Syrian talks resume amid no hope of breakthrough

Syrian negotiators have resumed talks over the country’s future a day after cutting short their discussions over a U.S. decision to resume aid to the opposition.

The government and opposition delegates met with the U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi on Wednesday, but chances for a breakthrough before everyone goes home on Friday appear almost nil as both sides continue to blame each other for an impasse.

A deal to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged city of Homs remain stalled, with the Syrian delegation demanding assurances the U.S. aid will not go to “armed and terrorist groups” in the central city.

The negotiations aimed at ending Syria’s three-year-old conflict began on January 24, 2014 in Geneva and Mr. Brahimi has said both sides were willing to continue despite lack of progress.

Russia warns of 'huge threat' if Syria talks fail

Athens: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday blasted critics of a US-Russia initiative for a peace conference on Syria, warning that toppling the Assad regime militarily posed a "huge threat" to the area.

"Open objections have surfaced against holding this Russia-US meeting (dubbed Geneva II), not only among Syrian sides but also among capitals, both in neighbouring and non-neighbouring states," Lavrov said during a visit to Athens, according to the official translation.

"We must not allow this initiative to fizzle out," he added, arguing that the overthrowing of President Bashar al-Assad's regime through military means would create an "extremist" state and pose a "huge threat to those living in Syria and the area".


Since the start of the conflict in March 2011, Damascus has systematically branded the uprising-turned-rebellion as a foreign-backed plot.

Washington and Moscow have struggled to win support for peace talks in Geneva from the warring parties in Syria, where more than 115,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the conflict.

In the latest blow to peace efforts, 19 Islamist groups fighting to topple Assad issued a statement Sunday saying the Geneva conference "is not, nor will it ever be our people's choice or our revolution's demand".

Vladimir Putin topples Barack Obama in Forbes power ranking

New York: Having outfoxed him on Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin has now pipped Barack Obama to the title of the world's most powerful leader as ranked by Forbes today.

It was the first time in three years that the US president has dropped to second place on the magazine's list and came as US-Russia relations slid to a new low.

Putin, who has enjoyed 12 years of dominant rule over Russia, was again elected president in April.

Obama, on the other hand, has just emerged scathed from an embarrassing 16-day US government shutdown caused by a budget and debt crisis in Washington.

"Putin has solidified his control over Russia, while Obama's lame duck period has seemingly set in earlier than usual for a two-term president -- latest example: the government shutdown mess," wrote Forbes.

In August, Russia granted asylum to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, wanted in the United States over a mammoth intelligence leak.

A month later, Putin played the trump card again by averting Obama's threatened missile strikes on Syria with a plan for Damascus to hand over chemical weapons.

"Anyone watching this year's chess match over Syria and NSA leaks has a clear idea of the shifting individual power dynamics," Forbes wrote.

The 2013 list of 72 power brokers was chosen to reflect one for every 100 million lesser mortals on Earth.


Third prize went to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is expected to rule for a decade in which China is set to eclipse the US as the world's largest economy.

Pope Francis made his debut at number four and German Chancellor Angela Merkel rounded out the top five.

Among 13 newcomers were Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee at number 41 and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, in at number 64.

There were 17 heads of state who run nations with a combined GDP of $48 trillion and 27 CEOs and chairs who control over $3 trillion in annual revenues.

US lawmakers close to deal to end 14-day-old shutdown

 As the US inched closer to an unprecedented debt default, US lawmakers held a flurry of negotiations and expressed optimism over a potential deal that could end the government shutdown, raise the debt ceiling and avert a crisis that may trigger a global economic turmoil.

US senators say they are closing in on a deal that would reopen the government and push back a possible debt default for several months, though many hurdles remain.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid said he and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, have "made tremendous progress. We are not there yet".

"We hope that with good fortune ... that perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day," he said from the Senate floor.

Reid and McConnell are trying to reach an agreement that would end the 14-day-old shutdown and lift the debt limit before the US Treasury exhausts the nation's remaining borrowing capacity on October 17, raising the risk of default.

"We've had a good day, we had a good day yesterday," McConnell said.

"It's safe to say we've made substantial progress and we look forward to making more progress in the near future.

"I share [Reid's] optimism that we we're going to get a result that will be acceptable to both sides," he said on the Senate floor.

The new deal, if struck, would last until February 2014.

The plan under discussion would raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by enough to cover the nation's borrowing needs at least through until mid-February 2014.

According to US media, the deal currently under discussion would fund the government until January 15 while raising the debt ceiling until early to mid-February.

Any deal would also have to win approval in the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans have insisted any continued government funding must include measures to undercut president Barack Obama's signature health law - a nonstarter for Democrats.

The deal would not resolve the disagreements over long-term spending and health care that led to the crisis in the first place.

"If Republicans aren't willing to set aside their partisan concerns in order to do what's right for the country, we stand a good chance of defaulting, and defaulting could potentially have a devastating effect on our economy," Obama said earlier.

