NEW YORK: US stocks scored solid gains on Friday as the market got a jolt from Microsoft's announcement that chief executive Steve Ballmer will retire within the next 12 months.
The computing giant's shares soared 7.3 per cent to US$34.75 as Ballmer, who succeeded Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 2000, said the company would search for a new leader who can take charge of its "transformation to a devices and services company."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46.77 points (0.31 per cent) to 15,010.51.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 6.54 (0.39 per cent) at 1,663.50, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 19.09 (0.52 per cent) at 3,657.79.
The Commerce Department's unwelcome US new-home sales report for July - sales plunged 13.4 per cent month-on-month - also proved a catalyst for the rally.
Stocks were in negative territory before the morning report was released, but rebounded as investors weighed the data's implications on a potential Federal Reserve taper of stimulus.
"Questions arose as to whether that data point might convince the Fed to hold off on a tapering announcement at its September 17-18 FOMC meeting," Briefing.com analysts said.
Briefing.com noted there was a "presumption that the answer could be yes."
The markets showed no hangover from the shock of the Nasdaq's three-hour shutdown Thursday on technology woes.
Nasdaq said it was still investigating the issues, and Nasdaq OMX chief executive Robert Greifeld pointed to an outside party in an interview with CNBC television.
"We all have to be aware of the other person not acting always in the proper way, and you have to have your system be able to handle defensive driving," he said, without identifying the person.
Nasdaq OMX shares rebounded 1.2 per cent after falling more than 3 per cent Thursday.
Shares in youth fashion chain Aeropostale plunged 20.2 per cent after turning in a quarterly loss on a 6.4 per cent fall in sales for its second quarter, and predicted a poor third quarter as well.
The Gap fared better, slipping 0.1 per cent as its second-quarter sales grew and profits rose 25 per cent, but the general picture for retailers of hip clothes for the young remained poor.
On Thursday Abercrombie & Fitch shares also plunged on its bad quarter, and sank another 0.4 per cent Friday, while shares of another trendy chain, American Eagle Outfitters, were down 2.8 per cent. -- AFP
Bridget Kendall investigates how the attack unfolded, mainly through extremely distressing videos posted online
US President Barack Obama has said the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria in an attack on Wednesday is a "big event of grave concern".
Mr Obama said the US was still seeking confirmation such weapons were used, but if proved true the situation would "require America's attention".
Meanwhile, Syria's main ally Russia has said there is growing evidence that Syrian rebels were behind the attack.
The opposition says hundreds died in a government assault outside Damascus.
But despite calls from many different countries, there is no sign yet that the Syrian authorities will allow a UN inspection team to visit to investigate the claims.
Unverified footage shows civilians - many of them children - dead or suffering from what appear to be horrific symptoms as a result of Wednesday's attack.
Also on Friday, UN agencies said the number of children forced to flee Syria had reached one million.
The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, and children's fund, Unicef, described the figure as "a shameful milestone", and said a further two million children were displaced within the country.
'Very troublesome'
Last year, President Obama said the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a "red line" and force a tough US response.
"What we've seen indicates clearly this is a big event, of grave concern, and we are already in communications with the entire international community," Mr Obama said.
He said that "core national interests" of the US were involved in the Syrian conflict, "both in terms of us making sure that weapons of mass destruction are not proliferating, as well as needing to protect our allies, our bases in the region."
The BBC has learnt that some in the White House are furious and regard Wednesday's attack as an outrage that breached international law and demands a response.
But Mr Obama warned in his interview: "Sometimes what we've seen is that folks will call for immediate action, jumping into stuff, that does not turn out well, gets us mired in very difficult situations, can result in us being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region."
Meanwhile, Russia joined calls for an "objective investigation" by UN chemical weapons experts.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said Moscow had urged President Bashar al-Assad to co-operate with a probe, but also that questions remained about the willingness of the opposition to provide "secure, safe access of the [UN] mission to the location of the incident".
"More new evidence is starting to emerge that this criminal act was clearly provocative," the ministry added.
"On the internet, in particular, reports are circulating that news of the incident carrying accusations against government troops was published several hours before the so-called attack. So, this was a pre-planned action."
The ministry also described as "unacceptable" calls from various European capitals for the UN Security Council to authorise the use of force in Syria.
'Something to hide'
Other leaders have also pushed for an urgent UN investigation.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has already called for inspectors to start "without delay".
