The president of Israel urged the world's nations to wage an all-out war against genocide saying "the Holocaust of the Jews was not the final chapter in the brutal scheme of man against his fellow man."
	Reuven Rivlin told the UN commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp that evil is not limited to any religion, country or ethnic group and warned that it is wrong and misleading to view Islam, Judaism, or Christianity, as "enemies of the world."
	He criticized the United Nations, which was founded on the ashes of World War II with a mission to prevent genocide, for failing to end the slaughters carried out in Bosnia, Rwanda,
	Sudan, Cambodia, Syria, Nigeria and elsewhere. Rivlin urged the 193 U.N. Member states to set "red lines" that define genocide - "and to agree that the crossing of those red lines makes it compulsory to intervene."
	Holocaust survivor Jona Laks movingly described how she was taken from the Jewish ghetto in Lodz, ...

Israel: UN must live up to mission of war against genocide

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Internet giant Google has said that the sheer volume of video on its YouTube website makes it tough to catch all terror related content, complicating the struggle to halt the spread of terrorist propaganda and hostage footage.
	Google Public Policy Manager Verity Harding said that about 300 hours of video material is being uploaded to YouTube every minute.
	She told a European Parliament meeting of the ALDE liberal group on a counter-terrorism action plan yesterday that "to pre-screen those videos before they are uploaded would be like screening a phone call before it's made."
	The European Union's counter-terror chief believes it's time to help companies to contain the security risk by having experts from member states flagging terror-related content.
	"We have to help them, and refer to them, and signal content," Gilles De Kerchove said. "Each member state should have a unit with people trained to do that."
	On YouTube, users can highlight problem videos and have them reviewed by a .

Huge YouTube bulk makes it tough to catch all terror videos

Global freedom has suffered a disturbing decline with 60 per cent of the world's population, or 2.6 billion people, living in countries that are not completely free, according to a report released today.
	Freedom House's annual study which evaluated the state of freedom in 195 countries and 15 territories determined that 61 countries became less free in 2014, while just 31 saw freedoms improve.
	The report said terrorism had a devastating impact in the Middle East and West Africa, with groups massacring both security forces and civilians, taking foreigners hostage and killing or enslaving religious minorities.
	Syria, where a civil war is in its fourth year and the Islamic state terrorist group has extended its reach, was ranked among the world's worst countries.
	But Tunisia was an exception in the region. After holding democratic elections under a new constitution, the North African country became the Arab world's only country to gain the status of "Free."
	The report also cited ...

Freedom House sees disturbing global decline in democracy

A former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist who pleaded guilty to trying to help Venezuela develop a nuclear weapon is set to be sentenced.
	Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni and his wife, Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, pleaded guilty in 2013 to offering to help develop a nuclear weapon for Venezuela through dealings with an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative of the socialist South American country.
	Pedro Mascheroni, a naturalised US citizen from Argentina, faces up to five-and-a-half years in prison and 10 years of supervised release when is sentenced by a federal judge in Albuquerque today.
	His wife received a year and a day in prison for conspiring with her husband to sell nuclear secrets.
	The US government is not alleging Venezuela sought US secrets.
	Before his indictment, Mascheroni was under investigation for about a year. The FBI had seized computers, letters, photographs, books and cellphones from the couple's Los Alamos home.
	In an interview with The Associated ...

Ex-Los Alamos scientist to be sentenced in nuke spy sting

Officials vowed to reopen a popular history museum in the heart of San Francisco's financial district after thieves smashed a stolen vehicle through its front door and made off with historic gold nuggets on display.
	The Wells Fargo museum is a destination for schoolchildren and tourists and includes two restored stagecoaches, a working telegraph and other California Gold Rush-era memorabilia collected by the bank that got its start in the city.
	The thieves rammed a Chevrolet Suburban through the museum's revolving door around 2:30 am Tuesday.
	One of them held a security guard at gunpoint while the others took up to 10 ounces of gold nuggets worth an estimated USD 10,000 from a display case.
	The three men escaped in a four-door sedan driven by an accomplice. The security guard was not harmed in the robbery, and no damage came to the iconic stagecoaches, bank spokesman Ruben Pulido said.
	"Rest assured, the museum will reopen, so it can continue to serve the thousands of visitors ...

