Yahoo! News: World News

Israel pounds Gaza as rockets strike from Lebanon (AP)

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 03:05 AM CST

AP - Israeli aircraft pounded Hamas weapons positions and Gaza smuggling tunnels, witnesses and the military said Wednesday, while militants in Lebanon raised the specter of a new front by sending three rockets crashing into northern Israel.

Putin to meet leaders of gas-starved Balkans (AP)

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 03:08 AM CST

AP - The prime ministers of Slovakia and Bulgaria will meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to press for a resumption in natural gas deliveries halted by a dispute between Moscow and Ukraine.

Gaza family stranded for a week by nearby fighting (AP)

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 03:04 AM CST

AP - After Israeli troops shelled their homes in a battle zone on Gaza's border, 30 members of a Bedouin clan hid for a week in an abandoned house.

Spate of shark attacks in Australia rattles nerves (AP)

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 03:03 AM CST

AP - A recent string of shark attacks across Australia has rattled swimmers' nerves, but experts say fear not it's (relatively) safe to go in the water.

Ethiopian military hands over security of Somalia (AP)

Posted: 13 Jan 2009 02:58 PM CST

AP - Ethiopia handed over security duties Tuesday to a Somali force, raising fears that the Horn of Africa country already fighting an Islamic insurgency and rampant piracy could collapse into chaos if extremists with alleged al-Qaida links move to seize power.

German economy grew by 1.3 percent in 2008 (AP)

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 03:08 AM CST

AP - The German economy grew by 1.3 percent in 2008, slowing to about half the previous year's level as the global financial crisis took its toll on exports, preliminary government figures showed Wednesday.

Israel stops Iranian aid ship heading to Gaza (AP)

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 03:07 AM CST

AP - The Israeli Navy has intercepted an Iranian ship loaded with medicine, food and clothing destined for Gaza and forced the vessel to head toward an Egyptian port, Iran's state television reported Wednesday.

Death toll in Costa Rica quake rises to 20 (AP)

Posted: 13 Jan 2009 11:23 PM CST

AP - The death toll from Costa Rica's magnitude-6.1 earthquake has risen to 20 after more bodies were found.

Niger president says UN envoy kidnapped by rebels (AP)

Posted: 13 Jan 2009 06:10 PM CST

AP - The president of Niger acknowledged Tuesday that a Canadian diplomat who disappeared during a U.N. mission to the West African nation last month was kidnapped by rebels.

Row over Sri Lanka editor's murder grows as diplomat censured (AFP)

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 02:50 AM CST

AFP - Sri Lanka's government censured a senior international diplomat after he spoke at the funeral of a newspaper editor whose murder has been blamed on the island's rulers, officials said Wednesday.