Sonia is much better: Rahul

 

President of India's ruling Congress party Sonia Gandhi, who underwent surgery in the US recently for an unspecified ailment, is "much better", her son Rahul Gandhi said yesterday.
Rahul, who returned here yesterday after attending to his mother, told reporters that "she is much better".
Sonia had left earlier this month for the US where she underwent successful surgery.

we also know  that she is a wonderful lady for  indians politics.Many years ago she become prime minister of india.but she left her sit for indian.So we can say that she is much better for india.

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Scandals, economy take toll on Brazil's Rousseff

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has suffered the first major fall in her popularity, a poll showed on Wednesday, as she battles a rash of corruption scandals and a slowing economy.

Although her ratings remain relatively high, a sustained fall could undermine the 63-year-old career civil servant's ability to stay the course on economic austerity measures and make it harder to push reforms through an unruly Congress.

Rousseff's approval rating dropped 6 percentage points to 67 percent, while the number of those who disapproved more than doubled to 25 percent, a survey by the Ibope polling firm showed.

"People had expectations that weren't fulfilled," said Flavio Castelo Branco, director of economic policy with the National Industry Confederation, which releases the poll.

The center-left Rousseff took office on January 1 amid high expectations, buoyed by a roaring economy and the huge success of her predecessor and patron, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

But she has faced an increasingly tough economic environment, plagued by inflation and a marked slowdown in growth even before the global market plunges of recent days.

Her government adopted $30 billion in unpopular budget cuts and has hiked interest rates five times to 12.5 percent to combat inflation, jacking up costs for the country's credit-reliant consumers. She has taken a tougher stand against corruption and nepotism than Lula, angering her main coalition partner but apparently failing to reap the reward of greater public support.

Further falls in polls could rob her of the crucial political clout she needs to maintain budget cuts and continue to root out corruption in ministries.

"She needs to improve her communication skills or she risks losing more political capital," said Rafael Cortez, a political analyst with Tendencias consultancy in Sao Paulo.

HIGHER RATES UNPOPULAR

Despite some improvement, Rousseff still shies from public appearances and, unlike the charismatic Lula, struggles to connect with ordinary people.

Among planned reforms to improve Brazil's growth prospects that have yet to be taken up by Congress are an overhaul of the country's Byzantine tax code, and legislation to regulate royalties from the country's oil riches.

With the mounting global crisis set to slow Brazil's economic growth more than initially expected, Rousseff aides fear her ratings could turn further south.

"Her biggest concern right now is the economy," said a source in the presidential palace on condition of anonymity.

Investment bank Credit Suisse lowered its 2011 economic growth forecast for Brazil on Tuesday to 2.9 percent, well below the consensus of around 4 percent and a far cry from last year's stellar performance of 7.5 percent.

Rousseff's disapproval ratings rose across the board in the Ibope poll, from education to health and public security. But the biggest jump in dissatisfaction came in monetary policy, rising 20 percentage points to 63 percent.

Rousseff's fight against poverty got the best marks from poll respondents, though that rating also fell from the previous poll in March. She has made the eradication of extreme poverty a major policy goal and launched her flagship social welfare program in June.

Since June, Rousseff has lost three cabinet members to graft and ethics scandals and faces fresh corruption scandals in the agriculture and tourism ministries.

The Ibope survey polled 2002 people from July 28-31 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

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Boehner pulls out of White House debt talks

ruHouse Speaker John Boehner abruptly broke off talks with President Barack Obama Friday night on a deal to make major cuts in federal spending and avert a threatened government default, sending already uncertain compromise efforts into instant crisis. 


Within minutes, an obviously peeved Obama virtually ordered congressional leaders to the White House Saturday morning for fresh negotiations on raising the nation's debt limit. "We've got to get it done. It is not an option not to do it," he declared.
For the first time since talks began, he declined to offer assurances, when asked, that default would be avoided. Moments later, however, he said he was confident of that outcome.
"This was an extraordinary fair deal," said the president. "If it was unbalanced, it was unbalanced in the direction of not enough revenue."
"We have now run out of time," said Obama. "What we're not going to do is continue to play games and string this along," said the president. "I've been left at the altar now a couple of times."
He added, "I cannot believe that Congress would be that irresponsible that they would not pass a package to avoid a self inflicted wound."
  At a rebuttal news conference of his own a short while later in the Capitol, Boehner said, "I want to be entirely clear, no one wants default on the full faith and credit of the United States government, and I'm convinced that we will not."
"It's time to get serious ... if the White House won't get serious, we will," said Boehner.
"We've put plan after plan on the table ... never once did the president come to the table with a plan," said Boehner. "We were always pushing."



