Yahoo! News: World News

Breaking free, Egypt's President Mursi removes generals
Syrian rebels call for no-fly zone
Two earthquakes in Iran kill 300 and injure 5,000
Exclusive: Afghan officials met key Taliban figure in Pakistan
Insight: Bo's brand of justice leaves timebomb for China
Uganda military helicopters missing en route to Somalia
As drought looms in India, fear for its cattle
Analysis: China's sway over Cambodia tests Southeast Asian unity
Egypt forces fight Sinai militants, five dead
All threats "dwarfed" by Iran nuclear work: Israel PM
Egypt's president retires defense minister
Residents describe terror of Iran quake, 250 die
Syrian opposition leader calls for no-fly zone
US Navy ship collides with oil tanker in Gulf
Olympics to close with pop party extravaganza
Now to Rio, full of Olympic 2016 jitters
Afghan officials met with jailed Taliban leader
Terror-free Olympics? No accident, officials say
Wildfires threaten to burn precious parks in Spain
US wins gold, beats Spain 107-100 in men's hoops

Breaking free, Egypt's President Mursi removes generals

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 02:50 PM PDT

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi dismissed Cairo's two top generals and quashed a military order that had curbed the new leader's powers, in a move that further stamped his authority on the country and its army. There had been much debate over the fate of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, 76, who until Mursi's election in June had ruled Egypt as head of a military council since Hosni Mubarak was toppled last year. The timing of Sunday's announcement to replace him as armed forces head was nevertheless a surprise. ...

Syrian rebels call for no-fly zone

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 02:29 PM PDT

ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad need the protection of no-fly zones and safe havens patrolled by foreign forces near the borders with Jordan and Turkey, a Syrian opposition leader said. Battles raged on Sunday in the northern city of Aleppo, where tanks, artillery and snipers attacked rebels in the Saif al-Dawla district next to the devastated area of Salaheddine. Syrian civilians desperate to check on their homes pushed into fluid front lines around Salaheddine, even as sniper fire cracked out and rebels warned them to stay away. ...

Two earthquakes in Iran kill 300 and injure 5,000

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 09:35 AM PDT

DUBAI (Reuters) - Overcrowded hospitals in northwest Iran struggled to cope with thousands of earthquake victims on Sunday as rescuers raced to reach remote villages after two powerful quakes killed nearly 300 people. Thousands huddled in makeshift camps or slept in the street after Saturday's quakes for fear of more aftershocks, 60 of which had already struck. A lack of tents and other supplies left them exposed to the night chill, one witness told Reuters. ...

Exclusive: Afghan officials met key Taliban figure in Pakistan

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 03:24 AM PDT

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Afghan officials have held secret talks with the Taliban's former second in command who is in detention in Pakistan in a move which could help rekindle stalled peace talks with the insurgents, according to senior officials from both countries. Afghan officials have often seen Pakistan as a reluctant partner in attempts to broker talks with the Taliban but its decision to grant access to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar may signal Islamabad's willingness to play a more active role. ...

Insight: Bo's brand of justice leaves timebomb for China

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 02:05 PM PDT

CHONGQING, China (Reuters) - China's fallen politician Bo Xilai left a timebomb as a parting gift for the Communist Party leadership that threw him out -- the smoldering demands for redress from the many targets of his harsh version of justice in the city he ruled. For now, China remains transfixed on the fate of Bo and his wife Gu Kailai. She went on trial on Thursday, charged with murdering Neil Heywood, a British businessman at the heart of the scandal that felled Bo, once an aspirant to top power. The verdict will be announced later, as will Bo's fate. ...

Uganda military helicopters missing en route to Somalia

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 04:18 PM PDT

KAMPALA (Reuters) - A number of Ugandan military helicopters went missing in Kenyan airspace on Sunday on their way to Somalia to reinforce African Union peacekeeping forces battling al Shabaab rebels, the Ugandan military said. The military said a team of helicopters had left a base in the Ugandan city of Entebbe but that only one had landed in the Kenyan town of Wajir, where they were scheduled to refuel before flying on to Somalia. The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) did not say how many helicopters were missing or how many people were on board. ...