"I've seen people with loss of speech... [one child] compulsively shooting with a toy gun," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres
"I can think of no good reason why any party - either government or opposition forces - would decline this opportunity to get to the truth of the matter," Mr Ban said from the South Korean capital, Seoul.
He said any use of chemical weapons would violate international law and should result in "serious consequences for the perpetrator".
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said it seemed like the Syrian government had "something to hide" over the reported chemical attack.
"I know that some people in the world would like to say this is some kind of conspiracy brought about by the opposition in Syria. I think the chances of that are vanishingly small and so we do believe that this is a chemical attack by the Assad regime on a large scale," he told reporters.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said that there should be a "reaction of force" from the international community if allegations that the Syrian government was responsible are verified.
Damascus has described the allegations that it sanctioned the use of chemical weapons as "illogical and fabricated".
But according to Reuters news agency, Syrian anti-government activists are trying to smuggle tissue samples from victims' bodies to the UN inspectors to prove their claims.
"The UN team spoke with us and since then we prepared samples of hair, skin and blood and smuggled them back into Damascus with trusted couriers," activist Abu Nidal told Reuters.
The main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, also said it would do everything to assist the UN inspectors and ensure their safety.
"It is critical that those inspectors get there within 48 hours. The clock is ticking and we want to see those inspectors and we believe that the evidence will show who used those chemical weapons against innocent civilians," spokesman Khaled Saleh told Reuters.
'Chemical attack': What we know
01:15: 21 August (10:15 GMT 20 Aug): Facebook pages of Syrian opposition report heavy fighting in rebel-held districts in the eastern Ghouta, the agricultural belt around Damascus
02:45: Opposition posts Facebook report of "chemical shelling" in Ein Tarma area of Ghouta
02:47: Second opposition report says chemical weapons used in Zamalka area of Ghouta
Unverified video footage shows people being treated on pavements in the dark and in makeshift hospital
Reports say chemical weapons were used in Ghouta towns of Irbin, Jobar, Zamalka, and Ein Tarma as well as Muadhamiya in the western Ghouta, but this is not confirmed
Syrian government acknowledges military offensive in the Ghouta but denies chemical weapons use
'Traumatised'
Meanwhile, the UN says children now make up half of all refugees fleeing Syria. About three-quarters of those children are under 11.
The BBC's Jim Muir meets the Syrian children living on the streets of Beirut
"The youth of Syria are losing their homes, their family members and their futures," said UN high commissioner for refugees Antonio Guterres.
Most of the children have arrived in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, the UN says, and increasingly Syrians are fleeing to North Africa and Europe.
But with its appeal for Syria less than 40% funded, the two UN agencies say they are struggling to meet the needs of the refugees.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the agencies are now warning of a lost generation that are ill-equipped to bring peace and stability to their country in the future.
He was shot in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa
Suspects are described as "two young African American males"
(CNN) -- A juvenile has been arrested by Spokane police in connection with the beating death of an 88-year-old World War II veteran this week, police said Friday.
The male suspect has been charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree murder.
The man -- Delbert Belton -- was brutally beaten and left for dead by two teens outside a lounge in Spokane, Washington, where he loved to go play pool.
The motive? Police don't have one. The teens appeared to have picked him at random, authorities say.
A retired aluminum company worker who served in the Pacific, Belton, friends say, took a bullet in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa. He survived that attack.
Delbert Belton survived being wounded in action during the Battle of Okinawa only to be beaten to death by two teens in Spokane, Washington.
But on Wednesday night, Belton -- affectionately called "Shorty" by friends for his height -- headed to the Eagles Lodge where he was a regular.
Police found him in the parking lot, with serious head injuries. He died Thursday.
"It does appear random," Spokane police Lt. Mark Griffiths told reporters. "It appears he was assaulted in the parking lot and there was no indication that he would have known these people prior to the assault."
It's the second time in a week that a seemingly random attack by teenagers has claimed a life.
One of three teens police arrested in that shooting said they carried it out because "we were bored and didn't have anything to do."
'All there is is bad news'
The randomness of the two attacks was not lost on Ted Denison, who's been friends with Belton for a long time.
"It's really depressing," Denison told CNN late Thursday night. "Seems that all there is is bad news."
The two men met more than 20 years ago and worked on cars together.
"We were mechanic buddies," the 42-year-old Denison said. "We just kind of kicked right along."
But the friends also hung out together outside the garage.
"We went dancing on Saturday nights," Denison said. "We went out to breakfast together."
