U.S. income-earners.


"There's no prospect for an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top two percent of the wealthiest," Geithner said.


Most House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner, remain opposed to any increase in tax rates.


Obama and Boehner spoke by phone this afternoon, their first conversation in exactly one week, an administration official said. Their relations have grown frosty in recent days as both sides have dug in on the issue of higher rates.


In separate appearances earlier today, Obama and Boehner publicly sparred over who's to blame for the standoff and what to do if lawmakers can't reach a broad deficit-reduction agreement in 27 days.






Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images











Fiscal Cliff: What Republicans, Democrats Agree on So Far Watch Video









'Fiscal Cliff': John Boehner Makes Counteroffer Watch Video









Washington, D.C., Gridlocked as Fiscal Cliff Approaches Watch Video





Obama, speaking at a meeting of 100 CEOs, warned Republicans that he would not accept a so-called "doomsday" deal that extends tax cuts for middle-income earners before the end of the year but nothing more.


Such an approach, which has been under consideration by top Republicans as a likely scenario, would set the stage for a big battle over spending cuts and top tax rates in early 2013 – all tied to the nation's debt ceiling, which will need to be raised, which only Congress can do.


"That is a bad strategy for America, it's bad strategy for businesses," Obama said. "It's not a game I will play."


Brinksmanship over the a 2011 debt ceiling increase to avoid a U.S. default cost the country its AAA credit rating and rattled markets around the world.


While both sides say publicly that the U.S. will not default on its debt obligations, Republicans believe the issue could give them increased leverage for extracting cuts to entitlement programs and other spending.


Boehner said at a morning news conference that Obama has stifled the "fiscal cliff" negotiations by imposing the precondition that Republicans accept income tax hikes on the top 2 percent of U.S. earners.


"We're ready and eager to talk to the president and to work with him to make sure that the American people aren't disadvantaged by what's happening here in Washington," Boehner said at a morning news conference.


"We need a response from the White House," he said. "We can't sit here and negotiate with ourselves."


Earlier this week, House Republicans presented a $2.2 trillion deficit reduction package, including $800 billion in higher taxes through elimination of loopholes and deductions, slower annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security benefits and a higher eligibility age for Medicare.


The plan contrasts sharply with the White House proposal, which calls for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue -- largely from higher rates on upper-income earners -- modest unspecified savings from Medicare and a new burst of economic stimulus spending.


Both sides rejected the opposing plan as "unserious."






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Rivals clash as Mursi's deputy seeks end to Egypt crisis


CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamists battled with protesters outside Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's palace on Thursday, after his vice president suggested amendments could be agreed to the draft constitution that has divided the nation.


Fires burned in the streets near the palace perimeter where opponents and supporters of Mursi threw stones and petrol bombs. Riot police tried to separate the two sides, but failed to halt fighting that extended from Wednesday into the early morning.


Residents, frustrated that police had not calmed the streets, set up makeshift road blocks nearby to check passers-by, scenes reminiscent of the popular uprising that toppled Mursi's autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak.


Medical sources said 211 people were wounded, some with gunshot wounds.


"No to dictatorship," Mursi's opponents chanted, while their rivals chanted: "Defending Mursi is defending Islam."


Mursi's opponents accused him of creating a new autocracy by awarding himself extraordinary powers in a decree on November 22 and were further angered when an Islamist-dominated assembly pushed through a draft constitution that opponents said did not properly represent the aspirations of the whole nation.


The United States, worried about the stability of a state that has a peace deal with Israel and to which it gives $1.3 billion in military aid each year, called for dialogue.


Bidding to end the worst crisis since Mursi took office less than six months ago, Vice President Mahmoud Mekky said amendments to disputed articles in the constitution could be agreed with the opposition. A written agreement could then go to parliament, to be elected after a referendum on the constitution on December 15.


"There must be consensus," he told a news conference inside the presidential palace as fighting raged outside on Wednesday evening, saying opposition demands had to be respected.


PROTESTS SPREAD


Prime Minister Hisham Kandil called for calm to "give the opportunity" for efforts underway to start a national dialogue.


Protests spread to other cities, and offices of the Muslim Brotherhood's political party in Ismailia and Suez were torched.


But Mursi has shown no sign of buckling under pressure from protestors, confident that the Islamists, who have dominated both elections since Mubarak was overthrown in February 2011, can win the referendum and parliamentary election to follow.


On top of the support of the Brotherhood, which backed him for the presidency in the June election, Mursi may also be able to rely on a popular yearning for stability and economic revival after almost two years of political turmoil.


