Study could spur wider use of prenatal gene tests

A new study sets the stage for wider use of gene testing in early pregnancy. Scanning the genes of a fetus reveals far more about potential health risks than current prenatal testing does, say researchers who compared both methods in thousands of pregnancies nationwide.

A surprisingly high number — 6 percent — of certain fetuses declared normal by conventional testing were found to have genetic abnormalities by gene scans, the study found. The gene flaws can cause anything from minor defects such as a club foot to more serious ones such as mental retardation, heart problems and fatal diseases.

"This isn't done just so people can terminate pregnancies," because many choose to continue them even if a problem is found, said Dr. Ronald Wapner, reproductive genetics chief at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. "We're better able to give lots and lots of women more information about what's causing the problem and what the prognosis is and what special care their child might need."

He led the federally funded study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

A second study in the journal found that gene testing could reveal the cause of most stillbirths, many of which remain a mystery now. That gives key information to couples agonizing over whether to try again.

The prenatal study of 4,400 women has long been awaited in the field, and could make gene testing a standard of care in cases where initial screening with an ultrasound exam suggests a structural defect in how the baby is developing, said Dr. Susan Klugman, director of reproductive genetics at New York's Montefiore Medical Center, which enrolled 300 women into the study.

"We can never guarantee the perfect baby but if they want everything done, this is a test that can tell a lot more," she said.

Many pregnant women are offered screening with an ultrasound exam or a blood test that can flag some common abnormalities such as Down syndrome, but these are not conclusive.

The next step is diagnostic testing on cells from the fetus obtained through amniocentesis, which is like a needle biopsy through the belly, or chorionic villus sampling, which snips a bit of the placenta. Doctors look at the sample under a microscope for breaks or extra copies of chromosomes that cause a dozen or so abnormalities.

The new study compared this eyeball method to scanning with gene chips that can spot hundreds of abnormalities and far smaller defects than what can be seen with a microscope. This costs $1,200 to $1,800 versus $600 to $1,000 for the visual exam.

In the study, both methods were used on fetal samples from 4,400 women around the country. Half of the moms were at higher risk because they were over 35. One-fifth had screening tests suggesting Down syndrome. One-fourth had ultrasounds suggesting structural abnormalities. Others sought screening for other reasons.

"Some did it for anxiety — they just wanted more information about their child," Wapner said.

Of women whose ultrasounds showed a possible structural defect but whose fetuses were called normal by the visual chromosome exam, gene testing found problems in 6 percent — one out of 17.

"That's a lot. That's huge," Klugman said.

Gene tests also found abnormalities in nearly 2 percent of cases where the mom was older or ultrasounds suggested a problem other than a structural defect.

Dr. Lorraine Dugoff, a University of Pennsylvania high-risk pregnancy specialist, wrote in an editorial in the journal that gene testing should become the standard of care when a structural problem is suggested by ultrasound. But its value may be incremental in other cases and offset by the 1.5 percent of cases where a gene abnormality of unknown significance is found.

In those cases, "a lot of couples might not be happy that they ordered that test" because it can't give a clear answer, she said.

Ana Zeletz, a former pediatric nurse from Hoboken, N.J., had one of those results during the study. An ultrasound suggested possible Down syndrome; gene testing ruled that out but showed an abnormality that could indicate kidney problems — or nothing.

"They give you this list of all the things that could possibly be wrong," Zeletz said. Her daughter, Jillian, now 2, had some urinary and kidney abnormalities that seem to have resolved, and has low muscle tone that caused her to start walking later than usual.

"I am very glad about it," she said of the testing, because she knows to watch her daughter for possible complications like gout. Without the testing, "we wouldn't know anything, we wouldn't know to watch for things that might come up," she said.

The other study involved 532 stillbirths — deaths of a fetus in the womb before delivery. Gene testing revealed the cause in 87 percent of cases versus 70 percent of cases analyzed by the visual chromosome inspection method. It also gave more information on specific genetic abnormalities that couples could use to estimate the odds that future pregnancies would bring those risks.

The study was led by Dr. Uma Reddy of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Medical journal: http://www.nejm.org

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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McAfee Arrested for Entering Guatemala Illegally

Eccentric software tycoon John McAfee, wanted in Belize for questioning in the shooting death of his neighbor, has been arrested in Guatemala for entering the country illegally, his Guatemala attorney told ABC News.

