Yahoo! News: World News

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• China's commerce minister voted out in rare congress snub: sources
• Germany and Russia clash on human rights, build trade
• Iran ready to double nuclear work in bunker: IAEA
• Irish PM says won't be rushed on abortion issue
• Jordan protesters call for "downfall of the regime"
• U.S. House approves Russia trade bill with human rights slap
• Putin provokes criticism with Pussy Riot anti-Semitism charge
• Italy president indicates March 10 as possible vote day
• Close Sierra Leone vote carries high hopes for growth
• Hamas targets Jerusalem in major escalation
• Analysis: Israel-Hamas: a clash waiting to happen
• Gaza kids at risk in crowded urban battle zone
• Tel Aviv: Beloved oasis outraged by rocket fire
• Egypt president toughens rhetoric on Israel
• Casualties, attacks in Israel-Hamas conflict
• UN nuclear agency: Iran poised to expand nuke work
• Joy in Croatia as UN overturns 2 key convictions
• In troubled Egypt, Copts turn to beloved saint
• Tony Blair's father Leo Blair dies at 89
• IAEA: Iran making steady advances on nuclear program
• Germany's Merkel pays Putin a prickly visit
• Jordan's crisis: Is an uneasy peace emerging?
• As sirens blare, Israel seeks to punish Hamas without occupying Gaza
• A role reversal as former colonies meet former colonists at Ibero-American summit
• For both Hamas and Israel, there are reasons to escalate
• Volunteer Square matches willing helpers with charitable tasks
• How China views Obama's trip to Myanmar
• Gaza: Brief cease-fire shattered, Israeli troops mass outside Strip
• Where Syria's opposition groups get their rockets
• Why Mumbai is so gripped by the status of right-wing Bal Thackeray

China's commerce minister voted out in rare congress snub: sources Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:07 AM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - China's commerce minister was surprisingly blocked from a spot on the ruling Communist Party's elite body during a conclave this week, sources said, a rare snub for an official that could raise questions about trade policies during his tenure. The failure of Chen Deming to secure a seat on the 25-member Politburo marks one of the few surprises to emerge from the party's five-yearly congress that wrapped this week with the anointing of a new slate of top leaders who will run the world's second largest economy. ...

Germany and Russia clash on human rights, build trade Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:57 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel took Russian President Vladimir Putin to task over a clamp-down on dissent and treatment of the Pussy Riot punk band when they held frosty talks on Friday. But despite the chill descending on relations, they signed a host of economic deals underlining the importance of mutual trade which Putin put at $72 billion in 2011, as well as Germany's dependence on Russia as an energy supplier. Often looking uncomfortable as they sat together at a business forum in the Kremlin, Merkel and Putin tried to put on a show of unity. ...

Iran ready to double nuclear work in bunker: IAEA Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:40 PM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is set to sharply expand its uranium enrichment in an underground plant after installing all the centrifuges it was built for, a U.N. report said, a move likely to increase Western alarm about Tehran's nuclear course. It also showed that Iran's stockpile of its most sensitive nuclear material - which could relatively quickly be processed further to bomb-grade uranium - had grown and was getting closer to an amount that could be sufficient for a nuclear weapon. ...

Irish PM says won't be rushed on abortion issue Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:09 PM PST DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's prime minister said on Friday he would not be rushed into making a decision on the issue of abortion, after an Indian woman who was refused a termination died from blood poisoning in an Irish hospital. "This is a matter that has divided Irish society now for a great number of years, and I am not going to be rushed into a situation by force of numbers on any side," Prime Minister Enda Kenny told state broadcaster RTE. The Irish government pledged on Thursday to clarify its abortion laws. ...

Jordan protesters call for "downfall of the regime" Posted: 16 Nov 2012 02:55 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators chanted the Arab Spring slogan "the people want the downfall of the regime" in Jordan on Friday, although a day billed as the culmination of three days of protests passed off largely in peace. Jordan has so far largely avoided the unrest that has swept across the Middle East over the past two years, but a decision this week to raise fuel prices led to the demonstrations. ...

U.S. House approves Russia trade bill with human rights slap Posted: 16 Nov 2012 02:27 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Friday to "name and shame" Russian human rights violators as part of a broader bill to drop Cold War-era trade restrictions, brushing off warnings from Moscow that the move would damage relations. The House voted 365-43 to approve the legislation, which takes a jab at the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin while ensuring U.S. companies get the full benefits of Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization on August 22. ...

Putin provokes criticism with Pussy Riot anti-Semitism charge Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:53 PM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin provoked angry criticism from bloggers and activists on Friday when he suggested to German Chancellor Angela Merkel that one of the jailed women from the Pussy Riot punk band was anti-Semitic. Putin made his comments after Merkel made clear she saw the two-year sentences the women were serving for a raucous protest against him in a church as excessive. ...

Italy president indicates March 10 as possible vote day Posted: 16 Nov 2012 02:22 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italy's president indicated on Friday that he was open to holding national elections on March 10 - a month earlier than foreseen - if parliament passes key legislation first. Markets have been awaiting a signal on when the elections might be because of their desire that the next government continue economic reforms to overcome the debt crisis started by Prime Minister Mario Monti's year-old technocrat administration. ...

Close Sierra Leone vote carries high hopes for growth Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:08 PM PST FREETOWN (Reuters) - Sierra Leoneans vote on Saturday in elections they hope can propel the small West African state into an era of prosperity based on mining and oil after a decade of difficult recovery from civil war. The presidential and parliamentary polls, the third held since the end of the 1991-2002 conflict, pit President Ernest Bai Koroma and his ruling All People's Congress (APC) against challenger Julius Maada Bio, a former junta leader who represents the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). ...

