Yahoo! News: World News

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• Damascus shelled hours before scheduled truce
• Pussy Riot got what they deserved: Putin
• U.S. knew too little to deploy troops to Benghazi: Pentagon
• China's year of political surprises not over yet
• Algeria accepts last-resort Mali intervention: sources
• Assange says to stay in embassy until U.S. backs off: CNN
• Sectarian violence worsens in Myanmar's volatile west
• Zanzibar unrest reflects anger along Swahili coast
• Kremlin dismisses talk Putin has back trouble
• Senate intelligence panel to hold Libya attack hearings
• Syria commits to 4-day truce, but prospects dim
• Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in Bahamas
• Israel keeps silent on mysterious Sudan airstrike
• UK: 300 potential Savile abuse victims emerge
• AP PHOTOS: Syrian rebels advance in largest city
• 56 dead in new ethnic violence in Myanmar
• British army dog joins list of animal war heroes
• Israeli PM's party to ally with ultranationalists
• Photos boost Fujimori pardon campaign
• 2 US troops die in apparent Afghan insider attack
• Last post on US politics and the Benghazi attack
• In US politics, foreign things are very suspicious ...
• John Bergmann runs a special zoo for older, exploited, and abused animals
• Revisiting the tragic Italian earthquake manslaughter verdict
• Who are China's potential new leaders?
• In Aleppo, Syrian rebels wage war – with an Internet connection
• Germany's secret to staving off the eurocrisis? Manufacturing.
• FARC 'earns $2.4 to $3.5 billion' from drugs, says Colombian government
• British recession ends on Olympics' economic boost
• Did Israel just blow up an Iranian weapons factory in Sudan?
• Will BBC have to sacrifice its independence over Savile scandal?

Damascus shelled hours before scheduled truce Posted: 25 Oct 2012 03:46 PM PDT BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Damascus residents reported artillery barrages by Syrian troops hours before Friday's scheduled start of a ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. They said that on Thursday night troops stationed on a mountain overlooking the Syrian capital targeted Hajar al-Aswad, a poor neighborhood inhabited by refugees from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. There were no immediate reports of casualties. "Consecutive artillery volleys from Qasioun shook my home," said Omar, an engineer who lives in al-Muhajereen district on a foothill of the mountain. ...

Pussy Riot got what they deserved: Putin Posted: 25 Oct 2012 01:15 PM PDT NOVO OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin flatly rejected on Thursday Western criticism of the imprisonment of the Pussy Riot punk protest band, saying its three female members deserved their fate because they threatened the moral foundations of Russia. During a two-hour dinner conversation with a group of foreign Russia experts, Putin spent most of his time carefully explaining how his country was trying to improve the business climate and diversify the economy away from its heavy dependence on oil and gas by promoting high-tech industries. ...

U.S. knew too little to deploy troops to Benghazi: Pentagon Posted: 25 Oct 2012 02:35 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon defended its decision not to deploy forces to Benghazi, Libya, as soon as the U.S. mission came under attack on September 11th, saying it would have been irresponsible to put forces in harm's way without better information. President Barack Obama's response to the attacks in Libya has been a contentious issue in the hard-fought U.S. presidential race, with Republican opponents raising questions about his administration's truthfulness and competence. ...

China's year of political surprises not over yet Posted: 25 Oct 2012 02:01 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China's year of political intrigue is likely to spring a few more surprises yet, as the ruling Communist Party tries to pull off a smooth leadership change next month against a backdrop of purges, plots and prison sentences. Just weeks away from the once-in-a-decade succession, the full make-up of China's next leadership and its agenda are unknown and still being negotiated in secret - in contrast to the very public leadership battle underway in the United States. ...

Algeria accepts last-resort Mali intervention: sources Posted: 25 Oct 2012 02:42 PM PDT PARIS/ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria has given its tacit approval for an Africa-led military intervention in northern Mali to rout Islamist militants despite reservations the operation could spill over into its territory and neighboring countries, Algerian and French sources said. Africa's biggest country and a top oil and gas exporter shares a 2,000 km (1,242 mile) border with Mali and sees itself as the major regional power, wary of any outside interference. ...