Before McAfee's arrest, he told ABC News in an exclusive interview he would be seeking asylum in Guatemala. McAfee was arrested by the Central American country's immigration police and not the national police, said his attorney, who was confident his client would be released within hours.

"Thank God I am in a place where there is some sanity," said McAfee, 67, before his arrest. "I chose Guatemala carefully."

McAfee said that in Guatemala, the locals aren't surprised when he says the Belizean government is out to kill him.

"Instead of going, 'You're crazy,' they go, 'Yeah, of course they are,'" he said. "It's like, finally, I understand people who understand the system here."

But McAfee added he has not ruled out moving back to the United States, where he made his fortune as the inventor of anti-virus software, and that despite losing much of his fortune he still has more money than he could ever spend.

In his interview with ABC News, a jittery, animated but candid McAfee called the media's representation of him a "nightmare that is about to explode," and said he's prepared to prove his sanity.

McAfee has been on the run from police in Belize since the Nov. 10 murder of his neighbor, fellow American expatriate Greg Faull.

During his three-week journey, said McAfee, he disguised himself as handicapped, dyed his hair seven times and hid in many different places during his three-week journey.

He dismissed accounts of erratic behavior and reports that he had been using the synthetic drug bath salts. He said he had never used the drug, and said statements that he had were part of an elaborate prank.

Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images

John McAfee Interview: Software Mogul Leaves Belize Watch Video

John McAfee Interview: Software Millionaire on the Run Watch Video

John McAfee: Software Millionaire Not Officially a Suspect Watch Video

Investigators said that McAfee was not a suspect in the death of the former developer, who was found shot in the head in his house on the resort island of San Pedro, but that they wanted to question him.

McAfee told ABC News that the poisoning death of his dogs and the murder just hours later of Faull, who had complained about his dogs, was a coincidence.

McAfee has been hiding from police ever since Faull's death -- but Telesforo Guerra, McAfee's lawyer in Guatemala, said the tactic was born out of necessity, not guilt.

"You don't have to believe what the police say," Guerra told ABC News. "Even though they say he is not a suspect they were trying to capture him."

Guerra, who is a former attorney general of Guatemala, said it would take two to three weeks to secure asylum for his client.

According to McAfee, Guerra is also the uncle of McAfee's 20-year-old girlfriend, Samantha. McAfee said the government raided his beachfront home and threatened Samantha's family.

"Fifteen armed soldiers come in and personally kidnap my housekeeper, threaten Sam's father with torture and haul away half a million dollars of my s***," claimed McAfee. "If they're not after me, then why all these raids? There've been eight raids!"

Before his arrest, McAfee said he would hold a press conference on Thursday in Guatemala City to announce his asylum bid. He has offered to answer questions from Belizean law enforcement over the phone, and denied any involvement in Faull's death.

False Report of McAfee Arrest on Mexico Border

Over the weekend, a post on McAfee's blog claimed that he had been detained on the Belizean/Mexico border.

On Monday, a follow-up post said that the "John McAfee" taken into custody was actually a "double" who was carrying a North Korean passport with McAfee's name.

That post claimed that McAfee had already escaped Belize and was on the run with Samantha and two reporters from Vice Magazine.

McAfee did not reveal his location in that post, and a spokesman for Belize's National Security Ministry, Raphael Martinez, told ABC News on Monday that no one by McAfee's name was ever detained at the border and that Belizean security officials believed McAfee was still in their country.

However, a photo posted by Vice magazine on Monday with their article, "We Are With John McAfee Right Now, Suckers," apparently had been taken on an iPhone 4S and had location information embedded in it that revealed the exact coordinates where the photo was taken -- in the Rio Dulce National Park in Guatemala -- as reported by Wired.com.

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Philippines' biggest typhoon kills at least 82, many buried under mud

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' strongest typhoon this year was headed towards tourist destinations on Wednesday after hitting a southern island, destroying homes, causing landslides and killing at least 82 people, but many more are reported dead and missing.

Typhoon Bopha, with central winds of 120 kph (75 mph) and gusts of up to 160 kph (93 mph), was expected to hit beach resorts and dive spots in northern Palawan, the weather bureau said on Wednesday.

Interior Minister Manuel Roxas confirmed 82 people had died and scores were missing after Bopha made landfall on Tuesday.

