Yahoo! News: World News

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• Syrian rebels fight for strategic town in Hama province
• Egyptian Islamists plan big rally as referendum looms
• Israel complains to U.N. about rearming by Hezbollah
• Jailed Briton seeks to overturn Florida murder conviction
• Putin backs tit-for-tat response to U.S. rights law
• Iraqi minister accuses Shi'ite prime minister of crackdown
• South Africa's Mandela has "steadily improved": Zuma
• U.N. authorizes African force to take on al Qaeda in Mali
• U.S. government report faults Bahrain 2011 labor crackdown
• Greek police clash with angry shopkeepers in Athens
• Wounded presage health crisis for postwar Syria
• Pakistani polio workers get police protection
• In Mexico, New Agers hope Dec. 21 brings new era
• Venezuela court could decide on Chavez swearing-in
• House approves $633 billion defense bill
• UN OKs military action to oust al-Qaida in Mali
• Putin: Russia recognizes need for change in Syria
• Lawmakers, State officials tangle over Libya raid
• Iraq finance minister says staff members kidnapped
• 4 killed in clashes in Libya's Benghazi
• In India, a Hindu nationalist rebuilds image with Muslim votes
• South Korea's president-elect promises 'new era of change'
• Pressure mounts on Obama to change tactics on Iran
• Syrian rebel infighting could take dangerous turn if Assad falls
• Lessons from the Maya prophesy – whether the world 'ends' or not
• Palestinians begin returning to Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria
• Newtown shooting cranks up Canada's gun-control debate

Syrian rebels fight for strategic town in Hama province Posted: 20 Dec 2012 10:54 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels began to push into a strategic town in Syria's central Hama province on Thursday and laid siege to at least one town dominated by President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect, activists said. The operation risks inflaming already raw sectarian tensions as the 21-month-old revolt against four decades of Assad family rule - during which the president's Alawite sect has dominated leadership of the Sunni Muslim majority - rumbles on. ...

Egyptian Islamists plan big rally as referendum looms Posted: 20 Dec 2012 03:12 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Islamists are planning a mass protest in Alexandria on Friday in a move likely to raise tensions on the eve of a divisive referendum that will determine the political future of the Arab world's biggest nation. The Muslim Brotherhood called for the rally after a violent confrontation between Islamists and the liberal, secular opposition in Egypt's second city last week ended with a Muslim preacher besieged inside his mosque for 14 hours. Rival factions were armed with clubs, knives and swords. ...

Israel complains to U.N. about rearming by Hezbollah Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:36 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israel's U.N. envoy urged the Security Council on Thursday to condemn what he described as significant rearming by Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese militant group now possessed an arsenal of tens of thousands of missiles capable of hitting Israel. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor said in a letter to the 15-nation council that the buildup was in clear violation of a U.N. arms embargo. Prosor said an explosion in the southern Lebanese town of Tair Harfa on Monday was at a weapons depot. ...

Jailed Briton seeks to overturn Florida murder conviction Posted: 20 Dec 2012 03:38 PM PST MIAMI (Reuters) - Lawyers for a British man serving two life sentences in Florida for a 1986 double homicide filed an appeal on Thursday seeking to have the conviction overturned based on an affidavit alleging that Miami police officers framed an innocent man. Krishna Maharaj, 73, was convicted in 1987 for the murder of Derrick and Duane Moo Young, a Jamaican-American father and son who were shot dead, one of them execution-style, in October 1986 in a downtown Miami hotel suite. ...

Putin backs tit-for-tat response to U.S. rights law Posted: 20 Dec 2012 07:43 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin backed a ban on Americans adopting Russian children on Thursday in a feud over a U.S. law that aims to punish Russians accused of violating human rights. In his first annual news conference since he began a new six-year term in May, the former KGB spy often struck a hawkish tone, signaling support for tough retaliation against the "unfriendly" Magnitsky Act passed by Moscow's former Cold War enemy, which he said was poisoning relations. ...

Iraqi minister accuses Shi'ite prime minister of crackdown Posted: 20 Dec 2012 03:50 PM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Sunni Muslim finance minister on Thursday accused the Shi'ite prime minister of targeting his bodyguards and staff, threatening to rekindle a political crisis a year after American troops left. The incident came just hours after President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who often mediated among the country's fractious Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish blocks, left for Germany after suffering a stroke that may remove him from politics. ...

South Africa's Mandela has "steadily improved": Zuma Posted: 20 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela, the 94-year-old former South African leader who has spent nearly two weeks in hospital, is steadily improving and responding well to treatment, current President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday. "His condition was serious, but he is responding well to treatment, and has steadily improved over the last few days," Zuma said at the close of a week-long leadership conference of the ruling African National Congress. ...

U.N. authorizes African force to take on al Qaeda in Mali Posted: 20 Dec 2012 01:10 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 15-nation U.N. Security Council on Thursday unanimously authorized the deployment of an African-led military force to help defeat al Qaeda and other Islamist militants in northern Mali. The French-drafted resolution also authorized the 27-nation European Union and other U.N. member states to help rebuild the Malian security forces, who are to be assisted by the international African force during an operation in northern Mali that is not expected to begin before September 2013. ...

