Briefs, January 30, 2013

Twitter apologises for porn video 'error' SAN FRANCISCO - Concerns have been raised about Twitter's iPhone video-sharing service Vine after pornography appeared in the "Editor's Picks". Twitter apologised for Monday's mistake, blaming "human error", but provided little detail. It quickly removed the video. Twitter last week launched Vine, a service that lets people share short video snippets from iPhones or iPod touch devices. Perpetually looping video clips up to six seconds long can be shared using Vine or easily embedded in tweets. AFP Jordan's PM resignsto usher in new era AMMAN - Jordan's last prime minister appointed by the king resigned, making way for a successor who will be elected by the country's new parliament. The palace said King Abdullah asked Abdullah Ensour to stay on as caretaker until the 150-member legislature elected last Wednesday picks the next prime minister. The king is also expected to gradually surrender more powers to give lawmakers a freer hand with legislation and in monitoring the cabinet. AP Bahamians reject legalised gambling NASSAU - Voters in the Bahamas overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to legalise gambling for citizens of the archipelago off America's southeast coast, where locals are barred from betting in casinos at tourist resorts. Voters were asked whether the islands' gambling shops should be legalised, regulated and taxed, and if the government should create its own national lottery. A majority voted "no" to both questions. AP Delayed nod on aidfor hurricane victims WASHINGTON - The United States' Congress finally approved more than US$50 billion in emergency disaster aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy, 13 weeks after the superstorm ravaged much of the country's northeast coast and left thousands homeless. The bill, approved this month by the House, comes after a nearly month-long delay triggered bipartisan rage that Republican lawmakers were politicising relief funding and seeking to offset the costly legislation with federal spending cuts. AFP Filmmaker Sanders' wife files for divorce LOS ANGELES - The wife of British film director Rupert Sanders has filed for divorce, five months after it was revealed that he had a brief affair with American actress Kristen Stewart. Liberty Ross, Sanders' wife of more than nine years, filed for divorce in Los Angeles citing irreconcilable differences. The couple have an eight-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. Ross is seeking joint custody of the children and spousal support from Sanders, who directed Stewart in Snow White and the Huntsman. AP Ukraine jails ex-official over journalist's death KIEV - A former police commander in Ukraine was convicted of strangling an investigative journalist and sentenced to life in prison yesterday. The court failed to determine who ordered the killing. Heorhiy Gongadze was kidnapped in September 2000, and his decapitated body was found several months later. The Pechersk District Court in Kiev convicted Olexiy Pukach, the former chief of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's surveillance department, of the murder. AP Swiss mum given life after killing twins GENEVA - A Swiss court sentenced a mother to life in jail after she confessed to smothering her seven-year-old twins with a pillow and killing a third child - after denying the crimes for years. The Horgen court, in the canton of Zurich, found the 39-year-old Swiss citizen of Austrian origin guilty of murdering the twins and of manslaughter for the death of the other child. AFP Serbian strongman Milosevic's brother dies BELGRADE - Borislav Milosevic, the brother of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, has died aged 79. Milosevic, who was the Yugoslav ambassador in Russia while his brother was in power during the 1990s, died of heart-related problems yesterday at a Belgrade hospital, the Socialist Party said. AP Bolshoi ballerina flees from Russia to Canada MOSCOW - One of the Bolshoi ballet's best-known ballerinas has fled Russia for Canada. Svetlana Lunkina had taken leave from the theatre over troubles stemming from a film in which her husband was involved. The Izvestia daily said she had already been outside Russia for half a year. AFP New Zealand postal service may be slashed WELLINGTON - New Zealand's state-owned postal service is considering cutting delivery from six days a week to three to cut costs as people increasingly turn to the internet to pay bills and communicate. Mail volumes in New Zealand have dropped by almost a quarter over the past 10 years. AP