Murdoch to close tabloid 'News of the World' after hacking scandal

LONDON: The mass-circulation tabloid at the centre of the British phone hacking scandal is to be closed after a final, ad-free Sunday edition this weekend, according a statement by a top official at News Corp.

The move underscored the damage to News Corp, Rubert Murdoch's vast and powerful media company, from allegations that one of its papers, News of the World, was involved in hacking cellphones belonging to not only a 13-year-old murder victim but also relatives of fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Wednesday, a member of Parliament also raised allegations that nine years ago, News of the World had participated in efforts to disrupt a murder investigation. The announcement that News of the World would close was so sudden that it was still advertising a subscription deal on its Web site.

The new reports of stunning intrusions came a day after Britain's Parliament collectively turned on Rupert Murdoch, the head of the News Corporation, which owns The News of the World, and the tabloid culture he represents, using a debate about the widening phone hacking scandal to denounce reporting tactics by newspapers once seen as too politically influential to challenge.more

35 killed in Bolivia cold snap

LA PAZ: Freezing temperatures in Bolivia killed at least 35 people, and forecasts expect conditions to worsen in the coming days.

Fog and snow has descended on the Bolivian capital in a cold snap that has killed at least 35 people.

The poor area of El Alto, which sits at much higher elevation than the rest of La Paz at 4,000 metres above sea level (13,100 feet), has been the worst hit.

Authorities at the Fight Against Crime Special Forces said at least 33 people have died in El Alto's impoverished suburbs alone.

Residents in El Alto blame climate change for the harsh conditions, which buildings and heating systems in the area are not prepared for.

Homeless people who can't bundle up against the cold and have only blankets to protect themselves from the freezing temperatures are those most at risk from hypothermia.

The health ministry also reported 40,000 new cases of respiratory illnesses per week since the cold snap started.

Temperatures have dived to minus five degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) in La Paz and the local weather services says the mercury will continue to drop in the coming days.

World's longest sea bridge draws safety concerns

Beijing: Questions have been raised over the safety of the world's longest sea bridge that connects China's eastern Qingdao city with Huangdao Island, a media report said on Tuesday.

There are fears that in the rush to complete the construction ahead of its formal opening on June 30, some work on the bridge was left incomplete.

Several gaps were found in the crash barriers on the 42.5 kilometer Jiaozhou Bay Bridge. Bolts inserted to fasten the barriers were found to be loose or uncovered, the Shanghai Daily reported.

The bridge has seen nearly 18,000 cars crossing it daily since its opening.

The $2.3 billion Bridge, built to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, was expected to cut travel time between the two destinations by about 40 minutes.

The Shandong High-speed Group Co, which funded the project, said some barriers and bolts were removed to adjust wiring, which is a normal practice.

Workers toiled for four-and-a-half-years to build the bridge, which took the world's longest title from the 38.35 kilometer-long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the United States.

Computer-Hacking Group Targets Apple in Latest Attack

San Francisco:A group of computer hackers on Sunday posted a document it claimed contains usernames and passwords for an Apple Inc. server, the latest in a string of brazen attacks that have compromised government and corporate websites around the world.

"AntiSec," a hacking campaign that includes hackers from both the online vigilante group Anonymous and hackers from the now-defunct Lulz Security, posted a document containing a link to a supposed Apple server along with a list of 26 administrative usernames and passwords. AntiSec is Internet shorthand for "anti-security."

The hackers said in a statement posted to Twitter that they had accessed Apple's systems due to a security flaw used in software used by the Cupertino, Calif.-based gadget maker and other companies. "But don't worry," the hackers said, "we are busy elsewhere."

A spokesman for Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The posted information comes as part of a two-month campaign of digital heists targeting corporations including Sony Corp. and AT&T Inc., as well as government agencies such as the U.S. Senate, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Fox News political account on Twitter is hacked

NEW YORK : A series of alarming Twitter posts about President Barack Obama appeared on Fox News' Twitter account for political news early Monday morning, and the website for the cable television network said it was a victim of hacking.
The Twitter account, @foxnewspolitics, one of many operated by Fox News, claimed that the president was fatally shot while campaigning in Iowa, but gave no source for the news. On Monday morning, FoxNews.com first posted a brief statement saying that the reports were incorrect, and that it regretted "any distress the false tweets may have created."

The six messages were removed online around noon Monday, about 10 hours after they were first posted, but not before attracting a flurry of attention overnight and in the morning. more