US shuts embassy in Central African Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The State Department has closed its embassy in the Central African Republic and ordered the ambassador and his diplomatic team to leave the country as rebels there continue to advance and violence escalates, U.S. officials said Thursday.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, said that at the State Department's request, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had directed U.S. Africa Command to evacuate U.S. citizens and designated foreign nationals from the U.S. Embassy in Bangui "to safe havens in the region."

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. Embassy had temporarily suspended operations, but not diplomatic relations with the country.

"This decision is solely due to concerns about the security of our personnel and has no relation to our continuing and long-standing diplomatic relations" with the Central African Republic, Ventrell said in a statement.

Shortly after announcing the evacuation Thursday, the State Department warned U.S. citizens against travel to the Central African Republic, saying it could not "provide protection or routine consular services to U.S. citizens" and urging Americans who have decided to stay to "review their personal security situation and seriously consider departing" on commercial flights. Four days earlier, the State Department had issued a warning recommending against travel to the country and authorizing its non-emergency personnel in Bangui to leave.

U.S. officials said about 40 people were evacuated on an U.S. Air Force plane bound for Kenya. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the details of the operation.

The departure of Ambassador Laurence Wohlers and his staff comes as the president of the Central African Republic on Thursday urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching this capital city, but French officials declined to offer any military assistance.

Rebels have seized at least 10 towns across the sparsely populated north, and residents in the capital of 600,000 people fear insurgents could attack at any time.

The developments suggest the Central African Republic could be on the brink of another violent change in government, something not new to the impoverished country. The current president, Francois Bozize, himself came to power nearly a decade ago in the wake of a rebellion.

Speaking to crowds in Bangui, Bozize pleaded with foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed in particular to France, Central African Republic's former colonial ruler.

About 200 French soldiers are already in the country, providing technical support and helping to train the local army, according to the French defense ministry.

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that France wants to protect its interests in Central African Republic and not Bozize's government. Paris is encouraging peace talks between the government and the rebels.

President Barack Obama late last year sent about 100 U.S. special operations forces to the region ? including Central African Republic ? to assist in the hunt for Joseph Kony, the fugitive rebel leader of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army. Forces have been hunting the elusive warlord in Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://bangui.usembassy.gov/service.html

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-27-US-Central%20African%20Republic/id-fac5a6a92c8f468eaeb14084b2e06ba5

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China To Tighten Internet Control | Stuff.co.nz

China's new communist leaders are increasing already tight controls on internet use and electronic publishing following a spate of embarrassing online reports about official abuses.

The measures suggest China's new leader, Xi Jinping, and others who took power in November share their predecessors' anxiety about the internet's potential to spread opposition to one-party rule and their insistence on controlling information despite promises of more economic reforms.

"They are still very paranoid about the potentially destabilising effect of the internet," said Willy Lam, a politics specialist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"They are on the point of losing a monopoly on information, but they still are very eager to control the dissemination of views."

This week, China's legislature took up a measure to require internet users to register their real names, a move that would curtail the web's status as a freewheeling forum to complain, often anonymously, about corruption and official abuses.

The legislature scheduled a news conference for today to discuss the measure, suggesting it was expected to be approved.

That comes amid reports Beijing might be disrupting use of software that allows web surfers to see sites abroad that are blocked by its extensive internet filters.

At the same time, regulators have proposed rules that would bar foreign companies from distributing books, news, music and other material online in China.

Beijing promotes internet use for business and education, but bans material deemed subversive or obscene and blocks access to foreign websites run by human rights and Tibet activists and some news outlets.

Controls were tightened after social media played a role in protests that brought down governments in Egypt and Tunisia.

In a reminder of the web's role as a political forum, a group of 70 prominent Chinese scholars and lawyers circulated an online petition this week appealing for free speech, independent courts and for the ruling party to encourage private enterprise.

Xi and others on the party's ruling seven-member Standing Committee have tried to promote an image of themselves as men of the people who care about China's poor majority.

They have promised to press ahead with market-oriented reforms and to support entrepreneurs, but have given no sign of support for political reform.

Communist leaders who see the internet as a source of economic growth and better-paid jobs were slow to enforce the same level of control they impose on movies, books and other media, apparently for fear of hurting fledgling entertainment, shopping and other online businesses.

Until recently, web surfers could post comments online or on microblog services without leaving their names.

That gave ordinary Chinese a unique opportunity to express themselves to a public audience in a society where newspapers, television and other media are state-controlled.

