Euro surges to 14-month high, Fed decision awaited

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro hit its highest level in over a year on Wednesday and shares, oil and metals were also on the rise, as confidence in the global economic outlook strengthened ahead of European data and the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy decision.

The Fed is expected to maintain asset buying at $85 billion a month when it concludes its meeting later and retain its commitment to hold interest rates near zero until unemployment falls to at least 6.5 percent.

European economic confidence data for January at 1000 GMT, ECB crisis loan repayments and Italy's sale of five and 10-year bonds will absorb most of investors' attention before then, as they look for further evidence of a pick-up in the region.

Share markets in London <.ftse>, Paris <.fchi> and Frankfurt <.gdaxi> opened little changed ahead of the data, leaving all eyes on a rally by the euro as it broke above $1.35 for the first time since December 2011.

Alongside the recent rebound in confidence in the euro zone, one of the drivers behind the recent spike has been the eagerness of banks to repay the crisis loans they took from the European Central Bank just over a year ago.

"It (the euro rise) is just a carry on with the current trend, risk is pretty healthy and equities are doing well," said Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi strategist Derek Halpenny.

"The danger is European policymakers allow a spike (in euro and market rates) as a result of a removal of one of the principle support measures ... With the Fed and the BOJ still easing the euro is clearly the path of least resistance."

An earlier rise in Asian equities meant the MSCI world share index <.miwd00000pus> was up 0.2 percent at a new 21-month high as European trading gathered pace. U.S. stock futures suggested a cautious start on Wall Street.

Strong U.S. housing data on Tuesday and China's promising economic growth forecast for 2013 also supported the upbeat mood and raised expectations for robust demand for fuel and industrial commodities, underpinning oil prices and lifting copper.

In the bond market, German Bund futures opened lower as investors made room for a sale of long-dated German paper and braced for solid demand at an Italian debt auction.

Italy will offer up to 6.5 billion euros of bonds maturing in 2017 and 2022. Traders expect the sale to benefit from yield-hungry investors but flagged the risk of indigestion after a bout of buying in recent months that triggered a sharp rally.

"(The auction) probably (goes) alright but I don't think it trades well afterwards," one trader said.

(Additional reporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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A-Rod implicated in PED use again as MLB probes

NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez is in the middle of Major League Baseball's latest doping investigation after an alternative weekly newspaper reported baseball's highest-paid star was among the big leaguers listed in the records of a Florida clinic the paper said sold performance-enhancing drugs.

The Miami New Times said Tuesday that the three-time AL MVP bought human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing substances during 2009-12 from Biogenesis of America LLC, a now-closed anti-aging clinic in Coral Cables, Fla., near Rodriguez's offseason home.

The new public relations firm for the New York Yankees third baseman issued a statement denying the allegations.

New Times said it obtained records detailing purchases by Rodriguez, 2012 All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera, 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon and 2011 AL championship series MVP Nelson Cruz of Texas.

Cabrera left San Francisco after the season to sign with Toronto, while Oakland re-signed Colon.

Other baseball players the newspaper said appeared in the records include Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who finished third in last year's NL Cy Young Award voting, and San Diego catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Biogenesis, which the New Times said was run by Anthony Bosch, was located in a beige, nondescript office park. The former clinic is no longer listed as a business in its directory,

"There was a flier put out by the building management a couple weeks ago. It was put on all the doors and windows of all the offices," said Brad Nickel, who works in a cruise planning company on the floor above where the clinic was located. "It just said this guy's not really a doctor, he doesn't belong here, he's no longer allowed here, call the police or the building management if you see him."

The New Times posted copies of what it said were Bosch's handwritten records, obtained through a former Biogenesis employee it did not identify.

Bosch's lawyer, Susy Ribero-Ayala, said in a statement the New Times report "is filled with inaccuracies, innuendo and misstatements of fact."

"Mr. Bosch vehemently denies the assertions that MLB players such as Alex Rodriguez and Gio Gonzalez were treated by or associated with him," she said.

Rodriguez appears 16 times in the documents New Times received, the paper said, either as "Alex Rodriguez," ''Alex Rod" or the nickname "Cacique," a pre-Columbian Caribbean chief.

Rodriguez admitted four years ago that he used PEDs from 2001-03. Cabrera, Colon and Grandal were suspended for 50 games each last year by MLB following tests for elevated testosterone. Responding to the testosterone use, MLB and the players' union said Jan. 10 they were authorizing the World Anti-Doping Agency laboratory outside Montreal to store each major leaguer's baseline testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio in order to detect abnormalities.

"We are always extremely disappointed to learn of potential links between players and the use of performance-enhancing substances," MLB said in a statement. "Only law enforcement officials have the capacity to reach those outside the game who are involved in the distribution of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. ... We are in the midst of an active investigation and are gathering and reviewing information."

A baseball official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements, said Monday that MLB did not have any documentation regarding the allegations. If MLB does obtain evidence, the players could be subject to discipline. First offenses result in a 50-game suspension and second infractions in 100-game penalties. A third violation results in a lifetime ban.

Rodriguez is sidelined for at least the first half of the season after hip surgery Jan. 16. A 50-game suspension would cost him $7.65 million of his $28 million salary.

