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WikiLeaks' Assange urges support for Snowden, slams Obama 'betrayal' - CNN International

Posted: 22 Jun 2013 08:27 AM PDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Assange says President Obama has betrayed a generation, according to the text of a speech
"Edward Snowden's ordeal is just beginning," Assange says of the NSA leaker
Snowden is charged by federal prosecutors with espionage and theft of government property
"This isn't a phenomenon that is going away," says Assange of young, tech-savvy leakers

London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange urged the world Saturday to "stand with" Edward Snowden, the man who admitted leaking top-secret details about U.S. surveillance programs, according to the text of a speech posted on Twitter.

As he appealed for a "brave country" to step forward and offer Snowden asylum, Assange also accused U.S. President Barack Obama of betraying a generation of "young, technically minded people."

Assange was scheduled to speak from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Saturday, but the appearance was postponed at short notice "due to a security situation," WikiLeaks said on Twitter.

Wednesday marked a year since Assange sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused in the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history. His court-martial is set to begin Monday, June 3, at Fort Meade, Maryland. He has pleaded guilty to 10 of 22 charges against him and faces up to two decades in jail. He has not pleaded guilty to the most serious charge -- that of aiding U.S. enemies, which carries the potential for a life sentence. At a February proceeding, Manning read a statement detailing why and how he sent classified material to WikiLeaks, a group that facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information through its website.

Key WikiLeaks figures as trial begins

HIDE CAPTION

Assange has repeatedly said the allegations in Sweden are politically motivated and tied to the work of his website. Ecuador's government granted him asylum in August, but British authorities have said they will arrest him if he leaves the premises.

As a result of his decision to seek refuge in the embassy, "I have been able to work in relative safety from a U.S. espionage investigation," said Assange, according to the text of the speech.

"But today, Edward Snowden's ordeal is just beginning."

Assange's words came hours after Snowden was charged by U.S. federal prosecutors with espionage and theft of government property, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in Virginia on Friday.

Snowden, 30, has admitted in interviews that he was the source behind the leak of classified documents about the NSA's surveillance programs. Those leaks were the basis of reports this month in Britain's Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post.

He is believed to be in hiding in Hong Kong. The United States has asked authorities there to detain the former National Security Agency contract analyst on a provisional arrest warrant, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

Assange, in his published speech, said the espionage charge had come "like clockwork," making Snowden the eighth "leaker" to be charged with that count by the Obama administration.

"Two dangerous runaway processes have taken root in the last decade, with fatal consequences for democracy," he said.

"Government secrecy has been expanding on a terrific scale. Simultaneously, human privacy has been secretly eradicated ... The U.S. government is spying on each and every one of us, but it is Edward Snowden who is charged with espionage for tipping us off."

Also among the eight "leakers" is WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning, Assange said. Manning is being court-martialed on charges he aided U.S. enemies by leaking documents he obtained as an Army intelligence analyst.

He named the others as Barrett Brown, Jeremy Hammond, Aaron Swartz, Gottfrid Svartholm and Jacob Appelbaum.

Assange suggested Obama was the real "traitor" for his failure to live up to his promises of hope, change and transparency in government. And he warned that the U.S. government will lose the battle if it tries to take on the tech-savvy people now calling its actions into question.

"Edward Snowden is one of us. Bradley Manning is one of us. They are young, technically minded people from the generation that Barack Obama betrayed. They are the generation that grew up on the Internet, and were shaped by it," he said.

"The U.S. government is always going to need intelligence analysts and systems administrators, and they are going to have to hire them from this generation and the ones that follow it.

"One day, they will run the CIA and the FBI. This isn't a phenomenon that is going away."

Assange added that charging Snowden "is intended to intimidate any country that might be considering standing up for his rights" and appealed for efforts to find asylum for him to be intensified.

CNN's Susannah Palk contributed to this report.

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Jumaat, 21 Jun 2013

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For Re-Enactors, Gettysburg Is Pinnacle of Hobby - ABC News

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 08:42 AM PDT

Thousands of Civil War buffs are getting ready for the pinnacle of their re-enacting careers when they gather in Pennsylvania for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

This year's commemoration is such a big deal that it's getting two giant re-enactments. One starts the weekend of June 28, while the other begins on Independence Day.

