Yahoo! News: World News

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• UN council authorizes up to 300 Syria truce monitors
• French voters frustrated on eve of election day
• China and North Korea hold highest-level talks since rocket
• Dutch train crash injures 125: police
• Protests, clashes, death cast pall over Bahrain Grand Prix
• Nigerian kidnappers release Spanish doctor
• South Sudan says troops bombed during flashpoint pullout
• Dutch elections loom as budget talks collapse
• New Brotherhood candidate pitched in to Egypt race
• "Loyalist" soldiers move into Mali's rebel-held north
• UN monitors visit Syria opposition stronghold
• Uganda Kony-hunting soldiers face jungle threats
• It's all about emotion in French presidential race
• Bahrain tense ahead of F1 after protester dies
• Yemeni troops battle al-Qaida militants in south
• UN authorizes 300 Syria cease-fire observers
• Pakistan probes jet crash amid criticism
• Afghan official: Explosives seized, attack stopped
• Unauthorized biography spills Simon Cowell secrets
• Costa Concordia to be salvaged in 1 piece

UN council authorizes up to 300 Syria truce monitors Posted: UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a Russia-European drafted resolution on Saturday that authorizes an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers to Syria for three months to help bolster a fragile week-old ceasefire. But the 15-nation council's move to condition deployment of observers on a U.N. assessment of compliance with the truce reflected U.S. and European fears that the Syrian government's failure to stop shelling towns, return troops to barracks and withdraw heavy weapons from cities makes the prospects for success slim. ...

French voters frustrated on eve of election day Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - French voters voiced disillusionment on Saturday at a campaign that many said ignored the country's real problems, on the eve of a first-round vote expected to send President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist rival Francois Hollande to a runoff next month. A day ahead of voting in mainland France, the first ballots were cast in overseas territories, from French Guiana on the northern shores of South America to the Pacific islands of Polynesia. ...

China and North Korea hold highest-level talks since rocket Posted: BEIJING (Reuters) - China and North Korea on Saturday held their highest-level talks since Pyongyang staged a rocket launch that drew international censure, and they exchanged views about the tense Korean peninsula, according to an official Chinese news report. Wang Jiarui, the head of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's International Department, met Kim Yong-il, the Korean Workers' Party director of international affairs, for "strategic" talks between the two ruling parties, the Xinhua news agency reported. ...

Dutch train crash injures 125: police Posted: AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Almost 125 people were injured, many seriously, when two Dutch commuter trains crashed head-on in Amsterdam on Saturday, police said. There were no immediate reports of fatalities, but of those injured, 13 suffered major injuries while 43 or 44 were badly injured, a spokesman said. About 70 suffered minor injuries. A trauma helicopter was used to bring the injured to hospital, a spokesman for railways group NS said. The trains did not serve Schiphol international airport, the NS spokesman added, but the accident disrupted airport train service. ...

Protests, clashes, death cast pall over Bahrain Grand Prix Posted: MANAMA (Reuters) - Crowds of masked protesters hurled petrol bombs at police who fired tear gas back in Bahrain on Saturday, turning the streets into a battle zone on the eve of a Formula One Grand Prix that demonstrators say glorifies a repressive government. Protesters were fired up by outrage over the death of one of their number, whose body was found sprawled on a village rooftop after overnight clashes with police. Around 7,000 marchers held banners calling for democratic reforms. Some banners depicted Formula One race car drivers as riot police beating up protesters. ...

Nigerian kidnappers release Spanish doctor Posted: LAGOS (Reuters) - Kidnappers in Nigeria have released a Spanish doctor they abducted three weeks ago, police said on Saturday. Gunmen kidnapped Jose Manuel Machimbarrena on April 4 from his home in southeastern Nigeria, a region where several foreigners have been seized for ransom in the past few years. "The kidnapped Dr Machimbarrena ... was released yesterday," Enugu police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement. "The state police command has intensified its manhunt in the pursuit of the hoodlums who took him. ...

