US pledges US$60m for Syria opposition

ROME: The United States on Thursday pledged US$60 million in "non-lethal" assistance for the Syrian political opposition to President Bashar al-Assad as well as the first direct US aid to rebel fighters in the form of food and medical assistance.

"The US will be providing an additional US$60 million in non-lethal assistance to support the efforts of the Syrian opposition coalition over the coming months," US Secretary of State John Kerry said after talks between the 11-nation Friends of Syria and the opposition in Rome.

"We will be sending medical supplies and food to the (rebel) Supreme Military Council, so there will be direct assistance," he added.

"All Syrians... must know that they can have a future," Kerry said.

A State Department official said the US$60 million (49 million euros) in aid would be used to help local councils and communities in liberated areas in Syria, to provide basic goods and services and "fulfil administrative functions including security, sanitation and education services."

The official said the new money was in addition to US$50 million in non-lethal support Washington has already provided to help Syrian opposition activists, including communications equipment.

That aid was provided through Turkey, while the United States has also contributed some US$380 million dollars in humanitarian aid through UN agencies and aid groups.

Asked about congressional approval of the funding, Kerry told journalists he was "very confident for rapid delivery".

He said the goal was to give a boost to the opposition and show Assad that he could not use violence to resolve the conflict.

"This is the beginning of the process that will change (Assad's) calculation."

The announcement of aid came as news broke of a car bomb explosion in a suburb of the flashpoint city of Homs that left "dead and wounded", according to state news agency SANA, which blamed "terrorists" for the blast.

Kerry had earlier met for about an hour with opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib at the 16th-century Villa Madama on a hilltop above Rome.

The Rome talks come two days before an important meeting of the main opposition National Coalition on Saturday in Istanbul, where the umbrella group is to elect a prime minister and government to run parts of Syria seized from Assad's control.

A watchdog reported, meanwhile, that rebels had seized control of the Umayyad Mosque in the second city of Aleppo after days of fierce clashes that damaged the historic building.

Regime troops were forced to withdraw at dawn, taking up positions in buildings around the landmark structure, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Officials from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates took part in the Rome talks, as well as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

The Syrian opposition -- which initially vowed a boycott -- had been lured back to the meeting after the US and Britain promised specific offers of help.

In Paris on Wednesday, Kerry said he wanted to hear from Khatib about how best to end the violence in Syria, where the United Nations says at least 70,000 have died and hundreds of thousands have been uprooted since the conflict broke out in March 2011.

US media including The New York Times and Washington Post have reported that the "non-lethal" aid to be provided to the opposition could include equipment such as vehicles, communications gear and night-vision goggles.

The New York Times also reported that a US mission training rebels at a base in the region was already under way.

Russia, Assad's most powerful supporter, has kept up pressure for the two sides in the Syrian conflict to sit down for negotiations.

In Moscow, French President Francois Hollande said ahead of a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that a political solution to the Syrian crisis was possible within weeks.

"I think that in the next few weeks we will manage to find a political solution that will stop the conflict from escalating," Hollande told Echo of Moscow radio station in comments translated into Russian.

Hollande stressed Russia's key role as a member of the UN Security Council, where it has vetoed resolutions that would have put pressure on Assad to end hostilities.

"We must finally start the process of political dialogue that has not yet started on the territory of Syria."

"President Putin and I both understand all the seriousness of the situation. And even though our positions at the moment differ, we want to find the best solution for Syria."

- AFP/xq

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Left returns to power in Tripura for 5th consecutive time; Congress retains Meghalaya

AGARTALA: The Left Front in Tripura today retained power for the fifth consecutive time since 1993 with the coalition securing a three-fourths majority by winning 50 of the 60 Assembly seats.

While CPM, which contested in 55 seats, secured win in 49 seats, coalition partner CPI won one seat of the two it had contested. However, RSP which fought in two seats and Forward Bloc in one, failed to open their accounts.

The Left Front also increased its tally from 49 seats in 2008 and 42 seats in 2003, paving the way for the seventh Left Front government since 1978 in the Northeast state.

The Congress managed to retain 10 seats of the 48 in which it had contested, while allies Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura and National Conference of Tripura were unable to win a single seat. The INPT and the NCT had contested in 10 and one seats, respectively.

All ministers of the outgoing ministry except science and technology minister Joy Gobinda Debroy of RSP were re-elected.

