European Union lawmakers are demanding the immediate release from jail of a Saudi blogger sentenced to be flogged 50 times a week over several months for insulting Islam.
	The parliamentarians condemned Raif Badawi's flogging as a "cruel and shocking act."
	Thursday's resolution was passed by 460 votes to 153, with 29 abstentions.
	The 32-year-old father of three was lashed 50 times on Jan. 9, but a second beating was postponed for medical reasons.
	Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in total for encouraging Saudis to share opinions about the role of religion in the country on his Free Saudi Liberals website.

EU lawmakers call for release of flogged Saudi blogger

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Posting explicit images of former lovers online so-called "revenge pornography" has been made a crime in Britain.
	Queen Elizabeth II approved the new bill Thursday, a formality that is required before a bill endorsed by Parliament can become law.
	The new law means that anyone who shares private and sexual images of another person without that person's permission, and with the intent of causing distress, may face up to two years in prison.
	The Ministry of Justice says the law will come into force in the spring.
	Campaigners had argued that a specific law will make it much easier for police to deal with cases in which people maliciously post sexual images without the subject's consent. A helpline for victims has also been launched.

'Revenge pornography' made illegal in Britain

A Syrian opposition leader called on world leaders to take "immediate action" to end government attacks on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus, amid reports that some 150 people have been killed in government airstrikes in the past 10 days.
	Khaled Khoja, leader of the Syrian National Coalition, made the appeal at a press conference held from the group's base in Turkey.
	The government has been pounding the eastern suburbs of Damascus known as Ghouta for days as part of a military campaign against rebel-held districts east and south of the capital Damascus. Douma, a sprawling town east of Damascus, has taken the brunt of the airstrikes.
	"The Assad regime's killing of children and the elderly with rockets, barrel bombs, and toxic gases is as a crime as horrible as ISIS's slaughtering and burning of people alive," Khoja said, using an acronym for the Islamic State extremist group.
	He said Assad's "barbaric assault" on Douma constitutes a war crime and urged the UN to force the Syrian ...

Syria rebels call for help against Assad as death toll rises

The United States is at a crossroads on matters of race relations and law enforcement, presenting "hard truths" that its citizens and police must confront, FBI Director James Comey said.
	Comey used a speech at Georgetown University to offer his most expansive take on a debate that has roiled in the country in recent months about police use of force and interactions with minority communities.
	The deaths at the hands of white police officers of Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York, as well as the more recent slayings of two New York police officers, have raised difficult issues on both sides of the debate, he said.
	One is that police officers who work in neighborhoods where most street crime is committed by young black men may hold unconscious biases and be tempted to take what he called a "mental shortcut" in dealing with suspicious situations.
	"The two young black men on one side of the street look like so many others the officer has locked up," Comey said.
	"Two .

FBI director: US at crossroads on race relations, policing

Thousands of people were expected to attend a prayer service for three Muslims gunned down in North Carolina, as police investigated whether religious hatred played any role in the shooting which authorities said was sparked by a dispute over parking spaces.
	The alleged shooter, Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, describes himself as a "gun toting" atheist. Neighbors say he always seemed angry and frequently confronted his neighbors, sometimes while wearing a handgun on his hip.
	 His ex-wife said he was obsessed with the shooting-rampage movie "Falling Down," and showed "no compassion at all" for other people.
	The killings are fueling outrage among people who blame anti-Muslim rhetoric for hate crimes. A Muslim advocacy organization pressed authorities to investigate possible religious bias. Many posted social media updates with the hashtags #MuslimLivesMatter and #CallItTerrorism.
	About 2,000 people attended a candlelight vigil for the victims in the heart of UNC's campus Wednesday ...

Thousands expected at funeral for 3 Muslims killed in US

The six-week delay in Nigeria's presidential election has raised red flags both in the international community and among local political and civil rights groups, with many concerned about the independence of the country's electoral commission and whether the military hierarchy had too much say in the matter.
	President Goodluck Jonathan and his chief rival, former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari, are facing off in what is probably the tightest presidential contest in the history of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and its economic powerhouse, so any change like moving back election day is seen as suspicious and a possible game-changer.
	Many international observers had already arrived in the country and foreign journalists were struggling to obtain visas when Nigeria's electoral commission announced Saturday it was postponing the Feb 14 presidential and legislative elections until March 28.
	"Political interference with the Independent National Electoral Commission is ...

