Yahoo! News: World News

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• U.S. State Dept officials resign under pressure over Benghazi killings
• Rebels seize towns in central Syria
• U.S. soldier referred to court martial in Afghan killings
• Israeli PM vows to build in Jerusalem despite criticism
• Loved and loathed, Park takes South Korea's presidency
• Venezuelan official suggests Chavez's inauguration could be delayed
• Detained Argentine naval ship leaves Ghana
• Sudan, South Sudan to discuss rebel support next month
• Senegal parliament approves law on trial of ex-Chad leader
• Yemeni president curbs rival's power in army overhaul
• Fear keeps Egypt's Christians away from polls
• New Syria rebel chief describes clandestine life
• SKorea's 1st woman leader vows new NKorea effort
• Latin Americans rank as happiest people on planet
• Quotes from the most, least positive countries
• The happiest and saddest countries in the world
• UN suspends polio drive in Pakistan after killings
• Venezuela VP hopes Chavez can be sworn in Jan. 10
• Israel OK's new homes in West Bank, Jerusalem
• State Dept security chief resigns after Benghazi
• Israel moves to further seal off Jerusalem from West Bank
• South Korea elects its first woman president, Park Geun-hye
• Lebanon, Israel take step toward claiming big oil, gas deposits
• What's behind Russia's bill banning US adoptions?
• Nonprofits' message: Keep firewood close to home
• Panel on Benghazi attack heaps blame on State, citing 'systemic failures'

U.S. State Dept officials resign under pressure over Benghazi killings Posted: 19 Dec 2012 03:16 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three senior U.S. State Department officials were asked to resign after an official inquiry harshly criticized their offices for failing to provide adequate security at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, before it came under attack in September, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. ...

Rebels seize towns in central Syria Posted: 19 Dec 2012 01:50 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have captured at least six towns in the central province of Hama, activists say, in an operation aimed at putting pressure on President Bashar al-Assad from the north as insurgents close in on the capital from its southern suburbs. The rebel gains came as the United Nations on Wednesday launched what it said was its "largest short-term humanitarian appeal ever", for $1.5 billion to help millions of Syrians suffering a "dramatically deteriorating" humanitarian situation. ...

U.S. soldier referred to court martial in Afghan killings Posted: 19 Dec 2012 01:55 PM PST SEATTLE (Reuters) - A decorated U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in two forays from his remote military camp has been referred to a court martial over the slayings as a capital case, the military said on Wednesday. No date has been set for the trial of Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, which is scheduled to take place at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, military officials said in a statement. Bales could face the death penalty, if convicted. ...

Israeli PM vows to build in Jerusalem despite criticism Posted: 19 Dec 2012 01:58 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday his government would press ahead with expanding Jewish settlements around Jerusalem despite Western criticism of its plan to build 6,000 more homes in territory Palestinians seek for a state. In addition to several thousand housing units approved earlier this month, Israeli media reported that initial approval was granted on Wednesday for construction of another 3,400 units in Jerusalem and in the West Bank. ...

Loved and loathed, Park takes South Korea's presidency Posted: 19 Dec 2012 03:12 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's first woman president, Park Geun-hye, will have her job cut out when she takes office in February with the economy slowing, her father's autocratic rule still an issue for many and North Korea as unpredictable as ever. Park, 60, won Wednesday's hotly contested election comfortably. She replaces fellow conservative Lee Myung-bak after his mandatory single, five-year term ended. The slightly built and elegant Park grew up in Seoul's presidential palace during the 18-year rule of her father, Park Chung-hee, who took power in a military coup in 1961. ...

Venezuelan official suggests Chavez's inauguration could be delayed Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:22 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan government official has for the first time raised the possibility that Hugo Chavez's January 10 inauguration could be delayed as the president struggles to recover from his latest cancer surgery. Few details have been given about the 58-year-old Chavez's condition after his fourth operation in 18 months. Officials say he is lucid, but that doctors treated him for unexpected bleeding and then a respiratory infection after last week's procedure. ...

Detained Argentine naval ship leaves Ghana Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:39 PM PST ACCRA (Reuters) - An Argentine naval vessel detained in Ghana at the request of a hedge fund seeking payment on defaulted government bonds left the West African country on Wednesday, a port official said. The ARA Libertad, a tall sailing ship used for training, was detained on a court order obtained by NML Capital Ltd, which claims it is owed $300 million resulting Argentina's debt default in 2002. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled on Saturday that Ghana should release the ship after Argentina argued that a U.N. ...

Sudan, South Sudan to discuss rebel support next month Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:58 PM PST KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan will tackle the sensitive issue of support for rebel groups for the first time when they resume security talks next month, Sudan's defense minister said on Wednesday. The former civil war foes have been at loggerheads over their contested border and other issues since South Sudan seceded last year under a 2005 peace deal. ...

