US jails Chinese man for military hacking

LOS ANGELES • A Chinese businessman who pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to hack into the computer networks of Boeing and other major US defence contractors was sentenced on Wednesday to nearly four years in prison, prosecutors said.

Su Bin, 51, was charged with taking part in a scheme by Chinese military officers to obtain sensitive military information. In addition to the 46-month prison term, a judge in the US District Court in Los Angeles ordered Su to pay a US$10,000 (S$13,400) fine.

In an August 2014 indictment, prosecutors said Su travelled to the United States at least 10 times between 2008 and 2014 and worked with two unidentified co-conspirators in China to steal the data.

REUTERS

MH17 tragedy: Legal battles loom

THE HAGUE • The families of the 298 people who died when Flight MH17 was downed over Ukraine are steeling themselves for a slew of bitter legal battles, on the eve of the tragedy's second anniversary.

Sunday marks the deadline for relatives to launch action against Malaysia Airlines, which operated the passenger jet that was shot down with a surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014.

Dozens of Dutch relatives are close to filing a lawsuit if negotiations fail to secure compensation for "psychological trauma", news reports said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE