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 ...

China says 'harmful info' must be managed after VPNs blocked

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An online message purportedly from the Islamic State group warned today that a Japanese hostage and Jordanian pilot the extremists hold have less than "24 hours left to live."
	The message again demanded the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death in Jordan for involvement in a 2005 terror attack that killed 60 people.
	It also mentioned for the first time Jordanian pilot 1st Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, who is a captive of the Islamic State group, setting tomorrow afternoon deadline.
	Today's video matched a message released over the weekend, though neither bore the logo of the Islamic State group's al-Furqan media arm. The weekend video showed a still photo of Kenji Goto holding what appears to be a photo of the body of Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa.
	The Associated Press could not independently verify either video. However, several militant websites affiliated with the Islamic State group referenced the video and posted links to it late this afternoon.
	The ...

Purported IS message threatens Japanese, Jordanian hostages

The United States has fallen behind technological advancements that have made small drones readily available and must update its laws to ensure safety, President Barack Obama said today, in his first public comments about a drone that crashed on the White House grounds.
	Obama said drones, properly used, have the potential to empower people in ways unimaginable just a decade ago. He said the federal government is playing catch-up to ensure they will be used safely in the US and don't violate privacy.
	"We don't yet have the legal structures and the architecture both globally and within individual countries to manage them the way that we need to," Obama said in a CNN interview. He said part of his job in his final two years in office "is seeing if we can start providing some sort of framework that ensures that we get the good and minimize the bad."
	Obama likened the 2-foot-long (half meter) quadcopter that crashed on the presidential lawn to one that could be bought at a Radio Shack ..

Obama says US must catch up to ensure drones are safe

President Barack Obama defended the US government's willingness to cooperate closely with Saudi Arabia on national security despite deep concerns over human rights abuses, as he led an array of current and former American statesmen in paying respects today following the death of King Abdullah.
	Saudi Arabia's status as one of Washington's most important Arab allies has at times appeared to trump US concerns about the terrorist funding that flows from the kingdom and about human rights abuses.
	But Obama said he has found it most effective to apply steady pressure over human rights "even as we are getting business done that needs to get done."
	"Sometimes we need to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns we have in terms of counterterrorism or dealing with regional stability," Obama said in a CNN interview that aired in advance of Obama's arrival.
	New King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Salman formally greeted Obama and the US delegation at .

Obama defends US ties as he pays respects in Saudi Arabia

Officials say a Massachusetts nuclear power plant was forced to shut down during the blizzard but posed no danger to the public.
	In a statement, officials at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth said it stopped operating in accordance with procedure after distribution lines that send power from the plant to the electric grid became inoperable because of the weather.
	The plant said safety systems worked as designed and there was no threat to plant workers or the public.
	Officials said the facility -- the only nuclear power plant in Massachusetts -- was being powered by emergency diesel generators and could tap into an offsite power source if needed.
	State Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew Beaton said he didn't know when Pilgrim might go back on line.

US nuclear reactor shuts down during snowstorm

The Philippines today rejected an appeal by a US Marine that it drop a murder case against him in the death of a transgender Filipino woman last year.
	A Department of Justice panel said evidence from prosecutors against Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton showed that he killed Jennifer Laude after picking her up in a bar in Olongapo city in October.
	Police said Laude, formerly known as Jeffrey, was found dead with her head inside a toilet bowl in a hotel minutes after Pemberton left the room.
	The case has refueled opposition to a military agreement between Manila and Washington that allows US custody over American service members accused of crimes in the Philippines.
	Pemberton, from Massachusetts, took part in combat exercises involving thousands of American and Filipino troops.
	US Ambassador Philip Goldberg has said Washington is "sensitive" to Filipino sentiments over the killing and agreed to have Pemberton detained inside a Philippine military camp in Manila but under US ...

