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.

NASA's new moon probe settles into lunar orbit

: Politics may be keeping most of NASA's workers home, but that didn't stop the US space agency's new moon probe from achieving lunar orbit, officials said on Monday. The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, blasted off on September 6 aboard a small rocket that placed the spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit around Earth.
After three trips around the planet, LADEE on Sunday was in precise position to fire its braking rocket, let itself be captured by the moon's gravity and then settle into lunar orbit. The timing was not ideal. The ongoing partial shutdown of the U.S. government has sidelined about 97 percent of the NASA's 18,000 employees. But among those still on the job were LADEE's flight controllers, who monitored the do-or-die maneuver, said deputy project scientist Greg Delory, with NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. Over the next two weeks, LADEE will tweak its orbit so that it ends up about 155 miles above the lunar surface, an ideal vantage point for studying the gases surrounding the moon and search for electrically charged dust rising from the ground. The government furlough also was not expected to impact a LADEE laser communications demonstration slated for later this month, Delory said.
Last week, NASA brought back workers preparing a new Mars orbiter for launch on November 18. Skeleton crews, meanwhile, are overseeing NASA's communications satellites and science probes

Setback to Mohammed Nasheed, Maldives SC annuls Presidential polls

In a setback for former president Mohammed Nasheed, who had emerged victorious in the September 7 polls, the country’s Supreme Court has annulled the first round of presidential poll, reports said.
Declaring the September 7 polls as null and void, a seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the first round of presidential polls will be rescheduled for October 20th and a fresh election must be held before November 03, President Mohammed Waheed's Press Secretary Masood Imad told a news agency.
According to the Maldivian Constitution, a run-off election must be scheduled within 21 days of a first round if no candidate gainsm ore than 50 per cent of the vote. The Supreme Court’s decision comes as a dampener for ousted president Mohammed Nasheed, who won the first round but did not garner 50 percent votes.

Nasheed bagged 45.45 per cent of the vote and thus was set to face a run-off against Abdullah Yameen on September 28, which was postponed by the apex court last month after a plea by Jumhooree Party (JP) which stood third.

The Jumhooree Party plea alleged discrepancies in the polling and demanded that the results be annulled.

In further details, the Election Commission was also ordered to print fresh ballot papers with new security features and to follow strict guidelines during polling, Maldivian High Commissioner to India Mohamed Naseer told a news agency.

Maldives has been in a state of political instability since Feb 2012 when Nasheed was ousted and was replaced by Mohammed Waheed

A political rock show, with Narendra Modi as star

NEW DELHI: Pumping bass, fluorescent lights, throbbing dance, Power Point — and Narendra . Welcome to a new-age political meet, 'Manthan' by youth group CAG, featuring over 6000 students from IITs, IIMs and colleges across India, talking with political, social and corporate minds. Topics ranged from the north-east to the PDS, increasing clean drinking water to slashing muscle power in politics. But this wasn't just a brain-storming session.

Rather, this was a political rock-show — with Narendra Modi as its star. Over 84% of the young crowd voted to hear Modi over any other politician, giving him a standing ovation before he began speaking — and another when he ended. "I am voting for Modi," a DU student said. "He has a track record and a vision." When asked about options, he retorted, "Not Rahul Gandhi! He's no youth icon, he's nearly 47!" Even a correction about Rahul's age didn't make a difference. "I don't care." Would he care about minority rights? "If the Congress is secular, why haven't they implemented the Sachar Committee Report?"
Mostly pro-Modi, students were well-informed. One IIT student highlighted how Chandrababu Naidu hadn't factored in the US meltdown. An IIM student discussed port development while a Gujarati IIT student described Gujarat as relatively free from bribery. He mentioned, "My milkman's a Muslim. He's happy, his children go to school, he earns well." A student from Salem said, "I think the BJP's ending its hardcore Hindutva days. In Karnataka, we saw more Muslim candidates." He added, "This is our time — we don't want divisions. We want a good GDP."
Modi promised that, sketching word paintings of optical fibres as rivers of the future, technology for transparency and how the young won't tolerate 'beimaani'. A few notions — like 'lab to land' agri-tech transfers — didn't find much traction. However, Modi made up with jibes at the Prime Minister, eliciting hearty laughter. An IIT student remarked, "Modi's like a CEO who expertly delegates." That would be familiar to CAG itself, composed of 30-something ex-investment bankers, consultants, etc, many putting lucrative careers on hold for this. Members receive a subsistence allowance but didn't discuss details. "We're a flat organisation, without hierarchies," one said. "We want the focus to be on politics, not us."
And as the bass pumped and Mandira Bedi yelled, "And the next speaker is ... !", it was.
New youth body set up for 2014 polls
A group of young professionals have come together to give voice to the views of young India. Indian CAG (Citizens for Accountable Governance) organized Manthan, a youth convention, to set the agenda for general elections in 2014 and present it before the present political leadership. But members of Indian CAG which comprises of IIT and IIM alumni among other professionals want to remain anonymous.

