Tokyo stocks hit highest level since 2010

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks jumped 2.28 per cent on Wednesday to close at their highest level in nearly three years thanks to a weaker yen and receding concerns over Europe's debt crisis.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 247.23 points at 11,113.95, its highest finish since April 2010, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 1.51 per cent, or 13.91 points, to 934.67.

"Europe's problems have eased quite a bit," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist at investment at Okasan Securities.

He pointed to data Tuesday showing net lending by Europe's central banks to credit institutions had fallen, the latest sign of easing tensions in the financial system.

The data showed the size of the balance sheet of the Eurosystem, consisting of the European Central Bank and the 17 eurozone national central banks, has fallen to its lowest in almost a year.

"The global economy is in a trend of improving. A shift to stocks from bonds is likely to happen," Ishiguro said.

The Tokyo market's rise also came after Japan's new government on Tuesday approved a $1.02 trillion annual budget as part of its renewed assault on the deflation that has plagued the economy for years.

The Nikkei has been soaring in recent months as Tokyo's drive for aggressive monetary easing pushed down the value of the yen, lifting exporters.

Hopes that the government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will succeed in boosting the limp economy was helping drive the Nikkei's ascent, said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equity at SMBC Nikko Securities.

"Both domestic and external demand show signs of firming amid continuing expectations for 'Abenomics' and a recovery trend in the US economy," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

On Wall Street Tuesday, the Dow provided a solid lead as it climbed to within just 1.5 per cent of its all-time closing high seen in October 2007.

In Tokyo, companies reporting quarterly earnings included Canon, which jumped 2.88 per cent to 3,385 yen, while mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo was up 0.97 per cent to 134,900 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 1.15 per cent to 3,490 yen.

Videogame giant Nintendo slipped 2.40 per cent to 9,350 yen ahead of the release of earnings later in the day.

In Tokyo forex trade, the dollar strengthened to 90.93 yen, from 90.72 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The euro fetched 122.56 yen and $1.3485 against 122.42 yen and $1.3493.

- AFP/ck

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Report: Bus driver shot; child abducted

By CNN Staff

updated 9:30 PM EST, Tue January 29, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Man tells CNN affiliate WSFA that bus driver was shot four times


• Sheriff says no one has been taken into custody


• Incident happened near Midland City, Alabama

(CNN) -- One man was shot on a school bus in Alabama on Tuesday, the Dale County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Wally Olson said in a written statement the suspect had not been taken into custody.

Michael Senn, a pastor, told CNN affiliate WSFA that he spoke to several students who had been on the bus.

He said a girl described the shooter getting aboard.

"He told most of them to get off the bus," Senn related. "And then he grabbed a little boy and shot the bus driver four times."

CNN affiliate WTVY reported the child is being held by the shooter.

Olson said a command post had been established at Private Road 1539 and U.S. Highway 231 near Midland City, Alabama, in the southeastern corner of the state.

WTVY reported that authorities said a hostage situation was ongoing.

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Grandson of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens dies in Texas

Updated 8:35 PM ET

FORT WORTH, Texas A 21-year-old grandson of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens died Tuesday after being rushed to a hospital in Fort Worth, according to police and a family spokesman.

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Can Wind Aid Energy Crisis?

Thomas Boone Pickens IV, who went by Ty, was a junior at Texas Christian University. Pickens' spokesman, Jay Rosser, called the death an "unspeakable family tragedy" and asked that the family be allowed to grieve in private.

As reported by CBS Station KTVT Dallas, the family issued a statement: "Ty's loss at such a young age is an unspeakable family tragedy for the entire Pickens family and his many friends. We mourn his passing and respectfully request that the family be allowed to grieve in private in this time of sorrow."

Neither Rosser nor Fort Worth police have said what may have caused the death.

10 Photos

Thomas Boone "Ty" Pickens IV

Officers were dispatched after getting a report of a dead person at an off-campus location around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, police spokeswoman Cpl. Tracey Knight said. Police said Ty Pickens was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Knight said the Tarrant County medical examiner would determine the cause of death. She declined further comment.