Senegal parliament approves law on trial of ex-Chad leader Posted: 19 Dec 2012 03:42 PM PST DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's parliament on Wednesday adopted a law that paves the way for a criminal case to be brought against former Chadian leader Hissene Habre in the country, where he has spent over two decades in exile. The law highlights progress to try Habre, accused of torture and thousands of political killings while running Chad during the 1980s, since President Macky Sall took over as president of Senegal in April. ...

Yemeni president curbs rival's power in army overhaul Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:24 PM PST SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's president ordered a broad overhaul of the military on Wednesday in a move that appeared to undermine a political rival and could deepen instability in the impoverished Arab state. Restoring security in Yemen is a priority for the United States and its Gulf allies because the country is the theatre of multiple conflicts, posing a potential threat to oil export giant Saudi Arabia next door and nearby shipping lanes. ...

Fear keeps Egypt's Christians away from polls Posted: 19 Dec 2012 04:34 PM PST ASSIUT, Egypt (AP) — A campaign of intimidation by Islamists left most Christians in this southern Egyptian province too afraid to participate in last week's referendum on an Islamist-drafted constitution they deeply oppose, residents say. The disenfranchisement is hiking Christians' worries over their future under empowered Muslim conservatives.

New Syria rebel chief describes clandestine life Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:12 AM PST MAARET MISREEN, Syria (AP) — The new Syrian rebel chief said he's been moving between safe houses since taking up command, even changing quarters twice in one night when he feared regime spies.

SKorea's 1st woman leader vows new NKorea effort Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:12 AM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Park Geun-hye, daughter of a divisive military strongman from South Korea's authoritarian era, was elected the country's first female president Wednesday, a landmark win that could mean a new drive to start talks with rival North Korea.

Latin Americans rank as happiest people on planet Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:45 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — The world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures. They aren't in Japan, the nation with the highest life expectancy. Canada, with its chart-topping percentage of college graduates, doesn't make the top 10.

Quotes from the most, least positive countries Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:49 PM PST Comments by people in some of the countries that a Gallup poll ranks as the world's most and least positive:

The happiest and saddest countries in the world Posted: 19 Dec 2012 01:47 PM PST Gallup Inc. asked roughly 1,000 people in each of 148 countries the following questions: Did you feel well-respected yesterday? Were you treated with respect all day yesterday? Did you laugh or smile a lot yesterday? Did you learn or do something interesting yesterday? Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday? How about enjoyment?

UN suspends polio drive in Pakistan after killings Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:28 AM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The United Nations suspended its polio vaccination drive in Pakistan on Wednesday after eight people involved in the effort were shot dead in the past two days, a U.N. official said.

Venezuela VP hopes Chavez can be sworn in Jan. 10 Posted: 19 Dec 2012 04:22 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president said on Wednesday that the government is still aiming for President Hugo Chavez to be sworn in for a new term as scheduled next month, saying his condition has been improving after his cancer surgery in Cuba.

Israel OK's new homes in West Bank, Jerusalem Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:39 PM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Wednesday pressed forward with the construction of thousands of new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, part of a series of new settlement plans that have drawn worldwide rebuke, including from its closest ally, the United States.

State Dept security chief resigns after Benghazi Posted: 19 Dec 2012 12:55 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Three State Department officials resigned under pressure Wednesday, less than a day after a damning report blamed management failures for a lack of security at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, where militants killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans on Sept. 11.

Israel moves to further seal off Jerusalem from West Bank Posted: 19 Dec 2012 01:43 PM PST Israeli officials today approved plans for 2,612 new homes to be built on Givat HaMatos, or Airplane Hill, which is set to become the first new Jerusalem neighborhood to be built outside Israel's internationally recognized borders since 1996.

South Korea elects its first woman president, Park Geun-hye Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:30 AM PST Park Geun-hye won a decisive victory Wednesday after a bitterly fought election for president of South Korea in which she overcame criticism of her legacy as the daughter of long-ruling dictator Park Chung-hee. So doing, she also overcame traditional barriers to women in government and business to become the first woman to win her country's presidency.

Lebanon, Israel take step toward claiming big oil, gas deposits Posted: 19 Dec 2012 09:28 AM PST The United States has proposed a boundary between Lebanon and Israel's maritime economic zones to help end a lingering dispute over rival claims and open up oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

What's behind Russia's bill banning US adoptions? Posted: 19 Dec 2012 08:58 AM PST A Russian bill that had seemed initially like a tit-for-tat response to US legislation now looks to be exploding into broad legislation that bars almost any US citizen from engaging in non-business activity in Russia – including the adoption of Russian children.

Nonprofits' message: Keep firewood close to home Posted: 19 Dec 2012 07:07 AM PST What munches on wood in Pennsylvania should stay in Pennsylvania. Likewise what burrows in Oregon should stay in Oregon.

Panel on Benghazi attack heaps blame on State, citing 'systemic failures' Posted: 19 Dec 2012 06:02 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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