Assange says to stay in embassy until U.S. backs off: CNN Posted: 25 Oct 2012 12:06 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange said on Thursday the United States would have to give up its "immoral" investigation into his whistle blowing website before he considered leaving the confines of the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Assange has been sheltering in the embassy since June to avoid extradition to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault allegations. Britain says it is obliged to send him to Sweden and will not let him to go to Ecuador, which has given him asylum. ...

Sectarian violence worsens in Myanmar's volatile west Posted: 25 Oct 2012 04:21 PM PDT YANGON (Reuters) - Hundreds of homes burned and gunfire rang out as sectarian violence raged for a fifth day between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in western Myanmar on Thursday, pushing the death toll to nearly 60 and testing the country's nascent democracy. Security forces struggled to stem Myanmar's worst communal unrest since clashes in June killed more than 80 people and displaced at least 75,000 in Rakhine State. The latest violence in Rakhine has spread to several towns, including commercially important Kyaukpyu, where a multi-billion-dollar China-Myanmar pipeline starts. ...

Zanzibar unrest reflects anger along Swahili coast Posted: 25 Oct 2012 03:14 PM PDT STONE TOWN, Zanzibar (Reuters) - The "spice island" of Zanzibar would seem to have little in common with Somalia, torn by Islamist rebellion, and with Kenya, where a storm is brewing over demands for the touristic coastal strip to secede. But in this historic town, a World Heritage site and perhaps the oldest functioning urban area in east Africa, clouds of teargas have hung over ornate alleyways in recent days as riot police clashed with supporters of an Islamic separatist group. "We want our government to have supremacy. ...

Kremlin dismisses talk Putin has back trouble Posted: 25 Oct 2012 02:02 PM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed talk that Russian President Vladimir Putin has a back problem that prompted him to postpone foreign visits and might require surgery. Putin, who began a six-year presidential term in May and turned 60 on October 7, was seen to be limping at an Asia-Pacific summit in the Pacific port of Vladivostok in early September. Putin, a former KGB officer who enjoys vast authority at the head of Russia's so-called 'vertical' power structure, has long cultivated a tough-guy image that wouldn't sit well with a lengthy period on sick leave. ...

Senate intelligence panel to hold Libya attack hearings Posted: 25 Oct 2012 01:57 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate intelligence committee on Thursday said it will hold hearings in November on security and intelligence issues raised by the September 11 attacks on American facilities in Libya. In a statement, the committee said it first will hold a closed oversight hearing on November 15 on the Benghazi attacks, when lawmakers return after the November 6 presidential and congressional elections. The Democratic-controlled panel said additional hearings would follow. ...

Syria commits to 4-day truce, but prospects dim Posted: 25 Oct 2012 12:50 PM PDT The embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad promised Thursday to observe a U.N.-proposed truce during a four-day Muslim holiday, while rebels claimed major gains in the key battleground of Aleppo.

Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in Bahamas Posted: 25 Oct 2012 02:14 PM PDT Hurricane Sandy barreled into the Bahamas on Thursday after slashing across eastern Cuba, where it ripped off roofs and forced postponement of a hearing at the Guantanamo naval base but caused no reported deaths.

Israel keeps silent on mysterious Sudan airstrike Posted: 25 Oct 2012 01:06 PM PDT Senior Israeli officials accused Sudan on Thursday of playing a key role in an Iranian-backed network of arms shipments to hostile Arab militant groups across the Middle East, a day after a mysterious explosion rocked a weapons factory near the North African country's capital.

UK: 300 potential Savile abuse victims emerge Posted: 25 Oct 2012 03:18 PM PDT The scale of the child sex abuse scandal engulfing the BBC expanded on Thursday as authorities announced that 300 potential victims had come forward with accusations against one of the broadcaster's most popular children's entertainers and that others might have acted with him.

AP PHOTOS: Syrian rebels advance in largest city Posted: 25 Oct 2012 12:05 PM PDT Crouching behind walls and firing from the corners of buildings, rebels are battling Syrian government troops in battered neighborhoods of Aleppo, the nation's largest city.

56 dead in new ethnic violence in Myanmar Posted: 25 Oct 2012 02:03 PM PDT At least 56 people were killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence in western Myanmar, a government official said Thursday.