T. Boone Pickens appears on "CBS This Morning," Aug. 23, 2012.

/

CBS News

The elder Pickens made much of his fortune in oil drilling but has since become an advocate for alternative energy. The 84-year-old also is active in politics and has donated millions of dollars to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, and various other causes.

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Clinton Talks 2016, Stands by Benghazi Testimony

In her final television interview as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton told ABC's Cynthia McFadden that she is "flattered and honored" at the intense interest in whether she might run for president in 2016.

But Clinton maintained that right now she's "not focused" on a presidential campaign; instead she said she wants to return to a "normal" life when she steps down from office on Friday.

Watch Cynthia McFadden's full interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on "Nightline" tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET

Clinton's first order of business, she said, will be sleep.

"I hope I get to sleep in," she told McFadden with a laugh. "It will be the first time in many years. I have no office to go to, no schedule to keep, no work to do. That will probably last a few days then I will be up and going with my new projects," she said.

"I have been working or attending school full-time since I was 13. This is going to be new for me. I don't know how I'm going to react to it, to be honest."

PHOTOS: Hillary Clinton Through the Years: From Wellesley to the White House, and Beyond

Clinton has had no trouble articulating her reaction to what has arguably been the darkest chapter of her tenure as Secretary of State: the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed.

Final Farewell: Hillary Clinton Steps Down as Secretary of State Watch Video

Secretary Clinton had a heated exchange with Republican Senator Ron Johnson during her five hours of testimony before Congress about the attack last week. Johnson accused the administration of misleading the American people about the cause of the attack, when UN Ambassador Susan Rice, on Sunday political talk shows, blamed it on protesters.

Clinton snapped back at Johnson, "Four Americans are dead. What difference does it make?" For that, she has been sharply criticized by some conservatives.

Clinton said she "absolutely" stands by her response to Johnson, maintaining that the administration has been transparent with the information it knew, when it was available. Clinton said partisan politics have no place in a response to a terrorist attack against Americans.

"I believe that we should in public life, whether you're in the administration or the Congress, de-politicize crisis and work together to figure out what happened, what we can do to prevent it and then put into place both the institutional changes and the budgetary changes that are necessary, " she said.

"When someone tries to put into a partisan lens, when they focus not on the fact that we have such a terrible event happening with four dead Americans but instead what did somebody say on a Sunday morning talk show? That to me is not in keeping with the seriousness of the issue and the obligation we all have as public servants"

FULL TRANSCRIPT: Sec. of State Hillary Clinton's "Nightline" Interview

Asked about her health, Clinton said her recent illness, concussion and blood clot were all a surprise.

"When I got sick and fainted and hit my head I was so surprised, and I thought I would just get up and go to work. And thankfully I had very good medical care and doctors who said, 'No we'd better do an MRI, we'd better do this, we'd better do that,'" she said, calling herself "lucky."

"I know now how split second beset by a virus and dehydrated, what it can do to you."

Though she confirmed she is wearing special glasses to help with double vision, a lingering issue following her illness, Clinton said that she expects to be fully recovered and operating at "full speed" soon.

The Secretary told McFadden that if she does decide to run, she would have "no problem" making her health records public.

"Of course, that goes with the territory," she said.

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Iran launches monkey into space

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporter

Last summer, the Iranian Space Agency announced their plan to send a monkey into space - and now they've apparently done it.

According to Iranian state-run television, a press release on the space agency's website, and photos of the event, Iran sent a live rhesus monkey into sub-orbital space aboard a small rocket called Pishgam, or Pioneer. There's even a video posted on YouTube that appears to be of the launch (though New Scientist could not confirm its authenticity).

The report has not been confirmed independently, however, and the US air force's North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has not reported seeing any missile launches from Iran.

But independent observers say the launch looks legitimate.

"Really, I see no reason not to take their word for it," says Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who also keeps a log of space launches. He says he's convinced by the photos and discussions he's had with several knowledgeable source in online forums.

In photos released on the Iranian Space Agency's website, the rocket looks like the same kind the agency has launched before, but with a larger nose cone designed to fit a small chamber that can support life. Images also showed a live rhesus monkey strapped to a small seat.

The reports say the rocket went straight up 120 kilometres, which McDowell says qualifies as outer space, but not high enough to reach orbit, and came back down with a parachute.

