WASHINGTON (Reuters) - George Jones, a classic country singer with a voice full of raw honky-tonk emotion and a life full of honky-tonk turmoil, died on Friday at age 81, his spokesman said.

Jones, whose career spanned more than six decades and included hits such as "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Window Up Above," died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville.

He had been hospitalized since April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure, spokesman Kirt Webster said.

In November 2012, Jones embarked on a farewell tour after a career that produced his first top 10 record in 1955 with "Why Baby Why."

The "Grand Tour" was to conclude in Nashville in November this year, where Jones was to be joined by some of the many stars who influenced him.

News of his death brought tributes from a number of country music's top stars.

"Heaven better get ready for George Jones. He will always be the greatest singer of real country music - there'll never be another," Alan Jackson said on Twitter.

Dolly Parton said, "My heart is absolutely broken. George Jones was my all time favorite singer and one of my favorite people in the world."

"George Jones has passed. Damn. Thought he'd live forever. Let's break out his catalogue and play it all day," said Toby Keith.

Like his idol, Hank Williams, Jones battled addiction. Alcohol and cocaine frequently derailed his career and at one point his reputation for canceling performances earned him the nickname No-Show Jones.

But when Jones did show up and was in good form, listeners were treated to a powerful and evocative voice. Jones was at his best with cry-in-your-beer songs made extra mournful by his masterful phrasing.

As his late contemporary Waylon Jennings put it, "If we could all sound like we wanted to, then we'd all sound like George Jones."

Born in Saratoga, Texas, on September 12, 1931, Jones began performing for spare change as a boy on the streets of nearby Beaumont. Under the influence of Williams, Ernest Tubb and Lefty Frizzell, he graduated to the rough roadhouses of East Texas.

Jones had an early marriage, a divorce and a stint in the Marines before his first hit, "Why Baby Why" in 1955. His first No. 1 song, "White Lightning," came in 1959, followed by "Tender Years" in 1961.

'THE POSSUM'

The next two decades brought a string of top 10 songs - "If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)," "Window Up Above," "She Thinks I Still Care," "Good Year for the Roses," "The Race Is On" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which Jones said was his favorite. He also had a successful run of duets early in his career with Melba Montgomery.

Jones, who was known as "The Possum," divorced his second wife in 1968 and the next year married one of country music's most popular singers, Tammy Wynette. The pairing was an enormous professional success for both as they recorded and toured together and Jones began working with Billy Sherrill, Wynette's producer.

During his time with Sherrill, Jones refined his honky-tonk voice and sang more ballads, often with the lush string accompaniment that had become a trend in the country music capital of Nashville.

The marriage to Wynette went bad as Jones' addiction problem escalated and Wynette claimed he once came at her with a gun. They divorced in 1975 but later resumed recording together. Wynette died in 1998 at age 55.

Jones continued to put out hit songs in the early 1980s, even as cocaine compounded his personal tumult. Amid a string of hospitalizations and arrests, he disappeared for days at a time, missed shows and recording sessions and took police on a drunken chase through Nashville.

Jones credited fourth wife Nancy, whom he married in 1983, with helping him clean up. But in 1999 he was seriously injured after driving drunk and crashing into a bridge, leading to another stay in rehab.

At one point Jones was so incorrigible that one of his four wives cleared the liquor from their home and hid all the car keys so he could not go for more. Jones responded by cranking up his riding lawn mower and driving it to a bar - an escapade he chronicled in "Honky Tonk Song."

Although he was heard infrequently on mainstream country radio in the later years of his career, Jones was a sought-after duet partner and won a Grammy for the song "Choices" in 1999.

He also won a Grammy for best male country vocal performance in 1980 for "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and received a lifetime achievement Grammy last year.

(Additional reporting by Tim Ghianni in Nashville and Jill Serjeant; Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Vicki Allen)

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory output growth was surprisingly feeble in April and fixed-asset investment slowed, rekindling concerns that a nascent recovery is stalling and adding to pressure on policymakers to take action to stimulate the economy.

However, China's already-easy monetary policy and rising home prices complicate the options available to Beijing's new leadership, leading some analysts to say that any response could be limited to fiscal measures.