Barring action by Congress by an Aug 2 deadline, the Treasury will be unable to pay all its bills. Officials say a default could destabilize the already weakened U.S. economy and send major ripple effects across the globe.
Even by the recent standards of divided government, Boehner's decision triggered an extraordinary evening as first the Democratic president and then the Republican speaker maneuvered for political position on an issue of enormous national import.
Unspoken, yet unmistakable in all the brinkmanship was the 2012 election campaign, still 18 months away, with the White House and both houses of Congress at stake. 

Analysis: 'As bad as it gets' in dysfunctional DC


In a letter circulated earlier to the House Republican rank and file, Boehner said he had withdrawn from the talks because the president wanted to raise taxes and was reluctant to agree to cuts in benefit programs.
The disconnect was "not because of different personalities but because of different visions for our country," he said, and he announced he would now seek agreement with the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Obama was having none of that, announcing instead a morning White House meeting where he said he expected to hear proposed solutions from the top leaders of both parties in both houses.
"One of the questions the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself is, 'Can they say yes to anything?'" Obama said.
The president avoided direct criticism of Boehner, although he did mention that his phone calls to the speaker had gone unreturned during the day.
A White House official told  that the president called Boehner on Thursday night, but did not hear back. Then, Friday afternoon, the speaker's office reportedly emailed the White House to say Boehner would be available to talk at 5:30 p.m. ET. The White House called the speaker's office after that email was received to ask if they just talk right then, but his aides reiterated that Boehner would be availabe at 5:30 p.m. ET. It was during that call that the speaker walked away from the talks.
Boehner said he would attend the Saturday meeting at the White House.
  Private, sometimes-secret negotiations had veered uncertainly for weeks, generating reports as late as Thursday that the two sides were possibly closing in on an agreement to cut $3 trillion in spending and add as much as $1 trillion in possible revenue while increasing the government's borrowing authority of $2.4 trillion.
That triggered a revolt among Democrats who expressed fears the president was giving away too much in terms of cuts to Medicare and Social Security while getting too little by way of additional revenues
"Failing to raise the debt ceiling would do irreparable harm to our credit standing, would undermine our ability to lead on global economic issues and would damage our economy," former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a Republican, told reporters during the day. 

Current administration officials and Federal reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have said much the same thing for weeks — while gridlock persisted in Congress. 

Obama said his only requirement for an agreement was legislation that provides the Treasury enough borrowing authority to tide the government over through the 2012 election.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed in a written statement, saying a shorter-term extension was unacceptable.

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Obama backs repeal of Defense of Marriage Act

An advocate of the law against same-sex marriage calls the president's endorsement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act 'political theatrics.'

President Obama has endorsed a new bill by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, another step in what the president has termed his "evolving" views on same-sex marriage.

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Opponents of same-sex marriage said they were disappointed, but not surprised. The Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress in 1996 and signed into law by President Clinton, defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman, denies federal benefits to same-sex married couples and allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states."There is zero chance that Congress is going to repeal [the law] anytime soon, so this is primarily political theatrics on President Obama's part," said Maggie Gallagher, chairwoman of the National Organization for Marriage, an advocacy group that opposes gay marriage.
The announcement is one of the president's bolder moves regarding gay marriage. In the past, he has voiced support for civil unions for gay couples, but stopped short of supporting same-sex marriage.
Last year, Obama supported the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Earlier this year, the administration announced it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court, though the administration said it would continue to enforce the law unless it was repealed. But Obama subsequently supported the use of discretion by immigration officials in cases of married same-sex couples in which one spouse is undocumented.
Advocates of the repeal were elated at the news.
watch now



"It is rare that a White House endorses a bill that has yet to pass first in either the Senate or the House," Rick Jacobs, chairman of the gay rights advocacy group Courage Campaign, said in a statement. "His support makes clear to all Americans that the Defense of Marriage Act has no place in our society."
Despite Obama's support, the bill faces long odds. With 27 co-sponsors, Feinstein has just fewer than half the votes for a filibuster-proof majority. And in the Republican-controlled House, Speaker John A. Boehner has taken on the responsibility of defending the act in court since the administration bowed out.
Feinstein plans to make the case that the law should be repealed because the issue should be left up to the states.
"Family law has traditionally been the preserve of state law. The single exception is the Defense of Marriage Act," she said, speaking to reporters before Obama's announcement.
"This is not a cause which we are going to drop," Feinstein said. "We are not faint hearts about this."
Supporters of the Defense of Marriage Act disagreed with her argument.
"The federal government doesn't get to tell the states what their laws will be," Gallagher said. "And the states don't get to decide for Congress what Congress' laws should be."

