Computer glitch
DALLAS - US carrier Southwest Airlines' attempt to thank Facebook friends with a half-price ticket sale has backfired, with customers inadvertently billed multiple times for a single flight - they're not feeling the "luv". "No, it wasn't a hack. It was just a technology glitch in our system that caused that," duplicate bookings and billings to customers' debit and credit cards, said Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon.
Drone strike
ADEN - A suspected US drone strike killed five members of Al-Qaeda travelling in the same vehicle late Saturday in eastern Yemen, a local official told AFP. "A drone fired two missiles at an all-terrain vehicle... killing its five occupants, all members of al-Qaeda," said the official, who requested anonymity.
Vote to dismiss
KABUL - The Afghan parliament has voted to dismiss the country's defence and interior ministers, a move that threatens to throw the country's security apparatus into confusion as foreign forces withdraw. The vote demanded the dismissal of two of President Hamid Karzai's key security lieutenants: Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, one of the top Afghan officials most trusted by Washington, and Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi.
China hits back
BEIJING - China has attacked US criticism of its decision to set up a new military garrison in the South China Sea, saying it sent the "wrong signal" and threatened peace in the hotly disputed waters. Washington on Friday accused Beijing of raising tensions in the region after it announced last week the establishment of the tiny city of Sansha and a garrison on an island in the disputed Paracel chain. The move has infuriated Vietnam and the Philippines, who accuse Beijing of stepping up harassment at sea.