Egypt's opposition coalition blamed Mursi for the violence and said it was ready for dialogue if the Islamist leader scrapped the decree that gave him wide powers and shielded his decisions from judicial review.


"Today what is happening in the Egyptian street, polarization and division, is something that could and is actually drawing us to violence and could draw us to something worse," opposition coordinator Mohamed ElBaradei said on Wednesday.


"We are ready for dialogue if the constitutional decree is canceled ... and the referendum on this constitution is postponed," he told a news conference.


But liberals, leftists, Christians, ex-Mubarak followers and others opposed to Mursi have yet to generate a mass movement or a grassroots base to challenge the Brotherhood.


'REAL DANGER'


Opposition leaders have previously urged Mursi to retract the decree, defer the referendum and agree to revise the constitution, but have not echoed calls from street protesters for his overthrow and the "downfall of the regime".


Mursi has said his decree was needed to prevent courts still full of judges appointed by Mubarak from derailing a constitution vital for Egypt's political transition.


Mekky said street mobilization by both sides posed a "real danger" to Egypt. "If we do not put a stop to this phenomenon right away ... where are we headed? We must calm down."


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed into Egypt's political debate, saying dialogue was urgently needed on the new constitution, which should "respect the rights of all citizens".


Clinton and Mursi worked together last month to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip.


British Foreign Secretary William Hague called for restraint on all sides. He said Egypt's authorities had to make progress on the transition in an "inclusive manner" and urged dialogue.


Both Islamists and their opponents have staged big shows of strength on the streets since Mursi's controversial decree, each bringing out tens of thousands of people.


State institutions, with the partial exception of the judiciary, have mostly fallen in behind Mursi.


The army, the muscle behind all previous Egyptian presidents in the republic's six-decade history, has gone back to barracks, having apparently lost its appetite to intervene in politics.


(Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Will Waterman)



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Three dead, 8 missing in North Sea cargo ship collision






THE HAGUE: Rescuers pulled at least three bodies from the icy waters of the North Sea on Wednesday and were frantically searching for eight missing crew from a cargo ship that sank following a collision in a busy shipping lane off the Dutch coast.

The Dutch coastguard and navy plucked 13 survivors from the water after the Baltic Ace, a 23,000 tonne car carrier, collided with container ship the Corvus J at around 7:15 pm (1815 GMT) about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Rotterdam.

The Baltic Ace sank shortly afterwards, the coastguard said.

"I can confirm we have found three victims. Eight others are still missing," Marcel Oldenburger told AFP.

He said that 13 crew members who were on board the Bahamas-registered Baltic Ace had been rescued.

Four survivors were flown to a hospital in Rotterdam, seven taken by rescue helicopter to a hospital in Belgium and two were being treated on board a ship that found them, Oldenburger said.

"They are all in shock" and are believed to suffer from hypothermia, he said.

Oldenburger said the search for survivors was frantic: "We don't know where they are at the moment, whether they are in life boats, or in the sea."

At least three helicopters -- one of which was fitted out with infrared imaging equipment to search in the darkness -- and a plane have joined the search, Oldenburger said.

The Baltic Ace was under way from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Kotka in Finland and the Corvus J from Grangemouth in Scotland to Antwerp in Belgium, according to shipping tracker website MarineTraffic.com.

"At this stage we don't know what caused the accident," said another coastguard spokesman, Peter Verburg: "Our first priority right now is the safety of the crew."

The shipping lane where the accident happened is one of the busiest in the North Sea and an important passing point for ships sailing into Rotterdam port, Europe's largest and the fifth-largest in the world.

Rotterdam port spokesman Sjaak Poppe told AFP the collision would not affect shipping in and out of the port.

In one of the most serious collisions in Dutch waters in recent years, the Greek crude oil tanker Mindoro in October 2010 collided with the container ship Jork Ranger off the coast of Scheveningen near The Hague, spilling thousands of litres of kerosene (jet fuel) into the sea, the European Maritime Safety Agency said on its website.

-AFP/ac



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Study: Drug coverage to vary under health law


WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study says basic prescription drug coverage could vary dramatically from state to state under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.


That's because states get to set benefits for private health plans that will be offered starting in 2014 through new insurance exchanges.


The study out Tuesday from the market analysis firm Avalere Health found that some states will require coverage of virtually all FDA-approved drugs, while others will only require coverage of about half of medications.


Consumers will still have access to essential medications, but some may not have as much choice.


Connecticut, Virginia and Arizona will be among the states with the most generous coverage, while California, Minnesota and North Carolina will be among states with the most limited.