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Obama sets course for exit from Afghanistan

  President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to start withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in a first step toward ending the long, costly war and returning America's focus toward it's own troubled economy.

Obama said he would pull 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by year's end, followed by about 23,000 more by the end of next summer and a steady withdrawal of remaining troops after that.

In a 15-minute televised address, Obama vowed that the United States -- struggling to restore its global image, repair its faltering economy and bring down the high jobless rate at home -- would end a decade of military adventures prompted by the September 11 attacks in 2001 and exercise new restraint with American military power.

"Tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding," Obama said, heralding the gradual drawdown of US forces in Iraq and the limited US involvement in the ongoing international campaign in Libya.

"America, it is time to focus on nation building at home."

Yet news that Obama will pull the entire 'surge' force he sent to Afghanistan in 2010 is certain to fuel friction between Obama and his military advisors who have warned about the perils of a hasty drawdown.

Nearly 10 years after the Taliban government was toppled, US and NATO forces have been unable to deal a decisive blow to the resurgent Islamist group. The Afghan government remains weak and notoriously corrupt, and billions of dollars in foreign aid efforts have yielded meager results.

Obama's decision on trimming the US force was a more aggressive approach than many expected. It went beyond the options offered by General David Petraeus, the outgoing commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, whom Obama has picked to lead the CIA.

The president's decision reflected the competing pressures he faces as he seeks to curb spending and halt US casualties without allowing the threat of extremist attacks to fester.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he supported Obama's decision. But the plan is unlikely to sit well with the Pentagon's top brass who worry insurgents could regain lost territory as fighting intensifies along Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan.

"We've undercut a strategy that was working. I think the 10,000 troops leaving this year is going to make this fighting season more difficult. Having all the surge forces leave by next summer is going to compromise next summer's fighting season," said Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Even after the withdrawal of the 33,00 US troops, about 70,000 will remain in Afghanistan, about twice the number there when Obama took office.

Reaction from the US Congress was mixed, as lawmakers impatient with a war that now costs more than $110 billion a year complained Obama should have embraced a larger drawdown.

Unease in Washington over the war has escalated with worries about massive budget deficits, spiraling national debt and unemployment running at more than 9 percent. These are Americans' chief concerns and the issues likely to drive voters in next year's presidential election.

Obama clearly has been mindful of the US public's lack of support for the war as he eyes his re-election campaign.

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Woes of famous, powerful shine light on sex addiction

 






Addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling can destroy lives, but less well known and more controversial is the overwhelming need for sexual satisfaction so intense that psychologists compare it to crack cocaine.

US Representative Anthony Weiner stepped down from Congress under pressure from fellow Democrats, including President Barack Obama, after he admitted to "sexting" in which he sent lewd pictures of himself to young women. He said he was seeking treatment for an unspecified problem.

Golfer Tiger Woods checked into an unspecified rehabilitation center for treatment after admitting to a number of extramarital affairs.

Actor David Duchovny, star of "Californication," is one of the few who has publicly announced his sex addiction. He entered a rehabilitation center for the sex disorder in 2008.

But the sensational nature of the public admissions by the famous and powerful to multiple extramarital affairs, obsession with Internet sexting, or repeated accusations of sexual harassment, draws intense media attention -- and a fair amount of ridicule.

"People joke that if they are going to have an addiction, that's the one they want to have," said therapist Stephanie Carnes, author of "Mending a Shattered Heart."

There is also skepticism among the public and some psychologists that the sexual disorder even exists, but is rather an excuse for infidelity or viewing pornography. There is no diagnosis of addiction at all in the official listing of mental disorders -- the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

But as not everyone who drinks alcohol is an alcoholic, sex addiction is characterized by out of control compulsive behavior. And it can be more damaging to family life and harder to give up than more typical addictions.

Sex, like food, is a primary need for humans. With the advent of the Internet, it is readily available-- either cybersex or quick hookups arranged through online sites. Cybersex has been called the crack cocaine of the addiction. It is also easier to hide and to deny than the more public evidence of drug or alcohol use.

But the consequences can be as severe -- loss of jobs, damaged health, financial ruin and estrangement from family and friends.

"If you look at their lives, nobody would want that. They are devastated, they lost everything, they hate themselves," Carnes said in a telephone interview.

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Western, Arab talks to focus on Libya 'endgame'

MISRATA - Western and Arab nations meet in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to focus on what one U.S. official called the "endgame" for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi as NATO once again stepped up the intensity of its air raids on Tripoli.

At the United Nations, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said its investigators had found evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents, while in the U.S. Congress a bipartisan group proposed that President Barack Obama use frozen Libyan government assets to pay for humanitarian aid for Libyan people caught up in the civil war.