Philippines rejects US Marine's appeal to drop murder case

The death toll from the crash of a Greek F-16 fighter jet at a Spanish military base during an elite NATO pilot training program rose to 11 today after one of the French airmen who suffered serious burns died at a Madrid hospital, Spain's Defense Ministry said.
	The death came as Spanish investigators tried to determine what caused the jet to lose thrust as it took off and crash into five parked planes at the Los Llanos air base in southeastern Spain, triggering a series of explosions and a fire that took about an hour to put out.
	Two pilots aboard the Greek F-16 were killed along with eight French air force members on the ground and the French airman who died today, the ministry said in a statement. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy promised his French and Greek counterparts "all the help my government can give in clarifying the facts" of what went wrong.
	"Spain and Spaniards always stand with our allies and their pain is ours," Rajoy said.
	Twenty French and Italian citizens were ...

Spain: Death count rises to 11 in military jet crash at base

New York City looked like a ghost town early today, blanketed by a snowstorm that disrupted life for tens of millions of people along the US East Coast.
	Although the storm didn't live up to expectations, New York had an almost eerie feel to it. No airplanes in the sky and no trains running underground made for an unexpected quiet. Light snow fell steadily early today in midtown Manhattan as a few municipal trucks rumbled down empty streets.
	Forecasters originally warned the storm could be historic, bringing up to a metre of snow and punishing hurricane-force winds. But early today, they downgraded most of those numbers, saying Boston and the northeastern New England region would fare the worst, but even then not as bad as expected.
	More than 7,700 flights in and out of the Northeast were cancelled, and many of them may not take off again until Wednesday. Schools and businesses let out early. Government offices closed. Shoppers stocking up on food jammed supermarkets and elbowed one 

Snowstorm shuts down US East Coast, blankets New York

A British judge opened an inquiry today into the death of Alexander Litvinenko, declaring the issues raised in the poisoning death of the former Russian intelligence agent to be of the "utmost gravity."
	Litvinenko, who had become a Britain-based critic of the Kremlin, became violently ill in November 2006 after drinking tea with two Russian men at a London hotel. He died three weeks later.
	Britain has accused Russia of involvement. Moscow denies the claim, and has refused to extradite the two men identified by Britain as the prime suspects.
	The inquest's official lawyer, Robin Tam, said that after Litvinenko became sick, a trail of radiation from was discovered across London. Pathologists found he had died from ingesting highly radioactive polonium-210
	"Many thousands of members of the public, including British residents and visitors from overseas, might have been at risk from radioactivity," Tam said.
	Judge Robert Owen said has already said that he has seen secret British ...

Judge opens inquiry into death of ex-Russian spy Litvinenko

At least two rockets launched from Syria struck the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights today and Israel responded with artillery fire, the Israeli military said.
	The fire comes after an airstrike last week in Syria attributed to Israel that killed six members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and an Iranian general. Israel has braced for a response to that strike, beefing up its air defenses and increasing surveillance along its northern frontier.
	Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner said the fire "appeared to be intentional." He declined to comment on whether the fire may have been connected to the strike last week.
	A message on Lerner's Twitter account said Israel "responded with artillery towards the positions that launched the attack."
	The military said sirens sounded in communities in the Golan Heights earlier today. It said that it had evacuated and closed a popular ski resort following the strike. No injuries were reported.
	Israel captured the Golan Heights, 

Israel says 2 rockets from Syria strike Golan Heights

Czech President Milos Zeman has called for a concerted international military effort against terrorism and the Islamic State group.
	Zeman says it should led by the UN Security Council. He says, "You don't negotiate with terrorists, you fight terrorists."
	Zeman made the remarks today at an international conference in Prague on measures to be taken to stop the rising hatred of Jews and honor the victims of the Holocaust.
	The Czech president says such military action would prevent what he called a "super Holocaust," in which hundreds of millions would die.
	The Czech leader said Islamic State is a major threat that reminds him of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Czech president wants international action against terrorism

