Report: Asian economies to be world's largest by 2030

WASHINGTONThe United States could see its standing as a superpower eroded and Asian economies will outstrip those of North America and Europe combined by 2030, according to the best guess of the U.S. intelligence community in its latest forecast.

"The spectacular rise of Asian economies is dramatically altering ... U.S. influence," said Christopher Kojm, chairman of the National Intelligence Council, as it released the report Global Trends 2030 on Monday.

The report is the intelligence community's analysis of where current trends will take the world in the next 15 to 20 years. Its release was timed for the start of a new presidential administration and it is aimed at helping U.S. policymakers plan for the future.

The report also predicted the U.S. will be energy independent.

The study said that in a best-case scenario, Americans, together with nearly two-thirds of the world's population, will be middle class, mostly living in cities, connected by advanced technology, protected by advanced health care and linked by countries that work together, perhaps with the United States and China cooperating to lead the way.

Violent acts of terrorism will also be less frequent as the U.S. drawdown in troops from Iraq and Afghanistan robs extremist ideologies of a rallying cry to spur attacks. But that will likely be replaced by acts like cyber-terrorism, wreaking havoc on an economy with a keystroke, the study's authors say.

In countries where there are declining birth rates and an aging population like the U.S., economic growth may slow.

"Aging countries will face an uphill battle in maintaining living standards," Kojm said. "So too will China, because its median age will be higher than the U.S. by 2030."

The rising populations of disenfranchised youth in places like Nigeria and Pakistan may lead to conflict over water and food, with "nearly half of the world's population ... experiencing severe water stress," the report said. Africa and the Middle East will be most at risk, but China and India are also vulnerable.

That instability could lead to conflict and contribute to global economic collapse, especially if combined with rapid climate change that could make it harder for governments to feed global populations, the authors warn.

That's the grimmest among the "Potential Worlds" the report sketches for 2030. Under the heading "Stalled Engines," in the "most plausible worst-case scenario, the risks of interstate conflict increase," the report said. "The U.S. draws inward and globalization stalls."

"This is not inevitable," said lead study author Mathew Burrows. "In most cases, it's manageable if you take measures ... now."

Such steps could include decreasing wasting resources like water and increasing the efficiency of food production, he said.

Technology is seen as a potential savior to head off some of this conflict, boosting economic productivity to keep pockets filled despite rising populations, rapid growth of cities and climate change.

Hand in hand with technology is cooperation between the competing states, the authors say. In the most plausible best-case outcome, the report said, "China and the U.S. collaborate," heading off global competition for resources that can lead to all-out conflict.

The report warns of the mostly catastrophic effects of possible "Black Swans," extraordinary events that can change the course of history. These include a severe pandemic that could kill millions in a matter of months and more rapid climate change that could make it hard to feed the world's population.

Two positive events are also listed, including "a democratic China or a reformed Iran," which could bring more global stability.

One bright spot for the U.S. is energy independence.

"With shale gas, the U.S. will have sufficient natural gas to meet domestic needs and generate potential global exports for decades to come," the report said.

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New Evidence Suggests Biblical Flood Happened

The story of Noah's Ark and the Great Flood is one of the most famous from the Bible, and now an acclaimed underwater archaeologist thinks he has found proof that the biblical flood was actually based on real events.

In an interview with Christiane Amanpour for ABC News, Robert Ballard, one of the world's best-known underwater archaeologists, talked about his findings. His team is probing the depths of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey in search of traces of an ancient civilization hidden underwater since the time of Noah.

Tune in to Christiane Amanpour's two-part ABC News special, "Back to the Beginning," which explores the history of the Bible from Genesis to Jesus. Part one airs on Friday, Dec. 21 and part two on Friday, Dec. 28, both starting at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. See photos from her journey HERE

Ballard's track record for finding the impossible is well known. In 1985, using a robotic submersible equipped with remote-controlled cameras, Ballard and his crew hunted down the world's most famous shipwreck, the Titanic.