The most popular microblog services said they have more than 300 million users and some users have millions of followers reading their comments.

The internet also has given the public an unusual opportunity to publicise accusations of official misconduct.

A local party official in China's southwest was fired in November after scenes from a videotape of him having sex with a young woman spread quickly on the internet.

Screenshots were uploaded by a former journalist in Beijing, Zhu Ruifeng, to his Hong Kong website, an online clearing house for corruption allegations.

Some industry analysts suggest allowing web surfers in a controlled setting to vent helps communist leaders stay abreast of public sentiment in their fast-changing society.

Still, microblog services and online bulletin boards were required to employ censors to enforce content restrictions. Researchers said they delete millions of postings a day.

The government said the latest internet regulation before the National People's Congress was aimed at protecting web surfers' personal information and cracking down on abuses such as junk email. It would require users to report their real names to internet service and telecom providers.

The main ruling party newspaper, People's Daily, has called in recent weeks for tighter internet controls, saying rumours spread online have harmed the public.

In one case, it said stories about a chemical plant explosion resulted in the deaths of four people in a car accident as they fled the area.

Proposed rules released this month by the General Administration of Press and Publications would bar Chinese-foreign joint ventures from publishing books, music, movies and other material online in China.

Publishers would be required to locate their servers in China and have a Chinese citizen as their local legal representative.

That is in line with rules that already bar most foreign access to China's media market, but the decision to group the restrictions together and publicise them might indicate official attitudes are hardening.

That comes after the party was rattled by foreign news reports about official wealth and misconduct.

In June, Bloomberg News reported that Xi's extended family has amassed assets totalling US$376 million, though it said none was traced to Xi. The government has blocked access to Bloomberg's website since then.

In October, The New York Times reported that Premier Wen Jiabao's relatives had amassed US$2.7 billion since he rose to national office in 2002. Access to the Times' Chinese-language site has been blocked since then.

Previous efforts to tighten controls have struggled with technical challenges in a country with more than 500 million internet users.

Microblog operators such as Sina and Tencent Ltd were ordered in late 2011 to confirm users' names, but have yet to finish the daunting task.

Web surfers can circumvent government filters by using virtual private networks ? software that encrypts web traffic and is used by companies to transfer financial data and other sensitive information.

But VPN users said disruptions that began in 2011 were increasing, suggesting Chinese regulators were trying to block encrypted traffic.

Curbs on access to foreign sites have prompted complaints by companies and Chinese scientists and other researchers.

In July, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said 74 per cent of companies that responded to a survey said unstable internet access "impedes their ability to do business".

Chinese leaders "realise there are detrimental impacts on business, especially foreign business, but they have counted the cost and think it is still worthwhile," said Lam.

"There is no compromise about the political imperative of controlling the internet."

- AP

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Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/8123662/China-to-tighten-internet-control

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White House Petition Calls For David Gregory To Be Charged Over Gun Magazine Use

Iowa Caucus Coverage

Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show" (center), moderated coverage of the 2012 Iowa caucus with her fellow network hosts.

Comparing GOP Candidates From 2008 And 2012

Mocking Herman Cain

On Cover Of The Hollywood Reporter

Interviewing Joe Miller Supporter

At New Yorker Festival

On 'Meet The Press'

On 'Meet The Press'

At The State Department

Rachel Maddow attends a luncheon hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in honor of British Prime Minister David Cameron on March 14, 2012, at the State Department in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

At The State Department

Rachel Maddow arrives for a lunch in honor of Prime Minister David Cameron at the State Department on March 14, 2012, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

In Conversation With David Letterman

Rachel Maddow and David Letterman discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on Dec. 2, 2011, in Muncie, Ind. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

In Conversation With David Letterman

Rachel Maddow discusses the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, David Letterman's alma mater, on Dec. 2, 2011, in Muncie, Ind. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

In Conversation With David Letterman

Rachel Maddow and David Letterman discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on Dec. 2, 2011, in Muncie, Ind. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

2011 Summer TCA Tour

MSNBC President Phil Griffin and MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell (left to right) speak during the NBC Universal portion of the Television Critics Association's 2011 summer tour, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

2011 Summer TCA Press Tour

At The White House

MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow (left) and Keith Olbermann (second from left) talk with White House Communications Director Anita Dunn (second from right) and Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton (right) outside the White House on Oct. 19, 2009, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

At The White House

MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow (left) and Keith Olbermann (second from left) talk with White House Communications Director Anita Dunn (second from right) and Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton (right) outside the White House on Oct. 19, 2009, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nancy Pelosi, Rachel Maddow

