He is insane and does not know how to behave: Samajwadi Party reacts on Beni Prasad's statement

Verma had on Tuesday said that the SP chief was not even fit to sweep
the Prime Minister's residence.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday hit back at Beni Prasad Verma
over his comments on Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying the Union Steel
Minister is insane.

Verma had on Tuesday said that the SP chief was not even fit to sweep
the Prime Minister's residence.

Reacting to Verma's comment, SP leader Kamal Farooqi called him insane
and said he does not know how to behave.

"The kind of language, which Beni Prasad is continuously using, it is
highly objectionable. It is for Congress to think whether such
minister would continue with them or not. We are not in the habit of
reciprocating the same because we believe in certain values, we don't
believe in abusive. As far as Mulayam Singh Yadavji is concern, he is
the most senior leader of the country," Farooqi said.

"What can be said about an insane person who does not know how to
behave and what language to use. It is very surprising and unfortunate
that the Congress is not acting against him," Farooqi added.

Verma on Tuesday kicked up another controversy by saying that Mulayam
Singh Yadav was not even fit to sweep the Prime Minister's residence,
drawing instant rebuke from the Congress."Yadav wants to become Prime
Minister. He should first try to get the job of a sweeper at the
residence of the PM," 77-year Verma said at a programme in Uttar
Pradesh's Faizabad district.
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Senior Congress leaders meet Sonia Gandhi on govt formation in Jharkhand

Earlier, Bhagat, Singh and senior state Congress leader Sarfaraz Ahmed
met RJD chief Lalu Prasad
Congress President Sonia Gandhi today held consultations with senior
party leaders, including A K Antony, as talks for an alliance with JMM
for the next Lok Sabha polls and formation of a coalition government
in Jharkhand reached the final stage.

Defence Minister Antony, who chairs the sub-group on alliances for the
next general elections, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Jharkhand
B K Hariprasad, AICC General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, PCC chief
Sukhdeo Bhagat and CLP leader Rajendra Singh met Gandhi this morning
to apprise her of the progress of the talks with JMM so far.

Earlier, Bhagat, Singh and senior state Congress leader Sarfaraz Ahmed
met RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

Singh said he was 100 per cent sure that the RJD would back the new
government in Jharkhand.

Congress has agreed to have a JMM Chief Minister in the state which in
lieu has consented to give a lion's share of the 14 Lok Sabha seats to
the Congress, sources said.

Shibu Soren's son Hemant Soren, who is tipped to be the next chief
minister, held a meeting with RJD chief Lalu Prasad last night to seek
his support for the coalition government.

Hours before his meeting with Prasad, Soren had a long discussion with
Antony, the Congress President's political secretary Ahmed Patel where
nitty-gritties of government formation were learnt to have been
discussed.

Sources said in the new government there would be no Deputy Chief
Minister, while Congress, which is participating in the government,
could get five to six ministries.

RJD is expected to get two ministerial berths while JMM will have to
be content with the Chief Minister's post and four ministerial slots,
the sources said.

They said a coordination committee is expected to be set up and is
likely to be chaired by a Congress leader.

As part of the broad agreement over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha
elections, the Congress is expected to contest eight of the 14 seats
in the state leaving four for JMM and two for the RJD.

President's Rule in the state will expire on July 17.

President's Rule was imposed in Jharkhand on January 18 following the
resignation of Chief Minister Arjun Munda The state had plunged into
political instability on January 8 when BJP's coalition partner JMM,
in a letter to the Governor, formally withdrew its support to the
28-month-old government pushing it into a minority.

In the 82-member Assembly, BJP and JMM have 18 MLAs each.

The Munda government had the support of six members of All Jharkhand
Students' Union, two of JD(U), two Independents and one nominated
member who has voting right in a trial of strength. The Congress has a
total of 13 members, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha(P) 11 and RJD 5.
CPI-ML(L), Marxist Coordination Party, Jharkhand Party (Ekka),
Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch and Jai Bharat Samta Party have one member
each besides an independent.
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Lisicki backs win over Serena with another

LONDON (AP) — If Sabine Lisicki had a letdown after defeating Serena
Williams, it didn't show.

If Lisicki is penciling herself into the Wimbledon final, she isn't saying.