Gunmen stormed a luxury Libyan hotel popular with foreigners today, killing at least three guards and taking hostages, a security official said.
	Essam Al-Naas, a spokesman for a Tripoli security agency, said a standoff continued today afternoon at the Corinthia Hotel, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea.
	A hotel staffer said five masked attackers wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after security at the gates tried to stop them. He said they entered the hotel and fired randomly at the staff in the lobby.
	The staffer said the gunmen fired in his direction when he opened his door to look out. He said he joined the rest of the staff and foreign guests fleeing out the hotel's back doors into the parking lot.
	When they got there, he said a car bomb exploded in the parking lot, only a hundred metres away. He said this came after a protection force entered the lobby and opened fire on the attackers. He said two guards were immediately killed. The staffer spoke on condition of .

Gunmen at Libyan luxury hotel take hostages; 3 guards dead

After a top ratings agency cut Russia's credit grade to "junk" status, the government in Moscow today announced a plan that will see the economy return to a budget surplus in 2017.
	Standard & Poor's downgraded Russia's rating to BB-plus late yesterday, a non-investment grade, for the first time since 2004, citing a slide in the ruble and weakening revenue from oil exports. The agency said Russia's financial system is weakening, limiting room for maneuver for Russia's Central Bank.
	Russia's economy has been hit hard by the double impact of weaker energy prices and Western sanctions over its role in Ukraine. It is expected to contract by 4 to 5 per cent this year for the first time since President Vladimir Putin took the helm in 2000.
	Capital outflows, which averaged USD 57 billion annually during 2009 to 2013, soared to USD 152 billion last year. Foreign currency reserves have dropped below USD 400 billion for the first time since August 2009.
	Finance Minister Anton Siluanov ...

Russia announces anti-crisis plan after rating downgrade

Philippine officials have removed the commander of a police special action force after at least 44 anti-terror commandos were killed in a clash with Muslim rebels.
	The government's biggest single-day combat loss in recent memory shocked many and led to fears it could harm a recent peace deal with the biggest Muslim rebel group.
	Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said today that police Director Getulio Napenas did not clear Sunday's assault on a top terror suspect with him or the national police chief.
	Roxas said the commandos may have killed one of their terror targets, but also became entangled in separate firefights with hard-line Muslim insurgents and members of the main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. He said 44 commandos were killed and 12 others were wounded.

Philippine police commander fired after 44 commandos die

Royal Philips NV, the world's biggest lighting maker, said today that its net profit slumped in 2014's fourth quarter to 134 million euros (USD 151 million) from 412 million euros a year due to declining sales and restructuring costs.
	Sales dropped two per cent to 6.5 billion euros (USD 7.3 billion), as a six per cent rise in sales at its consumer lifestyle division didn't fully offset drops in turnover at the two other major divisions lighting and health care.
	Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten said 2014 as a whole "was a setback in our performance trajectory" and added that the company remains cautious about the global economic outlook and expects "ongoing volatility in some of our end markets."
	Philips issued a profit warning earlier in the month, but investors remained disappointed by the results. Shares plunged 5 per cent on the Amsterdam stock exchange before rallying slightly to be down 4.3 per cent at 25.64 euros (USD 28.94) early today.
	Philips, which began life as .

Philips' net profit slumps in 4th quarter, sales edge lower

A Japanese envoy in Jordan expressed hope that both Japanese hostage Kenji Goto and a Jordanian pilot held by Islamic militants will return home "with a smile on their faces," as questions rose today over the government's handling of the crisis.
	In the Jordanian capital, Amman, Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama seemed determined, saying he believed there were "firm ties" between Japan and Jordan.
	"I hope we can all firmly work hard and join hands to cooperate, and for the two countries (Japan and Jordan) to cooperate, in order for us to see the day when the Jordanian pilot and our Japanese national Mr Goto, can both safely return to their own countries with a smile on their faces," Nakayama, a lawmaker send to coordinate efforts in Amman to save two Japanese hostages of the Islamic State group, said yesterday.
	It was the first mention by a Japanese official of Jordanian pilot 1st Lt Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, who has been held by the extremist Islamic State group after crashing ..