They'll bookend the actual anniversary of the pivotal battle that took place July 1-3, 1863.

There's a bit of competitiveness over which group will put on the better re-enactment.

But leaders of both groups say they share the same goals of educating the public and commemorating the war's bloodiest skirmish.

Re-enactments occur on private properties, outside of Gettysburg National Military Park.

Alberta premier warns of downstream floods to come - CBC.ca

Posted: 21 Jun 2013 08:34 AM PDT

Alberta Premier Alison Redford warned today that people downstream of Calgary still "have not yet felt the full force" of flooding as swollen rivers overrun their banks.

Albertans faced more rain Friday after seeing the worst flooding in decades, which caused evacuations in Calgary and throughout southern areas of the province.

She praised the work of first responders at all levels, but reminded people that when asked to leave their homes, they must do so. She said she had spoken with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"He of course is watching this in real time on social media along with Mrs. Harper and offered to work closely with us and provide any possible support," she said.

Speaking at the same news conference, Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths echoed Redford's assurances to Albertans that emergency management efforts are underway.

"I want you to know that we are keenly aware that now we are managing a crisis situation," Griffiths said. "But we are also planning for the future already."

When the water subsides and it's time to clean up the debris and rebuild, he said, Albertans will be doing that as quickly as possible.

The swollen Bow and Elbow rivers carried water fast and furious overnight through Calgary and towns such as Canmore, High River, Black Diamond and Turner Valley.

Both rivers were believed to have crested in the Calgary area by about 6 a.m. MT.

"That is not to say there won't be some secondary surges," the CBC's Meghan Grant reported from Calgary's Emergency Operations Centre at about 7 a.m. Much depends on the weather.

Rain was forecast to continue for the next 12 hours.

Numerous Calgary neighbourhoods have been evacuated, with an estimated 75,000 people affected.

While not as intense as Thursday, more rain was forecast for Friday, with an additional 15-30 mm possible, said CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland.

"The greatest amounts were expected west of Calgary and just north of Canmore, and an additional five to 10 mm tonight through Saturday morning," he said. "Showers also remain in the forecast this weekend."

Mudslides forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway, isolating the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore.

Alberta Health Services issued a boil-water order for specific parts of Canmore on Friday morning. Residents and businesses in parts of Cougar Creek east of the creek were told to bring water to a full boil for one minute before any consumption.

At about 4:30 a.m. MT, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi tweeted: "We think the Elbow is now at peak. But peak could last a while. Bow still has about 30-35% more flow, expected in next couple of hours."

Communities were hit hard just south of Calgary, a city of more than a million people that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Earlier reports that Calgary Zoo's big cats had been taken to the city's courthouse for their safety were contradicted by police tweets. The zoo normally houses four such species, according to its website: lions, tigers, snow leopards and cougars.

Many downtown neighbourhoods were ordered evacuated as Thursday evening went on. Officials said the evacuation would take place in stages over the next few days. The province reported that 12 communities were under states of emergency.

In a 3 a.m. briefing, Nenshi praised "the incredible calm and orderly way in which we are managing this, both citizens and public servants." He said some police officers had been on the job for 20 hours at that point, helping with evacuations.

Still, it has been a shock: "I grew up here, I spent a lot of time on the Bow and Elbow rivers, and I have never seen the river that high and that fast," Nenshi said.

Calgary officials expanded evacuation orders and opened more emergency shelters Thursday night. The evacuation orders have grown to cover parts of at least 25 neighbourhoods.

All Calgary public and Catholic schools are closed Friday.

Many neighbourhoods are shut even to local traffic. The only movement allowed is people heading out of the area, the city says.

"Everyone's safety is much more important than anything else that might be going on on a Friday."

Mike Crawford, who lives in Calgary, said he had to leave his home just after noon Thursday.