But the toll is likely to be closer to 100 with police and media reports of other deaths still to be confirmed.

About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines annually, often causing death and destruction. Typhoon Washi killed 1,500 people in 2011.

More than half those confirmed killed, many buried under mud and collapsed houses, were from an area near an army outpost in Compostela Valley province on southern Mindanao.

"We have already accounted 43 bodies and we're still looking for more, including nine soldiers," said Major-General Ariel Bernardo, an army division commander.

BURIED UNDER MUD

Bernardo said two dozen people had been pulled from under layers of mud and were being treated in local hospitals. Video showed dozens of bloodied survivors, their faces covered with thick cake of mud, at a shelter in the province.

Mudslides and massive flooding caused by swollen rivers inundated most farms in Compostela Valley.

"In the town of Nabunturan, our farms were totally wiped out, there was flooding in every barangay (village)," police Major Hector Grijaldo. "All banana plantations were totally wiped out. What we see standing are coconut trees, all others were either uprooted or felled."

Coastal areas in nearby Davao Oriental province also bore the brunt of Bopha's fierce winds and rain.

Rommil Mitra, provincial police chief, said 52 people were reported killed in Boston and Cateel towns, most of them crushed by fallen trees, collapsed homes and flying debris.

"The winds were really very strong," Mitra said. "I was told the force of the wind could even lift an army truck loaded with troops from the ground."

Most of the affected areas remained isolated due to power outages, lack of communications and destroyed roads and bridges. Helicopters were ferrying troops in search and rescue operations.

Tens of thousands of people remained in temporary shelter areas as local officials appealed for food, water and warm clothes for displaced families. Schools remained closed and dozens of domestic flights were suspended on Wednesday.

(Reporting By Manuel Mogato and Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Michael Perry)

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PSYprise for 'Gangnam Style' fans

SINGAPORE: Tired of 'Gangnam Style'? Certainly not the more than 4000 people who turned up to catch PSY at the free Marina Bay Sands "Give back to Singapore" concert over the weekend.

As for those who can't get enough of the South Korean sensation and weren't fast enough to be among the lucky few to dance with the 'Gangnam Style' star, the good news is that it will take more than just fast fingers and a good internet connection to see PSY live in Singapore again.

Capping his one-night, under one-hour show in Singapore, the sensation from South Korea who repeatedly said he loved the Lion City, announced to whoops and cheers that he'd be back once his new single and album is released in March next year.

By then, more fans will hopefully get to see and hear more of PSY than what was offered at Saturday's open-air event at Marina Bay Sand's Event Plaza.

The gates for the free concert opened two hours ahead of the 8pm show that saw the main star showing up almost half an hour later.

The restless crowd was kept entertained and psyched to PSY's YouTube hit by 26 dancers from O School, a Singapore social enterprise that helps fund the education of teens from low income homes through its dance school.

On stage, the team of young dancers, including 10-year-old Calvin Go, added their own flavour to the now famous 'Gangnam Style' dance routine that was learnt in an hour on the concert day itself, according to Kenny Low, Managing Director of O School.

But there's nothing like the real thing.

When Psy finally took centre-stage, the crowd went wild with shouts of "oppa!", a Korean term of endearment used by females to refer to an older male friend or older brother, and also a key word in the Korean hit song.

And that was as close to 'Gangnam Style' anyone got at the start of the concert as the atypical K pop sensation launched into "Champion".

The single from his third album '3 Psy' released in 2002, seemed a fitting start to the concert organised by MBS that also showcased its adopted charity, O School, that helps keep teens from dropping out of school.

PSY, a college dropout who is now a champion in his own right, later told the crowd laughingly, "I was a really bad student... I got suspended so many times" as he "officially introduced" himself.

"Academically, I was (a) bad student, but creatively, I was (a) good student" was the piece of inPSYration delivered by the 34-year-old who swept four awards at the recent 2012 MNet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) with 'Gangnam Style' after years of being sidelined.

Despite a whirlwind tour of the region before landing in Singapore just hours before his concert, the hyperactive PSY continued to surprise during his appearance.

Even with concert-goers and non-ticket on-lookers standing around the Event Plaza loudly cheering, it wasn't enough for PSY, who suddenly stopped his second song to urge the crowd on.

