The European Union's executive has unveiled a vast plan to boost coordination between the EU's 28 national energy markets to wean Europe off unstable Russian gas supplies and provide cheaper energy for consumers.
	European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic today called it "undoubtedly the most ambitious energy project" since the inception of the EU over half a century ago. It will include improving links across borders in Europe's oil, gas and electricity grids and investing in new sources of energy from North Africa and Turkey.
	Sefcovic said that could save businesses and consumers up to 40 billion euros (USD 45.4 billion) a year and, by diversifying energy sources, increase the EU's political options in eastern Europe.
	Europe imports 40 per cent of its natural gas from Russia, half via pipelines through conflict-torn Ukraine, and it could to take years of investment to reduce that dependency. Ukraine and Russian energy monopoly Gazprom have been embroiled in numerous gas ...

EU unveils vast plan to merge 28 energy markets

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Lexus is the most dependable car brand for the fourth consecutive year in rankings that increasingly hinge on high-tech features.
	Buick, Toyota, Cadillac and Honda and Porsche, which were tied, rounded out the top five spots in the annual survey, released today by the consulting firm JD Power. The survey asked original owners of vehicles from the 2012 model year about problems experienced in the last year.
	Lexus owners reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles; the industry average was 147 problems. Fiat was the worst performing brand, with 273 problems per 100 vehicles. Land Rover, Jeep, Mini and Dodge rounded out the bottom five performers.
	The top two complaints were technical ones: inability to pair phones to the car and trouble with voice recognition systems, which often misunderstood drivers' commands. That's a change from past years, when design problems like wind noise or mechanical issues like squeaky brakes topped the list.
	JD Power spokesman John Tews said it's difficult to 

Lexus tops auto dependability survey

Islamic State group militants have moved a large group of Christian hostages to a city they control in northeastern Syria, while they continue to battle Kurdish and Christian militiamen for control of a chain of villages along the Khabur River, activists and state-run media said today.
	Hassakeh province which borders Turkey and Iraq has become the latest battleground for the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria. It is predominantly Kurdish but also has populations of Arabs and predominantly Christian Assyrians and Armenians.
	In pre-dawn attacks, the group on Monday attacked communities nestled along the river, seizing at least 70 people, many of them women and children. Thousands of others fled to safer areas.
	The fate of those kidnapped, almost all of them Assyrian Christians, remained unclear today, two days after they were seized.
	However, the state-run SANA news agency and the Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria said the hostages have been moved to the Islamic 

Fate of abducted Christians unclear; Syria clashes continue

A top adviser to President Barack Obama sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to address Congress next week, calling the move "destructive" to the ties between the US and Israel.
	National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Netanyahu's March 3 speech, which was arranged by Republican congressional leaders, has "injected a degree of partisanship" into a relationship that should be above politics.
	"It's destructive to the fabric of the relationship," Rice told the Charlie Rose show yesterday. "It's always been bipartisan. We need to keep it that way."
	Rice's statements were among the Obama administration's toughest public criticism of Netanyahu's speech and the negative impact it could have on the close alliances between the US and Israel. The Israeli leader's speech was arranged without the White House or State Department's knowledge, a move the administration blasted as a breach of diplomatic protocol.
	Rice's comments came as Netanyahu turned down an ...

Obama aide calls Netanyahu visit 'destructive' to relations

Ukrainian troops held captive in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk began digging through the rubble today to retrieve the bodies of fellow soldiers killed last month in a bitter battle for the city's airport.
	Associated Press journalists saw at least four bodies being carried out of the waste of the once-glittering, now-obliterated terminal. Rebel representatives said many more were still buried under the rubble, but provided no figures.
	Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops had battled regularly over Donetsk's airport since May, when government forces decisively rebuffed separatist attempts to take the showcase terminal built to help Ukraine host the 2012 Euro soccer championships. Fighting there then surged in mid-January, swiftly unraveling a monthlong truce over the New Year.
	Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznev said today that 15 servicemen were killed in fighting over the airport in January. Their bodies have lain uncollected since that ...

Ukrainian POWs dig out bodies of comrades killed at airport

Workers clearing a small garden in northern Germany got a shock when they unearthed a rusted can labeled "Zyklon B" the deadly poison gas used by the Nazis in the death chambers of Auschwitz and other camps.
	Oliver Pohl, a spokesman for police in Kiel, said today the 150ml-200ml (5oz-7oz) can was unearthed during work yesterday in the nearby town of Preetz.
	Emergency crews determined the can was empty, but still sealed and removed it as a precaution.
	Pohl says even though Zyklon B achieved its notoriety through its use in the Holocaust, it was developed in the 1920s as a pesticide. It is known to have been used long ago as a pesticide in the Preetz garden and the can likely pre-dates the Nazi era.

Rusted can of Zyklon B poison gas found in Germany

Avalanches caused by a heavy winter snow killed at least 124 people in northeastern Afghanistan, an emergency official said today, as rescuers clawed through debris with their hands to save those buried beneath.
	The avalanches buried homes across four northeast provinces, killing those beneath, said Mohammad Aslam Syas, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority.
	The province worst hit appeared to be Panjshir province, about 100 kilometers northeast of the capital, Kabul, where the avalanches destroyed or damaged around 100 homes, Syas said.
	The acting governor of Panjshir, Abdul Rahman Kabiri, said rescuers used their bare hands and shovels in an effort to reach survivors.
	Rescue teams had been dispatched to the affected areas and casualties were expected to rise, Syas said.
	The heavy snowstorms, which began early yesterday, hampered rescue efforts. Snow fall from the storm was nearly 3-feet deep in places and fallen trees blocked roads in the ..

Official says Afghan avalanches kill at least 124 people

An emergency official says at least 108 people are feared killed in Afghan avalanches amid a massive winter storm.
	The avalanches buried homes today across four northeast provinces.
	Mohammad Aslam Syas, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority, gave the death toll. He says some 100 homes were destroyed or damaged in Panjshir province alone. That's about 100 kilometres northeast of the capital, Kabul.
	Large parts of Afghanistan have been covered in snow as a major storm interrupted an otherwise mild and dry winter. Avalanches are common in Afghanistan's mountainous north, where environmental degradation and lack of infrastructure exacerbate the impact of heavy snowfalls.

Official: At least 108 people killed in Afghan winter storm

Philippine troops, backed by artillery fire and assault helicopters, battled about 300 Abu Sayyaf rebels in fighting today that left two soldiers and five militants dead in the country's restive south, officials said.
	Military spokesman Lt Col Harold Cabunoc said 16 other soldiers were wounded in the daylong fighting in a jungle near Patikul town in Sulu province where the large number of Abu Sayyaf gunmen had gathered.
	At least 16 militants were wounded, Cabunoc said, citing army reports.
	The Abu Sayyaf gunmen, led by commander Hatib Sawadjaan, have been blamed for several ransom kidnappings, including of two German tourists who were freed in October after six months of jungle captivity, reportedly in exchange for 250 million pesos (USD 5.6 million).
	Some of the militants who clashed with government troops Wednesday were from nearby Basilan island, and it was not clear why they had joined up with Sawadjaan's forces in the poor, predominantly Muslim province of Sulu.
	The ...

Philippine troops attack 300 Abu Sayyaf militants, 7 killed

Hundreds of residents of a small town in southeastern Czech Republic gathered today to honor the victims of the worst shooting attack in the country's history.
	Braving rain, they lit candles in front of the Druzba, or "Friendship," restaurant in Uhersky Brod a day after a gunman opened fire during lunchtime, killing eight and seriously wounding a woman before he fatally shot himself.
	Following surgery, the 37-year-old woman, who was shot in the chest, wasn't in life-threatening condition, said Dana Lipovska, spokesman for the hospital in nearby Uherske Hradiste.
	Police identified the gunman as a 63-year-old local man who had no criminal record and had a gun license.
	A motive hasn't yet been determined, but authorities ruled out terrorism.
	Interior Minister Milan Chovanec suggested after the shooting that the number people in the country who legally own weapons might be too high.
	But Jiri Hynek, head of the Defense and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic, said ...