View a map of the evacuated areas

"I'm not really sure what I'm going to be walking into tomorrow or the next day," he told CBC's Ian Hanomansing

The evacuation orders cover the communities of Beltline, Bonnybrook, Bowness, Bridgeland Industrial Area, Chinatown, Eau Claire, Cliff Bungalow, Deer Run, Discovery Ridge, Downtown, East Village, Elbow Park, Erlton, Inglewood, Hillhurst, Mission, Montgomery, Quarry Park, Rideau, Riverbend, Riverdale, Roxboro, Stanley Park, Elboya, Sunnyside, Victoria Park, Westmount and Windsor Park.

CBC's Calgary station was also in the evacuation zone. Staff were putting together a morning radio show from a temporary headquarters at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and it was to be broadcast to the whole province with the help of CBC Edmonton.

Reporters and producers — many of whom spent the night being evacuated from their own homes — were deployed throughout the southern half of the province.

In Bowness, CBC's Kristina Barnes said water levels were high, nearing the top of the bridge. Police were driving along the bridge with a loudspeaker, urging people to stay away.

In Calgary, residents are encouraged to find shelter with family or friends for at least 72 hours. Reception at Southland Leisure Centre and Acadia Recreation Complex centres have been set up for residents who cannot find alternate accommodations.

You can find information from the City of Calgary here.

Reception centres

Reception centres are located at Southland Leisure Centre and Acadia Recreation Complex.
People should bring identification, prescription medications and other critical personal items with them.
Calgary Transit and Access Calgary are on standby to help residents who cannot leave on their own.
Those requiring assistance are asked to identify themselves to emergency responders going door to door.

Red Cross contact

The City of Calgary says people unable to reach family members who live in areas that have been evacuated can contact the Red Cross in Calgary by phone at: 403-541-6100. People with general or donation inquiries are asked to contact the Red Cross at: WeCare@redcross.ca or 1-800-418-1111.

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Khamis, 20 Jun 2013

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EPF to buy rest of RHB?

Posted: 20 Jun 2013 06:47 PM PDT

SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's state pension fund has hired Goldman Sachs to consider its options with the fund's 41 per cent stake in RHB Capital Bhd, according to people familiar with the matter, which include a plan to buy the rest of the bank.

RHB, Malaysia's fourth-largest bank, has a market capitalisation of US$6.8 billion. Its second-largest shareholder, Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investment, holds a 22 per cent stake.

Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Aabar were not immediately available to comment. A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.-- Reuters

KL shares tumbles on global sell-off

Posted: 20 Jun 2013 06:52 PM PDT

Malaysia's benchmark stock index dropped in early trade as global equity markets continued to sell after the Federal Reserve said this week it was encouraged by the US economy's growth to begin slowing its stimulus.

The bond buying programme by the Fed had given support to the US economy and global financial markets by pushing interest rates to record lows.

The Kuala Lumpur stock index fell 1.4 per cent, led by losses in property developer UEM Sunrise and autos-to-oil and gas conglomerate UMW Holdings.

"Asian bourses will inevitably take a beating," Hwang DBS said in a research note to clients.

"Back home, the benchmark KLCI, which could test (and fall under) its immediate support level of 1,750 points, may revisit last week's intra-week low of 1,742.87 points."

HwangDBS also said investors will watch shares in the country's top lender, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), after its disposal of a nine per cent stake in Jakarta listed PT Bank Internasional Indonesia.

It also picked out MBM Resources as a key stock to watch, as the auto distributor is targeting to lift its revenue to RM4 billion by 2015 from RM2.3 billion in 2012.-- Reuters

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50 Years After Ich Bin ein Berliner, Obama Urges 'Peace With Justice' - The Atlantic

Posted: 20 Jun 2013 07:52 AM PDT

In a major speech at the Brandenburg Gate, the president called for a reduction in nuclear weapons.

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, stands in front of Brandenburg Gate at Pariser Platz in Berlin on June 19, 2013. (AP)

Over the centuries, it's been the site of grandiose military displays under the Kaisers, the symbol of East and West German division during the Cold War, and the setting for "Tear down this wall." And today, President Obama channeled Kennedy as he finally got his own chance to speak at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate.

In a wide-ranging speech, Obama called on Americans and Europeans to work together to solve the world's biggest challenges, including climate change, youth unemployment, and political oppression.

Echoing the words of JFK, who said he was "a citizen of Berlin" in the city 50 years ago on June 26, Obama implored the audience to remember those suffering from poverty and war.

