Dharna planned at Jantar Mantar against cash transfer plan

NEW DELHI: Over 1,000 people from 12 states are set to converge at Jantar Mantar in the Capital on Thursday to protest against the UID-driven cash transfer program and demand a more inclusive National Food Security Bill. The protest is being organised by The Right To Food Campaign, a grassroots organisations' network.

The Right To Food Campaign has earlier criticized the categorization of beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System and the resultant exclusion of several sections of the BPL population.

Those at the receiving end of the failed experiment of cash transfer for kerosene in Kotkasim, Rajasthan will also be present at the sit-in, which will also include cultural performances and debates.

"The dharna will make hunger visible. It will bring together people who are unfairly excluded from government food security programmes such as the PDS and pensions. Testimonies of such people will be put forward," said Kavita Srivastava of the Right To Food Campaign in a press release.

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Surprise: New insurance fee in health overhaul law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too. It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

The charge, buried in a recent regulation, works out to tens of millions of dollars for the largest companies, employers say. Most of that is likely to be passed on to workers.

Employee benefits lawyer Chantel Sheaks calls it a "sleeper issue" with significant financial consequences, particularly for large employers.

"Especially at a time when we are facing economic uncertainty, (companies will) be hit with a multi-million dollar assessment without getting anything back for it," said Sheaks, a principal at Buck Consultants, a Xerox subsidiary.

Based on figures provided in the regulation, employer and individual health plans covering an estimated 190 million Americans could owe the per-person fee.

The Obama administration says it is a temporary assessment levied for three years starting in 2014, designed to raise $25 billion. It starts at $63 and then declines.

Most of the money will go into a fund administered by the Health and Human Services Department. It will be used to cushion health insurance companies from the initial hard-to-predict costs of covering uninsured people with medical problems. Under the law, insurers will be forbidden from turning away the sick as of Jan. 1, 2014.

The program "is intended to help millions of Americans purchase affordable health insurance, reduce unreimbursed usage of hospital and other medical facilities by the uninsured and thereby lower medical expenses and premiums for all," the Obama administration says in the regulation. An accompanying media fact sheet issued Nov. 30 referred to "contributions" without detailing the total cost and scope of the program.

Of the total pot, $5 billion will go directly to the U.S. Treasury, apparently to offset the cost of shoring up employer-sponsored coverage for early retirees.

The $25 billion fee is part of a bigger package of taxes and fees to finance Obama's expansion of coverage to the uninsured. It all comes to about $700 billion over 10 years, and includes higher Medicare taxes effective this Jan. 1 on individuals making more than $200,000 per year or couples making more than $250,000. People above those threshold amounts also face an additional 3.8 percent tax on their investment income.

But the insurance fee had been overlooked as employers focused on other costs in the law, including fines for medium and large firms that don't provide coverage.

"This kind of came out of the blue and was a surprisingly large amount," said Gretchen Young, senior vice president for health policy at the ERISA Industry Committee, a group that represents large employers on benefits issues.

Word started getting out in the spring, said Young, but hard cost estimates surfaced only recently with the new regulation. It set the per capita rate at $5.25 per month, which works out to $63 a year.

America's Health Insurance Plans, the major industry trade group for health insurers, says the fund is an important program that will help stabilize the market and mitigate cost increases for consumers as the changes in Obama's law take effect.

But employers already offering coverage to their workers don't see why they have to pony up for the stabilization fund, which mainly helps the individual insurance market. The redistribution puts the biggest companies on the hook for tens of millions of dollars.

"It just adds on to everything else that is expected to increase health care costs," said economist Paul Fronstin of the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The fee will be assessed on all "major medical" insurance plans, including those provided by employers and those purchased individually by consumers. Large employers will owe the fee directly. That's because major companies usually pay upfront for most of the health care costs of their employees. It may not be apparent to workers, but the insurance company they deal with is basically an agent administering the plan for their employer.

The fee will total $12 billion in 2014, $8 billion in 2015 and $5 billion in 2016. That means the per-head assessment would be smaller each year, around $40 in 2015 instead of $63.

It will phase out completely in 2017 — unless Congress, with lawmakers searching everywhere for revenue to reduce federal deficits — decides to extend it.