Hamas targets Jerusalem in major escalation Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:33 PM PST Palestinian militants took aim at Jerusalem for the first time Friday, launching a rocket attack on the holy city in a major escalation of hostilities as Israel pressed forward with a relentless campaign of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Analysis: Israel-Hamas: a clash waiting to happen Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:24 PM PST Since Israel completed a devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip four years ago, military officials have warned it was only a matter of time before the next round of fighting. Violence erupted this week with little warning, driven by Hamas' ambitions to make its mark on a changing Middle East and an Israeli government reacting to public outcry over rocket attacks just weeks ahead of national elections.

Gaza kids at risk in crowded urban battle zone Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:46 PM PST The image of a dead preschooler cradled by the prime ministers of Egypt and Gaza in a hospital hallway has drawn attention to the dangers Gaza's children face in this crowded urban battle zone.

Tel Aviv: Beloved oasis outraged by rocket fire Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:19 PM PST Leehee Goldenberg was having lunch at an outdoor cafe in Tel Aviv, Israel's largest metropolis, when an air-raid siren wailed. She and other diners knew the drill: They dashed inside the coffee shop and kept away from the windows. Then, from a distance, came the boom. Minutes later, everyone was back outdoors, chatting loudly.

Egypt president toughens rhetoric on Israel Posted: 16 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST Egypt's Islamist president delivered his fiercest condemnation yet of Israel's offensive in Gaza on Friday, warning that the blood Israel sheds will be a "curse upon it" and presenting post-revolution Egypt as the new Arab champion for the Palestinians.

Casualties, attacks in Israel-Hamas conflict Posted: 16 Nov 2012 02:57 PM PST Casualties and attacks in the Israel-Hamas conflict:

UN nuclear agency: Iran poised to expand nuke work Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:59 PM PST Iran is poised to double its output of higher-enriched uranium at its fortified underground facility, the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday — a development that puts Tehran within months of being able to make the core of a nuclear warhead.

Joy in Croatia as UN overturns 2 key convictions Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:39 AM PST Chanting "Victory! Victory!," waving red-and-white checkered flags and dancing in the streets, tens of thousands of jubilant supporters gave two Croatian generals a hero's welcome Friday after a U.N. war crimes tribunal overturned their convictions for murdering and expelling Serb civilians during a 1995 military blitz.

In troubled Egypt, Copts turn to beloved saint Posted: 16 Nov 2012 11:06 AM PST There was no mention of churches torched or Christians killed, but the prayer neatly written on a tiny piece of paper and placed atop an icon of St. George in the chapel of a desert monastery left no doubt about the growing fear and despair of Egypt's Coptic Christians.

Tony Blair's father Leo Blair dies at 89 Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:29 PM PST Leo Blair, father of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has died at the age of 89.

IAEA: Iran making steady advances on nuclear program Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:56 PM PST The UN's nuclear watchdog agency says Iran is making steady advances in its nuclear program, boosting its uranium enrichment capacity as diplomatic efforts to limit it nuclear work are due to resume.

Germany's Merkel pays Putin a prickly visit Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:03 AM PST Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a tense meeting in the Kremlin Friday, as both clearly struggled to reconcile the rising political acrimony between their countries with their long-standing and increasingly important economic partnership.

Jordan's crisis: Is an uneasy peace emerging? Posted: 16 Nov 2012 10:54 AM PST Three days after Jordan's government sparked nationwide riots by drastically reducing subsidies on fuel, tensions remain high.

As sirens blare, Israel seeks to punish Hamas without occupying Gaza Posted: 16 Nov 2012 08:21 AM PST The three-day war between Hamas and Israel seemed on the cusp of a major escalation Friday afternoon despite hopes the visit of Egypt's prime minister to Gaza would inspire calm. Sirens warning of an incoming missile rang through the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, a rocket from Gaza reportedly struck outside Jerusalem, and Israel called up thousands of reservists for a potential ground invasion.

A role reversal as former colonies meet former colonists at Ibero-American summit Posted: 16 Nov 2012 08:20 AM PST On Friday in the historic Spanish port city of Cádiz, the leaders of Spain, Portugal, and Latin American nations gathered for the 22nd annual Ibero-American summit. But unlike past meetings, the European nations are no longer running the show: now the former colonists are seeking help from their empowered cousins.

For both Hamas and Israel, there are reasons to escalate Posted: 16 Nov 2012 07:09 AM PST Israel and Palestinian militants in the besieged Gaza Strip are veering dangerously close to getting locked into a cycle of retaliation and revenge that could run for weeks.

Volunteer Square matches willing helpers with charitable tasks Posted: 16 Nov 2012 06:45 AM PST It's eHarmony for volunteers.

How China views Obama's trip to Myanmar Posted: 16 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PST As President Obama heads to Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand on Saturday, China is keeping a wary eye on the latest US move in the sometimes bruising tussle between the two giants for influence in the region.

Gaza: Brief cease-fire shattered, Israeli troops mass outside Strip Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:52 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Where Syria's opposition groups get their rockets Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:30 AM PST While the battle for Aleppo grinds on in Syria's largest city, behind the front lines hums an operation crucial to the fight: homemade weapons manufacturing.

Why Mumbai is so gripped by the status of right-wing Bal Thackeray Posted: 15 Nov 2012 03:32 PM PST Reports that controversial right-wing leader Bal Thackeray was critically ill put Mumbai on tense hold for much of Thursday while raising questions about the future of his party, the Shiv Sena, which controls the city government and is an important member of India's opposition group, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

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