Residents in Czech town honor 8 killed in shooting

Islamic extremists killed 173 people in Kenya in 2014, the highest number in the three years that Kenya has experienced violence blamed on neighboring Somalia's al-Shabab militants, Kenya's police force said today.
	Kenyan police said 312 people were killed in the country in militant attacks since 2012 and 779 people were wounded during the period.
	Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa, Mandera and Wajir were towns where the attacks took place between 2012 and 2014. The targets were security officials, places frequented by tourists, passenger service vehicles, churches, malls and other crowded places, said acting police chief Samuel Arachi.
	Al- Shabab has vowed retribution for Kenya sending troops to Somalia. Kenya deployed its troops to Somalia in October 2011 to fight the extremist rebels who had carried out cross-border attacks including the kidnapping of four Europeans.
	Kenyan troops are now part of a multinational African Union force bolstering Somalia's weak government against an ...

173 people die in extremist attacks in Kenya in 2014: police

Decades after being stolen in Italy, an ancient statuette and an 18th-century painting were returned to the country's government after turning up in New York.
	The handover of the ancient articles yesterday marked the latest case of US authorities helping Italy and other countries reclaim what they see as cultural patrimony.
	"For decades, two significant pieces of Italian heritage have been on the run," FBI Assistant Director Diego Rodriguez said as he and Manhattan Deputy US Attorney Richard Zabel gave the artworks to Warrant Officer Angelo Ragusa of the Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale, an art-crimes police force.
	The painting, called "The Holy Trinity Appearing to Saint Clement," is attributed to the renowned artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also called Giambattista Tiepolo. It was taken from a house in Turin in 1982, prosecutors said.
	The Etruscan bronze statuette of the Greek mythological hero Herakles also known as Heracles or, to the Romans, Hercules dates to the ...

Stolen statue, painting returned to Italian government in NY

Kurdish and Christian militiamen battled Islamic State militants today in northeastern Syria, where the extremist group recently abducted at least 70 Christians after overrunning a cluster of villages.
	Hassakeh province which borders Turkey and Iraq has become the latest battleground for the fight against IS. It is predominantly Kurdish but also has populations of Arabs and predominantly Christian Assyrians and Armenians.
	In pre-dawn attacks, the group on Monday attacked communities nestled along the Khabur River, seizing dozens of people, many of them women and children. Thousands of others fled to safer areas.
	The fate of those kidnapped, almost all of them Assyrian Christians, remained unclear today two days after they were seized. The abduction added to fears among religious minorities in both Syria and Iraq, who have been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic State group.
	The Assyrians are indigenous Christian people who trace their roots back to the ancient Mesopotamians.
	"We .

Fate of abducted Christians unclear, Syria clashes continue

Lego says its popular, multi-colored toy blocks continued to be in strong demand last year, particularly in its largest market, the US, as well as Britain, France, Russia and China.
	The Danish company today said it invested 3.1 billion kroner in 2014 to locate production closer to core markets and upgrade equipment, including in China, Mexico, Czech Republic, and its core molding plant in Denmark.
	Net profit in 2014 increased 15 percent to 7 billion kroner (USD 1 billion) while revenue reached 28.6 billion kroner (USD 4.3 billion), up from 25.3 billion kroner a year earlier.
	The privately-owned company doesn't release quarterly figures. It is not publicly listed but has published earnings reports since 1997.
	Lego employs 12,500 people, up from 11,750 in 2013.

Lego sales keep rising amid global demand

Iran's Revolutionary Guard launched large-scale naval and air defence drills near a strategic Gulf waterway today in which dozens of speedboats swarmed a replica of a US aircraft carrier.
	The drill, named Great Prophet 9, was held near the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world's oil passes. Iran's regular army carried out naval drills near the strait in December.
	State TV showed footage of missiles fired from the coast and the fast boats striking the mock U.S. Aircraft carrier.
	The drills, which also included shooting down a drone and planting undersea mines, were the first to involve a replica of a US carrier.
	"American aircraft carriers are very big ammunition depots housing a lot of missiles, rockets, torpedoes and everything else," the Guard's navy chief, Adm Ali Fadavi, said on state TV, adding that a direct hit by a missile could set off a large secondary explosion.
	Last month Fadavi said his force is capable of sinking American aircraft carriers in the ...

