Swiss president would back criminal probe against NSA leaker

GENEVA (Reuters) - Swiss President Ueli Maurer said on Sunday he doubted Edward Snowden's claims about his activities as a CIA man in Geneva and would back a criminal investigation into the secrets leaker if Swiss prosecutors called for one.

Ex-CIA operative Snowden broke cover in spectacular fashion earlier this month, unmasking himself as the source of leaks about U.S. government surveillance programs.

He had previously worked in the U.S. mission to the United Nations in Geneva between 2007 and 2009. He told the Guardian newspaper that he had a "formative" experience in the Swiss city when the CIA deliberately got a Swiss banker drunk and encouraged him to drive home. When he was arrested, a CIA operative offered to intervene and later recruited the banker.

"It does not seem to me that it is likely that this incident played out as it has been described by Snowden and by the media," Maurer was quoted as saying in the Der Sonntag and SonntagsBlick newspapers.

"This would mean that the CIA successfully bribed the Geneva police and judiciary. With all due respect, I just can't imagine it," SonntagsBlick quoted him as saying.

He added that Snowden was just 23 at the time, and unlikely to have had knowledge of such an operation, and that the CIA usually dealt with terrorism rather than financial espionage.

Snowden's revelations and his links to Switzerland surfaced at a sensitive moment for U.S.-Swiss relations.

After years of cat-and-mouse between U.S. justice officials and the Swiss banks whom they suspect of complicity in U.S. tax evasion, Switzerland may be about to pass a law that could end the U.S. investigation, at a price.

Switzerland's upper house approved the draft law on Wednesday but passage through the lower house is expected to be far tougher. U.S. authorities already forced the closure of Switzerland's oldest private bank, Wegelin & Co, earlier this year.

More than a dozen banks are under formal investigation, including Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, the Swiss arm of Britain's HSBC, privately held Pictet in Geneva and local government-backed Zuercher Kantonalbank and Basler Kantonalbank.

If the law is not approved, U.S. investigators have a "death list" of five Swiss banks that could be hit by immediate indictments, Der Sonntag quoted an unnamed insider as saying.

However, the story of Snowden's escapades in Switzerland was mainly media hype, Maurer said. The Swiss Foreign Ministry has asked the U.S. embassy in Bern to check what really happened.

Maurer told another Swiss Sunday paper, NZZ am Sonntag, that it was up to the judicial authorities to decide whether or not to launch a criminal investigation into Snowden, but the Swiss cabinet would back such a move as a formality, he said.

(Reporting by Tom Miles)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/swiss-president-back-criminal-probe-against-nsa-leaker-131437997.html

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Rays pitcher Cobb struck by line drive

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Lobaton, left, and left fielder Kelly Johnson, center, rush in to assist starting pitcher Alex Cobb as Cobb grabs his head and lies on the pitcher's mound after being hit by a line drive by Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 15, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Lobaton, left, and left fielder Kelly Johnson, center, rush in to assist starting pitcher Alex Cobb as Cobb grabs his head and lies on the pitcher's mound after being hit by a line drive by Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 15, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb lies on a stretcher as he is taken off the field by medical personnel after being hit by a line drive by Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 15, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb grabs his head and lies on the pitcher's mound after being hit by a line drive by Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 15, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb grabs his head and lies on the pitcher's mound after being hit by a line drive by Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 15, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria looks on from his knees from the dugout as he watches medical personnel tend to Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb after was hit by a line drive by Kansas City Royals' Eric Hosmer during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 15, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) ? Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher after he was hit on the right ear by a liner off the bat of Kansas City's Eric Hosmer in the fifth inning of Saturday's game.

Cobb put a hand on his head after being struck. Trainers from both teams and other medical staff immediately ran onto the field.

Cobb could be seen kicking his legs while being examined on the mound.

The Rays announced that Cobb remained conscious the whole time and was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg for further examination.

Players on both teams had hands on their heads as a stunned silence overtook Tropicana Field after the crowd grasped when Cobb was struck.

It came a month after Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ was also struck by a liner against the Rays and suffered a skull fracture.

Happ was discharged from an area hospital the following day.

The sound of the ball striking Cobb ? which sounded like a bat hitting a ball ? could be heard in the press box.

Rays players, manager Joe Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey gathered at the mound during the 11-minute delay. Shortstop Yunel Escobar was in squatting position looking down at the ground, while Hickey appeared at time at be nervously pacing near the mound.

It has been a tough week for Cobb, who left the team after starting Monday night's game against Boston due to the death of his grandmother. He was informed of the death after the game in which the 25-year old gave up a season-high six runs over four innings in a 10-8, 14-inning loss to the Red Sox.

While Happ has been fine since getting hurt, Arizona's Brandon McCarthy collapsed at a restaurant with a seizure related to the head injury he sustained while pitching last September. He was having dinner with his wife at a Phoenix restaurant when he passed out.