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Iran: We Stole All Secrets From US Drone

An Iranian military commander claimed Monday that the country has stolen all the secrets held by a high-tech American surveillance drone that crashed in Iran last year, according to Iranian news reports.

"All the intelligence in this drone has been completely decoded and extracted and we know each and every step it has taken," said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the Aerospace Division for the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard, according to an English-language report by Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency.

Another Iranian outlet, Press TV, reported that Hajizadeh said that data gleaned from the drone showed that it was not spying on the Iranian nuclear program – a story Hajizadeh said the Americans had spread "as an excuse for hostile practices."

The RQ-170 Sentinel drone, a classified unmanned surveillance craft produced by defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin, was on a CIA mission when it mysteriously crashed in Iranian territory last December, according to U.S. officials at the time. Days after the crash, Press TV broadcast video of what appeared to be the drone propped up but in good condition. Iranian officials said then they were going to set about analyzing the advanced aircraft.

At the time of the crash, American officials said that the drone had been operating over Afghanistan when its operators lost control, after which it floated into Iranian airspace. Iranian officials said their country's electronic warfare experts had been able to take control of the drone and bring it down -- a claim disputed by Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, who said the drone was not taken down by "hostile activity of any kind."

READ: US Drone on CIA Mission Before Crashing Into Iran

The bat-wing shaped craft is designed to dodge enemy radar and slip unnoticed into hostile territory to gather information or support operations on the ground. It was reportedly used to keep tabs on the man believed to be Osama bin Laden during the Navy SEAL mission that took out the terror leader in Pakistan in May.

Hajizadeh also reportedly said today that a surveillance drone sent by Hezbollah to spy in Israel in October was "an old product of Iran" and featured none of the technology allegedly gleaned from the RQ-170.

Representatives from the CIA and the U.S. military did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this report.

ABC News' Luis Martinez and Martha Raddatz contributed to this report.

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Egypt army given temporary power to arrest civilians

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president has given the army temporary power to arrest civilians during a constitutional referendum he is determined to push through despite the risk of bloodshed between his supporters and opponents accusing him of a power grab.

Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded last week in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and their critics besieging Mohamed Mursi's graffiti-daubed presidential palace. Both sides plan mass rallies on Tuesday.

The elite Republican Guard has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the palace, which it ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades after last week's violence.

Mursi, bruised by calls for his downfall, has rescinded a November 22 decree giving him wide powers but is going ahead with a referendum on Saturday on a constitution seen by his supporters as a triumph for democracy and by many liberals as a betrayal.

A decree issued by Mursi late on Sunday gives the armed forces the power to arrest civilians and refer them to prosecutors until the announcement of the results of the referendum, which the protesters want cancelled.

Despite its limited nature, the edict will revive memories of Hosni Mubarak's emergency law, also introduced as a temporary expedient, under which military or state security courts tried thousands of political dissidents and Islamist militants.

But a military source stressed that the measure introduced by a civilian government would have a short shelf-life.

"The latest law giving the armed forces the right to arrest anyone involved in illegal actions such as burning buildings or damaging public sites is to ensure security during the referendum only," the military source said.

Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said the committee overseeing the vote had requested the army's assistance.

"The armed forces will work within a legal framework to secure the referendum and will return (to barracks) as soon as the referendum is over," Ali said.

Protests and violence have racked Egypt since Mursi decreed himself extraordinary powers he said were needed to speed up a troubled transition since Mubarak's fall 22 months ago.

The Muslim Brotherhood has voiced anger at the Interior Ministry's failure to prevent protesters setting fire to its headquarters in Cairo and 28 of its offices elsewhere.

Critics say the draft law puts Egypt in a religious straitjacket. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, the crisis has polarized the country and presages more instability at a time when Mursi is trying to steady a fragile economy.

On Monday, he suspended planned tax increases only hours after the measures had been formally decreed, casting doubts on the government's ability to push through tough economic reforms that form part of a proposed $4.8 billion IMF loan agreement.

"VIOLENT CONFRONTATION"

Rejecting the referendum plan, opposition groups have called for mass protests on Tuesday, saying Mursi's eagerness to push the constitution through could lead to "violent confrontation".

Islamists have urged their followers to turn out "in millions" the same day in a show of support for the president and for a referendum they feel sure of winning with their loyal base and perhaps with the votes of Egyptians weary of turmoil.