Showing no drop-off after her dramatic victory over Williams, the
23rd-seeded Lisicki returned Tuesday and made quick work of a much
less intimidating opponent, 46th-ranked Kaia Kanepi, dispatching her
6-3, 6-3 in 65 minutes to advance to her second career Wimbledon
semifinal.

"I was ready today," Lisicki said. "I knew from the past, out of
experience, that I needed to make the switch quickly to be ready, and
that's what I did."

Indeed. Lisicki opened the match by breaking Kanepi's serve in the
first game and didn't look back in that set. In the second, she had
one hiccup — a game in which she double-faulted three times to drop a
break and fall behind 2-1. She broke back right away, however, and won
four of the next five games to close out the match.

Now, the 23-year-old German finds herself in the Wimbledon semifinals
for the second time in three years. Her win against Williams made her
the new, odds-on favorite to win the title and even pushed Britain's
favorite tennis player, Andy Murray, off the back pages of a couple
London tabloids.

All of which means almost nothing — at least to hear Lisicki tell it.

"Match by match," she said. "Did that from the start and will continue
to do that."

She'll play the winner of a quarterfinal between No. 4 Agnieszka
Radwanska and No. 6 Li Na. That match started the same time as
Lisicki's but was still undecided more than two hours after she walked
off the court. A pair of rain delays, an injury timeout and split sets
between the two highest seeds left in the tournament extended the
match deep into the afternoon.

Waiting for Li and Radwanska to finish were 20th-seeded Kirsten
Flipkens and eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova. Along with Li, Kvitova is
the only Grand Slam champion left in the women's draw. The winner of
that match will play either No. 15 Marion Bartoli or No. 17 Sloane
Stephens.

Lisicki had the luxury of sitting back and watching all that action
unfold. Her match against Kanepi was nowhere near as grueling as the
emotion-packed upset over Williams the previous day.

"It was a different matchup," Lisicki said. "I was just as focused as
yesterday because I knew it's going to be tough after yesterday's
match to just keep the level up. But I think I did a very good job to
go for my shots and play smart. It had to be a different game today."

It was.

Whereas Lisicki was forced to match Williams' power, she played more
of a finesse game against Kanepi. Six of her 23 winners against Kanepi
came off drop shots and Lisicki only needed two aces (compared to 10
against Williams in their three-set match) to defeat her Estonian
opponent.

Kanepi, who advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Britain's Laura
Robson, said she couldn't match her play from that victory. She had 13
winners and 23 unforced errors against Lisicki and fell to 0-5 in
Grand Slam quarterfinals.

"I thought (when) I tried to attack in previous matches, I hit winners
and did well, but today I was missing a lot," Kanepi said. "But on
grass there is no Plan B. I just have to go for my shots. If there is
a ball, I have to hit it."

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Snowden drops Russia asylum request

Snowden has requested asylum from 21 countries.
MOSCOW — NSA leaker Edward Snowden's prospects for political asylum
abroad narrowed rapidly Tuesday after he withdrew his request to
Russia and almost half of the 21 countries on his request list have
turned him down.

The former National Security Agency contractor abandoned his request
for asylum in Russia after President Vladimir Putin said Monday that
he must stop his anti-American activity.

Russian news agencies Tuesday quoted Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov
as saying that Snowden, unhappy with the conditions Russia has set,
had taken back his application to Moscow.

"It's true, Snowden did express a request to remain in Russia. But
having found out yesterday about Russia's position, voiced by
President Putin, about the conditions for theoretically doing so, he
rejected his intention and request to stay in Russia," RIA Novosti
quoted Peskov as saying.

Putin said Monday that Snowden would have to stop leaking U.S. secrets
if he wanted to be granted asylum in Russia, where Snowden has been
hiding out for eight days since his arrival from Hong Kong. Putin said
that while Moscow "never hands over anybody anywhere," Snowden needed
to stop harming Russia's "American partners."

Peskov added Tuesday that "handing over Snowden to a country like the
U.S., where the death penalty can be applied, is not possible."

Snowden fled to the Chinese territory of Hong Kong in May with
top-secret documents and court orders on government surveillance
operations. He has also signaled his intention to leak more of those
documents at a later date.

The U.S. government has revoked his passport and issued an arrest
warrant on charges of violating the federal Espionage Act.

From Snowden's initial list of 21 countries, at least 10 have either
turned him down flatly or said his request was invalid because he was
not physically on their territory.

