Yahoo! News: World News

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• Egypt opposition protests against constitution
• Kurdish troops fire on Iraqi army helicopter in dispute
• South Korea votes in tight race on economy and jobs
• Venezuela's Chavez "stable" after respiratory infection
• Former Iranian diplomat wanted by U.S. arrives in Tehran
• Chad sends troops to back CAR army against rebels
• U.N. says 126 rapes committed in Congo town after army arrived
• France confident it can bridge gap with U.S. on Mali
• Embattled Cayman Islands premier ousted in no-confidence vote
• Israel presses on with plan for 6,000 new settler homes
• NBC's Engel, TV crew escape abduction in Syria
• Egypt's Alexandria gripped by feud over future
• Irish government to legalize life-saving abortion
• Army probing day care centers worldwide
• Iraqi President Talabani suffers a stroke
• Around world, massacres have spurred gun control
• Mexico says some 80 cartels at work in country
• Both SKorean presidential hopefuls promise change
• Chavez suffers respiratory infection after surgery
• Panetta cites budget woes, Afghan war progress
• Ireland announces abortion law reforms, leaving no one satisfied
• If change comes to Jordan, it won't start in Amman
• In passport kerfuffle, Taiwan is stickin' it to China
• Newtown shooting highlights Russia's gun-control debate
• Five women shot dead in Pakistan for fighting polio
• Global sympathy for Newtown, antipathy for US gun laws
• How some Israelis see the sacred in settlements
• Why some Christians back Israeli settlers in the West Bank
• Japan's hawkish Abe claims the win, but not a mandate
• NBC's Richard Engel released in Syria, a journalist danger zone

Egypt opposition protests against constitution Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:12 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi staged protests in Cairo on Tuesday against an Islamist-backed draft constitution that has divided Egypt but looks set to be approved in the second half of a referendum this weekend. Several hundred protesters outside the presidential palace chanted "Revolution, revolution, for the sake of the constitution" and called on Mursi to "Leave, leave, you coward!". While the protest was noisy, numbers were down on previous demonstrations. ...

Kurdish troops fire on Iraqi army helicopter in dispute Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:12 PM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Troops from Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan opened fire on an Iraqi army helicopter on Tuesday, underscoring tensions between Baghdad's Arab-led central government and the Kurdish region, officials said. Iraq's government and self-ruled Kurdistan last month both sent troops from their respective armies to reinforce positions around towns in disputed areas where they both claim control as part of a broader feud over oil and territory. ...

South Korea votes in tight race on economy and jobs Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:42 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans started voting for a new president on Wednesday in a battle between the daughter of a former military ruler and a man her father jailed for political activism, set against the backdrop of a hostile North Korea and a slowing economy. Conservative candidate Park Geun-hye had a narrow lead in polls published last week, the last allowed under election rules. If she wins, she would be the first woman leader of the country, which is still largely run by men in dark suits. ...

Venezuela's Chavez "stable" after respiratory infection Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:30 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is in "stable" condition in Cuba after being treated for a respiratory infection following cancer surgery a week ago, the government said on Tuesday. Chavez, 58, is battling to recover from his fourth operation since he was first diagnosed with cancer in mid-2011. "The general condition of the commander-president is stable after he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and the medical team treated him immediately," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in the latest update on Chavez. "It has been controlled. ...

Former Iranian diplomat wanted by U.S. arrives in Tehran Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:46 PM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - A former Iranian diplomat arrested in London for trying to export night-vision weapons' sights to Iran arrived back in Tehran on Tuesday after winning a six-year legal battle in Britain. A British court last month blocked the extradition of Nosratollah Tajik, wanted by the United States after agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posed as arms dealers seeking to sell the military kit in violation of arms embargoes. "Tajik was welcomed by some officials and family members at Tehran's Mehrabad airport," the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported. ...

