US to use Facebook, Twitter to issue terror alerts

The U.S. government's new system to replace the five color-coded terror alerts will have two levels of warnings — elevated and imminent — that will be relayed to the public only under certain circumstances for limited periods of time, sometimes using Facebook and Twitter, according to a draft Homeland Security Department plan obtained by The Associated Press.

Some terror warnings could be withheld from the public entirely if announcing a threat would risk exposing an intelligence operation or an ongoing investigation, according to the government's confidential plan, Like a gallon of milk, the new terror warnings will each come with a stamped expiration date.

The 19-page document, marked "for official use only" and dated April 1, describes the step-by-step process that would occur behind the scenes when

Samsung Electronics suffers fall in 1Q earnings

Samsung Electronics has suffered a sharp fall in first quarter earnings, hit by weakness in its liquid crystal display business and price competition in tablet computers.

The manufacturer of the Galaxy S smartphone and Galaxy Tab tablet said Thursday operating profit for the first three months of 2011 will fall to between 2.7 trillion won and 3.1 trillion won ($2.85 billion) from 4.41 trillion won a year earlier. It will release a full earnings report at the end of the month.

Smartphones surging, Nokia to tumble: analysts

Growing demand for phones running on Google's Android platform will help the smartphone market grow in 2011, boosting companies like HTC and Samsung Electronics who are betting on the platform.

Android's popularity has helped the Asian manufacturers to rise fast in smartphone rankings, and HTC overtook Nokia in market capitalization for the first time on Thursday.

Shares in HTC were worth $33.4 billion at their Thursday close, with Nokia stock worth $33 billion.
Nokia still has higher volumes, selling 19 phones for each HTC phone sold last year But

Google VP Andy Rubin defends Android's openness

In an attempt to tamp-down fears that Google was closing the open doors of Android to the development community, Google’s vice president of engineering Andy Rubin took to the Android Developers blog with a single message: Android will remain an open platform.

Rubin’s assurances that Android will remain the open-source mobile platform it’s been since the beginning follow a

Engineers pin hopes on polymer to stop nuke leak

Engineers pinned their hopes on chemicals, sawdust and shredded newspaper to stop highly radioactive water pouring into the ocean from Japan's tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant Sunday as officials said it will take several months to bring the crisis under control, the first time they have provided a timetable.

Concrete already failed to stop the tainted water spewing from a crack in a maintenance pit, and the new mixture did not appear to be working either, but engineers said they were not abandoning it.

The Fukushima Da-ichi plant has been leaking radioactivity since the March 11 tsunami carved a path of destruction along Japan's northeastern coast, killing as many as 25,000 people and

AP Interview: Libya rebel says they seek democracy

Libyan rebels want to install a parliamentary democracy in place of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi, one of their top leaders said Sunday, dismissing Western fears that their movement could be hijacked by Islamic extremists.

"Libyans as a whole — and I am one of them — want a civilian democracy, not dictatorship, not tribalism and not one based on violence or terrorism," Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, vice chairman of the National Provisional Council, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The movement has faced questions about its

Libya rebels battle Gaddafi forces in oil town

Warplanes flew over Brega on Sunday as rebels fought troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi for control of the east Libyan oil town, rebel fighters said.


Near the eastern gate of Brega, a sparsely populated settlement spread over more than 25 km (15 miles), aircraft and the thud of explosions and machinegun fire could be heard.

Black smoke rose further west and hundreds of cars carrying volunteer rebel fighters streamed away from the town. Later, half a dozen rockets struck near the gate.

Rebels waiting there held their ground while the silhouettes of men and trucks could be seen scouting the desert far beyond the road. Four rockets

Quran protests spread to turbulent Afghan east

Demonstrators battled police in southern Afghanistan's main city on Sunday and took to the streets in the turbulent east for the first time as Western pleas failed to halt a third day of rage over a Florida pastor's burning of the Quran.

An officer was shot dead in a second day of clashes in the city of Kandahar, said provincial health director Qayum Pokhla. Two officers and 18 civilians were wounded, he said.

Cablevision launches iPad app to watch TV at home

Cablevision Systems Corp is launching an app for customers using its Optimum package to watch television on their iPads at home, the company said on Saturday.


The service, available at no extra charge, will allow the cable operator's more than 3 million customers to watch some 300 channels, search programing by genre and enable customers to record programs.

The system uses Cablevision's digital cable television network to deliver programing to the iPad, so customers do not need to have Internet access on their devices to use the app.

"This application allows the iPad to function as a television, delivering the full richness and diversity of our cable television service to a display device in the home," Tom Rutledge, Cablevision chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The move by New York-based Cablevision comes weeks after Time Warner Cable launched its own iPad app in mid-March.

The Time Warner version allows users to watch live programing from 32 networks so long as they are at home using their Wi-Fi network, But Time Warner's app sparked controversy.

A few days ago, after getting several "cease and desist" notices, the No. 2 U.S. cable company said it would no longer carry networks owned by News Corp's Fox, Viacom and Discovery Communications.

The media companies believe the cable company needs to pay for new licenses in order for customers to use the iPad app.

Great Accessories for Your Android Tablets

Some Android tablets have unique features that set the devices apart from Apple's iPad 2. Toshiba is offering its Tablet with a replaceable battery option, which users can buy for $89. Keyboards for Motorola's Xoom and Samsung's Galaxy Tab are available with specific keys that make it easy to use and navigate the Android OS. Other handy accessories such as M-Edge's Convertible Sleeve can be used for both e-readers and tablets.

Motorola Xoom Accessories

Some accessories, such as the Wireless Keyboard, provide additional functionality to Motorola's Xoom. The full-sized Wireless Keyboard enables users to type on the Xoom via a Bluetooth wireless connection. The feature that sets it apart from

Afghans in east protest against Quran burning

Afghan protests against the burning of a Quran in Florida entered a third day with a demonstration in a major eastern city Sunday, while the Taliban called on people to rise up, blaming government forces for any violence.

The desecration at a small U.S. church has outraged Muslims worldwide, and in Afghanistan many of the demonstrations have turned into deadly riots. Protests in the north and south in recent days have killed 20 people.

Sunday's protest in Jalalabad city was peaceful, with hundreds of people blocking a main highway for three hours, shouting for U.S. troops to leave and burning

Engineers fail to seal leak at Japan nuclear plant

Engineers tried to stem a leak of highly radioactive water spilling into the Pacific with a new method Sunday after concrete failed to seal the crack at a Japanese nuclear power plant incapacitated by last month's earthquake-spawned tsunami. A search of site found no other leaks.

The wave has carved a path of destruction up and down the northeastern coast and is believed to have killed 25,000 people. The first deaths

Envoy: U.N. workers killed running from bunker

Fearing for their lives, the U.N. workers dashed into a dark bunker hoping to escape the mob of Afghan protesters angry over the burning of a Quran by a Florida church.

Hope wasn’t enough for three of them. They were hunted down and brutally slain — their bodies found later in three different parts of the compound in northern Afghanistan.

“They were killed when they were running out of the bunker,” said