Snow storm hits NE China
A heavy snow has delayed more than 60 fights and caused highway closure in northeast China.
More than 200 passenger buses have suspended services and four highways were closed in Heilongjiang Province due to an overnight snow.
The airport in the provincial capital of Harbin was closed for about four hours.
Nine flights to Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, had to land in alternate airports while thousands of passengers were stranded as 27 flights from Changchun were delayed.

Factory explosion kills seven, injures 49 in north China
Seven people are killed and 49 others injured in an explosion at a starch and glucose factory in north China's Hebei Province.
Five others are missing after the explosion ripped through a workshop of the Qinhuangdao Lihua Starch Co. Ltd. in Funing County.
An initial investigation showed that it was a dust explosion.

Toyota hearings: CEO Toyoda apologizes for recall, accidents
Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda has apologized to the U.S. Congress — and millions of American Toyota owners — for safety lapses that led to deaths and widespread recalls for accelerator and braking failures.
But he disputed claims by some safety experts that the cars' electronic throttles might be at fault.
Toyoda pledged his company would change the way it handles consumer complaints, including seeking greater input from drivers and outside safety experts when considering recalls.

Dubai: 15 more suspects in Hamas slaying
Police in Dubai have announced 15 new suspects in the January killing of a Hamas leader, bringing to 26 the number of people suspected of involvement in his death.
Authorities previously had released a list of 11 suspects in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh at a Dubai hotel.
Among the new suspects are six more people who allegedly used British passports, four others using Irish passports, two other French passport holders and three people.
Police suspect the Mossad, the secretive Israeli foreign intelligence unit, was behind his killing.

Pakistan to hand over Mullah Baradar to Afghanistan
Pakistan says it will hand over detained top Taliban commander Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar to the Afghan government.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced this after a meeting with his Afghan counterpart and U.S. FBI chief Robert Miller in Islamabad.
U.S. authorities has asked Pakistan to transfer Baradar to America but Pakistan said they will be extradited to the country of their origin if they have not violated Pakistani law.

Google executives convicted of privacy violations in Italy
An Italian court has convicted three Google executives of violating privacy laws because they did not move quickly enough to remove an online video that showed classmates abusing an autistic boy.
A Milan judge gave the trio a six-month suspended sentence for violating privacy laws but absolved them of defamation charges.
Google has denied any wrongdoing and described the sentence as "an attack on fundamental principles of freedom."
The case has attracted international attention because of its implications regarding Internet privacy.

U.S. urges Syria to alienate Iran, engage Israel
As a further gesture against Tehran over its nuclear ambition, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has urged Syria to "move away" from Iran and resume peace talks with Israel.
The Obama administration has been trying to warm the U.S.-Syria relationship up by returning its ambassador to Damascus as soon as possible.

A/H1N1 pandemic flu yet to pass peak, says WHO
The World Health Organization is warning the A/H1N1 pandemic influenza has not fully passed its peak yet despite decling transmission of the virus in many parts of the world.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan says now is not the time to make any changes in the current pandemic phases, and says they'll reassess the situation in a few weeks.
Globally, the WHO has registered 16,000 confirmed deaths due to the A/H1N1 virus, but conceeds that figure is well below the actual death rate, given that many of the people who have died from the virus were not properly identified.

Chinese police "disabled" 56 mafia-style gangs
Chinese police say they have disabled 56 mafia-style gangs from operating and detained more than 3,000 suspects allegedly involved in mafia-style or violent crimes since last December.
Police have also seized more than 100 guns, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Gang protector given life sentence in SW China's mob crackdown
A former senior official with the public security bureau in Chongqing has been sentenced to life in prison for covering up criminal activities.
Peng Changjian was convicted of bribery, failure to prove legal purchase of valuable assets and involvement in organized crimes.
According to the courts, between 1998 and 2009, Peng accepted bribes of close to 5 million yuan, from three alleged criminal gang organizers.

IMF names Chinese banker as special advisor to managing director
The International Monetary Fund has named Zhu Min, deputy governor of China's central bank, as a special advisor to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss- Kahn.
Strauss-Kahn says in a statement that the Chinese banker brings a wealth of experience in government and the financial sector, and he will play an important role in strengthening the Fund's understanding of Asia and emerging markets.

10,000 journalists apply to cover Shanghai World Expo
Almost 10,000 journalists from across the world have applied to cover the upcoming World Expo in Shanghai.
The figure includes about 2,000 journalists from overseas media outlets.
The Shanghai World Expo will run from May 1 to Oct. 31 this year, and is expected to attract 70 million visitors from across the globe.