Chad sends troops to back CAR army against rebels Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:50 PM PST BANGUI/N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad sent troops into neighboring Central African Republic on Tuesday to help the government there stop a rapid advance by rebels that risks sparking a new spiral of violence in the mineral-rich nation. The rebels killed 15 government soldiers during the capture on Tuesday of Bria, a diamond mining town about 600 km (360 miles) northeast of the capital Bangui and the sixth town to fall to the insurgents in little over a week. ...

U.N. says 126 rapes committed in Congo town after army arrived Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:30 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that 126 women were raped in an eastern town after Congolese troops fled there last month as rebels advanced on the provincial capital of Goma, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Congolese troops, aided by U.N. peacekeepers have been battling the so-called M23 rebels - who U.N. experts and Congolese officials say are backed by neighboring Rwanda - for the past eight months in the resource-rich east of the country. ...

France confident it can bridge gap with U.S. on Mali Posted: 18 Dec 2012 01:55 PM PST PARIS/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - France said on Tuesday it would address U.S. concerns about a military mission to retake northern Mali from Islamist rebels and hoped for a Security Council vote this week, but U.N. envoys said a French-U.S. agreement on the issue remained elusive. U.S. diplomats have voiced skepticism over a French draft resolution to approve an African Union (AU) military force that would seek to oust al Qaeda-linked insurgents who seized vast swathes of the African country last March. U.N. ...

Embattled Cayman Islands premier ousted in no-confidence vote Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:44 PM PST GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) - Lawmakers in the Cayman Islands passed a vote of no confidence on Tuesday ousting embattled Premier McKeeva Bush from office one week after he was arrested on suspicion of corruption. Members of parliament voted 11 to 3 with one abstention to remove Bush as the head of government in the British territory, which is a major financial center, offshore home to more than half of the world's hedge funds, and a leading global tax haven. ...

Israel presses on with plan for 6,000 new settler homes Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:47 AM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli officials said they would press on with plans this week to build 6,000 homes for settlers on land claimed by Palestinians, defying criticism from Western powers who fear the move will damage already faint hopes for a peace accord. Stung by de facto recognition of Palestinian sovereignty in a U.N. General Assembly vote last month, Israel announced it would expand settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. An Israeli Interior Ministry planning committee on Monday gave preliminary approval for 1,500 new homes in the Ramat Shlomo settlement. ...

NBC's Engel, TV crew escape abduction in Syria Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:41 PM PST NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel said Tuesday he and members of his network crew escaped unharmed after five days of captivity in Syria, where more than a dozen pro-regime gunmen dragged them from their car, killed one of their rebel escorts and subjected them to mock executions.

Egypt's Alexandria gripped by feud over future Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:42 AM PST The Qaed Ibrahim mosque, revered by Alexandrines as the embodiment of their Mediterranean city's cosmopolitan heritage, has become a battleground between the two visions fighting over the future of Egypt, literally.

Irish government to legalize life-saving abortion Posted: 18 Dec 2012 02:52 PM PST Ireland's government pledged Tuesday to pass a law soon that will allow women to receive abortions if continued pregnancy threatens their lives — including from their own threats to commit suicide if denied one.

Army probing day care centers worldwide Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:07 PM PST The Army said Tuesday it will investigate hiring practices at all 283 of its child day care centers worldwide following the arrest of two Army employees accused of assaulting children at a Fort Myer, Va., day care center.

Iraqi President Talabani suffers a stroke Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:18 AM PST Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has suffered a stroke and was in intensive care at a Baghdad hospital Tuesday, injecting new uncertainty into the country's political future a year after the U.S. military left.

Around world, massacres have spurred gun control Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:24 AM PST If there's anywhere that understands the pain of Newtown, it's Dunblane, the town whose grief became a catalyst for changes to Britain's gun laws.

Mexico says some 80 cartels at work in country Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:50 PM PST Mexico's new attorney general said Tuesday that as many as 80 small and medium-size drug cartels are operating in the country, a number far higher than the last formal government assessment.