U.S. government report faults Bahrain 2011 labor crackdown Posted: 20 Dec 2012 01:08 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bahrain appears to have violated commitments it made to the United States to protect workers' rights in its response to a March 2011 general strike at the time of the Arab Spring, the U.S. Labor Department said in a report on Thursday. "It is our duty to ensure that trading partners meet their commitments to labor standards in free trade agreements," U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said in a statement. The report stopped short of recommending legal action under the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, which went into force in 2006. ...

Greek police clash with angry shopkeepers in Athens Posted: 20 Dec 2012 01:07 PM PST ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek riot police fought a group of Athens businessmen who tried to prevent a tax inspection on their shops, officials said on Thursday, highlighting the resistance the government faces in cracking down on the country's endemic tax evasion. Four policemen were hospitalized with minor injuries after a group of about 50 protesters threw stones, set fire to garbage bins and hurled two firebombs at them in the rundown Athens suburb of Agia Varvara, a police official said. "One officer was hit by a stone next to his right eye," said the official who declined to be named. ...

Wounded presage health crisis for postwar Syria Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:43 AM PST ATMEH, Syria (AP) — A baby boy joined the ranks of Syria's tens of thousands of war wounded when a missile fired by Bashar Assad's air force slammed into his family home and shrapnel pierced his skull.

Pakistani polio workers get police protection Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:47 AM PST LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Under police guard, thousands of health workers pressed on with a polio immunization program Thursday after nine were killed elsewhere in Pakistan by suspected militants who oppose the vaccination campaign.

In Mexico, New Agers hope Dec. 21 brings new era Posted: 20 Dec 2012 03:38 PM PST MERIDA, Mexico (AP) — Doomsday hour is here, at least in much of the world, and so still are we.

Venezuela court could decide on Chavez swearing-in Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:45 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The president of Venezuela's Supreme Court said Thursday that it could decide whether it's constitutional to postpone the date of ailing President Hugo Chavez's swearing-in as he recovers from cancer surgery in Cuba.

House approves $633 billion defense bill Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a $633 billion defense bill for next year despite Pentagon complaints that it spares outdated but politically popular weapons at the expense of the military's ability to fight.

UN OKs military action to oust al-Qaida in Mali Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:28 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Thursday authorized military action to wrest northern Mali from the control of al-Qaida-linked extremists but demanded progress first on political reconciliation, elections and training African troops and police.

Putin: Russia recognizes need for change in Syria Posted: 20 Dec 2012 07:53 AM PST MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin distanced himself further than ever before from his longtime ally in Syria on Thursday, saying he understands Syria needs change and that he is not protecting its president.

Lawmakers, State officials tangle over Libya raid Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:05 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department on Thursday acknowledged major weaknesses in security and errors in judgment exposed in a scathing independent report on the deadly Sept. 11 assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. Two top State officials appealed to Congress to fully fund requests to ensure diplomats and embassies are safe.

Iraq finance minister says staff members kidnapped Posted: 20 Dec 2012 01:36 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's finance minister on Thursday accused a "militia force" of kidnapping members of his staff and said he holds the prime minister personally responsible for their safety.

4 killed in clashes in Libya's Benghazi Posted: 20 Dec 2012 01:34 PM PST TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Four people were killed Thursday when a protest outside a base for security forces in eastern Libya turned violent less than a week after suspected Islamic militants killed four policemen at the same compound.

In India, a Hindu nationalist rebuilds image with Muslim votes Posted: 20 Dec 2012 12:47 PM PST The Hindu nationalist leader of the western state of Gujarat, known for his alleged role in the 2002 riots in which 1,000 Muslims were killed, won his fourth consecutive term as chief minister in a landslide on Thursday. The victory puts the controversial figure on track to be a strong contender for prime minister of India in 2014.

South Korea's president-elect promises 'new era of change' Posted: 20 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST South Korea's President-elect Park Geun-hye signaled today the tough policy toward North Korea that she's likely to pursue when she embarks on her five-year term as president in February.

Pressure mounts on Obama to change tactics on Iran Posted: 20 Dec 2012 09:15 AM PST Arguing that further sanctions "are unlikely to stop Iran's nuclear pursuits," a group of Iran experts and senior former officials are calling on the White House to pursue realistic, "serious, sustained negotiations" with Tehran that they say are the best chance to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

Syrian rebel infighting could take dangerous turn if Assad falls Posted: 20 Dec 2012 09:05 AM PST In recent weeks, a number of opposition fighters in Aleppo have come to see the fall of the Assad government as only a matter of time. But bringing down the unpopular president may be easy in comparison to unifying an opposition that at times seems held together by little more than members' shared hatred of President Bashar al-Assad.

Lessons from the Maya prophesy – whether the world 'ends' or not Posted: 20 Dec 2012 06:39 AM PST Through a clearing in the jungle, visitors catch their first glimpse of the ancient Maya ruins of Yaxchilan in Mexico's southern Chiapas state. Stubborn vines have penetrated the walls of the Maya temple of the underworld. Bats hang in the cool vaulted ceiling and spiders scurry around the structure where ancient nobles once meditated and prayed to their gods.

Palestinians begin returning to Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria Posted: 20 Dec 2012 06:18 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Newtown shooting cranks up Canada's gun-control debate Posted: 19 Dec 2012 02:37 PM PST Though the massacre in Newtown, Conn., last week has drawn sympathy from all over the world, it has a particular resonance in Canada.

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