New industries revitalising China's north eastern region

BEIJING: Once a thriving industrial base, China's north eastern region slipped into depression when several state-owned enterprises shut down in the 1990s as part of economic restructuring.

Still, growth is now slowly but surely returning to the region.

A currency exchange built by the Japanese during World War Two is still in use today in China's northeastern city of Changchun in Jilin Province.

Now home to a bank, the Grecian-style building is a reminder of the city's past, when it was once the capital of Manchuko, a puppet-state under Japanese occupation.

Today, Changchun is better known as China's automobile capital.

But more recently, car sales nosedived following the anti-Japanese protests.

This comes as some major Chinese cities like Guangzhou imposed car ownership restrictions to clean up the air and road conditions.

Chen Werigen, Vice Mayor of Jilin Province, said: "It's impossible we're not affected. But people would now buy cars they like more than before, or cars of better quality and that creates more opportunities for sales. Secondly, we also have a huge rural market that doesn't restrict car ownership. And we're developing new energy vehicles for export. These are the measures we're taking to manage car ownership restrictions in some cities."

But Changchun faces other challenges like the slow growth of private enterprises and poor transport links, with construction of a subway only starting in 2010.

Changchun as part of the northeast was one of the first to industrialise and prosper. But they fell back in the 1990s during the restructuring of state-owned enterprises and hundreds of thousands went jobless.

Things only started looking up after the new millennium when China's central government implemented reforms to revitalise the region.

These include encouraging private companies like Haoyue, China's largest Islamic beef-processing firm by export volume, to set up base.

It now hires 20,000 people at its plant, and accounts for half of China's total exports of beef products to 23 countries, including the Middle East and Russia.

The firm is now diversifying into the production of animal feed, another industry which authorities in the northeast are keen to develop.

Zhang Guohua, CEO of Haoyue Group, said: "For the next five years, we'll increase our investment in animal feed production. The aim is to make us the biggest manufacturer and seller of animal feed amongst the three provinces in the northeast."

And hopefully that will pave the way for greater economic growth in Changchun in the long term.

- CNA/de

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Revealed: NSA targeting domestic computer systems in secret test

Newly released files show a secret National Security Agency program is targeting the computerized systems that control utilities to discover security vulnerabilities, which can be used to defend the United States or disrupt the infrastructure of other nations.

The NSA's so-called Perfect Citizen program conducts "vulnerability exploration and research" against the computerized controllers that control "large-scale" utilities including power grids and natural gas pipelines, the documents show. The program is scheduled to continue through at least September 2014.

The Perfect Citizen files obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and provided to CNET shed more light on how the agency aims to defend -- and attack -- embedded controllers. The NSA is reported to have developed Stuxnet, which President Obama secretly ordered to be used against Iran's nuclear program, with the help of Israel.

U.S. officials have warned for years, privately and publicly, about the vulnerability of the electrical grid to cyberattacks. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional committee in February: "I know what we [the U.S.] can do and therefore I am extraordinarily concerned about the cyber capabilities of other nations." If a nation gave such software to a fringe group, Dempsey said, "the next thing you know could be into our electrical grid."

Discussions about offensive weapons in the U.S. government's electronic arsenal have gradually become more public. One NSA employment posting for a Control System Network Vulnerability Analyst says the job involves "building proof-of concept exploits," and an Air Force announcement in August called for papers discussing "Cyberspace Warfare Attack" capabilities. The Washington Post reported last month that Obama secretly signed a directive in October outlining the rules for offensive "cyber-operations."

"Sabotage or disruption of these industries can have wide-ranging negative effects including loss of life, economic damage, property destruction, or environmental pollution," the NSA concluded in a public report (PDF) discussing industrial control systems and their vulnerabilities.

The 190 pages of the NSA's Perfect Citizen files, which EPIC obtained through the Freedom of Information Act last week, are heavily redacted. At least 98 pages were completely deleted for a number of reasons, including that portions are "classified top secret," and could "cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security" if released, according to an accompanying letter from Pamela Phillips, chief of the NSA's FOIA office.

