BOSTON (AP) _ Harvard University said Friday it issued academic sanctions against about 60 students who were forced to withdraw from school for a period of time in a cheating scandal that involved the final exam in a class on Congress, drawing criticism from a high-profile alumnus.   The school implicated as many as 125 students in the scandal when officials first addressed the issue last year.   The inquiry started after a teaching assistant in a spring semester undergraduate-level governme

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Obama administration is considering more assertive action against Beijing to combat a persistent cyber-espionage campaign it believes Chinese hackers are waging against U.S. companies and government agencies.As the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers, cybersecurity experts said the U.S. government is eyeing more pointed diplomatic and trade measures.Two former U.S. officials said th

Japan's hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told lawmakers Friday he intends to release a new statement on World War II, a move that could cause friction with neighboring nations including China."I would like to announce a future-orientated statement that will suit the 21st century," Abe said. "On the timing and the content I'd like to think thoroughly hereafter."The nationalist premier said he wanted to update a landmark statement issued in 1995 by then-prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, seen as a

Unemployment, recession, debt, crisis and bailouts: These have been the sort of words that have been associated with the euro currency over the past few years.So it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that a relatively poor country on the edge of the European Union is hurtling toward full membership within the year.Latvia is the country in question and its lawmakers passed legislation Thursday that brought membership one step nearer in spite of widespread worries among the population. Latvia

President Barack Obama's nominee for defense secretary said Thursday he would not hesitate to use the “full force of the U.S. military” as he plunged into a Senate confirmation fight with critics from his own Republican Party, who worry that his past statements about Israel, Iran and nuclear weapons are signs of weakness.Chuck Hagel's appearance at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing could be crucial in determining whether he will win Senate confirmation to succeed Defense Secretary Leon P

Iran is poised for a major technological update of its uranium enrichment program that would vastly speed up production of material that can be used for both reactor fuel and nuclear warheads, diplomats told The Associated Press Thursday.The diplomats said that Iran last week told the International Atomic Energy Agency that it wants to install thousands of high-technology machines at its main enriching site at Natanz, in central Iran. The machines are estimated to be able to enrich up to five ti

MANILA (AFP) ― The Philippines will buy 12 South Korean FA-50 fighter jets to strengthen its poorly-armed military, government spokesmen said Wednesday, amid increasing maritime tensions with China.The FA-50s will be the first fighter jets to be operated by the Philippine air force since it retired the last of its U.S.-designed F-5 fighters in 2005, said President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman Edwin Lacierda.“We don’t have any existing jets right now that are in use, therefore it is necessary for u

BEIJING (AFP) ― A Chinese court convicted two Tibetans of murder on Thursday for inciting others to self-immolate, handing one a suspended death sentence and the other 10 years in prison, state media reported.Lorang Konchok, 40, and his nephew, Lorang Tsering, 31, “incited and coerced eight people to self-immolate, resulting in three deaths,” the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the court in Aba prefecture in Sichuan province.Lorang Konchok, who was also accused of working with a media l

BEIJING (AP) ― Chinese hackers repeatedly penetrated the New York Times’ computer systems over the past four months, stealing reporters’ passwords and hunting for files on an investigation into the wealth amassed by the family of a top Chinese leader, the newspaper reported.Security experts hired to investigate and plug the breach found that the attacks used tactics similar to ones used in previous hacking incidents traced to China, the report said. It said the hackers routed the attacks through

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament Thursday that he intends to change the country’s post-World War II constitution, lowering the bar for further amendments.“I will start with amending Article 96 of the constitution, a move that many factions (inside his Liberal Democratic Party) support,” Abe told upper house lawmakers, referring to the clause stipulating amendments require a two-thirds majority in parliament.In the run-up to his landslide election victory in

BEIRUT (AP) ― Israel launched a rare airstrike inside Syria, U.S. officials said Wednesday, targeting a convoy believed to contain anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The attack adds a potentially flammable new element to tensions already heightened by Syria’s civil war. It was the latest salvo in Israel’s long-running effort to disrupt the Shiite militia’s quest to build an arsenal capable of defending against Israel’s air force and spreading destruction inside the J

SANTIAGO (AFP) ― A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake jolted northern Chile on Wednesday, U.S. monitors said, knocking out electricity and local telecom services and sending panicked northerners running into the streets.The earthquake occurred at 2015 GMT, at the relatively shallow depth of 47.5 kilometers and the epicenter was located 102 kilometers from the mining town of Copiapo, the U.S. Geological Service said.That is about 800 kilometers, north of the capital Santiago. Chilean authorities did