Nigeria election delay raises red flags at home, abroad

The Islamic State group published what it described as an interview with the widow of the French gunman who attacked a kosher supermarket and a police officer in Paris last month, claiming for the first time that she was among extremist fighters.
	The text interviews in French and English, published yesterday and today, did not directly name Hayat Boumeddiene or show images of her, instead identifying her only as the wife of Amedy Coulibaly, or Umm Basur al-Muhajirah.
	She is considered key to the investigation into the attacks in Paris, which left 20 people dead including the gunmen, although she left France just beforehand.
	The publication appeared to be the first confirmation from IS that she had joined the group in Syria, as was widely believed after a posthumous video emerged of Coulibaly, pledging allegiance to its leader.
	In the stilted responses laced with references to the Quran, she called on women to be patient and make life easier for their men.
	She said Coulibaly ...

France's most-wanted widow in interview with Islamic State

An electric car with a 200-mile range and a price tag of USD 37,500 will be built at a General Motors factory north of Detroit, the company announced.
	The small hatchback will be based on the Chevrolet Bolt concept car shown at the Detroit auto show last month. GM has said it would be built in 2017. The price does not include a USD 7,500 federal tax credit.
	The car, which hasn't officially been named, will be built at a factory in Orion Township, Michigan.
	It's designed to compete with Silicon Valley automaker Tesla Motors, which plans to start selling a 200-mile-per-charge car about the same time.
	 The price of Tesla's Model 3 including the tax credit is likely to be well below USD 30,000.
	The Bolt looks like a cross between a Volkswagen Golf and BMW's funky electric i3. Designers said it will have SUV-like cargo room and a high seating position, two attributes that have made small SUVs popular in the US.
	"We are moving quickly because of its potential to completely shake up ...

GM to build 200-mile electric car at Michigan plant

Pope Francis urged his cardinals to cooperate in reforming the outdated and dysfunctional Vatican bureaucracy, saying the overhaul will help him govern the Catholic Church better and spread the faith more effectively.
	Francis summoned cardinals from around the world to hear his proposals for revamping the central government of the 1.2-billion-strong church.
	 The proposals include merging smaller offices into two big new congregations: one for laity, family and life issues; another for charity and peace that will have an important new sector focused on the environment, a core concern for Francis.
	Francis said the aim of the reform was to encourage greater harmony and collaboration in "absolute transparency," to help the church spread the faith and reach out to others.
	"Certainly, reaching that goal won't be easy," he said. "It needs time, determination and above all the collaboration of everyone."
	Francis was elected two years ago on a mandate from cardinals to reform the Vatican .

Pope urges cooperation on Vatican reform from cardinals

Guns would fall silent, heavy weapons would pull back from the front and Ukraine would trade a broad autonomy for the east to get back control of its Russian border by the end of 2015 under a peace deal hammered out today in all-night negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
	The deal was full of potential pitfalls that could derail its implementation, however. In announcing the plan, Russia and Ukraine differed over what exactly they had agreed to in the marathon 16-hour talks, including the status of Debaltseve, a key town now under rebel siege.
	Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that the agreement envisages a cease-fire beginning Sunday (2200 GMT (5 PM EST) Saturday) as well as a special status for Ukraine's separatist regions and provisions to address border concerns and humanitarian issues.
	Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said there was no agreement on any autonomy or federalization for eastern Ukraine, a longtime demand of Russia, which wants 

Marathon talks produce Ukraine peace deal; cease-fire Sunday

Facebook is giving more options to decide what happens to users' accounts after they die.
	The world's biggest online social network said Thursday it will now let users pick someone who can manage their account after they pass away. Previously, the accounts were "memorialized" after death, or locked so that no one could log in.
	Beginning in the US, Facebook says users can choose a "legacy contact" to post on their page after they die, respond to new friend requests and update their profile picture and cover photo. Users can also have their accounts deleted instead.
	Facebook also ensures that the account of a user who died doesn't show up as a "suggested friend" or in other ways that could upset the person's loved ones.

