Yahoo! News: World News

Gaza truce pressure builds, Cairo in focus
France eyes Middle East influence, image with Syria gamble
Colombian rebels call truce as peace talks start
Rwanda accuses Congo of shelling border town
Sarkozy ally wins French right leadership battle
Sudan denies delaying south's oil exports
Church of England faces close vote on women bishops
Rioters attack ethnic Somalis in Kenyan capital
U.S., southeast Asian nations start trade initiative
Asia trip takes Obama White House into Myanmar time warp
Israel, Hamas trade fire and tough truce proposals
Israeli offensive in Gaza was years in the making
US tries behind scenes to end Israel-Hamas warfare
Syrian Islamists reject Western-backed opposition
Congo rebels, army clash at Goma's edge
Wranglers say 'Hobbit' animals died on unsafe farm
World court: Disputed islands belong to Colombia
Gazans apply lessons learned from last battle
Brazilian soccer star on trial for killing lover
Mexico focus on police commanders in CIA shooting
Hamas wins over its doubters in Gaza with battlefield prowess
As Hamas confronts Israel, its Arab support swells
Can Israel end this war at a time of its choosing?
Religious violence feared after bus bombing in Kenya
Woman hits 'like' on Facebook, gets arrested in India
Israel's Bedouin Arabs caught in middle as rockets fly in both directions
For Syrian rebels, a relentless game of cat-and-mouse
Gaza cease-fire negotiations underway, but fighting rages on

Gaza truce pressure builds, Cairo in focus

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 04:05 PM PST

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - International pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip puts Egypt's new Islamist president in the spotlight on Tuesday after a sixth day of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli air strikes that have killed over 100 people. Israel's leaders weighed the benefits and risks of sending tanks and infantry into the densely populated coastal enclave two months before an Israeli election, and indicated they would prefer a diplomatic path backed by world powers, including U.S. President Barack Obama, the European Union and Russia. ...

France eyes Middle East influence, image with Syria gamble

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 11:54 AM PST

PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande's decision to recognize Syria's new opposition bloc aims to secure long-term French interests in the region and boost his foreign policy image but, with few allies following suit, Paris may risk isolation. With his economic policies under harsh scrutiny at home and abroad, Hollande's hesitant response to the Syria conflict before last week had been unflatteringly compared to the decisive approach of predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy when he led Western efforts to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. ...

Colombian rebels call truce as peace talks start

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 02:22 PM PST

HAVANA/BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's Marxist rebels called a two-month unilateral ceasefire on Monday, the first truce in more than a decade, as delicate peace talks began in Cuba to try to end a half century of war. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos' government reiterated, however, that there would be no halt to military operations until a final peace deal is signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC. ...

Rwanda accuses Congo of shelling border town

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 02:09 PM PST

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rwanda accused U.N.-backed Congolese forces of shelling its territory during a battle with rebels near the border on Monday but said it had no plans to respond militarily to what it called Kinshasa's "provocation". Tension between the central African neighbors is reaching breaking point over an insurgency in Congo's eastern hills that Kinshasa's government says is orchestrated by Rwanda with designs on the region's mineral riches. ...

Sarkozy ally wins French right leadership battle

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 03:23 PM PST

PARIS (Reuters) - Rightist Jean-Francois Cope, an ally of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, claimed the leadership of France's main conservative party on Monday in a closely fought two-way contest marred by mutual accusations of voter fraud. Cope, already the incumbent leader of the UMP party, beat centrist former prime minister Francois Fillon by 50.03 percent to 49.97 percent, the head of an internal voting commission said - a margin of just 98 votes out of almost 175,000 cast. ...

Sudan denies delaying south's oil exports

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 03:33 PM PST

KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan have not yet agreed on how to demilitarize their border - a condition for resuming oil flows, Khartoum said on Monday, but denied it was deliberately delaying the economically vital trade. Newspaper reports about a possible oil export delay knocked the Sudanese pound to a historic low against the dollar, illustrating the importance for both countries of getting oil from landlocked South Sudan's fields via the north for export. ...

Church of England faces close vote on women bishops

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 03:43 PM PST

LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England decides on Tuesday whether to allow the ordination of women bishops when members take part in an historic vote whose result could prove the first major test for the next archbishop. Women already serve as Anglican bishops in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, but the Church of England, mother church for the world's 80 million Anglicans, has struggled to reconcile the dispute between reformers and traditionalists on whether to allow them in England. ...

Rioters attack ethnic Somalis in Kenyan capital

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 01:09 PM PST

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan police fired tear gas to disperse rioters who attacked ethnic Somalis in the Nairobi district known as "Little Mogadishu" on Monday, hurling rocks and smashing windows after a weekend bomb attack there killed nine people. The violence coincided with the start of voter registration for a general election in March, adding to security concerns ahead of the first national polls since 2007 when a dispute over the results fuelled ethnic slaughter that killed more than 1,200 people and forced some 300,000 from their homes. ...

U.S., southeast Asian nations start trade initiative

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 02:58 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and southeast Asian leaders launched an initiative aimed at expanding trade and investment ties between the United States and 10 countries in southeast Asia, the White House said on Monday. The countries announced the start of the process at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in Cambodia, where Obama is visiting Phnom Penh for a regional summit. Actions outlined in the initiative - the U.S. ...