"The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true," Rodriguez said in a statement issued by a publicist. "He was not Mr. Bosch's patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story — at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez — are not legitimate."

Jay Reisinger, a lawyer who has represented Rodriguez in recent years, said the three-time AL MVP had retained Roy Black, an attorney from Rodriguez's hometown of Miami. Black's clients have included Rush Limbaugh and William Kennedy Smith.

Bosch did not return a phone message seeking comment.

MLB hopes to gain the cooperation of Bosch and others connected with the clinic, another baseball official said, also on condition of anonymity because no public statements on the matter were authorized. In order to successfully discipline players based on the records, witnesses would be needed to authenticate them, the official said.

Players could be asked to appear before MLB for interviews, but the official said MLB would be reluctant to request interviews before it has more evidence.

Rodriguez spent years denying he used PEDs before Sports Illustrated reported in February 2009 that he tested positive for two steroids in MLB's anonymous survey while with the Texas Rangers in 2003. Two days later, he admitted in an ESPN interview that he used PEDs over a three-year period. He has denied using PEDs after 2003.

If the new allegations were true, the Yankees would face high hurdles to get out of the final five years and $114 million of Rodriguez's record $275 million, 10-year contract. Because management and the players' union have a joint drug agreement, an arbitrator could determine that any action taken by the team amounted to multiple punishments for the same offense.

But if Rodriguez were to end his career because of the injury, about 85 percent of the money owed by the Yankees would be covered by insurance, one of the baseball officials said.

Gonzalez, 21-8 for the Washington Nationals last season, posted on his Twitter feed: "I've never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will, I've never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance provided by him. anything said to the contrary is a lie."

Colon was not issuing a statement, agent Adam Katz said through spokeswoman Lisa Cohen.

"We are aware of certain allegations and inferences," Cruz's law firm, Farrell & Reisinger, said in a statement. "To the extent these allegations and inferences refer to Nelson, they are denied."

Cruz and Gonzalez had not previously been linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Cruz hit 24 home runs last year for the Rangers.

The New Times report said it obtained notes by Bosch listing the players' names and the substances they received. Several unidentified employees and clients confirmed to the publication that the clinic distributed the substances, the paper said. The employees said that Bosch bragged of supplying drugs to professional athletes but that they never saw the sports stars in the office.

The paper said the records list that Rodriguez paid for HGH; testosterone cream; IGF-1, a substance banned by baseball that stimulates insulin production; and GHRP, which releases growth hormones.

___

Associated Press writers Jennifer Kay in Coral Cables, Fla., and Curt Anderson in Miami, and AP Sports Writers Howard Fendrich and Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

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With or without Exxon, Iraq Kurds strive for energy autonomy

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Behind the closed doors of their offices in the United States, top executives and lawyers for Exxon Mobil are poring over two sets of contracts, weighing a decision that could shift the balance of power in Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last week hastily convened a meeting with Exxon’s chief executive Rex Tillerson in a bid to woo back the U.S. major, which had seemed intent on pulling out of the $ 50 billion West Qurna 1 oilfield in the south, in an area under Baghdad‘s control.

Since signing for six blocs with the Kurdistan regional government in 2011, Exxon has situated itself on one of Iraq’s deepest faultlines, bringing to a head friction between the northern enclave and Baghdad, which says only it has the authority to grant oil contacts and control crude exports.

Industry sources say Maliki has offered Tillerson substantial incentives to stay in Iraq’s southern oilfields as long as the company forfeits its assets in the autonomous Kurdish region.

A final decision is due within the next few days, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi said on Sunday. It remains to be seen which way Exxon’s compass will swing. The company has declined to comment on the impending decision.

“The loss of prestige would be huge,” said a former U.S. diplomat, contemplating the fallout for Kurdistan if Exxon were to quit the region in favor of Baghdad. “Exxon’s presence here levels the political playing field.”

As the first major oil company to risk Baghdad’s ire by venturing north, Exxon afforded the Kurds a victory in their turf war with the central government over how to exploit Iraq’s hydrocarbon riches.

The U.S. major’s vote of confidence opened the door for others such as Total, Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Chevron Corp, which recently added a third bloc to its Kurdish portfolio and is eyeing further acquisitions.

Three of Exxon’s blocs, however, are located in the “disputed areas”, an oil-rich band of territory over which both Baghdad and the Kurds claim jurisdiction and where the Iraqi army and Kurdish troops are facing off against each other.

SECURITY CONCERNS

Industry sources say Tillerson raised concerns about security at a meeting in Switzerland with the Iraqi Kurdish region’s president, Masoud Barzani, although Kurdistan said later that Exxon had restated its commitment to working in the region.

But Baghdad also expects Exxon to take its side.

“We’re positive the company is not willing to quit West Qurna,” said an Iraqi Oil Ministry official, noting that output from that field alone exceeds total current Kurdish production capacity.

“We think Exxon will halt operations in Kurdistan and wait until a solution is reached to all the unresolved issues,” he added, asking to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

New legislation to govern the world’s fourth largest oil reserves has been caught up for years in a struggle over how to share power between Iraq’s Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish factions, which has intensified since U.S. troops withdrew a year ago.