US museum vows to reopen after thieves swipe historic gold

Demand for commercial jets airliners boosted Boeing Co's fourth-quarter profit by 19 per cent, topping Wall Street expectations by a wide margin and offsetting weakness in the defense business.
	Boeing offered a muted outlook for 2015, however. Falling oil prices, which make jet fuel much cheaper, might hurt airlines' demand for new, more fuel-efficient planes.
	The shares rose in premarket trading before Wednesday's opening bell.
	Boeing said that it earned USD 1.47 billion, or USD 2.02 per share, compared with USD 1.23 billion, or USD 1.61 per share, a year ago.
	Excluding special items, Boeing said that so-called core earnings rose to USD 2.31 per share. Analysts expected USD 2.11 per share, according to FactSet.
	Revenue rose 3 per cent to USD 24.47 billion, also beating FactSet's Street forecast of USD 23.93 billion.
	However, Boeing said that adjusted earnings this year will be between USD 8.20 and USD 8.40 per share. That is below analysts' forecast of USD 8.66 per share, ...

Boeing reports 4Q profit of USD 1.47 billion on airplane sales

A spokesman for Afghanistan's intelligence service says it has arrested two militants from an extremist Taliban splinter group that previously claimed responsibility for killing a Swedish journalist in Kabul.
	National Directorate of Security spokesman Hasib Sediqi said today that the militants affiliated with the Feday-e-Mahaz group were detained in Kabul last week along with a time bomb, two pistols and a silencer.
	He says the group had been planning to carry out an attack in the Afghan capital.
	Feday-e-Mahaz claimed responsibility for last year's killing of Swedish Radio correspondent Nils Horner while he was reporting on Afghanistan's election on a street in Kabul.
	The group was created by loyalists of slain Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah and broke with the Taliban following the announcement of talks with the United States.

Afghanistan nabs militants for group behind Swede's killing

Iran's official news agency is quoting a senior judiciary official as saying a detained Washington Post journalist "will be tried soon."
	Today's report by IRNA quoted Gholam Hossein Esmaeili on the case of Jason Rezaian, who has been held on unknown charges since July 22. The report did not elaborate.
	Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said earlier this month that Rezaian, the newspaper's bureau chief in Tehran since 2012, had been indicted. He is an Iranian- American who holds dual citizenship.
	Iranian officials have not announced the charges he faces. However, officials say he will stand trial in Iran's Revolutionary Court, which mostly hears cases involving security offences.
	The Post, US officials and Rezaian's mother repeatedly have called for his release.

Report: Iran says Washington Post writer to face trial soon

A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force says a peacekeeper has been killed in southern Lebanon, in an incident likely related to a border clash between Lebanon and Israel.
	Andrea Tenenti says the UN is looking into the circumstances of the incident.
	He did not disclose the nationality of the soldier, but local media reports said he was a Spanish national.
	The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL has been deployed in south Lebanon since 1978.
	The Lebanese Hezbollah group claimed responsibility for firing a missile that hit an Israeli military convoy earlier today, prompting an apparent retaliation from Israel, which fired at least 50 artillery shells into Lebanon in a significant escalation along the volatile border.

UN peacekeeper killed in Lebanon amid border clash

The Obama administration has ordered immigration agents to ask immigrants they encounter living in the country illegally whether they might qualify under President Barack Obama's plans to avoid deporting them.
	Agents also have been told to review government files to identify any jailed immigrants they might be able to release under the program, according to internal training materials obtained by The Associated Press.
	The directives from the Homeland Security Department mark an unusual change for US immigration enforcement, placing the obligation on the government for identifying immigrants who might qualify for lenient treatment.
	Previously, it was the responsibility of immigrants or their lawyers to assert that they might qualify under rules that could keep them out of jail and inside the United States.
	It's akin to the Internal Revenue Service calling taxpayers to recommend they should have used certain exemptions or deductions.
	The training materials apply to agents for ...