Annual industrial output grew 9.3 percent last month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, up from a seven-month low hit in March but still missing market expectations for a 9.5 percent expansion.

"Economic activity remains weak," said Liang Youcai, a senior economist at the State Information Centre, a government think-tank.

"We now expect second-quarter gross domestic product growth of around 7.8-7.9 percent if there are no stimulus measures."

Monday's data dealt a further blow to investors' hopes for a decisive revival of the world's second-largest economy, following last month's announcement that growth unexpectedly cooled in the first quarter of the year to 7.7 percent.

Growth in fixed-asset investment, an important driver of China's economy, also disappointed in April. Investment rose 20.6 percent in the first four months from the same period a year ago, compared with expectations for a 21 percent rise.

Only retail sales met market expectations, growing 12.8 percent in April from a year ago.

POLICY DILEMMA

For investors, the big question now is whether China's economic rebound remains intact. This month's evidence underlines Beijing's growing policy dilemma, with economists saying that a recovery -- if at all -- is still fragile.

Data last week showed China's consumer inflation, although muted, quickened more than expected in April, narrowing the scope for Beijing to further ease monetary policy if growth swoons.

Worse, surprisingly strong trade figures last week that were incongruous with subdued foreign demand suggested a substantial flow of hot money betting on a rising yuan is sneaking past China's capital controls.

A flow of speculative cash into China is a headache for Beijing as it may fuel a rally in the country's frothy property market, where prices are already at all-time highs.

"Monetary policy is now facing a dilemma," said Jiang Chao, an analyst at Haitong Securities in Shanghai. "On the one hand, the central bank cannot cut interest rates for fears of reigniting property inflation. But on the other hand, China is seeing mounting hot money inflow pressures."

STIMULUS?

April's factory output data showed makers of transport equipment experienced one of the sharpest slowdowns last month compared with March. Crude oil output was another major decline.

China's state-led infrastructure construction boom has been a major contributor of growth since the 2008/09 financial crisis as local governments pump-primed their economies.

Yet the sector has slowed in the past two years after profligate state spending accumulated a pile of government debt worth as much as 20 trillion yuan ($3.25 trillion), leading Beijing to order banks to reduce funding for the industry.

However, some analysts say Beijing could relax controls over financing of state infrastructure projects should economic growth slacken further.

A researcher at a state think-tank told Reuters last week that some local governments are already lining up financing options for their planned infrastructure projects in case they get a green-light from Beijing. He declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Beijing has so far offered few clues about its policy plans, saying little beyond its stock phrase of keeping economic growth "stable".

Within the government, state researchers say policymakers are debating over whether to focus on short-term demands or long-term benefits. There are arguments for Beijing to take action and stimulate growth now, or hold off and focus instead on restructuring the economy for the long haul.

China wants to promote consumption and cut its reliance on investment and exports, a transition that could be painful in the short-term as it constrains the government's ability to unveil any new large-scale fiscal stimulus.

Ting Lu, an economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said he did not believe Beijing would succumb to the temptation to try to lift economic growth in the near term.

"Policymakers will resist introducing stimulus measures unless growth slides much further," Lu said. "However, we believe that these new policymakers will try to avoid disrupting credit supply."

Credit supply in China has risen rapidly in recent months as governments and companies sought financing outside the traditional banking sector amid Beijing's clampdown on property and infrastructure investment.

The trend extended into April, when M2 money supply grew 16.1 percent, above forecasts for a 15.5 percent gain. China's easy credit conditions, combined with its lackluster real economy, has led some analysts to worry that money is being used for financial speculation rather than actual investment.

A Reuters poll last month showed analysts expect China's economy to grow 8 percent this year, up from 7.8 percent in 2012, although many economists say the risks are for growth to disappoint.

Analysts have struggled to track the turns in China's economy in the past year, often proving to be too upbeat.

Predictions that a mild economic recovery was under way this year proved overly optimistic after growth sputtered between January and March. Calls in 2012 for a growth rebound were also nine months too early, materializing only in the fourth quarter. ($1 = 6.1417 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by China Economics Team; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Dubbed "Sony Smash Bros." by fans, after Nintendo's crossover brawler, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale features characters from Sony PlayStation games fighting each other in stages which mix their own titles. The characters featured include everyone from first-party favorites Nathan Drake (from Uncharted) and Sackboy (from Little Big Planet) to the armored Big Daddy from 2K Games' Bioshock.

