Google Blames Own Glitch for New China Blockages

Internet users in China couldn't use Google today, but this time it looks to be the fault of a Google coding glitch. People using the search engine—now operating out of Hong Kong—reported getting error messages for all queries. Instant suspicion fell on Chinese authorities, but Google said the "blockage seems to have been triggered by a change on Google’s part.”

Apparently, a coding snafu is adding the letters "rfa" to all search requests, and they're running smack into China's "great firewall" because they appear to be an attempt to connect with the banned Radio Free Asia, explains the New York Times. Google says it's working on the problem. Elsewhere, the Yahoo email accounts of at least three foreign journalists in China appear to have been hacked, reports AP.
(More Google stories.)