A man has been arraigned on charges of smuggling millions of dollars' worth of fish, including some that are endangered.
	Federal prosecutors say Kam Wing Chan used his furniture store as a front to import endangered abalone, sea cucumber and Totoaba from Mexico and export them to Asia where they're considered delicacies.
	Chan is jailed with bail set at USD 25,000. Messages were left for his lawyer seeking comment.
	Chan and his business are charged with illegally exporting more than USD 3 million in seafood between 2009 and 2013 to companies in China owned by one of Chan's relatives.
	The smuggled fish fetch hefty sums in Asia. Sea cucumber, for example, can command up to USD 600 per kilogram in Hong Kong and China.

US man accused of smuggling endangered fish to Asia

PTI Automatic

French police stormed a printing plant north of Paris today, freeing a hostage and killing two brothers linked to al-Qaeda who were suspected of slaying 12 people at a Paris newspaper two days ago.
	Two groups of terrorists had seized hostages at separate locations around the French capital today, facing off against thousands of French security forces as the city shut down a famed Jewish neighborhood and scrambled to protect residents and tourists from further attacks.
	By this afternoon, explosions and gunshots rang out and white smoke rose outside a printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris, where brothers Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34, had holed up with a hostage.
	Security forces had surrounded the building for most of the day. After the explosions, a police SWAT forces could be seen on the roof of the building and one police helicopter landed near it.
	Audrey Taupenas, spokeswoman for the town near the Charles de Gaulle airport, said the brothers had ...

2 Charlie Hebdo suspects killed, hostage freed

Terrorists linked to each other seized hostages at two locations around Paris today, facing off against hundreds of French security forces as the city shut down a famed Jewish neighbourhood and scrambled to protect residents and tourists from further attacks.
	France has been on high alert for more attacks since the country's worst terror attack in decades - the massacre on Wednesday in Paris at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
	The two sets of hostage-takers apparently know each other, said a police official who was not authorised to discuss the rapidly developing situations with the media.
	The Paris mayor's office immediately announced the closure of all shops along Rosiers Street in the city's famed Marais neighbourhood in the heart of the tourist district. Hours before the Jewish Sabbath, the street is usually crowded with shoppers - French Jews and tourists alike. The street is also only a kilometre away from Charlie Hebdo's offices.
	Two brothers .

Fear, turmoil in Paris with 2 hostage-taking attacks

France has been high alert for more attacks since the country's worst terror attack in decades on Wednesday

Press Trust of India

An official says that Jozef Oleksy, a communist-era party leader who in the democratic era served as a left-wing prime minister until he was forced to resign over accusations of spying for Russia, has died. He was 68.
	An official at Oleksy's Democratic Left Alliance, Krzysztof Gawkowski said Oleksy died today. He was being treated in a Warsaw cancer hospital.
	Raised as a Catholic, Oleksy was a prominent communist party leader. He took part in the 1989 Round Table talks with Solidarity that peacefully ended communist rule.
	He co-founded a now-defunct party and was prime minister from 1995-96. He resigned amid unconfirmed accusations of spying for Russia. In 2004 he returned to political office as interior minister.
	Politicians today praised him a leader who was friendly and open to dialogue.

Polish ex-communist and former premier Jozef Oleksy dies

Afghan police say a Taliban attack on a police checkpoint has left at least three police officers dead.
	Police spokesman Fareed Ahmed Obaid said Taliban gunmen completely overran a checkpoint in the Mouskallah district of Hilmand province, killing three officers and wounding another two.
	A second police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, put the death toll even higher, saying that five officers were killed and another two remained missing.
	Afghan police are dying in unprecedented numbers as they come under attack from the Taliban-led insurgents who have been testing the local security forces since they took the lead in the war around 18 months ago.

