Texas executes man who killed elderly with screwdriver

A death-row inmate in Texas who confessed to murdering three elderly people with a screwdriver for just $100 was executed on Wednesday, US prison authorities said.Arnold Prieto, 41, was declared dead at 6:31 pm (0031 GMT) at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark.Prieto's is the fourth US execution this year.He was sentenced to death for the triple murder committed during a 1993 robbery when he and two brothers were invited to the si

Jan. 22, 2015

British government seeks vote on plain cigarette packaging

The British government said Wednesday it would seek a vote on forcing tobacco firms to sell cigarettes in plain packaging before the current parliament ends ahead of a May election."This government is completely committed to protecting children from the harm that tobacco causes," said Jane Ellison, a junior minister in charge of public health."That's why I'm announcing today that we will be bringing forward legislation for standardised packaging before the end of this parliament."The current par

Jan. 22, 2015

S. Korean missing in Turkey entered Syria voluntarily: police

A South Korean teenager who vanished in Turkey crossed the border into Syria voluntarily, Seoul police said Wednesday, amid mounting suspicions that he may have joined the Islamic State militant group.The 18-year-old, identified only by his surname Kim, disappeared on Jan. 10 during a trip to the southern Turkish town of Kilis and was last seen leaving a hotel.A Turkish newspaper reported earlier that he had exchanged emails with the extremist Muslim militant group IS and probably crossed into S

Jan. 21, 2015

Europe, France to unveil anti-terror plans after Paris attacks

French and European officials will unveil details of anti-terror measures Wednesday to counter threats of new attacks and strengthen cooperation in the wake of deadly shootings in Paris.In the French capital, on high alert since jihadist attacks left 17 dead two weeks ago, Prime Minister Manuel Valls will outline promised measures to boost security forces.The worst attack on French soil in decades put Europe on high alert and a wave of police raids, investigations and extraditions have taken pla

Jan. 21, 2015

West's defence of Charlie Hebdo worries moderate Asia Muslims

The West's defence of Charlie Hebdo's right to offend is testing the patience of Muslims even in moderate Indonesia and Malaysia, who fear it could fuel radical sentiment kindled by the Islamic State group.Publicly, the issue has stirred barely a ripple in the Southeast Asian neighbours, underscoring their cultural and philosophical gap with the rest of the Muslim world, where it has triggered outrage.But even some liberal Indonesians and Malaysians express resentment over the French magazine's

Jan. 21, 2015

Syrian group hacks French newspaper's Twitter account

A group of pro-Syrian regime hackers briefly took over the Twitter account of France's Le Monde newspaper early Wednesday, tweeting several messages including one reading "Je ne suis pas Charlie".The tweet was a negative reference to the "Je Suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) hashtag that became a popular way of showing solidarity in the wake of this month's Islamist attack on Paris magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.The Syrian Electronic Army also managed to tweet in support of Palestine

Jan. 21, 2015

Disillusioned Hong Kongers press UK for escape route

With Hong Kong increasingly polarised on political reforms and fears growing over the influence of Beijing, frustrated residents are pressing former colonial power Britain to offer them an escape route.Their push for a new status that would allow them right of abode in Britain reflects their anger over what they see as a lack of support from the UK in their time of need. It follows more than two months of pro-democracy protests, which failed to win concessions from the government on the way the

Jan. 21, 2015

Oil prices rebound in Asian trade

Oil rebounded in Asia Wednesday as traders bought the commodity at cheaper prices following a slide to near six-year lows, analysts said.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March, which dived $2.20 Tuesday, was up 34 cents at $46.81 in late-morning trade.Brent North Sea crude for March added 26 cents to $48.25 after tanking $1.97 at closing on Tuesday.Analysts, however, do not expect the upturn to last, as a weakening global demand and a supply glut show no signs of abating."The slight incr

Jan. 21, 2015

Boko Haram claims Baga attack, threatens Nigeria's neighbours

Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau claimed a massive attack on the northeast Nigerian town of Baga and threatened Niger, Chad and Cameroon in a new video published online on Tuesday evening.The message came as Nigeria and its neighbours met in Niger's capital, Niamey, to discuss a regional response to the threat and Chadian troops headed to Cameroon to help repel repeated Boko Haram attacks."Heavy clashes" between Islamist fighters and Cameroon soldiers were reported in the far northern border

Jan. 21, 2015

Obama to call for new war powers to fight IS: excerpts

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday was to urge lawmakers to endow him with new war powers to defeat Islamic State militants, warning the battle would be long but eventually successful. "This effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed," Obama was to say, according to excerpts of his State of the Union address released by the White House."In Iraq and Syria, American leadership -- including our military power -- is stopping ISIL's advance," the commander-in-chief was to tel