The Kurds say the right to dictate their own oil policy is enshrined in the country’s federal constitution, but Baghdad rejects contracts signed by the region as illegal and has blacklisted some firms operating there.

International oil companies have been prepared to take that risk in return for Kurdistan’s better contract terms, security and an easier working environment, as opposed to the bureaucracy and infrastructure bottlenecks that hamper oil projects in the rest of Iraq.

Baghdad would have to promise Exxon favorable terms to entice it away from the north, but analysts and industry sources doubt Maliki’s capacity to deliver those, and say it would be a mistake for him to do so.

“If they go for Baghdad, I’m sure they (Exxon) will want sweeteners,” said a senior executive from a rival company. “But if they get better terms, others will want the same.”

Some industry sources even suggested that may have been part of Exxon’s calculations all along: that when defying Baghdad the company figured it might eventually be able to use its Kurdish contracts as leverage to extract concessions in the south.

“POINT OF NO RETURN”

Despite the loss of face if Exxon were to back away from Kurdistan, experts say such a move would ultimately do little to slow the region’s drive towards greater energy autonomy from Baghdad.

“Exxon was a game-changer then, but things have moved on,” said one industry source.

Now there are other majors waiting to snap up acreage in what has been described as one of the final frontiers for onshore oil exploration, and they are unlikely to be deterred.

The real challenge lies in finding new ways to sell Kurdish oil, until now shipped to world markets through a Baghdad-controlled pipeline running from Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

But Kurdish exports via that channel dried up in December from a peak of around 200,000 bpd as result of a row over payments with Baghdad.

Fed up with waiting, the Kurds have already started bypassing the federal pipeline network by trucking small quantities of crude over the Turkish border in exchange for refined products. The trade is small, but symbolic.

“Oil and gas wise, it’s a point of no return,” said an industry source. “From this point on, the Kurds will not agree to a centralized oil and gas policy. Other regions will do the same.”

Kurdistan is looking to Turkey for answers. A broad energy partnership between them has been in the works since last year.

“This will be a big bang deal. That’s the only way to do it, involving everything at the same time,” said a diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations.

Details are still unclear, but industry sources said it would range from exploration to export and seek to open up a new “energy corridor” to Turkey that would reduce Ankara’s dependence on Russia and Iran for oil and gas.

The deal would involve a new Turkish entity taking a stake in several Kurdish blocs and an alternative pipeline, which the United States is actively discouraging for fear it will further destabilize Iraq and threaten its federal integrity.

GAME-CHANGER

It would also have to include a mechanism to pay the Kurds directly for their exports instead of the current arrangement whereby Baghdad receives the proceeds and then passes on 17 percent of the country’s revenues as a whole.

Kurdish officials have long complained what they end up getting is in fact closer to 10 percent.

“When the money starts flowing straight to Arbil, that will be the game-changer,” said a diplomatic source.

Kurdish officials say they would keep the share to which they are entitled and send the rest on to Baghdad, but an independent revenue stream would theoretically give the region the means to stand on its own economically.

“Assuming they could export 1 million barrels per day, they’d make more revenues from that than their current share of the national budget, depending on how much oil the south is producing,” said Robin Mills of UAE-based energy consultancy Manaarco.

Opponents of the tie-up worry it would make Kurdistan too dependent on Turkey, which has a fraught relation with its own Kurdish community and will be keen to have the upper hand in any dealings with their ethnic kin in Iraq.

But champions of the deal argue that landlocked Kurdistan has few options besides isolated Iran and war-torn Syria — its other neighbors — neither of which has the strategic advantages of Turkey.

“Economically, we’re already at their mercy,” said a senior Kurdish regional government official. “Once we start mass producing, the equation changes and the relationship with Turkey becomes interdependent.”

Majority Sunni Turkey’s links with Iraqi Kurdistan have already come at a price, heightening tensions between Ankara and the Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad.

Baghdad has accused Ankara of complicity in “smuggling” Iraqi oil, and late last year prevented Turkey’s energy minister from attending an oil conference sponsored by Exxon in Kurdistan by denying his plane permission to land.

“Collaboration between the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) and Turkey to transfer oil and gas to the world markets will strengthen our ties,” Turkish Deputy Energy Minister Selahattin Cimen said at that conference.

But given the regional turmoil and political ramifications of building a pipeline to Turkey, it may be less imminent than the rumors suggest.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has already made an enemy along his longest border with Syria, having turned his back on one-time friend, President Bashar al-Assad and embraced the rebels fighting him.

“Of course the Turks want access to Kurdish energy, but is it worth torpedo-ing relations with Baghdad when you have a crisis in Syria to deal with?,” Mills said. “I think they may wait.”

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Peg Mackey in London; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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Can India learn respect for women?

Suniti Neogy, the writer, at a community meeting in the village of Musepur in India, where she discussed the importance of men taking an active role in parenting.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Suniti Neogy: Gang-rape, murder in New Delhi has forced many Indians to confront truth


• She says she was asked to lead workshop promoting gender sensitivity in an Indian district


• She said adult male teachers said they had not considered helping wives around house


• Neogy: For kids to learn respect for women, they must see it modeled by adults they respect

Editor's note: Suniti Neogy works as a maternal health program coordinator in India for the global poverty-fighting organization CARE.