But the portions that were released show that Raytheon received a contract worth up to $91 million to establish Perfect Citizen, which "enables the government to protect the systems," especially "large-scale distributed utilities," operated by the private sector.

The focus is "sensitive control systems," or SCS, which "provide automation of infrastructure processes." Raytheon is allowed to hire up to 28 hardware and software engineers who are supposed to "investigate and document the results of vulnerability exploration and research against specific SCS and devices."

One job description, for a senior penetration tester, says the position will "identify and demonstrate vulnerabilities," and requires experience using security-related utilities such as Nmap, Tenable's Nessus, Libnet, and Netcat. Raytheon is required not to disclose that this work is being done for the NSA.

The Wall Street Journal disclosed the existence of Perfect Citizen in a 2010 article, which reported the NSA's "surveillance" of such systems relies "on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack."

An NSA spokeswoman responded to CNET at the time by saying that Perfect Citizen is "purely a vulnerabilities assessment and capabilities development contract" that "does not involve the monitoring of communications or the placement of sensors on utility company systems."

Marc Rotenberg, EPIC's executive director, said that the newly declassified documents "may help disprove" the NSA's argument that Perfect Citizen doesn't involve monitoring private networks.

The FOIA'd documents say that because the U.S. government relies on commercial utilities for electricity, telecommunications, and other infrastructure requirements, "understanding the technologies utilized in the infrastructure nodes to interoperate on the commercial backbone enables the government to protect the systems."

Neither the NSA nor Raytheon immediately responded to requests to comment from CNET this morning. We'll update this story if we receive a response.

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Reliving the holiday favorite "A Christmas Story"

(CBS News) 'Tis the Season for "A Christmas Story," the 1983 film whose memorable story is being re-told on Broadway. Mo Rocca sets the stage:

If "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life" are the frankinscense and myrrh of Christmas movies, then the gold may very well be 1983's "A Christmas Story."

If you haven't seen "A Christmas Story," well, it's the tale of 12-year-old Ralphie Parker. Set in 1940s Indiana, it's something of a cockeyed look at Christmas.

Peter Billingsley, as Ralphie, can't get a break in expressing his Christmas wish for a Red Ryder BB gun - not even from Santa! - in the 1983 movie "A Christmas Story."

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MGM/UA

Ralphie's dad obsesses over a leg lamp he won in a contest. ("It reminds me of the Fourth of July!") A pack of dogs makes off with Christmas dinner. And Santa is anything but jolly.

"I've read where you've called it the 'Seinfeld' of Christmas movies - what do you mean by that?" asked Rocca.

"Well, in some ways it's the commitment to the mundane," said 41-year-old Peter Billingsley. If he looks familiar, that's because he played Ralphie.

"It's those simple little things that drive you crazy around Christmas. It's not the big ideas. It's, you know, trying to get the tree and trying to get your little brother to eat, trying to cook a turkey, all those things."

Now Billingsley is one of the producers of "A Christmas Story" - the Broadway musical.

Twelve-year-old Johnny Rabe plays Ralphie, and 10-year old Zac Ballard is Ralphie's younger brother Randy - the one who memorably pigged out on mashed potatoes.

"I never want a stunt man to do that," Ballard said.

"What's your motivation?" Rocca asked.

"What do you mean by 'motivation'?"

"I don't even know what I'm asking," he replied. "Whatever you're doing, it's great."

This family favorite was originally a series of stories by radio commentator Jean Shepherd in, of all places, Playboy magazine.

The stories became a book, which then became a movie.

When asked what the number one thing is people say when they come up, Billingsley said, "'That's my family' or 'You were me' or 'That's my mom,' 'That was my dad.' And it seems like that Midwest area is relatable to everyone in the country. It feels kind of like everyone's street."