"They are who you were," he said. "They deserve our support, for they too, in their own way, are citizens of Berlin. And we have to help them every day."

Obama used the event to call for reductions in deployed nuclear warheads, saying the world should aim to cut existing nukes by one-third. The New START treaty, signed in April 2010 between the U.S. and Russia, limited the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550.

He also called for treaties that would ban nuclear tests and the production of fissile materials, and for reductions in U.S. and Russian tactical weapons in Europe.

"We may no longer live in fear of global annihilation, but so long as nuclear weapons exist, we are not truly safe," Obama said.

The president also echoed Kennedy's 1963 call to look "to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind." Obama said fostering "peace with justice" means promoting tolerance, investments in education, and meeting moral obligations on public health.

"The greatest tribute that we can pay to those who came before us," he said, "is by carrying on their work to pursue peace and justice not only in our countries but for all mankind."

Supreme Court strikes down anti-prostitution pledge as condition of AIDS funding - Washington Post

Posted: 20 Jun 2013 08:33 AM PDT

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday said the government cannot force private health organizations to denounce prostitution as a condition to get taxpayer money to fight AIDS around the world.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, said the anti-prostitution pledge in a 2003 AIDS funding law improperly restricts the groups' First Amendment rights.

Four organizations that work in Africa, Asia and South America challenged the provision in the law, arguing their work has nothing to do with prostitution.

The Obama administration countered that it is reasonable for the government to give money only to groups that oppose prostitution and sex trafficking because they contribute to the spread of HIV and AIDS. It said that if groups were not held to a pledge to oppose prostitution and sex trafficking, they could spend private funds in a way that might undermine the government's mission.

But Roberts, in the 6-2 decision, wrote that the pledge "goes beyond preventing recipients from using private funds in a way that would undermine the federal government."

"It requires them to pledge allegiance to the government's policy of eradicating prostitution," he wrote. That, Roberts wrote, the government cannot do.

Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented. Scalia said the pledge "is nothing more than a means of selecting suitable agents to implement the government's chosen strategy to eradicate HIV/AIDS."

"That is perfectly permissible under the Constitution," Scalia wrote.

Roberts noted that Congress has made available billions of dollars for private groups to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS through the law, formally known as the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003.

Another condition of funding that was not at issue in this case prohibits those groups from doing anything to promote the legalization of prostitution or sex trafficking.

A federal appeals court in New York struck down the pledge as an unacceptable intrusion on the groups' right to speak freely. Another appeals court, in Washington, upheld the provision against a similar challenge.

Two groups — Alliance for Open Society International Inc., which runs a program in Central Asia to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS by reducing drug use, and Pathfinder International, which provides family planning and reproductive health services in more than 20 countries — went to the courts after they adopted policy statements opposing prostitution in order to keep their eligibility for funding intact.

The other two groups are Global Health Council and Interaction.

The organizations "fear that adopting a policy explicitly opposing prostitution may alienate certain host governments, and may diminish the effectiveness of some of their programs by making it more difficult to work with prostitutes in the fight against HIV/AIDS," Roberts said.

The groups pointed out in court papers that the World Health Organization and other international organizations receive U.S funds to fight AIDS and do not have to comply with the anti-prostitution pledge. Indeed, some of the international agencies support lesser penalties for prostitution as part of their AIDS-fighting strategy.

Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the case, presumably because she worked on it while serving in the Justice Department as the Obama administration's top Supreme Court lawyer.

The case is United States Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, 12-10.

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US stocks sink on Bernanke comment

Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:42 PM PDT

NEW YORK: US stocks on Wednesday fell sharply after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed may begin to taper bond purchases later this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 206.04 points (1.35 percent) to 15,112.19.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 22.88 points (1.39 percent) to 1,628.93, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 38.98 points (1.12 percent) to 3,443.20.

The Federal Open Market Committee announced that it was keeping its US$85 billion-a-month bond-buying program in place, saying that unemployment remains high and growth is still being held back by government spending cuts.

But during a news conference Bernanke said that "the Committee currently anticipates that it would be appropriate to moderate the monthly pace of purchases later this year" if the economic outlook continues to improve.