(CNN) -- The December gang-rape and murder of a young woman in New Delhi has stirred consciences in India in a way I have never before experienced: It has forced Indians to confront a terrible truth that for our girls and women, violence and discrimination are facts of daily life, an epidemic that, researchers say, claims nearly 2 million lives in India each year.

But now the real work begins for each of us who took to the streets in protest. How do we channel the energy of those demonstrations into real solutions for our communities?

I got a taste of the challenge earlier this month, when officials from the Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh, a state adjoining New Delhi, asked if I would lead a workshop promoting teen safety and gender sensitivity for the government schools.

I was disappointed to see they had invited only the heads of girls' schools. And so I accepted under one condition: that the principals of the district's boys' schools attend as well. Because if there's one thing I'm certain of it's that all the candlelight vigils, passion and protests will be in vain if we don't figure out how to make men and boys part of this growing movement to transform gender relations in my country.

For more than a decade I've worked for the poverty-fighting group CARE as a community educator on health and gender issues. I've seen how the deep inequalities between women and men trap millions of Indian families in cycle of poverty. But along the way, I've also met countless men who, given an opportunity, were willing to examine and improve their behavior towards the girls and women in their lives.

The fact is most people want what is best for their loved ones. Aggressive behavior toward women isn't innate. It's learned and can be unlearned. When prompted to reflect on their attitudes towards women's education, sharing domestic tasks, having girl children, and even violence, the boys and men I work with every day can and do change.

Opinion: Misogyny in India: We are all guilty

Often it starts with something simple, like the laundry.

I think of Ram, a man I worked with in the village of Pavaiya Viran. A husband and father with a macho job -- he drills underground pumps -- Ram attended sessions where he was given a chance to analyze gender roles in his life. He understood that men and boys are under pressure to express power and that when they feel weak or frustrated, their gut reaction is often to demonstrate power, even if that means violent or abusive behavior.

Ram eventually adopted a new outlook; that truly strong men don't show power, they show care. "Let the other men laugh at me for cooking and washing clothes," he told me. "Why should my wife alone do all things?"

Now I'm not saying men doing laundry is the solution. But each time he folds the linens, Ram shows his children he respects his wife and treats her as an equal, not someone subservient.

And so I kept thinking of Ram as I gathered with the group of 53 principals from boys and girls schools earlier this month. We addressed the importance of installing security cameras at school gates, assuring a woman driver or conductor is on every school bus, and having clean, working toilets at schools so girls and boys are not forced to go outside to relieve themselves. This was all necessary. But it felt like we were playing defense. Only when the educators were forced to hold a mirror up to their own lives did it feel like we were playing offense, too.

Opinion: End global rape culture

Many acknowledged that it's their duty as parents and community leaders to lead the next generation by example. One principal realized he'd never even considered doing household chores, not as a boy or, now, as a husband and a father. Another vowed to make gender equity a required part of parent-teacher conferences. By the end of the session, every man and woman in the room was thinking about changing not only others but also him or herself.

We have a long way to go, and not just in India. A World Health Organization global survey found that 59% of women in rural Ethiopia report being subjected to sexual violence from their intimate partner, 62% of women in Peru report physical violence at the hands of their partners and 30% of women in rural Bangladesh say their first sexual experience was forced. The problem is not confined to the developing world either. Nearly one in five women in the United States has been raped or has experienced attempted rape.

Even so, I'm confident that the Indian people can demonstrate to the world that we're not powerless in the face of some global epidemic. We can change. That starts by treating this moment not as some global airing of our dirty laundry but rather a national awakening to the reality that all of us -- girls and boys, women and men -- must do our part in cleaning it.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Suniti Neogy.

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Girl who performed at Obama inaugural slain on South Side

After taking their exams Tuesday, Hadiya Pendleton and a group of others decided to hang out at a park on Tuesday just blocks away from their high school on the South Side.

But the trip ended in tragedy when the 15-year-old King College Prep sophomore was fatally shot about a week after she attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration and performed at inaugural events with the King College Prep band and drill team.

Penldeton and a16-year-old boy wounded in the attack were shot in a park near the school about 2:20 p.m., in the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue, police said.

Most of those who were in the park were gang members, and those in the group did not stay on scene to help after the shootings, according to police. The shooting occurred around 2:20 p.m. in the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue.

They boy remained in serious condition Tuesday night. He was also a student at King, according to Pendleton’s friends, though her relatives weren’t sure what school the boy attended.

One of the teens was taken in serious to critical condition to Comer Children's Hospital, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight.

The other victim also was taken to Comer and police at first believed both victims' conditions had stabilized by a little after 3 p.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala.

At Comer this evening, a group of young people sat and stood inside the entrance to the hospital's emergency room, along with the principal of King high school.

Many hugged as they brushed tears from their eyes and consoled each other and Pendleton's parents.

"She was awesome," one girl said of Pendleton outside the hospital's ER.

Friends of the slain girl said King was dismissed early today because of exams, and students went to the park on Oakenwald--something they don't usually do.

Friends said the girl was a majorette and a volleyball player, a friendly and sweet presence at King, one of the top 10 CPS selective enrollment schools. Pendleton performed with other King College students at President Barack Obama’s inaugural events.

