James Gandolfini's Family and Friends Attend Private Wake in New Jersey

Family and friends attended James Gandolfini's private viewing held at the Robert Spearing Funeral Home in Park Ridge, New Jersey on Wednesday, June 26. The actor's widow Deborah Lin, teenage son Michael, and 9-month-old daughter Liliana were among the first wave of mourners who arrived at the funeral home. Baby Liliana was shielded by umbrellas as she entered the funeral home inside a baby carrier with her mother. Gandolfini's sisters Johanna Antonacci and Leta also joined their aunt, uncle and cousin at the invitation-only wake, which was scheduled to run until 9 P.M. Around 18 local police officers were assigned at the site to keep order. Police shut down a side street adjacent to the home at about 11 A.M., and the media and the public respected the boundaries. "It's been somewhat uneventful, which is what we hoped ... we asked people to respect the family and overall people heeded that," said Capt. Joseph Rampolla of the Park Ridge Police. Gloria Lowell, who was among the guests, described the situation inside the funeral home, "Jim sucked all the air out of the room." Another friend, Dan Katz, said Gandolfini "would probably be incredulous at the fuss being made over him in death ... He would be laughing at the flag [at the state government buildings] flying half staff. He was a very private person. He didn't like the limelight." James Gandolfini died of heart attack on Wednesday, June 19 while vacationing with his 13-year-old son in Italy. His body arrived in the U.S. earlier this week and a public funeral is scheduled to take place Thursday at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, with celebrity friends expected to attend. 

new source: aceshowbiz.com

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After three decades, Texas executes 500th inmate

HUNTSVILLE - As scores of death penalty protesters chanted, clapped and sang Wednesday, Dallas County convicted murderer Kimberly McCarthy became the 500th Texas inmate executed since the state reactivated the death penalty 31 years ago. On the other side of the prison, a small group of capital punishment supporters silently watched as witnesses entered the red brick death house. Inside the execution chamber, McCarthy, in standard prison garb and strapped down with leather belts, looked toward family and friends in the witness room. "Thank you everybody," she told them. "This is not a loss, this is a win. You know where I am going. I am going home to be with Jesus. Keep the faith. I love you all." The lethal dose of pento­barbital was injected at 6:17 p.m., and McCarthy was declared dead 15 minutes later. She was executed for the July 1997 robbery and murder of her Lancaster neighbor, Dorothy Booth, 71. 'Justice fulfilled' Ads by Google Do You Feel Alone In ThisWorld? Do you wonder if anyone cares about you? Find out here. peacewithgod.jesus.net/AnyoneCare Hotels in DubaiWe have complete offer of hotels. Book online. Best Price Guaranted! www.hotelium.com/Dubai Free IT TrainingImprove Your Computer Skills, Sign Up Now For Free Online Courses free-online-training-courses.com After the execution, Booth's daughter Donna Aldred told reporters her mother was "an incredible woman who was taken before her time." "After almost 16 years," she said, "the finality of this event has allowed me to say goodbye to my mother. We are grateful to see justice fulfilled." Randy Browning, a family friend, told those gathered beneath a blistering afternoon sun that the victim's family and friends would "accept closure in whatever form comes our way." McCarthy, he said, never expressed remorse over killing Booth or the elderly victims of two other slayings prosecutors attributed to her. As the time for the execution approached, protesters from Houston and Dallas gathered in a parking lot adjacent to the prison. "It just seems so obviously wrong," said Kelly Epstein, an anti-death penalty advocate from Spring. "And we just keep doing this. It's part of our violent society - our love of guns, our love of violence. I think each person, even McCarthy, has value and worth." Led by Houston activist Gloria Rubac, protesters - ultimately about a hundred - joined in a chant. "Harris County says death row!" Rubac shouted. "We say hell no!" came the response. "Perry says death row!" Rubac prompted. "We say hell no!" "The death penalty is guilty and should be stopped right now!" Rubac shouted. The Rev. Peter Johnson, of Dallas, told the crowd that "the death penalty is not only economically stupid. It says something about our moral fiber … The solution to murder cannot be murder." Across the prison grounds, Houstonian Jordan Rhea said he supported McCarthy's execution because "If you take a life, justice needs to be done. It's an eye for an eye." Inmate's last hours Another capital punishment supporter, Destiny Thompson, also of Houston, said she felt death was an appropriate punishment because of the brutality of McCarthy's crime. "It was violent, premeditated and inhumane," Thompson said. McCarthy, who consistently refused to talk with the media while on death row, occasionally joked with prison staff while she whiled away her final day in a holding cell just a few feet from the execution chamber. But for the most part, prison spokesman John Hurt said, she was subdued and pensive. The inmate was served a breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and chicken sandwiches at 1:48 a.m. Later in the day she read, packed her belongings and visited with her spiritual advisor, her ex-husband and a prison chaplain. There was no question that McCarthy would be put to death after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday rejected her second appeal in as many days. Her lawyer, Maurie Levin of the University of Texas Capital Punishment Clinic, had asked the court to review claims that African-Americans improperly were kept from serving on McCarthy's jury. Three blacks were eliminated in the selection process, and only one ultimately served on the jury. McCarthy was African-American. "The shameful errors that plague Ms. McCar­thy's case - race bias, ineffective counsel, and courts unwilling to exercise meaningful oversight of the system - reflect problems that are central to the administration of the death penalty as a whole," Levin said after the court's decision. Criminal history McCarthy had no further recourse to the federal courts, her lawyer said. Testimony in the trial indicated that McCarthy, addicted to crack cocaine, approached Booth ostensibly to borrow sugar, then repeatedly stabbed her. McCarthy severed her victim's finger to obtain a ring, which, along with other stolen items, was converted to cash to buy drugs. During the punishment phase of McCarthy's trial, prosecutors told jurors that she also had killed two other women, both of them in their 80s. Both of those victims were related to or were close friends of her family.