Now Ballard is using even more advanced robotic technology to travel farther back in time. He is on a marine archeological mission that might support the story of Noah. He said some 12,000 years ago, much of the world was covered in ice.

"Where I live in Connecticut was ice a mile above my house, all the way back to the North Pole, about 15 million kilometers, that's a big ice cube," he said. "But then it started to melt. We're talking about the floods of our living history."

The water from the melting glaciers began to rush toward the world's oceans, Ballard said, causing floods all around the world.

"The questions is, was there a mother of all floods," Ballard said.

According to a controversial theory proposed by two Columbia University scientists, there really was one in the Black Sea region. They believe that the now-salty Black Sea was once an isolated freshwater lake surrounded by farmland, until it was flooded by an enormous wall of water from the rising Mediterranean Sea. The force of the water was two hundred times that of Niagara Falls, sweeping away everything in its path.

Fascinated by the idea, Ballard and his team decided to investigate.

"We went in there to look for the flood," he said. "Not just a slow moving, advancing rise of sea level, but a really big flood that then stayed... The land that went under stayed under."

Four hundred feet below the surface, they unearthed an ancient shoreline, proof to Ballard that a catastrophic event did happen in the Black Sea. By carbon dating shells found along the shoreline, Ballard said he believes they have established a timeline for that catastrophic event, which he estimates happened around 5,000 BC. Some experts believe this was around the time when Noah's flood could have occurred.

"It probably was a bad day," Ballard said. "At some magic moment, it broke through and flooded this place violently, and a lot of real estate, 150,000 square kilometers of land, went under."

The theory goes on to suggest that the story of this traumatic event, seared into the collective memory of the survivors, was passed down from generation to generation and eventually inspired the biblical account of Noah.

Noah is described in the Bible as a family man, a father of three, who is about to celebrate his 600th birthday.

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Egypt army given temporary power to arrest civilians

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president has given the army temporary power to arrest civilians during a constitutional referendum he is determined to push through despite the risk of bloodshed between his supporters and opponents accusing him of a power grab.

Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded last week in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and their critics besieging Mohamed Mursi's graffiti-daubed presidential palace. Both sides plan mass rallies on Tuesday.

The elite Republican Guard has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the palace, which it ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades after last week's violence.

Mursi, bruised by calls for his downfall, has rescinded a November 22 decree giving him wide powers but is going ahead with a referendum on Saturday on a constitution seen by his supporters as a triumph for democracy and by many liberals as a betrayal.

A decree issued by Mursi late on Sunday gives the armed forces the power to arrest civilians and refer them to prosecutors until the announcement of the results of the referendum, which the protesters want cancelled.

Despite its limited nature, the edict will revive memories of Hosni Mubarak's emergency law, also introduced as a temporary expedient, under which military or state security courts tried thousands of political dissidents and Islamist militants.

But a military source stressed that the measure introduced by a civilian government would have a short shelf-life.

"The latest law giving the armed forces the right to arrest anyone involved in illegal actions such as burning buildings or damaging public sites is to ensure security during the referendum only," the military source said.

Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said the committee overseeing the vote had requested the army's assistance.

"The armed forces will work within a legal framework to secure the referendum and will return (to barracks) as soon as the referendum is over," Ali said.

Protests and violence have racked Egypt since Mursi decreed himself extraordinary powers he said were needed to speed up a troubled transition since Mubarak's fall 22 months ago.

The Muslim Brotherhood has voiced anger at the Interior Ministry's failure to prevent protesters setting fire to its headquarters in Cairo and 28 of its offices elsewhere.

Critics say the draft law puts Egypt in a religious straitjacket. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, the crisis has polarized the country and presages more instability at a time when Mursi is trying to steady a fragile economy.

