BERLIN – Germany’s top human rights official has urged Israel to cooperate with the International Criminal Court probe into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories. After the investigation was announced last week, Israel’s government immediately said it would not work with The Hague-based court and called for its funding …

HONG KONG – China’s manufacturing shrank for a second month in January, further evidence that momentum in the world’s second-biggest economy remains weak after posting its slowest growth in more than two decades. HSBC said Friday its preliminary index of manufacturing activity, based on a survey of factory purchasing managers, …

FRANKFURT, Germany – Industrial machinery maker Siemens AG says net profit fell 25 percent in its most recent quarter as revalued financial derivatives and lower earnings at its key power and gas business weighed on the bottom line. Net income fell to 1.095 billion ($2.184 billion) in the October-December quarter, …

HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam’s military has temporarily grounded Vietnam War-era U.S.-built helicopters after a crash killed four personnel. The UH-1 “Huey” chopper crashed in farmland on Wednesday soon after taking off from Ho Chi Minh City on a training flight. Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan …

BANGKOK – Thai police say they have arrested six people accused of being part of a conspiracy to slander the country’s monarchy on the Internet. Police say the six belong to a group called the Banpodj Network which allegedly spread anti-monarchy propaganda over social media. A police statement on Tuesday …

UNITED NATIONS – A North Korean defector whose memoir describes his meeting with Kim Jong Il says the world’s intense focus on the regime’s human rights record fails to see the full scope of its inhumanity to its people. Jang Jin-sung, who says he tossed away his once-cherished lapel pin …

MOSCOW – Data released by Twitter shows that Russia nearly tripled its requests in the past six months to remove posts critical of the government. Twitter said in its report late on Monday that it received 89 removal requests in July-December from governmental agencies compared to 32 six months earlier …

BRUSSELS – European Union lawmakers are demanding the immediate release from jail of a Saudi blogger sentenced to be flogged 50 times a week over several months for insulting Islam. The parliamentarians condemned Raif Badawi’s flogging as a “cruel and shocking act.” Thursday’s resolution was passed by 460 votes to …

SANAA, Yemen – Supporters of Yemen’s former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have seized radio and television buildings in the southern city of Aden after they accused security forces of working for Shiite rebels who control the capital. Security officials say one soldier and two Hadi supporters were killed in …

BUCHAREST, Romania – Romania’s president has named a political ally as head of the country’s intelligence service. President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday named Eduard Hellvig, a European Parliament lawmaker, to the position after the previous chief resigned criticizing the country’s top court for rejecting security laws that allowed the government …