Football: Evra vows to banish United's Wigan ghosts






WIGAN, United Kingdom: Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has promised there will be no repeat of last season's debilitating defeat at Wigan Athletic when the sides meet again on New Year's Day.

Alex Ferguson's side were beaten 1-0 at the DW Stadium at the start of a run of just one win in four matches that led to Manchester City regaining control of the title race on the way to winning the Premier League.

Although United have endured defensive problems this season, they have picked up six wins from their last seven matches and begin 2013 seven points clear of City.

Shaun Maloney scored the only goal of that defeat in April and Evra, 31, has vowed that United will not experience similar emotions this time around as they look to maintain consistency over the busy holiday period.

Evra is also adamant that with the options that Ferguson has available, tiredness cannot be an excuse.

"I think about the 4-3 win over Newcastle -- last year we lost at this time, 3-2 against Blackburn," said the French left-back.

"I think we have to use the bad experiences we had last year. I remember last year we lost 1-0 at Wigan and we showed nothing. It was a really bad performance for Manchester United.

"This year there will be no excuse. We will just go there, play like Man United, and make sure we get the three points, because it's really important we do that.

"I always say to myself that I'm lucky to get to play in so many games. I will say to the boss I am ready to play, but if he says I need a rest, then I will have a rest.

"I just want to keep going. I will rest when I retire. That's the name of my game."

Defenders Phil Jones and Rafael should return from injury for the game at United's north-west rivals.

But England striker Wayne Rooney is set to miss out again with a knee problem, while Anderson and Nani are both struggling with hamstring injuries.

Ferguson believes the changes he made for the 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday will also have a positive effect against a Wigan side who picked up a 3-0 victory at Aston Villa.

The United manager said: "Phil could be ready and Rafa will be ready.

"We rested Robin (van Persie), Chicharito (Javier Hernandez), Ryan (Giggs) and Paul (Scholes) against West Brom, so we've got enough freshness to bring in.

"Wigan had a great result and it'll be a hard game on Tuesday."

The Latics have been beset by defensive injury problems but after recalling Gary Caldwell earlier in the festive period, manager Roberto Martinez was able to include Spanish defender Ivan Ramis at Villa for the first time in more than a month after knee trouble.

That win at Villa Park ended a miserable run of five defeats in six games for Wigan, who had also conceded at least two goals in eight of their previous nine matches.

After finally keeping a clean sheet Martinez feels his team have now come through a difficult time and look more imposing at both ends of the pitch.

"At Aston Villa, their intensity was magnificent and meant the quality we had going forwards could open up the pitch and create opportunities," he said.

"We were dominant in both boxes, which is what has been missing in recent games, and we'll aim to take that into Tuesday's game against Manchester United."

Antolin Alcaraz is still out with a groin problem and Antonio Lopez, Ben Watson, on-loan Arsenal winger Ryo Miyaichi and Albert Crusat are also absent.

-AFP/ac



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Castrate all rapists, says Zubin Mehta

BEIJING: World famous composer of Indian origin, Zubin Mehta, called for castration of all accused in the Delhi gang-rape case and others found committing the rape in India. He expressed excitement about the protests against the gang-rape of Nirbhaya and expects positive changes to come out of it.

"I am fuming, but I see a very healthy sign of public objection, public demonstration. I hope it will not die down. I hope it will not be short-lived," Mehta told Toi in an exclusive interview.

He said the Indian government should realize what the people really want from it. "It is not only about justice, but the future of India. Police has to take it seriously".

Mehta said the issue is being discussed the world over like the case of Malala, the Pakistani girl, and brought shame to Indians. He also questioned the government's decision to shift the rape victim for medical treatment to Singapore. "Where they trying to remove her from the locality, for her own safety?" he asked.

The least that should be done is to castrate all the four accused in the Delhi gang rape case, he said. "I heard that a girl who reported rape was advised to marry one of the criminals. How can a human being do such a thing?" he asked.

"An important issue that needs to be addressed is how to look after the poor ladies who have been attacked," he said.

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Fiscal Cliff-Hanger: No Vote Tonight, Reid Says













With less than two days remaining for Congress to reach a budget agreement that would avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," a senior White House official tells ABC News that President Obama is still "modestly optimistic" that a deal can be struck to prevent middle class taxes from increasing on New Year's Day.


But a resolution to the ordeal won't come tonight.


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid adjourned his chamber just before 6 p.m., ensuring a potential deal could not be voted on before senators return to business Monday morning.