On Monday, he suspended planned tax increases only hours after the measures had been formally decreed, casting doubts on the government's ability to push through tough economic reforms that form part of a proposed $4.8 billion IMF loan agreement.

"VIOLENT CONFRONTATION"

Rejecting the referendum plan, opposition groups have called for mass protests on Tuesday, saying Mursi's eagerness to push the constitution through could lead to "violent confrontation".

Islamists have urged their followers to turn out "in millions" the same day in a show of support for the president and for a referendum they feel sure of winning with their loyal base and perhaps with the votes of Egyptians weary of turmoil.

The opposition National Salvation Front, led by liberals such as Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa, as well as leftist firebrand Hamdeen Sabahy, has yet to call directly for a boycott of the referendum or to urge their supporters to vote "no".

Instead it is contesting the legitimacy of the vote and of the whole process by which the constitution was drafted in an Islamist-led assembly from which their representatives withdrew.

The opposition says the document fails to embrace the diversity of 83 million Egyptians, a tenth of whom are Christians, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

But debate over the details has largely given way to noisy street protests and megaphone politics, keeping Egypt off balance and ill-equipped to deal with a looming economic crisis.

"Inevitability of referendum deepens divisions," was the headline in Al-Gomhuriya newspaper on Monday. Al Ahram daily wrote: "Political forces split over referendum and new decree."

Mursi issued another decree on Saturday to supersede his November 22 measure putting his own decisions beyond legal challenge until a new constitution and parliament are in place.

While he gave up extra powers as a sop to his opponents, the decisions already taken under them, such as the dismissal of a prosecutor-general appointed by Mubarak, remain intact.

"UNWELCOME" CHOICE

Lamia Kamel, a spokeswoman for former Arab League chief Moussa, said the opposition factions were still discussing whether to boycott the referendum or call for a "no" vote.

"Both paths are unwelcome because they really don't want the referendum at all," she said, but predicted a clearer opposition line if the plebiscite went ahead as planned.

A spokeswoman for ElBaradei, former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said: "We do not acknowledge the referendum. The aim is to change the decision and postpone it."

Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, said the opposition could stage protests, but should keep the peace.

"They are free to boycott, participate or say no, they can do what they want. The important thing is that it remains in a peaceful context to preserve the country's safety and security."

The army stepped into the conflict on Saturday, telling all sides to resolve their disputes via dialogue and warning that it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel".

A military source said the declaration read on state media did not herald a move by the army to retake control of Egypt, which it relinquished in June after managing the transition from Mubarak's 30 years of military-backed one-man rule.

The draft constitution sets up a national defense council, in which generals will form a majority, and gives civilians some scrutiny over the army - although not enough for critics.

In August Mursi stripped the generals of sweeping powers they had grabbed when he was elected two months earlier, but has since repeatedly paid tribute to the military in public.

So far the army and police have taken a relatively passive role in the protests roiling the most populous Arab nation.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Facebook vote ends experiment with democracy

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook closed the polls Monday on letting democracy rule when it comes to policy changes.

A referendum to strip Facebook users of the power to endorse or reject policy changes through popular vote was opposed by a majority of voters, but not enough people cast ballots to make the results binding.

The referendum was opposed by 87 percent of the 668,125 members who cast ballots, according to a posting on the Facebook governance site.

But Facebook had indicated that if fewer than 30 percent of Facebook's one billion users voted, the California-based firm would be free to go forward with a plan to eliminate the voting structure and integrate Instagram data for ad purposes.

Facebook bought smartphone-picture sharing service Instagram early this year in a cash and stock deal valued at a billion dollars at the time.

A week ago, Facebook asked its members to vote on an overhaul of privacy and other policies in what on Monday became the last binding referendum of its kind at the huge social network.

The social media giant, which has drawn fresh fire from privacy activists for the proposed changes on how it manages users' data, said the poll would be binding only if it gets responses from 30 percent of members -- or 300 million people.