"Show me energy and I'll show you energy! I want every single person to jump!" he yelled midway into "Right Now", the single from his fifth album "PSYFIVE" released in 2010.

But it seemed that the crowd was saving its energy for one song and of course, the man himself knew what it was.

"This song is called… No, no no, just give me the beat," Psy declared unable to hide the grin on his face as he dived into his third and final song for the night.

That's when the crowd really began to scream, almost drowning out the now-familiar electro-bass beats pounding out of the speakers around the Event Plaza.

Not a word was missed or a move forgotten as the crowd went PSYchotic, shouting the Korean lyrics of 'Gangnam Style' while trying to horse-dance in what limited space they could afford in the sea of sardine-packed bodies.

Adults, teens and even grey-haired elders were seen moving to the infectious tune.

In a flash, the one-hour concert was over.

PSY had been on stage less than three quarters of that time, but fans didn't seem to mind.

"It was a good experience although it was very short" said Yu Ping, a 15-year-old student who got her ticket from a family friend.

"Maybe he's just very busy" said the understanding fan.

Marina Bay Sands which had said that the free concert would happen come rain or shine, was likely glad that Singapore's rainy spell held off for the night and the stars remained in alignment for PSY's one-night appearance.

"We had a slot on our calendar, he had a slot on his calendar" said Mr. George Tanasijevich, President and Chief Executive Officer of MBS of just how the most well-known and in-demand person in the world was clinched for the public event.

"I think it came together pretty quickly", Tanasijevich shared with channelnewsasia.com on the sidelines of the concert.

"Maybe it's a little less strategic than you think it is... It's more opportunistic," he added with a laugh.

It was however, definitely good strategy that allowed MBS' designated charity, O School, to raise its public profile through the event.

"The talents of O School are incredible dancers who demonstrated professionalism and excellent showmanship during the showcase" said Tanasijevich.

And what better reward for the young dancers than being the opening act for PSY? Well, probably the man himself ... with the dancers treated to an exclusive backstage Meet and Greet Session after the concert while the crowds lingered, hoping to spy PSY.

-CNA/fl

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SC dismisses Sangma's petition challenging Pranab Mukherjee's election

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed Purno Sangma's petition challenging Pranab Mukherjee's election as the President.

The SC bench said that Sangma's petition did not disclose material to pass the stage of early scrutiny.

A five-judge bench of the apex court decided by 3:2 majority that the petition did not deserve to be entertained for detail trial, which if ordered would have entailed possible cross examination of Pranab Mukherjee.

The SC on November 21 had said that it would take a final call on entertaining former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma's plea, challenging the election of Pranab Mukherjee as President, on December 5.

"Arguments concluded. We shall pass the order on December 5," a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said after Ram Jethmalani, counsel for Sangma, wrapped up arguments with the claim that the plea deserved a regular hearing, as it affects the "whole nation" because the person who became President would be custodian of the Constitution for next five years.

Mukherjee was represented by eminent lawyer Harish Salve and attorney general G E Vahanvati.

(With inputs from ANI)

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Study: Drug coverage to vary under health law

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study says basic prescription drug coverage could vary dramatically from state to state under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

That's because states get to set benefits for private health plans that will be offered starting in 2014 through new insurance exchanges.

The study out Tuesday from the market analysis firm Avalere Health found that some states will require coverage of virtually all FDA-approved drugs, while others will only require coverage of about half of medications.

Consumers will still have access to essential medications, but some may not have as much choice.

Connecticut, Virginia and Arizona will be among the states with the most generous coverage, while California, Minnesota and North Carolina will be among states with the most limited.

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Avalere Health: http://tinyurl.com/d3b3hfv

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Subway Push Murder Suspect Implicated Self: Police

A suspect believed to be responsible for throwing a man into the path of an oncoming New York City subway train who was taken into custody today has made statements implicating himself, police said.

According to Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Paul Browne, the suspect has been questioned by police since at least early afternoon and while the suspect is in police custody, he has not been officially charged.

Police are continuing to question the suspect and more lineups have been scheduled for tomorrow, Browne said.

Police have not released the suspect's name but began questioning him Tuesday afternoon about the death of Ki-Suck Han, 58, of Queens, N.Y.

Han was tossed onto the subway track at 49th Street and Seventh Avenue around 12:30 p.m. Monday after Han confronted a mumbling man who was alarming other passengers on the train platform. Han tried to scramble back onto the platform, but was crushed by an oncoming train.