US lawmakers close to deal to end 14-day-old shutdown

 As the US inched closer to an unprecedented debt default, US lawmakers held a flurry of negotiations and expressed optimism over a potential deal that could end the government shutdown, raise the debt ceiling and avert a crisis that may trigger a global economic turmoil.

US senators say they are closing in on a deal that would reopen the government and push back a possible debt default for several months, though many hurdles remain.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid said he and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, have "made tremendous progress. We are not there yet".

"We hope that with good fortune ... that perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day," he said from the Senate floor.

Reid and McConnell are trying to reach an agreement that would end the 14-day-old shutdown and lift the debt limit before the US Treasury exhausts the nation's remaining borrowing capacity on October 17, raising the risk of default.

"We've had a good day, we had a good day yesterday," McConnell said.

"It's safe to say we've made substantial progress and we look forward to making more progress in the near future.

"I share [Reid's] optimism that we we're going to get a result that will be acceptable to both sides," he said on the Senate floor.

The new deal, if struck, would last until February 2014.

The plan under discussion would raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by enough to cover the nation's borrowing needs at least through until mid-February 2014.

According to US media, the deal currently under discussion would fund the government until January 15 while raising the debt ceiling until early to mid-February.

Any deal would also have to win approval in the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans have insisted any continued government funding must include measures to undercut president Barack Obama's signature health law - a nonstarter for Democrats.

The deal would not resolve the disagreements over long-term spending and health care that led to the crisis in the first place.

"If Republicans aren't willing to set aside their partisan concerns in order to do what's right for the country, we stand a good chance of defaulting, and defaulting could potentially have a devastating effect on our economy," Obama said earlier.

US lawmakers close to deal to end 14-day-old shutdown

 As the US inched closer to an unprecedented debt default, US lawmakers held a flurry of negotiations and expressed optimism over a potential deal that could end the government shutdown, raise the debt ceiling and avert a crisis that may trigger a global economic turmoil.

US senators say they are closing in on a deal that would reopen the government and push back a possible debt default for several months, though many hurdles remain.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid said he and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, have "made tremendous progress. We are not there yet".

"We hope that with good fortune ... that perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day," he said from the Senate floor.

Reid and McConnell are trying to reach an agreement that would end the 14-day-old shutdown and lift the debt limit before the US Treasury exhausts the nation's remaining borrowing capacity on October 17, raising the risk of default.

"We've had a good day, we had a good day yesterday," McConnell said.

"It's safe to say we've made substantial progress and we look forward to making more progress in the near future.

"I share [Reid's] optimism that we we're going to get a result that will be acceptable to both sides," he said on the Senate floor.

The new deal, if struck, would last until February 2014.

The plan under discussion would raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by enough to cover the nation's borrowing needs at least through until mid-February 2014.

According to US media, the deal currently under discussion would fund the government until January 15 while raising the debt ceiling until early to mid-February.

Any deal would also have to win approval in the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans have insisted any continued government funding must include measures to undercut president Barack Obama's signature health law - a nonstarter for Democrats.

The deal would not resolve the disagreements over long-term spending and health care that led to the crisis in the first place.

"If Republicans aren't willing to set aside their partisan concerns in order to do what's right for the country, we stand a good chance of defaulting, and defaulting could potentially have a devastating effect on our economy," Obama said earlier.

US lawmakers close to deal to end 14-day-old shutdown

 As the US inched closer to an unprecedented debt default, US lawmakers held a flurry of negotiations and expressed optimism over a potential deal that could end the government shutdown, raise the debt ceiling and avert a crisis that may trigger a global economic turmoil.

US senators say they are closing in on a deal that would reopen the government and push back a possible debt default for several months, though many hurdles remain.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid said he and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, have "made tremendous progress. We are not there yet".

"We hope that with good fortune ... that perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day," he said from the Senate floor.

Reid and McConnell are trying to reach an agreement that would end the 14-day-old shutdown and lift the debt limit before the US Treasury exhausts the nation's remaining borrowing capacity on October 17, raising the risk of default.

"We've had a good day, we had a good day yesterday," McConnell said.

"It's safe to say we've made substantial progress and we look forward to making more progress in the near future.

"I share [Reid's] optimism that we we're going to get a result that will be acceptable to both sides," he said on the Senate floor.

The new deal, if struck, would last until February 2014.

The plan under discussion would raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by enough to cover the nation's borrowing needs at least through until mid-February 2014.

According to US media, the deal currently under discussion would fund the government until January 15 while raising the debt ceiling until early to mid-February.

Any deal would also have to win approval in the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans have insisted any continued government funding must include measures to undercut president Barack Obama's signature health law - a nonstarter for Democrats.

The deal would not resolve the disagreements over long-term spending and health care that led to the crisis in the first place.

"If Republicans aren't willing to set aside their partisan concerns in order to do what's right for the country, we stand a good chance of defaulting, and defaulting could potentially have a devastating effect on our economy," Obama said earlier.