Japan special envoy hopeful about release of hostage, pilot

A Libyan security official says a car bomb exploded outside a luxurious hotel in the capital Tripoli.
	The official says the bomb exploded outside the Corinthia hotel early today, rocking Tripoli's old city. The official provided no further information. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
	Tripoli has been hit with series of car bombs and shooting incidents. Most recently a guard was killed in a shootout outside the UN headquarters.
	Since the ouster and killing of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the country has been torn among competing militias and tribes vying for power. Libya's post-Gadhafi transition has collapsed, with two rival governments and parliaments each backed by different militias ruling in the country's eastern and western regions.

Car bomb explodes outside luxury hotel in Libya's Tripoli

Facebook suffered a widespread outage lasting roughly 40 minutes today affecting users in the United States, Asia, the UK and Australia.
	The social media giant's Instagram service was also briefly inaccessible.
	Instagram said on its Twitter account that it was aware of an outage and was working on a fix. There was no immediate statement from Facebook.
	Facebook has about 1.25 billion users and Instagram has some 300 million.
	News of the Facebook outage set rival social network Twitter alight.
	As access to Facebook returned in Asia, some users reported that the site was loading or responding slowly.

Facebook suffers outage affecting users worldwide

Barcelona striker Neymar says players are often provoked, but must expect punishment if they retaliate as Cristiano Ronaldo did during Real Madrid's 2-1 win at Cordoba.
     Ronaldo was sent off on a straight red card for punching and kicking defender Edimar inside Cordoba's penalty area during a Spanish league clash. Ronaldo apologized on his Twitter account saying, "I ask forgiveness from everyone, especially Edimar, for my thoughtless act."
     "Those of us playing as forwards are exposed to provocations and intimidation and sometimes you lose your nerve," Neymar said. "It's clear we cannot do that under any circumstances. He must be punished because of the aggression."
     If Ronaldo is given a three-match ban, he will miss scheduled matches against Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid and a postponed round-16 match against Sevilla.

Neymar says Ronaldo's aggression at Cordoba must be punished

A Frenchwoman who became a cause celebre in her country after she was jailed for kidnapping in Mexico is suing a former Mexican president, other ex-officials and a major TV network, her lawyer has said.
	Jose Patino Hurtado, Florence Cassez's attorney in Mexico, told Noticias MVS radio that the civil suit filed on Friday seeks USD 36 million for suffering and "moral damage."
	The lawsuit seeks "above all to vindicate Florence Cassez, which is the most important thing," Patino said in an interview with Noticias MVS host Carmen Aristegui.
	It names ex-President Felipe Calderon, former Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna and other officials, as well as the Televisa TV network and journalists including the prominent anchor Carlos Loret de Mola.
	A Televisa spokesman said the company had no immediate comment. Calderon called the lawsuit "absurd" in an interview with journalist Joaquin Lopez Doriga on Radio Formula.
	Cassez was arrested in 2005 and sentenced to 60 years on charges of 

Frenchwoman freed from Mexico jail sues ex-president, others

A Greek F-16 fighter jet crashed into other aircraft on the ground during NATO training in southeastern Spain, killing at least 10 French and Greek military personnel, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said.
	Another 21 people were injured in the incident yesterday at the Los Llanos base, which sent flames and a plume of black smoke billowing into the air, the Spanish Defence Ministry said in a statement.
	Rajoy told Spain's Telecinco news program in an interview last night that 11 of the injured were Italian and 10 were French.
	Five of the injured with severe burns were transported to a Madrid hospital for treatment and the rest were undergoing treatment in the city of Albacete near the base, the Defence Ministry said.
	The French Defence Ministry confirmed five from the country were seriously injured. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will head to the scene today.
	The two-seat jet was taking off but lost thrust and crashed into an area of the base where other aircraft .

AP

AP

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