Both SKorean presidential hopefuls promise change Posted: 18 Dec 2012 03:21 PM PST South Koreans bundled in thick mufflers and parkas braved frigid weather Wednesday to choose between the liberal son of North Korean refugees and the conservative daughter of a late dictator. For all their differences, the presidential candidates hold similar views on the need to engage with Pyongyang and other issues.

Chavez suffers respiratory infection after surgery Posted: 18 Dec 2012 04:32 PM PST Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has a respiratory infection after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba, the government said on Tuesday amid uncertainty and concern over his delicate condition.

Panetta cites budget woes, Afghan war progress Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:11 PM PST Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Congress Tuesday that the budget stalemate and lawmakers' spending choices are among the greatest threats to the U.S. military today, increasing the stress on the force and making it difficult to fund programs that best keep troops ready to fight.

Ireland announces abortion law reforms, leaving no one satisfied Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:14 PM PST Ireland took a step today toward loosening its strict antiabortion regime, as the government announced legislation to legalize abortion in limited circumstances. But a battle lies ahead, as both abortion-rights and antiabortion groups appear dissatisfied with the government's new prescription.

If change comes to Jordan, it won't start in Amman Posted: 18 Dec 2012 12:06 PM PST On a sunny Friday afternoon, about 70 protesters make their way down the main street of this small town in southern Jordan, snarling traffic on the narrow road and drawing black looks from motorists. More or less the whole town has just emerged from Friday prayer, and the street is packed with people shopping, chatting, or heading home for lunch. Many simply stand and watch the protesters go by, with expressions ranging from admiration to curiosity to derision.

In passport kerfuffle, Taiwan is stickin' it to China Posted: 18 Dec 2012 11:16 AM PST China hasn't started a military war with Taiwan – as has been feared since the 1940s – but a battle that began on paper last month has met with a fiery pulp-and-ink response that could burn a hole in goodwill between the two once-hostile governments.

Newtown shooting highlights Russia's gun-control debate Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:39 AM PST The Newtown school massacre, heavily covered by Russian media, has shed light on a long-simmering debate within Russian society over the wisdom of allowing freer civilian access to firearms.

Five women shot dead in Pakistan for fighting polio Posted: 18 Dec 2012 10:27 AM PST Five female health workers involved in Pakistan's polio eradication efforts were gunned down Tuesday in two of the country's main cities amid militant resistance to immunization campaigns.

Global sympathy for Newtown, antipathy for US gun laws Posted: 18 Dec 2012 08:58 AM PST There has been no shortage of sympathy from across the globe for the victims of the shooting rampage at an elementary school in the New England town of Newtown, Conn. But there has been another global response as well: confusion and frustration that the US seems unable, or unwilling, to tighten gun laws.

How some Israelis see the sacred in settlements Posted: 18 Dec 2012 07:54 AM PST As Rabbi Dovid Ben Meir leads visitors through the ruins of this ancient city, believed to have served as the Jewish capital more than 3,000 years ago, his love of history is clear. But it wasn't his love of the past so much as his desire to shape the future that led him here. When he was a teenager in Chicago, a class on modern European history got him thinking: In every revolution, there are people for, against, and indifferent. "I wanted to say to myself that I would be for revolution, for progress. But I was born 200 years too late."

Why some Christians back Israeli settlers in the West Bank Posted: 18 Dec 2012 07:47 AM PST Zionism founded on religious conviction has gained greater traction in US politics over the past 10 to 15 years as evangelical Christians have joined with Jewish groups to promote Israel's interests. While not all Evangelicals back settlements, a growing number see the return of Jews to the land of Israel as a prerequisite to the second coming of the Messiah.

Japan's hawkish Abe claims the win, but not a mandate Posted: 18 Dec 2012 06:25 AM PST Japan's Liberal Democratic Party may have secured a convincing victory on Sunday, but it can hardly claim a mandate.

NBC's Richard Engel released in Syria, a journalist danger zone Posted: 18 Dec 2012 05:33 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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