 new source: chron.com

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Nelson Mandela still critical; bishop prays for leader's 'peaceful, perfect, end'

Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- Cape Town's archbishop led Nelson Mandela's family in prayer on Tuesday, calling for "a quiet night and a peaceful, perfect, end" for the former South African president. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba prayed with Mandela's family at the Pretoria hospital where the anti-apartheid icon remains in critical condition, the South African Press Association reported. "Fill them with your holy courage and the gift of trusting faith, and take away their fears so that they may dare to face their grief," he said, according to a copy of the prayer posted on the bishop's website. "Guide the medical staff so that they may know how to use their skills wisely and well, in caring for Madiba and keeping him comfortable," Makgoba said, using Mandela's traditional clan name. "And uphold all of us with your steadfast love so that we may be filled with gratitude for all the good that he has done for us and for our nation, and may honor his legacy through our lives." Dozens gather to pray for Nelson Mandela Daughter: He is at peace Mandela relatives lay claim The whole world prays for one man As night fell, well-wishers outside the Pretoria hospital where Mandela lay chanted his name, hung signs of support on bulletin boards and left flowers. "We wish him well. We are calling on the world to unite and pray for Madiba," said 24-year-old Innocentia Moselane. "He is our icon, and we love him." During his 27 years behind bars for fighting apartheid, Mandela became a rallying symbol for those fighting South Africa's white-minority rule at home and abroad. His release in 1990 was the beginning of the end of apartheid, the system of legalized racial segregation the South African government enforced for more than 45 years. "He is our hero. He is my mentor, my father. He is everything to me," 36-year-old Kuda Nyahumzvi told CNN outside the hospital. "But when it is his time, we wish his soul could just rest. He spent so long in jail and struggling." While crowds of supporters appeared to have gone home by early Wednesday morning, the South African Press Association reported, scores of journalists remained outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria. Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, spends every night at the hospital, where the former president has been since June 8 for a recurring lung infection. Previously, authorities had described his condition as serious but stable. But over the weekend, his health took a turn for the worse, with the South African president's office saying he was in critical condition. "The doctors are doing everything possible to ensure his well-being and comfort," President Jacob Zuma told the nation Monday. When the country held its first multiracial elections in 1994, Mandela became the South Africa's first black president. He stepped down in 1999 after serving a single term. Though he continued to be a voice on the world stage for developing nations, human rights and the fight against AIDS after leaving office, Mandela, 94, has been sidelined by advancing age and bouts of illness in recent years. He last appeared in public in 2010.

new source:  cnn.com

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Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Data, Easing China Cash-Crunch