Govt tells immigration agents to ID immigrants not to deport

An anti-tank missile hit an Israeli military vehicle near the Israeli-Lebanese border today, the Israeli military said.
	Lebanese security officials said Israel later fired 25 artillery shells into Lebanon.
	The military did not immediately report any casualties.
	The military said residents of the area have been ordered to remain in their homes.
	Today's attack took place near Mount Dov and Shebaa Farms, a disputed tract of land where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet.
	Lebanese officials said the shelling targeted the border villages of Majidiyeh, Abbasiyeh and Kfar Chouba near the Shebaa Farms area.
	There was no immediate word on casualties.
	The officials based in southern Lebanon spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
	The attack comes after Israel launched airstrikes today targeting Syrian army artillery posts in response to rockets fired the previous day into the Israeli-held Golan Heights.
	The border region has been tense since an airstrike ...

Israel fires into Lebanon after missile strikes vehicle

The fate of a 14-year-old Palestinian girl, tried before an Israeli military court for hurling rocks at passing cars in the West Bank and sentenced to two months in prison, has gripped Palestinians who say her treatment demonstrates Israel's excessive measures against stone-throwing youth.
	Malak al-Khatib, arrested last month, is one of only a rare few female Palestinian minors who have ever faced arrest and sentencing by Israeli authorities.
	"A 14-year-old girl won't pose any threat to soldiers' lives," said her father, Ali al-Khatib. "They are well equipped and well trained so what kind of threat could she have posed to them?"
	The Israeli military said al-Khatib was charged with stone-throwing, attempted stone-throwing and possession of a knife and that under a plea bargain, she was sentenced to two months in prison and a USD 1,500 fine.
	Having spent four weeks in detention, al-Khatib has another four left weeks left at a central Israeli prison for women.
	Out of a total of more 

Palestinian girl, 14, in Israel prison for throwing rocks

An American-built helicopter once used in the Vietnam War crashed today during a training mission in the Southeast Asian nation, killing all four soldiers aboard, the military said.
	Lt Gen Vo Van Tuan, army deputy chief of staff, said the Huey chopper disappeared from radar about eight minutes after taking off from an air base in Ho Chi Minh City.
	It's unclear what caused the chopper to go down, but the crash site was later discovered on a farm on the city's outskirts.
	Tuan said the aircraft had originally belonged to American forces, but it was seized by communist forces after the war ended in 1975.
	State media have reported the Vietnamese military took control of about 50 US-made Hueys after the war, and many of them are still in use for military training missions and in search and rescue operations.
	In July, a Russian-made helicopter on a training mission crashed near Hanoi, killing 20 people on board. One soldier survived with severe burns.

Vietnam War-era helicopter crashes, killing 4 soldiers

Chinese regulators have accused e-commerce giant Alibaba of allowing sales of fake and shoddy goods and other mismanagement in a report that was withheld until now to avoid disrupting its US stock market debut.
	The report today by China's industrial regulator said Alibaba allowed unlicensed merchants to use its sales platforms and failed to protect consumers' rights adequately.
	The report was the result of a meeting in July but said it was withheld to avoid affecting progress toward Alibaba's stock market listing in New York. The company went public in September after raising a record USD 25 billion in an initial public stock offering.
	An Alibaba spokesman said the company was preparing a public statement about the report.

China criticises Alibaba in report withheld until after IPO

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed outrage and demanded today that Islamic State extremists release a Japanese journalist, as secret talks in Jordan sought the release of the Japanese and a Jordanian pilot also being held hostage.
	The effort to free Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto and Jordanian Lt Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh gained urgency with the release of an apparent ultimatum late yesterday from the Islamic State group.
	In the message, the extremists say the two hostages will be killed within 24 hours late today Japan time unless Jordan frees Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death in Jordan for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack on a hotel that killed 60 people.
	"This was an extremely despicable act and we feel strong indignation. We strongly condemn that," Abe said. "While this is a tough situation, we remain unchanged in our stance of seeking help from the Jordanian government in securing the early release of Goto."
	In Jordan, the pilot's ...

Japan's Abe calls latest hostage deadline 'despicable'

A Brazilian police raid to recover stolen cars and cargo came up with a more interesting find: two war tanks.
	Police in Brazil's biggest city said yesterday that the engineless tanks were found inside a warehouse in Sacoma, a low-income district in Sao Paulo. Police also confiscated 500 television sets, car body parts and a recently stolen semitrailer truck.
	"It is unusual, to say the least, that police officers searching for stolen goods and cars, instead find two tanks," Police Lt. Andrei do Carmo told the Globo TV network.
	The army said in a statement the two tanks found Monday had been auctioned off "without weapons or engines because they no longer had any use."
	The statement said the tanks had been auctioned by Engesa, the Brazilian armored vehicle manufacturer.
	"We are investigating who placed the winning bid," it said The statement did not say what sort of tanks they were or how old they might be. Images published by local media show a treaded vehicle with five road ...