The movie wasn't a box office hit, but then cable TV turned it into one of the greatest comeback stories ever told. A 24-hour marathon on TBS, watched by almost 50 million people last year, has been playing since 1997 - making it the yule log of Christmas movies.

Fans of the film, known as "Ralphies," include Brian Jones.

In 2004 he found on eBay the Cleveland house used as Ralphie's home. He bought it sight unseen. He did not tell his wife.

The "Christmas Story House & Museum" in Cleveland Ohio, where the 1983 movie was filmed.

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CBS News

"How long did it take for your wife to forgive you?" Rocca asked.

"The day I opened it" as a museum, Jones said. "When she saw we had a line down the block, like four or five people wide. Then she realized I wasn't as crazy as I seemed."

Open to the public since 2006, the home is a shrine to Ralphie, with pilgrims lining up around the block to visit.

There's a leg lamp in the window, and a kitchen sink visitors can hide under, just like Randy did.

"People will try and squeeze there. I can fit under there. I'm 6'3", about 200 pounds. So I still fit."

That is what you call a super fan.

Jones helped pay for the house by selling - you guessed it - leg lamps.

Of course, the leg lamp also made it into the Broadway musical, along with a show-stopping tap-dance number.

And if the young cast of the musical is any indication, "A Christmas Story" still has legs.

When asked who had seen the movie before they appeared in the musical,many members of the kids' ensemble raised their hands.

Mo Rocca meets members of the cast of "A Christmas Story" on Broadway.

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CBS News

"Tell the truth - was there anyone here who really wasn't a fan of the movie?" Rocca asked.

Jeremy raised his hand: "I'm Jewish!"

When asked what he thought the message of the movie was, Luke said, "It's one big family that's crazy and then at the end, and they all say it's crazy, but it comes to one thing called love."

Zach offered another take: "It's also a heartwarming story. I think it's the best Christmas story ever!"

For more info:

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Departing Secretary of State Clinton's Legacy of Firsts

After 31 years of public service, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves the limelight behind.

On Friday, President Obama nominated Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to take her place as secretary of state, leaving Clinton to help him move in and then bow out.

Over the past three decades, Clinton has served her country in one way or another, a tenure that was full of firsts.

She was the only first lady to refuse the traditional cookie bake off and the first secretary of state to visit more than 100 countries. She served under the first black president and was the first first lady to have an office in the West Wing of the White House. Clinton was the first secretary of state to visit East Timor, and the first first lady to later win elective office. And long before she ever appeared on a ballot, Clinton was the first child born to Hugh and Dorothy Rodham.

Hillary Clinton Through the Years

Her departure from the State Department does not come as a surprise. For the past year, she has made clear her intentions to step down and said her goodbyes at outposts all over the world.

"It's important for me to step off this incredibly high wire I've been on," Clinton said after casting her ballot in November's presidential election, "to take stock of the rest of my life."

Laurent Gillieron/AFP/Getty Images

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Recently, she told ABC's Barbara Walters she's looking forward to taking a step back, "maybe do some reading and writing and speaking and teaching."

In October, she took the blame for State Department security failures that led to the death of four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, in Benghazi, Libya. It was a move that signaled a willingness to put politics aside and embrace responsibility.

I take responsibility," Clinton said a month after the attack in an interview in Lima, Peru. "I'm in charge of the State Department's 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts.

"The president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals," Clinton said, a clear attempt to absolve a president who was up for re-election of blame with little regard for her own popularity.

At the end of November, Clinton reflected on her accomplishments as secretary of state over the past four years in two wide-ranging speeches on foreign policy.

Her four years of work focused on advancing rights for women and religious minorities across the globe, helping to maintain the tenuous peace between Israelis and Palestinians, discouraging Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and, in her own words, "advancing a new approach to development that puts human dignity and self-sufficiency at the heart of our efforts."

Clinton reflected on her travels to more than 112 countries, calling it "shoe-leather diplomacy," and emphasizing the importance of being on the ground.

"I have found it highly ironic that, in today's world, when we can be anywhere virtually, more than ever people want us to show up, actually," she said at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. "Somebody said to me the other day, 'I look at your travel schedule.  Why Togo?  Why the Cook Islands?'  No secretary of state had ever been to Togo before.  Togo happens to be on the U.N. Security Council.  Going there, making the personal investment, has a real strategic purpose."

Though Clinton took political heat this year for her role in the Benghazi attack, her global colleagues joked and prodded her about a second presidential run at each increment of her long-term farewell. The popular Democrat continues to deny she'll run.

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Egyptians back new constitution in referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist-backed Egyptian constitution won approval in a referendum, rival camps said on Sunday, after a vote the opposition said would sow deep social divisions in the Arab world's most populous nation.

The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the charter after two rounds of voting that ended with a final ballot on Saturday.

An opposition official also told Reuters their unofficial count showed the result was a "yes" vote, while party spokesmen said there had been a series of abuses during the voting.

The main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, responded to the defeat by saying it was moving towards forming a single political party to challenge the Islamists who have dominated the ballot box since strongman Hosni Mubarak was overthrown two years ago.

Members of the opposition, taking heart from a low turnout of about 30 percent of voters, pledged to keep up pressure on Mursi through peaceful protests and other democratic means.

"The referendum is not the end of the road," said Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front. "It is only the beginning of a long struggle for Egypt's future."

The referendum committee may not declare official results for the two rounds until Monday, after hearing appeals. If the outcome is confirmed, a parliamentary election will follow in about two months.

Mursi's Islamist backers say the constitution is vital for the transition to democracy, nearly two years after Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising. It will provide the stability needed to help a fragile economy, they say.

The constitution was "a historic opportunity to unite all national powers on the basis of mutual respect and honest dialogue for the sake of stabilizing the nation," the Brotherhood said in a statement.

RECIPE FOR UNREST

The opposition accuses Mursi of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women. They say it is a recipe for further unrest.

The opposition said voting in both rounds was marred by abuses. However, an official said the overall vote favored the charter.

"The majority is not big and the minority is not small," liberal politician Amr Hamzawy said, adding that the National Salvation Front would use "all peaceful, democratic means" such as protests to challenge the constitution.

The vote was split over two days as many judges had refused to supervise the ballot, making a single day of voting impossible.

During the build-up to the vote there were deadly protests, sparked by Mursi's decision to award himself extra powers in a November 22 decree and then to fast-track the constitutional vote.

The new basic law sets a limit of two four-year presidential terms. It says the principles of sharia, Islamic law, remain the main source of legislation but adds an article to explain this. It also says Islamic authorities will be consulted on sharia - a source of concern to Christians and others.

ABUSES

Rights groups reported what they said were illegalities in voting procedures. They said some polling stations opened late, that Islamists illegally campaigned at some polling places, and complained of irregularities in voter registration.

But the committee overseeing the two-stage vote said its investigations showed no major irregularities in voting on December 15, which covered about half of Egypt's 51 million voters. About 25 million were eligible to vote in the second round.

The Brotherhood said turnout was about a third of voters.

The opposition says the constitution will stir up more trouble on the streets since it has not received sufficiently broad backing for a document that should be agreed by consensus, and raised questions about the fairness of the vote.

In the first round, the district covering most of Cairo voted "no," which opponents said showed the depth of division.

"I see more unrest," said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a member of the opposition Front.

He cited "serious violations" on the first day of voting, and said anger against Mursi was growing. "People are not going to accept the way they are dealing with the situation."

At least eight people were killed in protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. Islamists and rivals clashed in Alexandria, the second-biggest city, on the eves of both voting days.

(Writing by Edmund Blair and Giles Elgood; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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UBS tampered with Swiss franc rates since 2001: report

GENEVA: Swiss banking giant UBS, which last week was slapped with $1.5 billion in fines for manipulating global interest rates, also tampered with Swiss franc interest rates for more than a decade, a Swiss newspaper reported on Sunday.