Asian stocks rose for the first time in three days after better-than-estimated U.S. data bolstered the outlook for the world’s largest economy and concern over China’s cash crunch eased. James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), a supplier of building materials that gets about 70 percent of sales from the U.S., climbed 3.8 percent in Sydney. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s biggest lender, jumped 4.1 percent in Hong Kong after the nation’s central bank injected liquidity to stabilize money-market rates. Woori Finance Holdings Co. gained 2.8 percent in Seoul after the government announced plans to separate the nation’s largest financial group by assets into three parts. China Stocks `Substantially Undervalued' 5:08 June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Kurtz, the Hong Kong-based chief global equity strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc., talks about China's economy, stocks, and government and central bank policies. He speaks with Zeb Eckert on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg) The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.4 percent to 125.49 as of 12:18 p.m. in Tokyo, paring gains of as much as 1.1 percent earlier. About five shares rose for every three that fell on the measure. The gauge dropped 13 percent through yesterday from this year’s high on May 20 after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said policy markers may start dialing down stimulus if the U.S. economy shows sustained improvement, and as money-market rates in China surged to records. “More growth means equities have a very good fundamental reason to continue rallying as we look through the noise,” Michael Kurtz, Hong Kong-based head of global equity strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc., said on Bloomberg Television. “China stocks are starting to look substantially undervalued. Investors with a medium to long-term perspective should be taking this as an opportunity to go shopping.”

new source:  www.bloomberg.com

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Celtics’ Rivers Is Said to Be Heading to Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are poised to finally lure Coach Doc Rivers from the Boston Celtics, reaching agreement on an on-again, off-again deal that at various points was declared dead and against league rules. Off the Dribble Keep up with the latest news, on the court and off, with The Times's basketball blog. Go to Off the Dribble N.B.A. Live Scoreboard Teams | Player Stats Knicks Schedule/Results Roster | Player Stats Nets Schedule/Results Roster | Player Stats W.N.B.A. Live Scoreboard Teams | Player Stats Liberty Schedule/Results Roster | Player Stats The deal, which was confirmed by a person close to Rivers, would send the coach to Los Angeles in exchange for an unprotected 2015 first-round draft pick. Believed to be the key to retaining Chris Paul, the Clippers’ All-Star point guard, who will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, Rivers has agreed to a three-year, $21 million contract with the Clippers, according to multiple news media reports. The deal matches the basic terms remaining on Rivers’s contract with the Celtics. The problems concerning the exchange focused on a second proposed trade that would involve multiple players, including the Celtics star Kevin Garnett and Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. With the deals seemingly contingent on each other, they would violate the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which bans transactions involving players and coaches. Commissioner David Stern, who remains in charge of the league until Feb. 1, made clear that he would veto the trade if he thought the two parts were connected. He also mocked the notion that the teams could do both trades and then claim they were not related. “I have a bridge that I would very much enjoy selling to you,” Stern told ESPN Radio last week when asked if the two trades could be completed independently of each other. The deal would still require league approval, but since the Garnett trade has not been completed, it is unclear how the league could say the Rivers deal is against the rules. Rivers, who just completed his ninth season as the coach of the Celtics after five with the Orlando Magic, has a career record of 587-473. He was named the coach of the year for the 1999-2000 season and won a title with the Celtics in 2008. Many have speculated that Rivers was not interested in being part of a coming rebuilding effort in Boston. Although the Clippers owner Donald Sterling is not known for largess, the generous contract for Rivers will be well worth it if it helps the team retain Paul, who pairs with Blake Griffin in what has been nicknamed Lob City. The team would become especially dangerous should it work out a deal for Paul Pierce, who could become a free agent June 30, when the Celtics must decide whether to exercise a $15 million option or give him a $5 million buyout. In a rebuilding mode, the Celtics may not want to spend so much on a veteran player. A trade for Garnett, however, is unlikely because it would probably cause the league to become involved. A situation somewhat similar to the Rivers deal happened in 2007 when the Magic wanted to hire Stan Van Gundy, whose rights were still held by the Miami Heat. In exchange for releasing their rights to Van Gundy, the Heat received a second-round pick (39th over all) in the 2007 draft. In 1983, the Chicago Bulls lured Kevin Loughery from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a second-round draft pick. The Hawks used that pick to take Rivers. Other sports have dealt with such situations as well. In baseball, Lou Piniella was traded from Seattle to Tampa Bay after the 2002 season in exchange for Randy Winn and Antonio Perez. In football, Jon Gruden was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the 2002 season in exchange for four draft picks. The move backfired on the Raiders: Gruden coached Tampa Bay to a win over Oakland in the Super Bowl that season. With their coach secured, the Clippers would next need to focus on retaining Paul and continuing to put the pieces around him for a long playoff run after a first-round exit this season. Howard Beck contributed reporting.

new source:  .nytimes.com

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Hong Kong Rebuff on Snowden Averts Chinese Strains With U.S.