Chief minister Manik Sarkar won from the Dhanpur constituency where he defeated his nearest rival -- Congress' Shah Alam -- by 6,017 votes. Sarkar had won by 4,000 votes in the last Assembly elections.

Finance minister Badal Chowdhury made electoral history by defeating his nearest rival, a Congress candidate, by 12,429 votes in the Hrishyamukh constituency.

Other prominent Front leaders who won are Agriculture Minister Aghore Debbarma (Asharambari constituency), Industries Minister Jitendra Chowdhury (Manu) and Jail Minister Manindra Reang (Shantirbazar; ST).

Among Congress winners were Leader of the Opposition Ratan Lal Nath (Mohanpur constituency) and TPCC President Sudip Roy Burman (Agartala).

INPT president Bijoy Hrankhawl (Ambassa) and former TPCC president Surajit Dutta (Ramnagar) were among prominent candidates who lost in electoral battle.

CPM state party secretary Bijan Dhar said: "It is a victory of the people of the state, and a victory of peace and development and good governance of the sixth Left Front government."

Leader of the opposition Ratan Lal Nath said, "We accept defeat and will review the causes for it.

Nagaland for NPF and Congress wins Meghalaya

The Left Front stormed back to power in Tripura and the Naga People's Front (NPF) in Nagaland, while the Congress, which fared poorly in both states, emerged as the single largest party in Meghalaya with two seats short of absolute majority in the assembly election results declared today.

The three outgoing chief ministers of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, Manik Sarkar, Neiphu Rio and Mukul Sangma respectively were victorious.

The Left Front, which has won for the fifth consecutive term in Tripura, secured a three fourths majority with 50 of the 60 seats, with major partner CPM itself securing 49.

In Nagaland, NPF swept back to power for the third consecutive time winning absolute majority securing 38 of the 59 seats. Election in one seat was countermanded following the death of a candidate.

Congress could win only 10 of the 48 seats it contested in Tripura while it could manage to win only eight seats compared to the 18 it clinched last time in Nagaland.

In Meghalaya, the Congress bagged 29 of the 60 seats, falling two short of an absolute majority.

But the Congress improved its tally by securing four more than its tally in 2008.

The results were a shot in the arm of Congress chief minister Mukul Sangma who faced stiff opposition from old warhorse P A Sangma whose National People's Party managed to win just two seats.

In Tripura, the Left Front increased its tally from 49 seats in 2008 and 42 seats in 2003 paving the way for the installation of the seventh Left Front government since 1967.

Congress allies INPT and National Conference of Tripura, which had virtually revolted over allocation of seats before being pacified, drew a blank.

All ministers of the outgoing ministry except Science and Technology minister Joy Gobinda Debroy of RSP were re-elected.

Finance minister Badal Chowdhury made electoral history by defeating his nearest Congress rival by 12,429 votes in the Hrishyamukh constituency.

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Medicare paid $5.1B for poor nursing home care

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Medicare paid billions in taxpayer dollars to nursing homes nationwide that were not meeting basic requirements to look after their residents, government investigators have found.

The report, released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general, said Medicare paid about $5.1 billion for patients to stay in skilled nursing facilities that failed to meet federal quality of care rules in 2009, in some cases resulting in dangerous and neglectful conditions.

One out of every three times patients wound up in nursing homes that year, they landed in facilities that failed to follow basic care requirements laid out by the federal agency that administers Medicare, investigators estimated.

By law, nursing homes need to write up care plans specially tailored for each resident, so doctors, nurses, therapists and all other caregivers are on the same page about how to help residents reach the highest possible levels of physical, mental and psychological well-being.

Not only are residents often going without the crucial help they need, but the government could be spending taxpayer money on facilities that could endanger people's health, the report concluded. The findings come as concerns about health care quality and cost are garnering heightened attention as the Obama administration implements the nation's sweeping health care overhaul.

"These findings raise concerns about what Medicare is paying for," the report said.

Investigators estimate that in one out of five stays, patients' health problems weren't addressed in the care plans, falling far short of government directives. For example, one home made no plans to monitor a patient's use of two anti-psychotic drugs and one depression medication, even though the drugs could have serious side effects.

In other cases, residents got therapy they didn't need, which the report said was in the nursing homes' financial interest because they would be reimbursed at a higher rate by Medicare.