The changes end the voting process, and also would permit sharing of information with its newly acquired photo-sharing service, Instagram.

Additionally, the changes would make it easier for advertisers and others to send messages on Facebook, limiting users' control, according to privacy rights groups.

Activists have raised a ruckus, saying the new policies, if implemented, could violate some laws or Facebook's agreement with US regulators earlier this year after complaints from privacy groups.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center urged Facebook users to vote no, saying the changes "would end user voting, remove spam blocking, and combine personal information from Facebook with data from photo-blogging site Instagram."

Facebook said in a message to users last month that the vote system -- implemented in 2009 -- "resulted in a system that incentivized the quantity of comments over their quality."

Facebook's stock price tumbled after its hotly anticipated market debut in May at $38 a share, in part due to concerns over ad and revenue growth.

However, Facebook shares have rallied in recent weeks and were up slightly to $27.92 on Monday.

-AFP/ac

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What renewing the Undetectable Firearms Act means for 3D-printed guns. FAQ

Defense Distributed's test gun, with a 3D printed lower receiver.

(Credit:
Defense Distributed)

Citing the threat of plastic, 3D printed firearms, U.S. Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) held a press conference this weekend calling for the renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act. The act was originally conceived in 1988 in response to the Glock 17, a handgun with some components made from plastic composites.

The law has been renewed several times since its inception, most recently in 2003. It is currently due to expire in December 2013.

For gun rights advocates, the Undetectable Firearms Act comes across as legislative hand-wringing. Others find the law an example of security theatrics, and a threat to the growing 3D printing market. We present this FAQ in the interest of sorting out the facts.

Q: What are the specifics of the Undetectable Firearms Act?

The meat of the law makes it a federal offense to "manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive" a firearm capable of defeating airport metal detection. It requires that any firearm, minus the stock, grips, and magazine, have a x-ray detection signature no less than that of a calibration sample containing 3.7-ounces of stainless steel.

The law also prohibits you from making or selling a firearm that "does not generate an [[x-ray]] image that accurately depicts the shape of the component." In other words, it's a federal crime to make and sell a gun that looks like something else to an airport x-ray scanner.

Q: Do plastic guns exist?

It's easy to fall down the rabbit hole on this one. Search "non-metal gun" and the results turn up a mix of alleged designs over the years, from reported CIA research to Anarchist Cookbook-style zip gun plans. Confirming the existence of an entirely plastic firearm is even more elusive.

Without diverting too far down this path (the Straight Dope has a fun read on the topic), let's assume that making an undetectable firearm of some variety is not wholly impossible, be it the product of a well-funded research lab or some desperate tinkerer with no care for accuracy, reliability, or his own well being.

Even if we do allow that undetectable firearms exist, there is no evidence to suggest that they are a common problem for U.S. law enforcement.

Q: So there's no such thing as a 3D printable gun?

To public knowledge, no. Michael "Haveblue" Guslick has had the most success with this idea, designing and printing a component for the AR15 sport rifle known as the lower receiver. He says he fired almost 100 rounds from his design in a test.

During his press conference, Rep. Israel cited a recent firing test of the Wiki Weapon. That project is the would-be product of a group called Defense Distributed, whose stated aim is to disrupt the concept and mechanisms of firearms regulation. They hope to achieve their goals by designing and distributing the plans for a functioning plastic gun that anyone can make with a $500 3D printer.

You can read all about Defense Distributed on Web site. Their project only received the necessary funding in the past few months, and they have hit a few snags along the way, from a revocation of a leased 3D printer to a friendly chat with their local ATF field office.

The Defense Distributed firing test that Rep. Israel referred to was in fact only a review of Guslick's existing design. Defense Distributed might have captured some worthwhile data from that test, but it has not yet shown evidence of a 3D printable gun design beyond what Guslick's came up with back in August.

Q: If Defense Distributed does develop an all-plastic, 3D-printable gun, wouldn't it be illegal under this act?

