Yahoo! News: World News

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• Assad's fate unclear in world powers' Syria plan
• Merkel seen as big loser in euro zone showdown
• Yitzhak Shamir, hawkish Israeli premier, dies
• UK's Cameron attempts to woo eurosceptics on referendum
• Young Afghans seek solace from war in heavy metal rock
• Iceland's defiant president eyes record fifth term
• Tables turn as Egypt's Islamist president sworn in
• Georgian president names new PM as elections loom
• Mali Islamists destroy holy Timbuktu sites
• Belarus frees journalist, seen as gesture to Poland
• Egypt's new president begins struggle for power
• Syria conference leaves open Assad question
• Syria troops regain key Damascus suburb
• Rare meeting between Afghan government, Taliban
• Surge in violence spurs new fears in Iraq
• HK reporter asks about Tiananmen, upsets Hu visit
• Palfrey beyond halfway point in Cuba-Florida swim
• Conservationist: Reasons for chimp attack unclear
• Rooms with Views: Olympic Village ready to go
• Mali: Islamists destroy Timbuktu heritage sites

Assad's fate unclear in world powers' Syria plan Posted: 30 Jun 2012 03:59 PM PDT GENEVA (Reuters) - World powers struck an agreement that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the conflict there but they remained at odds over what part President Bashar al-Assad might play in the process. Peace envoy Kofi Annan said after the talks in Geneva on Saturday the government should include members of Assad's administration and the Syrian opposition and that it should arrange free elections. "Time is running out. The conflict must be resolved through peaceful dialogue and negotiations," Annan told reporters. ...

Merkel seen as big loser in euro zone showdown Posted: 30 Jun 2012 07:50 AM PDT BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - Angela Merkel was portrayed across Europe as the big loser of a euro zone showdown in Brussels after the German chancellor was forced to accept the crisis-fighting measures championed by countries struggling with their debts. Newspapers in Spain, Italy and France on Saturday toasted the triumph of their leaders - Mario Monti, Mariano Rajoy and Francois Hollande - in pushing Merkel into a U-turn that would long have been unthinkable. ...

Yitzhak Shamir, hawkish Israeli premier, dies Posted: 30 Jun 2012 04:43 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Yitzhak Shamir, the hawkish Israeli leader who two decades ago first balked at U.S. calls to trade occupied land for Middle East peace, died on Saturday after a long illness. He was 96. The second longest-serving prime minister after Israel's founder, David Ben-Gurion, Shamir clung to the status quo. Admirers saw strength and resolve in his position, while critics called him an intransigent naysayer who allowed Arabs to cast Israel as obstructing reconciliation. ...

UK's Cameron attempts to woo eurosceptics on referendum Posted: 30 Jun 2012 04:44 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron has raised the prospect of a possible referendum on Britain's future relationship with the European Union, potentially threatening trade with the bloc and opening up another front against the Conservatives' coalition partner. Britain has had a long and painful history of infighting and changes of heart over how closely to integrate with the EU ever since it joined its precursor four decades ago. It has often proven divisive both within and among Britain's main political parties as well as the public. ...

Young Afghans seek solace from war in heavy metal rock Posted: 30 Jun 2012 03:06 PM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - On a dimly lit stage the godfather of Afghan rock prepares for the next song, as images of the French movie La Haine (Hate) flicker above and his audience is asked what song would they sing if they were lying in the gutter dying. For "District Unknown", Afghanistan's first heavy metal band, the answer could be "Two Seconds After the Blast", from their soon-to-be recorded first album, "A 24-hour life time". ...

Iceland's defiant president eyes record fifth term Posted: 30 Jun 2012 04:40 PM PDT REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's president Olafur Grimsson looks set to win a record fifth term in office, riding a wave of support for his defiance of Britain and the Netherlands over massive debts from a bank crash, initial election results showed on Saturday. Grimsson, 69, who also opposes joining the European Union, had led in recent opinion polls in the run-up to the elections, ahead of Thora Arnorsdottir, 37, a local television journalist. A first tally of 20 percent of the votes showed Grimsson with 52.5 percent while Arnorsdottir, got 33.2 percent. ...

Tables turn as Egypt's Islamist president sworn in Posted: 30 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - In a day full of memorable images, none on Saturday was more powerful than that of Egypt's first Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, flanked by generals at a military parade where he was formally handed authority to govern the nation. For six decades, Mursi's seat had been filled by presidents drawn from the ranks of the military. And for half that time, it was occupied by one man, Hosni Mubarak, a former air force chief who hounded and jailed members of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood. ...