While pitching for Oakland last Sept. 5, McCarthy sustained what was described at the time as life-threatening injuries when he was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Erick Aybar of the Los Angeles Angels. He had an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and a skull fracture. Emergency surgery was performed that night and he was released from the hospital six days later.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-15-Rays-Cobb%20Injured/id-ecd9c8fb64d94cf695951d5c71ffa97b

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Doing It Wrong: The Xbox One and PS4 Aren't the Consoles We Need

As E3 closes up shop for the year, we finally have a moment to reflect on a week of gorging ourselves on news about the continuing console war between Microsoft and Sony (and, uh, Nintendo). It's all very new and exciting news about the next half-decade of gaming, but in a lot of ways, it feels like the same old fight we've been having for decades now. It's time for something new.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/LU31xM39o2Q/doing-it-wrong-the-xbox-one-and-ps4-arent-the-console-513403948

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Moderate cleric Rohani leads early Iran election results

DUBAI (Reuters) - Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani took a commanding lead ahead of conservative rivals in Iran's presidential election, according to initial results, but his tally appeared narrowly insufficient to avoid a second round run-off on June 21.

With about 5 percent of the votes counted, the former nuclear negotiator appeared to have benefited from a late surge in support among liberal Iranians attracted by his progressive policies.

Under the election rules, a candidate has to win more than 50 percent of the total votes cast to win outright. A first round winner gaining less than that must compete with the runner-up in a second round a week later.

Rohani has about 45 percent of the votes so far.

Voting was extended by several hours at polling stations across the country on Friday as millions of Iranians turned out to cast their ballot in the first presidential race since a disputed 2009 contest led to months of political unrest.

Of the 1,819,984 votes counted so far, Rohani received 834,859, with his closest competitor, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, getting 320,562 votes, an election official announced live on state television.

In third place was Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, with 257,822 votes, followed closely by Mohsen Rezaie, a former head of the elite Revolutionary Guard, with 214,368 votes.

Trailing the field were former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati with 106,144 votes, and little-known former minister Mohammad Gharazi with 25,324 votes.

The election is unlikely to radically alter ties between the West and the OPEC member nation of 75 million, but could tone down the confrontational style favored by current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

World powers in talks with Iran over its nuclear program are looking for any signs of a readjustment of its negotiating stance after eight years of intransigence.

Security has been tight and campaigns subdued compared to the euphoric rallies that preceded the last presidential election in 2009, when reformist supporters thought they scented victory and the prospect of change in Iran.

Those hopes were dashed when rapid announcements gave Ahmadinejad 63 percent of the vote, returning him to office and starting a series of deadly protests that lasted for months.

Rohani received significant boosts earlier this week when reformist candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref, withdrew in his favor. His campaign was also endorsed by former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

In contrast, Iran's big-hitting conservatives failed to organize themselves around a unity candidate, suffering what appeared a decisive split in their support base as a result.

(Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati and writing by Marcus George in Dubai; Editing by Peter Cooney and William Maclean)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rohani-tops-early-iran-election-results-interior-minister-013551266.html

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Australia's 'Best Jobs' finalists arrive Down Under

SYDNEY, Australia - After a tough contest involving more than 600,000 applicants worldwide, the 18 finalists in the running for Tourism Australia's 'Best Jobs in the World' have finally arrived in Australia to complete their applications for the six dream jobs.

The 18 remaining candidates will enjoy some of Sydney's most popular sights and attractions before embarking on a series of challenges across Australia to decide who takes up the six coveted jobs.

The candidates will spend Thursday (June 13) morning undergoing briefings before heading to the Sydney Opera House to relax and enjoy their first views of the harbour and bridge.

On Friday morning (June 14), they will visit Taronga Zoo and later that day take part in a training session with the current Australian Football League (AFL) premiers, the Sydney Swans, organised by 'Best Jobs in the World' partner and Swans jersey sponsor, Citibank.

The following day they will board their Virgin Australia flights to one of six states and territories in the final phase of their quest to win one of the six dream jobs.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said the challenges had been devised by each of the participating states and territories and involved exercises carefully tailored for each of the six jobs.

?This is a really exciting part of the competition, and each of the states and territories has done a fantastic job of incorporating some of their best tourism experiences into their challenges which will ultimately determine the six candidates who get these dream jobs,? he said.

The finalists will undergo group and individuals tasks to assess their aptitude for the job as well as their social media, presentation and communication skills. The list of challenges includes:

NSW's Chief Funster: presenting a MTV travel report based on a day of adventure activities in regional NSW and also going behind the scenes as a VIP guest at some of Sydney's leading hotspots.

Melbourne's Lifestyle Photographer: exploring inner city Melbourne, and capturing the journey through words and photos for a news article entitled 'What makes Melbourne such a great city?'

Northern Territory's Outback Adventure: undertaking a 'road trip challenge' through the Red Centre which will include swimming in a waterhole, navigating to local attractions and identifying the Southern Cross constellation.