Now someone can manage your Facebook account after you die

Asia will be tuning in to the Oscars and its glitz and glamour, even though the region's films are missing from the shortlists.
	Users of Chinese social media discuss animatedly whether comedy "Birdman" or the 12-years-in the-making "Boyhood" will win best picture movies that haven't been shown in theaters here but are available on streaming websites.
	The interest is evident even though Asian films are sorely lacking on the foreign language category shortlist something that frustrates some Asian filmmakers and industry insiders, while others expected nothing less from voting dominated by Los Angeles-based Academy members.
	The lack of an Asian presence comes despite China and Japan being the world's second- and third-biggest movie markets by ticket sales. Bollywood churns out more than a 1,000 films a year, and only five Indians have ever won at the Oscars, three of whom for 2009 Oscar winner "Slumdog Millionaire," a British movie.
	"I mean who wouldn't want to win an Oscar, but we ..

Asia eyes Oscar glitz, glamour even as its own films absent

An animal keeper died today after apparently being attacked by two lions at a zoo in South Korea's capital, officials said.
	A colleague found the keeper, 52-year-old Kim Geun-bae, unconscious and bleeding heavily from his neck and legs in the animals' enclosure, as a male and female lion wandered near him, according to Seoul Children's Grand Park official Jisun Lee. Kim was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours later, she said.
	There were no witnesses or visitors at the time of the attack because the zoo has been closed since last week to prevent the spread of avian flu, Lee said.
	The park said Kim had 20 years' experience as an animal keeper and had been working with dangerous animals such as lions, tigers and leopards for the past three years.
	Lee said the zoo is waiting for police to examine security camera video and other evidence before deciding what to do with the lions.

Animal keeper dies in lion attack at Seoul zoo

Spanish authorities ordered the residents of five northeastern towns to stay indoors for some two hours today after a chemical explosion at a warehouse spread a large, orange toxic cloud over the area.
	A spokeswoman for Catalonia's regional firefighting department said the blast occurred when products being delivered to a warehouse in the city of Igualada became mixed, exploded and set a truck on fire. She said two people were slightly injured.
	Firefighters said the chemicals were nitric acid and ferric chloride.
	The region's Civil Protection department ordered some 65,000 residents of Igualada and four nearby towns to stay indoors until the cloud dissipated. The order was lifted two hours later but maintained for pregnant women, children, elderly people and those with respiratory problems.
	Roads in and out of Igualada, located some 70 kilometres northwest of Barcelona, were cordoned off during the alert and people were urged not to place themselves in danger by taking photographs 

Spain: Toxic cloud spreads over 5 towns after chemical blast

A Japanese freelance photographer said today he was forced to give up his passport because he planned a reporting trip to Syria, which the government has stepped up warnings to its citizens not to visit after two Japanese were killed there in a recent hostage crisis.
	Yuichi Sugimoto, a 58-year-old journalist who has covered the Middle East and other war-torn areas on and off for the past 20 years, complaining at a press conference that the confiscation violated his constitutional right of travel and press freedom and took away his work.
	Sugimoto said he handed over his passport after police and Foreign Ministry officials visited his home over the weekend in Niigata, north-central Japan, to demand he surrender it. One official gave him an order signed by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, he said, a photocopy of which he provided to The Associated Press.
	News of his planned trip to Syria had been published in local media.
	Japan is still in shock from a recent hostage crisis in which ..

Japan photographer says passport confiscated over Syria trip

Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany today emerged from marathon 16-hour talks to announce a comprehensive peace deal for eastern Ukraine, but questions remained whether Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels have agreed on all of its terms.
	Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that the agreement envisages a cease-fire that will be effective starting from the start of the day Sunday (21000 GMT or 4 p.M. EST Saturday) as well as a special status for the rebel regions, provisions on border controls and humanitarian issues.
	Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, however, denied that there was any agreement about autonomy in eastern Ukraine.
	More than 5,300 people have died since April in the fighting, which continued to rage today even as the four leaders were engaged in talks.
	Speaking to reporters after the exhausting talks, Putin said "it was not the best night in my life but the morning, I think, it is good because we have managed to agree on the main things ...