Neighbors said students from King do hang out at Harsh Park, 4458-70 S. Oakenwald Ave., and that students were there this afternoon before the shooting took place. A group of 10 to 12 teens at the park had taken shelter under a canopy there during a rainstorm when a boy or man jumped a fence in the park, ran toward the group and opened fire, police said in a statement this evening.

The attacker then got into an auto and left the area, police said.

Neighbors reported hearing shots about 2:20 p.m.

Desiree Sanders said she heard six gunshots and called 911 after a neighbor told her that some teens had been shot. Neighbors told her as many as 10 young people had been hanging out at the small park, and most scattered after the shooting, though a few stayed behind with the victims.

Those in the group were not cooperating with police, however, and investigators had no detailed descriptions yet of either the attacker or the vehicle in which he left. Central Area detectives were investigating, and they had no one in custody as of about 8:20 p.m.

Police crime data show no serious crimes happened in the 4400 or 4500 blocks of South Oakenwald Avenue Dec. 19 to Jan. 20.

“It’s a great neighborhood. Nothing like this has happened since I’ve been here,” on the block, said Roxanne Hubbard, who has lived in the neighborhood for 19 years.

As a matter of policy, Chicago Board of Education officials refuse to confirm whether any child is a student at Chicago Public Schools because a policy on student identification passed by the board several years ago has never been implemented.

Tribune reporter Liam Ford contributed.

jmdelgado@tribune.com

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Sixty-five people executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists

DUBAI (Reuters) - Denouncing "unrelenting horrors" in Syria's war, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Wednesday for an end to the violence and urged more aid to address a situation he said was catastrophic and worsening by the day.

"How many more people will be killed if the current situation continues?," Ban said, speaking at a conference of donors in Kuwait called to drum up more pledges of financing for U.N. humanitarian efforts.

"I appeal to all sides and particularly the Syrian government, to stop the killing ... in the name of humanity, stop the killing, stop the violence," he said.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since the 22-month-old conflict began, the United Nations says.

The world body warned on Monday that without more money it would not be able to help millions of Syrians and appealed for donations at the aid conference to meet its $1.5 billion target.

Some four million Syrians inside the country need food, shelter and other aid and more than 700,000 more have escaped to neighboring countries since the conflict began, according to the United Nations. Half of the civilians affected by the crisis are children, it says.

SCALE OF CRISIS ESCALATES

Wednesday's conference will seek pledges of $1 billion of aid for Syria's neighbors sheltering refugees and another $500 million to bankroll humanitarian work for 4 million Syrians inside the country.

The aid would fund operations for the first half of this year, but the United Nations has so far received pledges covering just 18 percent of the target, unveiled last month as the scale of Syria's humanitarian crisis escalated sharply.

Even if pledges are made, aid groups have found in the past that converting promises into hard cash can take time.

Nevertheless, there was early positive news for the gathering when Kuwait's emir pledged to give $300 million to the aid effort.

Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah told the meeting that "horrifying reports" of violence had raised questions over the future of Syria and aid efforts had to be redoubled.

But Ban said much more remained to be done.

"The situation in Syria is catastrophic and getting worse every day," he said. "Every day Syrians face unrelenting horrors," he said, adding this included sexual violence and detentions.

INFRASTRUCTURE BEING DESTROYED

About half of public hospitals and a quarter of schools are damaged, he said, and the country's infrastructure was being systematically destroyed.

Aid officials hope the fact that the conference is being held in Kuwait will encourage other wealthy Gulf Arab states, who have led regional opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, to support the international aid effort.

Many Gulf states have sent assistance, but aid workers say their efforts have been haphazard and rarely coordinated with other aid agencies, hampering their ability to plan a sustained relief program.

Syria's main opposition coalition has criticized the U.N. appeal and its arrangements for distributing aid inside Syria, saying the organization has effectively ceded control to the Syrian government and failed to deliver all but a bare minimum of aid to areas controlled by Assad's opponents.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall, Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Shares, oil steady before U.S. data, Fed meeting

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares consolidated near two-year highs on Tuesday and oil prices steadied as investors awaited data on the strength of U.S. economy and a Federal Reserve policy decision later in the week.

Most markets for riskier assets have risen solidly this year - despite only modest global growth - due to robust corporate earnings reports, signs of an end to the euro zone crisis and renewed momentum in the U.S. and Chinese economies.

But particularly in the equity markets, where many major indexes are close to multi-year highs, investors are looking for reassurance that a lasting economic recovery is underway.

"With markets posting significant gains for the year already, traders are becoming more demanding in their need for positive cues to keep up the buying momentum," said Jonathan Sudaria, a dealer at Capital Spreads in a trading note.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> of top European shares was up 0.2 percent in early trade after hitting a 23-month high on Monday. London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> were flat to 0.1 percent higher.

U.S. stock futures gained 0.1 percent, pointing to a firm Wall Street start. <.l><.eu><.n/>

Earlier the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> rallied 0.9 percent to end a four-day losing streak, led by a 1.1 percent jump in Australian shares <.axjo> to a fresh 21-month high.

The major event in investors' sights is the two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. They are awaiting the Fed's decision and statement on Wednesday for any signs that the recent run of positive economic data would encourage policymakers to consider changing its easing policy.