Taliban attack kills at least 3 Afghan police officers

At least four people have been killed in a landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar's north, authorities said today.
	A rescue mission in the mining town of Phakant was called off late Thursday after a search team recovered four bodies, including those of two women, local government official Than Shwe said, adding that no other people had officially been reported missing so far.
	Heavy rains caused the collapse Tuesday night, Than Shwe said by telephone from Hpakant town in Kachin state, about 960 kilometers from Yangon.
	Myanmar is one of the world's biggest producers of jade, most found in the conflict-torn mountains of Kachin state, where ethnic rebels have been fighting the government for more than half a century.
	Landslides are common in the area and impoverished artisanal miners have been buried by rockslides on unstable slopes before.
	The vast majority of the gemstones, considered to be of the highest quality, are smuggled over the border to China. Hpakant, which is controlled by .

At least 4 dead in Myanmar landslide

New Zealand Cricket says Shane Bond will step down as bowling coach of its national team when the World Cup ends in March.
     The former international paceman's contract ends at the completion of the tournament and he has advised NZC he will not seek an extension.
     Bond has been credited with improving New Zealand's current bowling attack -- based around swing bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee -- into a world-class unit.
     NZC head of cricket Lindsay Crocker said "we're very disappointed to be losing Shane. He's given great value to the Black Caps program and we were hopeful of having the benefit of his input over the next few seasons.

Shane Bond to quit as NZ bowling coach

The English Premier League added to the mystery over Frank Lampard's status by confirming he is under contract at Manchester City and does not have a formal deal with partner club New York City FC.
     The league statement came after The Associated Press on Monday highlighted the confusion over Lampard's status amid continuing silence by the teams.
     The New York team, which debuts in Major League Soccer in March, announced last July that Lampard signed a two-year contract, and used it to promote the sale of jerseys and season tickets.
     Shortly afterward, Man City said Lampard was returning to the Premier League on loan to stay match fit for his New York debut. But the announcement has been removed from the team website, and City never used the term "loan" again.
     Lampard's seven goals have been valuable to the team's title defense, and when City announced on Dec. 31 that he was staying for the rest of the season, the team said his "contract" had been extended.
     MLS ...

EPL says Lampard under contract at Man City, not NY City

Four leading French imams and the Vatican have issued a joint statement denouncing the Paris newspaper massacre, warning that the world is a dangerous place without freedom of expression but urging the media to be respectful of religion.
	The Muslim spiritual leaders were visiting the Vatican this week along with French Catholic bishops. The Vatican's office for inter-religious dialogue today said the four joined Pope Francis in condemning the cruelty of the attack and urging all believers to show solidarity with its the victims.
	They stressed that dialogue among different faiths is the only way to eliminate prejudice.
	In addition to the pope, the signatories were Djelloul Seddiki, head of the great mosque of Paris; Tareq Oubrou, director of the Bordeaux mosque; Azzedine Gaci of the Villeurbanne mosque; and Mohammed Moussaoui, president of the Union of Mosques in France.

French imams, Vatican jointly condemn attack on Paris paper

A brewery that drew condemnation in the US and India for its beer that carries the name and likeness of Gandhi says it has received threats and is seeking a way to end the uproar.
	New England Brewery of Connecticut posted on its Facebook page yesterday that the Gandhi-Bot beer was intended "to include the things and people in the world that have inspired us." It says it's now looking for a way to "amend this situation."
	The company said it's been the target of unspecified threats and "some truly hurtful assumptions" about its employees.
	Critics said they were appalled that the likeness of Gandhi, who favored prohibition, would be used for commerce, particularly to promote beer.
	A brewery representative did not immediately respond to an email seeking more information.

Brewery seeks to end uproar over Gandhi beer name, label

Syria's al-Qaida branch says it has launched an attack against two predominantly Shiite towns in northern Syria.
	The Nusra Front says on its Twitter account that it began attacking the towns of Nubul and Zahra today. The towns, with a combined population of about 40,000, have been under siege since the spring of 2013.
	A Syrian monitoring group and a Lebanese Shiite television confirmed the fighting, saying the residents are defending the towns, strategically located just off a highway linking the city of Aleppo with the Turkish border.
	The fighting is one layer of the complex Syrian civil war and is separate from the battles underway with Islamic State militants.