"Reality is setting in that the tapering is just around the corner," said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Wealth Management.

"Is it a one-day blip or are people going to be more nervous beyond today's knee-jerk reaction?" wondered Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Morgan Securities.

Big declines were seen from Apple (down 2.0 percent) as well as Dow members The Travelers Company (down 2.2 percent) and United Technologies (down 2.1 percent).

Dish Network rose 0.4 percent after it abandoned its campaign to acquire Sprint Nextel, clearing the way for a Sprint purchase by Japan's SoftBank. Sprint shares fell 4.4 percent.

Sprint competitors AT&T and Verizon fell by 2.5 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.

FedEx rose 1.1 percent after reporting earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter that came in at US$2.13 per share, topping the US$1.96 per share seen by analysts.

Forest products company Weyerhaeuser sank 3.3 percent to $27.31 after announcing that it sold 29 million common shares at $27.75.

Elan Corp. rose 2.7 percent on reports of possible buyers after shareholders opposed a bid from Royalty Pharma.

Bond prices dived on the Fed news. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury surged to 2.31 percent, up from 2.18 percent late Tuesday, while the 30-year jumped to 3.41 percent from 3.34 percent. Bond prices move inversely to yields.- AFP

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Jimmy Hoffa search finds no sign of ex-Teamsters leader in Detroit suburb - CBS News

Posted: 19 Jun 2013 08:52 AM PDT

Updated at 11:31 a.m. ET

OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. The excavation of a rural field in suburban Detroit has failed to turn up the remains of former Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa, the FBI announced Wednesday, adding another unsuccessful chapter to a nearly 40-year-old mystery.

Authorities stopped the dig after just a few hours on the third day.

"We did not uncover any evidence relevant to the investigation on James Hoffa," said Robert Foley, head of the FBI in Detroit.

"I am very confident of our result here after two-days-plus of diligent effort," he said. "As of this point, we'll be closing down the excavation operation."

Authorities have pursued multiple leads as to Hoffa's whereabouts since his disappearance in 1975. He was last seen outside an Oakland County restaurant where he was to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit Mafia captain.

Play Video

Search for Hoffa: Mobster's tip led investigators outside Detroit

The latest tip about Hoffa's remains came from reputed Mafia captain Tony Zerilli, who, through his lawyer, said Hoffa was buried beneath a concrete slab in a barn in Oakland Township, north of Detroit.

According to Zerilli, Hoffa was the victim of a hit ordered by a mob boss who was worried that Hoffa would cut off his access to union funds, CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano reported on "CBS This Morning" Wednesday.

Today, the barn is gone, but FBI agents on Monday starting poring over the field where it used to stand.

On Tuesday, authorities used a backhoe to dig and move dirt around in the section of land. Authorities also called in forensic anthropologists from Michigan State University and cadaver dogs from the Michigan State Police.

"Certainly, we're disappointed" in the results, Foley told reporters Wednesday.

He said about 40 agents were involved in an operation that covered about an acre. The FBI has not put a cost on the search, but Foley said it's more important to solve a case.

"With any investigation we consider cost-benefits analysis," he said. "The FBI and its partners are no corporations. We do not have a profit margin as a bottom line."

Hoffa's rise in the Teamsters, his 1964 conviction for jury tampering and his presumed murder are Detroit's link to a time when organized crime, public corruption and mob hits held the nation's attention. Over the years, authorities have received various tips, leading the FBI to possible burial sites near and far.

In 2003, a backyard swimming pool was dug up 90 miles northwest of Detroit. Seven years ago, a tip from an ailing federal inmate led to a two-week search and excavation at a horse farm in the same region. Last year, soil samples were taken from under the concrete floor of a backyard shed north of the city. And detectives even pulled up floorboards at a Detroit house in 2004.

No evidence of Hoffa was found.

Other theories have suggested he was entombed in concrete at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, ground up and thrown in a Florida swamp or obliterated in a mob-owned fat-rendering plant.

Zerilli, now 85, was in prison for organized crime when Hoffa disappeared. But he told New York TV station WNBC in January that he was informed about Hoffa's whereabouts after his release. His attorney, David Chasnick, said Zerilli is "intimately involved" with people who know where the body is buried.