Marathon Ukraine talks end with peace deal

A Seoul court today sentenced a former Korean Air executive to a year in prison for aviation law violations that stemmed from her inflight tantrum over how she was served macadamia nuts.
	The court said Cho Hyun-ah was guilty of forcing a flight to change its route and two other charges.
	Cho, the daughter of Korean Air's chairman, achieved worldwide notoriety after she ordered the chief flight attendant off a December 5 flight, forcing it to return to the gate at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. She was angered she had been offered macadamia nuts in a bag instead of on a dish.
	The court also found Cho guilty of obstructing the flight's captain in the performance of his duties and forcing a crew member off a plane. It found her not guilty of interfering with a transport ministry investigation into the incident.
Prosecutors had called for three years in prison.
	Cho's behavior, dubbed nut rage, caused an uproar in South Korea. The incident touched a nerve in a country where the ...

Court sentences Korean Air nut rage exec to 1 year in prison

French car maker Renault says its earnings soared last year thanks to lower restructuring costs, and forecasts further growth in 2015.
	France's number two car maker behind PSA Peugeot Citroen says in a statement today net profit more than doubled to 1.89 billion euros (USD 2.1 billion) last year, while new car and light truck registrations climbed 3.2 per cent to 2.7 million vehicles.
	Renault's 2013 earnings were weighed down by a 1.3-billion-euro restructuring charge.
	The maker of the best-selling Clio hatchback forecast 2 percent growth in Europe's car market this year but warned it expects "high volatility" in its main emerging markets.
	Europe's car market grew 5.7 per cent in 2014, the first positive year-on-year result since the global financial crisis began in 2007.

Renault profit soars on lower restructuring costs

The Republican-controlled Congress has approved a bill to construct the Keystone XL oil pipeline, setting up a confrontation with President Barack Obama, who has threatened to veto the measure.
	First proposed in 2008, the 1,179 -mile (1,900 kilometre) pipeline that would carry oil from Canada's western tar sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico has come to symbolise the differences between the political parties on energy and environmental matters.
	It it is likely to be the first of many skirmishes between the Republican-controlled Congress and with the White House.
	The House voted 270-152 to send the bill to the president, endorsing changes made by the Senate that stated climate change was real and not a hoax, and oil sands should no longer be exempt from a tax used to cleanup oil spills. Only one Republican voted against the measure.
	But neither chamber has enough support to overcome a veto, and supporters were already strategising on how to secure the pipeline's approval ...

Congress clears Keystone XL pipeline bill, setting up veto

A family is planning to file a lawsuit after a relative visiting from India was injured during an encounter with police.
	Police officers were responding to a call last Friday morning about a suspicious person walking onto driveways and looking into garages, department officials said in a statement.
	Officers stopped Sureshbhai Patel, 57, and tried talking to him but he spoke little English, authorities said.
	Officers tried patting Patel down but he put his hands in his pockets and pulled away, police said. Patel was injured as he was forced to the ground and was taken to a local hospital, police said.
	Chirag Patel has told local news media that his father has only been to America once before and is visiting to help care for his grandson while Chirag Patel pursues a graduate degree. "He was just walking on the sidewalk as he does all the time," Patel told Al.Com.
	"This is a good neighborhood. I didn't expect anything to happen." Patel said his father had to undergo surgery to fuse .

Man visiting US from India injured during police encounter

Australia's foreign minister today called on the Indonesian government to show the same mercy to two Australian drug traffickers on death row as Indonesia seeks from countries where Indonesian citizens face execution.
	Foreign Minister Julie Bishop moved a motion in Parliament today calling for clemency for Australians Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31. The opposition party supported the motion, in a show of bipartisan support for saving the heroin smugglers.
	Indonesia said last week it was preparing to execute by firing squad eight drug smugglers, including the two Australians.
	Bishop said the Indonesian government was committed to seeking the release of more than 200 Indonesians currently facing execution overseas.
	According to the Indonesian non-governmental organization Migrant Care, up to 360 Indonesians face the death penalty overseas, including about 230 on drug charges.
	"We urge the Indonesian government to show the same mercy to Andrew and Myuran that it seeks for 

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