The Nevada lawmaker vowed despite the recess, the parties' leadership would continue negotiations throughout the night.


Vice President Biden has now re-emerged as a key player, back in Washington and playing "a direct role" in trying to make a deal with Senate Republicans. Biden has been tapped because of his long-standing relationship with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.


A Democratic source says that McConnell seems to be genuinely interested in getting an agreement. The news dovetails with reports that the GOP has backed off a key Social Security measure that had stalled negotiations.


According to sources, the row was sparked when the GOP offered a proposal that included a new method of calculating entitlement benefits with inflation. Called the "chained consumer price index," or Chained CPI, the strategy has been criticized by some Democrats because it would lower cost of living increases for Social Security recipients.


"We thought it was mutually understood that it was off the table for a scaled-back deal," a Democratic aide said. "It's basically a poison pill."


Obama has floated chained CPI in the past as part of a grand bargain, despite opposition from the AARP and within his own party.


Also in the Republican plan brought today: An extension of the current estate tax and no increase in the debt ceiling. Higher income earners would see their taxes increase, but at levels "well above $250,000," the sources said.


That "major setback" in the talks was evident on the floor of the Senate this afternoon.


"I'm concerned about the lack of urgency here, I think we all know we are running out of time," McConnell said, "I want everyone to know I am willing to get this done, but I need a dance partner."


McConnell, R-Ky., said he submitted the Republican's latest offer to Reid, D-Nev., at 7:10 p.m. Saturday and was willing to work through the night. Reid promised to get back to him at 10 this morning, but has yet to do so.


Why have the Democrats not come up with a counteroffer? Reid admitted it himself moments later.


"At this stage we're not able to make a counteroffer," Reid said noting that he's had numerous conversations with Obama, but the two parties are still far apart on some big issues, "I don't have a counteroffer to make. Perhaps as the day wears on I will be able to."


McConnell said he believes there is no major issue that is the sticking point but rather, "the sticking point appears to be a willingness, an interest, or frankly the courage to close the deal."






J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo











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Reid said late this afternoon that the fiscal cliff negotiations were getting "real close" to falling apart completely.


"At some point in the negotiating process, it appears that there are things that stop us from moving forward," he said. "I hope we're not there but we're getting real close and that's why I still hold out hope that we can get something done. But I'm not overly optimistic but I am cautiously optimistic that we can get something done."


Reid said there were serious difference between the two sides, starting with Social Security. He said Democrats are not willing to cut Social Security benefits as part of a smaller, short-term agreement, as was proposed in the latest Republican proposal.


"We're not going to have any Social Security cuts. At this stage it just doesn't seem appropriate," he said. "We're open to discussion about entitlement reforms, but we're going to have to take a different direction. The present status will not work."


Reid said that even 36 hours before the country could go over the cliff, he remains "hopeful" but "realistic," about the prospects of reaching an agreement.


"The other side is intentionally demanding concessions they know we are not willing to make," he said.


The two parties were met separately at 3 p.m., and before going in Reid said he hoped there would be an announcement to make on a way forward afterwards. But as of this evening there was no agreement and no counterproposal.


McConnell said earlier today he placed a call to Vice President Biden to see if he could "jump start the negotiations on his side."


In an interview aired this morning -- well before the breakdown -- Obama suggested that a smaller deal remained the best hope to avoid the perilous package of spending cuts and tax increases.


On NBC's "Meet the Press" the president said if Republicans agreed to raising taxes on top income earners it should be enough to avoid the triggers that would execute the $607 billion measure. Economists agree that going over the cliff would likely put the country back in recession.


"If we have raised some revenue by the wealthy paying a little bit more, that would be sufficient to turn off what's called the sequester, these automatic spending cuts, and that also would have a better outcome for our economy long-term," he said.


Saying the "pressure is on Congress to produce," the president did not specify what income level his party would deem acceptable as the cutoff for those who would see their tax rates remain at current levels.


The president has called for expiration of the "Bush-era" tax cuts to affect household earnings over $250,000 since the campaign, but has reportedly floated a $400,000 figure in past negotiations.


House Speaker John Boehner once offered a $1 million cut-off in his failed "Plan B" proposal, which failed to garner enough support among the House Republicans.


"It's been very hard for Speaker Boehner and Republican Leader McConnell to accept the fact that taxes on the wealthiest Americans should go up a little bit as part of an overall deficit reduction package," the president said.