Details are in a manuscript Zerilli is selling online.

In his 22-page manuscript, Zerilli wrote, "A cement slab of some sort was placed on top of the dirt to make certain he was not going to be discovered. And that was it. End of story."

Zerilli, who was reportedly once the number two in command of Detroit's mafia, said the mythical tales of Hoffa's demise were just that.

In the manuscript, which he is selling online for $4.99, Zerilli wrote: "In the movies, people drive around with bodies in a trunk and put them in meat grinders and incinerators, bury them in stadiums, put them through wood chippers and so on and so forth. Those things just don't happen in real life."

Obama defends intelligence tactics in wary Berlin - Reuters

Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:12 AM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks from behind a bulletproof glass at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

By Jeff Mason and Noah Barkin

BERLIN | Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:06pm EDT

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama defended U.S. anti-terrorism tactics on a visit to Berlin on Wednesday, telling wary Germans Washington was not spying on the emails of ordinary citizens and promising to step up efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

On the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, Obama made his first presidential visit to the German capital, a favored destination of U.S. leaders during the Cold War.

He held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and gave a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in which he unveiled a proposal for new talks with Russia on slashing nuclear arms arsenals.

Obama, who attracted a crowd of 200,000 adoring fans when he last passed through in 2008 during his first campaign for the presidency, remains popular in Germany.

But revelations before the trip of a covert U.S. Internet surveillance program, code-named Prism, caused outrage in a country where memories of the eavesdropping East German Stasi secret police are still fresh.

Merkel said at a joint news conference that also touched on Afghanistan, Syria and the global economy, that the two leaders had held "long and intensive" talks on the spying issue, noting that some questions still needed to be cleared up.

Obama tried to reassure his host, who as a pastor's daughter growing up in the communist East experienced the Stasi first-hand.

"This is not a situation in which we are rifling through the ordinary emails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anybody else," Obama said.

"This is not a situation where we simply go into the Internet and start searching any way we want. This is a circumscribed system directed at us being able to protect our people and all of it is done under the oversight of the courts."

In a message which seemed designed for her domestic audience, Merkel told Obama that balance was essential in government monitoring of Internet communications.

"I made clear that although we do see the need for gathering information, the topic of proportionality is always an important one and the free democratic order is based on people feeling safe," said the 58-year-old chancellor.

Obama countered that the U.S. had thwarted at least 50 threats because of its monitoring program, including planned attacks in Germany.

"So lives have been saved and the encroachment on privacy has been strictly limited," he said.

A poll last week showed 82 percent of Germans approve of Obama, but the magic of 2008, when he was feted like a rock star, has faded amid concerns about his anti-terrorist tactics.

COMMON VALUES

In his speech to 4,000 invited guests at the Brandenburg Gate, Obama harked back to Kennedy by stressing what he called common values of openness and tolerance.

"We can be a little more informal among friends," he joked as he took off his jacket in the sweltering sun on the Pariser Platz square, just east of the Gate that once stood alongside the Berlin Wall dividing the communist East from the capitalist West of the city.

Earlier, at the news conference, he touched on tensions with Afghan President Hamid Karzai over U.S. plans to begin talks with the Taliban to try to seek a negotiated peace after 12 years of war, acknowledging "huge mistrust" between the Western-backed government in Kabul and its arch-foes.

"We do think that ultimately we're going to need to see Afghans talking to Afghans about how they can move forward and end the cycle of violence there so they can start actually building their country," Obama said.

On Syria, Obama said reports that the United States was ready to "go all in" to war in the country were exaggerated. He reiterated his view that President Bashar al-Assad's government had used chemical weapons, while acknowledging that Russia was skeptical on this point.

Obama declined to give specifics on new military aid Washington plans to provide to Syrian rebels.

Obama arrived in Germany after a two-day summit with Group of Eight leaders in Northern Ireland where he and other leaders clashed with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Syria.

Despite these divisions, he said he would engage with Moscow on reducing deployed nuclear weapons by up to a third from previously agreed levels.

"I intend to seek negotiated cuts with Russia to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures," Obama said.

