Sunday, June 23, 2013

Greece returns to jolt markets

LONDON (AP) ? Greece returned to stalk financial markets Friday at the end of a turbulent week that's been dominated by the admission from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it may be done with its monetary stimulus next year.

Though trading had shown signs of settling down, developments in Athens provided investors with a clear reminder that the country's problems are a long way from being fixed.

"The euro area's problems are back in the spotlight with an all-familiar cast," said Neil Mellor, an analyst at Bank of New York Mellon.

The catalyst behind the turn of events was the confirmation from one of the country's governing parties to pull its two cabinet ministers from the cabinet following a dispute over state broadcaster ERT.

Even without the support of the Democratic Left, the government led by conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras can survive as the other coalition partner, socialist Pasok, remains. However, the majority in Parliament will be paltry and raises questions over the government's ability to survive for long and pursue the package of austerity measures and reforms demanded by the country's bailout creditors.

As a result, the yield, or interest rate, on Greece's 10-year bonds was up 0.59 percentage point at 11.14 percent, slightly down on its earlier 2013 high of 11.45 percent. The main stock market in Athens was down 6 percent.

The return of Greece to the forefront of investor attentions fed through into markets in Europe and stock indexes, which had been trading higher earlier in the day, were falling again. The euro was a notable casualty too, trading 0.7 percent lower at $1.3137.

In Europe, Germany's DAX was down 1 percent at 7,849, while the CAC-40 in France fell 0.5 percent lower at 3,679. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.4 percent lower at 6,137.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2 percent at 14,792 while the S&P 500 index rose 0.1 percent to 1,589.

Despite the worries over Greece, trading was not as frantic as in the aftermath of Wednesday's comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the central bank's bond purchases would likely slow down this year and end in 2014.

Bernanke's admission had prompted widespread concerns among investors, who have grown used to the central bank's money-creation policies over the past few years. Stocks have taken a particular pounding, with the Dow Jones index suffering a 560 point slide on Thursday alone. Other assets, such as commodities, including gold, and U.S. Treasuries, have also suffered drastic drops.

The main point of interest for markets is the uncertainty over the Fed's exit strategy. The new money the Fed has created through its bond-buying program over nearly five years has been designed to shore up the U.S. economy. However, it has also been a major factor behind market developments.

The prospect that the policy will be unwound sooner than many investors thought prompted the big moves over the past couple of days despite U.S. economic data pointing to a solid recovery that may be able to sustain itself without outside support from the Fed. Stocks, government bonds, in particular U.S. Treasuries, got hammered, while the dollar surged.

Elsewhere, markets were echoing developments in stocks ? for example, early oil price gains evaporated, and the benchmark New York price was down 88 cents at $94.26 a barrel.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225, the region's biggest benchmark, bucked the losing trend in Asia, as the yen weakened against the dollar. That helps the country's exporters by making their products more competitive abroad. The Nikkei rose 1.7 percent to close at 13,230.13.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greece-returns-jolt-markets-150506385.html

brandon inge freedom tower freedom tower eric church quick silver where have you been rihanna world trade center

Japan's Fukushima debate: How will the meltdown affect the health of residents?

A politician apologized this week for saying no one had died because of the meltdown, as Japan continues to assess the impact of the nuclear disaster.

By Justin McCurry,?Correspondent / June 21, 2013

The steel structure for the use of the spent fuel removal from the cooling pool is seen at the Unit 4 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at Okuma in Fukushima prefecture, Japan, June 12.

Noboru Hashimto/AP

Enlarge

More than two years after the triple meltdown at Japan?s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant all but brought the country to a halt following a massive earthquake and tsunami, the disaster's long-term effects on health are still unknown.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Sanae Takaichi, the policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party, let loose a media firestorm during a speech calling for the restart of nuclear reactors after saying that no one had died as a direct result of the Fukushima accident.

Highlighting the sensitive nature of the issue, that claim was challenged by politicians, including those from the affected area. They noted local government records showing that at least 1,000 people have died from other causes related to the accident, including suicides and health problems triggered by the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

Ms. Takaichi later apologized, and said she had meant that no one had died from radiation spewed from the plant in the days after it was crippled by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. But her remarks came as residents, experts, and campaigners continue to assess the impact the nuclear disaster has had and will have on health.

In a recent draft report, the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects on Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) said it expected to see no noticeable rise in cancer rates, adding that the swift evacuation of people living in a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius of the plant had sharply reduced radiation exposure.

The dose levels were "so low that we don't expect to see any increase in cancer in the future in the population," Wolfgang Weiss, a senior member of UNSCEAR, told reporters.

The committee's prognosis was slightly more upbeat than that offered in February by the World Health Organization, which said residents in the worst affected areas faced a slightly higher risk of developing certain cancers.