British army dog joins list of animal war heroes Posted: 25 Oct 2012 12:15 PM PDT British soldiers and military dogs gathered at a British army barracks Thursday to honor a fallen hero with selfless courage, nerves of steel — and four legs.

Israeli PM's party to ally with ultranationalists Posted: 25 Oct 2012 01:37 PM PDT Israel's prime minister announced Thursday that he was joining forces with his hard-line foreign minister in upcoming elections, instantly creating a hawkish new bloc that now appears poised to lead the country.

Photos boost Fujimori pardon campaign Posted: 25 Oct 2012 12:51 PM PDT The first photograph showed an ugly open sore near the tip of Alberto Fujimori's tongue. In the second, a palid Fujimori lay in bed in a white T-shirt, hair tousled, looking ghastly.

2 US troops die in apparent Afghan insider attack Posted: 25 Oct 2012 10:32 AM PDT A man in an Afghan police uniform shot and killed two American service members Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest in a rash of attacks on international forces this year by their Afghan partners.

Last post on US politics and the Benghazi attack Posted: 25 Oct 2012 02:10 PM PDT The attempt to play politics with the murders of four Americans in Benghazi just won't go away. Anyone who buys into the notion that there is some enormous cover-up or political scandal around the public statements from the Obama administration since the attack doesn't understand intelligence collection, the chaos of reports after a tragedy of this magnitude, or the fact that the reality of events like this aren't fully known until months after the fact, if then.

In US politics, foreign things are very suspicious ... Posted: 25 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT Via Andrew Sullivan comes a congressional campaign ad from South Dakota that has me laughing. And crying.

John Bergmann runs a special zoo for older, exploited, and abused animals Posted: 25 Oct 2012 10:24 AM PDT "The chickens crawl all over the office, and they lay eggs on my desk," says John Bergmann, who chuckles as he lifts up the towels that cover the papers in his office – which is in a barn. "It's all part of the job, I guess."

Revisiting the tragic Italian earthquake manslaughter verdict Posted: 25 Oct 2012 09:54 AM PDT A few days ago I wrote about the L'Aquila earthquake verdict in Italy, that saw seven Italians, some of them the country's most eminent seismologists, sentenced to prison for failing to "adequately warn" about an earthquake that claimed 300 lives in the central Italian city in April 2009.

Who are China's potential new leaders? Posted: 25 Oct 2012 09:43 AM PDT At its 18th Party Congress Nov. 8, China's Communist Party will choose the nine men (and they will almost certainly all be men) who will lead the nation for the next decade. Infighting is fierce and out of view, and the identities of the winners will be top secret until they walk onstage at the Great Hall of the People. Here are five names to watch for:

In Aleppo, Syrian rebels wage war – with an Internet connection Posted: 25 Oct 2012 09:10 AM PDT The Syrian father thought he had enough dangers to contend with in his contested city of Aleppo. As darkness fell, sniper fire cracked repeatedly along the street outside. Explosions reverberated across the city.

Germany's secret to staving off the eurocrisis? Manufacturing. Posted: 25 Oct 2012 08:26 AM PDT For years, people in this tranquil northern Bavarian town turned a deaf ear when outsiders ridiculed Germany for holding on to what the world saw as an outdated industrial model.

FARC 'earns $2.4 to $3.5 billion' from drugs, says Colombian government Posted: 25 Oct 2012 07:45 AM PDT • InSight Crime researches, analyzes, and investigates organized crime in the Americas. Find all of Geoffrey Ramsey's research here.

British recession ends on Olympics' economic boost Posted: 25 Oct 2012 07:46 AM PDT Britain rebounded strongly from recession in the third quarter, posting its strongest quarterly GDP growth in five years, boosted at least in part by robust Olympics spending, official data showed on Thursday.

Did Israel just blow up an Iranian weapons factory in Sudan? Posted: 25 Oct 2012 05:32 AM PDT • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Will BBC have to sacrifice its independence over Savile scandal? Posted: 25 Oct 2012 05:14 AM PDT Crises are nothing new at the BBC, a 90-year-old institution still regarded by many Britons as a "national treasure" even after embarking last year on a painful process to reshape itself by shedding jobs and cutting budgets.

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