Hong Kong’s decision to let Edward Snowden leave despite a U.S. warrant for his arrest spared the city a legal battle that would have left it trapped between the competing interests of Chinese and American leaders. In allowing the ex-National Security Agency contractor to board a flight to Moscow yesterday, Hong Kong no longer has to weigh American extradition demands against signs China didn’t want the city to give up Snowden, who exposed programs in which he said the U.S. monitored its own citizens and millions of Chinese text messages. The consequences include U.S. ire over the move and cast a spotlight on the city’s respect for legal procedures. Enlarge image Hong Kong Rebuff on Snowden Averts China Strain as U.S. Protests A woman walks past a banner displayed in support of Edward Snowden in Hong Kong, China, on June 18, 2013. Photographer: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images Snowden to Seek Asylum in Ecuador, U.S. to Pursue 3:52 June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Edward Snowden, the former U.S. intelligence contractor who disclosed details of classified government intelligence activities, is seeking asylum in Ecuador as U.S. officials expressed anger at China and Russia for their role in allowing him to leave Hong Kong. Rosalind Chin reports on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg) Snowden Damaged U.S. Security, Ruppersberger Says 5:37 June 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, talks about federal surveillance programs, Edward Snowden, the former national-security worker who leaked secret documents on the programs, and Google Inc.'s request to publish the national security inquiries it receives from the government. He speaks with Emily Chang on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg) Hong Kong’s government yesterday found “no legal basis” to stop Snowden, less than two weeks after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said any extradition request would be handled according to the law. American senators decried the move and a Justice Department official said it raised concerns for the U.S. “It’s a neat option from the Hong Kong government’s point of view but there are also consequences,” Willy Wo-Lap Lam, a politics professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said by phone. “The decision risks being judged as a pretext and not respecting the rule of law and also not respecting the spirit of the extradition agreement with the U.S.” Hong Kong said the U.S. arrest warrant didn’t meet legal requirements. The Justice official, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said U.S. authorities believed the documents provided for the extradition request met the requirements of the agreement between the two countries. Discussions between the two countries over how and why the incident occurred will continue, the official said.

new source:  bloomberg.com

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Is money better then education?

A great writer says that the love of money is the root of all evil.Before going to the depth let me define what the education is It means to know something.To my point of view money is necessary in every field of life weather that is education,or any work if we say money is better then education if we don't have money how can we read.How can we go for our higher education to me money and education two of them are necessary in every human's life.Education simply makes you a good human being how to behave with others how to deal with the next person.And if you want to get education then money is needed.Is we talk about our leaders.of course they are education.Because they have spent money for education.They were in other countries.They spent lots of money for getting education.Leave others.Our kids.Brothers,sister they are reading in private schools.Due to money.At the end I just want to say that money and education both play a great role in our life.That's why we have to get education and money plays a vital role to get education. written by waseem saleem

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Afghanistan: Gun and rocket attack near Kabul airport

Militants armed with heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades have launched an attack near the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul. Kabul police told the BBC that the gunmen were firing from a five-storey building under construction close to the airport. The Taliban has said it carried out the attack. The BBC's David Loyn at the scene says police are in the building and clearing it floor by floor. He says the operation is being carried out by an Afghan police rapid reaction force with no help from international forces. It is not yet known if there are any casualties. All flights have been cancelled in and out of Kabul international airport, which is home to a large Nato-led military base. Witnesses reported the sound of explosions and gunfire coming from the airport shortly after dawn on Monday. "Gunmen have entered a house under construction in the west of Kabul airport and are fighting with security forces," Kabul police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanekzai said. "Their target is Kabul airport and all roads to it are sealed," he added. Our correspondent says helicopters are circling the area and there are still occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions. Embassies in the diplomatic area of Kabul were quickly locked down. Reports said the US embassy had sounded its "duck and cover" alarm and announced on loudspeakers that the alarm was not a drill. Alarms were also heard ringing loudly from the British embassy. The Taliban announced a "spring offensive" in April, saying it would target foreign military bases and diplomatic areas. Last month, Afghan security forces fought Taliban insurgents for hours in the centre of Kabul after a major explosion shook the city. Most international troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Afghan forces are due to take responsibility for the security of the whole country in the next few months, for the first time since 1992.
new source:  www.bbc.co.

