Yahoo! News: World News

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• Clinton gets accountability report on Benghazi attacks
• Syrian rebels take control of Damascus Palestinian camp
• Egypt opposition to protest against "invalid" constitution
• Iran says it, world powers must end nuclear stalemate
• U.N. makes it easier for blacklisted Taliban to travel for peace talks
• Russia abstains from vote on Yugoslav war crimes tribunal
• Italy president says next government must bring reforms
• Senior al Qaeda man reported arrested in Algeria
• Hungarian students rally against state financing cuts
• In South Korea's "Exam Village" young voters yearn for change
• Syrian vice president says army can't win
• Low turnout in Egypt's vote raises questions
• US-Iraq ties still evolving a year after war's end
• Investigation into Benghazi attack complete
• Bangladesh probe: Fire sabotage, owner negligent
• Iran cautiously ponders Syria after Assad
• Israel pushes on with east Jerusalem building plan
• Sympathy for Chavez a factor in Venezuela politics
• N. Korea displays Kim Jong Il a year after death
• AP's Top 10 photos of 2012
• For Brits, Newtown shooting brings reminders of Dunblane
• In Venezuela, the future of Chavismo is tested
• After grenade attacks, Kenya wants Somali refugees in camps
• US Magnitsky Law draws Kremlin ire – but many Russians support it
• Dictator's daughter leading polls ahead of South Korean election
• Jihadis bankroll aid efforts in Syria to win followers
• Chinese police suspect man who stabbed 23 kids 'influenced' by doomsday rumor
• Syria's VP calls for peaceful resolution to crisis – possibly without Assad

Clinton gets accountability report on Benghazi attacks Posted: 17 Dec 2012 12:17 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday received an official review of the September attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, setting the stage for testimony on an incident that prompted a political furor and sharp questions about security at U.S. diplomatic facilities overseas. The State Department said Clinton - who is convalescing after suffering a concussion last week - received the report from the Accountability Review Board formed to probe the attack which killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. ...

Syrian rebels take control of Damascus Palestinian camp Posted: 17 Dec 2012 03:13 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels took full control of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on Monday after fighting raged for days in the district on the southern edge of President Bashar al-Assad's Damascus powerbase, rebel and Palestinian sources said. The battle had pitted rebels, backed by some Palestinians, against Palestinian fighters of the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Many PFLP-GC fighters defected to the rebel side and their leader Ahmed Jibril left the camp two days ago, rebel sources said. ...

Egypt opposition to protest against "invalid" constitution Posted: 17 Dec 2012 02:44 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's opposition plans new protests on Tuesday against a planned Islamist-backed constitution that looks set to be approved in the second round of a referendum next weekend. Islamist President Mohamed Mursi obtained a 57 percent "yes" vote for the constitution in initial voting on Saturday, his party said, less than he had hoped for. The result is likely to embolden the opposition, which says the law is too Islamist, although the second round is expected to result in another "yes", while underlining the deep divisions that have riven Egypt since Hosni Mubarak's fall. ...

Iran says it, world powers must end nuclear stalemate Posted: 17 Dec 2012 12:31 PM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said on Monday a way must be found to end the deadlock with major powers over the country's nuclear programme, an Iranian news agency reported, but he offered no new initiative on how to achieve this. Ali Akbar Salehi's comments came ahead of an expected resumption of diplomacy, perhaps next month, aimed at preventing the decade-old nuclear dispute from degenerating into a Middle East war that could damage an already fragile world economy. ...

U.N. makes it easier for blacklisted Taliban to travel for peace talks Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:00 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council renewed its Taliban sanctions regime on Monday, but made it easier for blacklisted people to get an exemption to travel outside of Afghanistan for peace and reconciliation talks. U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in late 2001 when it refused to hand over al Qaeda militants, including Osama bin Laden, after the Islamist network's hijacked airliner attacks on the United States on September 11. There are 132 individuals and four entities on the U.N. Security Council's sanctions list. ...

Russia abstains from vote on Yugoslav war crimes tribunal Posted: 17 Dec 2012 03:36 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Monday extended the work of the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but Russia abstained from the vote because it said the resolution did not address inefficiencies of the court. Since it was set up in 1993, the tribunal has indicted 161 people for crimes stemming from the wars that shattered the Yugoslav federation, of whom 15 have been acquitted. Proceedings are ongoing for 31 suspects. ...

Italy president says next government must bring reforms Posted: 17 Dec 2012 01:37 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - Whichever party wins Italy's next election must make wide-ranging reforms after opportunities were wasted during the turbulent legislative period now drawing to an end, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said on Monday. "Five years is enough time for the next government" to undertake a series of needed reforms "during a season of budget rigor," Napolitano said during an address to the highest institutional figures, including Prime Minister Mario Monti. ...

Senior al Qaeda man reported arrested in Algeria Posted: 17 Dec 2012 02:32 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - The number two in the militant Islamist organization Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been arrested in northern Algeria, an Algerian news website reported on Monday. The website of Tout Sur l'Algerie (TSA), an electronic daily, quoted security sources as saying that Salah Gasmi had been arrested on Sunday in front of a restaurant in the town of Cheurfa, about 90 miles southeast of Algiers. It was not possible to confirm the report immediately. AQIM is a pan-Maghreb jihadist organization that has taken responsibility for a number of attacks, particularly in Algeria. ...

Hungarian students rally against state financing cuts Posted: 17 Dec 2012 01:31 PM PST BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Thousands of Hungarian students rallied on Monday, piling pressure on the government to give up plans for cuts in state financing to higher education. The protesters marched through central Budapest to the public radio station which broadcast a summary of demands from the students who sang the national anthem in the rain outside. This was the third big rally against education reform plans since the government decided on sharp cuts in higher education earlier this month. ...