Snowden broke almost a week of silence on Monday by issuing a
statement on the WikiLeaks website that said his "continued liberty
has been owed to the efforts of friends new and old, family, and
others who I have never met and probably never will."

That was followed Tuesday by a statement detailing the number of
countries, in addition to Russia, to which he had applied for asylum:
Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany,
India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland,
Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.

Brazil and India have turned him down. Austria, Finland, Germany,
Ireland, Norway, Poland, Spain and Switzerland said a request would be
invalid because it was not made from their own territory.

"We haven't received a visit or any sort of application from Snowden,"
Valentina Anufrieva of the Embassy of Switzerland in Moscow told USA
TODAY.

She added that Swiss asylum claims can only be filed from within
Switzerland itself.

"Only when the person's life is in danger can we make an exception,"
she said, "but that doesn't appear to be the case here."
Educator, which has given asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
at its embassy in London, has been giving mixed signals about offering
him shelter, and increasingly distancing itself from the case.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is visiting Moscow, said
Tuesday that Snowden had "done something very important for humanity"
and deserved the "world's protection." But Maduro said that Venezuela
had not received a request from Snowden for asylum.

Earlier, a Russian security official said that Russia's Federal
Security Service and the American FBI were in talks over Snowden.

"Of course they (President Obama and Putin) don't have a solution that
would suit both sides, that is why they have ordered FSB Director
(Alexander) Bortnikov and FBI Director (Robert) Mueller to be in
contact and look for options," RIA Novosti quoted Russia's Security
Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev as saying Monday.
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Firefighters look for weather break in deadly Arizona wildfire

Firefighters look for weather break in deadly Arizona wildfire
By Tim Gaynor

PRESCOTT, Arizona (Reuters) - Weary crews on Tuesday looked for a
break in the weather to gain ground against a fierce Arizona wildfire
that has already killed 19 of their fellow firefighters in the worst
wildland fire tragedy in 80 years.

Fire managers say the so-called Yarnell Hills fire, which has already
charred nearly 8,400 acres of tinder-dry chaparral and grasslands
northwest of Phoenix, was zero percent contained as darkness fell on
Monday evening.

The lightning-sparked blaze, which broke out on Friday afternoon near
the community of Yarnell, has torched some 200 structures, most of
them homes.

On Sunday, an elite squad of 19 firefighters died in the fire after
they were outflanked and engulfed by wind-whipped flames in seconds,
before some could scramble into cocoon-like personal shelters.

Details of Sunday's deaths of all but one member of the specially
trained, 20-man Granite Mountain Hotshots were still sketchy as an
investigation was launched into how the disaster unfolded. Information
about the survivor, including his identity and how he escaped death,
was not immediately released.

The remains of his co-workers were borne away on Monday in a cortege
of 19 white coroner's vans to Phoenix for autopsies. The solemn
procession from the team's home base in the town of Prescott was
received by a police and firefighter honor guard.

A memorial service on Monday drew at least 1,800 people to a sports
hall at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on the outskirts of
Prescott. A lone piper played Amazing Grace, as friends and relatives
wept and hugged.

Fire officials said the fallen men, most in their 20s were victims of
a highly volatile mix of erratic, gale-force winds, low humidity, a
sweltering heat wave and thick, drought-parched brush that had not
burned in some 40 years.

They were trapped as a wind storm kicked up and the fire suddenly
exploded on Sunday, said Peter Andersen, a former Yarnell fire chief
who was helping the firefighting effort.

"The smoke had turned and was blowing back on us," Andersen said. "It
looked almost like a smoke tornado, and the winds were going every
which way."

'NOTHING THEY COULD DO'

The powerful gusts abruptly split the fire, driving it in two
directions, then pushing flames back in on the hotshot crew, who were
working on one flank of the fire front, he said.

Sunday's disaster in Arizona marks the highest death toll among
firefighters from a U.S. wildland blaze since 29 men died battling the
Griffith Park fire of 1933 in Los Angeles, according to the National
Fire Protection Association.