Belton stopped by the Eagles Lodge two or three times a week. He played pool, but by his own admission, wasn't too good at it.
"He went up there and played pool, met with some of the guys he used to work with at Kaiser Aluminum," where he was employed more than 30 years, Denison said.
His wife died several years ago. The WW II vet is survived by a son, 65.
Waiting for a friend
Wednesday night, Denison was outside the lodge waiting for a friend because he didn't want her to walk home alone, Lillian Duncan told the Spokesman-Review newspaper.
"He was so awesome," Duncan told the paper. "Anybody that didn't get to know him missed out on a wonderful angel in their life."
Police are looking for two suspects. Witnesses described them as "young African American males of average build," according to a police statement.
Officers used K-9 search dogs to search for the suspects, swept for fingerprints on the chain link fence in the area where they were last seen headed, and scoured through surveillance tapes.
So far, the attackers haven't been found.
"We are actively looking for the suspects in this tragic incident and following up on tips and other leads in order to bring those responsible to justice," said police spokeswoman Monique Cotton.
Outside the lodge Thursday, friends and strangers alike left flowers, flags and messages for Belton.
Belton never had problems outside the lodge before -- no threats, no altercations, Denison said.
NEW YORK: US stocks managed solid gains on Thursday despite a three-hour shutdown of the Nasdaq market that disrupted trade on other exchanges as well.
Nasdaq blamed technical problems in its computers for the shutdown, which came after midday and lasted until trade resumed around 3:25 pm (1925 GMT), giving investors 35 minutes to clear their books.
At the finish the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 66.19 points (0.44 percent) at 14,963.74.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 14.16 points (0.86 percent) at 1,656.96, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 38.92 points (1.08 percent) to 3,638.71.
"The upturn is being led by Germany, where growth accelerated again in August, driven in turn by rising domestic and export demand," said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.
"So far, the third quarter is shaping up to be the best... since the spring of 2011," Williamson said, cautioning that the bloc was not yet entirely in the clear.
And HSBC's PMI for China's manufacturing sector jumped to 50.1 in August, up from July's 11-month low of 47.7.
The Nasdaq shutdown was disruptive, but the market allowed traders to cancel orders and key stocks and options contracts could traded on other boards.
But it struck a blow to the market still getting over its mishandling of last year's disastrous Facebook IPO and, more recently, the lost of the listing of Oracle shares to the New York Stock Exchange.
Shares of Nasdaq OMX were down 3.4 percent at the close.
Shares of fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch sank 17.7 percent to their lowest level in nine months after the company's second-quarter income sank, coming in at half of forecasts.
Discount retail chain Dollar Tree rose 2.5 percent on its second-quarter report, which showed net income up nearly 5 percent and a similar gain in sales.
Yahoo shares jumped 3.1 percent on an industry report that traffic at its websites surpassed that on websites owned by search rival Google in July.
Hewlett-Packard sank 12.5 percent on its weak quarterly earnings report, as the personal computer market continues to shrivel.
Oilfield services company Halliburton gained 1.8 percent after announcing a US$3.3 billion share buyback -- AFP
NEW: Army does not provide hormone therapy to prisoners, official says
Bradley Manning, convicted of leaking classified documents, wants to live as a woman
Identifying as Chelsea Manning, private says "I am a female" in statement read on NBC's "Today"
Manning was sentenced last week to 35 years for giving secret documents to Wikileaks
(CNN) -- "I am Chelsea Manning."
With those words, read from a statement on NBC's "Today" on Thursday, Bradley Manning immediately shifted public conversation away from the Army private's conviction on espionage charges to gender identity.
"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me," Manning said in the statement. "I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition."
While his supporters may back Manning, the Army said Thursday it won't.
"The Army does not provide hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery," Lt. Col. Justin Platt told CNN Thursday.
One Army official who was not authorized to speak publicly on Manning's case said the private remains a male in the eyes of the Army. Another said Manning would be treated like any other prisoner.
During Bradley Manning's court-martial, his defense team released a 2010 photo of him dressed as a woman. Manning, the soldier convicted of giving classified state documents to WikiLeaks, intends to begin hormone therapy for gender reassignment and live the rest of his life as a woman, he said in a statement read on NBC's "Today" show on August 22.
Intelligence leaker Bradley Manning
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"A lot of the inmates have issues they're dealing with," said the second official, who also was not authorized to speak publicly on Manning's case. "Even if you have gender identity disorder, you still serve your sentence."
Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, told "Today" that he'll take action if the Army doesn't provide Manning with the hormone therapy that he's requesting of the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
"I'm hoping Fort Leavenworth would do the right thing and provide that," Coombs said. "If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that they are forced to do so."
Manning was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison for leaking 750,000 pages of classified documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. A military judge convicted Manning in July, sparing the private from the most serious charge of aiding the enemy.
Gender identity issues
The issue of Manning's gender identity repeatedly surfaced in the court martial proceedings. A widely circulated picture released by the military shows Manning wearing a blonde wig.
The image came from an e-mail Manning sent to his sergeant titled, "My Problem."
"It's not going away, it's haunting me more and more as I get older," Manning wrote in the e-mail. "Now, the consequences of it are dire, at a time when it's causing me great pain in itself. As a result, I'm not sure what to do about it."
An Army psychologist called by the defense said Manning appeared to be isolated and under intense pressure as a male soldier struggling with gender identity issues.
Speaking in the sentencing phase of the court martial last week, Manning said the decision to leak the documents came while "dealing with a lot of issues" -- a reference to the gender identity crisis.
Reaction
Manning's announcement brought a wide range of reaction.
On Twitter, where "Chelsea Manning" was a hot topic of discussion, user onekade wrote of being "pretty much in awe of Chelsea Manning's bravery, on so many fronts."
Others were less supportive.
"Chelsea Manning," conservative pundit John Podhoretz tweeted. "This country has officially jumped the shark."
Coombs told "Today" that Manning did not intend to make a public issue of his desire to live as a woman.
"She never really wanted this to be public to begin with," Coombs said. "When the information came out, you need to understand that she gave it to adrian lamo in a very private setting, in a one-on-one chat, never expecting this to be public. Now that it is, unfortunately, you have to deal with it in a public manner."
The issue of taxpayers being required to pay for gender reassignment surgery has come up repeatedly in recent court cases.
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court reinstated a lawsuit brought by a transgender prisoner in Virginia, where the prison had refused to allow her to undergo sex reassignment surgery.
Last year a federal judge ordered Massachusetts to pay for a sex change operation for a convicted murderer. The state is appealing that decision.
There are few good statistics on the number of transgender inmates in U.S. prisons, according to Vincent Villano of the National Center for Transgender Equality. A study of California prisons identified 330 transgender inmates in an overall prison population of 160,000, he said.
The center believes those numbers are higher, he said.
CNN's Chris Lawrence and Dan Merica contributed to this report
BEIRUT — France on Thursday raised the possibility of international intervention in Syria if there is solid proof that President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his people.
Activists, meanwhile, struggled to confirm that more than 1,000 people had perished, as experts warned that vital physical evidence could dissipate unless a U.N. inspection team — already in the country to investigate previous claims of poisonous gas use — was given permission to visit the site.
The U.N. weapons experts were negotiating with Syrian officials to try and gain access, according to U.N. officials.
Although the United States, France, Britain and others have specifically requested that the inspection team proceed, "there is a requirement of consent in situations like this," Deputy U.N. Secretary General Jan Eliasson said, "and also that the security situation will allow them to enter the area. It is a very dramatic situation and the security situation right now does not allow such access."
The Syrian government on Wednesday strongly denied that there had been an attack. But widely circulated images of children in spasms and vomiting added to the pressure on the United States and the international community to take robust action.
The alleged attack came almost exactly a year after President Obama said the use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces would be a "red line" for his administration.
"There would have to be reaction with force in Syria from the international community," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told French television network BFM, when asked about action that should be taken if the allegations are proven. He added, however, that "there is no question of sending troops on the ground."
Fabius alluded to the possibility that the international community might need to circumvent the United Nations Security Council, which has been stymied in acting on Syria by veto-wielding Russia, a long-time ally of Assad's.
During an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the council's members failed to agree on a strongly worded statement condemning the attack, simply calling for a "thorough, impartial and prompt investigation."
Britain, France and the United States were pushing for a stronger statement, but Russia and China objected, the Associated Press reported. The Russian government, Assad's strongest supporter, suggested that the opposition itself had staged the attack in a "pre-planned provocation.''
After a two-hour closed door session, the council emerged with a "call for investigation" of the new allegations. The request does not refer specifically to the team currently on the ground, instead speaking of the need to "clarify" what happened.
Under its current mandate and agreement with Syrian government, the U.N. team that is now inside Syria is authorized to examine only three sites of the 13 that various other governments and the Syrian opposition had identified as suspicious before the Wednesday attack.