In South Korea's "Exam Village" young voters yearn for change Posted: 17 Dec 2012 01:25 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - Living on $2 bowls of rice in rows of tiny rooms, thousands of young South Koreans are voting early ahead of Wednesday's presidential election as they cram for exams that they hope will lead to a government job for life. There are 30,000 residents of a drab neighbourhood of the South Korean capital known as Exam Village, where people preparing for tests for low-level civil service jobs have gravitated for years. ...

Syrian vice president says army can't win Posted: 17 Dec 2012 01:17 PM PST Syria's vice president has acknowledged that the army cannot defeat the rebel forces trying to topple the regime and called for a negotiated settlement to save the country from ruin.

Low turnout in Egypt's vote raises questions Posted: 17 Dec 2012 02:03 PM PST Just under a third of voters turned out for the first stage of the referendum on a constitution meant to be a historic milestone in setting Egypt's future — a showing critics say deepens doubts over the legitimacy of a charter that has already polarized the country.

US-Iraq ties still evolving a year after war's end Posted: 17 Dec 2012 10:12 AM PST A year after the last American troops rumbled out of Iraq, the two countries are still trying to get comfortable with a looser, more nuanced relationship as the young democracy struggles to cope with political upheaval and the legacy of war.

Investigation into Benghazi attack complete Posted: 17 Dec 2012 02:17 PM PST An independent investigation into the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, is complete, and Congress will be briefed on its findings this week, the State Department said Monday.

Bangladesh probe: Fire sabotage, owner negligent Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:14 PM PST A Bangladesh government committee investigating the garment factory fire that killed 112 people last month said in its findings that the blaze was sabotage, probably by someone who worked there.

Iran cautiously ponders Syria after Assad Posted: 17 Dec 2012 08:44 AM PST It wasn't exactly a break-up moment between Iran and ally Bashar Assad. But Tehran's whiplash diplomacy over the weekend suggested its embrace of the Syrian president could be cooling.

Israel pushes on with east Jerusalem building plan Posted: 17 Dec 2012 12:51 PM PST Israel on Monday said it was pushing forward with plans to build hundreds of homes in a Jewish settlement of east Jerusalem, risking renewed tensions with the Palestinians and its Western allies over the contentious project.

Sympathy for Chavez a factor in Venezuela politics Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:11 PM PST Smarting after a bruising loss in state elections, Venezuela's opposition will now be forced to reassess its strategy and rebuild quickly to prepare for presidential elections that many expect could be called to replace ailing President Hugo Chavez.

N. Korea displays Kim Jong Il a year after death Posted: 17 Dec 2012 12:08 PM PST North Korea unveiled the embalmed body of Kim Jong Il, still in his trademark khaki jumpsuit, on the anniversary of his death Monday as mourning mixed with pride over a recent satellite launch that was a long-held goal of the late authoritarian leader.

AP's Top 10 photos of 2012 Posted: 17 Dec 2012 02:21 PM PST The AP's award-winning team of hundreds of staff photographers, freelancers and photo editors sends out some 3,000 photos every 24 hours - over 1 million photos a year - to our subscribers around the globe.

For Brits, Newtown shooting brings reminders of Dunblane Posted: 17 Dec 2012 02:24 PM PST The massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school has sent a particular chill down the spines of Britons, particularly those old enough to remember the 1996 massacre of 16 children and their teacher by a lone gunman at a Scottish school.

In Venezuela, the future of Chavismo is tested Posted: 17 Dec 2012 01:24 PM PST When Venezuela's leader, Hugo Chávez, won a clear victory in presidential elections in October, it was hardly surprising: The opposition had mounted its strongest campaign ever. But over the course of his 14 years in power, Mr. Chávez has remained widely popular and been re-elected on four separate occasions – no matter oil prices, world politics, or who is in charge in Washington.

After grenade attacks, Kenya wants Somali refugees in camps Posted: 17 Dec 2012 12:22 PM PST After a spate of grenade attacks linked to Somali Islamist militants over the past 14 months, Kenya has ordered all refugees in its urban areas to move to established refugee camps, which the government says is necessary for security but international organizations argue could violate the refugees' rights.

US Magnitsky Law draws Kremlin ire – but many Russians support it Posted: 17 Dec 2012 10:38 AM PST Russia's State Duma will take up a stern new bill Tuesday, the Dima Yakovlev List, aimed at punishing US officials who are implicated in human rights violations against Russians, including adoptive children who die at the hands of American parents and others allegedly abused by the US justice system.

Dictator's daughter leading polls ahead of South Korean election Posted: 17 Dec 2012 08:30 AM PST The voices of party followers blare over loudspeakers from public squares shouting out the slogans of opposing sides in a presidential contest that could have a deep effect on South Korea's relations with North Korea and its alliance with the US.

Jihadis bankroll aid efforts in Syria to win followers Posted: 17 Dec 2012 07:40 AM PST To keep his small charity afloat in Aleppo where the cost of supplies have doubled and tripled in recent months, Abu Ahmad must cobble together funding from a range of donors that includes everyone from wealthy Syrian expatriates to charities in Europe.

Chinese police suspect man who stabbed 23 kids 'influenced' by doomsday rumor Posted: 17 Dec 2012 07:18 AM PST Chinese police said Monday that the man who stabbed 23 children in a rural Chinese elementary school just hours before the Newtown massacre may have been "influenced" by doomsday predictions.

Syria's VP calls for peaceful resolution to crisis – possibly without Assad Posted: 17 Dec 2012 05:31 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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