None of the game's very few female characters have had their games featured.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

BioShock and BioShock 2

Sly Cooper

LittleBigPlanet

The PS Vita and PSP versions of LittleBigPlanet are also on sale, and neither are included with the PS3 games. The PSP version echoes the original platformer, while the PS Vita version is flexible enough to allow for more creative player-made games with touchscreen support. The less-well-received PS3 spinoff, LittleBigPlanet Karting, is the most expensive LBP title at $28 ($19.59 with PlayStation Plus).

Most of the God of War series (not the newest game), the entire inFAMOUS series, the Metal Gear Solid series minus Metal Gear Solid 4, the HD remakes of the PS2 Devil May Cry series, and several Twisted Metal games are all on sale as well.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

The new evidence could weigh heavily in the case, which saw one of the Middle East's most powerful autocrats and his longtime interior minister in charge of police tried and sent to prison, only to have their sentences overturned.

The former president, who ruled over Egypt for nearly 30 years, is being accused of collusion in the killing of nearly 900 protesters in the first days of the January 2011 revolt that unseated him. He is the first Arab leader to be tried by his own people.

At the hearing, Mubarak wore a white jumpsuit and a pair of brown-tinted sunglasses. He sat upright on a hospital gurney in the defendants' courtroom cage as he listened to a list of charges levied against him.

The case may hinge on the report by the fact-finding commission, which worked for six months collecting hundreds of hours of video and testimony. The commission was created by Mubarak's successor, Mohammed Morsi, who made a campaign promise to bring former officials to justice.

It was not immediately clear what new evidence from the fact-finding report the prosecution wants to present at the retrial. Additionally, the judge has discretion to decide what evidence to accept.

Mubarak and his interior minister, Habib el-Adly, had been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killings of protesters. The verdict sparked mass protests because it did not stipulate who was responsible for the killing of protesters, and the sentencing was seen as largely politically motivated to calm public outcry at the time.

An appeals court in January then overturned their sentencing and ruled that the prosecution's case led by a longtime Mubarak appointee lacked concrete evidence.

This time around a new prosecutor is in place and lawyers say they have new evidence from the fact-finding commission's report.

Excerpts of the report have been leaked to The Associated Press.It found that police were behind nearly all the killings, using snipers on rooftops to shoot into huge crowds. The inquiry also determined that such deadly force could only have been authorized by security chief el-Adly with Mubarak's full knowledge. Another part showed that Mubarak watched the uprising against him unfold through a live TV feed at his palace, despite his assertion that he did not know the extent of the protests and crackdown against them.

His former interior minister, who oversaw the country's widely-feared police force for years, and six top police generals found not guilty in the first trial were also in the courtroom Saturday. They are charged with the pre-mediated murder of protesters.

Mubarak is also facing corruption charges in the same case. He and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are accused of squandering public funds and abusing their power to sell land in a Red Sea resort area to business associate Hussein Salem at below market price in exchange for five villas there. Mubarak and Salem are also charged with conspiring to export gas to Israel at below market price at a loss to Egypt.

Morsi's cash-strapped government is eyeing a $1 billion reconciliation deal with Salem, who is in Spain and being tried in absentia.

All present pleaded not guilty to the various charges.

Out of the ten accused in the courtroom, el-Adly was the only to wear the dark blue prison suit of convicted criminals. He is serving sentences for guilty verdicts in separate corruption cases.

The 84 year-old Mubarak and his two sons are currently being held in Cairo's Tora prison pending investigations into other corruption allegations.

At the Saturday session, presiding judge Mahmoud Kamel el-Rachidi repeatedly pleaded with participants to refrain from heated outbursts. At one point, lawyers of victims' families shouted: "The people want the execution of the butcher!"

Mubarak's two sons appeared to ignore the taunts, and instead grinned and chatted with one another from behind the defendants' cage.

The former president raised his hand once to show he was present when the judge read out names. He spoke only once during the session, when the judge asked him if he accepted a request by two Kuwaiti lawyers to join his defense team. Mubarak deferred to his chief defense lawyer, Farid el-Deeb, who declined the offer.

