Yahoo! News: World News

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• Syria envoy says bloodshed could engulf Middle East
• For Benghazi diplomatic security, U.S. relied on small British firm
• Alleged 9/11 mastermind: America killed more people than hijackers did
• CIA officer, Army intelligence analyst killed in Afghan attack
• Colombia, FARC rebels begin peace talks in Oslo
• Russia criticizes EU Iran sanctions, urges talks
• EU summit to tackle banking union; Spain on watch
• U.S. sees "open channel" with Myanmar on human rights
• Iranian man pleads guilty in Saudi envoy murder plot
• U.S., Israel to hold major missile defense exercise
• Brothels rescue cash-strapped Greek soccer team
• Syria's wealthy businesses feel civil war squeeze
• Legal path to US from Cuba still complicated
• Accused 9/11 plotter lectures military tribunal
• Group: Libya militias 'executed' Gadhafi loyalists
• Crack addicts rounded up after Rio slum takeovers
• Sudan: 660 dead since 2011 in fighting with rebels
• Egyptian father: Daughter punished for not veiling
• Dutch art thieves were no 'Ocean's 11' team
• Israel counted Gaza calorie needs during blockade
• In Syria's war, long-repressed minority finds new freedom
• Getting in on the Benghazi blame game
• Australia marches ahead with India ties - despite a few trip ups
• British Pakistanis to Malala: You go, girl
• Baba Ramdev: Can a yogi turn Indian politics on its head?
• Ethiopia surprises itself with peaceful transition after Meles
• Kenyan Christians fear former brethren are attacking churches
• Putin warns of growing terror risks as Kremlin arrests opposition leader
• Iran sees conspiracy in box office success of Ben Affleck's 'Argo'
• UN envoy to Syria visits region to resurrect cease-fire efforts

Syria envoy says bloodshed could engulf Middle East Posted: 17 Oct 2012 11:04 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international mediator on Syria said on Wednesday its civil war risks spilling across borders to engulf the Middle East and appealed for a temporary truce he said could mark a small step towards defusing 19 months of conflict. Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy, has proposed that both President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel fighters seeking his overthrow hold fire during the Islamic feast holiday of Eid al-Adha that starts next week. ...

For Benghazi diplomatic security, U.S. relied on small British firm Posted: 17 Oct 2012 02:20 PM PDT WASHINGTON/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The State Department's decision to hire Blue Mountain Group to guard the ill-fated U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, entrusted security tasks to a little-known British company instead of the large firms it usually uses in overseas danger zones. The contract was largely based on expediency, U.S. officials have said, since no one knew how long the temporary mission would remain in the Libyan city. The cradle of last year's uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, Benghazi has been plagued by rising violence in recent months. ...

Alleged 9/11 mastermind: America killed more people than hijackers did Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:28 PM PDT GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - - The alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks told the Guantanamo courtroom on Wednesday that the U.S. government had killed many more people in the name of national security than he is accused of killing. Khalid Sheik Mohammed was allowed to address the court at a pretrial hearing focused on security classification rules for evidence that will be used in his trial on charges of orchestrating the hijacked plane attacks that killed 2,976 people. ...

CIA officer, Army intelligence analyst killed in Afghan attack Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:11 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A CIA officer and a U.S. Army intelligence analyst were among those killed in a suicide bomb attack last weekend in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The attack on Saturday in Kandahar province also killed several Afghans. The NATO-led force has yet to determine whether it was the result of a insider attack, in which Afghan forces - including Taliban infiltrators - turn their weapons on allies. An investigation is ongoing. The U.S. ...

Colombia, FARC rebels begin peace talks in Oslo Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:22 PM PDT BOGOTA/OSLO (Reuters) - Historic closed-door talks between Colombia and Marxist rebels began on Wednesday in Norway after FARC rebel and government negotiators arrived in Oslo in a bid to end almost half a century of armed conflict, Norwegian officials said. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is betting a decade of U.S.-backed blows against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has left the group sufficiently weakened to seriously seek an end to the war after so many failed attempts. ...

Russia criticizes EU Iran sanctions, urges talks Posted: 17 Oct 2012 11:48 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia criticized the European Union on Wednesday for imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program and called for a fresh round of talks between world powers and Tehran as soon as possible. The Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing "deep concern" over EU sanctions imposed on Tuesday against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry and the central bank. ...

EU summit to tackle banking union; Spain on watch Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:06 PM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders will try to bridge deep differences over plans for a banking union at a summit on Thursday but no substantial decisions are expected, reviving concerns about complacency in tackling the three-year-old debt crisis. It will be the fourth time EU leaders have met this year and the 22nd summit held since the crisis erupted in Greece in late 2009. Yet diplomats expect no breakthroughs at the two-day gathering, with the agenda focused instead on longer-term efforts to retool the region's banks and economies. ...

U.S. sees "open channel" with Myanmar on human rights Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:20 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has concluded its first set of human rights talks with Myanmar and is confident it now has an "open channel" to discuss political prisoners and other sensitive subjects as ties improve, the State Department said on Wednesday. Michael Posner, the State Department's top human rights official, led the U.S. team at the talks in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. The talks come as the Obama administration dismantles longstanding sanctions to reward Myanmar's leaders for political and economic reforms. ...

Iranian man pleads guilty in Saudi envoy murder plot Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:17 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iranian-born used car salesman from Texas admitted on Wednesday that he had participated in a plan hatched by Iranian spies to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington. Manssor Arbabsiar, 57, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to a three-count indictment. He said the plan had been to assassinate the ambassador at a restaurant in Washington last year, and that his co-conspirators had included Iranian military officials. ...