Brazilian police searching for stolen goods find 2 tanks

A senior Democratic senator's complaints today, and noisy protesters, underscored the Obama administration's challenge in seeking congressional approval for enhanced powers to reach trade deals with Japan, India and many other countries.
	Sen Charles Schumer said he worries that new trade deals will not help middle class incomes.
	He also said the United States must do more to prevent China from keeping its currency's value artificially low, which enhances Chinese exports and dampens imports.
	Schumer addressed his remarks to US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who made the administration's pitch to the Senate Finance Committee.
	Froman said Congress must return "trade promotion authority" to the White House in order to cut important trade deals with Pacific-rim nations and others. That power, sometimes called "fast-track" authority, allows presidents to send proposed trade agreements to Congress for yes or no votes, with no amendments.
	Congress has sometimes granted such powers .

Obama aide asks Congress for enhanced trade-deal authority

Mexico's attorney general says that confessions and forensic evidence show that all 43 students who disappeared at the hands of local police in September were killed and then incinerated at a garbage dump in the southern state of Guerrero, a conclusion that relatives of the victims have resisted.
	Jesus Murillo Karam today laid out details of the investigation that he said has proved that the fire was hot enough to incinerate 43 people beyond recognition.
	So far, only one of the victims' remains has been identified by a lab in Austria, which said it appears to be impossible to identify the rest.
	The Mexican government has been criticized by parents of the students and some fire experts who argue the explanation is implausible.

Mexico: Investigation shows that all 43 students are dead

For first lady Michelle Obama, just a few hours in Saudi Arabia were enough to illustrate the stark limitations under which Saudi women live.
	Joining President Barack Obama for a condolence visit after the death of the King Abdullah, Mrs. Obama stepped off of Air Force One wearing long pants and a long, brightly colored jacket, but no headscarf.
	Under the kingdom's strict dress code for women, Saudi females are required to wear a headscarf and loose, black robes in public. Most women in Saudi Arabia cover their hair and face with a veil known as the niqab.
	But covering one's head is not required for foreigners, and some Western women choose to forego the headscarf while in Saudi Arabia.
	As a delegation of dozens of Saudi officials, all men, greeted the Obamas in Riyadh, some shook hands with Mrs. Obama. Others avoided a handshake but acknowledged the first lady with a nod as they passed by.
	Saudi Arabia imposes many restrictions on women on the strict interpretation of Islamic ...

Michelle Obama navigates limits on women in Saudi Arabia

Rich countries must act swiftly to repair battered health systems and get cash to millions of families in the three countries hit hardest by the world's worst Ebola outbreak, the international development agency Oxfam said today.
	Though the economies of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia were recording strong growth prior to the outbreak, the countries remain some of the world's poorest and incomes have shrunk dramatically since the first Ebola cases were confirmed in Guinea last March.
	New cases now appear to be on the wane, but Oxfam said donor countries should commit to a post-Ebola "Marshall Plan" that would address urgent cash shortages and crippling damage to social services like health, education and water and sanitation.
	Families in the three countries have "gone through hell," Oxfam GB Chief Executive Mark Goldring said, in no small part because the international community reacted slowly during the early stages of the outbreak.
	"The world cannot walk away now that, ...

Oxfam: Rich countries must support Ebola recovery

Responding to reports that China is blocking VPN services that let users jump the Great Firewall, an Internet official said today that "harmful information" must be managed.
	Wen Ku, director of telecoms development at the Ministry of Industry and Information, declined to elaborate on what "harmful" meant and did not respond directly to allegations by tech companies and specialists over the past week that China has been blocking some virtual private network services.
	"In China, internet development must follow Chinese laws and regulations. Certain harmful information should be managed according to Chinese laws," he told a news conference.
	He also said that China would introduce new Internet regulatory measures "as new circumstances arise."
	The Chinese government blocks thousands of websites to prevent what it deems politically sensitive information from reaching Chinese users, an effort dubbed the Great Firewall.
	Tech companies and specialists said last week that intensified ...

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