Bihar records 11.95% growth, highest among states

PATNA: Despite global economic slowdown and sagging domestic demand, Bihar has managed to record 11.95% annual growth rate, the highest among all the states, during the 11th Plan period.

According to the Economic Survey 2012-13 tabled by deputy CM and finance minister Sushil Kumar Modi in the state legislature on Tuesday, Bihar almost remained untouched by the overall global slowdown but for some side effects in 2012-13.

But the state's per capita income of Rs 25,653 at current prices is still far behind the national average of Rs 60,972 in 2011-12. "Our gross state domestic product (GSDP) at 2004-05 prices is Rs 1.52 lakh crore which is estimated to rise to Rs 2.53 lakh crore at current prices in 2011-12," Modi said.

The problem of low income in Bihar is accentuated by considerable disparity across the districts in terms of their per capita income. In 2009-10, Patna, with per capita income of Rs 55,539, Munger with Rs18,669 and Bhagalpur with Rs14,396 have been the most prosperous districts whereas Sheohar has Rs 5,552, Madhepura (Rs 7.161) and Supaul (Rs 7,213) remained at the bottom.

Modi said the state government had an outstanding debt of Rs 44,475 crore in 2007-08, which is 39% of its GSDP. By 2011-12, it declined substantially to 24% even though the outstanding debt increased to Rs 60,551 crore. Incidentally, it was 53% in 2001-02.

Bihar's gross fiscal deficit (GFD) was only Rs 3,971 crore in 2010-11 but it sharply increased to Rs 5,915 crore in the subsequent year. In 2012-13, it is projected to rise further to Rs 7,569 crore due to higher capital investment.

The survey claimed growth in the state's own tax revenue, increasing from Rs 5,086 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 12,612 crore in 2011-12. The non-tax revenue has jumped from Rs 526 crore to Rs 890 crore during the same period. "The state's own tax revenue has increased to 4.99% of the GSDP," said principal finance secretary Rameshwar Singh.

"The image of Bihar has undergone a change in recent years, thanks to high growth rate of its economy and accompanying developments in social sectors. This was made possible primarily through the efforts of the state government which utilized its limited resources in a prudent manner," said Modi.

The state, according to the survey, has been showing a continuous revenue surplus since 2004-05. This surplus had reached to Rs 6,316 crore in 2010-11, the highest ever level, before falling to Rs 4,821 crore in 2011-12.

In agriculture sector, the production of cereals in 2011-12 was 172 lakh tonnes, compared to 104 lakh tonnes in previous fiscal. The production of rice increased to a new high of 8.2 million tonnes against 3.1 million tonnes in 2010-11. The use of 'Sri' technique was an important factor in the bumper rice production.

The survey states that Bihar has a total of 1.92 lakh registered units under micro, small and medium enterprises involving a total investment of Rs 1,941 crore and employing 6.30 lakh persons in 2012. Altogether 11 sugar mills were operational in 2011-12 and a total of 488.30 lakh quintals of sugarcane were crushed and produced 45.10 lakh quintals of sugar.

Up to September 2012, the State Investment Promotion Bureau has approved total 939 proposals for setting up industrial units involving an investment of Rs 3.19 lakh crore with employment potential of 2.27 lakh persons.

To a query about CM Nitish Kumar's assertion that Bihar will take another 25 years to come on a par with developed states at this pace of development and the kind of investment required, ADRI's member secretary Shaibal Gupta said as per a rough estimate, an yearly investment of Rs 40,000 crore is needed to reach the national average of growth. But he hastened to add that it was not very accurate estimate.

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UK patient dies from SARS-like coronavirus

LONDON (AP) — A patient being treated for a mysterious SARS-like virus has died, a British hospital said Tuesday.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said the coronavirus victim was also being treated for "a long-term, complex unrelated health problem" and already had a compromised immune system.

A total of 12 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the disease, six of whom have died.

The virus was first identified last year in the Middle East. Most of those infected had traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan, but the person who just died is believed to have caught it from a relative in Britain, where there have been four confirmed cases.

The new coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS. In 2003, a global outbreak of SARS killed about 800 people worldwide.

Health experts still aren't sure exactly how humans are being infected. The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection.

