Yahoo! News: World News

---

• North Korea rocket launch raises nuclear stakes
• Assad's forces fire Scuds in Syria escalation: U.S. official
• Analysis: U.S. confronts limits of "shame and sanction" policy on North Korea
• Egypt opposition urges "no" vote on divisive constitution
• Australia launches inquiry into royal prank call
• Cayman Islands leader freed on bail as corruption probe continues
• Venezuela's Chavez in delicate state after surgery
• Man charged over threat to Northern Ireland's first minister
• Berlusconi "would back Monti as centre-right premier"
• Guatemala deports software pioneer McAfee to U.S.
• US hesitant in condemning North Korean launch
• NKoreans hail rocket launch; US, others condemn
• Official: Syria fires Scud missiles at rebels
• Egypt's opposition urges "no" vote in referendum
• Minister: Chavez may not be well by inauguration
• Honduran congress dismisses Supreme Court justices
• Argentines shocked by verdicts in sex slave trial
• Japan election puts spotlight on reviving economy
• UK police: Jimmy Savile is suspect in 199 crimes
• Cheese first made at least 7,500 years ago
• 'Insulting religion': Blasphemy sentence in Egypt sends a chill
• N. Irish police involved in Belfast lawyer's 1989 murder, says report
• England census: Why have the ranks of the religious declined?
• North Korea rocket launch: Why China only 'expresses regret'
• Baltic nations offer ex-Soviet states a Western model
• Left behind? Russian-speaking minorities struggle in new Baltics
• A Russian island encircled by Europe: Kaliningrad's dual existence
• As North Korea celebrates surprise rocket launch, alarm mounts abroad
• Will US recognition of Syrian opposition group open channels for weapons support?

North Korea rocket launch raises nuclear stakes Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:56 AM PST SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to opponents. The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far away as the continental United States. ...

Assad's forces fire Scuds in Syria escalation: U.S. official Posted: 12 Dec 2012 03:53 PM PST WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have fired Scud missiles at rebels trying to overthrow Syria's government, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, a step seen as an escalation in Assad's struggle to retain power. U.S. officials said they were unaware of any previous instances in which Scuds were used against the rebels since the start of the 20-month-old uprising, which has killed more than 40,000 people. White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to confirm the reports, saying he was aware of them but could not discuss intelligence matters. ...

Analysis: U.S. confronts limits of "shame and sanction" policy on North Korea Posted: 12 Dec 2012 03:37 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's successful rocket launch poses a fresh quandary for the United States, underscoring how its "shame and sanction" approach to Pyongyang has failed to stop the country's dangerous advances in both nuclear and missile technology, analysts and officials said on Wednesday. The Obama administration has condemned Wednesday's launch as a "highly provocative act" for which there would be "consequences" and has began working at the U.N. Security Council on steps which could broaden existing sanctions on North Korea - already the most isolated country in the world. ...

Egypt opposition urges "no" vote on divisive constitution Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:17 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's liberal and secular opposition has urged its supporters to vote down a divisive constitution put forward by Islamists, and set conditions for taking part in the referendum that will be hard for organizers to meet. Islamist President Mohamed Mursi touched off a storm last month when he awarded himself sweeping powers to push through a hastily drafted basic law that he sees as an essential part of Egypt's transition to democracy. ...

Australia launches inquiry into royal prank call Posted: 12 Dec 2012 04:28 PM PST CANBERRA/LONDON (Reuters) - Australia's media regulator launched an investigation on Thursday into a prank call by a radio station to a London hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife as condemnation grew after the death of the nurse who took the call. The body of nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found last Friday, days after she put the hoax call through to a colleague who disclosed details of the treatment being given to William's wife Kate, who is suffering from acute morning sickness. ...

Cayman Islands leader freed on bail as corruption probe continues Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:34 PM PST GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) - The embattled leader of the Cayman Islands was released on bail after a second day of questioning on Wednesday, following his arrest on suspicion of theft and corruption in the notoriously secretive offshore Caribbean financial center. Premier McKeeva Bush, a veteran politician and head of one of the world's best-known tax havens, was detained on Tuesday at his home by members of the Financial Crime Unit of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. ...

Venezuela's Chavez in delicate state after surgery Posted: 12 Dec 2012 04:00 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in delicate condition after his latest surgery for cancer, the government said on Wednesday in a somber assessment that may indicate an end to his 14-year leadership of the South American OPEC nation. Looking grave-faced in an address to the nation the day after Chavez's six-hour operation in Cuba, Vice President Nicolas Maduro urged Venezuelans to unite in prayer for the 58-year-old president and keep faith he would return soon. ...

Man charged over threat to Northern Ireland's first minister Posted: 12 Dec 2012 03:51 PM PST Belfast (Reuters) - A man was charged on Wednesday night with threatening to kill Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, as loyalist protests passed off peacefully for the second day in a row following a recent wave of violence across the province. Loyalists have rioted for seven of the last 10 days, and made an attack on police, since a decision by nationalist city councillors earlier this month to remove the British flag from Belfast City Hall, for the first time in a century. ...

Berlusconi "would back Monti as centre-right premier" Posted: 12 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi offered on Wednesday to stand back and make way for Mario Monti as Italy's next leader if the outgoing technocrat premier agreed to run as the candidate for a center-right coalition. At a book launch in Rome, Berlusconi issued a series of rambling and contradictory statements, although he confirmed he was currently still standing as the center-right candidate in the election. ...