Judge el-Rachidi takes over the case from a previous judge who recused himself after overseeing a controversial verdict that handed down acquittals to 25 Mubarak loyalists. They had been accused of organizing a deadly attack by thugs on horseback and camels against protesters during the uprising.

El-Rachidi spoke from the bench for several minutes during the session to describe the value he puts on impartiality, saying that he is 61 years old and wants to ensure he dies a just man. "None of you will be of any use to me when I am lowered into my grave," he said.

He also said that the case file started with around 9,000 pages and has mushroomed to more than 55,000. He set June 8 as the date for the resumption of the trial.

Relatives of those killed in the uprising stood outside the courtroom, as did a small group of pro-Mubarak supporters.

Ramadan Ahmed, whose only son Mohammed was killed with a single bullet that cracked his skull during the crackdown on protesters, stood outside the courtroom carrying a picture of his 16 year-old.

Ahmed, who also serves on the fact-finding committee that wrote the report, said he has little faith justice will be served.

"What we have is patience. It's the only thing getting us through this; that and God's help," he said. "We hope the judge really does feel he will face God one day."

AYLESBURY, England (Reuters) - The United States told Japan it would be watching for any sign it was manipulating its currency downward, but Tokyo said it met no resistance to its policies at a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers which will conclude on Saturday.

As ministers and central bankers met on Friday in a stately home set in rolling countryside 40 miles outside London, differences were also evident over whether to prioritize debt-cutting or promoting economic growth.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Japan had "growth issues" that needed to be dealt with, but that its attempts to stimulate its economy needed to stay within the bounds of international agreements to avoid competitive devaluations.

"I'm just going to refer back to the ground rules and the fact that we've made clear that we'll keep an eye on that," Lew told the CNBC business news channel.

The yen hit a four-year low against the dollar on Friday, beyond the psychologically important 100-yen mark. It also trades at a three-year low against the euro.

The moves were driven in part by Japanese investors shifting into foreign bonds, a move that had been expected since the Bank of Japan unveiled a massive stimulus plan in January.

Tokyo insisted its tumbling yen was not a hot topic at the meeting of finance chiefs, despite rhetoric about a global currency war.

"Japan took bold monetary and fiscal action to end prolonged deflation, with the government and the Bank of Japan working far more closely together," Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters after hours of talks with fellow G7 ministers and central bankers.

"The G7 didn't have a particular problem ... I think Japan's stance is gaining broader understanding," he said.

Policymakers are concerned Japan is engineering an export-led recovery that could hinder other regions' ability to grow.

But having urged Tokyo for years to do something to revive its economy, other world powers are not in a strong position to complain now that it is doing so. Then there is the fact that central banks such as the Federal Reserve and Bank of England have printed money in the way the Bank of Japan is.

"It is important that in line with the previous decisions at the G20 and IMF that there is no talk about currency wars," EU economics chief Olli Rehn told reporters as he arrived at the summit. "There is discussion about how better to coordinate our economic policies."

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said foreign exchange rates were on the agenda and that Japan had promised to take a cautious approach to the currency issue.

Participants welcomed the return to an informal G7 with no official communique. That could mean more robust debate than is generally aired at the meetings of the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Canada.

"There are no taboo subjects," International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said.

A senior Japanese Finance Ministry official said Tokyo was honoring an agreement that monetary policy should focus on domestic objectives, not manipulating currencies. As a result, Japan does not mind other countries monitoring its policies, the official said.

He also said there was no discussion on the yen's decline at the G7 session on Friday.

GROWTH DEBATE

British finance minister George Osborne, host of the two-day meeting at the 17th-century Hartwell House, is keen for his peers to focus on what more central banks can do to help growth at a time when most governments are trying to cut bloated debts.

This is "an opportunity to consider what more monetary activism can do to support the recovery, while ensuring medium-term inflation expectations remain anchored," he said.

Debate is also heating up about the need for governments to ease up on austerity, something Germany, Britain and Canada view as a mistake but Washington, Paris and Rome are in favor of.

"For a global recovery ... it cannot be led by the United States alone ... There are countries in Europe that have more fiscal space to create a bit more economic demand," Lew said.