The WHO added that girls exposed as infants in the most contaminated areas faced a 70 percent higher risk of developing thyroid cancer over their lifetime. This could mean, it said, that about 1.25 out of every 100 girls could develop thyroid cancer, as opposed to the natural rate of about 0.75 percent.

"Due to the low baseline rates of thyroid cancer, even a large relative increase represents a small absolute increase in risks," the WHO said.

Dr. Weiss suggested the UNSCEAR recent report was more accurate because it took into account a full year's worth of data, rather than the WHO study's three months' worth. "[The WHO] didn't have the full picture. We didn't have the full picture either but we have more than one year in addition," he said. "The results are very straightforward ... the evacuation of many, many thousands of people resulted in a reduction of the dose that they would have received if they had stayed in the evacuation zone by a factor of 10."

Parallels with Chernobyl

Weiss said parallels between Fukushima and Chernobyl, where, according to UNSCEAR, more than 6,000 children and adolescents developed thyroid cancer, many after drinking milk contaminated with radioactive iodine, were misguided. "The doses through the thyroid in Japan are much, much lower," he said.

While international studies bear out official Japanese reassurances about the health impact of Fukushima, some scientists accuse the UN of using faulty methodology.

Alexey Yablokov, author of ?Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,? says UNSCEAR's claim that there would be no observable increase in cancer rates was "absolutely unacceptable."

The UN bodies' calculations, he says, had been made using flawed estimates of average radiation doses among Fukushima residents. "The average dose estimates don't reflect the real dose of radiation [received by Fukushima residents]," he said during a recent visit to Tokyo.

"How did they estimate the average? It's impossible, because on the first day of the accident the level of radiation was thousands of times higher,? says Dr. Yablokov. ?How do you calculate how many minutes people spent inside and outside their houses at that time, or how much air they breathed? It's absolutely ridiculous."

Earlier this month, a study of more than 170,000 Fukushima Prefecture residents aged 18 or under revealed 12 confirmed cases of thyroid cancer, up from three in February. Medical officials in the prefecture said, however, there was no evidence the new cases were linked to the Fukushima meltdown.

'No evidence'

Cham E. Dallas, clinical professor of emergency medicine at Georgia Regents University, agrees. "There is no evidence whatsoever that would support that these cases of thyroid cancer, appearing within only a year of two of the accident, are related to radiation exposure from the Fukushima accident," he says.

"The radioiodine exposure levels at Fukushima were only a tiny, tiny fraction of those at Chernobyl, which were very significant. Therefore, there just wasn't enough exposure at Fukushima to get thyroid cancers, and no other cancers can be expected, based on the Chernobyl experience."

Other leading radiation experts have similarly dismissed any link between thyroid cancer cases and Fukushima.

"[They are] very unlikely to be related to radiation from Fukushima. Most likely it is a case of ascertainment bias ... look for something and you will find it," says Robert Peter Gale, executive director of clinical research at Celgene Corp.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/piLUPxJH1KE/Japan-s-Fukushima-debate-How-will-the-meltdown-affect-the-health-of-residents

jerry lee lewis winning lotto numbers lottery tickets mega lottery sag aftra mega mill power ball

Saturday, June 22, 2013

U.K. issues Google yet another privacy ultimatum

DEAR ABBY: I was taken away from my parents at 13 and placed into foster care, where I stayed until I aged out at 21. My biological mother is a drug addict who abandoned me to my father when I was 11. She never tried to contact me while I was in care.I am now 24 and she won't leave me alone. She sends Facebook messages that alternate between begging me to let her get to know me, and condemning me for being vindictive and not having forgiveness in my heart. Abby, this woman exposed me to drugs and all manner of seedy people and situations. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-k-issues-google-yet-another-privacy-ultimatum-010031433.html

Marriage Equality opm passover Florida Gulf Coast University Aaron Craft school closings ariana grande

Turkish police unleash water cannon on protests

Riot policemen shoot tear gas during clashes with protesters near Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Riot policemen shoot tear gas during clashes with protesters near Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Riot policemen prepare during clashes with protesters at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Water canon sprays protesters during clashes at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A couple walks through cloud of tear gas when riot policemen clashed with protesters near Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Protester kicks away a tear gas canister during clashes with riot police near Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

ISTANBUL (AP) ? Turkish police used water cannon to disperse thousands gathered in Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday to observe a memorial for four people killed during recent anti-government protests. The officers later fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and in some cases beat people with batons, to scatter demonstrators who regrouped in side streets.

The police move came as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that foreign-led conspirators he alleges are behind the anti-government movement in his country also are fomenting the recent unrest in Brazil.

The protests in Turkey erupted three weeks ago after riot police brutally cracked down on peaceful environmental activists who opposed plans to develop Gezi Park, which lies next to Taksim. The demonstrations soon turned into expressions of discontent with what critics say is Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian and meddlesome ways.

