Yahoo! News: World News

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• No new vote in Venezuela if Chavez sworn in late: official
• Syrian civil war at stalemate, Assad won't go: Russia
• Netanyahu lauds Kerry nomination for U.S. secretary of state job
• India police use water cannon, tear gas as gang-rape protests intensify
• Iran says seizes explosives on Pakistan border
• Iran a central issue for my next term: Netanyahu
• Taliban bomb kills nine including minister at Pakistan rally
• Omanis hope first local vote is stepping stone towards change
• Central African Republic rebels in defiance, seize another town
• Early signs show Egypt's new constitution passing
• Egypt's disputed charter headed toward approval
• Russia welcomes any offer to give Assad refuge
• Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan
• Pope pardons ex-butler who stole, leaked documents
• AP PHOTOS: Images from Egypt's constitution vote
• Abducted German aid worker seen alive in video
• Will he or won't he? Italy awaits Monti's decision
• 3-day trip becomes 3-week ordeal for 2 Jamaicans
• Russia says it won't host Assad but others welcome
• Reports: Rolling Stones guitarist Wood ties knot
• Pope pardons Vatican butler
• Deep emotions run beneath Russia's adoption ban
• Good Reads: gun laws, lottery winners, online education, and tech gets sensory

No new vote in Venezuela if Chavez sworn in late: official Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:42 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will not call fresh elections if Hugo Chavez's cancer prevents him from taking office by January 10, the head of Congress said on Saturday, despite a constitutional mandate that the swearing-in take place on that date. Chavez is recovering in Cuba from a six-hour cancer operation that followed his October re-election. The socialist leader has not been heard from for nearly two weeks, raising doubts as to whether he will be fit to continue governing. ...

Syrian civil war at stalemate, Assad won't go: Russia Posted: 22 Dec 2012 07:42 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's civil war has reached stalemate and international efforts to persuade President Bashar al-Assad to quit will fail, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday. Mainly Sunni Muslim rebels seeking to overthrow Assad are fighting on the edge of the capital Damascus and expanding southwards from their northern strongholds in Aleppo and Idlib into the central province of Hama. ...

Netanyahu lauds Kerry nomination for U.S. secretary of state job Posted: 22 Dec 2012 11:18 AM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday welcomed the appointment of his personal friend John Kerry as U.S. secretary of state and described him as "a known supporter of Israel's security". President Barack Obama nominated Kerry on Friday, calling the veteran U.S. senator the "perfect choice" as America's top diplomat. Netanyahu said in a statement: "I congratulate John Kerry on being chosen for the position of U.S. Secretary of State. Kerry is very experienced and is a known supporter of Israel's security. ...

India police use water cannon, tear gas as gang-rape protests intensify Posted: 22 Dec 2012 07:39 AM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police used batons, tear gas and water cannon to turn back thousands of people marching on the presidential palace on Saturday in intensifying protests against the gang-rape of a woman on the streets and on social media. The 23-year-old victim is battling for her life in hospital after she was beaten, raped for almost an hour and thrown out of a moving bus on a busy New Delhi street last Sunday. Five people have been arrested. The protesters, largely college students, are demanding the death penalty for the accused and safety assurances for women. ...

Iran says seizes explosives on Pakistan border Posted: 22 Dec 2012 07:24 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has seized 20 bombs and other explosives on its border with Pakistan, a police official was quoted as saying on Saturday. He called on Islamabad to control its border regions properly. Iran's impoverished southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, bordering Pakistan, faces serious security problems including bombings and frequent clashes between police and drug dealers and bandits. "Border agents learned that subversive groups wished to enter our territory," said Ahmad Reza-Radan, Iran's deputy police chief, according to the Mehr news agency. ...

Iran a central issue for my next term: Netanyahu Posted: 22 Dec 2012 12:52 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Iran's perceived nuclear threat against Israel will be the central issue concerning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government if he is re-elected in a month's time, the Israeli leader said on Saturday. Netanyahu has set out a mid-2013 "red line" for tackling Iran's uranium enrichment project. The West says this programme is aimed at developing the means to build atomic bombs. Tehran denies this, saying it is enriching uranium for civilian energy. ...

Taliban bomb kills nine including minister at Pakistan rally Posted: 22 Dec 2012 08:05 AM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Taliban Islamic militants bombed a political rally in Pakistan's northern city of Peshawar on Saturday, killing nine people including a provincial minister, officials said, the latest in a string of high-profile attacks. The provincial minister for local government, Bashir Ahmad Bilour, died of his wounds at Lady Reading Hospital, the hospital's chief executive Arshad Javed said. Police official Ibrahim Khan said one policeman had been killed and several were among the 30 people injured. ...

