Yahoo! News: World News

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• Italy PM Monti resigns, elections likely in February
• Egypt's constitution seen passing in referendum
• Former British PM Thatcher in hospital after operation
• Russia clashes over energy with Belarus, Ukraine, EU
• Dutch minister approves transfer of bomb suspect to U.S
• Gunmen snatch three Westerners in Yemen capital
• Colombian peace talks said to advance amid many challenges
• South Sudan admits it downed U.N. helicopter, killing four
• Syrian rebels say will target Aleppo airport
• Saakashvili's foes among Georgia prisoners nearing pardon
• Syrian rebels step up attacks on strategic sites
• Egyptian Islamists, opponents clash ahead of vote
• Mali militants seek peace after UN backs force
• Court strikes down Costa Rica in-vitro ban
• Mexico's Maya heartland greets dawn of new era
• Margaret Thatcher in UK hospital after operation
• Pope stresses family values as gay marriage gains
• Monti resigns as Italy heads to elections
• UN helicopter shot down in South Sudan; 4 dead
• Iraq confirms arrest of minister's bodyguards
• Delhi gang-rape case could be turning point for India's rape laws
• In Hezbollah stronghold, Lebanese Christians find respect, stability
• Japanese firms set spending record in buying up foreign assets
• US ex-marine to be released from prison after violating Mexico's strict gun laws
• Syria fires more Scud missiles as refugee projections climb
• Estela de Carlotto hunts for Argentina's grandchildren 'stolen' decades ago

Italy PM Monti resigns, elections likely in February Posted: 21 Dec 2012 11:32 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti tendered his resignation to the president on Friday after 13 months in office, opening the way to a highly uncertain national election in February. The former European commissioner, appointed to lead an unelected government to save Italy from financial crisis a year ago, has kept his own political plans a closely guarded secret but he has faced growing pressure to seek a second term. ...

Egypt's constitution seen passing in referendum Posted: 21 Dec 2012 02:02 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian constitution drafted by Islamists is expected to be approved in a referendum on Saturday after the charter, which opponents say will create deeper turmoil, won approval in a first wave of voting a week ago. The opposition have already cried foul, saying a litany of abuses means last Saturday's ballot, involving about half the electorate, should be re-run. But the committee overseeing the two-stage vote said their investigations showed no major irregularities that would invalidate the process. ...

Former British PM Thatcher in hospital after operation Posted: 21 Dec 2012 01:21 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the country's first woman elective leader, is in hospital recovering from surgery to remove a growth on her bladder, a source close to the family said on Friday. After experiencing pain in her bladder earlier in the week, he 87-year-old went to hospital where she underwent a minimally invasive operation, Tim Bell, a public relations executive who once served as image maker to Thatcher, said. "The operation was completely satisfactory. She's now recovering in hospital and as soon as she's recovered she'll go home," Bell said. ...

Russia clashes over energy with Belarus, Ukraine, EU Posted: 21 Dec 2012 11:30 AM PST MINSK/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia plunged back into the disputes over energy with Ukraine and Belarus that have repeatedly disrupted oil and gas supplies to European Union countries, and it also termed EU energy policy as "uncivilized". Russia on Friday denied remarks by Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko that it had agreed to increase its crude oil supplies to Minsk, vital for the Belarus economy, and said that it still intended to cut them next year. ...

Dutch minister approves transfer of bomb suspect to U.S Posted: 21 Dec 2012 11:36 AM PST AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands' justice minister has approved the transfer of a Dutch citizen to the United States to face charges of plotting suicide attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, a spokeswoman said on Friday. She could not say when the suspect, known as Sabir K, will be transferred to the United States where a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges was issued in June 2011. In April, the Netherlands' highest court upheld an appeals court decision and approved the extradition of Sabir K to the United States. ...

Gunmen snatch three Westerners in Yemen capital Posted: 21 Dec 2012 12:01 PM PST SANAA (Reuters) - Gunmen abducted a Finnish couple and a Austrian man in the centre of Sanaa on Friday, a security official told Reuters, just two days after a major overhaul of the armed forces in a drive to bring stability to the impoverished country. "People saw a car stop in Tahrir Square, militants snatching three Westerners and speeding away," the official said. "The abductors didn't reveal their affiliation or demands," Police were searching for the gunmen who abducted the Westerners, who were all studying Arabic in Yemen, he said. ...

Colombian peace talks said to advance amid many challenges Posted: 21 Dec 2012 03:47 PM PST HAVANA (Reuters) - Talks between the Colombian government and Marxist-led FARC rebels to end their bloody, half-century-long conflict have made progress, but broad areas of disagreement lie ahead, the two sides said on Friday as they headed into a holiday break. Lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle, speaking at the conclusion of the second round of meetings, said the two sides had agreed on some "unprecedented mechanisms" for civic input into the peace process. ...

South Sudan admits it downed U.N. helicopter, killing four Posted: 21 Dec 2012 12:57 PM PST JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's army shot down a United Nations peacekeeping helicopter in the restive Jonglei state on Friday, killing the four Russian crew members onboard, U.N. and military officials said. A U.N. source said the helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission in an area where the SPLA, South Sudan's army, has been fighting rebels led by David Yau Yau. U.N. ...