The law makes certain exceptions for the military and the CIA, and also provides some room for manufacturers that want to test whether a certain design falls within the requirements of the law.

Perhaps Defense Distributed can find some niche in those exemptions, but otherwise it's hard to imagine how they would not be in violation. That said, Defense Distributed spokesman Cody Wilson was the first person to make me aware of the law's existence, so the group certainly knows it's a hurdle they will have to deal with.

Q: If you can't print a plastic gun yet, isn't renewing this law just an example security theater or legislative grandstanding?

The Undetectable Firearms Act has had its critics since it was enacted in 1988, largely because of the general belief that no one has ever made a functional gun that can sneak by an airport x-ray scanner.

Those in support of the law would argue, among other things, that even if no undetectable guns exist, it can act as a deterrent to the development of such a design. They would also say that it gives the federal government a forward-looking enforcement tool in the event that someone does come up with an undetectable firearm, 3D-printed or otherwise.

In calling to renew the law, Rep. Israel also riled 3D printing enthusiasts by using Defense Distributed as an example. Comments from Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who was present at the press conference, also caused some controversy. Burke was quoted by Meetthe112th.com, saying "With the prices of these printers under $1,000, I think anyone can imagine the rise of an amateur gun maker in our community."

Q: Is renewing the Act really just a stealth attempt to regulate 3D printing?

Among other 3D printing enthusiats who found the press conference troubling, Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow voiced his concerns with Burke's and Israel's comments in a blog post:

However, what Rep Israel doesn't say is how he hopes to accomplish his goal. Firmware locks for 3D printers? A DMCA-like takedown regime for 3D shapefiles that can be used to generate plastic firearms (or parts of plastic firearms?). A mandate on 3D printer manufacturers to somehow magically make it impossible for their products to print out gun-parts?

Doctorow seems to be reacting to the idea that renewing the Undetectable Firearms Act also means regulating 3D printing technology. Inasmuch as the law restricts the manufacture of undetectable firearms, it does establish legal consequences if you're found to have used any tools or mechanism to make one. While Israel and Burke do hold Defense Distributed and 3D printing out as scary examples, the language of the Undetectable Firearms Act contains nothing specific to the pro-active regulation of 3D printing, or any other manufacturing process.

Rep. Israel's spokesperson also confirmed to me that "there are no technical aspects of the law that we're trying to change."

This is not to say that a politician might not one day take up the cause of regulating 3D printers or the distribution of printable design files. In that event, Rep. Israel and Chief Burke using it as a bugaboo here might make such regulations easier for voters to stomach. The Undetectable Firearms Act itself, in its current language, does not pro-actively restrict 3D printing.

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Plane of singer Jenni Rivera missing in Mexico

In this Nov. 11, 2010 file photo, singer Jenni Rivera performs onstage during the 11th annual Latin Grammy Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. / Kevin Winter/Getty Images for LARAS

MEXICO A small plane carrying Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera went missing early Sunday after taking off from the city of Monterrey, authorities in northern Mexico confirmed Sunday.

Jorge Domene, spokesman for the Nuevo Leon state government, told Milenio television on Sunday that the plane left Monterrey about 3:30 a.m local time after a concert there and aviation authorities lost contact with the craft about 10 minutes later.

It had been scheduled to arrive in Toluca, which is located outside Mexico City, about an hour later.

Domene said a search for the plane was launched early Sunday, with helicopters from the local civilian protection agency flying over the state. He said seven people including the crew were believed to be aboard the U.S.-registered Learjet 25.

The 43-year-old who was born and raised in Long Beach, California, is known for her interpretations of Mexican regional music known as nortena and banda.

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Banda Superstar Jenni Rivera's Plane Missing

Mexican officials have confirmed the disappearance of a private jet carrying regional Mexican music superstar Jenni Rivera that took off from the northern Mexican city of Monterrey at 3:15 a.m. local time on Sunday and fell off the radar 10 minutes (or 62 miles) after take-off.