NATO air strikes resumed in Tripoli on Wednesday night after a lull that followed the heaviest day of bombings since March.

Thousands of Gaddafi troops advanced on Misrata on Wednesday, shelling it from three sides and killing at least 12 rebels.

Ministers from the so-called Libya contact group, including the United States, France and Britain, as well as Arab allies Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, agreed in May to set up a fund to help the rebels in the civil war.

They are expected to firm up this commitment in the United Arab Emirates capital and press the rebels to give a detailed plan on how they would run the country if Gaddafi stood down as leader of the oil producing North African desert state.

"The international community is beginning to talk about what could constitute end-game to this," one senior U.S. official told reporters aboard U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's plane which landed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night.

"That would obviously include some kind of ceasefire arrangement and some kind of political process... and of course the question of Gaddafi and perhaps his family is also a key part of that," the U.S. official said.

Both Libya's rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) and its Western allies have rejected Libyan government ceasefire offers that do not include Gaddafi's departure, saying he and his family must relinquish power before any talks can begin.

The U.S. official said there have been general discussions about what might happen to Gaddafi but nothing specific on "where he should go, or whether he should remain in Libya for
that matter."

U.S. officials on Wednesday announced delivery of the TNC's first U.S oil sale, part of a broader strategy they hope will get money flowing to the cash starved group.

U.S. oil refiner Tesoro announced in May it had purchased the 1.2 million barrel cargo, which U.S. officials said was due to arrive in Hawaii on Wednesday aboard a tanker chartered by Swiss oil trader Vitol.

'Pressure will increase'

British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt, who will be at the Abu Dhabi talks, said the group would be briefed by the International Stabilisation Response Team which is helping the rebel council plan for post-conflict rebuilding.

"The contact group will also reiterate the unequivocal message... that Gaddafi, his family and his regime have lost all legitimacy and must go so that the Libyan people can determine their own future," Burt said.

"Until Gaddafi does so, the pressure will increase across the board: economically, politically and militarily."

NATO defence ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday, but there were few signs of willingness to intensify their Libya mission, which after four months has failed to oust Gaddafi.

The alliance says the bombing aims to protect civilians from the Libyan leader's military, which crushed popular protests against his rule in February, leaving many dead. The conflict has now become a civil war.

Gaddafi says the rebels are a minority of Islamist militants and the NATO campaign is an attempt to grab Libya's oil.

At the United Nations, the ICC prosecutor said its investigators have evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents and may bring separate charges on the issue.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested arrest warrants on May 16 against Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the country's spy chief on charges of crimes against humanity committed during attempts to crush the country's rebellion.

At a U.N. news conference on Wednesday, he said the question until recently had been whether Gaddafi himself could be associated with the rapes "or is it something that happened in the barracks?"

"But now we are getting some information that Gaddafi himself decided" to authorize the rapes, "and this is new," Moreno-Ocampo said.

In Washington, a group of leading Senate Democrats and Republicans said they were sponsoring a bill under which President Obama could use frozen Libyan government assets to pay for humanitarian aid to Libyan people caught up in the conflict.

"The ongoing violence in Libya has disrupted the economy and left far too many innocent Libyan citizens struggling to simply put food on the table and to manage the daily necessities of life," Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson said in a joint statement with the committee's senior Republican, Richard Shelby.

The United States is holding more than $34 billion as part of sanctions imposed in late February against Gaddafi and his top officials.

Gaddfi push on Misrata

On the battlefront, forces loyal to Gaddafi were staging a big push on Misrata. "He has sent thousands of troops from all sides and they are trying to enter the city. They are still outside, though," rebel spokesman Hassan al-Misrati told Reuters from inside the besieged town.

Another rebel spokesman in Misrata, called Mohammed, told Reuters late on Wednesday they were still in control of the city despite the assault.

Spain joined other Western and Arab governments in recognizing the Benghazi-based council as the sole representative of the Libyan people.

Gaddafi troops and the rebels have been deadlocked for weeks, with neither side able to hold territory on a road between Ajdabiyah in the east, which Gaddafi forces shelled on Monday, and the Gaddafi-held oil town of Brega further west.

Rebels control the east of Libya, the western city of Misrata and the range of western mountains near the border with Tunisia. They have been unable to advance on the capital against Gaddafi's better-equipped forces.

In Tripoli, a fire broke out early on Thursday morning at the hotel housing foreign journalists, a Reuters witness said.

About 100 people, most of them journalists, were evacuated to the parking lot just before 6 a.m. (0400 GMT). There were no reports of injuries and a government spokesman said hotel staff blamed the blaze on a fire in an electrical room.

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