U.S., Israel to hold major missile defense exercise Posted: 17 Oct 2012 04:20 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States and Israel will hold a major missile defense exercise in Israel this month, sending a message of close cooperation as both countries weigh their options over Iran's nuclear program. The three-week exercise, the largest the allies have ever held, will simulate a variety of long and short-range missile attacks that Israel could face during a regional conflict, said the commanders in charge. ...

Brothels rescue cash-strapped Greek soccer team Posted: 17 Oct 2012 04:53 PM PDT The world's oldest profession is giving a whole new meaning to love of the game.

Syria's wealthy businesses feel civil war squeeze Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:26 PM PDT Syria's wealthy, long cultivated by President Bashar Assad as a support for his regime, are seeing their businesses pummeled by the bloody civil war. Factories have been burned down or damaged in fighting. International sanctions restrict their finances. Some warn that their companies are in danger of going under, worsening the country's buckling economy.

Legal path to US from Cuba still complicated Posted: 17 Oct 2012 11:33 AM PDT Cuba's surprise decision to make it easier for citizens to leave the country doesn't mean Cubans can book tickets on commercial planes and head for Miami.

Accused 9/11 plotter lectures military tribunal Posted: 17 Oct 2012 04:30 PM PDT The self-styled terrorist mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks lectured a military court on government hypocrisy Wednesday and wore a previously banned camouflage vest to his pretrial hearing before being rebuked by the judge for his comments.

Group: Libya militias 'executed' Gadhafi loyalists Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:55 PM PDT Libyan rebels appear to have "summarily executed" scores of fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, and probably the dictator himself, when they overran his hometown a year ago, a human rights group said Wednesday.

Crack addicts rounded up after Rio slum takeovers Posted: 17 Oct 2012 10:24 AM PDT Days after police stormed one of Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous shantytowns to seize back territory long held by a powerful drug dealing organization, city health and welfare workers are working to ease the despair and devastation left behind among hundreds of crack cocaine addicts suddenly without drugs.

Sudan: 660 dead since 2011 in fighting with rebels Posted: 17 Oct 2012 03:06 PM PDT Sudan says that fighting in two states along its disputed border with South Sudan has left over 600 people dead over the past 16 months, releasing rare casualty figures in an ongoing conflict that has inflamed tensions between the two countries.

Egyptian father: Daughter punished for not veiling Posted: 17 Oct 2012 02:02 PM PDT A teacher in southern Egypt punished two 12-year-old schoolgirls for not wearing the Muslim headscarf by cutting their hair, the father of one girl said Wednesday, in an incident that stokes concerns over personal rights following the rise of Islamist political movements.

Dutch art thieves were no 'Ocean's 11' team Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT In Hollywood movies, heists usually feature criminals who plan meticulously and use high-tech equipment to avoid detection. But the thieves who snatched seven paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Monet worth millions from a gallery in Rotterdam appear to have taken a less glamorous approach, relying mostly on speed and brute force.

Israel counted Gaza calorie needs during blockade Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:23 PM PDT Israeli authorities blockading the Gaza Strip in 2008 went so far as to calculate how many calories would be needed to avert a humanitarian disaster in the impoverished Palestinian territory, according to a newly declassified military document.

In Syria's war, long-repressed minority finds new freedom Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:46 PM PDT Of the changes triggered by Syria's 19-month-old uprising, few have been as sudden as the seeming empowerment of the country's long-oppressed Kurdish minority.

Getting in on the Benghazi blame game Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:41 PM PDT The finger-pointing and misdirection around the murder of four Americans at the US consulate in Benghazi last month is an embarrassing spectacle that just won't go away.

Australia marches ahead with India ties - despite a few trip ups Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:07 PM PDT When it comes to bilateral relations, there are a few surefire ways that countries can chalk up some merit points. Australia, dogged by years of mediocre relations with India, a country it desperately craves a deeper relationship with, has put its big guns forward in trying to cement ties.

British Pakistanis to Malala: You go, girl Posted: 17 Oct 2012 10:02 AM PDT In Britain's Muslim community, a large portion of whom are of Pakistani heritage, there has been keen interest in the case Malala Yousufzai, the schoolgirl shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban for advocating education for girls.

Baba Ramdev: Can a yogi turn Indian politics on its head? Posted: 17 Oct 2012 10:45 AM PDT It's not yet 5 a.m, but hundreds of Indians are quietly shuffling into a football-field-sized yoga hall.

Ethiopia surprises itself with peaceful transition after Meles Posted: 17 Oct 2012 09:35 AM PDT When Ethiopia's leader of 21 years Meles Zenawi died in August, citizens were on edge with memories of violent transfers of power.

Kenyan Christians fear former brethren are attacking churches Posted: 17 Oct 2012 08:49 AM PDT Kenyan church leaders and analysts are expressing concern that recent Muslim converts from Christian rural regions are the new breed of jihadists targeting churches, public places, and police in the country.

Putin warns of growing terror risks as Kremlin arrests opposition leader Posted: 17 Oct 2012 08:38 AM PDT Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his security services yesterday that they will have to redouble their efforts to prevent terrorists and extremists from disrupting an upcoming string of high-profile sports events to be hosted by Russia, including the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

Iran sees conspiracy in box office success of Ben Affleck's 'Argo' Posted: 17 Oct 2012 08:27 AM PDT American moviegoers flocked to theaters this weekend to see Ben Affleck's long-anticipated thriller Argo, which has been generating headlines since it was first screened at the Toronto Film Festival last month.

UN envoy to Syria visits region to resurrect cease-fire efforts Posted: 17 Oct 2012 06:45 AM PDT • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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