Yahoo! News: World News

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• Friend flees Assad as U.S. pressures Russia
• Car bomb kills seven, wounds 20 in central Iraq: police
• U.S. steps up warnings on Iran dissident camp in Iraq
• Seven arrested in British anti-terrorism raids
• U.N. names experts to probe Israeli settlements
• Greece wants to renegotiate policies, not targets: PM
• Gunmen kill 18 bus passengers in Pakistan: police
• U.S. drone kills 12 suspected militants in Pakistan
• Portugal vows to stick to goals after court ruling
• US, allies press Assad as top Syrian general flees
• Romania president impeached amid EU, US concern
• Tensions in Libya ahead of first post-Gadhafi vote
• Pena Nieto's win confirmed by Mexico vote count
• Egypt's president orders probe of protester deaths
• Report: 'Hitler's wish' protected Jewish WWI vet
• Rocket blast signals start of running of the bulls
• Elite counterdrug units proposed for Mexico
• Doctors lauded after chimp attack in S. Africa
• Libya on edge before first post-Gadhafi election

Friend flees Assad as U.S. pressures Russia Posted: 06 Jul 2012 01:53 PM PDT BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) - One of President Bashar al-Assad's personal friends has defected and was headed for exile in France on Friday, as the Syrian crisis took on a Cold War tone when Washington threatened to make Russia and China "pay" for backing the government in Damascus. Manaf Tlas, a cadet college classmate, Republican Guard general and son of Assad's father's defense chief, has yet to surface abroad, or clearly to throw his lot in with the rebels, who acknowledged the loss of one of their strongholds overnight. ...

Car bomb kills seven, wounds 20 in central Iraq: police Posted: 06 Jul 2012 01:45 PM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb in a parked car killed seven people and wounded 20 on Friday when it exploded in the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, police and hospital sources said. The blast in Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, killed mainly women in a residential area, the sources said. "We heard a big explosion and when we arrived at the scene we found a parked car on fire," a police officer said. "Bodies were scattered everywhere and some houses were destroyed," he said, declining to be named. ...

U.S. steps up warnings on Iran dissident camp in Iraq Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:36 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned an Iranian dissident group on Friday that time was running out for it to vacate its Iraqi base camp, and said its hope to be taken off the official U.S. blacklist of terrorist organizations could depend on its compliance. Daniel Benjamin, the State Department's coordinator for counter-terrorism, said the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) must complete its move from the Camp Ashraf facility, which the Iraqi government has vowed to close by July 20. ...

Seven arrested in British anti-terrorism raids Posted: 06 Jul 2012 01:44 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Seven men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences in Britain after weapons were found in a vehicle stopped on a motorway, police said on Friday, as security forces are on high alert ahead of the London Olympics. The vehicle was pulled over in a routine stop on the M1 motorway in South Yorkshire, northern England, on Saturday and impounded on suspicion of the driver having no insurance. The suspects were believed to be linked to militant Islamism and were still being questioned but it was unclear what they planned, a security source said. ...

U.N. names experts to probe Israeli settlements Posted: 06 Jul 2012 11:03 AM PDT GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations named French judge Christine Chanet on Friday as the leader of a team of three experts who will investigate whether Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories violate human rights law. The other team members are Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir and Botswana judge Unity Dow. Jahangir has been the subject of human rights cases in the past, having been put under house arrest in 1983 and warned of a plot to assassinate her last month. The U.N. ...

Greece wants to renegotiate policies, not targets: PM Posted: 06 Jul 2012 12:02 PM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will meet targets set by international lenders, but needs more time and wants to renegotiate policies that make its fiscal situation worse by preventing a return to economic growth, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Friday. In his first policy speech since taking office, Samaras outlined his government's priorities before a confidence vote on Sunday. Samaras said his aim was not to demand a change of the goals set in the 130 billion euro bailout deal keeping Greece afloat, but in the austerity policies imposed to meet them. ...