It's unclear exactly when the launch took place. The press release says that the launch happened on the birthday of Mohammed the Prophet, which is celebrated by Shiites on 29 January, but was celebrated last week elsewhere in the world.

Some countries worry that Iranian rockets capable of carrying animals or people could also carry weapons. Iran has denied any military intention.

"This is not a scary thing because this is not a big new rocket that could hit America or anything like that," McDowell says. "There's nothing military to this. It's purely for propaganda. Nevertheless, it advances their science and their technology by being able to do it."

Iran says the launch is a first step towards sending humans into space, which they intend to do in the next 5 to 8 years. To do that, McDowell says, they'll need to build a larger rocket. The country currently has a vehicle called Safir that has successfully put satellites in orbit, and is developing a more powerful launcher called Simorgh.

The next step will probably be to either launch Safir to carry a human to sub-orbital space, or an unmanned Simorgh flight into orbit to make sure mission controllers can return it to the ground safely.

"They don't want to repeat what the Soviets did" in 1957, McDowell says, "which is put a living being in orbit before you figure out how to get it back."

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10 rare pygmy elephants found dead in Borneo

KUALA LUMPUR: Ten endangered pygmy elephants have been found dead this month in Malaysian Borneo and are thought to have been poisoned, conservation officials said Tuesday.

Wildlife authorities in Sabah, a state on the eastern tip of the island, have formed a taskforce together with the police and WWF to investigate the deaths.

Laurentius Ambu, Sabah wildlife department director, said it received a report last Wednesday of four dead pygmy elephants in the Gunung Rara forest reserve.

But officials were "shocked" to find another four of the animals, a rare sub-species of the Asian elephant, dead or dying after inspecting the area for two days, he said.

"Early this year, two highly decomposed elephant carcasses were found in the general vicinity of where these eight animals were found. We believe that all the deaths of these elephants are related," he said in a statement.

Sen Nathan, the department's senior veterinarian, said in the statement "we highly suspect" the animals died due to poisoning after finding severe ulceration and bleeding in their digestive tracts.

"It was actually a very sad sight to see all those dead elephants, especially one of the dead females who had a very young calf of about three months old. The calf was trying to wake the dead mother up," he said.

Masidi Manjun, the state's environment minister, vowed to take tough action.

"If indeed these poor elephants were maliciously poisoned I would personally make sure that the culprits would be brought to justice and pay for their crime," he said in the statement.

There are fewer than 2,000 Borneo pygmy elephants, which are smaller and have more rounded features compared to normal Asian elephants, left in the wild, according to authorities.

Activists warn that pygmy elephants are fast losing their natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment on Borneo, a vast island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

-AFP/fl

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Hear what Lebron said to Obama

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Thick smog cloaks Beijing again

BEIJING Dangerously high pollution levels shrouded Beijing in smog Tuesday for the second time in about two weeks, forcing airlines to cancel flights because of poor visibility and prompting the city government to warn residents to stay indoors.

The outlines of buildings in the capital receded into a white mist as pedestrians donned face masks to guard against the thick, caustic air.

The U.S. Embassy reported a level of PM2.5 -- one of the worst pollutants -- at 526 micrograms per cubic meter, or "beyond index," and more than 20 times higher than World Health Organization safety levels over a 24-hour period.

The Beijing city government advised residents to stay indoors as much as possible because the pollution was "severe." It said that, because there was no wind, the smog probably would not dissipate quickly.

Visibility was less than 109 yards in some areas of eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Air China cancelled 14 domestic flights in or out of the Beijing airport, and an airport in the eastern city of Qingdao was closed, cancelling 20 flights.

The disruptions come in the first week of the country's peak, six-week period for travel, linked to the Feb. 10 Lunar New Year. Every year, China's transport system bursts at the seams as tens of millions of people travel for the holiday, in the world's largest seasonal migration of people.

Celebrity real estate developer Pan Shiyi, who has previously pushed for cities to publish more detailed air quality data, called Tuesday for a "Clean Air Act" and said he would use his status as a delegate to the National People's Congress to propose such legislation.

In less than three hours, his post was forwarded more than 2,300 times and received 14,184 votes, with 99.1 percent in favor.