In one example, a patient kept getting physical and occupational therapy even though the care plan said all the health goals had been met, the report said.

The Office of Inspector General's report was based on medical records from 190 patient visits to nursing homes in 42 states that lasted at least three weeks, which investigators said gave them a statistically valid sample of Medicare beneficiaries' experiences in skilled nursing facilities.

That sample represents about 1.1 million patient visits to nursing homes nationwide in 2009, the most recent year for which data was available, according to the review.

Overall, the review raises questions about whether the system is allowing homes to get paid for poor quality services that may be harming residents, investigators said, and recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services tie payments to homes' abilities to meet basic care requirements. The report also recommended that the agency strengthen its regulations and ramp up its oversight. The review did not name individual homes, nor did it estimate the number of patients who had been mistreated, but instead looked at the overall number of stays in which problems arose.

In response, the agency agreed that it should consider tying Medicare reimbursements to homes' provision of good care. CMS also said in written comments that it is reviewing its own regulations to improve enforcement at the homes.

"Medicare has made significant changes to the way we pay providers thanks to the health care law, to reward better quality care," Medicare spokesman Brian Cook said in a statement to AP. "We are taking steps to make sure these facilities have the resources to improve the quality of their care, and make sure Medicare is paying for the quality of care that beneficiaries are entitled to."

CMS hires state-level agencies to survey the homes and make sure they are complying with federal law, and can require correction plans, deny payment or end a contract with a home if major deficiencies come to light. The agency also said it would follow up on potential enforcement at the homes featured in the report.

Greg Crist, a Washington-based spokeswoman for the American Health Care Association, which represents the largest share of skilled nursing facilities nationwide, said overall nursing home operators are well regulated and follow federal guidelines but added that he could not fully comment on the report's conclusions without having had the chance to read it.

"Our members begin every treatment with the individual's personal health needs at the forefront. This is a hands-on process, involving doctors and even family members in an effort to enhance the health outcome of the patient," Crist said.

Virginia Fichera, who has relatives in two nursing homes in New York, said she would welcome a greater push for accountability at skilled nursing facilities.

"Once you're in a nursing home, if things don't go right, you're really a prisoner," said Fichera, a retired professor in Sterling, NY. "As a concerned relative, you just want to know the care is good, and if there are problems, why they are happening and when they'll be fixed."

Once residents are ready to go back home or transfer to another facility, federal law also requires that the homes write special plans to make sure patients are safely discharged.

Investigators found the homes didn't always do what was needed to ensure a smooth transition.

In nearly one-third of cases, facilities also did not provide enough information when the patient moved to another setting, the report found.

___

On the Web:

The OIG report: http://1.usa.gov/VaztQm

The Medicare nursing home database: http://www.medicare.gov/NursingHomeCompare/search.aspx?bhcp=1&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

___

Follow Garance Burke on Twitter at —http://twitter.com/garanceburke.

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Why Should We Care? The Politics of Picking a Pope

Feb 28, 2013 9:34am

                             (Image Credit: L’Osservatore Romano/Vatican/Getty Images)

ANALYSIS

VATICAN CITY – In a U.S presidential campaign, the New Hampshire primary is thought of as “retail politics,” where the candidates actually get to meet and have contact with real voters.

That’s Walmart, compared to a Vatican conclave. This process is more of a boutique.

READ MORE: Benedict XVI Begins Final Day as Pope

All the voters and all the viable candidates can fit into one room. In some cases, they have known each other – or known “of” each other – for years. In some cases, they have worked with (or against) each other in the daily management of the church.

It’s not just the fancy costumes, the churchly rituals or the sweep of history that makes this process so fascinating. There’s also the sheer human drama of it all.

VIDEO: Pope Benedict’s Last Sunday Prayer Service

For the 115 men planning to take part in the conclave to elect a pope, all of whom have devoted their lives to the Catholic church, this choice might well be the most important contribution they make. A lifetime of service reduced to a single election.

It’s also crucial for the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

The new pope will set the tone of the institution on issues of life and death: abortion, birth control, genetic medicine, euthanasia and more.

He’ll frame the church’s role in the moral debate about the way we live our lives, as individuals and as families. Divorce, gay rights, adoption, education, the role of women (not least in the church) are all areas in which previous pope’s have exerted tremendous influence.

