Yahoo! News: World News

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• Greek leaders close to coalition, aim to ease bailout
• Syrian forces pound cities as Obama, Putin meet
• Seven killed on Israel's Egypt and Gaza borders
• Egypt rivals claim presidency as army tightens grip
• Iran nuclear talks "intense" but no breakthrough
• Mexico ruling party candidate floats new vote ploy: sex
• Gunmen attack Tunisian consulate in Benghazi
• Imprisoned Palestinian soccer player will end fast
• Protests erupt as Sudan's Bashir unveils austerity plan
• Mediaset case prosecutors want Berlusconi jailed
• G-20 leaders call for Europe to fix finance woes
• Obama: Putin talks candid, tensions can be eased
• Egyptian military moves to retain power after vote
• Nigeria: Reprisal killings follow church attacks
• Europe's relief from Greek vote likely fleeting
• Saudi Arabia names defense minister crown prince
• Suspect in body parts case returns to Canada
• Palestinian footballer to end strike, go free
• West avoiding action in Syria, blaming Russia
• McCartney turns 70, shows no sign of slowing down

Greek leaders close to coalition, aim to ease bailout Posted: 18 Jun 2012 01:12 PM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's conservatives are close to forming a new coalition government following a narrow election victory, a party official said on Monday, after their leader promised to soften the country's punishing austerity program despite German opposition. A relief rally on financial markets after Sunday's vote quickly fizzled out as it became clear that the New Democracy party of Antonis Samaras had failed to win a strong mandate to implement the big spending cuts and tax increases demanded by the European Union and the IMF under a bailout deal. ...

Syrian forces pound cities as Obama, Putin meet Posted: 18 Jun 2012 02:21 PM PDT LOS CABOS, Mexico/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Monday that the violence in Syria must stop but gave no sign of agreeing on how to do it even as Syrian security forces pounded opposition areas across the country. Intense artillery fire was reported in Douma, a town 15 km (9 miles) outside the Syrian capital Damascus that for weeks has been under the partial control of rebels who have joined the 15-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. ...

Seven killed on Israel's Egypt and Gaza borders Posted: 18 Jun 2012 02:37 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Militants who crossed into Israel from Egypt's Sinai Desert fired on Israelis building a barrier on the border on Monday, killing one worker, before soldiers shot dead two of the attackers, Israel's military said. Israel later launched air strikes killing four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including two militants from the Islamic Jihad group on a motorcycle. Two other militants were killed while trying to fire a rocket, Israel said. ...

Egypt rivals claim presidency as army tightens grip Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:48 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's agonized passage from revolution to democracy was in limbo on Monday, as the Muslim Brotherhood claimed victory in a presidential election while the generals who took over from Hosni Mubarak decreed it was they who would keep power for now. That drew a sharp rebuke from Washington, long the Egyptian military's financial sponsor. The Pentagon said it was "deeply concerned" and urged the army to hand over "full power" to civilians - but it made no mention of U.S. action if it did not. ...

Iran nuclear talks "intense" but no breakthrough Posted: 18 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iran had "intense and tough" talks on Monday with the six world powers concerned about its nuclear program, but there was no clear progress towards ending a decade-long dispute which risks sparking a new Middle East war. A spokesman for the head of the delegation talking to Iran held out hope for a result on the second, final day of talks. "We had an intense and tough exchange of views," said European Union foreign policy head Catherine Ashton's spokesman Michael Mann. "We agreed to reflect overnight on each others' positions. ...

Mexico ruling party candidate floats new vote ploy: sex Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:07 PM PDT ATLIXCO, Mexico (Reuters) - Sex sells - at least that's what the ruling party candidate is hoping as she seeks to rescue her fading chances in Mexico's upcoming presidential election. Sitting well behind the frontrunner, Josefina Vazquez Mota of the National Action Party (PAN) has appealed to women voters to use their wiles to ensure their husbands vote on July 1. First she urged them on her Twitter account to withhold "cuchi cuchi", or hanky panky, for a month if the husbands don't vote. Then, challenged by a disgruntled man, she upped the ante on Monday. ...