Britain's Health Protection Agency has said while it appears the virus can spread from person to person, "the risk of infection in contacts in most circumstances is still considered to be low."

Officials at the World Health Organization said the new virus has probably already spread between humans in some instances. In Saudi Arabia last year, four members of the same family fell ill and two died. And in a cluster of about a dozen people in Jordan, the virus may have spread at a hospital's intensive care unit.

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'Celebrity Rehab' in Spotlight After McCready's Death

Dr. Drew Pinsky defended his show "Celebrity Rehab" on "The View" today, saying that he received messages of support from former participants after the death of Mindy McCready. . She was the fifth person who has appeared on the show to die in the past two years.

Dr. Drew was defending his show in the face of fresh criticism from the public and recovery advocates who say the process "doesn't belong on our TV screens." The grandfather of another one of the show's deceased alums said that when he heard about McCready, he thought to himself, "Dr. Drew lost another one."

"I wish I could be more responsible for them," Dr. Drew said of the show's alums when he called into "The View" today. "I've received yesterday about 10 emails and texts from those that are doing well that are so grateful and wanted to reassure me."

Former madam and show participant Heidi Fleiss emailed Dr. Drew to tell him the show was "the best thing I've ever done for myself," he said.

Mindy McCready is Fifth 'Celebrity Rehab' Death

Dr. Drew said he hadn't been McCready's doctor in years, but wished some of the show's participants would have continued treatment with his team. The VH1 show had five seasons from 2008 to 2011. McCready appeared on the third season of the show.

Mindy McCready Dead at 37 From Apparent Suicide Watch Video

Country Singer Mindy McCready Dead at Age 37 Watch Video

Mindy McCready Details Moment Cops Found Her, Son Watch Video

McCready, 37, died Sunday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at her Arkansas home, police said.

Dr. Drew said he reached out to McCready recently after her boyfriend and father of one of her two children, David Wilson, died in January of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"She was so severely shattered by that experience. All the people around her, her friends began calling me," Dr. Drew told "The View." "She was in trouble...She was really struggling and she knew it."

He said McCready was "mortified" about the "stigma and judgment" from the public and the press and that it took convincing to get her to go a hospital. He said she eventually went, but left "prematurely" because of the fear of stigmatization and "that's when things really unraveled."

Losing custody of her children was "the last straw," Dr. Drew said.

SEE PHOTOS: Notable Deaths in 2013

The country singer who soared to the top of the charts with her debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," struggled with substance abuse, served time in jail and fought a lengthy battle with her mother over custody of her son.

McCready's death has revived much criticism for the TV show from the pubilc on social media and from experts.

"For whatever reason, there's this incredible fascination with people while they're actively using and their lives in addiction and we really think it doesn't belong on our TV screens," Patricia Taylor, executive director of Faces & Voices of Recovery, an advocacy group for people in recovery, told ABCNews.com.

"We don't have shows with people with cancer or diabetes or other health conditions," she said.

Taylor said that people not wanting to get treatment because they are afraid of how others will perceive them is an issue with many people, not just celebrities.

"We are very concerned about the deaths and unfortunately too many people in America are dying from addiction and we really need to make sure to make it possible for people to get the help that they need to recover," she said.

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Time to refer Syrian war crimes to ICC: U.N. inquiry

GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations investigators said on Monday that Syrian leaders they had identified as suspected war criminals should face the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The investigators urged the U.N. Security Council to "act urgently to ensure accountability" for violations, including murder and torture, committed by both sides in an uprising and civil war that has killed about 70,000 people since March 2011.

"Now really it's time ... We have a permanent court, the International Criminal Court, who would be ready to take this case," Carla del Ponte, a former ICC chief prosecutor who joined the U.N. team in September, told a news briefing in Geneva.

But because Syria is not party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, the only way the court can investigate the situation is if it receives a referral from the Security Council. Russia, Assad's long-standing ally and a permanent veto-wielding member of the council, has opposed such a move.

"We cannot decide. But we pressure the international community to decide because it's time to act," del Ponte said.

Brazilian expert Paulo Pinheiro, who leads the U.N. inquiry set up in 2011, said: "We are in very close dialogue with all the five permanent members and with all the members of the Security Council, but we don't have the key that will open the path to cooperation inside the Security Council."

