Tourist boat sinks in Vietnam bay; 12 dead

One night boat full of sleeping tourists, including Americans, Australians and British, sank early Thursday in picturesque Ha Long Bay Vietnam, killing 11 foreigners and their Vietnamese guide, officials said.

Nine foreign tourists and six people were rescued from the cold water by other tour boats anchored nearby. They were rushed to a hospital as teams scoured the area for more survivors.

The rescued reported a shelf of seeing the wooden board-live ship rip off, followed by the flowing water from overflowing the boat and quickly pulling it down about five hours near Titov Island, said Vu Van Dun, the chief administrator of Quang Ninh province.

"Crew members tried to stop water from coming in and warned the tourists who were sleeping, but the water came and the boat sank quickly," he said. "All of the 12 deceased people who were in the cabins."

There were 27 people on the boat, including six crew members, Thin said. It was anchored alongside dozens of other cruise ships, and the weather conditions were calm at the time of the incident.

Twelve bodies were found, including that of tourists from the U.S., Australia and Britain, said Ngo Van Hung, Director of Ha Long Bay Management Board. The body of a Vietnamese guide was also recovered and all of the dead are sent to Bai Chay hospital for identification.

Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that a Japanese was among the dead.

IBM Watson Vanquishes Human Jeopardy Foes

Wrapping up a three-day run on the Jeopardy game show, IBM's Watson computer has beaten two former champions in a historic match of man versus machine.

The run has successfully demonstrated not only that a computer can beat humans in a trivia question quiz, but, more importantly, it shows how computers can answer questions much like people do, opening up a potentially new form of human/computer interaction.

In the final episode of the pre-recorded two-game, three-night match, Watson had trounced the competition, amassing US$77,147 in winnings over the two Jeopardy champions it played, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. Rutter scored $21,600 and Jennings scored $24,000. Watson also took the $1 million champion prize, which IBM will donate to charity.

Run by Sony Pictures Television, Jeopardy is a long-running U.S. TV game show in which three contestants compete to answer trivia questions, arranged into multiple categories and ordered by increasing difficulty. Contestants are given an average of about 5 seconds to answer a question.

Sharemarket closes at two-and-a-half-year high

THE share market closed at a two-and-a-half-year high today, driven by signs of recovery in the U.S. economy and positive business performance reports.

The benchmark S & P/ASX200 index 8.2 points, or 0.17 percent, rose to 4938.4 points.

The broader All Ordinaries index had added 7.4 points, or 0.15 percent, at 5026.0 points, its highest close since late August 2008.

On the ASX in 1924, the March share price index futures contract was up two points in 4914, with 22,200 contracts traded.

IG Markets analyst Cameron Peacock said investors seemed reluctant to sell the stock, believing that too much more upside in the market today.

"For the last 12 months you always respect the European debt rises, China fall from a cliff, and questions about whether the U.S. will raise tariffs was. All these issues are relatively dormant at the moment," Mr. Peacock said.

"There's nothing really on investors right now.

"People are focused on a global growth story. You really had strong corporate earnings and you'll see continued improvement in the economic data from the U.S., from Europe, from the United Kingdom.

"The glass is half full as opposed to half empty."

National carrier Qantas was one of the best performing stocks. The 13 cents, or 5.44 percent, jumped $ 2.52, after identifying a double-digit growth in capacity and placing a four-fold lift in first half net profit.

Airline Virgin Blue Holdings nudged up one cent to 40 cents as it said it would raise fuel surcharge for flights to the United States and lift luggage.

Coles owner Wesfarmers nine cents to $ 34.25, despite a first half profit up 33 percent.

DA: Woman turned into sex slave after internet meeting

A woman Wisconsin said she agreed to cook and a man she on the internet met in exchange for a free place to stay reportedly ended up being his sex slave, prosecutors said Wednesday clean it.
The 27-year-old woman met in New York-based John Hopkins on the website Craigslist before spending nine days trapped in his apartment, where she claims she was repeatedly raped, according to a prosecutor's statement.
The woman - whose name was not released - was treated for injuries at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. The details of her condition are unclear.
Authorities charged Hopkins with rape, assault, unlawful imprisonment and forced to touch, to arrest him in his Brooklyn apartment on Saturday. He is being held on $ 350,000 bail.
The woman claims she was seeking work in New York and found an ad that Hopkins Posted on Craigslist, where a room for rent, depending on the complaint.
The couple agreed that the woman could stay rent free if she cooked and cleaned for Hopkins, who then paid her plane ticket to New York on February 4, 2011.
Upon arriving at his apartment, the woman said to Hopkins that she was his slave be told, the complaint said.
The woman claims she was repeatedly raped between February 4 and February 12 and was tied with a rope, gagged and handcuffed to a radiator, he said.
On the ninth day, she said she managed to call her mother and to warn her of the alleged abuse.
Police found the woman bruised and bound in an apartment Hopkins, "said the prosecutor statement.
Authorities said the victim was shaking and had spots on her body, according to the complaint.
Hopkins is expected to appear in court Friday for a first hearing. If he is convicted, he could head to 25 years in prison.

Pakistani court delays case of detained American

A Pakistani court has postponed a hearing on whether an American held for fatally shooting two Pakistani men diplomatic immunity.

Assistant Attorney General Naveed Inayat Malik said that the judge will wait until March 14 that the government more time to prepare its opinion on whether the U.S. embassy employee is eligible for diplomatic protection.

The decision was made during a brief hearing Thursday.

The government had sought a postponement of the opinion conclusion.

The U.S. says Raymond Davis of the armed men fired in self defense when they tried to rob him on January 27, and that his detention is illegal under international agreements relating to diplomats. Pakistani leaders have said the case to the court to decide.