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Heat Pummel Spurs to Tie Series

MIAMI — There are countless ways to dominate a game, myriad methods and attack points and angles, and LeBron James has mastered them all. The scheme and scoring totals may vary, but it is the results that matter, a fact that James emphatically reminded anyone who had doubts Sunday night. Related For Spurs, Every Game Is a Global Summit (June 10, 2013) On Pro Basketball: Again Playing the Leading Man, but Only for His Teammates (June 10, 2013) Off the Dribble Keep up with the latest news, on the court and off, with The Times's basketball blog. Go to Off the Dribble N.B.A. Live Scoreboard Teams | Player Stats Knicks Schedule/Results Roster | Player Stats Nets Schedule/Results Roster | Player Stats W.N.B.A. Live Scoreboard Teams | Player Stats Liberty Schedule/Results Roster | Player Stats James dominated the game without dominating the shooting charts, and the Miami Heat revived their offense in spectacular fashion, routing the San Antonio Spurs, 103-84, to tie the N.B.A. finals at one game apiece. James was splendid, finishing with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 40 minutes, before Coach Erik Spoelstra pulled him and the rest of the Heat starters midway through the fourth quarter, with the game well in hand. “LeBron couldn’t get into a rhythm early on,” Spoelstra said. “Other guys stepped up. He showed great poise and trust in not getting caught up and feeling like he had to make the play or score, but either facilitate or let other guys make plays. And that’s what they did.” Mario Chalmers led the Heat with 19 points, offsetting another quiet scoring night from Dwyane Wade (10 points) and Chris Bosh (12 points, 10 rebounds). Ray Allen and Mike Miller combined for another 22 points off the bench, going 6 for 8 from 3-point range. The Spurs, who were so steady and precise in winning Game 1, had a tough time holding their offense together on Sunday, committing 17 turnovers (four times their Game 1 total), leading to 19 points for the Heat. Tim Duncan made only 3 of 13 shots, finishing with 9 points and 11 rebounds. “I look at my shots, and they’re shots I want,” he said. Tony Parker, the Spurs’ fourth-quarter hero on Thursday, scored 13 points, going 5 for 14 from the field. Danny Green, the Spurs’ least decorated starter, was their best scorer, with 17 points and a perfect 6-for-6 shooting line. The series now moves to San Antonio for the next three games. For the Heat, this game stood as a nice retort to the critics who had insisted that James needed to shoot more and score more, despite his triple-double in Game 1. As it turned out, James finished with 1 point fewer and just 1 shot more in Game 2 than in the series opener. The Game 1 defeat not only cost the Heat the home-court advantage in the series, but revived all the lingering concerns about their perceived frailties, and by implication their ability to repeat as champions. Suddenly, Wade’s health and effectiveness became worrisome again. Bosh’s assertiveness was called into question again. And the debate over James’s best role — facilitator or dominant scorer? — was sparked anew. James had a triple-double in Game 1, but he took only 16 shots (four in the fourth quarter) and scored only 18 points. “I want to win just as bad as anyone,” James said Saturday. “I’m going to put myself and my team in a position to win. I have to try to make the plays. I can’t worry about if people are saying, `You should have done more, you should have been more aggressive, because you got a loss.’ Winning and losing is part of the game.” Whether he was responding to the loss or the criticism, James did attack more often Sunday night, with shaky results. He missed 10 of his first 12 attempts from the field. The Heat built an 8-point lead early in the third quarter anyway, with Wade and Chalmers providing the scoring thrust, and the Spurs aiding Miami with a steady stream of turnovers. The Spurs recovered, getting a 3-pointer from Green and 7 points from Kawhi Leonard in a 12-2 third-quarter run that wiped out the deficit. Then came another wave of miscues — including turnovers by Ginobili, Gary Neal and Duncan — as the Heat closed the third quarter on a 14-3 run, taking a 75-65 lead into the fourth. San Antonio won the series opener by keeping their mistakes to a minimum. On Sunday, they had more turnovers in the first quarter (five) than they had in all of Game 1. They had 13 in the first three quarters, leading to 15 points for the Heat. Referring to the series’s 1-1 score, Ginobili said: “If you would have asked me before heading to Miami, I would have said O.K., I’ll take it.” But, he added, “you don’t want to play like this in an N.B.A. finals.” The victory extended the Heat’s remarkable streak of games without consecutive losses to 66. They have not lost two straight since Jan. 8 and 10. “Our guys take a lot of pride in what we’re trying to do, and winning, and what it takes to win,” Spoelstra said before tip-off. “When we lose, we all get together and we all own it together, whatever it may be, and we just try to collectively figure it out and come back better. “A lot of times, those sessions, we don’t like each other, but the honesty is what gets to the truth pretty quick.” After Miami’s victory, Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said the Heat’s broad contributions were the key to the game. “That’s when they’re at their best,” Popovich said. “That’s when every team is at their best.” REBOUNDS The Heat presented Game 2 with a bit more subtlety and much less bellowing, in deference to a stern request from N.B.A. officials. The volume on the arena’s public-address system was turned down a few notches from its usual earsplitting levels. And the arena’s announcer, Michael Baiamonte, known for his screaming introductions (which he sometimes repeats a half-dozen times a game) and his nonstop histrionics, was also a bit more restrained Sunday night.
  new source:  .nytimes.com