Rehn said there was room for a "smoother path of fiscal adjustment" in Europe as long as structural reforms intensified.

Britain's Finance Ministry said the talks would also focus on bank regulation and tax avoidance.

The emergency rescue of Cyprus in March acted as a reminder of the need to finish an overhaul of the banking sector, five years after the world financial crisis began.

As at last month's IMF meeting, Germany may come under pressure to give more support to a banking union in the euro zone. The plan could help strengthen the single currency area, but Berlin worries it may pay too much for future bank bailouts if it signs up to a scheme to wind up failing banks.

Nonetheless, Osborne will push his fellow G7 ministers to set up mechanisms worldwide to shut down failing banks, which would otherwise be considered "too big to fail".

Some officials said they did not know why Britain had called the meeting so soon after the IMF discussions in Washington.

No formal decisions are expected at the meeting, which will help prepare the way for a G20 leaders' summit in Russia in September. Talks will wrap up with a round of closing news conferences on Saturday afternoon.

(Additional reporting by David Milliken, Gernot Heller and Christina Fincher, writing by Mike Peacock; editing by Jeremy Gaunt, Giles Elgood and G Crosse)

[More from BGR: ]

, UBS analystSteve Milunovich has issued a research note that gives voice to this anxiety by stating bluntly that there have been no gee-whiz products yet in the Cook era, thus raising concerns over whether Jobs built an innovative company or a company around his innovations.Milunovich goes on to say that he believes Jobs left considerable infrastructure at Apple to foster innovation including product plans for at least the next 2-3 years and Apple University, which is aimed at helping employees understand the companys decision-making process with an emphasis on mistakes.

[More from BGR: ]

Milunovich also thinks that having divisions based on functions and not on product types has helped foster a culture of encouraging cooperation at Apple that will be able to churn out innovative products even without a charismatic, visionary leader pulling the strings. The bottom line, says Milunovich, is that its premature to conclude that Apple cant innovate anymore.

This article was

But experts say that is exactly what a dog owner should do: nothing.

"The human-animal bond is no joke. Most pet owners are very attached to their pets," said Dr. Lynn Miller, a veterinarian who runs the animal clinic at Travis Air Force Base, north of San Francisco. "But you're not going to save your dog by risking your own life. It does your dog no favors in the end if he comes back and you're dead. Then what is he going to do?"

Five people have died in attempted dog rescues in Northern California since November, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Pamela Boehland, based in Alameda, Calif. A couple of months ago, Boehland teamed up with the National Park Service and the East Bay SPCA on a campaign to keep people on dry land if their dogs get caught up in the surf.

The average dog is a better swimmer than the average human. Dogs such as Labrador retrievers, German shepherds and pit bull terriers are built like boats, the vet said. Their heads are above water, they have a low center of gravity, they have four legs for propulsion, their lungs have a higher capacity than a human's, their fur keeps them warm in cold water and many have waterproof undercoats and some dog breeds have webbed feet.

Using their namesake swim stroke, dogs can find their way back to shore using currents and their fight-or flight-instinct, Miller said.

Dogs are single-minded, focusing on finding safety, while humans panic or become distracted, Miller said. Owners who try to make a rescue also may go into shock from the cold water, try to fight the current and get tumbled around, or tire easily, she said.

People also don't think about what will happen if they do follow a dog and manage to reach it alive, Miller said.

"A Coast Guard dude in a boat's got a better chance of snatching him up than you do of swimming out and grabbing him and hauling him back. Fifty pounds of wet dog is absolutely no fun to drag anywhere, much less back to shore," Miller said. "You sure can't put him on your back."

Currents might cause a dog to come out of the water some distance from the spot where it went into the sea, so a microchip and collar with identification can speed up a reunion, said Allison Lindquist, president of the East Bay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The recent California deaths occurred during sunnier weather, when seas were churned up by storms from Alaska. But such storms, with their sneaker or rogue waves, are possible any time of the year, especially when seasons change, Lindquist said.

In Southern California, where pleasant weather year-round draws visitors to the shore, many patrolled beaches do not allow dogs. That includes Los Angeles County, home to famous beaches in Malibu and Venice, said Dan Murphy, an ocean lifeguard specialist.