Al-Qaida militants in Syria attack besieged Shiite towns

From Berlin to Bangkok, tens of thousands took a stand today against living in fear, as rallies defended the freedom of expression and honored the victims of a Paris newspaper attack.
	Viewing the Paris attack as a cold-blooded assault on democracy, people from all walks of life -- journalists and police officers, politicians and students -- turned out in cities around the world, holding up pens and joining hands.
	European capitals including Madrid, London and Brussels and cities in the US saw large demonstrations and candlelit vigils late yesterday, and more rallies were held today from Athens to Sarajevo. Smaller gatherings took place even further afield, from Delhi in India to the Tunisian capital of Tunis.
	Many held placards proclaiming "Je Suis Charlie" "I am Charlie" a slogan that went viral on social media within hours of yesterday's terror attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
	Germany's biggest-selling daily, Bild, filled the top half 

No living in fear: 'I Am Charlie' rallies back free speech

Mary Barra said today that her first year as CEO of General Motors contained both disappointment and progress, as the company recalled a record number of cars and trucks but also improved its handling of safety problems.
	Barra, who became the first woman to lead a major automaker last January, almost immediately faced a crisis over defective ignition switches that are now linked to at least 42 deaths.
	In an hour-long meeting with reporters, Barra said the crisis forced GM to quickly acknowledge its shortcomings and address them. She appointed a new safety chief, swept out 15 employees and changed the company's product development process to focus more on quality and safety.
	During the year, GM issued 84 recalls covering more than 30 million vehicles. That included 2.6 million small cars recalled for ignition switches that could shut off engines without warning. The problem also disables power steering and brakes, as well as the air bags.
	GM was forced to admit it knew about the ...

Barra: 1st year as GM CEO marked by disappointment, progress

The Palestinian UN ambassador says the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court can immediately start examining allegations of war crimes against Israel if she chooses.
	Riyadh Mansour said the Palestinians formal acceptance of the court's jurisdiction starting June 13, 2014 gives prosecutor Fatou Bensouda a green light to take up the question of alleged war crimes on Palestinian territory without waiting for Palestine to formally become a member of the court on April 1.
	President Mahmoud Abbas submitted the declaration to the ICC registrar on January 1.
	Fadi El Abdallah, a spokesman for the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, confirmed that the prosecutor can now in theory begin a "preliminary examination" of potential cases in the Palestinian territories.
	Those could include allegations of crimes during last summer's Gaza war and Israeli settlements.

Palestinians say ICC can examine war crimes allegations now

The US government says it is fining Honda USD 70 million for not reporting to safety regulators more than 1,700 complaints that its vehicles caused deaths and injuries, and for not reporting warranty claims.
	It's the largest civil penalty the agency has levied against an automaker.
	Honda disclosed the reporting failure in November, admitting that company officials had waited three years after finding out about the reporting failure before making the disclosure to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
	Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the government won't tolerate automakers withholding safety information. He said regulators had shared information about the case with the Justice Department. The private Center for Auto Safety has called for a criminal investigation into the case.

Honda fined USD 70M for not reporting death, injury complaints

Germany automaker Daimler says it is expanding its car sharing service to China.
	The Stuttgart-based auto giant says car2go will launch in the western city of Chongqing, the first base in Asia.
	Daimler said today that a letter of intent has been signed with the city's authorities that will put "several hundred" of its two-seater Smart cars on the road within a year.
	Car2go claims more than 1 million customers and 400,000 weekly rentals in Europe and North America, where it is one of the leading providers of station-independent car sharing services.
	Daimler has already had success in Asia's biggest auto market with its premium Mercedes brand.