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Online:


Avalere Health: http://tinyurl.com/d3b3hfv


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Obama Sees 'Potential' for Averting the Fiscal Cliff













President Obama says he sees "potential" for averting the "fiscal cliff" in 28 days, but that no deal will get done unless Republicans consent to raise income-tax rates on the top 2 percent of U.S. earners.


"We're going to have to see the rates on the top 2 percent go up and we're not going to be able to get a deal without it," Obama told Bloomberg TV in his first televised interview since the Nov. 6 election.


Obama suggested that Republican opposition to any increase in tax rates has stifled progress in negotiations and at least partly explains why he has not met more regularly with House Speaker John Boehner.


"Speaker Boehner and I speak frequently," he said. "I don't think the issue right now has to do with sitting in a room.


"Unfortunately, the speaker's proposal right now is still out of balance," he added, referring to the GOP plan unveiled Monday that would extend all income tax rates at current levels while imposing changes to Medicare and Social Security.


The GOP proposal would achieve $2.2 trillion in deficit reduction in the next decade, including $800 billion in higher taxes through elimination of loopholes and deductions, slower annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security benefits and a higher eligibility age for Medicare.






Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images











Washington, D.C., Gridlocked as Fiscal Cliff Approaches Watch Video









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'Fiscal Cliff' Negotiations: Ball Is in the GOP's Court Watch Video





The plan contrasts sharply with the White House proposal, which calls for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue -- largely from higher rates on upper-income earners -- modest unspecified savings from Medicare and a new burst of economic stimulus spending.


Both sides have dismissed out of hand the opposing proposal, raising the prospect of continued gridlock as the economy hurdles toward the "cliff."


Income tax rates for the top 2 percent of Americans remain the immediate sticking point. Obama insists that rates must rise at the end of the year as part of any deal; Republicans oppose increasing rates on the wealthy.


Unless Obama and Republicans reach a compromise, a sweeping set of automatic, across-the-board tax hikes and deep spending cuts will take effect, potentially throwing the U.S. economy back into recession.


The "cliff" scenario results from a failure by Congress and the administration at previous intervals to take steps to reduce federal deficits and debt.


In the Bloomberg interview, Obama said he could be flexible on tax rates and entitlement overhaul, but only in broader discussions next year about revamping the tax code and social safety-net programs.


"Let's let [rates on higher-income earners] go up and then let's set up a process with a time certain at the end of 2013, or the fall of 2013, where we work on tax reform, we look at what loopholes and deductions both Democrats and Republicans are willing to close and it's possible that we may be able to lower rates by broadening the base at that point," he said.


The president also said he's "willing to look at anything" that might strengthen entitlements and extend their financial solvency, but did not specify further.


Republicans continued to rebuff the president's proposal Tuesday, claiming the $1.6 trillion package of tax increases could not pass either house of Congress, including the Democrat-controlled Senate.


"Only one person in the country can deliver the members of his party to support a deal that he makes, and that is the president," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.


He praised House Republicans for "trying to move the process forward" with their proposal, but stopped short of endorsing it. Some conservative advocacy groups have been assailing GOP leaders this week for consenting to any tax revenue increases in a deal with Obama.


"With our latest offer we have demonstrated there is a middle ground solution that can cut spending and bring in revenue without hurting American small businesses," Boehner said in a statement today.






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NATO warns Syria not to use chemical weapons


BRUSSELS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - NATO told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday that any use of chemical weapons in his fight against encroaching rebel forces would be met by an immediate international response.


The warning from NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen came as U.S. government sources said Washington had information that Syria was making what could be seen as preparations to use its chemical arsenal.


Syrian forces meanwhile bombarded rebel districts near Damascus in a sustained counter-attack to stem rebel gains around Assad's power base as the insurgency may be entering a decisive phase.


International concern over Syria's intentions has been heightened by reports that its chemical weapons have been moved and could be prepared for use.


"The possible use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable for the whole international community and if anybody resorts to these terrible weapons I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community," Rasmussen told reporters at the start of a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels.


The chemical threat made it urgent for the alliance to send Patriot anti-missile missiles to Turkey, Rasmussen said.


The French Foreign Ministry referred to "possible movements on military bases storing chemical weapons in Syria" and said the international community would react if they were used.


Britain has told the Syrian government that any use of chemical weapons would have "serious consequences", Foreign Secretary William Hague said.


U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday told Assad not to use chemical weapons, without saying how the United States might respond. The Foreign Ministry in Damascus said it would never use such weapons against Syrians.


CLASSIFIED INTELLIGENCE


The U.S. has collected what has been described as highly classified intelligence information demonstrating that Syria is making what could be construed as preparations to use elements of its extensive chemical weapons arsenal, two U.S. government sources briefed on the issue said.


