Yahoo! News: World News

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• France recognizes new Syria opposition
• Methodical murder of 16 Afghans merits court martial: U.S. prosecutor
• Iran unveils new missile systems on second day of drills
• Analysis: China turns to machines as farmers seek fresh fields
• Russia trade, human rights bill advances in U.S. Congress
• Obama has faith in Allen's command in Afghanistan: White House
• Vice President Biden tells Yanukovich of concern over Ukraine election
• Anti-austerity strikes sweep southern Europe
• Israel, Palestinians put lid on Gaza, for now
• Mexican Senate approves labor law shake-up
• Clouds part, solar eclipse darkens north Australia
• France recognizes new Syria group, 1st in West
• US quickly going through commanders in Afghan war
• 'Guru' swindler of French aristocrats gets 8 years
• Preliminary hearing ends in Afghan massacre case
• Archduke Joseph Diamond fetches record $21.5M
• Fall rains bring havoc to Haiti
• The curse of commanding the Afghan war
• France's president defends tortoise style
• Radical cleric Abu Qatada released from jail
• Eurozone, IMF clash over Greek debt as deadline looms
• Back on Latin America's menu: purple seaweed, blue eggs, and amaranth
• As tiny Slovenia votes, larger eurozone watches with wary eye
• Be wary about what you read on the Petraeus scandal
• Palestinian Authority unable to pay salaries, even as it pursues statehood
• Fighting grows along Syria's borders, threatening to spread war

France recognizes new Syria opposition Posted: 13 Nov 2012 01:14 PM PST CAIRO/PARIS (Reuters) - France became the first European power to recognize Syria's new opposition coalition as the sole representative of its people and said on Tuesday it would look into arming rebels against President Bashar al-Assad once they form a government. Twenty months into their bloody uprising against Assad, fragmented Syrian opposition groups struck a deal in Qatar on Sunday to form a broad coalition and their leader immediately appealed for European backing. ...

Methodical murder of 16 Afghans merits court martial: U.S. prosecutor Posted: 13 Nov 2012 02:40 PM PST TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A decorated U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers carried out his rampage in a methodical manner and should face a court martial and, ultimately, the death penalty, a military prosecutor said on Tuesday. Army Prosecutor Major Rob Stelle said that Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, 39, ventured out of his remote camp in Afghanistan on two revenge-fueled forays over a five-hour period in March. ...

Iran unveils new missile systems on second day of drills Posted: 13 Nov 2012 05:23 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran unveiled new missile and artillery systems on Tuesday, Iranian media reported, on the second day of large-scale military exercises which officials said were aimed at sending a warning to those threatening the Islamic Republic. Played out against a backdrop of high tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear program, the "Velayat 4" man oeuvres across a vast swathe of the eastern half of the country have focused on air defenses. ...

Analysis: China turns to machines as farmers seek fresh fields Posted: 13 Nov 2012 01:05 PM PST BAOQUANLING, China (Reuters) - China needs to replace millions of workers who have quit farms for cities, but even its vast state power might not be able to transform the countryside into a network of big industrial farms capable of feeding its growing economy. Pulling together small plots of land to make larger operations and introducing modern mechanical techniques would help boost productivity, vital if China's agricultural sector is to meet soaring domestic food demand. ...

Russia trade, human rights bill advances in U.S. Congress Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:42 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill that would upgrade U.S. trade relations with Russia while also punishing Russian officials for human rights violations cleared a legislative hurdle on Tuesday on its way to expected approval in the House of Representatives later this week. The House Rules Committee approved a plan to combine legislation to establish "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) with Russia with a separate human rights measure strongly opposed by Moscow. ...

Obama has faith in Allen's command in Afghanistan: White House Posted: 13 Nov 2012 10:24 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has faith in General John Allen to continue commanding U.S. forces in Afghanistan while under investigation for alleged inappropriate communication with a woman at the center of the scandal involving former CIA Director David Petraeus, the White House said on Tuesday. "He has faith in General Allen," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, saying the president believed Allen was doing a good job in Afghanistan. Carney reiterated Obama's call for the Senate to move quickly to confirm Allen's successor, General Joseph Dunford. ...

Vice President Biden tells Yanukovich of concern over Ukraine election Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:24 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden voiced concerns about Ukraine's electoral process when speaking with the country's president, Viktor Yanukovich, on Tuesday, the White House said. Yanukovich, who is facing an impeachment threat after Ukraine's disputed October 28 election, had sent a congratulatory message after Biden and President Barack Obama won re-election last week, according to the White House. Biden then spoke with Yanukovich on Tuesday. ...

Anti-austerity strikes sweep southern Europe Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:16 PM PST MADRID/LISBON (Reuters) - Spanish and Portuguese workers will stage the first coordinated general strike across the Iberian Peninsula on Wednesday, shutting transport, grounding flights and closing schools to protest against spending cuts and tax hikes. Unions in Greece and Italy also planned work stoppages and demonstrations on a "European Day of Action and Solidarity" against austerity policies, which labor leaders blame for prolonging and worsening the continent's economic crisis. ...