The suspect fled the station, prompting a police dragnet for a man described by witnesses and see on surveillance video as a 6-foot-tall, 200-pound black man wearing dreadlocks in his hair.

Witnesses tried to revive the victim after he was hit and provided descriptions of the suspect to police.

Dr. Laura Kaplan, medical resident at Beth Israel Medical Center who was standing on the platform during the incident rushed to give Han aid after he was hit, she said in a statement released by her medical practice today.

New York Police Department

Bystanders Pull Mom, Son From Subway Tracks Watch Video

"A security guard and I performed 3-4 minutes of chest compressions. I hope the family may find some comfort in knowing about the kindness of these good Samaritans, as they endure this terrible loss," Kaplan said.

"I would like the family to know that many people in the station tried to help Mr. Han by alerting the subway personnel," she said.

Kaplan said she wanted to console the family of Han, who she called "a brave man trying to protect other passengers that he did not know."

The suspect had reportedly been mumbling to himself and disturbing other passengers, according to ABC News affiliate WABC. Police told WABC that the suspect could be mentally disturbed.

The suspect could be heard arguing with Han just moments before he hurled Han onto the track bed, according to surveillance video released by the police. The suspect is heard telling the victim to stand in line and "wait for the R train."

A freelance photographer for the New York Post was on the platform and said he ran towards the train flashing his camera hoping to alert the train to stop in time, but the train caught Han against the shoulder deep platform wall.

The photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, caught an eerie photo of Han with his head and arms above the platform and staring at the oncoming train.

Han was treated by EMS workers on the platform for traumatic arrest and rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Fire Department of New York.

"I just heard people yelling. The train came to an abrupt stop about three-quarters into the station and that's when I heard a man was hit by a train," Patrick Gomez told ABC News affiliate WABC.

Police set up a command post outside the train station Monday night searching nearby surveillance cameras to try and get a clear image of the suspect, reports WABC. They said Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

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Khaw speaks of possible new uses & opportunities underground for S'pore

SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan has spoken of the possible new uses and opportunities that lie underground in land-scare Singapore.

He said in his blog entry, "Going Underground", on Tuesday that he recently explored the Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC) with Mr S Iswaran, who's Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Trade and Industry and Home Affairs.

Mr Khaw described his visit to the JRC, which is located at a depth of more than 130 metres beneath the Banyan Basin on Jurong Island, as "quite an experience".

Under Phase One, it has five caverns providing storage and terminalling facilities for liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil. They form an important infrastructure of Singapore's petrochemical industry.

Mr Khaw noted that such facilities are normally built above ground, as they'll be cheaper. Building them underground frees up valuable land for other purposes.

The five caverns are made up of storage galleries, as high as nine storeys.

Mr Khaw said these translate to a saving of about 60 hectares of land, which is very significant for Singapore.

"Not quite to the centre of the Earth, but the visit down the shaft to the deepest part of Singapore, nevertheless, left a deep impression. The JRC opens up new opportunities for land-scarce Singapore. Beyond storage, what more can be moved underground?" Mr Khaw wrote.

- CNA/ck

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Protect journalists, uphold press freedom, says Justice Markandeya Katju

MANGALORE: Press Council of India chairman Justice Markandeya Katju on Monday said that the state government might have to face legal consequences under Article 355 and 356 of the Indian Constitution if it did not protect journalists and uphold press freedom.

He was addressing reporters after receiving a memorandum in connection with the arrest of Naveen Soorinje, reporter of a private channel in the homestay attack case from activists attached to Journalists' Study Centre, People's Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike and Mahila Dourjanya Virodhi Vedike here on Monday.

"If the state government does not protect journalists and uphold press freedom it will be deemed that the government is not functioning in accordance with the Constitution. In such a scenario legal consequences under Article 355 and 356 of the Constitution may follow. Article 356 is invoked when the governor recommends it to President of India or when there are allegations that the state is unable to function in accordance with the Constitution. Anybody can make a recommendation. Of course, it is up to the President to accept it," Justice Katju said.

He refused to comment on the arrest of Naveen saying the matter is sub judice. "However, I am informed that in Mangalore, journalists are often harassed by police and hooligans. I therefore make it clear that the press council will not tolerate violation of press freedom either by assaults on journalists, giving threats or in any other manner," he added.

