China refused Monday to say if it backs an Arab League call for the U.N. Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria, the latest bid to end the violence that has killed thousands there.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin refused to directly answer repeated questions on whether it would support the league's call. He said China backs the Arab League's "political mediation efforts."

Pope Benedict XVI has called on the Syrian leadership to respond urgently to the "legitimate" demands of its people who have been facing an increasingly bloody crackdown by President Bashar Assad's regime.

Benedict called for all sides, but especially Syria's political leaders, to enter into talks to end the uprising.

Japanese Emperor Akihito will have heart bypass surgery later this month, his palace said Sunday after the 78-year-old monarch was hospitalized for tests over the weekend.

Akihito returned to the palace on Sunday after the tests and has scheduled the surgery for Feb. 18, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The Maldives' new president expanded his Cabinet on Sunday to strengthen the coalition government that has ruled the Indian Ocean nation since the former leader's resignation last week sparked a political crisis.

Six members from four political parties were sworn in as ministers in the government led by President Mohammed Waheed Hassan.

Netflix pressed the rewind button on its fourth-quarter earnings after settling allegations that the video subscription service violated a consumer-privacy law.

Accounting for the $9 million settlement resulted in a 14 percent decrease in the fourth-quarter net income that Netflix Inc. reported Jan. 25.

A request for an injunction to stop Twitter users from alerting drivers to police roadblocks, radar traps and drunk-driving checkpoints could make Brazil the first country to take Twitter up on its plan to censor content at governments' requests.

Twitter unveiled plans last month that would allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.

Tommy Hilfiger told the story of a young cadet's military and sport lifestyle in his fall men's collection that debuted Friday during New York Fashion Week.

"It is an academy look that is sophisticated, modern, a touch rebellious but buttoned up," he said. The show's notes called the line "a personalized take on military precision."

Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria on Friday observed a holiday traditionally associated with bees and honey.

It was the Day of St. Haralambos, a patron saint of beekeepers, who also is known as "the lord of all illnesses."

Thousands rallied outside Egypt's defense ministry on Friday demanding the military rulers' ouster on the eve of a planned civil disobedience campaign marking Hosni Mubarak's overthrow a year ago.

During the day, several groups of protesters converged near the ministry building, as the security forces blocked off access with barbed wire and tanks.

Oil prices fell to near $99 a barrel Friday in Asia as encouraging news about the U.S. economy was tempered by European demands for Greece to make further spending cuts before getting a new bailout.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 61 cents at $99.23 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.13 to settle at $99.84 on Thursday.