His team of some two dozen experts is tracing the chain of command in Syria to establish criminal responsibility and build a case for eventual prosecution.

"Of course we were able to identify high-level perpetrators," del Ponte said, adding that these were people "in command responsibility...deciding, organizing, planning and aiding and abetting the commission of crimes".

She said it was urgent for the Hague-based war crimes tribunal to take up cases of "very high officials", but did not identify them, in line with the inquiry's practice.

"We have crimes committed against children, rape and sexual violence. We have grave concerns. That is also one reason why an international body of justice must act because it is terrible."

Del Ponte, who tried former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on war crimes charges, said the ICC prosecutor would need to deepen the investigation on Syria before an indictment could be prepared.

Karen Koning AbuZayd, an American member of the U.N. team, told Reuters it had information pointing to "people who have given instructions and are responsible for government policy, people who are in the leadership of the military, for example".

The inquiry's third roster of suspects, building on lists drawn up in the past year, remains secret. It will be entrusted to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay upon expiry of its mandate at the end of March, the report said.

Pillay, a former ICC judge, said on Saturday Assad should be investigated for war crimes, and called for outside action on Syria, including possible military intervention.

Pinheiro said the investigators would not speak publicly about "numbers, names or levels" of suspects.

SEVEN MASSACRES IDENTIFIED

The investigators' latest report, covering the six months to mid-January, was based on 445 interviews conducted abroad with victims and witnesses, as they have not been allowed into Syria.

"We identified seven massacres during the period, five on the government side, two on the armed opponents' side. We need to enter the sites to be able to confirm elements of proof that we have," del Ponte said.

The U.N. report said the ICC was the appropriate institution for the fight against impunity in Syria. "As an established, broadly supported structure, it could immediately initiate investigations against authors of serious crimes in Syria."

Government forces have carried out shelling and air strikes across Syria including Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Homs and Idlib, the 131-page report said, citing corroborating satellite images.

"Government forces and affiliated militias have committed extra-judicial executions, breaching international human rights law. This conduct also constitutes the war crime of murder. Where murder was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, with knowledge of that attack, it is a crime against humanity," the report said.

Those forces have targeted bakery queues and funeral processions to spread "terror among the civilian population".

Rebels fighting to topple Assad have also committed war crimes including murder, torture, hostage-taking and using children under age 15 in hostilities, the U.N. report said.

"They continue to endanger the civilian population by positioning military objectives inside civilian areas" and rebel snipers had caused "considerable civilian casualties", it said.

George Sabra, a vice president of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, asked about the U.N. report, told Reuters at a conference in Stockholm: "We condemn all kind of crimes, regardless who did it.

"We can't ignore that some mistakes have been made and maybe still happen right now. But nobody also can ignore that the most criminal file is that of the regime."

(This story has been corrected to fix name of Milosevic tribunal in 11th paragraph)

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; additional reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Shadow of corruption scandal looms over Spanish royal family

MADRID: Spanish King Juan Carlos' son-in-law will be questioned Saturday by a judge investigating a corruption case as press reports make new revelations that cast a growing shadow on the entire royal family.

Inaki Urdangarin and former partner Diego Torres are suspected of siphoning off millions of euros paid by regional governments to the Noos Institute, a charitable organisation which Urdangarin chaired from 2004 to 2006.

The money was meant to cover the cost of staging sporting and tourism events.

Both men have denied any wrongdoing and have not been charged with any crime.

Spain's two main daily newspapers, El Pais and El Mundo, on Monday published e-mails supposedly sent by Urdangarin which appear to indicate that the king backed and closely followed his business career closely.

The revelations are embarrassing for the royal palace which has tried to mark a clear border between Urdangarin's business affairs and the royal family, especially Urdangarin's wife, Princess Cristina, since the scandal erupted at the end of 2011.

Princess Cristina was a non-executive director at the Noos Institute but has not been called to appear in court for questioning.

In one of the e-mails allegedly sent by Urdangarin in March 2005 published Monday, he wrote to Corinna Wittgenstein, a twice-divorced German aristocrat described by Spanish media as a close friend of the king, to ask for her help in landing him a job at an international sports organisation.

"Excuse my silence during these last few days. I wanted to check with my father-in-law and Alberto Aza as well before I give you feedback," he allegedly wrote in the e-mail in a reference to the king and the former head of the royal household.