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Asian shares hit 2013 lows as Fed stimulus jitters weigh

(Reuters) - Asian shares slipped to their lowest this year on Wednesday as uncertainty over when the U.S. Federal Reserve would begin scaling down its massive stimulus program fanned worries about funds flowing out of the region. The mood was soured by a drop in U.S. stocks overnight on worries over a shift in the Fed's current policy, but the prospect of less monetary stimulus underpinned the dollar. "Wariness over an exit from the current Fed stimulus is driving Asian shares lower on worries that the ample money that had been invested here could flee, although I feel that an improving U.S. economy should be seen as positive for many export-reliant Asian economies," said Hirokazu Yuihama, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. Comments on Tuesday from two Fed officials added to concerns the world's largest economy will be left with reduced Fed support at some point this year. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said there must be a practical limit to the Fed's balance sheet and the central bank cannot deliver quantitative easing "to infinity," while Kansas City Fed President Esther George said slowing the pace of bond buying would not mean tightening U.S. monetary policy and would help wean financial markets off their dependence on ultra-easy money. Markets have been buffeted by U.S. stimulus jitters since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last month suggested the potential roll back of the massive bond-purchase program this year if the economy improves further. The Fed's quantitative easing has been a major source of support for global markets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slid as much as 0.8 percent to a six-month low, after snapping a four-day losing streak on Tuesday. Australian shares .AXJO shed 1.4 percent to a five-month low as slower-than-expected first quarter growth and weakening demand for metals in China weighed, while South Korean shares .KS11 fell 0.6 percent. Hong Kong .HSI shares dropped 0.6 percent but Shanghai shares .SSEC were steady. "The market is taking a breather amid profit-taking on recent gains," said Chung Seung-jae, a market analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, referring to the near 4 percent rise in Seoul shares since mid-April. Markets showed subdued reaction to HSBC's purchasing managers' index for the services industry, which expanded modestly in May from April. Daiwa Securities' Yuihama said stability in Japanese equities would help calm Asian bourses, which had lately been taking their cue from the highly volatile Japanese stock market. Japan's Nikkei stock average .N225 was down 0.1 percent after inching up as much as 0.3 percent earlier. A reversal in the yen's strength was supportive but investors were cautiously awaiting the unveiling of the government's growth strategy due later in the session. .T The Nikkei closed up 2.1 percent on Tuesday after hitting a seven-week low earlier in the day. The index, which had charged up to a 5-1/2-year peak less than two weeks ago for a gain of 53 percent since the end of 2012, has been driven sharply lower in recent sessions on worries about slowing growth in China and the Fed's policy outlook. The dollar was up 0.1 percent against the yen at 100.10, off Monday's three-week low of 98.86. The dollar index .DXY, measured against a basket of six key currencies, was steady around 82.809, having moved away from Monday's three-week low of 82.428. Amid deepening uncertainty over the course of U.S. monetary policy, investors have become even more cautious than usual before monthly nonfarm payrolls data due on Friday as the U.S. central bank has made an improving jobs situation a precondition for softening its strong stimulus measures. "The taper-debate rumbles but it's a question of when, not if, policy gets less easy. That's probably the lesson from recent 'mixed' data," Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale in London said in a note to clients. "I meet plenty of people who think any talk of U.S. rate normalization is premature, but nearly all concede 'new normal neutral' is much higher than here. That's a recipe for a bearish Treasury, bullish USD, cautious credit bias and also for higher volatility," he said. U.S. crude futures were up 0.5 percent at $93.76 a barrel while Brent was up 0.2 percent at $103.42. (Additional reporting by Jungyoun Park in Seoul; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Shri Navaratnam)
new source:  www.reuters.com