Some breeds, Miller said, shouldn't be on a beach without a life vest. Those include pugs, bulldogs and others that "can barely breathe when they are walking;" dachshunds and corgis with legs too short to swim; and Chihuahuas and other toy dogs, Boehland said.

It is rare that a dog will be swept away by a rip current, but lifeguards' message to pet owners is the same as Boehland's, Murphy said.

"They should let a lifeguard know and if we have personnel available, we will attempt a rescue. Upon reaching the dogs, they are usually more than happy to climb aboard our rescue board or Baywatch rescue boat," he said.

"If you're not a trained rescue person, you might be doing more harm than good," added Petty Officer 3rd Class Ross Ruddell, based in Boston.

Boehland said that sometimes, even trained officers can make that mistake, citing the example of a Coast Guard officer who died four or five years ago while trying to rescue her dog.

"Everyone is susceptible. The Pacific Ocean is cold and can be cruel," she said.

TOKYO (Reuters) - From a phoenix-themed collection by a Japanese designer who has clothed Lady Gaga to touches of traditional Mongolian decorations, designers showing at Japan Fashion Week set their sights firmly on Asia and its huge market.

Chinese consumers have become the world's leading buyers of luxury goods and account for one quarter of this market globally with demand growing, according to a report by consulting firm Bain & Co.

The fashion extravaganza showcasing the autumn and winter collections of 2013/14 kicked off at the weekend but Japanese brands took to the stage on Monday with Masanori Morikawa and his self-directed label, "Christian Dada".

Morikawa has created several pieces for American pop star Lady Gaga including a pink dress reminiscent of an origami crane for her 2012 "Born This Way Ball" tour.

This time he turned to Asia for inspiration with an edgy, androgynous collection titled "Fenghuang," which is Chinese for the mythical bird phoenix, pairing long, loose pants with richly embroidered lace on shirt sleeves for men and women.

Leather pants and jackets mingled with down-paneled trousers and shirts in plain, solid colors of black, white, red, blue and gold, which Morikawa said represented the nature of the phoenix.

"There's also the idea that the phoenix contains within itself both the male and the female, so we took this concept of fusion for the collection," Morikawa told reporters.

Asian influences came to the fore on Sunday as well as Mongolian designer Ariunaa Surenjav mixed modern designs with traditional raised forms on the shoulders and bunched sleeves.

"That part of the clothing design where the material goes up on the shoulder ... comes from the tradition in old Mongolia, where the local people who were noble and respected had that design," said Surenjav.

A NOD TO CHINA?

Although Morikawa said taking a Chinese title for the collection was just a reference to Chinese mythology and not a nod to the huge potential Chinese market, other designers were more open about their goals.

Conny Groenewegen, a Dutch designer who led off the runway on Sunday with clothing heavily influenced by Japanese designers, said her ambitions in Asia do not end with Japan.

"I would be very much interested to visit Shanghai and present my work over there, because I think that it is moving very fast," she told Reuters. "It's like a big youth culture over there and it has also a big, very rich history."

Although growth in China slowed last year, Bain is still forecasting growth of 4-6 percent a year for the global luxury market through 2015, after growth of 10 percent in 2012 to about $280 billion, largely driven by Chinese consumers.

With 1.3 billion consumers, many with a strong inclination for expensive brands that scream status, China remains a driving force in the luxury market.

Japan Fashion Week continues until March 24 with names such as Vivienne Tam and Hiroko Koshino also taking part.

(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

Although Benjamin Netanyahu made no clear commitments, his comments indicated that he is at least considering a shift away from two years of neutrality in the Syrian civil war that pits rebels against President Bashar Assad's regime. Key Israeli allies, including the U.S. and Jordan, already have begun assisting secular and moderate factions inside Syria despite fears that Islamic extremists are gaining influence among the rebels.

Netanyahu was discussing the deteriorating security situation in Syria on BBC World News when the interviewer asked whether Israel is arming any of the rebel groups.Netanyahu said he could not confirm such speculation but did not deny it.

"We are very careful," he said. "I have said that the arming of rebels presents the question of which rebels and which arms, and it is a very complicated question for every country, including my country Israel."