Queensland's Park Ranger: participating in a 'Green Challenge' ? a nature-based adventure through the eucalypt and rainforest canopy, involving treetop rope climbs, Tarzan swings and a giant flying fox.

Western Australia's Taste Master: exploring one of Western Australia's most renowned food and wine regions, finding out about the best local culinary experiences and promoting them using traditional and social media.

South Australia's Wildlife Caretaker: acting as a wildlife tour guide at Seal Bay Conservation Park, tracking echidnas and promoting their experience through social media.
Mr McEvoy said as part of the final selection process each candidate would face a panel interview prior to the six winners being officially announced in Sydney on 21 June 2013.

Tourism Australia's 'Best Jobs in the World' competition is part of a major international marketing push to promote tourism opportunities provided by Australia's Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program.

In 2012, Working Holiday Makers contributed A$2.5 billion to the Australian economy, each spending on average in excess of A$13,000 during their stay.

A recent Tourism Australia survey completed by nearly 15,000 of the 330,000 people who entered the global competition has revealed 72% are planning to apply for an Australian working holiday visa and 39% seriously considering taking a working holiday within the next six months.

The campaign is supported by Destination New South Wales, Tourism Northern Territory, Tourism Victoria, Tourism Western Australia, Tourism and Events Queensland and South Australian Tourism Commission.

In addition a number of key commercial partners are supporting the campaign, including Virgin Australia, STA Travel, Citibank, DELL, IKEA, Sony Music and Monster.com.

The 18 'Best Jobs in the World' finalists are:

Wildlife Caretaker (South Australia):
Hsin Hsuan Hsieh (Taiwan); Greg Snell (Canada); Nick Tilley (USA)
Chief Funster (New South Wales):
Holly Easterbrook (England); Brittany Macleod (USA); Andrew Smith (USA)

Park Ranger (Queensland):
Elisa Detrez (France); Chris Leung (Hong Kong); Jo Muskus (Scotland)

Taste Master (Western Australia):
Rich Keam (England); Rebecca Morris (USA); Julian Button (Germany)

Outback Adventurer (Northern Territory):
Allan Dixon (Ireland); Graham Freeman (USA); Aude Mayans (France)

Lifestyle Photographer (Melbourne, Victoria):
Moska Najib (Afghanistan); Marie Michiels (Belgium); Roberto Seba (Brazil)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Eturbonews-TravelAndTourismIndustryNews/~3/ThCHIrPQKZo/australias-best-jobs-finalists-arrive-down-under

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Cheerios Executive Defends Mixed Race Ad, Will Keep It Running

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/cheerios-executive-defends-mixed-race-ad-will-keep-it-running/

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Asia stocks fall as focus stays on Fed's next step

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets fell Wednesday as signs the U.S. Federal Reserve might scale back its super-loose monetary policy caused investors to trim equity investments.

Comments from Fed official Esther George, who said Tuesday she supported slowing the pace of Fed bond purchases "as an appropriate next step," raised expectations that the central bank might start winding down its aggressive purchases of government bonds.

The Fed's program is a big plus for stock markets: Some $85 billion a month in purchases have helped keep interest rates low and caused investors to shift out of bonds and into stocks.

"People are afraid that the Fed will start to withdraw from the market soon," said Francis Lun, chief economist at GE Oriental Financial Group in Hong Kong. "The flood of liquidity will start to dry up. Then the money will start to flow out of Asia. That is the fear."

Japan's Nikkei 225 index tumbled 1.8 percent to 13,295.89, registering disappointment with a lack of detail in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's unveiling of the third plank of his so-called Abenomics program intended to rouse a long-stagnant economy.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1 percent 22,048.84. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.1 percent to 1,968.52. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1 percent. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines fell. Mainland Chinese shares were mixed.

Australian banking shares fell amid a sell-off spurred by profit-taking, analysts said. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group fell 1.6 percent. Westpac Banking Corp. lost 2.3 percent. Japanese vehicle exporters withered under a strengthening yen, which raises the prices of products sold overseas. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. sank 4.5 percent. Yamaha Motor Co. was 4.7 percent down.

Analysts were preaching caution ahead of May data on U.S. service industries, which are the largest component of the economy by far.

DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore said an improvement in the Institute for Supply Management's service sector index would be surprising, especially in light of this week's manufacturing report that showed U.S. factory output contracting in May.

"The manufacturing measure has fallen three months in a row. The service sector version is steadier and slower moving but it doesn't typically buck the trend," DBS analysts said in a market commentary.

Most important will be Friday's jobs report for May. The figures are usually the U.S. economic release with the greatest market impact.

It's also a big week in Europe, with the European Central Bank meeting to discuss the region's ailing economy and whether anything more needs to be done to get it growing again. The latest expectation in the markets is that the ECB will refrain from announcing any big new measures Thursday.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 41 cents to $93.72 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 14 cents to $93.31 a barrel on Tuesday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3087 from $1.3082 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar fell to 99.67 yen from 100.05 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-stocks-fall-focus-stays-feds-next-step-032609541.html

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