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Joint Chiefs’ Answers on Sex Crimes Dismay Senators

WASHINGTON — Senator Roy Blunt sat silently for nearly an hour as his colleagues on the Armed Services Committee questioned one military leader after another on Tuesday about what they were doing to address the problem of sexual assault in the military, and then assessed their responses: “Stunningly bad.” Multimedia Senator McCaskill on Military Assaults In particular, Mr. Blunt chided Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations, for displaying scant knowledge of how military allies of the United States had dealt with sexual assault in their ranks, and for thanking Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, for “the tip” that other countries had grappled with the issue. “Has anybody who works for you been asking this?” Mr. Blunt, Republican of Missouri, asked with clear exasperation. In a rare appearance together, a majority of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — as well as the commandant of the Coast Guard and other military officials — testified before the committee about how the military should approach the problem as Congress prepares to vote on several measures that would significantly change military policy. “Discipline is the heart of the military culture, and trust is its soul,” said Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan and the chairman of the committee. “The plague of sexual assault erodes both the heart and the soul.” Senators from both parties pressed the leaders, at times using strong language, about why, decades after the full integration of women into the military, the problem seems to have worsened. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, recalled meeting with a woman whose daughter was considering entering the military if Mr. McCain, a former naval aviator, could offer his “unqualified support” of the choice. “I could not,” he said. Over hours of testimony, each officer expressed remorse. “I took my eye off the ball in the commands I had,” said Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But they collectively resisted some of the more robust changes that have been proposed. “I recommend a measured approach,” said Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff. The hearing followed several weeks of reports of sexual assault in the armed forces and a Pentagon survey that estimated that 26,000 people in the armed forces were sexually assaulted last year, up from 19,000 in 2010. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, who on Tuesday called sexual assault in the military “beyond the pale,” said the Senate would move to address the problem in the coming defense bill. “Something has to be done about it,” he said. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, has introduced the most sweeping proposal, which would give military prosecutors, rather than commanders, the power to decide which sexual assault cases to try. She has said the measure is principally intended to increase the number of people who report crimes without fear of retaliation and professionalize the process, but it has been largely rejected by military brass. “Making commanders less responsible and less accountable will not work,” General Odierno said. Among other measures that the committee is considering are those that would limit a military commander’s ability to change or dismiss a court-martial conviction for sexual assault, require dismissal or a dishonorable discharge for anyone in the military convicted of rape or sexual assault, and expand to all service branches an Air Force program that provides a special counsel to victims of sexual assault. This week, the House Armed Services Committee is expected to pass provisions aimed at combating sexual assault within its Defense Authorization Act; the full House is scheduled to consider that bill next week. The provisions include one similar to the Senate measure that would limit a commander’s ability to overturn sentences and another that would require minimum sentences for sexual assault convictions. Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, is particularly interested in the ability of commanders to overturn sexual assault convictions, and repeatedly questioned why a service record could mitigate such a conviction. Ms. McCaskill called a letter from Lt. Gen. Craig A. Franklin explaining his reversal of a fighter pilot’s conviction “astoundingly ignorant.” Ms. Gillibrand also chided the leaders for sometimes understating the gravity of some of the crimes before them, noting that one commander had told a victim that he believed her assailant had not “acted like a gentleman” but had not committed a crime. “Not every commander can distinguish between a slap on the ass and a rape,” Ms. Gillibrand said. Several advocates for victims of sexual assault also testified, in some cases offering chilling testimony about women and men who had been sexually abused and then lost their careers by seeking justice. “The military does not create rapists,” said Anu Bhagwati, who served as a Marine captain and is executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network. But, she said, it does “condone sexual violence.”
 new source:  www.nytimes.com

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