Israel has been warily watching the fighting in Syria since the uprising against Assad erupted in March 2011. Although Assad is a bitter enemy, Israel has been careful not to take sides, in part because the Assad family has kept the border with Israel quiet for the past 40 years and in part because of fears of what will happen if he is toppled.

Israeli officials are especially concerned that Assad's stockpile of chemical weapons and other advanced arms could reach the hands of Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon or other hostile groups in the region. As Assad's position has weakened, Israeli leaders have grown increasingly concerned that some of the groups trying to topple him, particularly extremist factions linked to al-Qaida, will turn their guns toward Israel.

"There are the worst Islamist radicals in the world, so obviously we are concerned that weapons that are ground breaking, that can change the balance of power in the Middle East would fall into the hands of these terrorists," Netanyahu said.

In January, Israel all but confirmed that it carried out an airstrike in Syria that destroyed a shipment of anti-aircraft missiles allegedly bound for Hezbollah, a powerful militia that battled Israel to a stalemate in a monthlong war in 2006. In the BBC interview, Netanyahu refused to confirm whether Israel targeted the convoy, but noted that Israel "has the right to act" to halt weapons transfers.

Direct Israeli support for any of the factions fighting inside Syria would be risky. Any group seen as being aligned with Israel could have its credibility harmed. Israel could also provoke a backlash from other dangerous factions, including the government, embroiled in the Syrian violence. More than 70,000 people have already died in the fighting, according to U.N. estimates.

Moshe Maoz, a Syria expert at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said it would make sense for Israel to supply moderate Syrian rebel groups with arms in coordination with Turkey, though he said it is unclear whether that has begun. Israel has recently moved to repair its strained ties with Turkey, and Maoz said both countries have an interest in propping up "mainstream" Muslim groups and countering the influence of Iranian-backed extremists.

"Israel has to signal to the Muslim world that Israel joins them in the struggle against a common enemy Iran," he said. "Maybe Netanyahu is going in that direction."

Netanyahu gave the interview on Wednesday during a trip to Britain, where he attended the funeral of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and met with the current prime minister, David Cameron.

Netanyahu gave few details about the meeting, saying only that Israel and Britain "see eye to eye" about preventing further bloodshed in Syria. "It's a complicated picture because you have bad fighting the bad," he said.

But Israel may feel it has no choice. In recent months, it has coped with a string of stray gunfire and mortar shells flying out of Syria into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Israeli military officials believe most of the fire has been spillover from internal fighting. But in several cases, Israel determined the attacks were intentional and quickly struck back at targets inside Syria. Israel has also treated a small number of Syrians who were wounded in fighting near the Israeli frontier.

Eyal Zisser, an expert on Syria at Tel Aviv University, said he "doubts very much" that Israel is currently arming rebels. But he said Israel would likely help if approached by the West.

Israel would likely back secular fighters such as the groups being trained by the U.S. in neighboring Jordan, or secular and moderate Islamic factions under the Turkey-based Free Syrian Army umbrella group headed by Gen. Salim Idris.

Idris is seen as a secular-minded moderate. But he is believed to have only limited control over the dozens of brigades and battalions inside Syria. Many of these groups are Islamist-leaning factions that have little coordination with each other and are often in rivalries. Some extremist groups, including Jabhat al-Nusra, have rejected his authority.

Israeli officials have said in recent months that they do have ties with pro-Western elements in the Syrian opposition. One official involved in those efforts said the contacts are continuing, but discussions have only been on the "political," not military level. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a covert diplomatic issue.

In a sign of Israeli concerns, Netanyahu has made several covert trips to neighboring Jordan in recent months. Israeli officials have given few details about the visits, and Jordan has not commented. But Jordan is Israel's closest ally in the Arab world, and both countries have a joint interest in containing any threats in Syria.

U.S. and other Western and Arab officials say that Jordan has recently been facilitating arms shipments and hosting training camps for Syrian rebels since last October.

American and foreign officials have told The Associated Press that the U.S. has been training secular Syrian fighters in Jordan with the aim of strengthening the hand of moderates among the country's fractured opposition.

On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress that the Pentagon is sending about 200 soldiers from an Army headquarters unit to Jordan to assist efforts to contain violence along the Syrian border and plan for any operations needed to ensure the safety of chemical weapons in Syria.

___

Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.