Daimler car sharing unit to launch first service in China

The first in a new class of cancer medicines, Pfizer's Ibrance (EYE'-branse), appears poised for approval to treat advanced breast cancer within just a few months and could quickly become a blockbuster, some analysts believe.
	Pfizer shares rose about 2 percent following analysts' forecasts that the US Food and Drug Administration could approve Ibrance earlier than expected, before the FDA's April 13 target decision date.
	Their reports come after the New York-based drugmaker said the FDA informed Pfizer it wouldn't convene a panel of outside experts to review testing data on the drug before the agency's ruling. Pfizer says it is already discussing with FDA staff the wording of the detailed package insert for the drug, a sign approval is likely soon.
	The drug disrupts division of cancer cells.

Analysts: Pfizer's new type of cancer drug may get OK early

The father of a 5-year-old girl pulled his daughter from the back seat of his car and then threw her off the approach to the a Florida bridge into the bay about 60 feet below, police said today.
	It wasn't clear why 25-year-old John Nicholas Jonchuck threw his daughter or whether she was alive at the time, though an officer who witnessed it said he "thought he heard the child scream," St. Petersburg police Chief Anthony Holloway said at a news conference.
	Police records said Jonchuck was separated from Phoebe's mother and the two had a rocky relationship, with Jonchuck trying to get a restraining order against her as recently as last month. Jonchuck had custody of Phoebe and they lived with his father in Tampa.
	Phoebe's mother, Michelle Kerr, said she last saw her daughter and Jonchuck on Christmas Eve. They had a nice evening together and then he called child protective services on her and made false abuse allegations, she said.
	Both she and Jonchuck had several run-ins with ...

Dad accused of throwing 5-year-old off bridge in Florida

Egypt has scheduled long-awaited parliamentary elections. The vote will be staggered over seven weeks, starting March 21 and ending May 7.
	Today's announcement came from the head of the Supreme Election Committee, Ayman Abbas. He says the date for candidates to come forward has yet to be set.
	Egypt is currently without a parliament, after the nation's last elected house was dissolved by a 2012 court ruling. The previous house was controlled by Islamists, who came to power in the country's first democratically held vote following the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
	The Muslim Brotherhood of former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, ousted in 2013, has since been declared a terrorist group and cannot run.

Egypt announces parliament elections, vote to start March 21

A lover of rap music turned aspiring Muslim holy warrior and his older brother are suddenly the most wanted men in France, suspected of the armed onslaught on a newspaper office that claimed a dozen lives and horrified most of the world.
	Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34, were the targets of a mammoth manhunt following yesterday's slayings at the Paris offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
	The younger Kouachi, a former pizza deliveryman, had been sentenced to 18 months of prison in 2008 after trying to leave France to join Islamist fighters battling in Iraq.
	After he was released he worked in the fish market of a supermarket in the Paris suburbs for six months beginning in October 2009, but supervisors said he gave no cause for concern.
	Two years after the conviction, police again detained him, but later released him without charge, in a probe of an alleged plot to free from prison a man who was convicted of bombing a Paris train line in 1995, a French judicial ...

AP

AP

Page 2360 - Ap/pti Reuters

US man accused of smuggling endangered fish to Asia

2 Charlie Hebdo suspects killed, hostage freed

Fear, turmoil in Paris with 2 hostage-taking attacks

Fear, turmoil in Paris with 2 hostage-taking attacks

Polish ex-communist and former premier Jozef Oleksy dies

Taliban attack kills at least 3 Afghan police officers

At least 4 dead in Myanmar landslide

Shane Bond to quit as NZ bowling coach

EPL says Lampard under contract at Man City, not NY City

French imams, Vatican jointly condemn attack on Paris paper

Brewery seeks to end uproar over Gandhi beer name, label

Al-Qaida militants in Syria attack besieged Shiite towns

No living in fear: 'I Am Charlie' rallies back free speech

Barra: 1st year as GM CEO marked by disappointment, progress

Palestinians say ICC can examine war crimes allegations now

Honda fined USD 70M for not reporting death, injury complaints

Daimler car sharing unit to launch first service in China

Analysts: Pfizer's new type of cancer drug may get OK early

Dad accused of throwing 5-year-old off bridge in Florida

Egypt announces parliament elections, vote to start March 21