House Minority Leader Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. accompanied by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, participates in a conversation moderated by Maddow, in Washington, Wednesday, June 6, 2012, to talk about her experiences and achievements over 25 years in Congress. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

NAACP-Holder

Jo Ann Wright, of Southfield, left, gets her photo taken with political commentator Rachel Maddow who was the recipient of the Ida B. Wells Freedom and Justice Award at the 57th annual NAACP Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner at Cobo Hall in Detroit Sunday May 6, 2012. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was the keynote speaker. (AP Photos/David Guralnick / The Detroit News)

David Brooks, George Stephanopoulos, Rahm Emanuel, Rachel Maddow, Alex Castellanos

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, second from left, shares a stage with George Stephanopoulos, left, David Brooks, center, Rachel Maddow and Alex Castellanos, right, during a panel discussion, "2012: The Path to the Presidency", at the University of Chicago in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow, host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC, shares a stage with pundits during a panel discussion, "2012: The Path to the Presidency", at the University of Chicago in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Matthews

MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, left, Lawrence O'Donnell, center, and Chris Matthews take part in a panel discussion at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow

Lawrence O'Donnell, right, host of the MSNBC show "The Last Word," answers a question as Rachel Maddow, host of "The Rachel Maddow Show," look on at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

David Letterman In Conversation With Rachel Maddow

MUNCIE, IN - DECEMBER 02: Rachel Maddow and David Letterman (R) discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on December 2, 2011 in Muncie, Indiana. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

David Letterman In Conversation With Rachel Maddow

MUNCIE, IN - DECEMBER 02: Rachel Maddow and David Letterman (R) discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on December 2, 2011 in Muncie, Indiana. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

Alaska's Three Senate Candidates Debate In Anchorage

ANCHORAGE - OCTOBER 26: Television and radio personality Rachel Maddow (R) speaks with supporters of Republican candidate Joe Miller prior to his debate with write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Democratic candidate Scott McAdams hosted by The Alaska World Affairs Council and Rotary Clubs of Anchorage at the Dena'ina Convention Center October 26, 2010 in Anchorage, Alaska. Voters will go to the polls on November 2, 2010. (Photo by Clark James Mishler/Getty Images)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/david-gregory-white-house-petition-gun_n_2373427.html

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Photos: Winter Weather, Icy Roads Hit Metro Detroit

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A homeless woman was in critical condition in a Los Angeles hospital after a man doused her with liquid accelerant and set her on fire as she slept on a bus bench, police said on Thursday. Officers arrested Dennis Petillo, 24, in connection with the early morning attack, and he has been booked in jail on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. The woman, whose name has not been released, was being treated at a local hospital with burns all over her body, said Los Angeles police Lieutenant Damian Gutierrez. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos-winter-weather-icy-roads-hit-metro-detroit-194300297.html

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Racial disparities in pediatric appendicitis treatment tied to hospital type

Dec. 28, 2012 ? When researchers from UCLA Medical Center investigated the link between racial disparities and appendicitis outcomes in children, they found that the type of hospital in which black, Hispanic and other minority patients receive care -- community, children's or county -- affects their odds of developing a perforated appendix. The study published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons is a first-of-its-kind look at the role hospital type plays in race-based treatment variances among this patient subset.

Appendicitis -- a painful, inflamed appendix -- is the most common reason for emergency abdominal surgery in children. Approximately 80,000 pediatric cases are diagnosed in the U.S. annually.* Since the inflamed appendix can sometimes become perforated if the condition is not treated in a timely fashion (usually one to two days from the time symptoms first appear), researchers have used appendix perforation as a marker for inadequate access to health care. While existing research shows that a number of factors (such as age, socioeconomic status, the distance a family lives from a hospital) increase the risk for developing a perforated appendix in minorities, these factors don't tell the whole story.

"Appendicitis is a time-dependent disease process that leads to more a complicated medical outcome, and that outcome, perforated appendicitis, has increased hospital costs and increased burden to both the patient and society," according to study author Stephen Shew, MD, FACS, associate professor of surgery, UCLA Medical Center, and a pediatric surgeon at Mattel Children's hospital, both in Los Angeles.

To determine whether there is a link between hospital type and racial disparities, as measured by appendiceal perforation (AP), Dr. Shew and colleagues looked at data from the California Patient Discharge Dataset. Their analysis involved 107,727 children between the ages of two and 18 years old who were treated for appendicitis at 386 California hospitals between 1999 and 2007. Of these children, 53 percent were Hispanic, 36 percent were white, 3 percent were black, 5 percent were Asian, and 8 percent were of an unknown race. The children were sorted by hospital type, which included community, children's and county hospitals.