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Fossil fuel subsidies in focus at climate talks

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $1 per gallon at the pump.

"Thank God that our country is an oil producer and the price of gasoline is one of the lowest," al-Kubaisi said, filling up his Toyota Land Cruiser at a gas station in Doha. "God has given us a blessing."

To those looking for a global response to climate change, it's more like a curse.

Qatar — the host of U.N. climate talks that entered their final week Monday — is among dozens of countries that keep gas prices artificially low through subsidies that exceeded $500 billion globally last year. Renewable energy worldwide received six times less support — an imbalance that is just starting to earn attention in the divisive negotiations on curbing the carbon emissions blamed for heating the planet.

"We need to stop funding the problem, and start funding the solution," said Steve Kretzmann, of Oil Change International, an advocacy group for clean energy.

His group presented research Monday showing that in addition to the fuel subsidies in developing countries, rich nations in 2011 gave more than $58 billion in tax breaks and other production subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The U.S. figure was $13 billion.

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has calculated that removing fossil fuel subsidies could reduce carbon emissions by more than 10 percent by 2050.

Yet the argument is just recently gaining traction in climate negotiations, which in two decades have failed to halt the rising temperatures that are melting Arctic ice, raising sea levels and shifting weather patterns with impacts on droughts and floods.

In Doha, the talks have been slowed by wrangling over financial aid to help poor countries cope with global warming and how to divide carbon emissions rights until 2020 when a new planned climate treaty is supposed to enter force. Calls are now intensifying to include fossil fuel subsidies as a key part of the discussion.

"I think it is manifestly clear ... that this is a massive missing piece of the climate change jigsaw puzzle," said Tim Groser, New Zealand's minister for climate change.

He is spearheading an initiative backed by Scandinavian countries and some developing countries to put fuel subsidies on the agenda in various forums, citing the U.N. talks as a "natural home" for the debate.

The G-20 called for their elimination in 2009, and the issue also came up at the U.N. earth summit in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. Frustrated that not much has happened since, European Union climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard said Monday she planned to raise the issue with environment ministers on the sidelines of the talks in Doha.

Many developing countries are positive toward phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, not just to protect the climate but to balance budgets. Subsidies introduced as a form of welfare benefit decades ago have become an increasing burden to many countries as oil prices soar.

"We are reviewing the subsidy periodically in the context of the total economy for Qatar," the tiny Persian gulf country's energy minister, Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, told reporters Monday.

Qatar's National Development Strategy 2011-2016 states it more bluntly, saying fuel subsides are "at odds with the aspirations" and sustainability objectives of the wealthy emirate.

The problem is that getting rid of them comes with a heavy political price.

When Jordan raised fuel prices last month, angry crowds poured into the streets, torching police cars, government offices and private banks in the most sustained protests to hit the country since the start of the Arab unrest. One person was killed and 75 others were injured in the violence.

Nigeria, Indonesia, India and Sudan have also seen violent protests this year as governments tried to bring fuel prices closer to market rates.

Iran has used a phased approach to lift fuel subsidies over the past several years, but its pump prices remain among the cheapest in the world.

"People perceive it as something that the government is taking away from them," said Kretzmann. "The trick is we need to do it in a way that doesn't harm the poor."

The International Energy Agency found in 2010 that fuel subsidies are not an effective measure against poverty because only 8 percent of such subsidies reached the bottom 20 percent of income earners.

The IEA, which only looked at consumption subsidies, this year said they "remain most prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, where momentum toward their reform appears to have been lost."

In the U.S., environmental groups say fossil fuel subsidies include tax breaks, the foreign tax credit and the credit for production of nonconventional fuels.

Industry groups, like the Independent Petroleum Association of America, are against removing such support, saying that would harm smaller companies, rather than the big oil giants.

In Doha, Mohammed Adow, a climate activist with Christian Aid, called all fuel subsidies "reckless and dangerous," but described removing subsidies on the production side as "low-hanging fruit" for governments if they are serious about dealing with climate change.

"It's going to oil and coal companies that don't need it in the first place," he said.

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Associated Press writers Abdullah Rebhy in Doha, Qatar, and Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report

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Karl Ritter can be reached at www.twitter.com/karl_ritter

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