The Learjet 25 jet is believed to have been carrying seven people – five passengers and two pilots. It was headed for Toluca International Aiport, located outside of Mexico City, where it was meant to arrive at 4:40 a.m. An official search for the jet was initiated at sunrise.

Rivera's publicist Arturo Rivera is believed to have been on that flight. His most recent tweets are of photos from Rivera's concert in Monterrey on Saturday night.

The Mexican American singer's most recent tweet is a re-tweet of what appears to be a fan's message.

Rivera was due in Toluca this evening for the taping of a Mexican TV show, La Voz.

Known as La Diva de la Banda and beloved by fans on both sides of the border, Rivera, 43, has had a groundbreaking career in regional Mexican music, selling some 15 million records. Among her many feats in a male-dominated genre, she made history in September 2011 when she sold out the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the first female regional Mexican artist to do so. Her reality show on mun2, I Love Jenni, is one of the network's highest rated shows. Rivera made her film debut at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in the indie family drama Filly Brown, due in theaters in January 2013.

See Also: 'Filly Brown Gives Jenni Rivera a Chance to Grow and Gina Rodriguez a Chance to Shine

The Long Beach, Calif.-born singer's personal life has often called for as much attention as her career. A mother of five, Rivera had filed for divorce from baseball player Esteban Loaiza in October after two years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences." Soon after, rumors of an affair between Loaiza and Rivera's own daughter Chiquis surfaced, which Chiquis addressed on Twitter in October by saying, "I would NEVER do that, Ever! That's a horrible accusation."

The search for Rivera's jet continues. This is a developing story.

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Egypt's opposition rejects constitutional referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's main opposition coalition rejected on Sunday Islamist President Mohamed Mursi's plan for a constitutional referendum this week, saying it risked dragging the country into "violent confrontation".

Mursi's decision on Saturday to retract a decree awarding himself wide powers failed to placate opponents who accused him of plunging Egypt deeper into crisis by refusing to postpone the vote on a constitution shaped by Islamists.

"We are against this process from start to finish," Hussein Abdel Ghani, spokesman of the National Salvation Front, told a news conference, calling for more street protests on Tuesday.

The Front's main leaders - Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and leftist Hamdeen Sabahy - did not attend the event.

Hundreds of protesters milled around Mursi's palace, despite tanks, barbed wire and other barriers installed last week after clashes between Islamists and their rivals killed seven people.

"Holding a referendum now in the absence of security reflects haste and an absence of a sense of responsibility on the part of the regime, which risks pushing the country towards violent confrontation," a statement from the Front said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Mursi from obscurity to power, urged the opposition to accept the referendum's verdict.

Islamists say the vote will seal a democratic transition that began when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago after three decades of military-backed one-man rule.

Their liberal, leftist and Christian adversaries say the document being fast-tracked through could threaten freedoms and fails to embrace the diversity of Egypt's 83 million people.

"ACT OF WAR"

Mursi had given some ground on Saturday when he annulled the fiercely contested decree issued on November 22 that gave him extra powers and shielded his decisions from judicial review.

But some measures taken under the decree remain in force and the president has insisted the referendum go ahead on December 15.

Liberal opposition leader Ahmed Said earlier described the race to a referendum as an "act of war" against Egyptians.

Egypt is torn between Islamists, who were suppressed for decades, and their rivals, who fear religious conservatives want to squeeze out other voices and restrict social freedoms. Many Egyptians just crave stability and economic recovery.

Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said the scrapping of Mursi's decree had removed any reason for controversy.

"We ask others to announce their acceptance of the referendum result," he said on the group's Facebook page, asking whether the opposition would accept "the basics of democracy".

The cancellation of Mursi's decree, announced after a "national dialogue" on Saturday boycotted by almost all the president's critics, has not bridged a deep political divide.

Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, a technocrat with Islamist leanings, said the referendum was the best test of opinion.

"The people are the makers of the future as long as they have the freedom to resort to the ballot box in a democratic, free and fair vote," he said in a cabinet statement.

But opposition factions, uncertain of their ability to vote down the constitution against the Islamists' organizational muscle, want the document redrafted before any vote.

"A constitution without consensus can't go to a referendum," said Hermes Fawzi, 28, a protester outside the palace. "It's not logical that just one part of society makes the constitution."

DIALOGUE

Egypt tipped into turmoil after Mursi grabbed powers to stop any court action aimed at hindering the transition. An assembly led by the Brotherhood and other Islamists then swiftly approved the constitution it had spent six months drafting.

Opponents, including minority Christians, had already quit the assembly in dismay, saying their voices were being ignored.

After the dialogue hosted by Mursi, a spokesman announced that the president had issued a new decree whose first article "cancels the constitutional declaration" of November 22. He said the referendum could not be delayed for legal reasons.

The decree ignited more than two weeks of sometimes violent protests and counter-rallies in Egypt. Mursi's foes have chanted for his downfall. Islamists fear a plot to oust the most populous Arab nation's first freely-elected leader.

Islamists reckon they can win the referendum and, once the new constitution is in place, a parliamentary election about two months later. The Islamist-led lower house elected this year was dissolved after a few months by a court order.

Investors appeared relieved after Mursi rescinded his decree, sending Egyptian stocks 4.4 percent higher on Sunday. Markets are awaiting approval of a $4.8 billion IMF loan later this month designed to support the budget and economic reforms.

The military, which led Egypt's transition for 16 turbulent months after Mubarak fell, told feuding factions on Saturday that only dialogue could avert "catastrophe". But a military source said these remarks did not herald an army takeover.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh; editing by David Stamp)

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Italy faces vote as Monti leaves, Berlusconi returns

ROME: Italian officials on Sunday readied for early elections after Prime Minister Mario Monti said he would soon resign and his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi announced he would run for the top job for the sixth time in two decades.

Monti on Saturday said he would step down as soon as parliament approved next year's budget, which means elections could now be held as early as February -- well before the government's mandate runs out in late April.

"I have matured in my conviction that we could not continue like this any longer," Monti was quoted as saying in an interview with top-selling daily Corriere della Sera, a day after his dramatic move.

Monti said he made his decision after Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party withdrew its support for him last week.

Party chief Angelino Alfano told parliament on Friday that Italy's debt, unemployment and tax rates had risen, while the economy had plunged since Monti had taken over in November 2011. Monti leads a non-elected cabinet of technocrats.

Alfano went back on the offensive Sunday, saying Monti's government had made "grave errors" and that the PDL was a "responsible force" for Italy.

"We wanted to signal Italians' unease with his economic policies," Alfano said.

Asked about several items of legislation still before parliament, Alfano said his party would only back the budget and a decree to keep open a troubled steel mill in southern Italy that employs thousands of people.

Investors have reacted nervously since the PDL abstained from two confidence votes on the government on Thursday: the stock market plunged and the differential, or "spread", between Italian and benchmark German bonds widened.

Following talks between Monti and President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, the president's office said Monti "does not think it possible to continue his mandate and consequently made clear his intention to present his resignation".

Analysts said Monti's decision to speed up the election could also be a way for him to prepare his own entry into politics after three-time prime minister Berlusconi announced his dramatic return.

Berlusconi's decision comes despite a tax fraud conviction earlier this year and an ongoing trial for having sex with an underage 17-year-old prostitute and abusing his powers when premier.

"I am running to win," he said on Saturday, after declaring in October that he would not run.

Most recent polls suggest Berlusconi's party is running in second or even third place, with the main centre-left Democratic Party led by Pier Luigi Bersani expected to win the elections.