In 2008, Merkel refused to allow Obama, then a senator from Illinois, to speak at the Brandenburg Gate because he was not yet president.

Despite this awkward start, the Democrat has forged a pragmatic relationship with the conservative Merkel, who may be hoping for a political boost out of the visit months before a German election.

DRONES

In a nod to criticism, Obama defended his failure to close the Guantanamo Bay prison on Cuba that his predecessor George W. Bush opened after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

He also reassured Germans that the U.S. military was not using German bases to launch unmanned drone attacks.

For Obama, who grew up in Hawaii and spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, Europe has sometimes seemed an after-thought. The signature foreign policy initiative of his first term was his "pivot" to Asia.

But analysts say plans to create a free-trade zone between the United States and European Union are a sign that he is focusing more on Europe.

"The Obama administration has found it harder than expected to work with emerging powers and has fallen back to a more traditional reliance on European allies," said Charles Kupchan, professor of international affairs at Georgetown University.

"Washington doesn't have better options. And when it comes to who to engage in Europe, Germany grows stronger and stronger."

(Additional reporting by Stephen Brown, Roberta Rampton, Annika Breidthardt, Alexandra Hudson, Michelle Martin; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Ralph Boulton)

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FBM KLCI rises in early trade

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 06:42 PM PDT

Malaysia's benchmark stock index rose in early trade, extending its recovery in tandem with a steady Wall Street performance, led by gain in oil and gas firms such as Petronas Gas Bhd (PGB) and Bumi Armada Bhd.

The index, which rose 0.11 per cent in early trade, outperformed MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan that fell 0.08 per cent, while it underperformed Tokyo's Nikkei share average, which rose 1.77 per cent.

"The benchmark index may gyrate sideways with a slight positive bias today with its immediate resistance barrier standing at 1,785 currently," HwangDBS said in a research note to clients on Wednesday.

HwangDBS also said investors will watch Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd after the company reported a 17 per cent year-on-year drop in its fourth quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by higher operating expenses.

The index was up 0.26 per cent at 1,778.7 at 9.13am in Kuala Lumpur.-- Reuters

KL shares open higher in early trading

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 06:55 PM PDT

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened higher in early trading today, supported by gains mostly seen in selected blue chips led by Petronas Gas, dealers said.

Sixteen minutes after opening, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 8.34 points to 1,782.39, the highest level so far today.

At the opening, the barometer index rose 3.21 points to 1,777.26 from yesterday's close at 1,774.05.

Petronas Gas, which accounted for 1.393 points of the benchmark index's rise, gained 38 sen to RM21.48.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said the local bourse could extend its recovery in tandem with a steadier Wall Street performance.

"The benchmark FBM KLCI may gyrate sideways with a slight positive bias today, with its immediate resistance barrier standing at 1,785 currently," it said in a research note today.

Last night, leading US equity bellwethers rose between 0.8 per cent and 0.9 per cent, as investors await the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

"Essentially, by tomorrow morning Malaysia time, we hope to get an insight whether the policymakers intend to wind down the monetary stimulus programme anytime soon," said the research house.

On the scoreboard, the Finance Index surged 82.43 points to 16,945.78, the Industrial Index rose 11.73 points to 3,034.32 while the Plantation Index improved 35 points to 8,433.89.

The FBM Emas Index increased 55.68 points to 12,399.58, the FBMT100 Index was 54.53 points higher at 12,157.5, the FBM Mid 70 Index jumped 54.41 points to 14,263.66 and the FBM Ace Index added 3.67 points to 4,790.19.

Gainers thumped losers by 223 to 65 while 165 counters were unchanged, 1,125 untraded and 14 others were suspended.

Total turnover was at 127.212 million shares worth RM60.415 million.

Among actives, Eti Tech shed half sen to 8.5 sen, Flonic Hi-Tec eased one sen to 7.5 sen while Nova MSC edged up one sen to 6.5 sen.

Heavyweights, Maybank garnerd six sen to RM10.50, CIMB rose five sen to RM8.32, Sime Darby earned two sen to RM9.57 while Axiata slipped one sen to RM6.63.-- Bernama

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

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