Yahoo! News: World News

---

• Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO
• Egypt to announce result of constitution vote on Tuesday
• India clamps down on gang rape protests, PM appeals for calm
• Kuwait to host Syria crisis meeting, envoy meets Assad
• Venezuela's Chavez "improves slightly" after surgery: official
• Russian prosecutors seek innocent verdict in Magnitsky's death
• Kuwait urges Iran to address worries on nuclear plant
• Turkey lifts objection to NATO cooperation with Israel
• South Africa's Mandela to remain in hospital for Christmas
• Two drone strikes kill five in Yemen: officials
• Thousands enjoy merry Christmas in Bethlehem
• AP Interview: Egypt liberal objects to charter
• UN envoy worried after talks with Syria's Assad
• At Christmas Eve Mass, pope urges space for God
• Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul
• Israel rejects US gun lobby claims on its security
• South Africa: World watches Mandela's struggle
• Morales mum on Cuba trip after Chavez surgery
• Car bomb defused outside Spanish megabrothel
• Chilean street dogs are protesters' best friends
• Could the US learn from Australia's gun-control laws?
• Lebanese border means little in Syria's civil war
• Egypt finishes constitutional vote, but irregularities delay final results
• Letters To God: Kenyans appeal for peaceful election
• Muslim scholars and clerics: suicide bombings are un-Islamic.

Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:11 AM PST KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said. The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such an attack. There were conflicting reports about the victim. A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said a U.S. police adviser was killed by an Afghan policewoman. ...

Egypt to announce result of constitution vote on Tuesday Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:53 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will announce on Tuesday the official results of a vote on its new constitution, the head of the elections committee told state media on Monday, a step which paves the way for the formation of a new parliament in about two months. The creation of a new constitution is a vital step in Egypt's transition to democracy almost two years after the fall of military-backed strongman Hosni Mubarak. But the opposition says the text, crafted mostly by President Mohamed Mursi's Islamist allies, fails to guarantee personal freedom and the rights of women and minorities. ...

India clamps down on gang rape protests, PM appeals for calm Posted: 24 Dec 2012 09:31 AM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian authorities throttled movement in the heart of the capital on Monday, shutting roads and railway stations in a bid to restore law and order after police fought pitched battles with protesters enraged by the gang rape of a young woman. In an unusual televised address, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for calm following the weekend clashes in New Delhi and vowed to punish the rapists for their "monstrous" crime. ...

Kuwait to host Syria crisis meeting, envoy meets Assad Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:18 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kuwait will host an international conference next month to tackle Syria's humanitarian crisis, the ruling emir said on Monday, as foes of President Bashar al-Assad voiced frustration with international efforts to end the civil war. In Damascus, special international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met Assad but the Syrian opposition vented its anger at what it called a "silence" over the unabated killing of civilians by government forces, most recently in the central town of Halfaya. ...

Venezuela's Chavez "improves slightly" after surgery: official Posted: 24 Dec 2012 02:20 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's condition has "improved slightly" after a cancer operation in Cuba, the information minister said on Monday, amid doubts over whether the former soldier is in good enough health to continue governing. "The patient has shown a slight improvement in his condition," Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said during a terse televised statement, adding the president has maintained contact with family members. ...

Russian prosecutors seek innocent verdict in Magnitsky's death Posted: 24 Dec 2012 11:51 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors on Monday dropped their accusations against the only person being tried in connection with the prison death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, asking a court to find a former prison official not guilty. The surprise move in the trial of Dmitry Kratov came in the midst of a row between Moscow and Washington over U.S. legislation meant to punish Russians seen as linked to the death of Magnitsky and other alleged human rights violations. ...

Kuwait urges Iran to address worries on nuclear plant Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:59 AM PST MANAMA (Reuters) - Kuwait urged neighboring Iran on Monday to cooperate more with the U.N. nuclear watchdog to allay Gulf Arab concerns about the safety of an Iranian nuclear power plant that lies just across the waterway from the emirate. The emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, said a recent shutdown at the Bushehr plant indicated Tehran had to work with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy (IAEA) to ensure the safety of the facility near the coastal town of Bushehr. ...

Turkey lifts objection to NATO cooperation with Israel Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:50 AM PST ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has given approval for Israel to participate in non-military NATO activities in 2013, withdrawing an earlier objection driven by an ongoing dispute between the former regional allies, a Turkish official said on Monday. Relations between Israel and what was once its only Muslim ally crumbled after Israeli marines stormed the Mavi Marmara aid ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board. The rift has continued despite U.S. ...

South Africa's Mandela to remain in hospital for Christmas Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:05 AM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela continues to respond to treatment more than two weeks after being taken to hospital in Pretoria and will remain there for Christmas Day, the presidency said on Monday. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero and Nobel Peace laureate has been treated for a lung infection and gallstones after being hospitalized on December 8. President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that Mandela "will recover from this episode with all our support... We also humbly invite all freedom loving people around the world to pray for him. ...