Israel, Palestinians put lid on Gaza, for now Posted: 13 Nov 2012 08:04 AM PST TEL AVIV/GAZA (Reuters) - Israel and the Palestinians stepped back from the brink of a new war in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, sending signals to each other via Egypt that they would hold their fire unless attacked, after five days of mounting violence. The tacit truce arrested an escalation to all-out fighting, but both sides remain armed and primed for another round in the unresolved conflict that has festered since Hamas Islamist militants took over the enclave in 2007. ...

Mexican Senate approves labor law shake-up Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:36 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Senate on Tuesday approved a wide-reaching but watered down labor reform bill in the biggest shake-up of the country's job market in more than four decades. The bill's approval comes after a protracted tussle between outgoing President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party and pro-union hardliners within the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto. The PRI has traditionally relied on union support. ...

Clouds part, solar eclipse darkens north Australia Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:36 PM PST From boats bobbing on the Great Barrier Reef, to hot air balloons hovering over the rainforest, and the hilltops and beaches in between, tens of thousands of scientists, tourists and amateur astronomers watched as the sun, moon and Earth aligned and plunged northern Australia into darkness during a total solar eclipse Wednesday.

France recognizes new Syria group, 1st in West Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:53 PM PST France on Tuesday became the first Western country to formally recognize Syria's newly formed opposition coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

US quickly going through commanders in Afghan war Posted: 13 Nov 2012 12:37 PM PST At the international military headquarters in Kabul, it's jokingly being called the curse of the commander's job.

'Guru' swindler of French aristocrats gets 8 years Posted: 13 Nov 2012 02:14 PM PST He started with the woman who hired him at the secretarial school, befriending her and winning her confidence. She introduced him to her elderly mother, her children. Her grandchildren, nearing adulthood, were next. Soon, Thierry Tilly was almost a member of the family of aristocrats.

Preliminary hearing ends in Afghan massacre case Posted: 13 Nov 2012 01:42 PM PST Army prosecutors on Tuesday asked an investigative officer to recommend a death penalty court-martial for a staff sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in a predawn rampage, saying that Staff Sgt. Robert Bales committed "heinous and despicable crimes."

Archduke Joseph Diamond fetches record $21.5M Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:53 PM PST Christie's auctioned off the Archduke Joseph Diamond for nearly $21.5 million Tuesday night, a world auction record price per carat for a colorless diamond.

Fall rains bring havoc to Haiti Posted: 13 Nov 2012 12:45 PM PST The rain has tapered off and floodwaters no longer claw at houses, but the situation across much of Haiti remained grim on Tuesday following an autumn of punishing rains that have killed scores of people and that threaten to cause even more hunger across the impoverished nation.

The curse of commanding the Afghan war Posted: 13 Nov 2012 01:04 PM PST A look at what went wrong for the four U.S. generals who have led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan since 2008:

France's president defends tortoise style Posted: 13 Nov 2012 03:11 PM PST France's president just can't seem to win.

Radical cleric Abu Qatada released from jail Posted: 13 Nov 2012 09:31 AM PST A radical Islamist cleric described by prosecutors as a key al-Qaida operative in Europe was jeered by protesters Tuesday after he was freed from prison following a court ruling that he cannot be deported to Jordan to face terrorism charges.

Eurozone, IMF clash over Greek debt as deadline looms Posted: 13 Nov 2012 01:39 PM PST The term "troika" describes a traditional Russian sledge drawn by three horses – all pulling in the same direction. But for Europe's so-called financial troika of the European Union, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that metaphor now doesn't seem to apply.

Back on Latin America's menu: purple seaweed, blue eggs, and amaranth Posted: 13 Nov 2012 10:18 AM PST Globalization has generated many foes, among them the foodie set of Latin America, lamenting local markets saturated with American fats, hidden in everything from Fritos to fast-food chains.

As tiny Slovenia votes, larger eurozone watches with wary eye Posted: 13 Nov 2012 08:47 AM PST A populist campaign by former socialist Prime Minister Borut Pahor saw him surprise pundits by coming out top in a first-round poll for the presidency of economically troubled Slovenia.

Be wary about what you read on the Petraeus scandal Posted: 13 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST General David Petraeus was the most lionized general of his generation. General John R. Allen, the marine who replaced him as head of the Afghan war when Petraeus went to the CIA, was likewise the subject of near unanimously fawning press.

Palestinian Authority unable to pay salaries, even as it pursues statehood Posted: 13 Nov 2012 06:53 AM PST While Palestinians prepare for an upgrade to non-member state status at the UN late this month, small businesses in the occupied West Bank are sliding towards the abyss due to a fiscal crisis that economists say threatens the very existence of the Palestinian Authority.

Fighting grows along Syria's borders, threatening to spread war Posted: 13 Nov 2012 06:46 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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