Domestic programs would lose $55 billion in funding should sequestration pass, including $2 billion to Medicare and unemployment benefits. The Pentagon would take a $55 billion loss as well, or 9 percent of its budget.


Repeating remarks he made Friday after a meeting with congressional leaders,
Obama said that should negotiations fail he has asked Reid to introduce a stripped-down proposal to Congress for a straight up-or-down vote -- if it isn't blocked.


"If all else fails, if Republicans do in fact decide to block so that taxes on the middle class do in fact go up on Jan. 1, then we'll come back with a new Congress on Jan. 4, and the first bill that will be introduced on the floor will be to cut taxes on middle-class families," he said of the worst-case scenario. "I don't think the average person is going to say, 'Gosh, you know, that's a really partisan agenda.'"


The interview with the president was taped Saturday while Reid and McConnell scrambled to their offices for a solution behind closed doors. Press staking out Capitol Hill reported little public activity from the leaders or their surrogates. If negotiations are successful, the lawmakers could introduce a bill for vote this afternoon.


The Republican leaders immediately bit back at the president's remarks. In a written statement Boehner said casting blame was "ironic, as a recurring theme of our negotiations was his unwillingness to agree to anything that would require him to stand up to his own party. "






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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money


NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.


Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated with the Nairobi City Council, told The Associated Press that Pumwani wouldn't let them leave after delivering their babies. The bills the mothers couldn't afford were $60 and $160. Guards would beat mothers with sticks who tried to leave without paying, one of the women said.


Now, a New York-based group has filed a lawsuit on the women's behalf in hopes of forcing Pumwani to stop the practice, a practice Omondi is candid about.


"We hold you and squeeze you until we get what we can get. We must be self-sufficient," Omondi said in an interview in his hospital office. "The hospital must get money to pay electricity, to pay water. We must pay our doctors and our workers."


"They stay there until they pay. They must pay," he said of the 350 mothers who give birth each week on average. "If you don't pay the hospital will collapse."


The Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the suit this month in the High Court of Kenya, says detaining women for not paying is illegal. Pumwani is associated with the Nairobi City Council, one reason it might be able to get away with such practices, and the patients are among Nairobi's poorest with hardly anyone to stand up for them.


Maimouna Awuor was an impoverished mother of four when she was to give birth to her fifth in October 2010. Like many who live in Nairobi's slums, Awuor performs odd jobs in the hopes of earning enough money to feed her kids that day. Awuor, who is named in the lawsuit, says she had saved $12 and hoped to go to a lower-cost clinic but was turned away and sent to Pumwani. After giving birth, she couldn't pay the $60 bill, and was held with what she believes was about 60 other women and their infants.


"We were sleeping three to a bed, sometimes four," she said. "They abuse you, they call you names," she said of the hospital staff.


She said saw some women tried to flee but they were beaten by the guards and turned back. While her husband worked at a faraway refugee camp, Awuor's 9-year-old daughter took care of her siblings. A friend helped feed them, she said, while the children stayed in the family's 50-square-foot shack, where rent is $18 a month. She says she was released after 20 days after Nairobi's mayor paid her bill. Politicians in Kenya in general are expected to give out money and get a budget to do so.


A second mother named in the lawsuit, Margaret Anyoso, says she was locked up in Pumwani for six days in 2010 because she could not pay her $160 bill. Her pregnancy was complicated by a punctured bladder and heavy bleeding.


"I did not see my child until the sixth day after the surgery. The hospital staff were keeping her away from me and it was only when I caused a scene that they brought her to me," said Anyoso, a vegetable seller and a single mother with five children who makes $5 on a good day.


Anyoso said she didn't have clothes for her child so she wrapped her in a blood-stained blouse. She was released after relatives paid the bill.


One woman says she was detained for nine months and was released only after going on a hunger strike. The Center for Reproductive Rights says other hospitals also detain non-paying patients.


Judy Okal, the acting Africa director for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said her group filed the lawsuit so all Kenyan women, regardless of socio-economic status, are able to receive health care without fear of imprisonment. The hospital, the attorney general, the City Council of Nairobi and two government ministries are named in the suit.


___


Associated Press reporter Tom Odula contributed to this report.


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India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital


SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Indian gang rape victim whose assault in New Delhi triggered nationwide protests died in hospital on Saturday of injuries suffered in the attack, a Singapore hospital treating her said.


The death of the 23-year-old medical student could spawn new protests and possibly fresh confrontations with the police, especially in the Indian capital, which has been the focus of the demonstrations.