Beijing also had exceptionally high pollution two weeks ago, with the U.S. Embassy readings of PM2.5 reaching as high as 886 micrograms per cubic meter.

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US Mom Missing in Turkey Took Side Trips

Sarai Sierra, the New York mother who disappeared in Turkey while on a solo trip, took several side excursions out of the country, but stayed in contact with her family the entire time, a family friend told ABC News.

Turkish media reported today that police were trying to establish why Sierra visited Amsterdam and Munich. Police were also trying to establish the identity of a man Sierra, 33, was chatting with on the Internet, according to local media.

Rachel Norman, a family friend, said the man was a group tour guide from the Netherlands and said Sierra stayed in regular touch with her family in New York.

Steven Sierra, Sarai's husband, and David Jimenez, her brother, arrived in Istanbul today to aid in the search.

The men have been in contact with officials from the U.S. consulate in the country and plan to meet with them as soon as they open on Tuesday, Norman said.

After that, she said Sierra and Jimenez would meet with Turkish officials to discuss plans and search efforts.

Family of Sarai Sierra|AP Photo

NYC Woman Goes Missing While Traveling In Turkey Watch Video

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Giordano Interview Fallout: What Happens Next? Watch Video

Sarai Sierra was supposed to fly back to the United States on Jan. 22, but she never showed up for her flight home.

Her two boys, ages 11 and 9, have not been told their mother is missing.

Sierra, an avid photographer, left New York on Jan. 7. It was her first overseas trip, and she decided to go ahead after a friend had to cancel, her family said.

"It was her first time outside of the United States, and every day while she was there she pretty much kept in contact with us, letting us know what she was up to, where she was going, whether it be through texting or whether it be through video chat, she was touching base with us," Steven Sierra told ABC News before he departed for Istanbul.

But when it came time to pick her up from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Sierra wasn't on board her scheduled flight.

Steven Sierra called United Airlines and was told his wife had never boarded the flight home.

Further investigation revealed she had left her passport, clothes, phone chargers and medical cards in her room at a hostel in Beyoglu, Turkey, he said.

The family is suspicious and said it is completely out of character for the happily married mother, who met her husband in church youth group, to disappear.

The U.S. Embassy in Turkey and the Turkish National Police are involved in the investigation, WABC-TV reported.

"They've been keeping us posted, from my understanding they've been looking into hospitals and sending out word to police stations over there," Steven Sierra said. "Maybe she's, you know, locked up, so they are doing what they can."

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DNA privacy: don't flatter yourself

The secrets contained in our individual genomes are less valuable than we like to believe

IMAGINE donating your DNA to a project aimed at discovering links between genes and diseases. You consent to your genome sequence being released anonymously into the public domain, though you are warned there is a remote possibility that it might one day be possible to link it back to you.

A few years later, that remote possibility comes to pass. How should you feel? This is no longer a hypothetical scenario. About 50 people who participated in a project called 1000 Genomes have been traced (see "Matching names to genes: the end of genetic privacy?").

The researchers' intentions were honourable. They have not revealed these identities, and the original data has been adjusted to make a repeat using the same technique impossible. All they wanted to do was expose privacy issues.

Consider them exposed. It is clear that genomics has entered a new phase, similar to that which social media went through a few years ago, when concerns were raised about people giving away too much personal information.

What happens when the same applies to our DNA? Having your genome open to public scrutiny obviously raises privacy issues. Employers and insurers may be interested. Embarrassing family secrets may be exposed.

But overall, personal genetic information is probably no more revealing than other sorts. In fact there are reasons to believe that it is less so: would an insurance company really go to the trouble of decoding a genome to discover a slightly elevated risk of cancer or Alzheimer's disease?

The available evidence suggests not. In 2006, Harvard University set out to sequence the genomes of 100,000 volunteers and make them publicly available, along with personal information such as names and medical records. One of the goals was to see what happens when such data is open to all. The answer seems to be "not a lot". So far this Personal Genome Project has published 148 people's full genomes. Not one volunteer has reported a privacy issue.

This is not a reason for complacency, but it suggests that our genomic secrets are less interesting to other people than we might like to believe.

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