"The bank did not only contribute to manipulating global interest rates on the dollar, the British pound and the yen, but... also systematically played with interest rates on the Swiss franc," Le Matin reported.

Quoting findings in a US justice department probe, the paper said there was evidence that UBS traders had manipulated the rates from 2001.

UBS was hit with the second-largest banking fine ever last week by US, British and Swiss authorities after they revealed evidence of massive misconduct in the setting of the Libor rate, a global reference that affects products from student loans to mortgages.

The United States also filed federal charges of felony fraud against UBS Securities Japan, where it estimated that the bank raked in hundreds of millions of dollars over three years with slight rate adjustments.

"The principle was the same in Switzerland, where the division in charge of the UBS treasury each day gave indications of what the ideal rates would be" for the bank's business, Le Matin said, adding such rates not only impact UBS's bottom line but also the entire Swiss economy.

The paper criticised Switzerland's financial regulator Finma for not looking further back than 2007 when it calculated UBS's misdeeds in Switzerland, and also lambasted the Swiss national bank for not releasing numbers on how much the bank had cost the Swiss economy.

The Swiss portion of the bank's massive fine amounted to just 59 million Swiss francs (US$64 million).

- AFP/xq

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Offbeat game recasts Xmas tune as 'Little Bummer Boy'

If you don't want to be 'LDB Out,' avoid 'Little Drummer Boy' at all costs.

(Credit:
@Nelz9999)

There's a bigger danger this holiday season than ending up on Santa's naughty list. A lump of coal in a Christmas stocking is one thing. What can happen to you if you hear "Little Drummer Boy" is something else altogether.

You know the tune: "Come they told me/Pa rum pum pum pum/A newborn King to see/Pa rum pum pum pum." It's a Christmas standard, and in cities and small towns everywhere, it emanates from department store sound systems, TV commercials, Web sites -- you name it. To the average modern-day sophisticate, "Little Drummer Boy (note: read the story before clicking the link)" is nothing more than a song to love or hate, to endure or enjoy. But to the many players of the LDB Game, the song's aesthetic merits are hardly the point.

Here's how the game works: Once the holiday season starts (more on that later), you're alive until you hear LDB. Once you hear it -- don't worry, knocking around inside your own head doesn't count -- you're "LDB Out." Victory (and the attendant bragging rights) accrue to anyone who successfully avoids LDB until Christmas. On e-mail lists, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, groups full of players intent on surviving LDB season are now in full swing.

One might ask why would anyone play LDB? To Bunny Watson, an Oakland, Calif., DJ who has served for years as unofficial game master for a couple of hundred players on one e-mail list, it's all about the stories. "The whole thing just struck me as hilarious for some reason. I saw it on someone's blog and decided I was going to play too. Then I 'infected' my friend group and got a bunch of people playing," she recalled. "It's as much a game of chance as of strategy, though people sometimes do really funny things in the name of strategy, such as wearing earplugs if they have to go shopping. I have one friend who just turns down her hearing aids."

There are all kinds of LDB hazards out there, not least of which is researching an article on the game (recommended: mute the computer's speakers). Given that shopping spots are one of the most common danger zones, many players limit their retail exposure as best they can. The LDB Game is not political, though, and players are not necessarily anticonsumerists. They don't Occupy anything. They love their high-tech gadgets, happily eat at restaurants, and even hope for spiffy presents under their trees. But they definitely want to win.

And so it was that on Thanksgiving Day, high above Berkeley, Calif., eight friends, all involved in the tech world in one form or another, sat enjoying a rich and satisfying dinner of deep-fried turkey, duck, and all the trimmings when a Christmas tune began to play. The potential for a massacre was huge. All eight people -- including the hosts -- could be taken out at once. The risk was recognized, threats were made. And understood. The music was changed. The tension lifted.