Asia trip takes Obama White House into Myanmar time warp

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 11:37 AM PST

YANGON (Reuters) - It won't be mistaken for a Nixon-goes-to-China kind of moment. But President Barack Obama's visit to Myanmar on Monday sometimes felt like a return to an earlier era of presidential diplomacy - and his aides were determined to make sure that no one missed its historic significance. The trip was carefully choreographed to highlight what the White House sees as a first-term foreign policy success for a newly re-elected president whose record on the world stage shows few triumphs so far. ...

Israel, Hamas trade fire and tough truce proposals

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 04:08 PM PST

Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers traded fire and tough cease-fire proposals Monday, and threatened to escalate their border conflict if diplomacy fails. No deal appeared near.

Israeli offensive in Gaza was years in the making

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 04:35 PM PST

With little notice, Israel has launched a blistering air offensive against the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas militant group. Here's a look at why the violence erupted, the goals of the warring sides and how it may end:

US tries behind scenes to end Israel-Hamas warfare

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 01:13 PM PST

The Obama administration worked hard behind the scenes Monday to end almost a week of warfare between Israel and Hamas, pressing America's Arab and European allies to convince Palestinian militant groups to cease firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into the Jewish state.

Syrian Islamists reject Western-backed opposition

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 12:44 PM PST

Syria's increasingly powerful Islamist rebel factions rejected the country's new Western-backed opposition coalition and unilaterally declared an Islamic state in the key battleground of Aleppo, a sign of the seemingly intractable splits among those fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.

Congo rebels, army clash at Goma's edge

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 04:17 PM PST

Rebels believed to be backed by Rwanda fired mortars and machine guns Monday on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Goma, threatening to capture one of the largest cities in eastern Congo in a development that could drag this giant Central African nation back into war.

Wranglers say 'Hobbit' animals died on unsafe farm

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 03:26 PM PST

Animal wranglers involved in the making of "The Hobbit" movie trilogy say the production company is responsible for the deaths of up to 27 animals, largely because they were kept at a farm filled with bluffs, sinkholes and other "death traps."

World court: Disputed islands belong to Colombia

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 04:43 PM PST

The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that a group of tiny islands in the western Caribbean belongs to Colombia, but also granted Nicaragua control of a large swath of the surrounding sea and seabed that could hold oil reserves.

Gazans apply lessons learned from last battle

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 12:03 PM PST

Sleep away from windows, stock up on food, get the family car off the street — these are the lessons Gazans have learned in previous rounds of fighting between Israel and the territory's Hamas rulers.

Brazilian soccer star on trial for killing lover

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 04:51 PM PST

A former Brazilian soccer star charged with orchestrating the murder of his ex-girlfriend went on trial Monday in a case that includes allegations the young model was lured to a ranch where she was held hostage, killed and her body dismembered.

Mexico focus on police commanders in CIA shooting

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 02:45 PM PST

In a strange and aggressive attack by Mexican federal police on a U.S. Embassy vehicle that was pumped with 152 bullets, one major question remains: Why?

Hamas wins over its doubters in Gaza with battlefield prowess

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 01:28 PM PST

Hamas's headquarters, commanders, and weapons caches may have taken big hits in the past week, but not its popularity, which appears to be rebounding. Gazans fed up with the Islamist organization's government of Gaza, including its high taxes, alleged corruption, and strict interpretation of Islam, have put such concerns aside to champion the group's willingness to take a stand against Israel.

As Hamas confronts Israel, its Arab support swells

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 12:05 PM PST

The last time Israel launched a major military operation in Gaza, it could count on neighboring Egypt not to pose any significant opposition. Its then-ruler, Hosni Mubarak, was hostile to Hamas, the ideological cousin of the internal Egyptian opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood, and he kept Egypt's border with Gaza mostly shut as Israel waged a war that killed more than 1,000 Palestinians.

Can Israel end this war at a time of its choosing?

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 10:10 AM PST

As Israel threatens to expand its Pillar of Defense operation "within hours" if a cease-fire is not reached, the country risks getting drawn into a fuzzier, more costly conflict that could undermine its security in the long-term.

Religious violence feared after bus bombing in Kenya

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 09:57 AM PST

Fears of religious violence in Kenya are on the rise today following a weekend bus bombing in Nairobi's predominately Somali neighborhood, the third explosion there this month.

Woman hits 'like' on Facebook, gets arrested in India

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 09:49 AM PST

The police in Mumbai arrested Monday a 21-year-old college student Shaheen Dhada for a Facebook status update and her friend Renu Srinivasan for clicking "Like" on the update. The case is the latest in a string of recent crackdowns on Internet speech in India.

Israel's Bedouin Arabs caught in middle as rockets fly in both directions

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 09:35 AM PST

"Remember God" reads a sign on the main street of this devout, impoverished Bedouin Arab town in southern Israel that is trapped in the middle of the devastating Israel-Gaza fighting, even more than most places in the country.

For Syrian rebels, a relentless game of cat-and-mouse

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 09:27 AM PST

In the flat, open Syrian-Lebanese border region, the strapped Syrian rebels have no choice but to let ground they capture fall back into enemy hands.

Gaza cease-fire negotiations underway, but fighting rages on

Posted: 19 Nov 2012 05:17 AM PST

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