"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4:45 a.m. on Dec 29, 2012 (15:45 a.m. ET Friday). Her family and officials from the High Commission of India were by her side," Mount Elizabeth Hospital Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Loh said in a statement.


The woman, who was severely beaten, raped and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was flown to Singapore by the Indian government on Wednesday for specialist treatment.


Most rapes and other sex crimes in India go unreported and offenders are rarely punished, women's rights activists say. But the brutality of the assault on December 16 triggered public outrage and demands for better policing and harsher punishment for rapists.


The case has received blanket coverage on cable television news channels. The woman has not been identified but some Indian media have called her "Amanat", an Urdu word meaning "treasure".


Earlier on Friday, the hospital had reported that the young woman's condition had taken a turn for the worse. It said that her family had been informed and were by her side.


T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, said after her death that the family has expressed a desire for her body to be flown back to India.


At a briefing earlier on Saturday, Raghavan declined to comment on reports in India accusing the government of sending her to Singapore to minimize the possible backlash in the event of her death.


Some Indian medical experts had questioned the decision to airlift the woman to Singapore, calling it a risky maneuver given the seriousness of her injuries. They had said she was already receiving the best possible care in India.


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has been battling criticism that it was tone-deaf to the outcry and heavy-handed in its response to the protests in the Indian capital.


"It is deeply saddening and just beyond words. The police and government definitely have to do something more," said Sharanya Ramachandran, an Indian national who is working as an engineer in Singapore.


"They should bring in very severe punishment for such cases. They should start recognizing that it is a big crime."


"SIGNIFICANT BRAIN INJURY"


The Singapore hospital said earlier that the woman had suffered "significant brain injury" and was surviving against the odds. She had already undergone three abdominal operations before being flown to Singapore.


Demonstrations over the lack of safety for women erupted across India after the attack, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters in the heart of New Delhi.


New Delhi has been on edge since the weekend clashes. Hundreds of policemen have been deployed on the streets of the capital and streets leading to the main protest site, the India Gate war memorial, have been shut for long periods, causing commuter chaos in the city of 16 million.


Political commentators and sociologists say the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues.


Many protesters have complained that Singh's government has done little to curb the abuse of women in the country of 1.2 billion. A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.


New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.


(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata and Kevin Lim; Writing by Kevin Lim in Singapore and Ross Colvin in New Delhi; Editing by Michael Roddy)



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Yen rebounds slightly against dollar






NEW YORK: The yen edged higher against the dollar Friday after days of declines on expectations Japan would implement more monetary easing under its new prime minister.

The dollar stood at 85.98 yen around 2200 GMT, down from 86.09 late Thursday.

In Asian trade earlier in the day, the yen sat at more than two-year lows against the greenback.

Investors have been selling the yen on expectations newly-elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will carry out his promises of more aggressive monetary easing and big government spending to lift inflation and kickstart the economy.

While noting that Abe and members of his government have "made it abundantly clear" that they won't back away from their promises, BK Asset Management noted that "dollar/yen appears to be nearing exhaustion and a move down to 85 is likely."

"After climbing to a fresh 2-year high overnight, dollar/yen staged a sharp intraday reversal that left the pair near the day's lows," they said.

The euro also slipped slightly against the yen around 2200 GMT, reaching 113.62 yen around 2200 GMT, compared to 113.97 yen a day earlier.

The common European currency lost a little ground to the dollar, standing at $1.3217 after hitting $1.3235 late Thursday.

In other currencies, the dollar inched up to 0.9134 Swiss francs, while the pound rose to $1.6167.

-AFP/ac



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C-form mandatory even for non-commercial homes

MANALI: Befriending foreign nationals and offering them one-night accommodations in houses can put owners in trouble as Himachal Police is keeping a close watch over people to check if they are filling the C-form, a registration form for foreigners, to collect information about guest from abroad.

As the number of foreigners visiting Himachal is increasing every year, police have taken this safety measure for their safe stay here, said a police officer.

Most of the foreigners prefer staying in guest houses while many of them stay in villages along with the local families. Apart from providing safety to foreigners, filling of C-form provides necessary information about visitor in case of some untoward incident.

According to Manali superintendent of police Sanjeev Chauhan, they have booked a villager who offered accommodation to foreign national but did not fill C-form. "Police are warning people here to fill the form - either online or manually - for safety of both tourists and themselves," he said.

