Yahoo! News: World News

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• Syria's opposition groups strike unity deal against Assad
• Polish police clash with protesters on national holiday
• How debts and double-dealing sparked Japan-China islets row
• Syria bombards rebel area near Turkish border
• Merkel to visit Lisbon, back austerity regime
• At China party congress, allegiance trumps reform
• Palestinians' Abbas tells Obama he will push for U.N. upgrade
• Feuding politicians take Nepal to brink of ruin
• Greece votes budget, hopes to unlock aid
• Emirates A380 jet returns to Sydney after engine fire
• Israel drawn into Syria fighting for first time
• Syrian opposition groups reach unity deal
• Greece passes 2013 austerity budget
• Israel, Gaza militants trade fire in escalation
• BBC under pressure to restore trust after scandal
• 6.5-magnitude quake rattles Guatemala's coast
• Ireland votes to strengthen children's rights
• Strong quake strikes Myanmar, 12 feared dead
• BBC trust head calls for radical overhaul
• Palestinian, US president discuss UN initiative
• The Dutch woman who ran away with Colombia's FARC
• AQ Khan: Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb jumps into politics

Syria's opposition groups strike unity deal against Assad Posted: 11 Nov 2012 03:42 PM PST DOHA (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition finally put aside fierce arguments to rally behind a new leader within a new coalition that its Western and Arab backers hope can topple Bashar al-Assad and take over the country. After days of wrangling in Qatar under constant cajoling by exasperated Arab, U.S. and other officials, representatives of groups including rebel fighters, veteran dissidents and ethnic and religious minorities agreed on Sunday to join a new assembly that can form a government-in-exile. They unanimously elected reformist Damascus cleric Mouaz al-Khatib as its president. ...

Polish police clash with protesters on national holiday Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:41 PM PST WARSAW (Reuters) - Riot police in the Polish capital used truncheons and rubber bullets on Sunday to break up a crowd of right-wing extremists who pelted them with firecrackers and lumps of concrete at a parade to mark the national holiday. It was the second year independence day celebrations have degenerated into violence, underlining the gulf between the government and hardline nationalists who think liberal values imported from Europe are ruining Poland's Catholic traditions. Police told Reuters that 132 people were detained following the violence, which took place in central Warsaw. ...

How debts and double-dealing sparked Japan-China islets row Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:30 PM PST OMIYA, Japan (Reuters) - The road to China's breakdown in relations with Japan began here - a sleepy Tokyo suburb that is home to the reclusive real-estate investor at the centre of the explosive property deal that enraged Beijing. Surrounded by concrete walls, security cameras and warnings of guard dogs, Kunioki Kurihara has shunned the spotlight in his compound since closing a deal to sell three uninhabited islands in the East China Sea to Japan's government in September. ...

Syria bombards rebel area near Turkish border Posted: 11 Nov 2012 06:39 AM PST CEYLANPINAR, Turkey (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad bombarded the Ras al-Ain area on the border with Turkey on Sunday, days after the town fell to rebels during an advance that has sent thousands of refugees fleeing for safety. Helicopters circled above the town and opposition activists said they had strafed targets near the village of Tal Halaf. The Arab and Kurdish town of Ras al-Ain fell to the Free Syrian Army on Thursday in fighting that sent 9,000 fleeing in a 24-hour period, one of a largest refugee influxes into Turkey of the 19-month civil war. ...

Merkel to visit Lisbon, back austerity regime Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:02 PM PST LISBON (Reuters) - Angela Merkel flies to Lisbon on Monday, bringing her personal endorsement for a government battling to cut deficits under the terms of a German-backed bailout as Portugal suffers its deepest slump since the 1970s. "Portugal is meeting the commitments it has assumed very well," the chancellor told Portuguese broadcaster RTP on Sunday - a vote of confidence fellow conservative Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho will welcome, as he presses compatriots to take more pain and tries to distance Portugal from troubled Greece. ...

At China party congress, allegiance trumps reform Posted: 11 Nov 2012 02:10 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - As the senior Communist Party official in one of China's most prosperous regions, Wang Yang is often cast as an agent of change, a potential force for economic and even political reform should he gain promotion to the party's highest rung later this week. But the chief of the southern province of Guangdong appears to be distancing himself from that role while attending the party congress that will usher in China's once-in-a-decade top leadership transition. When Wang spoke to reporters on Friday, he stuck to a well rehearsed script that could have come from any apparatchik. ...

Palestinians' Abbas tells Obama he will push for U.N. upgrade Posted: 11 Nov 2012 03:23 PM PST RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday that he was intent on seeking a Palestinian upgrade at the United Nations despite American objections, a Palestinian official said. Abbas spoke to Obama in a phone conversation to explain his decision, said Nabil Abu Rdaineh, an aide to the Palestinian president. On Wednesday, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority circulated a draft resolution to U.N. member states that calls for upgrading its U.N. status to that of observer state, despite objections by the United States and ...

