Yahoo! News: World News

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• Exclusive: Pakistani with U.S. bounty said helping de-radicalize militants
• Accused Afghan shooter's lawyer wants military counsel fired
• Mali's neighbors back junta exit plan
• Syrian violence claims 27 dead in run-up to truce
• Mubarak's ex-spy chief enters Egypt presidential race
• Hundreds rally in Benghazi against Libyan militias
• What Brazil wants from White House visit: dinner
• Pope urges families to persevere in economic crisis
• After half century, Cubans again celebrate Good Friday
• Sudan, South Sudan to hold postponed summit: AU
• Yemeni leader purges army of ex-regime loyalists
• Egyptian ex-regime strongman to run for president
• Mali attracts Islamist fighters in void after coup
• Syrian refugees flee violence, talk of mass graves
• APNewsBreak: Mali's coup leader to return power
• Cubans mark Good Friday as official holiday
• Kosovo PM: integration only option for Serbs
• Airline employee resigns amid celeb tip-off claims
• Bosnia's capital marks 20 years since war started
• ICC prosecutor: Kony will be arrested in 2012

Exclusive: Pakistani with U.S. bounty said helping de-radicalize militants Posted: ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An Islamist leader who had a $10 million American bounty placed on his head this week has been helping Pakistan de-radicalize militants under efforts to stabilize the strategic U.S. ally, a top Pakistani counter-terrorism official said on Friday. Hafiz Saeed, suspected of masterminding an attack by Pakistan-based gunmen on India's financial capital Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people, including six Americans, met government officials from the Punjab province and pledged his support for the drive, the official said. ...

Accused Afghan shooter's lawyer wants military counsel fired Posted: SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The civilian attorney representing the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan villagers wants to replace the military lawyer assigned to the case after disagreements over how to handle his defense. "You are fired, sorry, but we have much more experience than you," Seattle-based John Henry Browne, the outspoken lawyer who has been the public face of the defense of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said in an email to military lawyer Major Thomas Hurley. ...

Mali's neighbors back junta exit plan Posted: BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's two-week-old junta agreed on Friday to hand over rule to civilians in return for the end of sanctions by worried neighbors who had threatened to strangle the economy of the West African country. The accord between leaders of a March 22 coup and regional mediators came the day Tuareg rebels declared the independence of the northern half of Mali they seized in a lightning advance earlier this week - a secession bid shunned by the world. ...

Syrian violence claims 27 dead in run-up to truce Posted: BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 27 Syrian soldiers, rebels and civilians were killed in violence on Friday, opposition activists said, four days before a troop pullback agreed to by President Bashar al-Assad as part of a U.N.-backed peace plan. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) said it had met a delegation from peace envoy Kofi Annan this week and confirmed its fighters would stop shooting if Assad withdraws his tanks and troops to barracks before a ceasefire deadline next Thursday. ...

Mubarak's ex-spy chief enters Egypt presidential race Posted: CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said on Friday he would run for president if supporters complete his paperwork within a day, putting one of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's closest allies back in the race days after he ruled himself out. Nominations close on Sunday for Egypt's first free presidential race, which is set to pit Islamists against those who served under the ousted president. Suleiman, 74, served for years as Mubarak's head of military intelligence and General Intelligence Service. ...

Hundreds rally in Benghazi against Libyan militias Posted: BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Hundreds of people, including police and soldiers, protested in Libya's second biggest city on Friday, calling on militias to lay down their weapons as the government tries to impose its authority on a myriad of armed groups months after the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. Chanting "Army and police, we want nothing else" and "No militias, no brigades, one army, one flag", about 300 people took to the streets of Benghazi, including soldiers driving a convoy of about 50 military and police vehicles. ...

What Brazil wants from White House visit: dinner Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will have a long wish list when she visits the White House on Monday, but there's one goal that stands above the rest: Dinner with Barack Obama. It's not likely to happen. The U.S. president's decision not to fully roll out the red carpet for Rousseff in Washington symbolizes the relationship between two giant democracies that by most accounts want to become better allies, but have yet to find the common cause - or magic personal moment between leaders - that brings them closer together. More weighty topics such as Syria, U.S. ...

Pope urges families to persevere in economic crisis Posted: ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict called for perseverance in the face of an economic crisis that has led to hardship and rising unemployment across Europe as he presided over a procession around Rome's Colosseum to mark Jesus Christ's crucifixion and death on Good Friday. The German pontiff, who turns 85 this month, stood before thousands of people holding candles at the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) march and listened to reflections on family unity that lamented divorce, abortion and infidelity. ...

After half century, Cubans again celebrate Good Friday Posted: HAVANA (Reuters) - Bells rang from Roman Catholic churches throughout Havana on Friday to remember the death of Jesus Christ as Cubans celebrated a holiday on Good Friday for the first time in more than half a century. The day off, granted at the request of Pope Benedict on his recent visit to the communist island, translated into quieter streets than usual, but only sparse attendance at a Mass in the city's main cathedral presided over by Cardinal Jaime Ortega. ...

Sudan, South Sudan to hold postponed summit: AU Posted: KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will meet his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir, to defuse tensions between the neighbors after an initial summit was postponed, an African Union mediator said on Friday. South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace agreement that ended decades of civil war with Khartoum but both sides are at loggerheads over oil payments and a long list of other issues. ...

Yemeni leader purges army of ex-regime loyalists Posted: Yemen's newly appointed president fired several old-regime figures and relatives of the former leader in a major shake-up of the country's military Friday, a move meant to show he was making good on promises of reforms in the wake of his predecessor's ouster.

Egyptian ex-regime strongman to run for president Posted: A former strongman of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's regime announced his presidential candidacy Friday, shaking up an already heated race that is emerging as a contest between two longtime rivals — former regime officials and Islamists who have surged in influence.

Mali attracts Islamist fighters in void after coup Posted: Al-Qaida militants and other Islamist fighters are descending on northern Mali in the chaotic aftermath of a military coup, creating a potential haven for terrorists in a part of the Sahara bristling with heavy weapons looted from Libya.

Syrian refugees flee violence, talk of mass graves Posted: After days of relentless shelling and sniper attacks, thousands of Syrian refugees streamed across the border into Turkey with horrific accounts Friday of mass graves, massacres and burned-out homes.

APNewsBreak: Mali's coup leader to return power Posted: Under intense pressure from the nations bordering Mali, the junior officer who seized control of the country in a coup last month signed an accord, agreeing late Friday to return the country to constitutional rule.

Cubans mark Good Friday as official holiday Posted: Good Friday was an official holiday in Cuba for the first time in a half century, but few Roman Catholics on the island seemed to be using the day off to attend Mass.

Kosovo PM: integration only option for Serbs Posted: Kosovo's prime minister says integration is the only option he will accept for his country's aggrieved Serb population.

Airline employee resigns amid celeb tip-off claims Posted: A Virgin Atlantic employee has resigned following allegations she routinely fed information about the airline's celebrity clientele — from Madonna to Sienna Miller — to a paparazzi agency.

Bosnia's capital marks 20 years since war started Posted: Bosnians walked silently and sobbed on Sarajevo's main street, leaving flowers and gifts on 11,541 red chairs arranged in seemingly endless rows — the number represents the men, women and children killed in a siege that ended up being the longest of a city in modern history.

ICC prosecutor: Kony will be arrested in 2012 Posted: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he has "no doubt" that fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony will be arrested this year because the international spotlight has helped boost the hunt for the Lord's Resistance Army leader.

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