The first estimate of U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product also will be released on Wednesday, followed by non-farm payrolls on Friday.

In Europe investors are looking to Spanish GDP data and Italian and German debt auctions on Wednesday, the first big day of European earnings on Thursday and the month-end.

Official data on China's growth outlook due Friday will also be important, especially for commodities markets.

Brent crude and U.S. oil were edging higher on Tuesday but, in line with equities, gains were limited with Brent crude up 16 cents to $113.64 a barrel and U.S. crude rising 44 cents to $96.88.

The euro was at $1.3450, not far from an 11-month high of $1.3480 hit on Friday when it had gained a boost from news of early repayments by euro zone banks of three-year loans to the European Central Bank, which suggested that parts of the banking system may be on the mend.

The euro, however, faces a series of major resistance levels near $1.35, including its 2012 high of $1.34869.

German government bond prices edged higher on Tuesday, as some investors were attracted by a dip that had followed Friday's announcement that banks would repay 137 billion euros of the ECB money.

Bund futures were 8 ticks higher on the day at 141.87. They hit a two-month low of 141.61 on Monday, having fallen by almost two full points in the past three sessions.

(Reporting by Richard Hubbard. Editing by)

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Woods makes short work at Torrey Pines

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tiger Woods never looked so irritated winning a golf tournament so comfortably.

His record eighth victory at Torrey Pines was all but over when Woods ripped a 5-iron from 244 yards over the corner of a bunker and onto the green at the par-5 13th hole, setting up a two-putt birdie that gave him an eight shot lead in the Farmers Insurance Open.

At least he had plenty of time to savor this victory. The final five holes felt like they took forever.

Woods twirled his club on the tee and leaned on it in the fairway as the final round dragged on. He lost rhythm and appeared to lose interest, and it showed. A bogey from the bunker on the 14th. A tee shot that caromed off a eucalyptus tree on the 15th hole that led to double bogey. A tee shot he popped up on the 17th hole that left him 50 yards behind the other players and led to another bogey.

"It got a little ugly at the end," Woods said. "I started losing patience a little bit with the slow play."

No matter. It only affected the margin, not the outcome. Woods had to settle for an even-par 72 that gave him a four-shot win over defending champion Brandt Snedeker and Josh Teater, who each had a 69.

For a tour that has been criticized for slow play, this wasn't an ideal start to the network portion of its schedule. With Woods virtually a lock to win, CBS Sports wanted the final round to resume Monday later than normal so that it could be televised in late afternoon on the East Coast. Play was so slow that CBS went over its allotted time.

Woods, meanwhile, had the ideal start to his tour season.

Only a week earlier, he missed the cut in Abu Dhabi, in part because of a two-shot penalty assessed after his second round for taking an illegal drop. Woods had never missed the cut on the European Tour, and he had never started his season with the weekend off.

He might have been the only one who didn't panic.

Woods seized control with a 65 on the North Course at Torrey Pines, the spent the rest of the week pulling away from the field until no one could catch him.

"I don't know if anybody would have beaten him this week," said Nick Watney, who got within five shots of Woods when the tournament was still undecided until making three bogeys on his next five holes. "He's definitely on his game."

It's still too early to figure out the state of his game, especially in relation to Rory McIlroy, who also missed the cut in Abu Dhabi.

Torrey Pines is a public course that Woods treats like his private domain. He won the tournament for the seventh time, one short of the PGA Tour record for most wins in a single event. Sam Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times. Woods won for the eighth time at Torrey Pines, including the 2008 U.S. Open, and that's a PGA Tour record that Woods previously shared with ... himself. He also has won seven times at Firestone and Bay Hill.

"I think he wanted to send a message," said Hunter Mahan, who shares a swing coach with Woods. "I think deep down he did. You play some games to try to motivate yourself. There's been so much talk about Rory. Rory is now with Nike. That would be my guess."

And it was his 75th win on the PGA Tour, seven short of the record held by Snead. Woods has won 23 of those tournaments by at least four shots.

"I'm excited the way I played all week," Woods said. "I hit the ball well — pretty much did everything well and built myself a nice little cushion. I had some mistakes at the end, but all my good play before that allowed me to afford those mistakes."

Woods mostly had reason to be excited about his short game.

In the third round Sunday, he was furious with himself for going long on the par-3 eighth green, without much green between his ball and the hole. Woods hit a chip solidly, with just enough loft, to leave himself a tap-in par. In the conclusion of the final round Monday, he pulled his tee shot into a bad spot in the bunker on the par-3 11th. The lie was good, but he had to aim well left, meaning his legs were spread wide on the slope of the sand.

He blasted it out with his 60-degree wedge to a top shelf, and then watched it feed down a slope to the right. It lost pace at the end or it might have gone in.

It looked good for television. It was a difficult shot, but not impossible.

But Woods believes those are the shots he wasn't converting a year ago. And that's one reason his outlook was so bright on the rest of the year, even after having to cope with so much fog along the Pacific bluffs.

He played the par 5s in 12 under for the lead — that alone would have been enough to win — and attributed that to his short game.