During a court appearance on Saturday, Torres told the judge leading the investigation that "the royal palace supervised the activities of the Noos Institute", El Pais reported Sunday.

Torres also "directly called into question the king" by revealing that the monarch was referred to as "the boss" in internal discussions at the Noos Institute, the newspaper reported.

Torres' defence team have turned over nearly 200 e-mails, including those published in Spanish media on Monday, to the investigating judge.

The royal family sidelined Urdangarin, who acquired the title of Duke of Palma in 1997 when he wed Cristina, from all official royal activities at the end of 2011 and last month he was removed from the family website.

The 45-year-old former Olympic handball player was jeered in February last year when he appeared in court to be questioned for the first time as part of the probe.

He will be grilled again at the court in Palma on Saturday, the same day that Carlos Garcia Revenga, secretary to the king's daughters Elena and Cristina is set to be questioned in the case.

Revenga will be questioned about his role at the Noos Institute and "his possible work as an advisor" to Urdangarin, the court source said.

The palace has said it would keep Garcia in his post and would take no action until he goes before the judge.

Earlier this month the court said it would begin freezing assets belonging to Urdangarin and his former business partner after they missed a deadline to pay bail of 8.2 million euros ($11.1 million).

Since the bail was applied in a civil case the two will not go to jail for not paying the sum.

-AFP/ac

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David Cameron woos India with visa, education sops

MUMBAI: Clearly out to woo Indian businesses and students, British Prime Minister David Cameron on his visit to Mumbai on Monday announced that the UK would introduce same-day visa services for investors and that there would be no cap on the number of Indian students to UK or the duration of their residence there. Accompanied by the largest-ever trade delegation from the UK to any country, the PM also said India should continue to reduce trade barriers to create better opportunities for British companies and spoke of partnering in Indian infrastructure projects like a potential economic corridor between Mumbai and Bangalore.

The British premier said there were great opportunities for Indian companies to invest in Britain. "When I see Indian investment in Britian, I only see hope—investments like Jaguar and Land Rover, which is a massive international success story," he said. "We welcome that sort of investment." In a sign of the growing business footprint, British retail company Debenhams will open ten new stores across India by 2017, and UK hairstyling brands Brylcream and TRESemme products will go on sale in India. The Royal Mint and the MMTC-PAMP India have partnered to strike The Royal Mint's gold Sovereign commemorative coins in India for the first time in nearly a century. The InterContinental Hotel Group also plans to expand in India by building 13 new hotels over the next few years.

The delegation also explored soft power exchanges in health, education, culture and renewable energy. The British Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, chaired a round table on education and employability at St Xavier's College. On the sidelines of the event, he told mediapersons that they would meet officials of the human resource development ministry in Delhi to discuss the problems associated with recognition of the taught Masters' programmes in India. "The Indian government education bodies do not recognize the one-year taught Masters' degree from UK. Though getting a job in the private sector is easier with the degree, the government sector does not recognize it." Attributing this as one of the factors affecting the flow of Indian students to UK universities, one of the delegates also mentioned that a re-entry into the Indian education system after the one-year taught Masters programme was difficult with lack of recognition.

Cameron also sought information on various infrastructural initiatives in Mumbai, including the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, the Navi Mumbai airport and the Nhava-Sewri Link. Transport for London (TfL), which runs an extensive metro network in London, inked a crucial memorandum of understanding with MMRDA for the development of metro systems, exchange of expertise and information. The MOU was signed in the presence of Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who said the new partnership would help MMRDA implement and operationalize its plans for setting up a 150-km Metro rail network for Mumbai and another 300-km network in the Mumbai metropolitan region.

Chavan also used the occasion to push for investment. "Our vision is to transform Mumbai into a world-class metropolis, which is estimated to require investment worth US $ 40 billion. Participation of the UK business community will encourage us to plan more initiatives," he said, adding that Cameron had shown interest in investing in Mumbai and Maharashtra.

Trade between India and UK has grown by 23% in 2010-11, and both countries hope to double the figure by 2015. The British PM lauded the "enormous power" of the Indian economy and said he wanted UK to be "a partner of choice" in India's growth over the next decade. He hoped India too would work to break the barriers in their two-way exchanges. On their part, Indian entrepreneurs acknowledged that India had posed challenges with the uncertainty of its reform policy and the issue of retrospective taxation, but assured an optimistic outlook on future ties.