Erdogan, who took power a decade ago, denies he is authoritarian and, as evidence of his popularity, points to elections in 2011 that returned his party to power with 50 percent of the vote and gave him a third term in office.

On Saturday, demonstrators converged in Taksim, where they laid down carnations in remembrance of at least three protesters and a police officer killed in the rallies. For about two hours, protesters shouted anti-government slogans and demanded that Erdogan resign before police warned them to leave the square.

Some demonstrators tried to give carnations to the security forces watching over the square, shouting: "Police, don't betray your people." But after their warnings to disperse were ignored, police pushed back protesters with water cannon, even chasing stragglers down side streets and apparently blocking entrances to the square.

An Associated Press journalist said police drove back protesters into side streets off Taksim ? including the main pedestrian shopping street Istiklal ? and later fired several rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets to scatter the crowds who refused to disperse. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Dogan news agency footage showed two police officers hitting protesters with batons and kicking them as they forced their way through Istiklal street. A few demonstrators threw rocks at a police water cannon, while other protesters tried to calm them down and prevent them from attacking police.

Police in the capital, Ankara, also sprayed tear gas and pressurized water to break up hundreds of protesters who gathered in two neighborhoods, wanting to march to the city's main square, Dogan reported.

Last week, police had used water cannon as well as tear gas and rubber bullets to clear Taksim and end an occupation of Gezi Park by activists. But the demonstrations had largely subsided in Istanbul in recent days, with many protesters using a new, more passive approach of airing their grievances: standing motionless.

Erdogan has faced fierce international criticism for his government's crackdown on the protests, but he has defended his administration's actions as well as the tough police tactics. He also has blamed the protests on unspecified foreign forces, bankers and foreign and Turkish media outlets he says want to harm Turkish interests.

Brazil, meanwhile, has been hit by mass rallies set off this month by a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fares in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere. The protests soon moved beyond that issue to tap into widespread frustration in the South American nation over a range of issues, including high taxes and woeful public services.

During an address to tens of thousands of his backers in the Black Sea coastal city of Samsun, the latest stop in a series of rallies he has called to shore up his political support, Erdogan declared that Brazil was the target of the same conspirators he claims are trying to destabilize Turkey.

"The same game is now being played over Brazil," Erdogan said. "The symbols are the same, the posters are the same, Twitter, Facebook are the same, the international media is the same. They (the protests) are being led from the same center.

"They are doing their best to achieve in Brazil what they could not achieve in Turkey. It's the same game, the same trap, the same aim."

___

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-22-Turkey-Protests/id-10f499ddb4e049d2b84969b81293aa23

dallas tornadoes dallas weather nike nfl uniforms ben and jerrys free cone day tornado in dallas texas the island president the maldives

Beagle-boxer-basset wins World's Ugliest Dog

Walle poses for a portrait while competing in the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. The 4-year-old beagle, boxer and bassett hound mix went on to win top honors. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Walle poses for a portrait while competing in the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. The 4-year-old beagle, boxer and bassett hound mix went on to win top honors. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Walle, 4-year-old mix of beagle, boxer and basset hound, celebrates after winning top honors in the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Penny poses for a portrait while competing in the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Rascal poses for a portrait while competing in the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Roman poses for a portrait while competing in the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

(AP) ? A huge-headed, duck-footed mix of beagle, boxer and basset hound was the upset winner at the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest.

Walle (WAHL-ee), a 4-year-old mutt from Chico, Calif., who was entered at the last minute, was judged Friday as the most unsightly of 30 dogs at the Northern California competition.

"This dog looked like he's been photo-shopped with pieces from various dogs and maybe a few other animals," judge Brian Sobel said.

Walle overcame the dominance in recent years by nearly hairless Chihuahuas, Chinese cresteds, or combinations of the two.

Owner Tammie Barbee got the dog when he was three months old.

"People come up to me and say that dog is not right," Barbee said, "but I love him."

Judges said they were especially impressed by Walle's bizarre waddle of a walk.

Walle wins $1,500 and will make several network TV appearances next week, including NBC's "Today" show and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

The contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds gets worldwide attention, with media from around the world traveling to Petaluma, about 40 miles north of San Francisco.

Organizers say the dogs are judged for their "natural ugliness in both pedigree and mutt classes."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-06-22-Ugliest%20Dog%20Contest/id-2fde17ad3b6d4001b426917d72f0786c

read across america vikings stadium breitbart dead db cooper fafsa branson missouri davy jones dead

Longo goes yard twice as Rays roll Yankees

By HOWIE RUMBERG

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:51 p.m. ET June 20, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) - Evan Longoria homered twice. Matt Moore pitched impressively into the seventh inning. From Desmond Jennings to Yunel Escobar, there were contributions throughout the Tampa Bay lineup.

That's how manager Joe Maddon imagined this pesky club would perform all year.