He’ll instantly be the most powerful spiritual leader in the world, a global ambassador for Christian values (however he and the rest of the church interpret that mandate).

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Will he be able to win over a wayward flock? Many have left the church, bitterly disappointed by the betrayal of pedophile priests, the mismanagement of arrogant administrators or even what they perceive as the institution’s irrelevance in the modern era.

At its best, the church is a voice of compassion and social justice. But it has also, at times, been a voice of intolerance, as well as a bastion of the status quo.

On one level, this is local politics. Each voting cardinal – even the ones who live thousands of miles away – has a titular church, an actual church here in Rome assigned to them where they officially serve as the pastor. So the conclave represents the Roman clergy’s electing the next Bishop of Rome.

At another level, it’s global. Prelates from 50 countries do their best to discern (through the guidance of the Holy Spirit) how to make the universal church thrive in a new millennium.

Win or lose in a presidential election, we all know it’ll start all over again in four years’ time. There are checks and balances too, so, for better or worse, “change” tends to be largely a campaign slogan.

It would be sheer exaggeration to say any presidential contest were a battle for the soul of the United States.

But in a very real way that’s what this process is for the world’s largest church.

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Portugal seizes 79 tonnes of meat containing horse

LISBON: Portuguese authorities said they had launched fraud proceedings after seizing 79 tonnes of wholesale food and thousands of packaged meals that contained horsemeat despite not being labelled with it.

The 79 tonnes of "meat and meat-based products" were seized in plants that processed, packaged and distributed meat to supermarkets, the government's Economic and Food Safety Authority said in a statement.

Authorities also seized nearly 19,000 packets of food "such as lasagne, hamburgers, canneloni and meatballs" in retail and distribution outlets, said the statement published on Tuesday.

Five criminal cases of fraud were opened over the seizures, it added, without giving further derails.

A vast food scandal has erupted across Europe after horsemeat was found in supposedly beef ready-made meals and burgers in Britain and Ireland.

Among various companies implicated in the scandal, Swiss food giant Nestle last week withdrew dishes destined for restaurants in Portugal, Spain and Italy.

- AFP/xq

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India silent over US-backed resolution against Lanka at UN rights body

NEW DELHI: India is not ready to reveal its hand on the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). And, the radio silence is all for a good reason.

Despite the loud support by DMK and AIADMK members in the Rajya Sabha for the resolution on Wednesday, there is discomfort within the Indian government regarding the document's fine print. Sources said recommendations in the resolution are "intrusive", which would be unacceptable for India.

However, India will continue to push Sri Lanka to devolve more power to the Tamil areas, as part of the promise of the 13th amendment. Colombo maintains that most of the amendment has been implemented, but they wanted to "adjust" some of what was left to work on. The government has set up a select committee, but the Tamil parties have refused to be part of it.

Although the text of the resolution has not yet been made public, it is believed that the US resolution calls for an international committee to monitor that justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation are implemented by the Lankan government. India would much rather like that issues of accountability are kept as sovereign responsibility of a nation and not imposed from outside. Like China, India is opposed to externally imposed solutions on countries.

Foreign minister Salman Khurshid remained non-committal on how India would vote at the UN body. He told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that while the recent photographs of Prabhakaran's son's death were "very sad, very moving, very tragic" and "that is the reason we have engaged with Sri Lanka". This accountability, he said, should come from within, rather than from outside. "When accountability comes from within, there is a greater chance of sustainability," he added.

India has more problems with the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. Her report, which the US has said it will support, calls for an "independent, international inquiry" into the Lankan actions during the concluding phase of the war against the LTTE. The report also calls for investigations of "violations" of international law. In addition, India is uncomfortable with the idea of special rapporteurs being appointed to visit Sri Lanka, fearing that at some stage it could come back to bite New Delhi.

"Our initiative is to find a solution... go beyond pain and anger. We want a sustainable settlement to the issues in Sri Lanka. "There is no question of our having a blinkered vision of the ground situation," Khurshid said.

Traditionally, India did not support country-specific resolutions, though New Delhi went against its own unwritten rule to vote against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC last year. Second, there is a strong opinion in the government that the US resolution is basically going after an easy target. "There is no accountability sought in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, where there was significant violations of international law," said sources.