The opposition National Salvation Front, led by liberals such as Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa, as well as leftist firebrand Hamdeen Sabahy, has yet to call directly for a boycott of the referendum or to urge their supporters to vote "no".

Instead it is contesting the legitimacy of the vote and of the whole process by which the constitution was drafted in an Islamist-led assembly from which their representatives withdrew.

The opposition says the document fails to embrace the diversity of 83 million Egyptians, a tenth of whom are Christians, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

But debate over the details has largely given way to noisy street protests and megaphone politics, keeping Egypt off balance and ill-equipped to deal with a looming economic crisis.

"Inevitability of referendum deepens divisions," was the headline in Al-Gomhuriya newspaper on Monday. Al Ahram daily wrote: "Political forces split over referendum and new decree."

Mursi issued another decree on Saturday to supersede his November 22 measure putting his own decisions beyond legal challenge until a new constitution and parliament are in place.

While he gave up extra powers as a sop to his opponents, the decisions already taken under them, such as the dismissal of a prosecutor-general appointed by Mubarak, remain intact.

"UNWELCOME" CHOICE

Lamia Kamel, a spokeswoman for former Arab League chief Moussa, said the opposition factions were still discussing whether to boycott the referendum or call for a "no" vote.

"Both paths are unwelcome because they really don't want the referendum at all," she said, but predicted a clearer opposition line if the plebiscite went ahead as planned.

A spokeswoman for ElBaradei, former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said: "We do not acknowledge the referendum. The aim is to change the decision and postpone it."

Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, said the opposition could stage protests, but should keep the peace.

"They are free to boycott, participate or say no, they can do what they want. The important thing is that it remains in a peaceful context to preserve the country's safety and security."

The army stepped into the conflict on Saturday, telling all sides to resolve their disputes via dialogue and warning that it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel".

A military source said the declaration read on state media did not herald a move by the army to retake control of Egypt, which it relinquished in June after managing the transition from Mubarak's 30 years of military-backed one-man rule.

The draft constitution sets up a national defense council, in which generals will form a majority, and gives civilians some scrutiny over the army - although not enough for critics.

In August Mursi stripped the generals of sweeping powers they had grabbed when he was elected two months earlier, but has since repeatedly paid tribute to the military in public.

So far the army and police have taken a relatively passive role in the protests roiling the most populous Arab nation.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Football: Police hunt for Ferdinand coin throw culprit

LONDON: Police said on Monday that they were working to track down the person responsible for throwing a coin at Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand during Sunday's Manchester derby.

Ferdinand was left with blood streaming down his face from a cut above his eye after being struck by a coin as he celebrated Robin van Persie's injury-time winner in United's 3-2 victory at Manchester City.

Greater Manchester Police said that they had made 13 arrests and charged nine people over offences that occurred before, during and after the match.

"To have just 13 arrests for a crowd of this size and a match of this proportion is a testament to the policing operation we put in place," said Chief Inspector Steve Howard.

"Despite fierce rivalry and high tension, there was no major disorder. However, we will continue to investigate the coin-throwing incident and are determined to work with the club to bring the perpetrator to justice."

The Football Association (FA) are also investigating the incident.

Among the people charged were two men accused of entering the field of play during the game.

City goalkeeper Joe Hart had to restrain one fan from getting at Ferdinand after the coin-throwing incident, prompting the United defender to thank his one-time England colleague on Twitter.

The supporter, 21-year-old landscape gardener Matthew Stott, expressed regret for his behaviour on Monday.

"I would like to apologise to all those affected by my actions yesterday (Sunday), particularly Mr Ferdinand and the other players," he said in a statement released by his lawyers.

"I am extremely ashamed of my actions. I have let myself down, my family down, my fellow fans down and Manchester City Football Club."

Despite his apology, City cancelled Stott's season ticket for the rest of the season and said he would be given a lifetime ban from the club if found guilty of pitch encroachment.

"His season card has been immediately removed for the rest of the season and he has been charged to appear at court. If he is found guilty, he faces a lifetime ban," said a City spokesman.

A 30-year-old man has also been charged with what police said was a "racially aggravated public order" offence.

All the people charged are due to appear before magistrates in Manchester on January 4 next year.

FA chairman David Bernstein said the crowd trouble that marred the game was "deplorable" and called for strict punishments to be meted out to those responsible.