"That's the way it's supposed to look like," Maddon said after the Rays sent the New York Yankees to their seventh loss in nine game, 8-3 Thursday night.

Longoria reached 500 career RBIs with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. He connected against Andy Pettitte (5-5) leading off the sixth and again off Joba Chamberlain to open the eighth.

Escobar hit a two-run shot off Boone Logan later in the eighth as the Rays' won a second straight after losing six of seven.

"We've had some tough losses in the past week but the guys hung in there really well," Maddon said. "It's going to be the roller coaster AL East all summer."

Tampa Bay had 14 hits after amassing 15 in a 6-2 win over Boston on Wednesday night.

The 24-year-old Moore (9-3) snapped a three-start skid. The lefty opened the season 8-0 before yielding 20 runs over 12 1-3 innings in three starts this month. He blanked the Yankees until the sixth when two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs.

A wild pitch scored one run, Robinson Cano had a sacrifice fly and Travis Hafner followed with an RBI grounder that pulled the Yankees to 4-3.

"Things were going well until the sixth inning," Moore said. "That was kind of the makey or breaky type of moment where it's either going to be a five-run inning with Robbie Cano up, bases loaded, no outs. Or you could keep the team in the game the way we were able to."

Moore then got an out in the seventh before being lifted following Lyle Overbay's ground-rule double to left field, only the fourth hit he allowed.

Jose Lobaton opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the second following a wild pitch by Pettitte. Ben Zobrist had an RBI single in the third in the Rays' first visit to the Bronx this year.

Jennings and Sean Rodriguez had consecutive two-out doubles in the seventh to chase Pettitte, making his first start as a 41-year-old - his birthday was Saturday.

"For me it's another frustrating night," Pettitte said. "We come back and score three runs and I go out there and give them right back. Joe (Girardi) trusts me to get out of the inning and I can't get Rodriguez out. I need to be able to shut these guys down."

Jennings put Pettitte in trouble on the first pitch of the game, hitting a double that landed on the left-field line for his first of his three hits.

The Rays started the third with three straight singles. Jennings led off with a single and went to second when the ball scooted under center fielder Brett Gardner's glove for an error. After Rodriguez singled, Zobrist, who came in 9 for 22 (.409) against Pettitte, drove in Jennings with a single.

Longoria's sacrifice fly made it 3-0 and gave the All-Star third baseman 500 RBIs in 710 games, eighth quickest to reach the mark in major league history.

"It's a pretty good amount of RBIs. It's something I'm pretty proud of," Longoria said. "Hopefully there'll be a ton more."

In 6 2-3 innings, Pettitte gave up five runs and nine hits. He has given up 14 runs in four starts since returning from the disabled list June 3.

Pitching coach "Larry (Rothschild) said for the first five innings he didn't make a lot of mistakes, but the ones he made they hit them," manager Joe Girardi said.

NOTES: Maddon said RHP Alex Colome will start Saturday. ... Tampa Bay played its 2,500th game in franchise history. The Rays, who started out as the Devil Rays in 1998, are 1,141-1,359 overall. Rothschild was Tampa Bay's first manager. Current Rays bench coach Dave Martinez singled for the team's first hit. ... Rays ace David Price (left triceps strain) is scheduled to make his first rehabilitation start Friday for Class A Charlotte. ... There was a moment of silence for actor and Yankees fan James Gandolfini, who died Wednesday. ... Yankees broadcaster and former catcher John Flaherty was in the Rays' first lineup. ... Yankees OF Vernon Wells went 0 for 3 and is 6 for 59 in June.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


advertisement

More news
Can Strasburg get Nats on track?

??HBT Daily: Craig Calcaterra previews an exciting weekend in baseball beginning with Stephen Strasburg taking the mound against the Rockies.?And can the?Yankees' bats will wake up against the Rays.

Angels mount seven-run rally vs. Felix, M's

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Staring at a seven-run deficit with Seattle's Felix Hernandez on the mound Thursday night, the Los Angeles Angels could have been excused for starting to think about the weekend.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/52270549/ns/sports-baseball/

clive davis nba trade thomas robinson nba trades Xbox 720 HTC One NICOLAUS COPERNICUS

Paula Deen Causes Controversy With Use Of N-Word (VIDEO)

Paula Deen Causes Controversy With Use Of N-Word (VIDEO)

Paula Deen racial slurPaula Deen has addressed the controversy over her admission of using the N-word, caught on video during her court deposition in her lawsuit filed by a former employee. Deen’s team says she is not racist. She only used the N-word a long time ago because she’s from the South and raised during the time when ...

Paula Deen Causes Controversy With Use Of N-Word (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/06/paula-deen-causes-controversy-with-use-of-n-word-video/

adrian peterson chicago bears netflix kennedy center honors boxing day george h w bush Belk