Quietly, the government is also wary of fanning the flames of ethnic nationalism among the Tamils again, given the dangers of that operating in India as well. In the past year, Tamil Nadu has seen violence against Lankan tourists and pilgrims which has got the Centre worried.

Human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch (HRW) have documented horrific tales of rape and torture of Sri Lankan Tamil detainees who have told their stories after fleeing from the country. This is in addition to the film, No Fire Zone by Callum McCrae, which showed disturbing visuals of Prabhakaran's son's last hours.

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Vt. lye victim gets new face at Boston hospital

BOSTON (AP) — A Vermont woman whose face was disfigured in a lye attack has received a face transplant.

Doctors at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital say 44-year-old Carmen Blandin Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier this month.

A team worked 15 hours to transplant the facial skin, including the neck, nose, lips, facial muscles, arteries and nerves.

The 44-year-old Tarleton, of Thetford, Vt., was attacked by her former husband in 2007. He doused her with industrial strength lye. She suffered chemical burns over 80 percent of her body. The mother of two wrote a book about her experience that describes her recovery.

It was the fifth face transplant at the Boston hospital.

Physicians are planning to discuss the case Wednesday at the hospital.

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Pope Thanks Crowd in Final Address

On his final full day as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI thanked a huge crowd for respecting his historic decision to step down and told them that God will continue to guide the church.

"The decision I have made, after much prayer, is the fruit of a serene trust in God's will and a deep love of Christ's Church," Benedict said to cheers in his last public words as pope.

Benedict, 85, is the first pope to resign in 600 years. He told the crowd today that he was "deeply grateful for the understanding, support and prayers of so many of you, not only here in Rome, but also throughout the world."

Pope Benedict's Last Sunday Prayer Service

Under sunny skies on this late February day, hundreds of thousands of people, some waving flags, some banners, flocked to Vatican City to see Benedict make a final lap around St. Peter's Square. Throughout his eight-year papacy, Benedict has conducted a weekly audience from St. Peter's. Before delivering his last papal address today, Benedict waved to the festive group of supporters as he toured the square in his glass-encased popemobile.

The city of Rome planned for more than 200,000 people to head to the Vatican for today's event. Streets around St. Peter's were blocked off to cars as pedestrians from around the world headed to the square.

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Papal Appearance: Faithful Flock to Saint Peter's Square Watch Video

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The conclave to elect Benedict's replacement will start next month at a date yet to be determined. Benedict issued a decree known as a "motu poprio" that will allow cardinals to convene the conclave sooner than the March 15 date that would have been mandated under the old rules.

Benedict today asked the faithful to pray for him and for the new pope.

"My heart is filled with thanksgiving to God who ever watches over his church," Benedict said.

The German-born Benedict, who had appeared frail at times in recent months, seemed more energized in his remarks today. He has said he will devote more time to prayer and meditation after he leaves the papacy.

Benedict will meet Thursday with his cardinals in the morning and then flies by helicopter at 5 p.m. to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome. Benedict will greet parishioners there from the palazzo's balcony, his final public act as pope.

Then, at 8 p.m., the exact time at which his retirement becomes official, the Swiss Guards standing outside the doors of the palazzo at Castel Gandolfo will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church finished.

In retirement, Benedict will continue to wear white and will be called "Pope Emeritus," or the "Supreme Roman Pontiff Emeritus" or "Your Holiness," the Vatican announced Tuesday. Benedict will ditch his trademark red shoes, opting for a pair of brown shoes given to him on a trip to Mexico. But he will still reside on Vatican grounds in a former nunnery.

Benedict's final days as pope have been marked by controversy. For nearly a week now Italian newspapers speculated that Benedict really resigned because of a dossier he was given detailing a sex and blackmail scandal in the Catholic Church. The Italian media news reports do not state any attribution.

It turns out a dossier does exist. The Vatican spokesman Monday underscored that the contents of the dossier are known only to the pope and his investigators, three elderly prelates whom the Italian papers have nicknamed "the 007 cardinals."

But the dossier itself will remain "For the Pope's Eyes Only."

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Italy faces post-vote stalemate, spooking investors

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian stock market fell and state borrowing costs rose on Tuesday as investors took fright at political deadlock after a stunning election that saw a comedian's protest party lead the poll and no group secure a clear majority in parliament.