After accounting for age, income level and other known factors that increase risk for a perforated appendix, researchers found that at community hospitals, Hispanic children were 23 percent more likely to experience appendix perforation than white children, and Asian children were 34 percent more likely than white children to experience appendix perforation. Further, Hispanic patients treated at children's hospitals were 18 percent more likely to develop this complication than white patients. Odds of appendix perforation did not differ by race within county hospitals. Researchers also found that black patients treated at children's and county hospitals had a higher risk of appendix perforation compared with black patients treated at community hospitals.

Beyond what the researchers already know about appendicitis outcomes in children, these findings indicate that hospital type does play an independent role in risk for perforated appendicitis, and that these disparities in appendicitis outcomes exist at different types of hospitals based upon race, Dr. Shew said. "The goal is to figure out why these racial disparities exist and what interventions could be put in place to help eliminate them," he added.

Dr. Shew stressed that further research is still needed on a variety of issues, including whether there is a link between language barriers and understanding symptoms of appendicitis and access to care. "We don't know what explains these findings; however we suspect that there are some other barriers in play," Dr. Shew said. This discovery shows that a critical piece of the puzzle -- what is happening with the child and the parents from the time they first discover the symptoms of appendicitis to the time they seek care -- is still missing.

"As investigators it behooves us to look further into prehospital factors that may contribute to this racial disparity and ultimately find what interventions can be implemented to provide much quicker access to care, so children can get treated more effectively," Dr. Shew said. "But we don't know for sure what would be most beneficial until we really know where the problem lies."

* Addiss DG, Shaffer N, Fowler BS, Tauxe RV. The epidemiology of appendicitis and appendectomy in the United States. Am J Epidemiol 1990;132:910-925.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American College of Surgeons, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Lorraine I. Kelley-Quon, Chi-Hong Tseng, Howard C. Jen, Steven L. Lee, Stephen B. Shew. Hospital Type as a Metric for Racial Disparities in Pediatric Appendicitis. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2013; 216 (1): 74 DOI: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2012.09.018

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/oEjkJSO94WI/121228133736.htm

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NHL makes new offer; lockout enters critical stage

NEW YORK (AP) ? The NHL made a new offer to the players' association, hoping to spark talks toward ending the long lockout and saving the hockey season.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Friday the league presented its proposal Thursday and was waiting for a response. The sides haven't met in person since a second round of talks with a federal mediator broke down Dec. 13.

The lockout has reached its 104th day, and the NHL said it doesn't want a season of less than 48 games. That means a deal would need to be reached mid-January.

"We delivered to the union a new, comprehensive proposal for a successor CBA," Daly said in a statement Friday. "We are not prepared to discuss the details of our proposal at this time. We are hopeful that once the union's staff and negotiating committee have had an opportunity to thoroughly review and consider our new proposal, they will share it with the players. We want to be back on the ice as soon as possible."

A person familiar with key points of the offer told The Associated Press that the league proposed raising the limit of individual free-agent contracts to six years from five ? seven years if a team re-signs its own player; raising the salary variance from one year to another to 10 percent, up from 5 percent; and one compliance buyout for the 2013-14 season that wouldn't count toward a team's salary cap but would be included in the overall players' share of income.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the new offer were not being discussed publicly.

The NHL maintained the deferred payment amount of $300 million it offered in its previous proposal, an increase from an earlier offer of $211 million. The initial $300 million offer was pulled off the table after negotiations broke off earlier this month.

The latest proposal is for 10 years, running through the 2021-22 season, with both sides having the right to opt out after eight years.

A conference call with the players' association's negotiating committee and its executive board was scheduled for Friday afternoon and was expected to last several hours.

The lockout has reached a critical stage, threatening to shut down a season for the second time in eight years. All games through Jan. 14, plus the Winter Classic and the All-Star game already have been called off. The next round of cuts could claim the entire schedule.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

It is still possible this dispute could eventually be settled in the courts if the sides can't reach a deal on their own.

The NHL filed a class-action suit this month in U.S. District Court in New York in an effort to show its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the league filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, contending bad-faith bargaining by the union.

Those moves were made because the players' association took steps toward potentially filing a "disclaimer of interest," which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.

Union members voted overwhelmingly to give their board the power to file the disclaimer by Jan. 2. If that deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.