"It is deplorable to see those incidents and to see Rio Ferdinand with blood on his face is absolutely terrible," he told Sky Sports News.

"I think it's disturbing that we're seeing a recurrence of these types of incidents. We've had racial abuse issues, the odd pitch incursion, things being thrown at players -- it's very unacceptable and has to be dealt with severely."

He added: "I believe that if necessary these people need to go to the court and be banned for life, if they're found out."

Meanwhile, Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chief executive Gordon Taylor said there was a case to be made for erecting nets to protect players from missiles thrown by supporters.

"I think you've got to give consideration to possibly, as has been suggested, some netting in vulnerable areas, be it behind the goals and round the corner flags," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

United's victory took them six points clear of defending champions City at the top of the Premier League table.

-AFP/ac

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No idea why Hazare changed stand, Kejriwal says

MUMBAI: After Anna Hazare said he would not vote for the newly-launched Aam Aadmi Party, its leader Arvind Kejriwal was today at a loss to explain what had made the anti-corruption crusader change his mind.

"Earlier, he had supported our party. But I don't know what happened in two days. He did not remain with us. If we have erred, we are ready to rectify our mistakes," Kejriwal said.

He was talking to reporters after addressing a farmers' rally with independent MP Raju Shetty in Sangli district of western Maharashtra.

"Anna is our moral strength. He would always exert pressure for our good work. I hope he comes with us in future," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal said AAP has pledged to work for fair pricing of farm products of farmers and "we are deeply concerned over the violent response to farmers' protests".

Over 15,000 farmers joined their rally on foot and vehicles. Kejriwal and Shetty paid their tributes to the families of two farmers Kundalik Kokate and Chandrakant Nalwade who were killed on November 12 during the protest demanding fair price for sugarcane.

Kejriwal said AAP would stand for their cause and fair pricing for farmers was a burning issue across the nation.

Farmers had collected Rs 17 lakh for the families of the deceased farmers, Shetty said. The amount was presented to the two families at the rally today.

Kejriwal paid tributes to the deceased farmers and said "they were martyrs of the second fight for independence".

He said it was shocking that the government was not even willing to pay even the cost of production to farmers and the only reason was that most of the sugar mills were owned by politicians and were "looting" the farmers.

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Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.

Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.

A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"

Washington and Colorado became the first states to vote to decriminalize and regulate the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults over 21. Both measures call for setting up state licensing schemes for pot growers, processors and retail stores. Colorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5.

Technically, Washington's new marijuana law still forbids smoking pot in public, which remains punishable by a fine, like drinking in public. But pot fans wanted a party, and Seattle police weren't about to write them any tickets.

In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The mood was festive in Seattle as dozens of gay and lesbian couples got in line to pick up marriage licenses at the King County auditor's office early Thursday.

King County and Thurston County announced they would open their auditors' offices shortly after midnight Wednesday to accommodate those who wanted to be among the first to get their licenses.

Kelly Middleton and her partner Amanda Dollente got in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Hours later, as the line grew, volunteers distributed roses and a group of men and women serenaded the waiting line to the tune of "Chapel of Love."

Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.

In dealing with marijuana, the Seattle Police Department told its 1,300 officers on Wednesday, just before legalization took hold, that until further notice they shall not issue citations for public marijuana use.

Officers will be advising people not to smoke in public, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."

He offered a catchy new directive referring to the film "The Big Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and says 'take it inside!'"

"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."

Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.

But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.

The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.

"The department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged," said a statement issued Wednesday by the Seattle U.S. attorney's office. "Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress."

The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.

That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Alison Holcomb is the drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and served as the campaign manager for New Approach Washington, which led the legalization drive. She said the voters clearly showed they're done with marijuana prohibition.

"New Approach Washington sponsors and the ACLU look forward to working with state and federal officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented," she said.

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Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

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Cowboys Players Were Like 'Brothers'

Dallas Cowboys players Joshua Price-Brent and Jerry Brown Jr., had a brotherly bond that began when they were teammates at the University of Illinois and carried on when they were both signed, in different years, to the NFL franchise.

But in an instant, the lives of the young, successful men who were living out their NFL dreams were altered.