"My short game was back to how I know it can be," Woods said. "My shots that I hit, especially out of these nasty little lies, I hit some really good ones this week. And that allowed me to save some pars, make some birdies, and move my way up the board. And basically, that's what I did."

Woods figures his swing change under Sean Foley took root at some point last year, but that he had devoted so much time to the swing that he neglected his wedges. Now that he is practicing more on his short game, he expects better results — turning a 74 into a 70, and not losing leads at the majors, like he did twice last year.

Still, the season is young.

Any measure of Woods likely will have to wait until the road to the Masters gets going during the Florida Swing. Woods headed home to Florida on Monday night and is not expected to return until the Match Play Championship in Arizona a month from now. McIlroy also isn't expected to play until then, and match play being such a fickle format, the better gauge could come in the Honda Classic and at Doral.

Woods, however, likes where he is headed.

Torrey Pines is a good omen for the rest of his year. Whenever he starts a PGA Tour season with a win at Torrey, he tends to have big years — eight wins and two majors in 2006, seven wins and a major in 2007, four wins in only six starts in 2008.

Where will this lead?

"Does it feel good? Yes. Does it give me confidence? Absolutely," Woods said. "But as far as the other stuff, as I said, I'm excited about this year. I'm excited about what I'm doing with Sean and some of the things that I've built. This is a nice way to start the year."

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Deep Space Industries: A New Asteroid-Mining Company Is Born

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Tuesday mornings are usually pretty quiet at the tiny Santa Monica Municipal Airport, and doubly so at the Museum of Flying located there. But last Tuesday (Jan. 22), the main hall was abuzz with something unusual.

On a dais in front of a WWII fighter, Geoffrey Notkin, co-host of Science Channel’s “Meteorite Men,” opened up a press conference by introducing the principals of the latest entry into the asteroid-mining business, a company called Deep Space Industries. The brainchild of private space veterans Rick Tumlinson and David Gump, among others, DSI is the second major player to jump into the celestial gold rush.

The company is moving along a path similar but not identical to that mapped out by Planetary Resources, the billionaire-backed firm unveiled last April. Planetary Resources was founded by Peter Diamandis of X-Prize fame and Eric Anderson, formerly of the space-tourism outfit Space Adventures.

While both companies seek to extract resources from near-Earth asteroids, Deep Space Industries wants to concentrate more on in-space utilization of these resources. [Deep Space Industries' Asteroid-Mining Vision in Photos]

A grand vision

Chairman Tumlinson laid out the plan at the press conference. He described a phased program of asteroid reconnaissance, exploration and utilization, carried out with predominantly existing technological know-how.

Starting with a fleet of small, unmanned spacecraft called Fireflies, the company will journey to nearby asteroids beginning in 2015 to assess their stores of water, hydrogen and other volatiles, as well as metals such as nickel that can be used in the fabrication of metal parts.

A later generation of spacecraft, known as Dragonflies, will return samples from the drifting bodies to Earth. More ambitious spacecraft called Harvestors will do the actual asteroid-mining work, perhaps beginning as early as 2020.

The upshot of this grand plan is to provide fuel, water and oxygen for in-space use, as well as metals for parts fabrication away from Earth’s surface.

Since one of the biggest costs associated with venturing beyond Earth’s orbit is the launching of water and fuel for the trip, finding and processing it in space could make journeys to Mars and other far-flung destinations much cheaper, advocates say. And in-space manufacturing could help build human habitats, satellites and other spacecraft, again saving greatly on launch costs. [Gallery: Future Visions of Human Spaceflight]

To garner needed profits in the short term, DSI would sell fuel to the many operators of satellites currently in orbit around the Earth. When these satellite run out of maneuvering fuel, they must either be re-provisioned or abandoned. The new company plans to make refilling the fuel tanks on such satellites economically feasible, saving tens of millions of dollars per year for the owner-operators in the process.

Making it happen

Will DSI pull it off, or will the company join the ranks of the many other similar operations that have burned through small fortunes, only to be born, live a brief, struggling life stuck on Earth’s surface, and meet their demise never having flown higher than the occasional corporate jet to the next fund raiser?

DSI’s founders certainly believe they can make it. After a lightly comical introduction by the resident celebrity Notkin, Tumlinson took the stage and delivered a rousing call to action.

So many people have lost belief in what we can do as a species, Tumlinson said. We seem to be heading into the future with “less hope… less [sic] things to dream about… less, less, less, less… this myth exists only in the minds of those who believe that this is it, that this one ball, this tiny rock, is all there is, that this is all we have. We at Deep Space Industries don’t believe that… we believe that we sit in a sea of resources that is so infinite that it’s hard to describe.”

Tumlinson then turned over the presentation to a small panel of experts and board members. There was an asteroid-mining expert from Australia, a satellite engineer from aerospace giant Loral, the aforementioned David Gump as CEO and many others.

Each added his bit of the story, ranging from the technical feasibility of Deep Space‘s ambitions to the (planned) financial backing to descriptions of multiple revenue streams.

At times the meeting became refreshingly candid, as when Gump mentioned that there were multiple reasons for the press conference besides merely announcing the company’s existence. Such reasons include, he said, “letting the investors know that we are here.”