Wildfires have grown more intense in recent years at a time when U.S.
firefighting resources have diminished. Since 2000, U.S. wildfires
have burned an average of 7 million acres (2.8 million hectares) a
year, up from an average of 3.3 million acres (1.3 million hectares)
in the 1990s, according to data from the National Interagency Fire
Center (NIFC).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service's Fire and Aviation Management
Budget was cut by 5 percent in fiscal 2013, reducing the number of
firefighters to 10,000 from 10,500, NIFC spokeswoman Jennifer Jones
said. And the budget for eliminating dry brush and other types of fuel
has fallen each of the last three years, from $350 million in 2010 to
$301 million in 2013, she said.

In Sunday's deadly blaze, the firefighters deployed their personal
shelters, capsule-like devices designed to deflect heat and trap
breathable air, in a last-ditch effort to survive, officials said.

Andersen said some of the men on the ground made it into their
shelters, according to an account relayed by a ranger helicopter crew
flying over the area.

"There was nothing they (helicopter crew) could do to get to them," he said.

The deaths brought an outpouring of tributes from political leaders,
including U.S. President Barack Obama, who is on an official trip to
Africa. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer called the deaths "one of our
state's darkest, most devastating days" and ordered state flags flown
at half staff through Wednesday.

Authorities who ordered the evacuation of Yarnell and the adjoining
town of Peeples Valley say they were proceeding cautiously following
Sunday's tragic events and hoped that strong winds that have driven
the blaze would diminish on Tuesday.

"We need the winds to not pick up enough so we can safely move crews
around," fire spokeswoman Carrie Templin said.

The Yarnell Hills blaze was one of dozens of wildfires in several
western U.S. states in recent weeks in what experts say could be one
of the worst fire seasons on record.

The fallen firefighters were identified as Andrew Ashcraft, 29; Robert
Caldwell, 23; Travis Carter, 31; Dustin Deford, 24; Christopher
MacKenzie, 30; Eric Marsh, 43; Grant McKee, 21; Sean Misner, 26; Scott
Norris, 28; Wade Parker, 22; John Percin, 24; Anthony Rose, 23; Jesse
Steed, 36; Joe Thurston, 32; Travis Turbyfill, 27; William Warneke,
25; Clayton Whitted, 28; Kevin Woyjeck, 21; and Garret Zuppiger, 27.

(Additional reporting by David Schwartz and Dan Whitcomb; Writing by
Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sofina
Mirza-Reid)
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SF Bay area transit strike snarls commute again

SF Bay area transit strike snarls commute again
AKLAND, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco Bay area commuters endured another
tough morning commute on Tuesday, as a strike on one of the region's
heavily used train systems entered its second day.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters who rely on Bay Area Rapid Transit
— the nation's fifth largest rail system — had to find alternate
routes to work. Traffic heading to San Francisco on the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was jammed leading to the bridge's toll
plaza.

Lines for ferries and buses appeared even longer than on Monday, and
BART said charter buses it was running at four stations reached
capacity before 7 a.m. and could no longer accommodate additional
passengers.

Workers representing two of BART's largest unions went on strike after
talks with management broke down on Sunday. No new talks have been
scheduled.

The striking unions and management reported being far apart on key
sticking points that included salary, pensions, health care and
safety.

"Our members aren't interested in disrupting the Bay Area, but
management has put us in a position where we have no choice," said
Antonette Bryant, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555.

The unions, which represent nearly 2,400 train operators, station
agents, mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff, want a
5 percent raise each year over the next three years.

BART said train operators and station agents in the unions average
about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually. The
workers also pay a flat $92 monthly fee for health insurance.

BART spokesman Rick Rice said the agency had upped its original offer
of a 4 percent pay increase over the next four years to 8 percent. The
proposed salary increase is on top of a 1 percent raise employees were
scheduled to receive Monday, Rice added.

The transit agency also said it offered to reduce the contribution
employees would have to make to pensions, and lower the cost for
health care premiums.

BART, with 44 stations in four counties and 104 miles of lines,
handles more than 40 percent of commuters coming from the East Bay to
San Francisco, said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission.

Transit authorities have made accommodations to help, including longer
carpool lane hours, additional ferries, and extra buses. BART doubled
the number of buses serving West Oakland to 36 on Tuesday.

Stuart Cohen, executive director of TransForm, a nonprofit
organization focused on public transportation and walkable communities
in the Bay Area, suggested employers allow workers to telecommute.

"Truth is, on a nice summer day, it's good to telecommute," he said.