Cameron also stopped by the police gymkhana to pay tribute to the cops who lost their lives during the 26/11 terror attack.

New Indo-UK bridges

*Indian investors in UK could get a visa within a day.

*No cap on No. of Indian students who can study in the UK.

*Cameron evinced interest in constructing a Mumbai-Bangalore corridor as well as existing projects such as DMIC, Navi Mumbai Airport, Nhava-Sewri link.

*Transport for London (TfL) inked a crucial memorandum of understanding with MMRDA.

*The Royal Mint and the MMTC-PAMP India have partnered to strike The Royal Mint's gold Sovereign commemorative coins in India for the first time in nearly a century.

*UK government announced that it will support the creation of a new pan-India network of British Business Centres by 2017.

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Study: Better TV might improve kids' behavior

SEATTLE (AP) — Teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational TV can improve preschoolers' behavior, even without getting them to watch less, a study found.

The results were modest and faded over time, but may hold promise for finding ways to help young children avoid aggressive, violent behavior, the study authors and other doctors said.

"It's not just about turning off the television. It's about changing the channel. What children watch is as important as how much they watch," said lead author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute.

The research was to be published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics.

The study involved 565 Seattle parents, who periodically filled out TV-watching diaries and questionnaires measuring their child's behavior.

Half were coached for six months on getting their 3-to-5-year-old kids to watch shows like "Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer" rather than more violent programs like "Power Rangers." The results were compared with kids whose parents who got advice on healthy eating instead.

At six months, children in both groups showed improved behavior, but there was a little bit more improvement in the group that was coached on their TV watching.

By one year, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups overall. Low-income boys appeared to get the most short-term benefit.

"That's important because they are at the greatest risk, both for being perpetrators of aggression in real life, but also being victims of aggression," Christakis said.

The study has some flaws. The parents weren't told the purpose of the study, but the authors concede they probably figured it out and that might have affected the results.

Before the study, the children averaged about 1½ hours of TV, video and computer game watching a day, with violent content making up about a quarter of that time. By the end of the study, that increased by up to 10 minutes. Those in the TV coaching group increased their time with positive shows; the healthy eating group watched more violent TV.

Nancy Jensen, who took part with her now 6-year-old daughter, said the study was a wake-up call.

"I didn't realize how much Elizabeth was watching and how much she was watching on her own," she said.

Jensen said her daughter's behavior improved after making changes, and she continues to control what Elizabeth and her 2-year-old brother, Joe, watch. She also decided to replace most of Elizabeth's TV time with games, art and outdoor fun.

During a recent visit to their Seattle home, the children seemed more interested in playing with blocks and running around outside than watching TV.

Another researcher who was not involved in this study but also focuses his work on kids and television commended Christakis for taking a look at the influence of positive TV programs, instead of focusing on the impact of violent TV.

"I think it's fabulous that people are looking on the positive side. Because no one's going to stop watching TV, we have to have viable alternatives for kids," said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

___

Contact AP Writer Donna Blankinship through Twitter (at)dgblankinship

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Dr. Drew: McCready Was 'Fearful of Stigma'

Troubled country singer Mindy McCready was "devastated" after the January death of her boyfriend and "fearful of stigma and ridicule," according to Dr. Drew Pinsky, who treated her in 2009 on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew."

McCready died Sunday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at her Arkansas home, police said. She was 37.

The country singer who soared to the top of the charts with her debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," struggled with substance abuse, served time in jail and fought a lengthy battle with her mother over custody of her son.

The singer appeared on the third season of Dr. Drew's VH1 show. She is the fifth person who has appeared on the show to die.

"I am deeply saddened by this awful news," Dr. Drew said in a statement posted in a VH1 blog. "My heart goes out to Mindy's family and children. She is a lovely woman who will be missed by many."

Dr. Drew said that he had not treated McCready for a few years, but "reached out to her recently" after her boyfriend and father of one of her two children David Wilson, died in January of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"She was devastated. Although she was fearful of stigma and ridicule she agreed with me that she needed to make her health and safety a priority," Dr. Drew said. "Unfortunately it seems that Mindy did not sustain her treatment."