Iran's Guard attacks mock US carrier in drills near strait

The lawyer for a model and former Miss Turkey says she could face up to two years in prison for social media posts that prosecutors have deemed to be critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	Emre Telci said today an Istanbul prosecutor is demanding that Merve Buyuksarac be prosecuted on charges of insulting a public official. A court will decide whether to start proceedings.
	Buyuksarac was detained last month for sharing a satirical poem on her Instagram account. She denies insulting Erdogan.
	She becomes the latest figure to face trial for insulting Erdogan, amid fear the country is lurching toward authoritarian rule.
	In recent years, Turkey has curbed media freedoms, cracked down on critical social media postings and prosecuted hundreds of people who took part in mass anti-government protests.

Former Miss Turkey faces prison for 'insulting' Erdogan

More than one in three Afghans detained on conflict-related allegations say they were tortured or mistreated, according to a UN report released today based on interviews with nearly 800 detainees.
	The detainees reported 16 torture methods, including beatings, suspension from walls or ceilings, electric shocks and near-asphyxiation.
	Some detainees said their genitals were twisted with a wrench-like device while others reported being kept in extremely hot or cold conditions and being denied food and water.
	The report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the number of detainees saying they had been ill-treated or tortured in the past two years -- 278 of 790 interviewed in nearly 130 facilities -- was 14 per cent lower than the previous period.
	More than 100 of the detainees were under 18, with 44 saying they were tortured.
	A detainee who was held in an intelligence facility said he was kicked and punched on his first day of detention and beaten with a water pipe .

UN: Third of Afghan detainees report torture, ill treatment

An Egyptian border official says some 20,000 Egyptians have fled Libya since the release of a grisly beheading video by Islamic State militants.
	The video, showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians, prompted Cairo to launch retaliatory airstrikes and ban Egyptians from travelling to the increasingly volatile North African country.
	Fawzi Nayel, security chief at the Salloum crossing, told The Associated Press an average of 2,000 to 3,000 Egyptians have crossed daily from Libya in the 10 days since the video was released.
	Many have come from Sirte, the central city where the 21 Coptic Christians were abducted.
	He said no mass evacuation is underway in the east, which is largely controlled by the internationally recognised Libyan government, and that Egyptians in western Libya are crossing into Tunisia.

20,000 Egyptians flee Libya after beheadings, airstrikes

A 14-year-old boy has died after being shot in the head during an anti- government protest in Venezuela's restive western region.
	Preliminary investigations suggest the student was injured during a confrontation between police and protesters in the city, and died on the way to the hospital yesterday, according to San Cristobal Human Rights Commission President Jose Vicente Garcia.
	A photo and video of the student lying in a pool of blood, his backpack hanging over his shoulder, as a man frantically tries to staunch the bleeding rocketed around social media.
	One of the more radical opposition parties in the socialist South American country immediately called for a gathering in the capital tomorrow to demand an investigation into the cases of students who have died at the hands of the government.
	Residents of the university town near the Colombian border known for its tendency toward protests were outraged.
	"How are you going shoot point blank at a student who's just leaving school 

14-yr-old Venezuelan killed during anti-government protest

Australia today imposed financial sanctions on the Egypt-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.
	Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement that the sanctions accorded with a United Nations Security Council resolution on preventing and suppressing terrorist acts. Breaching the sanctions carries a potential maximum 10 years in prison.
	The United States imposed similar sanctions on the group in October last year. The US State Department said the group was sympathetic to al-Qaida but was not a formal affiliate.
	Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis was founded in 2011 and has attacked the Israeli city of Eilat and a Sinai pipeline. The group has also tried to assassinate Egyptian officials and claimed attacks on military and tourist targets.

Australia imposes sanctions on Egypt-based militant group

Hillary Rodham Clinton has said that if she decides to seek the White House again she would try to encourage Republicans and Democrats to solve problems.
	Clinton, the leading Democratic contender should she run, referred to her likely presidential campaign in hypothetical terms during an interview on stage at a women's conference in Silicon Valley.
	But she said yesterday anyone who mounts a campaign for president in 2016 should make economic growth and restoring rising wages top priorities, along with rebuilding trust and cooperation.
	Clinton has kept a low profile so far this year but is starting to take a more public approach as she heads toward her expected 2016 campaign for president. Polls show her with a commanding lead over other potential Democratic candidates such as Vice President Joe Biden.
	The Republican race is wide open with polls showing the leading potential candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, separated only by a few percentage points.
	Even in the .

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