Protect Your Parents From Scams

En español | The elderly lose billions a year to scammers — and you may be at a loss on how to protect them. It's a common concern among the boomer-aged children of the oldest Americans.
In many scams, your parents may be targeted more often than other age groups and fall victim more often, too. And once burned, they may be hit up again as easy marks.
All this is made easier for the scammers if you live elsewhere, unable to run interference on incoming phone calls, emails and mailed letters from con artists. Giving your parents stern warnings or demanding power of attorney to control their finances may seem like the way to go — but often those tactics come with nasty emotional fallout.
"When protectors take over finances or lecture parents about their mistake, it plays right into the scammers' hands by threatening the target's independence," says Anthony Pratkanis, a social psychologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and coauthor of Weapons of Fraud with AARP's Douglas Shadel. "For scam victims to admit they were wrong means they're stupid and unable to take care of themselves," Shadel said.

Sign up for the AARP Money Newsletter

So how can you help without hurting their feelings? Here are four approaches that might work:
1. Don't just tell your parent to hang up or throw out the letter. Have a talk about why. You can't win a contest you didn't enter, Dad. You never have to pay fees to collect lottery winnings, Mom. Government agencies don't make unsolicited phone calls and never ask for personal information — why would they? They've already got it on file.

 

2. Don't shame or blame. Remind them what they taught you decades ago: Don't trust strangers — especially those seeking personal information and money.
3. Try some reverse psychology. If you become aware that an aged parent is playing a sweepstakes or making a "double your money" investment, ask how you can do the same. Psychologists say this tactic sometimes prompts a warning — your parent doesn't want you to lose money, too. That's your cue to ask, "Then why do you do it?" This could start a conversation that helps the parent come to terms with the scam.
4. Turn patsies into protectors. Talk with your victimized parents about how their experience could be important for other people facing the same situation: "The authorities are looking for these guys, so maybe you can help others." This may make them willing to part with the details of what happened.
In the meantime, keep alert for warning signs. If you don't live nearby, ask a trusted neighbor to be your eyes and ears. What kind of mail is coming into the house? Does there seem to be a pattern of scam callers on the phone? These could suggest that your folks are on "sucker lists" for sweepstakes and "investment opportunities." These lists are developed and sold among scammers to identify past victims as candidates for future fraud.

CORRUPTION

In this blog today we are discuss about the corruption. I am from India so m taking about my country.Before few years our India comes into 69th  number in corruption counting but now it comes in top 10 corrupt country. In my views in any country there is not only govt. of that country but also the public or the population of that country are the cause of corruption.
If every member of any country will serious about their duty then corruption is fully damaged.We are taking an example that if we fill up our income tax ,sales tax etc. then corruption rate get low . In any country there is the currency depends upon its gold. In our India there is so much gold but all of the gold present in black money.If all of the black money is converts into white money form then Indian rupees gets 1st position in all of the world. Indian nationality is not taking the any action about the black money otherwise India gets richer and more richer. Because of that in this servey there is many of the politician are involves. Approx 400000 crore rupees are outside of India which present in foreign countries bank account. This corruption takes very changes into any country. By its richer gets more richer and poor gets more poor.The corruption is must into Indian country because of the Reservation but it should be in controllable form.The corruption get damage the Economics of any country.In India there is the saint are also have so much money like as Asharam baba, Ramdev baba have so much money. Baba Ramdev have bought a iland in Scottland. But this all of the money is bleck money.In Indian temples there so much money present. In TIRUPATI BALAJI temple there are 1.25 crore rupees comes everyday in the donation. After these all of the world thinks about that the India is not a  poor country but it effects by the corruption.So now in my I can say India have lot of money and it is the GOLD SPARROW like as ancient time