Gunmen kill 18 bus passengers in Pakistan: police Posted: 06 Jul 2012 12:37 PM PDT QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen on motorcycles attacked a bus in southwestern Pakistan near the Iranian border on Friday, killing 18 people and wounding two, Pakistani police said. The attack occurred when the bus, which was heading for Iran, stopped at a roadside shop in the Kech area of Baluchistan province, the police said. They said six gunmen were involved. No further details were immediately available. Several militant groups are active in Baluchistan, Pakistan's biggest but poorest province. ...

U.S. drone kills 12 suspected militants in Pakistan Posted: 06 Jul 2012 11:12 AM PDT MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone aircraft killed at least 12 suspected militants on Friday when it fired missiles at a compound in Pakistan near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The death toll from the strike in the Dattakhel region in North Waziristan could rise, the officials said. Many Pakistanis say drone attacks that kill civilians are a violation of Pakistani sovereignty. The attacks are one of several factors straining ties between Pakistan and the United States. ...

Portugal vows to stick to goals after court ruling Posted: 06 Jul 2012 10:33 AM PDT BRUSSELS/LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal promised on Friday to take all necessary steps to meet budget deficit goals under a 78-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout after the constitutional court ruled against a measure to cut civil servants' wage deals. The court ruling marked another challenge to the center-right government's determination to reduce the country's budget deficit and prompted the European Commission to push Lisbon to come up with new cost-cutting plans next year. ...

US, allies press Assad as top Syrian general flees Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:30 PM PDT A top Syrian general's defection is the first major crack in the upper echelons of President Bashar Assad's regime, buoying a 100-nation conference Friday meant to intensify pressure for his removal, as well as an opposition desperate to bring him down but frustrated by diplomatic efforts.

Romania president impeached amid EU, US concern Posted: 06 Jul 2012 01:44 PM PDT Romanian lawmakers impeached President Traian Basescu in an overwhelming vote Friday, paving the way for a national referendum that could see the divisive and increasingly unpopular leader ousted from the powerful position he's held for eight years.

Tensions in Libya ahead of first post-Gadhafi vote Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:53 PM PDT Fears of militia violence and calls for a boycott threatened Friday to mar Libya's first nationwide parliamentary election, a milestone on the oil-rich North African nation's rocky path toward democracy after the ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Pena Nieto's win confirmed by Mexico vote count Posted: 06 Jul 2012 02:16 PM PDT The official count in Mexico's presidential election concluded on Friday with results showing that former ruling party candidate Enrique Pena Nieto won by a 6.6 percentage-point margin, almost exactly the same lead as a vote-night quick count gave him.

Egypt's president orders probe of protester deaths Posted: 06 Jul 2012 09:42 AM PDT Egypt's new president appointed a fact-finding committee to investigate the killing of protesters since the outbreak of last year's popular uprising that toppled his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.

Report: 'Hitler's wish' protected Jewish WWI vet Posted: 06 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT A Jewish World War I veteran was allegedly spared — for a while, at least — from Nazi persecution thanks to a letter that claimed Adolf Hitler wanted him protected, a German Jewish newspaper reported.

Rocket blast signals start of running of the bulls Posted: 06 Jul 2012 06:23 AM PDT Tens of thousands of revelers showered each other with sparkling wine and waved red kerchiefs Friday as the blast of a small rocket signaled the start of this year's running of the bulls.

Elite counterdrug units proposed for Mexico Posted: 06 Jul 2012 02:23 PM PDT The widely-respected Colombian cop hired to advise Mexico's president-elect on security policy is recommending the creation of elite military-police units to target not just major drug traffickers but also the lower-level cartel soldiers who do most of the killing.

Doctors lauded after chimp attack in S. Africa Posted: 06 Jul 2012 08:42 AM PDT The parents of the American student mauled by two chimps in South Africa last week called their son's survival a "miracle" and thanked doctors for their work.

Libya on edge before first post-Gadhafi election Posted: 06 Jul 2012 12:24 PM PDT The killing of an electoral worker and calls for a boycott on the eve of Libya's first vote since the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi raised fears of election violence even as campaigning came to an end Friday for a contest seen as a milestone on the country's bumpy path toward democracy.

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