Jan. 21, 2015

U.S. says 'more than ample evidence' exist for N.K.'s deplorable human rights record

The United States said Tuesday that "more than ample evidence" exists for North Korea's deplorable human rights situation, despite the recent confession from a North Korean defector that some of the accounts of the hard time he had in the totalitarian nation were incorrect.Shin Dong-hyuk, one of the best-known North Korean defectors, has apologized for lying about some of the timeline and locations of his survival in North Korean political prison camps, admitting that he spent years in a less br

Jan. 21, 2015

Abe's handling of regional relations could hurt U.S. interests: CRS report

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his cabinet could hurt U.S. interests by roiling regional tensions with "comments and actions on controversial historical issues," the U.S. Congressional Research Service said Tuesday.In a report on U.S.-Japan relations, the CRS said Abe has raised tensions in the region over issues such as Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of women, history textbooks accused of whitewashing the country's wartime atrocities, and visits to a Tokyo shrine accused of honoring

Jan. 21, 2015

China's Alibaba makes first investment in Israeli firm

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has made its first investment in an Israeli company by funding start-up Visualead, a provider of QR code technology, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.QR, or quick response, codes are a type of barcode.Alibaba and Visualead have also entered into a strategic cooperation agreement, the statement said, but gave no figure for the investment.The deal will allow Alibaba to use Visualead's technology across its platforms, it said. Visualead will use the funding

Jan. 20, 2015

Australia raises terror alert for police

Australia on Tuesday raised the terrorism threat level against the police force to high for the first time, saying there were small but growing numbers of citizens involved with jihadist groups and intent on attacks.Australian Federal Police said the decision had been taken based on intelligence-gathering and discussions with partners and was in line with the broader threat for the country, also raised to high in September."Recent events in France, Canada and Australia serve as a sobering remind

Jan. 20, 2015

Seoul repeats calls for Japan to face up to its wartime history

South Korea on Tuesday renewed its calls for Japan to make sincere efforts to "heal the wounds of history," such as its sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II.Seoul's call came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while on a tour to the Middle East, paid a visit Monday to Yad Vashem, a memorial in Jerusalem for the victims of the Holocaust. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.Abe laid flowers at the memorial, saying that such tragedies as the Nazi ge

Jan. 20, 2015

Missing S. Korean might have joined Islamic State: Seoul

A South Korean teenager who recently vanished in Turkey may have crossed the border into Syria to join the Islamic State, a Seoul official said Tuesday.The whereabouts of the 18-year-old Korean, identified only by his surname Kim, have been unknown since he arrived in Turkey on Jan. 10. A local Turkish newspaper claimed   that he had exchanged e-mails with IS before traveling to the country.Citing CCTV footage obtained by Turkish police, the ranking South Korean foreign ministry official said Ki

Jan. 20, 2015

China 'never paid businessman' who bought aircraft carrier: report

The Chinese businessman who bought an unfinished Soviet-era vessel that became his country's first aircraft carrier was never paid back the $120 million it cost him by Beijing, he was quoted as saying Tuesday.Entrepreneur Xu Zengping paid Ukraine a $20 million fee for the Varyag, which was eventually commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy as the Liaoning, but the price ballooned once towing it to China -- a process that was delayed for years -- and other costs were included.A former

Jan. 20, 2015

Two killed, 29 wounded in Brazil prison riot

A police officer and an inmate were killed and 29 prisoners wounded Monday in the latest riot to hit Brazil's overcrowded prison system, authorities said.The violence erupted in a Recife jail when an orderly protest broke down, and was brought under control only after police arrived.One officer died of a bullet wound in hospital, while details surrounding the inmate's death were not released.The death and injury toll was confirmed by the secretary of public safety for Pernambuco state, whose cap

Jan. 20, 2015

Two workers die at separate Fukushima nuclear plants: operator

A worker at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant died Tuesday after falling into a water tank, the country's nuclear operator said, the second fatal accident to blight efforts to stabilise the tsunami-battered facility.Separately on Tuesday, another worker died because of an incident at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, which is located several kilometres south of the damaged plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.The victim at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, reportedly i

Jan. 20, 2015

Bolstered by economy, Obama faces hostile Congress

Barack Obama faces the massed ranks of Congress on Tuesday for the first time since his party lost control there, but don't expect him to cut a humbler figure.Borne on a tide of optimistic economic data, Obama will use the State of the Union address to taunt his Republican rivals with an ambitious tax plan that they will never agree to pass.In doing so, Obama will set the tone for the battles to come both in Congress and on the campaign trail, as Republican and Democrat hopefuls limber up for th

Jan. 20, 2015