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Wednesday, January 1, 2014 – Daily News 5B WORLD BRIEFING Kerry seeks framework for Mideast peace talks WASHINGTON (AP) — During his tenth round of Mideast shuttle diplomacy, Secretary of State John Kerry will try to get Israel and the Palestinians to agree to the outlines of a final peace agreement, but doesn't expect a ''big breakthrough'' during his trip to the region this week, a senior State Department official said Tuesday. Kerry will test ideas for breaching gaps between the two parties, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters ahead of Kerry's departure on Wednesday. But the official tempered expectations, saying a ''big breakthrough'' was not likely during the trip. Any agreed framework would not be a signed document, but would address all core issues, including the borders between Israel and a future Palestine, security, Palestinian refugees and conflicting claims to the holy city of Jerusalem, the official said. The official also said if the parties agreed on a framework for negotiating a final peace deal, it might not be made public to avoid exposing the leaders to political pressures at home. A framework might not even be enough to ensure a subsequent face-to-face meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, an indication perhaps that wide gaps remain. Kerry has invested a lot of time conducting negotiations in hopes of reaching a deal within nine months. The target date expires at the end of April, and while that is not considered a deadline to end talks, there has been little, if any, tangible sign of progress so far. Asked if the framework could be achieved before April, the official said ''We hope we can get it sooner,'' but he insisted he was not setting any deadlines. The official said negotiators have identified gaps between the two parties, but also have generated some ideas that could help breach them. Kerry's trip, which will take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories, is to start to test those ideas with Abbas and Netanyahu, see if progress can be made and decide where to go from there. Israeli and Palestinian politicians on Tuesday staked out ''red lines'' they claimed their leaders would never cross once presented with Kerry's widely anticipated proposal for the outlines of a peace deal. In Washington, the official stressed that the framework was not an American plan that would be imposed on the parties. He said a framework would outline the end point of the negotiations, rather than being an interim agreement. Abbas struck a tough tone in a televised New Year's Eve speech, saying he would ''not hesitate for a moment to say no, regardless of the pressure, to any proposal that contradicts or sidesteps the national interests of our people.'' He reiterated the Palestinian demand for a state in the lands Israel captured in 1967, with east Jerusalem as a capital, and a fair solution for Palestinian refugees who, along with their descendants, today number several million people. Abbas said he would not accept an Israeli military presence in a future Palestinian state, a reference to what Palestinians say was a U.S. bridging proposal to maintain Israeli troops on the eastern border of that state for at least a decade. The Palestinians must have control over all of the lands of their state, along with its water resources, air space, borders and border crossings, Abbas said in his speech, which also marked the 49th anniversary of the founding of his Fatah movement. Although the State Department official said he isn't demanding final answers during this trip, it appears both leaders face tough decisions in coming weeks. On Tuesday, the focus was on the West Bank's Jordan Valley, a strategic area along the border with Jordan that Israeli hard-liners, including members of Netanyahu's Likud Party, say must be annexed by Israel. The Palestinian Cabinet moved its weekly Cabinet meeting to the valley to stake its claim to the area, while the pro-settler caucus in Israel's parliament said it would dedicate a new neighborhood in an Israeli settlement in the valley. In a sign of simmering tensions, suspected Jewish vandals set three cars on fire in a West Bank village and sprayed graffiti on a wall reading ''Regards to Kerry.'' While the official, who is close to the negotiations, would not disclose the details of a possible framework agreement, traditional U.S. positions on solving the conflict are known and Kerry has dropped hints, including in a policy speech earlier this month. There has been growing expectation that Netanyahu will be asked to recognize Israel's pre-1967 war frontier as a baseline for drawing the borders of a Palestinian state, while allowing for some modifications and land swaps. Netanyahu long has opposed this principle, apparently because it would imply Israeli readiness to give up most of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. President Barack Obama has said that it is the U.S. position that the two-state solution should be based on a Palestinian state established upon the 1967 lines plus swaps to take account of subsequent development. ''These negotiations that we're in at the moment are based on a common assumption that the endgame will be an independent Palestinian state living side by side with a secure Jewish state of Israel,'' the official said. Palestinian officials, meanwhile, fear that Kerry will ask Abbas to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. Abbas has rejected this in the past, with his aides saying such recognition would mean abrogating the rights of Palestinian refugees who dream of returning to lost properties in what is now Israel. Brewery responds to Starbucks letter with $6 check ST. LOUIS (AP) — A small Missouri brewery has responded to a cease and desist letter from