Syrian rebels say will target Aleppo airport Posted: 21 Dec 2012 12:38 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels warned on Friday they will target the international airport of the northern city of Aleppo after firing at an airliner preparing to take off, the first direct attack on civilian a flight in the 21-month-old revolt. Thursday's attack was another sign of the growing confidence of rebels who are also fighting an offensive in the central province of Hama, pursuing a string of territorial gains to try to cut army supply lines and pressure the capital Damascus to the south. ...

Saakashvili's foes among Georgia prisoners nearing pardon Posted: 21 Dec 2012 11:07 AM PST TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's parliament passed a law on Friday to pardon 3,500 prisoners, including those jailed under President Mikheil Saakashvili whose party was ousted from government in October. The move appears to fit into a power play between the new prime minister, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, and Saakashvili. Since the election, won by the six-party Georgian Dream led by Ivanishvili, a raft of former government officials have been arrested, accused of abuse of power. ...

Syrian rebels step up attacks on strategic sites Posted: 21 Dec 2012 12:51 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's rebels stepped up attacks on strategic sites including a sprawling military complex in the country's north on Friday, while reports emerged that President Bashar Assad's forces continued to fire Scud missiles at rebel areas.

Egyptian Islamists, opponents clash ahead of vote Posted: 21 Dec 2012 02:35 PM PST ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) — Violence erupted between Egypt's divided camps on Friday, the eve of the final round of a referendum on a constitution that has polarized the nation, as Islamists and their opponents pelted each other with stones while police fired tear gas in the streets of the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Mali militants seek peace after UN backs force Posted: 21 Dec 2012 01:27 PM PST BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The al-Qaida-linked group that controls much of northern Mali and other rebels agreed Friday to cease hostilities in the areas they control, a day after the United Nations backed a regional plan to oust the Islamists from power in a military intervention next year.

Court strikes down Costa Rica in-vitro ban Posted: 21 Dec 2012 12:53 PM PST SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — A Costa Rican ban on in-vitro fertilization has been struck down by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a decision that reproductive health groups said could lead to greater access to abortion and some contraception in other Latin American countries.

Mexico's Maya heartland greets dawn of new era Posted: 21 Dec 2012 01:13 PM PST MERIDA, Mexico (AP) — Dec. 21 started out as the prophetic day some had believed would usher in the fiery end of the world. By Friday afternoon, it had become more comic than cosmic, the punch line of countless Facebook posts and at least several dozen T-shirts.

Margaret Thatcher in UK hospital after operation Posted: 21 Dec 2012 01:46 PM PST LONDON (AP) — Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is recuperating at a hospital after an operation to remove a bladder growth, a friend said Friday.

Pope stresses family values as gay marriage gains Posted: 21 Dec 2012 03:11 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pope pressed his opposition to gay marriage Friday, denouncing what he described as people eschewing their God-given gender identities to suit their sexual choices — and destroying the very "essence of the human creature" in the process.

Monti resigns as Italy heads to elections Posted: 21 Dec 2012 12:58 PM PST MILAN (AP) — Mario Monti handed in his resignation to Italy's president in Rome on Friday, bringing to a close his "difficult but fascinating" 13-month technical government and preparing the country for national elections.

UN helicopter shot down in South Sudan; 4 dead Posted: 21 Dec 2012 03:18 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations said South Sudan's armed forces shot down a U.N. helicopter on Friday killing all four Russian crew members on board, an attack South Sudan's military spokesman blamed rebel fighters.

Iraq confirms arrest of minister's bodyguards Posted: 21 Dec 2012 11:32 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities said Friday they've arrested 10 bodyguards of the country's Sunni finance minister in a terrorism-related sweep, the first official confirmation in a case that is inflaming the nation's simmering political and sectarian tensions.

Delhi gang-rape case could be turning point for India's rape laws Posted: 21 Dec 2012 10:04 AM PST The gang-rape and beating of a 23-year-old woman on a private bus as it cruised around Delhi Sunday could be the turning point for improvements in the country's rape laws.

In Hezbollah stronghold, Lebanese Christians find respect, stability Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:57 AM PST In a home in a Shiite neighborhood in southern Beirut, images of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah share mantel and wall space with the Virgin Mary.

Japanese firms set spending record in buying up foreign assets Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:30 AM PST In the late 1980s, when Mitsubishi Estate bought Rockefeller Center and Sony snapped up Columbia Pictures, the Western media were full of stories of Japan's imminent global economic domination. "Japan as No. 1" was a best-seller, and US autoworkers dramatically took sledgehammers to Japanese imports.

US ex-marine to be released from prison after violating Mexico's strict gun laws Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:10 AM PST The American ex-Marine who has been holed up in a Mexican prison in one of the most dangerous regions along the US-Mexico border is reportedly going to be released today, in time to return home for Christmas.

Syria fires more Scud missiles as refugee projections climb Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:46 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Estela de Carlotto hunts for Argentina's grandchildren 'stolen' decades ago Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST Estela de Carlotto isn't like most grandmothers. Instead of easing herself into retirement and enjoying the slower pace of life it affords, she remains a dogged workaholic.

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