Guatemala deports software pioneer McAfee to U.S. Posted: 12 Dec 2012 03:16 PM PST GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - John McAfee's odyssey on the run opened a new chapter on Wednesday after Guatemala deported to the United States the former Silicon Valley entrepreneur wanted for questioning in Belize over the murder of a fellow American. McAfee, 67, had been held for a week in Guatemala, where he surfaced after evading police in Belize for nearly a month following the killing of American Gregory Faull, his neighbor on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye. A Reuters witness saw McAfee's plane bound for Miami leaving Guatemala City just before 3:40 p.m. (2140 GMT). ...

US hesitant in condemning North Korean launch Posted: 12 Dec 2012 03:46 PM PST The Obama administration is drawing no "red line" for North Korea after a successful long-range rocket test, tempering the public condemnation to avoid raising tensions or possibly rewarding the reclusive communist nation with too much time in the global spotlight.

NKoreans hail rocket launch; US, others condemn Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:25 AM PST In Pyongyang, North Koreans clinked beer mugs and danced in the streets to celebrate the country's first satellite in space. In Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, leaders pushed for consequences for Wednesday's successful rocket launch, widely seen as a test that takes the country one step closer to being capable of lobbing nuclear bombs over the Pacific.

Official: Syria fires Scud missiles at rebels Posted: 12 Dec 2012 04:14 PM PST Syrian government forces have fired Scud missiles at insurgents in recent days, escalating the 2-year-old conflict against rebels seeking to overthrow the regime, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Egypt's opposition urges "no" vote in referendum Posted: 12 Dec 2012 04:41 PM PST Egypt's opposition called on its followers Wednesday to vote "no" in a crucial referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi.

Minister: Chavez may not be well by inauguration Posted: 12 Dec 2012 04:31 PM PST Information Minister Ernesto Villegas warned Venezuelans on Wednesday that ailing President Hugo Chavez may not be well enough after his fourth cancer-related surgery in Cuba to be inaugurated on Jan. 10.

Honduran congress dismisses Supreme Court justices Posted: 12 Dec 2012 03:01 PM PST Honduras' political standoff escalated Wednesday as legal officials debated whether a congressional vote to remove four Supreme Court justices violated the constitution.

Argentines shocked by verdicts in sex slave trial Posted: 12 Dec 2012 04:37 PM PST The acquittal of 13 people accused in the disappearance of a young woman who was allegedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution for "VIP clients" spread shock and outrage across Argentina on Wednesday, prompting street protests and calls by political leaders to impeach the three judges who delivered the verdict.

Japan election puts spotlight on reviving economy Posted: 12 Dec 2012 04:29 PM PST It's the $6 trillion question: how to jolt Japan out of its 20-year economic slump.

UK police: Jimmy Savile is suspect in 199 crimes Posted: 12 Dec 2012 01:54 PM PST The late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile is a suspect in 199 crimes recorded so far, including dozens of cases of rape, British police said Wednesday. They described the level of sexual abuse allegations against Savile as "unprecedented in the U.K."

Cheese first made at least 7,500 years ago Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:56 PM PST Little Miss Muffet could have been separating her curds and whey 7,500 years ago, according to a new study that finds the earliest solid evidence of cheese-making.

'Insulting religion': Blasphemy sentence in Egypt sends a chill Posted: 12 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST An Egyptian court sentenced Alber Saber to three years in jail today for insulting religion. Such blasphemy prosecution cases, on the rise since the revolution and almost uniformly criticized by civil rights activists in Egypt, may only increase if the draft constitution is approved this week.

N. Irish police involved in Belfast lawyer's 1989 murder, says report Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:20 AM PST Another murky episode from Northern Ireland's recent dark past has been partially exposed, thanks to a new report on the 1989 murder of Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane that found "shocking" collusion by state officials in his death. But critics say that the British government has yet to fully shine a light onto its own involvement in the murder.

England census: Why have the ranks of the religious declined? Posted: 12 Dec 2012 09:59 AM PST Results from the first census of England and Wales for 10 years this week revealed a crisis engulfing what until recently had seemed to be Britain's newest and most vibrant religion: The ranks of Jedi Knights have more than halved to 176,632.

North Korea rocket launch: Why China only 'expresses regret' Posted: 12 Dec 2012 07:53 AM PST As the United Nations Security Council prepared to debate North Korea's satellite launch earlier today, China signaled that it would likely veto any bid to punish its maverick ally with stiffer sanctions.

Baltic nations offer ex-Soviet states a Western model Posted: 12 Dec 2012 07:14 AM PST Tiina Lokk knows what it's like to get a neighbor's help when it's needed most.

Left behind? Russian-speaking minorities struggle in new Baltics Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:56 AM PST On the edge of Tallinn's 13th-century Old Town, women huddle along a medieval wall, selling mittens in freezing weather. They are Russian-speakers. Across the street, shoppers banter in Estonian at trendy boutiques that are a testament to the economic vitality of a former communist state that's turned itself around at breathtaking speed.

A Russian island encircled by Europe: Kaliningrad's dual existence Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:51 AM PST On the banks of the Pregolya River in the city of Kaliningrad sits the commercial development known as Fish Village. It is a smallish complex of boutique hotels and eateries, with names like Kaiserhof and Hofburg written in Cyrillic script. The buildings themselves are knockoffs of medieval German architecture, not typically found elsewhere in Russia.

As North Korea celebrates surprise rocket launch, alarm mounts abroad Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:41 AM PST North Korea scored a stunning success Wednesday, firing a long-range rocket that put its own satellite into orbit for the first time, one day after South Korean officials claimed North Korean engineers were dismantling the rocket for repairs.

Will US recognition of Syrian opposition group open channels for weapons support? Posted: 12 Dec 2012 05:57 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

You are subscribed to email updates from World News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610