Starbucks by sending the coffee chain a check to cover what it calls the profit from use of the word ''Frappicino'' — a check for $6. Exit 6 Pub and Brewery in the St. Louis suburb of Cottleville named one of its brews the Frappicino, with one c instead of the two that Starbucks uses for its blended beverages. That prompted an attorney for Starbucks Coffee Co. to send Exit 6 a letter on Dec. 9. The letter from attorney Anessa Owen Kramer noted that the Seattle-based company ''is the owner of a number of world-famous trademarks, including the wellknown FRAPPUCCINO trademark.'' It said that the words are ''phonetically identical'' and that Exit 6's use of Frappicino ''is likely to cause confusion, mistake.'' In his sarcastic response letter, Exit 6 owner Jeff Britton also wrote that the brewery ''never thought that our beer drinking customers would have thought that the alcoholic beverage coming out of the tap would have actually been coffee from one of the many, many, many stores located a few blocks away.'' Exit 6 posted the letter on its Facebook site and responded with a letter to ''Mr. Bucks.'' The letter said Exit 6 would no longer use the term ''Frappicino'' and would instead refer to its beer as the ''F Word.'' Britton said in a telephone interview Tuesday that he brewed up a new batch of ''The F Word'' last Friday. By then, the dispute was already drawing attention on social media, and the beer sold out in three hours. He's contemplating making more, based on the calls, emails and Facebook messages of support he said he's received from around the world. ''It's been unbelievable,'' Britton said. ''People are just saying, 'Hey, read the story, good job.' I'm getting emails and Facebook messages from Germany, China, England. People are just clamoring for it.'' Starbucks spokeswoman Laurel Harper said the company was glad the brewery agreed to stop using the name. ''This was a respectful request asking Exit 6 to refrain from using the term 'Frappicino,' which differs by only one letter from our 'Frappucino' product,'' she said by telephone. ''We always prefer to resolve trademark disputes informally and amicably, and we appreciate them respecting our request to avoid confusion among customers.'' In a study of more than 600 older veterans, high doses of the vitamin delayed the decline in daily living skills, such as making meals, getting dressed and holding a conversation, by about six months over a two-year period. The benefit was equivalent to keeping one major skill that otherwise would have been lost, such as being able to bathe without help. For some people, that could mean living independently rather than needing a nursing home. Vitamin E did not preserve thinking abilities, though, and it did no good for patients who took it with another Alzheimer's medication. But those taking vitamin E alone required less help from caregivers — about two fewer hours each day than some others in the study. ''It's not a miracle or, obviously, a cure,'' said study leader Dr. Maurice Dysken of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. ''The best we can do at this point is slow down the rate of progression.'' The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs sponsored the study, published Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association. No one should rush out and buy vitamin E, several doctors warned. It failed to prevent healthy people from developing dementia or to help those with mild impairment (''preAlzheimer's'') in other studies, and one suggested it might even be harmful. Still, many experts cheered the new results after so many recent flops of once-promising drugs. ''This is truly a breakthrough paper and constitutes what we have been working toward for nearly three decades: the first truly disease-modifying intervention for Alzheimer's,'' said Dr. Sam Gandy of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. ''I am very enthusiastic about the results.'' About 35 million people worldwide have dementia, and Alzheimer's is the most common type. In the U.S., about 5 million have Alzheimer's. There is no cure and current medicines just temporarily ease symptoms. Researchers don't know how vitamin E might help, but it is an antioxidant, like those found in red wine, grapes and some teas. Antioxidants help protect cells from damage that can contribute to other diseases, says the federal Office on Dietary Supplements. Many foods contain vitamin E, such as nuts, seeds, grains, leafy greens and vegetable oils. There are many forms, and the study tested a synthetic version of one — alpha-tocopherol — at a pharmaceutical grade and strength, 2,000 international units a day. Small improvement for Michael Schumacher after 2nd surgery, but doctors can't predict recovery (AP) — Researchers say vitamin E might slow the progression of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease — the first time any treatment has been shown to alter the course of dementia at that stage. GRENOBLE, France (AP) — Michael Schumacher underwent a second surgery after a brain scan showed small, ''surprising'' signs of improvement, but grim doctors said Tuesday they could offer no insight into the prognosis for the Formula One champion. Schumacher, who turns 45 on Friday, suffered critical head injuries when he fell and struck a rock Sunday while skiing on a family vacation in the French Alps. His manager confirmed that the accident cracked his helmet, which doctors credited for giving him a chance at survival. Schumacher's condition stabilized somewhat after the second surgery, but he remains in a medically induced coma — and doctors gave no prediction on how long that would last. ''We cannot tell you any more about the future,'' said Gerard Saillant, a surgeon and friend of the family. 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