"Hopefully this won't go too long. It if continues into a non-holiday
week next week, we're going to find a lot of people settling into new
patterns, finding carpools," he said. "I think this experimentation
could settle in a bit, and if it lasts long enough, I'd expect when
BART service comes back ridership will be down."
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Clock ticks for Egypt's Morsi as army ultimatum deadline looms

Clock ticks for Egypt's Morsi as army ultimatum deadline looms
By Charlene Gubash and Ian Johnston, NBC News
CAIRO - The clock is ticking for Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi to
meet the demands of millions of protesters seeking his ouster and
fresh elections after an ultimatum issued to the Islamist leader by
his own armed forces.
If Morsi does not meet the demands by Wednesday, the military has said
it will impose its own "road map" for the future.
Morsi rejected the army's call in a statement issued at 2 a.m. local
time Tuesday (8 p.m. Monday ET) by saying his administration would
continue on its "previously plotted path" toward reconciliation.
Violence during the protests at the weekend saw 16 people killed and
hundreds injured.
Barack Obama and the United Nations have each urged Morsi to listen to
his people, as a vast crowd gathered once again in Cairo's Tahrir
Square Tuesday.
Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations' High Commissioner
for Human Rights, told a briefing Tuesday that they were following the
"extremely tense situation" in Egypt with "great concern."
"We urge all political parties and social groups to urgently engage in
a serious national dialogue in order to find a solution to the
political crisis and prevent an escalation of violence," Colville
said.
"We call on the president of Egypt to listen to the demands and wishes
of the Egyptian people, expressed during these huge protests over the
past few days, and to address key issues raised by the opposition and
civil society in recent months, as well as to heed the lessons of the
past in this particularly fragile situation," he added.
He welcomed assurances given by the military and law enforcement
agencies that "no measures will be taken that could lead to excessive
use of force against peaceful demonstrators."
The White House said in a statement Tuesday that Obama had called
Morsi on Monday, urging him to listen to "the voices of all
Egyptians."
Obama told Morsi that the United States was "committed to the
democratic process in Egypt and does not support any single party or
group."
But the president also "stressed that democracy is about more than elections."
"It is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard
and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians
demonstrating throughout the country," the statement said.
Obama encouraged Morsi "to take steps to show that he is responsive to
their concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be
resolved through a political process," it added.
"President Obama also underscored his deep concern about violence
during the demonstrations, especially sexual assaults against female
citizens," the White House said. "He reiterated his belief that all
Egyptians protesting should express themselves peacefully, and urged
President Morsi to make clear to his supporters that all forms of
violence are unacceptable."
Amid the heightened tensions, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was closed on
Tuesday with regular consular service suspended. It was also closed on
Sunday. U.S. citizens were advised to "avoid areas where large
gatherings may occur."
On June 28, the State Department allowed a "limited number of
non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members" to leave
the country "due to the ongoing political and social unrest."
Canada said on Twitter that its embassy in Cairo would be "closed
until further notice for security reasons."
According to an airport security source, a list has been circulated
containing the names of 48 leading members of political parties,
including the Muslim Brotherhood, who must now inform national
security officials before leaving the country. The use of private jets
has also been temporarily banned.
It remains unclear whether the Egyptian army was actually calling for
Morsi to stand down, or whether it would accept some attempted
compromise.
However, a statement issued by Morsi's office complained said that it
was not consulted about the army's ultimatum and said "the presidency
sees that some of the statements in it carry meanings that could cause
confusion in the complex national environment."
It added that his administration was "going forward on its previously
plotted path to promote comprehensive national reconciliation ...
regardless of any statements that deepen divisions between citizens."
Morsi's office, discussing the call with Obama, said the U.S. was
"working with the Egyptian leadership elected by the Egyptian people
and supports peaceful democratic conditions in Egypt."
"The president confirmed that Egypt is moving forward in a peaceful
democratic transition built on constitution and law," Morsi's office
said.
It also said that Egypt's "democratic, civil, modern state" was "the
most important achievement" of the revolution that deposed former
President Hosni Mubarak.
"We will not allow Egypt with all its forces to return backward under
any circumstances," Morsi's office said. "Egypt has paid dearly from
the blood of its sons and its stability and security and its delayed
the path to development, these are the high prices it paid to build a
new state. We all chose democratic means as the only safest way to
manage our differences of opinion."

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