Two drone strikes kill five in Yemen: officials Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST SANAA/ADEN (Reuters) - At least five people were killed in two drone strikes in south Yemen on Monday in what security and local officials said were attacks on suspected al Qaeda-linked insurgents. Improving stability and security in Yemen is a priority for the United States and its Gulf Arab allies because of its strategic position next to the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, and shipping lanes, and because it is home to one of the most active wings of al Qaeda. ...

Thousands enjoy merry Christmas in Bethlehem Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:16 PM PST BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Thousands of Christians from the world over packed Manger Square in Bethlehem Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the ancient West Bank town where he was born.

AP Interview: Egypt liberal objects to charter Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:00 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — One of Egypt's leading opposition figures on Monday pledged continued resistance to his country's Islamist-oriented constitution even if it is declared to have passed, contending that the process was fundamentally illegitimate.

UN envoy worried after talks with Syria's Assad Posted: 24 Dec 2012 04:19 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The international envoy to Syria said after talks with the country's leader Monday that the situation was "worrying" and gave no indication of progress toward a negotiated solution for the civil war.

At Christmas Eve Mass, pope urges space for God Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:12 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked Christmas Eve with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and a pressing question: Will people find room in their hectic, technology-driven lives for children, the poor and God?

Afghan policewoman kills US adviser in Kabul Posted: 24 Dec 2012 07:58 AM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policewoman walked into a high-security compound in Kabul Monday and killed an American contractor with a single bullet to the chest, the first such shooting by a woman in a spate of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies.

Israel rejects US gun lobby claims on its security Posted: 24 Dec 2012 12:18 PM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's policy on issuing guns is restrictive, and armed guards at its schools are meant to stop terrorists, not crazed or disgruntled gunmen, experts said Monday, rejecting claims by America's top gun lobby that Israel serves as proof for its philosophy that the U.S. needs more weapons, not fewer.

South Africa: World watches Mandela's struggle Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:45 AM PST JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A chipped street mural in South Africa's Soweto township depicts stations in the life of Nelson Mandela, each matched by a portrait of the global icon as he advanced from robust youth to old age. Now this infirm giant of history faces a struggle with mortality, its duration unknown but its outcome certain.

Morales mum on Cuba trip after Chavez surgery Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:53 PM PST HAVANA (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales made a lightning trip this weekend to Havana where ally Hugo Chavez is convalescing after cancer surgery, but was mostly silent Monday on the details of his trip or even whether he met with the ailing Venezuelan leader.

Car bomb defused outside Spanish megabrothel Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:10 AM PST MADRID (AP) — A car bomb was defused in a megabrothel's parking lot in northeast Spain early Monday and 300 people were evacuated from the site, the Interior Ministry said.

Chilean street dogs are protesters' best friends Posted: 24 Dec 2012 10:14 AM PST SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — They don't have demands, but they're loyal to the cause and are always on the front lines of the fight. They run with protesters, lap up shots from water cannons, bark at police in riot gear and sometimes even bite officers.

Could the US learn from Australia's gun-control laws? Posted: 24 Dec 2012 09:43 AM PST Almost two weeks after a shooting spree stunned Australia in 1996, leaving 35 people dead at the Port Arthur tourist spot in Tasmania, the government issued sweeping reforms of the country's gun laws. There hasn't been a mass shooting since. Now, after the recent shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, Australia's National Firearm Agreement (NFA), which saw hundreds of thousands of automatic and semi-automatic weapons bought back then destroyed, is being examined as a possible example for the US, to mixed reaction in Australia.Recommended: Think you know Asia? Take our geography quiz.

Lebanese border means little in Syria's civil war Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:44 AM PST The four rain-filled bomb craters all visible within 100 yards of Mahmoud Ismael's house starkly illustrate how Lebanon's northern border has become an active frontline in Syria's civil war, drawing in rival Lebanese Shiite and Sunni factions.

Egypt finishes constitutional vote, but irregularities delay final results Posted: 24 Dec 2012 08:37 AM PST Egyptian judges were investigating opposition accusations of voting irregularities today before declaring the result of a referendum set to show that a contentious new constitution has been approved.

Letters To God: Kenyans appeal for peaceful election Posted: 24 Dec 2012 06:10 AM PST Five years after a disputed presidential election unleashed interethnic violence that scarred this East African nation, Kenyans are bracing for a new election amid fears of a fresh outbreak of bloodletting.

Muslim scholars and clerics: suicide bombings are un-Islamic. Posted: 24 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST Suicide bombers in Afghanistan have shown little restraint: Wedding parties and even mosques and children have witnessed gruesome targeting by the Taliban against civilians.

You are subscribed to email updates from World News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610