As drought looms in India, fear for its cattle

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 02:08 PM PDT

MHASWAD, India (Reuters) - Armed with the latest monsoon rainfall data, weather experts finally conceded this month that India is facing a drought, confirming what millions of livestock farmers around the country had known for weeks. For over three months, even state agencies have been providing free fodder to those most vulnerable to a shortfall in India's annual monsoon -- farmers who eke a living out of small landholdings and the milk provided by cattle. ...

Analysis: China's sway over Cambodia tests Southeast Asian unity

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 02:18 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Students in their twenties sit behind old wooden desks in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, scribbling away as a teacher barks out phrases in a foreign language above the roar of motorcycles outside. Unlike in most other countries in the region, the students at this private language school and others nearby are not learning English -- it's Chinese. Along the street, signs with golden Chinese letters on newly painted red-and-yellow buildings offer cheap crash courses in Mandarin. ...

Egypt forces fight Sinai militants, five dead

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 02:22 PM PDT

AL-ARISH, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian soldiers killed five Islamist militants after storming their hideout near the border with Israel on Sunday, the latest action in an army campaign to reimpose authority on the region, security sources and eyewitnesses said. The troops tracked down the militants in the settlement of al-Goura, about 15 km (10 miles) from the frontier, as they searched for jihadists who killed 16 Egyptian border guards and tried to infiltrate Israel a week ago. ...

All threats "dwarfed" by Iran nuclear work: Israel PM

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 04:18 PM PDT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that most threats to Israel's security were "dwarfed" by the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weaponry, which local media reports charged Tehran had stepped up its efforts to achieve. The comments at a weekly cabinet meeting and the front-page reports in the liberal Haaretz, a frequent Netanyahu critic, and in the conservative, pro-government Israel Hayom came as Israeli debate intensified about whether to go to war against Iran - and soon - over its disputed atomic projects. The debate seemed to defy appeals by U.S. ...

Egypt's president retires defense minister

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 01:15 PM PDT

Egypt's Islamist president ordered the retirement of the defense minister and chief of staff on Sunday and made the boldest move so far to seize back powers that the military stripped from his office right before he took over.

Residents describe terror of Iran quake, 250 die

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 11:54 AM PDT

Residents of the zone in northwestern Iran hit by powerful twin earthquakes described moments of terror and panic with birds crowing loudly in warning seconds before the ground shook. As the death toll rose Sunday to more than 250 with entire villages leveled, rescuers called off searches for survivors and turned their attention to caring for the 16,000 people left homeless.

Syrian opposition leader calls for no-fly zone

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 10:32 AM PDT

The head of Syria's main opposition group in exile called Sunday for international powers to impose a no-fly zone in border areas to protect civilians who are coming under increasingly intense attacks by regime warplanes and helicopters.

US Navy ship collides with oil tanker in Gulf

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 11:13 AM PDT

A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer was left with a gaping hole on one side after it collided with an oil tanker early Sunday just outside the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Olympics to close with pop party extravaganza

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 01:11 PM PDT

British rock stars are seizing the stage to close the Olympics with an extravaganza that promises to keep a worldwide audience entertained well into the night — and dancing all the way to Rio.

Now to Rio, full of Olympic 2016 jitters

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 09:08 AM PDT

The snuffing out of the Olympic flame in London Sunday marks a conclusion for most, but for 2016 host city Rio de Janeiro it kicks off four years of pre-games jitters and a race against the clock to ready this notoriously laid-back beach city for the global sports showcase.

Afghan officials met with jailed Taliban leader

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 10:29 AM PDT

Afghan government representatives have met with a top-ranking Taliban member in his prison cell in Pakistan, an official said Sunday, suggesting a small step toward reopening stalled peace talks with the insurgent group.

Terror-free Olympics? No accident, officials say

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 07:41 AM PDT

The rooftop missiles might have scared them off. Then again, it might have been the imposing warship or the army of undercover agents. Whatever the case, London's Summer Olympics have been terror-free so far.

Wildfires threaten to burn precious parks in Spain

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 09:37 AM PDT

Fierce wildfires forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and were threatening some of Spain's most precious natural parks, including one that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, officials said Sunday.