It was noted that many people in the aerospace industry are of an age that regards both the Apollo program and “Star Trek” as prime motivators, and the former was called into view more than once. That call went something like this: let companies like SpaceX, Bigelow Aerospace and Deep Space Industries do the day-to-day work of routine spaceflight, and let NASA get back to their “Lewis-and-Clark function” of great exploration and daring accomplishments.

Deep Space’s early mission plan is for wealthy partners to sponsor the initial efforts to reconnoiter some near-Earth asteroids as the small, unmanned spacecraft are developed, then sell commercial missions for $ 20 million, using clusters of three spacecraft to maximize chances for success.

Over time, the process would grow from exploration to resource acquisition to in-space processing of volatiles to in-space manufacturing of metal parts using the metals available on some asteroids and a 3D printer.

Private spaceflight taking off

Only time will tell if Deep Space Industries can make it happen. Both Gump and Tumlinson have had mixed success in the private space sector in the past — working, for example, to privatize the Russian Mir space station (some initial success, but over the long haul, nyet) and producing the first TV commercial shot in orbit for tech retailer Radio Shack (Da!).

Flights are scheduled to begin as early as 2015, which doesn’t give Deep Space Industries much time to move from computer animations to finished spacecraft. But this is, after all, the age of private industry in space, as evidenced by the successful flights of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to the International Space Station and the nearly concluded test flights of Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spacecraft, among others.

DSI may join the ranks of the successful despite the challenges. Many of us here on the ground will be watching them — and Planetary Resources, and many other private spaceflight companies — with fingers crossed.

Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We’re also on Facebook & Google+. 

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Why haven't we learned from fires?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Pyrotechnics, overcrowding, poor exits have contributed to tragic fires in recent years


• You would think the world would have learned from past incidents, John Barylick says


• Concertgoers have to be their own fire marshals, he says

Editor's note: John Barylick, author of "Killer Show," a book on the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, is an attorney who represented victims in wrongful death and personal injury cases arising from the fire.

(CNN) -- Sunday morning we awoke to breaking news of another tragic nightclub fire, this time in Brazil. At last report the death toll exceeded 230.

This tragedy is not without precedent. Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of a similar nightclub fire in Rhode Island. At this sad time, it's appropriate to reflect on what we've learned from club fires -- and what we haven't.

Rhode Island's Station nightclub fire of 2003, in which 100 concertgoers lost their lives, began when fireworks set off by Great White, an 80s heavy metal band, ignited flammable packing foam on the club's walls.

Deadly blazes: Nightclub tragedies in recent history

John Barylick

Panicked patrons stampeded toward the club's main exit, and a fatal pileup ensued. Contributing to the tragedy were illegal use of pyrotechnics, overcrowding and a wall covering that would have failed even the most rudimentary flammability tests.

Video images of the Station fire were broadcast worldwide: A concert begins; the crowd's mood changes from merry, to curious, to concerned, to horrified -- in less than a minute. You'd think the world would have learned from it. You would be wrong.

The following year, the Republica Cromanon nightclub in Argentina went up in flames, killing 194 people. The club was made to hold about 1,000 people, but it was estimated that more than 3,000 fans were packed inside the night of the fire, which began when fans began lighting flares that caught the roof on fire.

Echoes of the past: Rhode Island victims 'can't help but watch'

Then, in January 2009, at least 64 New Year's revelers lost their lives in a nightclub in Bangkok, Thailand, after fire ignited its ceiling. Many were crushed in a rush to get out of the club. In December of that same year, a fire in a Russian nightclub, ignited by pyrotechnics, killed 156 people. Overcrowding, poor exits, and indoor fireworks all played roles in these tragedies; yet no one bothered to learn from mistakes of the past.

While responsibility for concert disasters unquestionably lies with venue operators, performers and promoters, ultimately, we, as patrons of clubs and concerts, can enhance our own safety by taking a few simple steps. The National Fire Protection Association urges concertgoers to:

• Be observant. Is the concert venue rundown or well-maintained? Does the staff look well-trained?

• As you proceed to your seat, observe how long the process takes. Could you reverse it in a hurry? Do you pass through pinch points? Is furniture in the way?

• Once seated, take note of the nearest exit. (In an emergency, most people try to exit by the door they entered, which is usually not the closest, and is always overcrowded.) Then, share the location of that nearest exit with your entire party. Agree that at the first sign of trouble, you will all proceed to it without delay.

• Once the show begins, remain vigilant. If you think there's a problem, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Do not stay to "get your money's worth" despite concerns about safety. Do not remain to locate that jacket or bag you placed somewhere. No concert is worth your life. Better to read about an incident the next day than be counted as one of its statistics.

Read more: How to protect yourself in a crowd

To be sure, all fire codes must be vigorously enforced, and club and concert hall operators must be held to the highest standards. A first step is banning indoor pyrotechnics in all but the largest, stadium-type venues.

But, ultimately, we are our own best "fire marshals" when it comes to avoiding, and escaping, dangerous situations. We can still enjoy shows. But it is up to us to look out for our own safety.

In coming days, Rhode Islanders will follow the unfolding news from Brazil with a sense of queasy deja vu -- the rising body counts, the victim identification process, the grieving families, and the assigning (and dodging) of blame. If only they had learned from our tragedy.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Barylick.

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