Negotiations between the NHL and the union have been at a standstill since talks ended Dec. 6. One week later, the sides convened again with federal mediators in New Jersey, but still couldn't make progress.

The sides have been unable to reach agreement on the length of the new deal, the length of individual player contracts, and the variance in salary from year to year. The NHL is looking for an even split of revenues with players.

The NHL pulled all previous offers off the table after the union didn't agree to terms on its last proposal without negotiation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nhl-makes-offer-lockout-enters-critical-stage-184254920--nhl.html

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Cabinet resignations deal setback for Egypt's Mursi

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist minister quit Egypt's government on Thursday, the second cabinet resignation this week, as President Mohamed Mursi tries to shore up his authority and gather support for unpopular austerity measures.

An economic crisis and a battle over a new constitution have underlined bitter divisions between Islamist-backed Mursi and his liberal opponents and delayed a return to stability almost two years since a popular uprising.

Rivals accuse Mursi, who won Egypt's first freely contested leadership election in June, of polarising society by foisting a divisive, Islamist-leaning constitution on the country and using the autocratic ways of his deposed predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

Deadly violence preceded a referendum on the basic law, dealing a blow to a struggling economy. Mursi's political rivals refused to accept the result - the text won about 64 percent in the vote - and they reject his call for national unity talks.

In a move that may pre-empt a planned reshuffle, parliamentary affairs minister Mohamed Mahsoub announced he was quitting because he disagreed with the slow pace of reform.

"I have reached a clear conclusion that a lot of the policies and efforts contradict my personal beliefs and I don't see them as representative of our people's aspirations," he said in his resignation letter, which has yet to be accepted by the prime minister.

Communications Minister Hany Mahmoud quit earlier this week, citing his inability to adapt to the government's "working culture".

Neither were major figures in the cabinet but their decision to criticise the substance and style of Mursi's administration suggests his decisions are unnerving not just opponents but also some allies.

Earlier on Thursday, a Christian member of Egypt's upper house of parliament, Nadia Henry, quit a day after the Islamist-dominated chamber took over legislative authority under the new constitution.

The charter crafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly is meant to be the cornerstone of a democratic and economically stable Egypt after decades of authoritarian rule. The opposition says it does nothing to protect minorities.

Mursi says the constitution and an upcoming vote to re-elect the lower house of parliament will help end squabbling among feuding politicians.

He and his Muslim Brotherhood allies say ordinary people are fed up with street protests that often turn violent and want the government to focus on urgent bread-and-butter issues.

The strife has cast doubt on the government's ability to push through the spending cuts and tax hikes needed to secure a vital $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan.

The Egyptian pound tumbled to its weakest in almost eight years against the dollar this week as people rushed to withdraw savings from banks.

Egypt's defence chief said the army - which dominated Egypt for decades and has wide ranging business interests - was ready to step in to help the economy.

"The Egyptian economy is going through a very difficult stage," Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was quoted as saying by state news agency MENA. "The armed forces are keen to participate in development and service projects in all parts of Egypt as part of its promise to serve the great people."

CRISIS MODE

The resignations come ahead of a promised cabinet reshuffle. Cabinet sources told Reuters as many as eight cabinet members from second-tier ministries might go next week.

Mursi is also promising incentives aimed at making Egypt - once a darling of emerging market investors - an attractive place to do business again.

The 270-seat upper house, or Shura Council, holds legislative authority until a new parliament is elected in early 2013. Opposition figures say they fear the Council could issue laws curbing freedoms.

Henry represents Anglican Christians in Egypt. In a letter published by state media, she said minority groups were not represented properly in the chamber.

Her resignation underscores fears by Egypt's Christians, who make up about a tenth of its 83 million population, about the gains by Islamists since Mubarak was ousted in 2011.

Mubarak, who was sentenced to life in prison in June, was moved to an army hospital on Thursday following a fall that raised concerns about his fragile health.

Under pressure to acknowledge Egypt's diversity, Mursi appointed 90 members including Christians, liberals and women to the Council - alongside figures from the Muslim Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Salafis - last week. Two-thirds of the upper house were already elected in a vote this year.

"We stress again that the nation should achieve internal reconciliation and forget its differences," the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badei, told Egyptians in his weekly message.

"Let's work seriously to end the reciprocal wars of attrition. We urgently need to unify ranks and group together and focus our capabilities and assets for the general benefit."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cabinet-resignations-deal-setback-egypts-mursi-065610743--sector.html

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