Feuding politicians take Nepal to brink of ruin Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:46 PM PST KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Apart from a small bust of Chairman Mao beside his armchair, Nepali Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai flaunts no trappings of his revolutionary past: these days he talks of foreign investment, infrastructure projects and double-digit growth. The trouble is that, since they handed over their guns at the end of a decade-long insurrection in 2006, Nepal's Maoists have done no better at running the Himalayan republic than the corrupt and incompetent political mainstream they joined. ...

Greece votes budget, hopes to unlock aid Posted: 11 Nov 2012 03:37 PM PST ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek parliament approved an austerity budget for next year on Sunday, allowing it to extend its international financial bailout and avoid bankruptcy. With backing from all three parties in conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's coalition, the bill passed by a more comfortable margin than a separate package of deficit-cutting measures on which some of his allies had abstained on Wednesday. Passing both bills had been necessary to unblock a new tranche of credit from the European Union and International Monetary Fund before the government ran out of cash. ...

Emirates A380 jet returns to Sydney after engine fire Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:28 PM PST CANBERRA (Reuters) - An A380 Emirates jet bound for Dubai was forced to return to Australia on Sunday night when one of its engines caught fire soon after take-off. The flight, with 380 passengers on board, was just 20 minutes into its flight from Sydney to Dubai and climbing at an altitude of 10,000 feet when it experienced a problem with one of its engines. "Emirates flight EK413 from Sydney to Dubai on 11 November turned back shortly after take-off due to an engine fault. Passengers are being re-booked on alternative flights," the airline said in a statement on Monday. ...

Israel drawn into Syria fighting for first time Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:39 PM PST Israel was drawn into the fighting in neighboring Syria for the first time Sunday, firing warning shots across the border after an errant mortar shell landed near an Israeli military installation in the Golan Heights.

Syrian opposition groups reach unity deal Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:14 PM PST Syrian anti-government groups struck a deal Sunday under intense international pressure to form a new opposition leadership that will include representatives from the country's disparate factions fighting to topple President Bashar Assad's regime, activists said.

Greece passes 2013 austerity budget Posted: 11 Nov 2012 04:52 PM PST Greek lawmakers approved the country's 2013 austerity budget early Monday, an essential step in Greece's efforts to persuade its international creditors to unblock a vital rescue loan installment without which the country will go bankrupt.

Israel, Gaza militants trade fire in escalation Posted: 11 Nov 2012 10:49 AM PST Israeli forces struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing one Palestinian and wounding more than 30 others as militants launched dozens of rockets in some of the heaviest fighting the area has seen in months.

BBC under pressure to restore trust after scandal Posted: 11 Nov 2012 01:24 PM PST The bungling of reports that powerful Britons sexually abused children has thrown one of the largest and most respected broadcasters in the world into a deep crisis.

6.5-magnitude quake rattles Guatemala's coast Posted: 11 Nov 2012 03:47 PM PST A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Guatemala's Pacific coastline on Sunday, just four days after a major quake killed dozens and left thousands without homes in the region.

Ireland votes to strengthen children's rights Posted: 11 Nov 2012 09:01 AM PST Official returns show that voters have approved an amendment to insert stronger rights for children into Ireland's constitution with a narrower-than-expected 57.4 percent "yes" vote.

Strong quake strikes Myanmar, 12 feared dead Posted: 11 Nov 2012 05:04 PM PST A strong earthquake struck an underdeveloped mining region in northern Myanmar, collapsing a bridge and a gold mine, damaging ancient Buddhist pagodas and leaving as many as 12 people feared dead.

BBC trust head calls for radical overhaul Posted: 11 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST The head of the BBC's governing body said Sunday the broadcaster needs a radical overhaul following the resignation of its chief executive in the wake of a scandal over a botched report on child sex-abuse allegations.

Palestinian, US president discuss UN initiative Posted: 11 Nov 2012 05:03 PM PST A spokesman for the Palestinian president says the Palestinians will proceed with asking the U.N. General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian state, despite a personal call from President Barack Obama to abandon the bid.

The Dutch woman who ran away with Colombia's FARC Posted: 11 Nov 2012 06:00 AM PST Smiling into the camera, a young female guerrilla picked up her guitar and dedicated a song to her family. "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," Tanja Nijmeijer sang to her parents in Holland, who had not seen her in years.

AQ Khan: Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb jumps into politics Posted: 11 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST The father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb has launched a political party, which plans to participate in the next presidential election slated for early 2013.

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