"The winner is: Ingovernability" ran the headline in Rome newspaper Il Messaggero, reflecting the stalemate the country would have to confront in the next few weeks as sworn enemies would be forced to work together to form a government.

In a sign of where that might lead, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi indicated his center-right might be open to a grand coalition with the center-left bloc of Pier Luigi Bersani, which will have a majority in the lower house thanks to a premium of seats given to the largest bloc in the chamber.

Results in the upper house, the Senate, where seats are awarded on a region-by-region basis, indicated the center-left would end up with about 119 seats, compared with 117 for the center-right. But 158 are needed for a majority to govern.

Any coalition administration that may be formed must have a working majority in both houses in order to pass legislation.

Comedian Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement won the most votes of any single party, taking 25 percent. He shows no immediate inclination to cooperate with other groups.

Despite talk of a new election, the main established parties seem likely to try to avoid that, fearing even more humiliation.

World financial markets reacted nervously to the prospect of a stalemate in the euro zone's third largest economy with memories still fresh of the crisis that took the 17-member currency bloc to the brink of collapse in 2011.

In a clear sign of worry at the top over what effect the elections could have on the economy, Prime Minister Mario Monti, whose austerity policies were repudiated by voters, called a meeting with the governor of the central bank, the economy minister and the European affairs minister for later on Tuesday.

Other governments in the euro zone sounded uneasy. Allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel made no secret of disappointment at Monti's debacle and urged Rome to continue with economic reforms Berlin sees as vital to stabilizing the common currency.

France's Socialist finance minister also expressed "worry" at the prospect of legislative deadlock in Italy but said that Italians had rejected austerity and hoped Bersani's center-left could form a stable government to help foster growth in Europe.

INSTABILITY

Fabio Fois, an economist at Barclays bank, said: "Political instability is likely to prevail in the near term and slow the implementation of much needed structural reforms unless a grand coalition among center-left, center-right and center is formed."

Berlusconi, a media magnate whose campaigning all but wiped out Bersani's once commanding opinion poll lead, hinted in a telephone call to a morning television show that he would be open to a deal with the center-left - but not with Monti, the technocrat summoned to replace him in a crisis 15 months ago.

"Italy must be governed," Berlusconi said, adding that he "must reflect" on a possible deal with the center-left. "Everyone must be prepared to make sacrifices," he said of the groups which now have a share of the legislature.

The Milan bourse was down more than four percent and the premium Italy pays over Germany to borrow on 10-year widened to a yield spread of 338.7 basis points, the highest since December 10.

At an auction of six-month Treasury bills, the government's borrowing costs shot up by more than two thirds. Investors demanded a yield of 1.237 percent, the highest since October and compared to just 0.730 percent in a similar sale a month ago.

Berlusconi, who was forced from office in November 2011 as borrowing costs approached levels investors feared would become unsustainable, said he was "not worried" about market reaction to the election and played down the significance of the spread.

The poor showing by Monti's centrist bloc reflected a weariness with austerity that was exploited by both Berlusconi and Grillo; only with the help of center-left allies did Bersani beat 5-Star, by just 125,000 votes, to control the lower house.

The worries immediately went beyond Italy's borders.

"What is crucial now is that a stable functioning government can be built as swiftly as possible," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. "This is not only in the interests of Italy but in the interests of all Europe."

The euro skidded to an almost seven-week low against the dollar in Asia on fears about the euro zone's debt crisis. It fell as far as $1.3042, its lowest since January 10.

"NON-PARTY" SURGES TO THE TOP

Commentators said all Grillo's adversaries underestimated the appeal of a grassroots movement that called itself a "non-party", particularly its allure among young Italians who find themselves without jobs and the prospect of a decent future.

The 5-star Movement's score of 25.5 percent in the lower house was just ahead of the 25.4 percent for Bersani's Democratic Party, which ran in a coalition with the leftist SEL party, and it won almost 8.7 million votes overall - more than any other single party.

"The 'non-party' has become the largest party in the country," said Massimo Giannini, commentator for Rome newspaper La Repubblica, of Grillo, who mixes fierce attacks on corruption with policies ranging from clean energy to free Internet.