One Security Council diplomat said that Wednesday's letter was intended to "increase political pressure on Syria" to permit the inspection team currently in the country access to the site of the latest incident.
Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened bearish in early trading today, led by losses in index-linked counters.
At 9.10am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 19.9 points lower at 1,724.95, after opening 17.51 points easier at 1,743.49.
Maybank shed 19 sen to RM9.81 while IOI Corp eased 12 sen to RM5.18. Both counters contributed 4.376 points to the index.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said the bears may return to the local bourse today with the benchmark FBM KLCI pulling back deeper towards the key support line of 1,720 ahead.
Overnight, Wall Street's major stock indices slipped between 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent.
This came after minutes of the last US Federal Open Market Committee meeting revealed that the policymakers were supportive of a move to reduce monetary stimulus if the US economy improved.
Back home, Bank Negara Malaysia revised downward the country's GDP's growth for this year to 4.5-five per cent from five-six per cent previously forecast.
"In terms of corporate actions, listed companies that reported below par quarterly financial results last evening included AirAsia and Boustead Holdings," said HwangDBS in a note today.
Weaker sentiment spilled over other Asian market as well.
Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 was 1.10 per cent lower at 13,276.04, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.69 per cent to 21,817.73 and Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 1.20 per cent to 3,071.66.
On Bursa Malaysia, the Plantation Index slipped 76.14 points to 8,108.77, the Finance Index erased 201.43 points to 16,250.93 but the Industrial Index was up 3.55 points at 2,944.83.
The FBM Emas Index trimmed 129.17 points to 12,028.63, the FBM100 Index fell 125.55 points to 11,763.89 and the FBM 70 Index gave up 105.05 points to 13,797.14.
Market breadth was negative with losers outstripping gainers 347 to 21, while 117 counters were unchanged, 1,100 untraded and 18 others were suspended.
Turnover stood at 131.095 million shares worth RM133.734 million.
Among actives, The Media Shoppe and INS Bioscience were flat at nine sen and five sen, respectively.
MAS and Sona Petroleum shed one sen each to 33.5 sen and 42.5 sen, respectively, while Flonic Hi-Tec was 1.5 sen lower at 16.5 sen.
Heavyweights, Axiata was flat at RM6.65, YTL Corp shed one sen to
RM1.58 and CIMB fell seven sen to RM7.55.-- Bernama
The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on weaker demand for the local note, amid improving external environment, a dealer said.
The ringgit fell against the US dollar to 3.3150/3180 from 3.2930/2960 on Wednesday.
The dealer said investors' appetite shifted towards the greenback
following the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting minutes today.
"Federal officials were comfortable with Chairman Ben Bernanke's plan to start reducing bond buying later this year if the economy improves," he added.
Meanwhile, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said Malaysia was expected to maintain a current account surplus this year, and could cope with the current "highly destabilising" capital flows.
"This is not a new phenomenon. We coped with it before," she said, adding that the economy was expected to remain supported by strong domestic growth.
Sales of Malaysian bonds by foreigners, who held almost half of the country's government debt, could be absorbed by Malaysian institutions including the insurance industry, she said.
The ringgit depreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.5828/5857 from 2.5745/5776 yesterday and was sharply lower against the yen at 3.3861/3899 from 3.3771/3819 on Wednesday.
The currency weakened against the British pound to 5.1777/1834 from 5.1601/1658 on Wednesday and fell against the euro to 4.4215/4265 from 4.4083/4133 yesterday.-- Bernama
FORT MEADE, Maryland |
Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:06am EDT
(Reuters) - Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier convicted of the biggest breach of classified data in the nation's history by providing files to WikiLeaks, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Wednesday.
Judge Colonel Denise Lind, who last month found Manning guilty of 20 charges including espionage and theft, could have sentenced him to as many as 90 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for 60 years.
Manning, 25, will be dishonorably discharged from the U.S. military and forfeit some pay, Lind said. His rank will be reduced to private from private first class.
Manning would be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence, which will be reduced by the time he has already served in prison plus 112 days.
Wearing his dress uniform, the slightly built Manning stood at attention as the sentence was read, seeming to show no emotion. As he was escorted out of the courtroom, supporters shouted "Bradley, we are with you."
Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, called the sentence "unprecedented" in its magnitude.
"It's more than 17 times the next longest sentence ever served" for providing secret material to the media, Goitein said. "It is in line with sentences for paid espionage for the enemy."
