U.S. extends Iran sanctions waivers to Japan

The sanctions aim to choke funding to Iran's disputed nuclear program by reducing the country's oil sales, its main source of income. Washington believes Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, and it has worked with the country's main oil consumers to find alternative petroleum supplies.

source  reuters.com

15 Palestinians arrested, 2 policemen injured in clashes near mosque

Fifteen Palestinian protesters were arrested and two Israeli policemen injured during clashes at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, according to police. Dozens of officers fired stun grenades to disperse worshipers, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The cause of the incident was not immediately clear. Tensions in the region have been running high since Israel recently accelerated the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestine strongly opposes settlement construction on the disputed territories.

US drone strike kills 6 insurgents in Pakistan

A drone strike on an insurgent hideout near the Pakistani border with Afghanistan has left six people dead, report Pakistani intelligence officials. Two missiles were fired from an unmanned craft at a compound near the town of Ghulam Khan early on Friday morning. The identity and nationality of the slain men has not yet been released by authoritie

Russian Navy may join NATO drills in 2014

There is a “strong chance” that Russian warships will take part in NATO naval training next year, Director of NATO Information Office in Moscow Robert Pszczel announced at a press conference. He also informed that on October 10-14, six NATO warships from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland will call to St. Petersburg on a friendly visit.

EU foreign policy chief hopes to resume talks over Iran’s nuclear program

The EU foreign policy chief expressed hope that a date for nuclear talks with Iran will be set when she meets Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif during a UN gathering this month. Catherine Ashton also said that world powers wanted to move quickly to resume talks with Tehran over its nuclear program, which they fear has a military aim. Tehran denies developing such weapons, saying that it is developing nuclear technology for use in energy and medicine.

Discussion of Syria issue at G20 hasn't decreased possibility of military operation

British Prime Minister David Cameron.  He said that although the talks were very helpful, the summit was never about making a decision on the matter.

If the United Nations Security Council fails to agree on a resolution authorizing military intervention in the Syrian conflict, action without its approval can’t be ruled out either, Cameron said.

The UK, along with several other members of the group, agreed to seek free access for humanitarian aid to Syria through the UN, he told a media conference at the end of the gathering.

France says would only target military sites in Syria attack, "we will do everything we can so that France only strikes military targets to avoid civilian casualties," he said at a news conference after a summit of G20 nations in Russia's St. Petersburg.

Mind the gap! Democratic deficit in UK, US has never been bigger

Poll after poll after poll shows very large majorities against strikes on Syria. People are war-weary, and the last thing they want is for their countries to become embroiled in another Middle-East war.

One Congressman in the US tweeted earlier this week that he had asked 200 people if they supported strikes on Syria and only four said 'Yes'- that's just 2 percent. Another said that 99 percent of calls to his office were against military action.

Let's get one thing straight: the only people who are keen on war with Syria in the US and UK are the elites. Ordinary people on both sides of the Atlantic want absolutely nothing to do with it.

In Britain, the overwhelming majority of people were delighted that our parliament voted against war last week and that enough of our legislators finally listened to the people to defeat the serial warmongers.

source rt.com

Obama declines to say if will strike Syria if U.S. Congress votes 'no'

President Barack Obama on Friday declined to speculate whether he would go ahead with a military strike in Syria if Congress votes against authorizing it, saying he would try to convince Americans and lawmakers of the need to act against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

source reuters.com

Google confirms opening of Glass app store in 2014

The Google Glass headset is currently in the claws of developers, but with commercial release around the corner, the tech giant has confirmed the opening of an app store in 2014.
Glass app store would be part of Google Play or separate, and if developers will be able to charge for apps by the time the store opens. (The Glass API terms of service currently demands that developers offer apps for free

Amazon officially announces new Kindle Paperwhite

It looks like it has the same physical form factor as last year's Kindle Paperwhite, but has a higher contrast E Ink display, a faster processor for improved page turning and book opening, and a redesigned built-in light. The touchscreen has also been improved, which should make for an improved page-turning experience.

The improved processor does the job, making the device feel much faster and more fluid than ever before, and the screen is the best we've seen on a Kindle. The light is brighter than before and the improved contrast makes it a superior option compared to the older model.

Overall navigation has been improved, as well — you can preview pages before actually turning to them, which makes looking up an index or map much easier. And the improved X-Ray tool does a much better job at defining words in the context of what you're reading. There's also a nifty Vocabulary Builder tool, which collects the words you've looked up; you can go back through them, or even create flashcards to teach yourself once and for all what "etymology" really means.

source theverge.com

Xiaomi unleashes the Mi-3

Xiaomi has revealed Mi-3 at a product event in Beijing today, just as previously expected, as recent rumors suggested, the device is powered by either a Tegra 4 with four Cortex-A15 cores (for China Mobile) or a Snapdragon 800 with four Krait 400 cores at 2.2 GHz each (for China Unicom).

The Xiaomi Mi-3 will cost RMB1999 ($327) for the 16 gig model and RMB2499 ($408) for the 64 GB. The device will go on sale in China in October, after which it will start selling across Hong Kong and Taiwan. No word about the rest of the world, though.

The Xiaomi Mi-3 is very slender at 144mm×72mm×8.1mm and weighs only 145 g, has a 5" 1080p IPS dislay, Android 4.2.1 skinned with MIUI v5 and covers imaging needs with 13 MP and 2 MP cameras.

Obama says values France's strong support for U.S. action on Syria

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he values the strong support from French President Francois Hollande for action against Syria for a chemical weapons attack.

Obama and Hollande met on the sidelines of a G20 summit in St. Petersburg. Hollande told reporters the broadest possible coalition is needed for action against Syria and that to not respond would carry the risk of another such attack.

source reuters.com