Asia stocks fall after Europe debt turmoil worsens

stock markets fell Thursday, as ominous signs emerged that a debt crisis that has been roiling Greece and then Spain is about to erupt elsewhere on the continent.

Investor sentiment was battered by developments Wednesday, when Italy's borrowing costs rose and Cyprus said it may seek an emergency bailout this week.

Yet another troubling sign came out of Spain, whose 10-year borrowing rate inched up to 6.71 percent from 6.67 percent. That is close to the 7 percent rate that led Greece, Portugal and Ireland to seek bailouts.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.7 percent to 8,528.51. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8 percent to 18,877.40 and South Korea's Kospi was nearly flat at 1,858.73.

Moody's, the credit ratings agency, downgraded Spain's government debt three notches late Wednesday, placing it one level above junk status. It downgraded Cyprus's debt by two, pushing it deeper into junk rating.

Italy, meanwhile, had setbacks of its own. Its 10-year borrowing rate rose to 6.07 percent from 6.02 percent, and the interest rate on its one-year bonds also rose sharply.

Greece will hold elections Sunday, and voters may endorse a party that wants to cancel the terms of Greece's own bailout. That would almost certainly force Greece to leave the euro currency.

"The Greek election will undoubtedly be seen as a landmark event in history, as it goes to the core of Greece's continuation in the eurozone and the fate of the region itself," Cameron Peacock of IG Markets in Melbourne said in a market commentary.

The turmoil in Europe weighed Wall Street down on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.6 percent to 12,496.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.7 percent to 1,314.88. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.9 percent to 2,818.61.

Benchmark oil for July deliver was down 23 cents to $82.39 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 70 cents to finish at $82.62 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.

In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.2561 from $1.2589 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar rose to 79.42 yen from 79.33 yen.

via ~ news.yahoo

Assange appeals against UK extradition decision

LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has appealed against Britain's Supreme Court's decision to back his extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

Two weeks ago, judges at Britain's top court rejected his argument by a 5-2 majority that a European arrest warrant for his extradition was invalid, seemingly putting an end to an 18-month legal battle.

However, his lawyers argued that some of the judges had reached their decision based on a legal point that had not been argued in court, preventing the defense team from making a counter-submission.

The court agreed to give Assange 14 days to challenge the decision and a spokeswoman said on Tuesday that an appeal had been submitted.

"No time has been set to look at the evidence," the spokeswoman said. "We are hoping it will be done promptly."

The former computer hacker gained international prominence in 2010 when WikiLeaks began releasing secret video footage and thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables about Iraq and Afghanistan, in the largest leak of classified documents in U.S. history.

That made him a hero to anti-censorship campaigners but Washington was furious about the release of classified documents.

Swedish prosecutors want to question Assange over allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two female former WikiLeaks volunteers. He denies any wrongdoing and has been fighting extradition since his arrest in Britain in December 2010.

His lawyers argue the European arrest warrant was invalid because it was issued by a prosecutor and not a judge or a court, as required in Britain. Prosecutors say different legal procedures are allowable under the internationally agreed format.

Even if he loses the appeal in Britain, the Australian could take his case to the European Court of Human Rights, potentially holding up the extradition process for months.

via ~ news.yahoo