South Sudan says troops bombed during flashpoint pullout Posted: BENTIU, South Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan accused its neighbor Sudan of bombing its troops as they pulled out of the disputed oil region of Heglig on Saturday, dampening already faint hopes of any imminent settlement between the bitter foes. The newly-independent South seized Heglig last week, raising fears of an all-out war with Sudan, then announced it had started withdrawing on Friday, following sharp criticism from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The Sudan armed forced bombed our positions last night ... ...

Dutch elections loom as budget talks collapse Posted: THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Netherlands appears to be heading for early elections after budget talks in the core euro zone member collapsed on Saturday, jeopardizing its chances of meeting European deficit targets and of approving a broader fiscal responsibility pact. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has led a minority Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition since October 2010, will first try to reach an agreement with the opposition, including the pro-Europe Labour Party, on crucial budget cuts after his ally Geert Wilders refused to do a deal. ...

New Brotherhood candidate pitched in to Egypt race Posted: CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood's new presidential candidate, pitched into the race after its first choice was disqualified, promised on Saturday to govern in coalition and to steady Egypt after more than a year of political turmoil. Mohamed Mursi, 59, the head of the Brotherhood's political party, said he would seek the votes of ultra-conservative Muslims after a popular hardline Salafi candidate was barred too, but he promised to be a president for all Egyptians. ...

"Loyalist" soldiers move into Mali's rebel-held north Posted: BAMAKO (Reuters) - About 200 soldiers claiming to be government loyalists have moved back into northern Mali saying they will fight to take it back from Tuareg-led separatist and Islamist rebels that routed the army across the region three weeks ago. The troop movement just inside Mali's eastern border with Niger came as witnesses said gunmen in rebel-held Timbuktu, near the northwestern border with Mauritania, opened fire to disperse residents protesting against the occupation of their town. ...

UN monitors visit Syria opposition stronghold Posted: Five unarmed U.N. truce monitors toured the battered city at the heart of the Syrian uprising on foot Saturday, encountering unusually calm streets after weeks of shelling as a throng of residents clamored for foreign military help to oust President Bashar Assad.

Uganda Kony-hunting soldiers face jungle threats Posted: For Ugandan soldiers tasked with catching Joseph Kony, the real threat is not the elusive Central Africa warlord and his brutal gang. Encounters with the Lord's Resistance Army rebels are so rare that Kony hunters worry more about the threats of the jungle: Armed poachers, wild beasts, honey bees, and even a fly that torments their ears.

It's all about emotion in French presidential race Posted: Like Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy swept to power on a wave of hope for change. Sarkozy's wave crashed on the global financial crisis and his own failings. On Sunday, the French leader faces a tough fight against nine challengers in presidential elections awash in fear and anger.

Bahrain tense ahead of F1 after protester dies Posted: The discovery of a protester's body near the scene of clashes on Saturday threatened to tip Bahrain deeper into unrest as a 14-month-old uprising overshadows the return of the Formula One Grand Prix to the strategic Gulf kingdom.

Yemeni troops battle al-Qaida militants in south Posted: Yemen's military regained part of a strategic southern city on Saturday after an intense battle with al-Qaida militants left 19 people dead as the government tries to purge the insurgents from their strongholds, officials said.

UN authorizes 300 Syria cease-fire observers Posted: The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Saturday expanding the number of U.N. cease-fire observers in Syria from 30 to 300 and demanding an immediate halt to the violence that has been escalating since the government and opposition agreed to end hostilities more than a week ago.

Pakistan probes jet crash amid criticism Posted: Pakistan on Saturday barred the head of the airline whose jet crashed near the capital from leaving the country, vowing to investigate a tragedy that has revived fears about the safety of aviation in a country saddled by massive economic problems.

Afghan official: Explosives seized, attack stopped Posted: Afghan security forces have arrested five militants with 10,000 kilograms (22,000 pounds) of explosives that they smuggled in from Pakistan to carry out a massive attack in Kabul, as well as another three suspects allegedly planning to assassinate the vice president, an official said Saturday.

Unauthorized biography spills Simon Cowell secrets Posted: He gets colonic irrigations, Botox injections and vitamin drips, and insists on black toilet paper in his home.

Costa Concordia to be salvaged in 1 piece Posted: Salvage work to remove the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship from its rocky perch off Tuscany, where 32 people died, will begin early next month and is expected to take a year, the Italian owner announced Saturday.

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