Erik Nielsen, chief economist at UniCredit, said he was "not seriously worried" about the prospects for Italy and predicted either a Bersani-led coalition or a new Monti government after the election.

More than three million centre-left voters took to the polls earlier this month to nominate Bersani as their candidate, a former communist with liberal reformist credentials and experience in government.

Some polls put in second place the Five Star Movement, an Internet-based group led by former comedian and populist blogger Beppe Grillo.

In a blog post on Sunday, Grillo criticised Monti saying he was "leaving a country on its knees".

"Watch out for the anger of Italians," he warned.

Primaries held by the movement this month picked dozens of mostly young parliamentary candidates in their 20s and 30s who are campaigning on a series of grassroots issues and environmental causes.

The PDL party had also been due to hold primaries later this month but was forced to cancel them after Berlusconi announced his surprise return.

The party has been riven by infighting ever since Berlusconi stepped down. It has also been hit by a series of scandals over abuse of public funds.

Experts say a campaign against some of Monti's budget cuts and austerity measures could nevertheless play well, as many Italians are feeling the pinch.

Monti's supporters say his administration pulled Italy back from bankruptcy and launched crucial liberal economic reforms, implementing tough but necessary austerity to sort out the public finances after years of mismanagement.

In an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore business daily on Sunday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso cautioned Italy against turning back the clock.

Barroso praised Monti for "putting public finances back in order and reforming the economy and for his role in the European debate.

"Italians should not fall under the illusion that there are quick or magic solutions," he told the paper.

"The next elections should not become a pretext to put in doubt the necessity of the measures approved until now."

On the sidelines of an economic conference in Cannes, Monti said on Saturday: "I am convinced that whatever government succeeds me, the wisdom of the men and women in Italian politics will prevail.

"I am sure there will not be an attempt to destroy what we have been able to do to secure Italy's public finances," he added. There was still an "enormous amount to do for growth."

-AFP/ac

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Google, Facebook ask court to reject patents on abstract ideas

As patent spats continue to command much of the tech world's attention and corporate resources, a group of prominent companies is taking a stand against a practice it sees as hobbling innovation.

Google, Facebook, Zynga and five other tech giants filed an amicus brief with the U.S. State Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday, asking the court to reject the patents central to a lawsuit between two financial institutions. CLS Bank sued Alice Corp. for infringing on four patents covering a computerized method of having a third-party hold funds in escrow on behalf of two other contracting parties.

The 37-page brief (see below), also signed by Dell, Intuit, Homeaway, Rackspace, and Red Hat, argues that combining phrases such as "on a computer" or "over the Internet" with an abstract idea doesn't deserve a patent. The brief said the issue was "critically important in the high-tech context" and that granting patents stymie innovation:

Many computer-related patent claims just describe an abstract idea at a high level of generality and say to perform it on a computer or over the Internet. Such barebones claims grant exclusive rights over the abstract idea itself, with no limit on how the idea is implemented. Granting patent protection for such claims would impair, not promote, innovation by conferring exclusive rights on those who have not meaningfully innovated, and thereby penalizing those that do later innovate by blocking or taxing their applications of the abstract idea.

Calling abstract patents a "plague in the high-tech sector," the brief concludes that, "It is easy to think of abstract ideas about what a computer or website should do, but the difficult, valuable, and often groundbreaking part of online innovation comes next: designing, analyzing, building, and deploying the interface, software, and hardware to implement that idea in a way that is useful in daily life. Simply put, ideas are much easier to come by than working implementations."

The brief comes as companies grapple with a rash of lawsuits based on patents that are secured for the purpose of extracting licensing fees from other companies rather than making products based on the patents. A study released earlier this year found that patent infringement lawsuits are on the rise, costing U.S. companies $29 billion in 2011.

The explosion in patent lawsuits, especially in the software and pharmaceutical industries, led one judge presiding over high-profile cases to declare that "patent protection is on the whole excessive and that major reforms are necessary."

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