BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Human error likely caused a glitch in China’s Great Firewall that saw millions of Internet users ironically rerouted to the homepage of a US-based company which helps people evade Beijing’s web censorship, sources said.
Hundreds of millions of people attempting to visit China’s most popular websites on Tuesday afternoon found themselves redirected to Dynamic Internet Technology (DIT), a company that sells anti-censorship web services tailored for Chinese users.
The official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday quoted experts as saying that the malfunction could have been the result of a hacking attack, and domestic media was full of speculation along those lines.
14 years for UK drug woman
SURABAYA: A British woman was jailed for 14 years yesterday but escaped the death penalty after admitting that she smuggled crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia from China.
Andrea Waldeck had confessed to taking the drugs through the airport in Surabaya, in the east of Indonesia’s main Java island, hidden in her underwear but claimed she was coerced into carrying them.
After being found guilty and sentenced at a Surabaya court, the former police worker hung her head as she was led down to the cells.
Manila bans China poultry
MANILA: The Philippines said yesterday it has banned imports of poultry and related products from China after it confirmed an outbreak of the HN52 strain of bird flu in the northern province of Hebei.
The embargo issued by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, covers all domestic and wild birds as well as eggs and even semen from poultry originating in China.
The agriculture ministry decided to enforce a ban after receiving an official report from the China Animal Disease Control Center, Veterinary Bureau in December.
The report confirmed an outbreak of the H5N2 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus in poultry in three villages in Hebei, China, the department said.
More than one hundred thousand birds were culled in the area as a precautionary measure. Agencies