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'Cliff' Summit Brings Hope for a Deal













Political brinkmanship appears to have created a last minute chance for the White House and Congress to agree on a plan to avoid sending the country over the fiscal cliff.


President Obama emerged from an Oval Office meeting with Congressional leaders this evening to say "we had a constructive meeting today" and that he was "moderately optimistic" that they could devise a federal budget proposal ahead of a Jan. 1 deadline that would otherwise automatically trigger a wide range of tax increases and spending cuts. Economists fear that such a combination could throw the country back into a recession.


He said Senate Majority Leader Harry, a Democrat, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, were trying to quickly fashion a deal.


"Senators Reid and McConnell are discussing a potential agreement where we can get a bipartisan bill out of the Senate and over to the House in a timely fashion so that we met the Dec. 31 deadline," Obama said in a hastily-arranged statement. "But given how things have been working in this town we always have to wait and see to see whether it actually happens."


Admitting the weekend could ultimately prove fruitless, the president said as a backup plan he had instructed Reid to deliver the Femocratic proposal to the Senate floor for a straight up-or-down vote. That would boost taxes for couples making more than $250,000.






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"I believe such a proposal could pass both houses with bipartisan majorities as long as those leaders allow it to actually come to a vote," Obama said. "If members of the House or the Senate want to vote no, they can, but we should let everybody vote. That's the way this is supposed to work. If you can get a majority in the House and you can get a majority in the Senate, then we should be able to pass a bill."


The president lamented that a deal is coming down to the final hours.


"The American people are watching what we do... (their) patience is already thin," the president said. "It's deja vu all over again."


He added later that for Americans the repeated last second efforts to dodge economic crises "is mind boggling to them. It has to stop."


Obama did not give details on what common ground was found behind the West Wing's doors, but ABC News has learned the president did not come to the discussions armed with new proposals. For one, a source familiar with meeting said, the president reiterated his party's past insistence on letting the "Bush-era" tax cuts for income over $250,000 expire, a measure which would affect 2 percent of Americans.


In his brief remarks the president reiterated that this stance was one he campaigned on in the months leading to his November reelection.


Besides Reid and McConnell, the meeting was attended by House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, ice President Biden and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Although only four days remain until the deadline, this was the first time the so-called "Big Four" congressional leaders have assembled together in-person in weeks. Their last meeting was Nov. 16.


According to a readout of the meeting from the Speaker's office, "the leaders spent the majority of the meeting discussing potential options and components for a plan that could pass both chambers of Congress."






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Kenya hospital imprisons new mothers with no money


NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The director of the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, located in a hardscrabble neighborhood of downtown Nairobi, freely acknowledges what he's accused of: detaining mothers who can't pay their bills. Lazarus Omondi says it's the only way he can keep his medical center running.


Two mothers who live in a mud-wall and tin-roof slum a short walk from the maternity hospital, which is affiliated with the Nairobi City Council, told The Associated Press that Pumwani wouldn't let them leave after delivering their babies. The bills the mothers couldn't afford were $60 and $160. Guards would beat mothers with sticks who tried to leave without paying, one of the women said.


Now, a New York-based group has filed a lawsuit on the women's behalf in hopes of forcing Pumwani to stop the practice, a practice Omondi is candid about.


"We hold you and squeeze you until we get what we can get. We must be self-sufficient," Omondi said in an interview in his hospital office. "The hospital must get money to pay electricity, to pay water. We must pay our doctors and our workers."


"They stay there until they pay. They must pay," he said of the 350 mothers who give birth each week on average. "If you don't pay the hospital will collapse."


The Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the suit this month in the High Court of Kenya, says detaining women for not paying is illegal. Pumwani is associated with the Nairobi City Council, one reason it might be able to get away with such practices, and the patients are among Nairobi's poorest with hardly anyone to stand up for them.


Maimouna Awuor was an impoverished mother of four when she was to give birth to her fifth in October 2010. Like many who live in Nairobi's slums, Awuor performs odd jobs in the hopes of earning enough money to feed her kids that day. Awuor, who is named in the lawsuit, says she had saved $12 and hoped to go to a lower-cost clinic but was turned away and sent to Pumwani. After giving birth, she couldn't pay the $60 bill, and was held with what she believes was about 60 other women and their infants.


"We were sleeping three to a bed, sometimes four," she said. "They abuse you, they call you names," she said of the hospital staff.