Georgian president names new PM as elections loom Posted: 30 Jun 2012 12:27 PM PDT TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili named his close ally, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, as the new prime minister on Saturday ahead of parliamentary elections due in October. Saakashvili, who faces growing competition from a newly-created opposition group ahead of the elections, said he wanted Merabishvili to tackle Georgia's 16 percent unemployment and implement agricultural and health care reforms. "It's important for our people to know what are and will be the government's priorities ahead and after the upcoming election," Saakashvili said. ...

Mali Islamists destroy holy Timbuktu sites Posted: 30 Jun 2012 11:11 AM PDT BAMAKO (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked Mali Islamists armed with Kalashnikovs and pick-axes destroyed centuries-old mausoleums of saints in the UNESCO-listed city of Timbuktu on Saturday in front of shocked locals, witnesses said. The Islamist Ansar Dine group backs strict sharia, Islamic law, and considers the shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam to be idolatrous. Sufi shrines have also been attacked by hardline Salafists in Egypt and Libya in the past year. ...

Belarus frees journalist, seen as gesture to Poland Posted: 30 Jun 2012 10:05 AM PDT MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus officials conditionally released a Polish newspaper correspondent from jail on Saturday in a move seen as easing tensions before a likely meeting between Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko and his Polish counterpart at the Euro 2012 soccer final. Andrzej Poczobut, a Belarussian citizen who works for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza and is a prominent activist for the rights of the Polish minority in Belarus, was arrested a week ago in his hometown of Grodno. ...

Egypt's new president begins struggle for power Posted: 30 Jun 2012 02:53 PM PDT Islamist Mohammed Morsi became Egypt's first freely elected president on Saturday, launching his four-year term with a potentially dangerous quest to wrest back from the military the full authority of his office.

Syria conference leaves open Assad question Posted: 30 Jun 2012 02:14 PM PDT An international conference on Saturday accepted a U.N.-brokered peace plan for Syria, but left open the key question of whether the country's president could be part of a transitional government.

Syria troops regain key Damascus suburb Posted: 30 Jun 2012 12:05 PM PDT Syrian troops flushed out rebels from a key Damascus suburb Saturday, regaining control of a key area just outside the capital after a 10-day assault that left dozens dead, hundreds wounded and caused a major humanitarian crisis.

Rare meeting between Afghan government, Taliban Posted: 30 Jun 2012 02:28 PM PDT A Taliban emissary sat face-to-face this week with a senior Afghan government official responsible for peace talks in a rare high-level gathering between the bitter adversaries, an official said Saturday.

Surge in violence spurs new fears in Iraq Posted: 30 Jun 2012 01:07 PM PDT A half year after the U.S. military left Iraq, dire predictions seem to be coming true: The country is mired in violence and the government is on the verge of collapsing. With no relief in sight, there's growing talk of Iraq as a failed state as al-Qaida's local wing staged near daily attacks that killed at least 234 people in June.

HK reporter asks about Tiananmen, upsets Hu visit Posted: 30 Jun 2012 09:10 AM PDT A Hong Kong reporter briefly threw Chinese President Hu Jintao's tightly scripted visit to the semiautonomous city off course Saturday by asking about the 1989 military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square.

Palfrey beyond halfway point in Cuba-Florida swim Posted: 30 Jun 2012 03:55 PM PDT Endurance swimmer Penny Palfrey muscled past the halfway mark Saturday as she pushed through the Florida Straits, enduring jellyfish stings but otherwise encountering perfect conditions in her attempt to become the first woman to swim unassisted more than 100 miles from Cuba to the Florida Keys.

Conservationist: Reasons for chimp attack unclear Posted: 30 Jun 2012 03:34 PM PDT In the six years he's managed a sanctuary for abused and orphaned chimpanzees, South African conservationist Eugene Cussons is from time to time called on to comment when an ape somewhere in the world attacks a human. Cussons says he always could pinpoint a moment of taunting or perceived aggression that could have set off the quick and powerful animals.

Rooms with Views: Olympic Village ready to go Posted: 30 Jun 2012 12:39 PM PDT Usain Bolt can thank me anytime for helping ensure that he gets a good night's sleep at this summer's London Olympics.

Mali: Islamists destroy Timbuktu heritage sites Posted: 30 Jun 2012 09:39 AM PDT Islamist fighters with ties to al-Qaida have destroyed tombs classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in Mali's historic city of Timbuktu, a resident and U.N. officials said Saturday.

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