SEE PHOTOS: Notable Deaths in 2013

"Mental health issues can be life threatening and need to be treated with the same intensity and resources as any other dangerous potentially life threatening medical condition," the doctor's statement said. "Treatment is effective. If someone you know is suffering please be sure he or she gets help and maintains treatment."

Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images

Country Singer Mindy McCready Dead at Age 37 Watch Video

Mindy McCready Details Moment Cops Found Her, Son Watch Video

Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a report of gun shots fired at McCready's Heber Springs, Ark., home at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

There they found McCready on the front porch. She was pronounced dead at the scene from what appeared to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a statement from the sheriff's office.

Cleburne County Sheriff Marty Moss told the Associated Press that it appears that McCready killed Wilson's dog before apparently shooting herself. The dog's body was found next to McCready's body when authorities arrived, the AP reported.

Sheriff: McCready shot late boyfriend's dog before turning the gun on herself

When reached by phone today, the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office said the sheriff would be responding to questions later in the day.

RELATED: Mindy McCready: Police Take Son

McCready was ordered to enter rehab shortly after Wilson's death, and her two children, Zander, 6, and 9-month-old Zayne were taken from her. She was released after one day to undergo outpatient care.

McCready scored a number-one Billboard country hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time," but in recent years, the country crooner has received more media attention for her troubled personal life than her music.

McCready reportedly had a decade-long affair with baseball star Roger Clemens that began when she was a teen, the New York Daily News reported in 2008. Clemens' attorney at the time denied any improper relationship, but McCready discussed details of the relationship on television.

"This is sad news," Clemens said in a statement today, posted on the Houston Astros website. "I had heard over time that she was trying to get peace and direction in her life. The few times that I had met her and her manager/agent they were extremely nice."

She has been arrested multiple times on drug charges and probation violations and has been hospitalized for overdoses several times, including in 2010, when she was found unconscious at her mother's home after taking a painkiller and muscle relaxant.

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Pope, near abdication, says pray "for me and next pope"

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope, in his penultimate Sunday address to a crowded St. Peter's Square before becoming the first pontiff in centuries to resign.

The crowd chanted "Long live the pope!," waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window. The 85-year-old Benedict, who will abdicate on February 28, thanked them in several languages.

Speaking in Spanish, he told the crowd which the Vatican said numbered more than 50,000: "I beg you to continue praying for me and for the next pope".

It was not clear why the pope chose Spanish to make the only specific reference to his upcoming resignation in his Sunday address.

A number of cardinals have said they would be open to the possibility of a pope from the developing world, be it Latin America, Africa or Asia, as opposed to another from Europe, where the Church is crisis and polarized.

"I can imagine taking a step towards a black pope, an African pope or a Latin American pope," Cardinal Kurt Koch, a Swiss Vatican official who will enter the conclave to choose the next pope, told Reuters in an interview.

After his address, the pope retired into the Vatican's Apostolic Palace for a scheduled, week-long spiritual retreat and will not make any more public appearances until next Sunday.

Speaking in Italian in part of his address about Lent, the period when Christians reflect on their failings and seek guidance in prayer, the pope spoke of the difficulty of making important decisions.

"In decisive moments of life, or, on closer inspection, at every moment in life, we are at a crossroads: do we want to follow the ‘I', or God? The individual interest, or the real good, that which is really good?" he said.

FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH

The pope has said his physical and spiritual forces are no longer strong enough to sustain him in the job of leading the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics at a time of crisis for the Church in a fast-changing world.

Benedict's papacy was rocked by crises over the sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it.

His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over his rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was convicted of leaking his private papers.

Since his shock announcement last Monday, the pope has said several times that he made the difficult decision to become the first pope in more than six centuries to resign for the good of the Church. Aides said he was at peace with himself.

"In a funny way he is even more peaceful now with this decision, unlike the rest of us, he is not somebody who gets choked up really easily," said Greg Burke, a senior media advisor to the Vatican.

"I think that has a lot to do with his spiritual life and who he is and the fact he is such a prayerful man," Burke told Reuters Television.

People in the crowd said the pope was a shadow of the man he was when elected on April 19, 2005.