Others haven't been as lucky. At one Bay Area karaoke bar, a few weeks ago, a man who goes by the name of Weazie took out the entire saloon. With a dance version, no less.

More often, though, the moment of one's LDB demise is a private affair, and the e-mail lists and Facebook groups where players congregate are littered this time of year with LDB Out tales, many of which are embarrassingly banal (listening to the radio, shopping for gifts). Often, though, there's a fun -- or at least involved -- tale to be told, such as the fate Watson herself suffered one year when, deep into hours of fighting on the phone with her ISP over the crisis caused when her business' essential Web site went down, she got taken out by the company's hold muzak.

Players are honor bound to share their LDB Out stories, and they mostly do, because, really, the game is just a fun social exercise. And besides, there's a lot less pressure when your time is up. "I've been tempting fate this holiday season. I've spent more time in stores in the last two months than I have in probably the last 10 years,..." Robyn Herr, from Cleveland, reported to her e-mail list the other day after getting LDB'd in a novelty store called Big Fun, "now I don't have to be on guard for LDB for the rest of the season."

On the other hand, there's certainly pride in winning, and veteran players employ certain strategies year in and year out. Watson advises against going into a Home Depot or a "Bloodbath and Beyond." "Both claim many victims each year," she says. Also, avoid taxis if you can and make sure inexperienced players don't sing LDB to you, because it'll knock you both out.

Then there's well-known entertainment land mines. Among them, the 2012 "Saturday Night Live" Christmas special, the November 26 "Colbert Report," and for those with stacks of old DVDs lying around, the "West Wing" Season One Christmas episode.

In fact, it was thanks to that episode of "West Wing" that Watson was asked to weigh in on when, exactly, the LDB Game kicks off. Some -- you might consider them LDB Conservatives -- say the game isn't on until Thanksgiving Day. But to Watson, it starts when the first bells start jingling and the first notes of "Silent Night" are heard in stores. You know it when you see it. Halloween is risky, but the first day of fall is still too early. On September 21, Watson was asked for a ruling by a Democrat who was gearing up for the upcoming presidential election by doing a complete rewatching of Aaron Sorkin's hit show about life in the White House. LDB encountered, the hopeful question was whether it was fatal. "Whew! You're still in...and the game is NOT yet afoot," she replied.

A bigger question might be when it's safe to blast LDB. On a Web site purporting to spell out the rules of the game, it's said that the game ends at 12:01 a.m. on December 26. But in Watson's community, Christmas is a day of rest. "A group of friends has a tradition to sing it, loudly and drunkenly at 12:01 am on Christmas morning at an annual party," she said. "It's a silly, lighthearted part of the holiday season and it is one part you know is going to be entertaining, no matter how it goes down. You can even play it with your mom."

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Rebels threaten to storm 2 Syrian Christian towns

BEIRUT Rebels have threatened to storm two predominantly Christian towns in central Syria, saying regime forces are using them to attack nearby areas, an activist group said Saturday. It says such an attack could force thousands of Christians from their homes.

Russia's foreign minister, meanwhile, said that Damascus has consolidated its chemical weapons into one or two locations to protect them from a rebel onslaught.

Concerns over Syria's chemical arsenal have escalated as the regime of President Bashar Assad suffers losses on the battlefield. U.S. intelligence officials have said the regime may be readying chemical weapons and could be desperate enough to use them, while both Israel and the U.S. have also expressed concerns they could fall into militant hands if the regime crumbles.

Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia, which has military advisers training Syria's military, has kept close watch over Damascus's chemical arsenal. He said the Syrian government has moved them from many arsenals to just "one or two centers" to properly safeguard them.

Lavrov also told reporters on a flight from an EU summit late Friday that countries in the region had asked Russia to convey an offer of safe passage to Assad.

Syria refuses to confirm or deny if it has chemical weapons but Damascus is believed to have nerve agents as well as mustard gas. It also possesses Scud missiles capable of delivering them.

Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that one rebel group has issued an ultimatum to the towns of Mahrada and Sqailbiyeh in the province of Hama.

A video released by rebels showed Rashid Abul-Fidaa, who identified himself as the Hama commander of the Ansar Brigade, calls on residents to "evict" regime forces or be attacked.

"Assad's gangs in the cities are shelling our villages with mortars and rockets destroying our homes, killing our children and displacing our people," said Abdul-Fidaa, who wore an Islamic headband and was surrounded by gunmen. "You should perform your duty by evicting Assad's gangs," he said. "Otherwise our warriors will storm the hideouts of the Assad gangs."

He accused regime forces of taking positions in the two towns in order to "incite sectarian strife" between Christians and the predominantly Sunni opposition. Assad belongs to the Alawite minority sect, an off-shoot of Shiite Islam.

Mahrada was the hometown of Ignatius Hazim, the former Patriarch of the Damascus-based Eastern Orthodox Church who passed away on Dec. 5 at the age of 92.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population, say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping the country of 22 million people. They are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Islamic groups.

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'Fiscal Cliff' Leaves Boehner a Wounded Speaker

John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback that his own fractious Republican troops dealt him in their "fiscal cliff" struggle against President Barack Obama.

There's plenty of internal grumbling about the Ohio Republican, especially among conservatives, and lots of buzzing about whether his leadership post is in jeopardy. But it's uncertain whether any other House Republican has the broad appeal to seize the job from Boehner or whether his embarrassing inability to pass his own bill preventing tax increases on everyone but millionaires is enough to topple him.

"No one will be challenging John Boehner as speaker," predicted John Feehery, a consultant and former aide to House GOP leaders. "No one else can right now do the job of bringing everyone together" and unifying House Republicans.

The morning after he yanked the tax-cutting bill from the House floor to prevent certain defeat, Boehner told reporters he wasn't worried about losing his job when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

"They weren't taking that out on me," he said Friday of rank-and-file GOP lawmakers, who despite pleading from Boehner and his lieutenants were shy of providing the 217 votes needed for passage. "They were dealing with the perception that somebody might accuse them of raising taxes."

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

That "somebody" was a number of outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America, which openly pressured lawmakers to reject Boehner's bill. Such organizations often oppose GOP lawmakers they consider too moderate and have been headaches for Boehner in the past.

This time, his retreat on the tax measure was an unmistakable blow to the clout of the 22-year House veteran known for an amiable style, a willingness to make deals and a perpetual tan.

Congressional leaders amass power partly by their ability to command votes, especially in showdowns. His failure to do so Thursday stands to weaken his muscle with Obama and among House Republicans.

"It's very hard for him to negotiate now," said Sarah Binder, a George Washington University political scientist, adding that it's premature to judge if Boehner's hold on the speakership is in peril. "No one can trust him because it's very hard for him to produce votes."

She said the loss weakens his ability to summon support in the future because "you know the last time he came to you like this, others didn't step in line."

Boehner, 63, faces unvarnished hostility from some conservatives.

"We clearly can't have a speaker operate well outside" what Republicans want to do, said freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

Huelskamp is one of four GOP lawmakers who lost prized committee assignments following previous clashes with party leaders. That punishment was an anomaly for Boehner, who is known more for friendly persuasion than arm-twisting.

He said Boehner's job would depend on whether the speaker is "willing to sit and listen to Republicans first, or march off" and negotiate with Obama.

Conservative Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said one of the tea party's lasting impacts would be if Boehner struggled to retain his speakership due to the fight over the fiscal cliff, which is the combination of deep tax increases and spending cuts that start in early January without a bipartisan deal to avert them.

"If there's a major defeat delivered here, it could make it tough on him," King said. "He's in a tough spot."

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Egypt's constitution seen passing in referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt extended voting by four hours on Saturday in the second and decisive round of a referendum that was expected to approve the country's new Islamist-drafted constitution after weeks of protests and violence.

Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Mursi, who was elected in June, say the charter is vital to move Egypt towards democracy, nearly two years after an Arab Spring revolution overthrew authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak.

It will help restore the stability needed to fix an economy that is on the ropes, they say.

But the opposition says the document is divisive and has accused Mursi of pushing through a text that favors his Islamist allies while ignoring the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women.

"I'm voting 'no' because Egypt can't be ruled by one faction," said Karim Nahas, 35, a stockbroker, heading to a polling station in Giza, a province included in this round of voting which covers parts of greater Cairo.

At another polling station, some voters said they were more interested in ending Egypt's long period of political instability than in the Islamist aspects of the charter.

"We have to extend our hands to Mursi to help fix the country," said Hisham Kamal, an accountant.

Queues formed at some polling stations around the country and voting was extended by four hours to 11 p.m. (2100 GMT).

Unofficial tallies are likely to emerge within hours of the close, but the referendum committee may not declare an official result for the two rounds until Monday, after hearing appeals.

CHEATING ALLEGED

As polling opened on Saturday, a coalition of Egyptian rights groups reported a number of alleged irregularities.

They said some polling stations had opened late, that Islamists urging a "yes" vote had illegally campaigned at some stations, and complained of irregularities in voter registration irregularities, including the listing of one dead person.

The first round of voting last week resulted in a 57 percent vote in favor of the constitution, according to unofficial figures.

Analysts expect another "yes" on Saturday because the vote covers rural and other areas seen as having more Islamist sympathizers. Islamists may also be able to count on many Egyptians who are simply exhausted by two years of upheaval.

Among the provisions of the new basic law are a limit of two four-year presidential terms. It says the principles of sharia law remain the main source of legislation but adds an article to explain this further. It also says Islamic authorities will be consulted on sharia - a source of concern to Christians and other non-Muslims.

If the constitution is passed, a parliamentary election will be held in about two months. If not, an assembly will have to be set up to draft a new one.

After the first round of voting, the opposition said a litany of alleged abuses meant the first stage of the referendum should be re-run.

But the committee overseeing the two-stage vote said its investigations showed no major irregularities in voting on December 15, which covered about half of Egypt's 51 million voters.

There was no indication on Saturday that the alleged abuses were any worse than those claimed during the first round.

MORE UNREST

Even if the charter is approved, the opposition say it is a recipe for trouble since it has not received broad consensus backing from the population. They say the result may go in Mursi's favor but it will not be the result of a fair vote.

"I see more unrest," said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a member of the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition formed after Mursi expanded his powers on November 22 and then pushed the constitution to a vote.

Protesters accused the president of acting like a pharaoh, and he was forced to issue a second decree two weeks ago that amended a provision putting all his decisions above legal challenge.

Said cited "serious violations" on the first day of voting, and said anger against Mursi and his Islamist allies was growing. "People are not going to accept the way they are dealing with the situation."

At least eight people were killed in protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. Islamists and rivals clashed on Friday in the second biggest city of Alexandria, hurling stones at each other. Two buses were torched.

The head of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that represents Mursi's power base, said the vote was an opportunity for Egypt to move on.

"After the constitution is settled by the people, the wheels in all areas will turn, even if there are differences here and there," the Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, said as he went to vote in Beni Suef, south of Cairo.

"After choosing a constitution, all Egyptians will be moving in the same direction," he said.

The vote was staggered after many judges refused to supervise the ballot, meaning there were not enough to hold the referendum on a single day nationwide.

The first round was won by a slim enough margin to buttress opposition arguments that the text was divisive. Opponents who include liberals, leftists, Christians and more moderate-minded Muslims accuse Islamists of using religion to sway voters.

Islamists, who have won successive ballots since Mubarak's overthrow, albeit by narrowing margins, dismiss charges that they are exploiting religion and say the document reflects the will of a majority in the country where most people are Muslim.

(Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan; Writing by Edmund Blair and Giles Elgood; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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