One of the sources said that there was no question that the US "Intelligence community" had received information pointing to "preparations" under way in Syria related to chemical weapons. The source declined to specify what kind of preparations had been reported, or how close the intelligence indicated the Syrians were to deploying or even using the weapons.


Western military experts say Syria has four suspected chemical weapons sites, and it can produce chemical weapons agents including mustard gas and sarin, and possibly also VX nerve agent. The CIA has estimated that Syria possesses several hundred liters of chemical weapons and produces hundreds of tonnes of agents annually.


The fighting around Damascus has led foreign airlines to suspend flights and prompted the United Nations and European Union to reduce their presence in the capital, adding to a sense that the fight is closing in.


The army fightback came a day after the Syrian foreign ministry spokesman was reported to have defected in a potentially embarrassing blow to the government.


The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 200 people were killed across Syria on Monday, more than 60 of them around Damascus. Assad's forces bombarded districts to the south-east of the capital on Tuesday, near to the international airport, and in the rebel bastion of Daraya to the south-west.


Opposition footage posted on the Internet showed a multiple rocket launcher fire 20 rockets, which activists said was filmed at the Mezze military airport in Damascus.


Reuters could not independently verify the footage due to the government's severe reporting restrictions.


In central Damascus, shielded for many months from the full force of a civil war in which 40,000 people have been killed, one resident reported hearing several loud explosions.


"I have heard four or five thunderous blows. It could be barrel bombs," she said, referring to makeshift bombs which activists say Assad's forces have dropped from helicopters on rebel-dominated areas.


MORTAR ATTACK


The state news agency said that 28 students and a teacher were killed near the capital when rebels fired a mortar bomb on a school. Rebels have targeted government-held residential districts of the capital.


The mainly Sunni Muslim rebel forces have made advances in recent weeks, seizing military bases, including some close to Damascus, from forces loyal to Assad, who is from Syria's Alawite minority linked to Shi'ite Islam.


Faced with creeping rebel gains across the north and east of the country, and the growing challenge around the capital, Assad has increasingly resorted to air strikes against the insurgents.


A diplomat in the Middle East said Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi had left the country and defected, while the British-based Observatory said it had information that he flew from Beirut on Monday afternoon heading for London.


In Beirut, a diplomat said Lebanese officials had confirmed that Makdissi spent several days in Beirut before leaving on Monday, but could not confirm his destination.


"We're aware of reports that he has defected and may be coming to the UK. We're seeking clarification," a Foreign Office spokeswoman in London said.


Makdissi was the public face to the outside world of Assad's government as it battled the 20-month-old uprising. But he had barely appeared in public for several weeks before Monday's report of his defection.


He had little influence in a system largely run by the security apparatus and the military. But Assad's opponents will see the loss of such a high profile figure, if confirmed, as further evidence of a system crumbling from within.


The United Nations and European Union both said they were reducing their presence in Syria in response to the escalated violence around the capital.


A spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations said the move would not stop aid deliveries to areas which remained accessible to relief convoys.


"U.N.-funded aid supplies delivered through SARC (Syrian Arab Red Crescent) and other charities are still moving daily where the roads are open," Jens Laerke told Reuters in Geneva.


"We have not suspended our operation, we are reducing the non-essential international staff."


Three remaining international staff at the European Union delegation, who stayed on in Damascus after the departure of most Western envoys, crossed the border into Lebanon on Tuesday after pulling out of the Syrian capital.


(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Cairo, Erika Solomon, Oliver Holmes and Ayat Basma in Beirut, Mark Hosenball, Mohammed Abbas and David Cutler in London, and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Giles Elgood)



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Football: Zenit secure Europa spot






MILAN, Italy: A 35th minute strike from Danny secured a 1-0 away win over seven-time champions AC Milan and a Europa League spot for Russia side Zenit St Petersburg here on Tuesday.

With qualification secured two weeks ago, Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri could afford to rest a number of regulars including top scorer Stephan El Shaarawy, midfielder Riccardo Montolivo and defender Philippe Mexes.

However, Allegri's plan almost backfired, with fans leaving the stadium early as the dominant hosts tried but failed to find a leveller to Danny's superb first-half strike.

Zenit had been condemned to perform as well as Anderlecht did away to Malaga to hold on to third place in Group C and a Europa League last 32 spot.

And despite seeing his side defend for long periods as Milan laid siege to the visitors' area Zenit held on for a win which Spalletti did not seem too overwhelmed with.