"Like always, recently, he seemed tired, moved, perplexed, uncertain and insecure," said Stefan Malabar, an Italian in St. Peter's Square.

"It's something that really has an effect on you because the pope should be a strong and authoritative figure but instead he seems very weak, and that really struck me," he said.

The Vatican has said the conclave to choose his successor could start earlier than originally expected, giving the Roman Catholic Church a new leader by mid-March.

Some 117 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter the secretive conclave which, according to Church rules, has to start between 15 and 20 days after the papacy becomes vacant, which it will on February 28.

But since the Church is now dealing with an announced resignation and not a sudden death, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican would be "interpreting" the law to see if it could start earlier.

CONSULTATIONS BEGUN

Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis.

The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected and then formally installed before Palm Sunday on March 24 so he can preside at Holy Week services leading to Easter.

New details emerged at the weekend about Benedict's health.

Peter Seewald, a German journalist who wrote a book with the pope in 2010 in which Benedict first floated the possibility of resigning, visited him again about 10 weeks ago.

"His hearing had deteriorated. He couldn't see with his left eye. His body had become so thin that the tailors had difficulty in keeping up with newly fitted clothes ... I'd never seen him so exhausted-looking, so worn down," Seewald said.

The pope will say one more Sunday noon prayer on February 24 and hold a final general audience on February 27.

The next day he will take a helicopter to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, where he will stay for around two months before moving to a convent inside the Vatican where he will live out his remaining years.

(Additional reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

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Tennis: Azarenka beats Serena to retain Qatar title

DOHA: Victoria Azarenka avenged the loss of her world number one ranking to Serena Williams by beating the American for only the second time in 13 attempts to successfully defend her Qatar Open title on Sunday.

The Belarusian's 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-3 win over the legendary American also completed back-to-back title defences, as last month she also defended the Australian Open title in Melbourne.

"I just wanted to fight and give it my best, and give myself every opportunity," said Azarenka, when asked how she recovered from the one-sided loss of the second set.

"I started at love-30 down and it was 'you have to keep it together and pull it around'. Serena was on a roll. I knew she would bring her A game, and I was really glad I could stay tough and focussed."

Williams, 31, insisted she will take comfort from becoming the oldest woman to take the world number one spot on Monday.

"I can't say that I'm depressed like I am whenever I lose. I'm definitely not happy, but I'm number one," she said.

"It was such a long journey, and after winning Wimbledon and the US Open and the (season-ending) Championships, I thought, I just don't think I can win anymore. I don't know what it takes to be number one.

"So it was awesome to come here and achieve that goal."

Azarenka was helped by Williams making the worst of starts. She was twice break point down in her opening service game, but held on. She followed it with two double faults and two unforced errors to drop serve in her second service game.

Unforced errors continued to spray from Williams' racket, especially on the forehand, and by the fourth game she was showing signs of fretting, looking repeatedly at her camp and grimacing.

At that stage Azarenka had won 12 straight points and was hitting the ball well, with a clear game plan to strike as early and as far up the court as possible, often targeting the Williams forehand. Williams responded by ditching her racket.

The new one soon brought improvements but Azarenka had advanced to 4-2 before Williams broke back. She also complained to the umpire about Azarenka repeatedly putting her hand up before receiving serve, affecting her rhythm.

Williams' aura of frustration continued into the tie-break even though by then she was bombarding Azarenka far more heavily.

She came from 2-5 down to earn a set point at 6-5, only for Azarenka to save it with an excellent combination of a solid return and a heavy backhand drive.

When Azarenka immediately bettered it with a spectacular inside-out return of serve winner to reach 7-6, she converted her set point at once.

But the second set was very different. Azarenka's level dropped just a little, and Williams' forehand drives were rapidly improving.

Williams gave Azarenka several looks at second serves in her first service game of the final set and was immediately punished by the defending champion hitting some forcing returns and trenchant winners.

Azarenka advanced to 3-0 before Williams responded to another threat to her service game -- one which might have taken the match away from her -- with four aces.

But Williams was unable to repeat the escape act that she had against Petra Kvitova from 1-4 down in the final set of their quarter-final on Friday.

"It's been great," Williams nevertheless commented, having achieved her main aim of the week. "

It was a good match overall. Victoria played really well, and did a great job."

-AFP/ac

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