Irving police suspect Price-Brent, 24, was intoxicated when he was behind the wheel of his 2007 Mercedes early Saturday morning. He was allegedly speeding when his car hit a curb, flipped, landed in the middle of a service road and caught fire, killing his passenger, Brown, 25, who had been a linebacker on the Cowboys practice squad.

Price-Brent, who is scheduled to be arraigned today on an intoxication manslaughter charge, released a statement Saturday night from his jail cell.

"I will live with this horrific and tragic loss every day for the rest of my life," he wrote.

His attorney, George Milner, called Brown's death a "tremendous loss" and said "this was like losing a little brother" for his client.

Kansas City Chiefs Player Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide Watch Video

Authorities were alerted to the accident, which occurred at about 2:21 a.m., by several 911 callers, Irving Police Department spokesman John Argumaniz said. When police arrived, they found Price-Brent pulling Brown from his 2007 Mercedes, which had caught fire, he said.

Brown was unresponsive and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

It was not known where the men were coming from or where they were going, but Argumaniz said officers suspected alcohol may have been a factor in the crash and asked Price-Brent to perform field sobriety tests.

"Based on the results of the tests, along with the officer's observations and conversations with Price-Brent, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated," Argumaniz said.

This is the second week in a row an NFL player has been accused of being involved in another person's death. Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs killed his girlfriend early Dec. 1, then committed suicide while talking to team officials in the parking lot at Arrowhead Stadium.

Jovan Belcher: Police Release Dash-Cam Videos of NFL Star's Final Hours

Price-Brent was taken to a hospital for a mandatory blood draw where he was treated for minor scrapes, Argumaniz said. He was then booked on an intoxication manslaughter charge after it was learned Brown had died of injuries suffered in the crash.

It is expected that results from the blood draw could take several weeks, the police spokesman said.

If convicted, the second-degree felony intoxication manslaughter charge carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Milner suggested that ongoing construction in the area of the crash may have played a role.

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Egypt's opposition scorns Mursi's concession

CAIRO (Reuters) - A concession offered by President Mohamed Mursi failed to placate opponents who accused him on Sunday of plunging Egypt deeper into crisis by refusing to postpone a vote on a constitution shaped by Islamists.

Islamists say they see the referendum as sealing a democratic transition that began when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago after three decades of military-backed one-man rule.

Their liberal, leftist and Christian adversaries say the document being fast-tracked to a vote could threaten freedoms and fails to embrace the diversity of Egypt's 83 million people.

More protests were planned near Mursi's palace, despite tanks, barbed wire and other barriers installed last week after clashes between Islamists and their rivals killed seven people.

Mursi had given some ground the previous day when he retracted a fiercely contested decree giving himself extra powers and shielding his decisions from judicial review.

But the president insisted the constitutional referendum go ahead next Saturday and the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he sprang, urged the opposition to accept the poll's verdict.

Ahmed Said, a liberal leader of the main opposition National Salvation Front, described the race to a referendum as "shocking" and an "act of war" against Egyptians.

The Front has promised a formal response later on Sunday.

Egypt is torn between Islamists, who were suppressed for decades, and their rivals, who fear religious conservatives want to squeeze out other voices and restrict social freedoms. Many Egyptians just crave stability and economic recovery.

Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said the scrapping of Mursi's decree had removed any reason for controversy.

"We ask others to announce their acceptance of the referendum result," he said on the group's Facebook page, asking whether the opposition would accept "the basics of democracy".

The retraction of Mursi's November 22 decree, announced around midnight after a "national dialogue" boycotted by almost all the president's critics, has not bridged a deep political divide.

Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, a technocrat with Islamist leanings, said the referendum was the best test of opinion.

"The people are the makers of the future as long as they have the freedom to resort to the ballot box in a democratic, free and fair vote," he said in a cabinet statement.

"CONSTITUTION WITHOUT CONSENSUS"

But opposition factions, uncertain of their ability to vote down the constitution against the Islamists' organizational muscle, want the document redrafted before any vote.

"A constitution without consensus can't go to a referendum," said Hermes Fawzi, 28, a protester outside the palace. "It's not logical that just one part of society makes the constitution."

Egypt tipped into turmoil after Mursi grabbed powers to stop any court action aimed at hindering the transition. An assembly led by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists then swiftly approved the constitution it had spent six months drafting.