"I'm happy with the qualification (for Europa) and how we played tonight, it's good we are still in Europe," said Spalletti, who grew up 70 km away from Allegri in Tuscany.

"Winning is important but maybe a draw would have been a fairer result as we ended up defending a lot."

He added: "We have to come back stronger and qualify for the knockout phase the next time because this club, this team deserves it."

Spalletti sent out his strongest possible side, with Hulk spearheading the attack flanked by Danny and Sergei Semak and Bruno Alves marshalling the defence in front of the experienced Vyacheslav Malafeev.

And on one of their few forays into the Milan area Danny pounced to send a superb curling shot past the outstretched Christian Abbiati to secure victory.

"I'm sorry about the defeat, but only in the sense the team put in a good, solid performance. The guys didn't deserve it," said Allegri.

"Otherwise it was a positive performance, we forced Zenit to defend for most of the match and they scored in what was practically their only chance of the opening half."

Milan should have had several goals, especially in the second half when the Russians seemed happy to sit on their lead.

The Rossoneri's hopes for an early opener, however, were snuffed out by the referee who waved away what appeared to be a valid penalty claim after Alves felled Giampaolo Pazzini from behind in the fourth minute.

When Zenit broke the deadlock, Milan's makeshift defence was caught on the hoof, Danny picking up a backpass from his own through ball to beat Abbiati with a well placed shot at the keeper's far post.

Milan responded immediately but attempts by Bojan and Flamini, the latter with a rasping drive which forced a good block from Malafeev, came to nothing.

Milan came close to levelling minutes after the restart when Urby Emanuelson got his foot to Kevin Prince Boateng's cross from the right after a superb counter-attack orchestrated by defender Francesco Acerbi, only for Malafeev to block superbly.

Pazzini then flashed a header wide from Emanuelson's cross, and when Bojan was allowed space to run down on goal he sent his 20-metre drive wayward.

Allegri replaced left-back Djamel Mesbah with Robinho just after the hour mark, and his through ball allowed Bojan to run through with the goal at his mercy on 74 minutes only for the Spaniard to be dispossessed as he wound up to shoot.

With 10 minutes remaining, El Shaarawy replaced Flamini, although it was Robinho who came closest to beating Malafeev when he curled a sublime shot just wide of Malafeev's far post.

El Shaarawy followed up moments later with a shot on the turn which edged just wide of the upright.

Zenit had enjoyed little time in Milan's area in the second half but almost embarrassed the hosts with a three-on-two scenario which only the alert Abbiati thwarted with a superb block from substitute Maksim Kanunnikov's shot in the closing minutes.

- AFP/fa



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Why allow MPs and MLAs to continue even after conviction: PIL

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to respond to a proposition that the law allowing MPs and MLAs to continue despite being sentenced to more than two years' jail term upon conviction in a criminal case was discriminatory and encouraged criminalization of politics.

Appearing as amicus curiae in a PIL by advocate Lily Thomas, senior advocate Fali S Nariman said an anomalous situation existed under the Representation of People Act, where one provision debarred a person from contesting election for six years on conviction in a criminal case with two years imprisonment while the other allowed MPs and MLAs to continue if they filed an appeal within three months of the judgment of conviction. A bench of Justices A K Patnaik and H L Gokhale said Nariman had raised an important legal point and asked additional solicitor general Siddharth Luthra to seek the Union government's response on the issue. tnn

Nairman cited several judgments of the apex court on this point and said that in one case, it had held that the presumption of innocence of a person ended after a trial court convicted him of an offence. If on this basis, Parliament thought it fit to debar a person from contesting election for six years, why should it create a special class in MPs and MLAs whose conviction would not entail any adverse effect if they merely filed an appeal against that conviction, he asked.

He said the exception carved out under Section 8(4) of the RP Act encouraged criminalization of politics as MPs and MLAs so convicted do not have to seek orders from the appellate court for stay of the sentence and in exceptional cases, a stay of the conviction itself.

"This violates the provision of Article 14 (right to equality/non-discrimination) of the Constitution as it made an exception only for a convicted MP or MLA as opposed to the conviction of the same person if he were not an MP or MLA and placing the members on a higher pedestal - which encourages rather than thwarts the criminalization of politics," Nariman argued.

He said the Supreme Court in Prabhakaran case in 2005 had ventured into surmises to lend force to the exception carved out only for MPs and MLAs under Section 8(4) of the RP Act.

Whether the conviction of a sitting MP or MLA, who faced disqualification because of award of sentence of more than two years, should be stayed or not should be left to the discretion of the appellate court as in the case of a person who is not a member of Parliament or assembly, he said.

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