Grillo's surge in the final weeks of the campaign threw the race open, with hundreds of thousands turning up at his rallies to hear him lay into targets ranging from corrupt politicians and bankers to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In just three years, his 5-Star Movement, heavily backed by a frustrated generation of young Italians increasingly shut out from permanent full-time jobs, has grown from a marginal group to one of the most talked about political forces in Europe.

RECESSION

"It's a classic result. Typically Italian," said Roberta Federica, a 36-year-old office worker in Rome. "It means the country is not united. It is an expression of a country that does not work. I knew this would happen."

Italy's borrowing costs have come down in recent months, helped by the promise of European Central Bank support but the election result confirmed fears of many European countries that it would not produce a government strong enough to implement effective reforms.

A long recession and growing disillusionment with mainstream parties fed a bitter public mood that saw more than half of Italian voters back parties that rejected the austerity policies pursued by Monti with the backing of Italy's European partners.

Monti suffered a major setback. His centrist grouping won only 10.6 percent and two of his key centrist allies, Pier Ferdinando Casini and lower house speaker Gianfranco Fini, both of parliamentarians for decades, were booted out.

"It's not that surprising if you consider how much people were let down by politics in its traditional forms," Monti said.

Berlusconi's campaign, mixing sweeping tax cut pledges with relentless attacks on Monti and Merkel, echoed many of the themes pushed by Grillo and underlined the increasingly angry mood of the Italian electorate.

Even if the next government turns away from the tax hikes and spending cuts brought in by Monti, it will struggle to revive an economy that has scarcely grown in two decades.

Monti was widely credited with tightening Italy's public finances and restoring its international credibility after the scandal-plagued Berlusconi, who is currently on trial for having sex with an under-age prostitute.

But Monti struggled to pass the kind of structural reforms needed to improve competitiveness and lay the foundations for a return to economic growth, and a weak center-left government may not find it any easier.

(Additional reporting by Barry Moody, Gavin Jones, Catherine Hornby, Lisa Jucca, Steven Jewkes, Steve Scherer and Naomi O'Leary; Writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

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Impact of China's demand for iron ore on shipping industry

SINGAPORE : China's appetite for iron ore may be among the few bright spots for the shipping industry this year, although there are still many empty vessels plying the waterways.

Analysts have said that those unable to wait out the recovery are likely to go under.

After years of low freight rates, overcapacity and few cargoes, dry bulk shipping firms are finally seeing the light on the horizon.

Credit Suisse predicts China's appetite for iron ore will grow 11 per cent this year, fuelling a pick-up for shippers.

Credit Suisse expects this to spur global commodity demand to 5.3 per cent, from 4.8 per cent last year.

Mercator Lines (Singapore) believes 2013 may be a turning point.

During its third quarter, the dry bulk shipping company was forced to lower its debt by selling one vessel, and terminating settlement agreements with two of its chartered vessels in advance.

Shalabh Mittal, CEO of Mercator Lines (Singapore), said: "We have seen the worst in 2012. 2013 will be more of consolidation...We have already seen the current freight rates are better than 2012's average. So even though it is a very small increase from a very small base, the sentiments reflect that the growth in trade is happening."

But that does not mean a quick turnaround for the global market.

Industry watchers expect overcapacity rates to remain high.

ICAP Shipping said there is still an oversupply of about 16 per cent in the dry cargo market.

Christopher Jones, director of Sale & Purchase at ICAP Shipping, said: "This year, we do not see too much of an improvement. One of the key factors is the oversupply of tonnage in all sectors.

"Freight rates are still lolloping and we seize on any kind of upturn, but analysing ore trades into China for example, they are very slack at the moment because of the high price of iron ore."

ICAP Shipping added that unless more older vessels exit the market by 'scrapping', or the demolition of old ships, market fundamentals are not going to return to equilibrium anytime soon.

Meanwhile, others unable to hold out will either have to fold or find a more profitable business to operate in, like oil and gas.

Patrik Wheater, editor of Shipping World & Shipbuilder, said: "We are seeing a lot of diversification in the shipbuilding side. Shipyards, either building bulk carriers, tankers, that market is not as good as it once was, so they need to diversify and look at other segments and the oil and gas segment is a saving grace for some yards.

"Although last year 900 Chinese shipyards closed, more shipyards are likely to close in China this year."

So far in 2013, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), the key benchmark for international freight rates, has risen 6.4 per cent, a minor recovery at least, from last year's near 60 per cent slump.

- CNA/ms

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