She said saw some women tried to flee but they were beaten by the guards and turned back. While her husband worked at a faraway refugee camp, Awuor's 9-year-old daughter took care of her siblings. A friend helped feed them, she said, while the children stayed in the family's 50-square-foot shack, where rent is $18 a month. She says she was released after 20 days after Nairobi's mayor paid her bill. Politicians in Kenya in general are expected to give out money and get a budget to do so.


A second mother named in the lawsuit, Margaret Anyoso, says she was locked up in Pumwani for six days in 2010 because she could not pay her $160 bill. Her pregnancy was complicated by a punctured bladder and heavy bleeding.


"I did not see my child until the sixth day after the surgery. The hospital staff were keeping her away from me and it was only when I caused a scene that they brought her to me," said Anyoso, a vegetable seller and a single mother with five children who makes $5 on a good day.


Anyoso said she didn't have clothes for her child so she wrapped her in a blood-stained blouse. She was released after relatives paid the bill.


One woman says she was detained for nine months and was released only after going on a hunger strike. The Center for Reproductive Rights says other hospitals also detain non-paying patients.


Judy Okal, the acting Africa director for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said her group filed the lawsuit so all Kenyan women, regardless of socio-economic status, are able to receive health care without fear of imprisonment. The hospital, the attorney general, the City Council of Nairobi and two government ministries are named in the suit.


___


Associated Press reporter Tom Odula contributed to this report.


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Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban


MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign into law a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans.


In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his support to a bill that has further strained U.S.-Russia relations.


"There are probably many places in the world where living standards are higher than ours. So what, are we going to send all our children there? Maybe we should move there ourselves?" he said, with sarcasm.


Parliament gave its final approval on Wednesday to the bill, which would also introduce other measures in retaliation for new U.S. legislation which is designed to punish Russians accused of human rights violations.


For it to become law Putin needs to sign it.


"So far I see no reason not to sign it, although I have to review the final text and weigh everything," Putin said at a meeting of federal and regional officials that was shown live on the state's 24-hour news channel.


"I intend to sign not only the law ... but also a presidential decree that will modify the support mechanisms for orphaned children ... especially those who are in a difficult situation, by that I mean in poor health," Putin said.


Critics of the bill say the Russian authorities are playing political games with the lives of children, while the U.S. State Department repeated its "deep concern" over the measure.


"Since 1992 American families have welcomed more than 60,000 Russian children into their homes, and it is misguided to link the fate of children to unrelated political considerations," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.


Ventrell added that the United States was troubled by provisions in the bill that would restrict the ability of Russian civil society organizations to work with U.S. partners.


Children in Russia's crowded and troubled orphanage system - particularly those with serious illnesses or disabilities - will have less of a chance of finding homes, and of even surviving, if it becomes law, child rights advocates say.


They point to people like Jessica Long, who was given up shortly after birth by her parents in Siberia but was raised by adoptive parents in the United States and became a Paralympic swimming champion.


However, the Russian authorities point to the deaths of 19 Russian-born children adopted by American parents in the past decade, and lawmakers named the bill after a boy who died of heat stroke in Virginia after his adoptive father left him locked in a car for hours.


Putin reiterated Russian complaints that U.S. courts have been too lenient on parents in such cases, saying Russia has inadequate access to Russian-born children in the United States despite a bilateral agreement that entered into force on November 1.


NATIONAL IDENTITY


But Putin, who began a new six-year term in May and has searched for ways to unite the country during 13 years in power, suggested there were deeper motives for such a ban.


"For centuries, neither spiritual nor state leaders sent anyone abroad," he said, indicating he was not speaking specifically about Russia but about many societies.


"They always fight for their national identities - they gather themselves together in a fist, they fight for their language, culture," he said.


The bid to ban American adoptions plays on sensitivity in Russia about adoptions by foreigners, which skyrocketed as the social safety net unraveled with the 1991 Soviet collapse.


Families from the United States adopt more Russian children than those of any other country.


Putin had earlier described the Russian bill as an emotional but appropriate response to the Magnitsky Act, legislation signed by President Barack Obama this month as part of a law granting Russia "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) status.


The U.S. law imposes visa bans and asset freezes on Russians accused of human rights violations, including those linked to the death in a Moscow jail of Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-graft lawyer, in 2009.


The Russian bill would impose similar measures against Americans accused of violating the rights of Russian abroad and outlaw some U.S.-funded non-governmental groups.


(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; additional reporting by Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Steve Gutterman; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Doina Chiacu)



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