Gunmen attack Tunisian consulate in Benghazi Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:03 PM PDT BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A group of armed gunmen stormed the Tunisian consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Monday to protest against an art exhibition in Tunisia which they said insulted Islam, a security guard who works inside the building said. Kamal al-Gehani said the group of about 20 young men carrying Kalashnikovs forced their way into the building and burned the Tunisian flag inside. "They knocked on our gates and pushed into the building. It was a holiday so no one was working inside except security," he told Reuters. ...

Imprisoned Palestinian soccer player will end fast Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:02 PM PDT RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A soccer player from Gaza held by Israel without trial for nearly three years has agreed to end his three-month hunger strike in exchange for hospital treatment and an early release, his lawyer said on Monday. Mahmoud al-Sarsak, 25, was detained under Israel's "unlawful combatants" law, and is the latest of a number of Palestinian prisoners to end fasts after winning guarantees of release from their Israeli jailers. ...

Protests erupt as Sudan's Bashir unveils austerity plan Posted: 18 Jun 2012 03:25 PM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's police used tear gas and batons to break up protests in Khartoum on Monday, witnesses said, after President Omar Hassan al-Bashir unveiled tough austerity measures to plug a budget deficit. Sudan has avoided an "Arab spring" but anger is rising over spiraling food prices among a population strained by years of conflict, poverty and U.S. trade sanctions. The Arab-African country has been struggling with economic crisis after losing three-quarters of its oil production, the lifeblood of the economy, when South Sudan seceded a year ago. ...

Mediaset case prosecutors want Berlusconi jailed Posted: 18 Jun 2012 02:58 PM PDT MILAN (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors asked a court on Monday to sentence former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to three years and eight months in jail for fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset television company. Prosecutors also asked for a jail sentence of three years and four months for Mediaset chairman Fedele Confalonieri. Berlusconi and other executives at Mediaset are accused of inflating the price paid for television rights via offshore companies controlled by Berlusconi, and skimming off part of the money to create illegal slush funds. ...

G-20 leaders call for Europe to fix finance woes Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:11 PM PDT European leaders at the G-20 summit struggled to reassure the world Monday that they were on the path to solving their continent's relentless economic crisis, defending the pace of their response even as market pressures pushed Spain closer to needing a bailout that would strain the world's ability to pay.

Obama: Putin talks candid, tensions can be eased Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:41 PM PDT Seeking common ground, President Barack Obama said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Monday on the need for a political process in Syria to prevent civil war in the violence-torn country and said any tensions between the United States and Russia can be worked out.

Egyptian military moves to retain power after vote Posted: 18 Jun 2012 01:44 PM PDT Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi claimed a hollow victory Monday in Egypt's presidential vote just hours after the country's military rulers stripped the office of its most important powers.

Nigeria: Reprisal killings follow church attacks Posted: 18 Jun 2012 02:06 PM PDT Aid workers searched for bodies Monday among charred vehicles and destroyed market stalls after a trio of church bombings sparked reprisal killings in northern Nigeria, officials said. The Nigerian Red Cross said the death toll had more than doubled, to 50 people.

Europe's relief from Greek vote likely fleeting Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:22 PM PDT Greece's election result has eased fears of imminent financial disaster for Europe, but the continent's leaders are still searching for a way to contain a debt crisis that threatens the global economy.

Saudi Arabia names defense minister crown prince Posted: 18 Jun 2012 01:47 PM PDT Saudi Arabia kept power within the surviving, aging sons of the kingdom's founding patriarch Monday by naming Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz as the new heir to the throne in a country both battling and embracing the upheavals across the Middle East.

Suspect in body parts case returns to Canada Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:29 PM PDT A Canadian porn actor suspected in the dismemberment of a Chinese student arrived in Canada on Monday via military transport from Germany, where he was arrested this month.

Palestinian footballer to end strike, go free Posted: 18 Jun 2012 02:06 PM PDT A member of the Palestinian national soccer team, imprisoned by Israel for nearly three years, agreed Monday to end a hunger strike of more than three months in exchange for his release July 10, his lawyer said.

West avoiding action in Syria, blaming Russia Posted: 18 Jun 2012 01:08 PM PDT The U.S. has spent months disparaging Russia for blocking strong U.N. action against Syria and standing by President Bashar Assad as his forces lay waste to rebellious cities.

McCartney turns 70, shows no sign of slowing down Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:29 PM PDT Paul McCartney can still rock at 70. What more could a former Beatle want?

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