In 2010, Manning turned over more than 700,000 classified files, battlefield videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, the pro transparency website, in a case that has commanded international attention.
Defense attorneys had not made a specific sentencing request but pleaded with Lind not to "rob him of his youth."
Manning was working as a low-level intelligence analyst in Baghdad when he handed over the documents, catapulting WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, into the international spotlight.
The classified material that shocked many around the world included a 2007 gunsight video of a U.S. Apache helicopter firing at suspected insurgents in Baghdad. Among the dozen fatalities were two Reuters news staff. WikiLeaks dubbed the footage "Collateral Murder."
KEEPING SECRETS
The case highlighted the difficulty in keeping secrets in the Internet age. It raised strong passions on the part of the U.S. government, which said Manning had put American lives at risk, and anti-secrecy advocates, who maintained Manning was justified in releasing the information.
During a pretrial hearing, Lind had determined that the eventual sentence would be reduced by 112 days because of harsh treatment after his arrest in 2010. He likely will be imprisoned at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
A U.S. rights group has said Manning should be a candidate for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Human rights group Amnesty International called on U.S. President Barack Obama to commute Manning's sentence.
"Instead of fighting tooth and nail to lock him up for the equivalent of several life sentences, the U.S. government should turn its attention to investigating and delivering justice for the serious human rights abuses committed by its officials in the name of countering terror," said Widney Brown, senior director of international law and policy at Amnesty International.
Manning's trial at Fort Meade, Maryland, home of the ultra-secret National Security Agency, wound down as U.S. officials sought the return of Edward Snowden. The former NSA contractor, who disclosed details of secret U.S. programs that included monitoring the telephone and Internet traffic of Americans, has been given temporary asylum in Russia.
The Guardian said on Tuesday that British authorities had forced the newspaper to destroy materials leaked by Snowden.
(Additional reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Scott Malone and Jeffrey Benkoe)
WASHINGTON—The National Security Agency—which possesses only limited legal authority to spy on U.S. citizens—has built a surveillance network that covers more Americans' Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed, current and former officials say.
The system has the capacity to reach roughly 75% of all U.S. Internet traffic in the hunt for foreign intelligence, including a wide array of communications by foreigners and Americans. In some cases, it retains the written content of emails sent between citizens within the U.S. and also filters domestic phone calls made with Internet technology, these people say.
NEW YORK: US stocks on Tuesday closed mostly higher following some solid retail earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.75 points (0.05 percent) to 15,002.99. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 6.29 points (0.38 percent) at 1,652.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 24.50 points (0.68 percent) to 3,613.59.
All three indices had fallen over the prior four sessions. But analysts cited strong earnings reports Tuesday from Home Depot, Best Buy and others as giving the market "a reason to rally," as Brent Schutte of BMO Private Bank put it.
Additionally, stocks got help from bond yields, which retreated from recent peaks.
Dow component Home Depot opened higher, but fell 1.2 percent after earnings gained 17.2 percent and the company raised its full-year forecast on the strength of the housing recovery.
However, the company's upgraded full-year earnings forecast of US$3.60 per share still lags analyst expectations by four cents.
Netflix jumped 5.2 percent after announcing a contract to exclusively stream the Weinstein Company's first-run films starting in 2016.
Best Buy shot up 13.2 percent after earnings of 32 cents per share exceeded analyst expectations by 20 cents.
Credit Suisse said the report was evidence Best Buy "is moving in the right direction and that management's ambitious plans are beginning to translate into better results."
Troubled department store operator JC Penney rose 6.0 percent despite reporting a loss of US$586 million compared with last year's loss of US$147 million on lower-than-expected revenues. On the positive side, the company saw sequential sales improvement through the quarter and expects to see a continued rise in the second half of the year.
Bookseller Barnes & Noble sank 16.3 percent after reporting an US$87 million loss for the quarter on lower-than-expected revenues. Comparable store sales declined 9.1 percent. It said chairman Leonard Riggio had suspended a plan to acquire the company's retail business.
Popular garment chain Urban Outfitters rose 8.2 percent after profits exceeded expectations by three cents at 51 cents per share. -- AFP
NST Online Business Times : latest
During Bradley Manning's court-martial, his defense team released a 2010 photo of him dressed as a woman. Manning, the soldier convicted of giving classified state documents to WikiLeaks, intends to begin hormone therapy for gender reassignment and live the rest of his life as a woman, he said in a statement read on NBC's "Today" show on August 22. 