Omanis hope first local vote is stepping stone towards change Posted: 22 Dec 2012 11:12 AM PST MUSCAT (Reuters) - Hoping for jobs and democratic change, voters in Oman cast ballots in their first municipal election on Saturday, a sign of modest reform in response to protests inspired by the Arab Spring. The small Gulf oil producer, ruled since 1970 by Sultan Qaboos, sits opposite Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for nearly a fifth of globally traded petroleum. Its only other elections are for the Shura Council, a body that has some limited legislative powers. ...

Central African Republic rebels in defiance, seize another town Posted: 22 Dec 2012 09:21 AM PST BANGUI (Reuters) - Rebels in the Central African Republic said on Saturday they had seized another town in a push towards the capital Bangui in defiance of calls from regional leaders to halt their advance and accept peace talks. The rebels said the call for negotiations was another excuse for President Francois Bozize, who seized power in a coup in 2003, to buy more time and cling to power. "The people of the Central African Republic ... ...

Early signs show Egypt's new constitution passing Posted: 22 Dec 2012 03:35 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Early indications showed Egyptians approved an Islamist-drafted constitution after Saturday's final round of voting in a referendum despite opposition criticism of the measure as divisive. An official from the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, which backs Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, said that after nearly 4 million votes had been counted there was a majority of 74 percent in favor of the constitution. Exit polls from the opposition National Salvation Front also showed the constitution passing, an official said. ...

Egypt's disputed charter headed toward approval Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:54 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil.

Russia welcomes any offer to give Assad refuge Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:04 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Russia would welcome any country's offer of safe haven for Syrian President Bashar Assad, but has no plans to make one of its own, Moscow's foreign minister said in the latest comments to suggest a growing distance between the two allies.

Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:18 PM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said.

Pope pardons ex-butler who stole, leaked documents Posted: 22 Dec 2012 07:49 AM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI granted his former butler a Christmas pardon Saturday, forgiving him in person during a jailhouse meeting for stealing and leaking his private papers in one of the gravest Vatican security breaches in recent times.

AP PHOTOS: Images from Egypt's constitution vote Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:55 PM PST Egyptians returned to the polls to vote on a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution.

Abducted German aid worker seen alive in video Posted: 22 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST BERLIN (AP) — A German aid worker abducted in Pakistan 11 months ago was seen alive in a video broadcast Saturday urging authorities to fully meet his captors' demands, warning that otherwise they could kill him within days.

Will he or won't he? Italy awaits Monti's decision Posted: 22 Dec 2012 10:27 AM PST ROME (AP) — Italy's president dissolved parliament Saturday, setting the stage for general elections in February and leaving only one lingering question from Premier Mario Monti's 13-month term trying to fix Italy's troubled finances: whether he will run.

3-day trip becomes 3-week ordeal for 2 Jamaicans Posted: 22 Dec 2012 02:51 PM PST SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — It was supposed to be a three-day fishing trip at most. It turned into a three-week ordeal, drifting under an intense sun for hundreds of miles in the Caribbean in a small boat with a broken motor.

Russia says it won't host Assad but others welcome Posted: 22 Dec 2012 12:12 PM PST MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's foreign minister says Moscow would welcome any country's offer of a safe haven to Syrian President Bashar Assad, but underlined that Moscow itself has no intention of giving him shelter if he steps down.

Reports: Rolling Stones guitarist Wood ties knot Posted: 22 Dec 2012 10:33 AM PST LONDON (AP) — Two British newspapers say Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has married his fiancee Sally Humphreys at a ceremony at London's Dorchester Hotel.

Pope pardons Vatican butler Posted: 22 Dec 2012 12:08 PM PST Pope Benedict XVI granted his former butler a Christmas pardon Saturday, forgiving him in person during a jailhouse meeting for stealing and leaking his private papers in one of the gravest Vatican security breaches in recent times.

Deep emotions run beneath Russia's adoption ban Posted: 22 Dec 2012 10:36 AM PST You usually can judge Vladimir Putin's dislike of a reporter's question by the intensity of his expression. Such was the case this week at his annual news conference, when he greeted with a hard scowl the subject of pending Russian legislation that would ban Americans from adopting orphaned children. Mr. Putin unleashed invective on the fact that consular representatives aren't allowed to visit adopted Russian children in the United States.

Good Reads: gun laws, lottery winners, online education, and tech gets sensory Posted: 22 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST The Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut brought a deluge of media attention to gun control. One useful perspective came from the Lexington's Notebook column in The Economist magazine. Britain's gun-related homicide rate is drastically lower than that of the United States not only because guns are harder to purchase, but because ammunition is scarce, the writer points out. In one recent incident in a crime-plagued British neighborhood, for example, "the gang had had to make its own bullets, which did not work well...."

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