Opponents, including minority Christians, had already quit the assembly in dismay, saying their voices were being ignored.

A leftist group led by defeated presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahy demanded the referendum be deferred until a consensus could be reached on a new draft, saying there could be "no dialogue while blood is being spilled in the streets".

After the dialogue hosted by Mursi, a spokesman announced that the president had issued a new decree whose first article "cancels the constitutional declaration" of November 22. He said the referendum could not be delayed for legal reasons.

The decree ignited more than two weeks of sometimes bloody protests and counter-rallies in Egypt. Mursi's foes have chanted for his downfall. Islamists fear a plot to oust the most populous Arab nation's first freely elected leader.

The April 6 movement, prominent in the anti-Mubarak revolt, derided the result of Saturday's talks as "manipulation and a continuation of deception in the name of law and legitimacy".

Islamists reckon they can win the referendum and, once the new constitution is in place, a parliamentary poll about two months later. The Islamist-led lower house elected this year was dissolved after a few months by a court order.

Investors appeared relieved at Mursi's retraction of his decree, sending Egyptian stocks 4.4 percent higher on Sunday. Markets are awaiting approval of a $4.8 billion IMF loan later this month designed to support the budget and economic reforms.

The military, which led Egypt's transition for 16 turbulent months after Mubarak fell, told feuding factions on Saturday that only dialogue could avert "catastrophe". But a military source said these remarks did not herald an army takeover.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Stephen Powell)

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Nobel-winners vow Europe will emerge stronger from crisis

OSLO: The three European Union leaders in Norway to collect the Nobel peace prize moved Sunday to defuse criticism of the 2012 award, vowing the crisis-hit bloc would emerge strong and remain on a course of peace.

"Europe is going through a difficult period," EU president Herman Van Rompuy told a packed news conference on the eve of the awards ceremony.

"We are working hard, jointly as a union and in all individual countries, to overcome these problems," he added.

"I'm sure we will succeed. We will come out of this time of uncertainty and recession stronger than we were before."

Van Rompuy was speaking in euro-sceptic Norway, a country stubbornly opposed to joining the bloc.

As protests and job cuts traumatise Europe after three years of dire economic crisis, the Nobel Committee has come under attack for its decision to commend the EU for turning a continent at war into a continent at peace.

But the Nobel Committee chairman, the ardently pro-European Thorbjoern Jagland, justified the choice by the absence of conflict on a scale seen in the two world wars of the 20th century.

"The disputes and dramas have never led to war. On the contrary they have led to compromises,"

But highlighting the strain building as the EU weathers its worst crisis in 60 years, half a dozen leaders, including Britain's premier David Cameron, will snub Monday's ceremony.

"We want Europe to become again a symbol of hope," Van Rompuy added.

He flew into snowbound Oslo with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and European parliament head Martin Schulz. Together, they will pick up the prize on behalf of the EU.

But the crisis is undermining solidarity and generosity inside the EU.

Only last month, efforts to agree a new multi-year budget collapsed month in an ugly showdown between the rich nations of northern Europe and the struggling economies of the south.

And as the jobless figures rise, so too does support for nationalist and xenophobic movements.

In Greece, where unemployment is running at one-in-four and in Spain, where a half of under-25s are jobless, there is increasing talk of a "lost generation".

"The unprecedented financial crisis shows we were not fully equipped to cope with a crisis of this magnitude," Barroso conceded.

But the answer, he said, was more union. "All the steps were in favour of more integration, not less."

And he still hoped for agreement at a summit next week, only four days after the Nobel award. That meeting will look at setting up a banking union between the 17 eurozone nations, a first step towards tighter economic and monetary union.

Attending the ceremony in Oslo will be the leaders of the "big two" powers, France and Germany, Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel.

But relations between these two are rocky, with disagreements between the two leaders holding up the deal on a banking union.

Hailing the bloc's contribution in strengthening democracy for half a billion people -- some only recently emerging from authoritarian regimes -- Barroso said that "over the next 60 years Europe must lead the global quest for peace."

And next year, the bloc prepares to enlarge yet further by embracing Croatia as its 28th member next year.

Shulz, a German Socialist at the head of the European parliament, said the award must be "a warning, an alert" to stick to the ideals of the founders of the bloc in the aftermath of World War II.

-AFP/ac

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