Yahoo! News: World News

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• Syria to discuss Brahimi peace proposals with Russia
• Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American
• South Africa's Mandela discharged from hospital: government
• Egypt's contentious Islamist constitution becomes law
• Sudan's Bashir says ready to meet Kiir to try to get oil flowing
• Nicaragua volcano spews ash cloud, residents evacuated
• UAE says arrests cell planning attacks
• Iraq Sunnis block trade routes in protest against PM Maliki
• Central African Republic wants French help as rebels close in on capital
• Berlusconi allies fire barbs at Monti, ending Christmas truce
• South Africa: Mandela released from the hospital
• Syrian minister leaves Beirut for fear of arrest
• New Japan PM: Saving economic crisis top mission
• Egypt's Morsi: constitution dawn of new republic
• New turmoil hits Egypt's tourism
• Tensions hit French Embassy in C. African Republic
• Russian parliament endorses anti-US adoption bill
• Fireworks warehouse in Nigeria explodes, killing 1
• Iraq: New protests break out in Sunni stronghold
• World's longest fast train line opens in China
• Italians, backed by the Catholic Church, aim to stop Sunday shopping
• Russia's adoption ban exposes political rift
• Tunisia seeks gold in former dictator's assets
• Syrian moderates fear being edged out of uprising
• A year after being literally wiped out, a Russian hockey team flourishes

Syria to discuss Brahimi peace proposals with Russia Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:49 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sent a senior diplomat to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss proposals to end the conflict convulsing his country made by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Syrian and Lebanese sources said. Brahimi, who saw Assad on Monday and is planning to hold a series of meetings with Syrian officials and dissidents in Damascus this week, is trying to broker a peaceful transfer of power, but has disclosed little about how this might be done. ...

Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:35 AM PST KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a U.S. contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday. The woman was identified by authorities as Narges Rezaeimomenabad, a 40-year-old grandmother and mother of three who moved here from Iran 10 years ago and married an Afghan man. ...

South Africa's Mandela discharged from hospital: government Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:16 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital, ending a nearly three-week stay during which he was treated for a lung infection and had surgery to remove gallstones, the government said on Wednesday. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been moved to his Johannesburg home. He has been in frail health for several years. "He will undergo home-based high care at his ... home until he recovers fully," the government said in a statement issued by the presidency. ...

Egypt's contentious Islamist constitution becomes law Posted: 26 Dec 2012 11:48 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi admitted on Wednesday that Egypt's economy faces serious problems after he enacted a new, bitterly contested constitution that is supposed to help end political unrest and allow him to focus on the financial crisis. The president said the economy also had great opportunities to grow, but earlier the Egyptian pound tumbled to its weakest level in almost eight years as ever more people rushed to buy dollars and withdraw their savings from banks. ...

Sudan's Bashir says ready to meet Kiir to try to get oil flowing Posted: 26 Dec 2012 01:01 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Wednesday he was ready to meet his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir to try to move forward with setting up a demilitarized border zone and restart oil flows. His comments raise the prospect that the two could set aside their differences after signing agreements in September meant to secure their disputed border and to allow the South to resume oil exports after the two came close to war in April in the worst violence since Juba seceded last year. ...

Nicaragua volcano spews ash cloud, residents evacuated Posted: 26 Dec 2012 02:29 PM PST MANAGUA (Reuters) - Nicaragua's tallest volcano has belched an ash cloud hundreds of meters (feet) into the sky in the latest bout of sporadic activity, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents, the government said on Wednesday. The 5,725-foot (1,745-meter) San Cristobal volcano, which sits around 85 miles north of the capital Managua in the country's northwest, has been active in recent years, and went through a similar episode in September. The latest activity began late on Tuesday. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo called on residents who live within a 1. ...

UAE says arrests cell planning attacks Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:40 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Security forces in the United Arab Emirates have arrested a cell of UAE and Saudi Arabian citizens which was planning to carry out militant attacks in both countries and other states, the official news agency WAM said on Wednesday. The U.S.-allied UAE, a federation of seven emirates and a major oil exporter that has supported Western counter-terrorism efforts in the region, has been spared any attack by al Qaeda and other insurgency groups. ...

Iraq Sunnis block trade routes in protest against PM Maliki Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:21 AM PST ANBAR, Iraq (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims blocked Iraq's main trade route to neighboring Syria and Jordan in a fourth day of demonstrations on Wednesday against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The massive show of force marks an escalation in protests that erupted last week after troops detained the bodyguards of Sunni Finance Minister Rafaie Esawi, threatening to plunge Iraq deeper into political turmoil. ...

Central African Republic wants French help as rebels close in on capital Posted: 26 Dec 2012 03:25 PM PST BANGUI (Reuters) - A government minister in the Central African Republic on Wednesday called for French soldiers stationed there to intervene as rebels closed in on the capital having passed the last major town to the north. The appeal for help came as hundreds of people protested outside the French Embassy in Bangui, the capital, throwing stones at the building and tearing down the French flag in anger at a rebel advance through the north of the country. Paris did not immediately respond to the aid request but announced that French troops would be deployed to secure the embassy. ...

Berlusconi allies fire barbs at Monti, ending Christmas truce Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:32 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italian politicians resumed their bickering on Wednesday, with supporters of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi taking aim at his successor Mario Monti despite a Christmas call from the Pope for political peace. Just before midnight at the end of Christmas Day, Monti tweeted: "Together, we saved Italy from disaster. Now we have to renew politics. Complaining won't help anything. Rolling up sleeves will. ...

South Africa: Mandela released from the hospital Posted: 26 Dec 2012 02:39 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela was released Wednesday from the hospital after being treated for a lung infection and having gallstones removed, a government spokesman said.

Syrian minister leaves Beirut for fear of arrest Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:34 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's wounded interior minister cut short his treatment at a Beirut hospital Wednesday and returned home for fear of being arrested by Lebanese authorities, while Syria's chief of military police defected to the opposition, becoming one of the highest-ranking officers to switch sides.

New Japan PM: Saving economic crisis top mission Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:06 AM PST TOKYO (AP) — Shinzo Abe took office as Japan's seventh prime minister in six years Wednesday and vowed to overcome the deep-rooted economic and diplomatic crises facing his country.

Egypt's Morsi: constitution dawn of new republic Posted: 26 Dec 2012 01:25 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist president proclaimed the country's newly adopted constitution as the dawning of a "new republic" in a television address Wednesday, calling on the opposition to join a dialogue with him after a month of violent turmoil and focus on repairing a damaged economy.

New turmoil hits Egypt's tourism Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:57 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — At Egypt's Pyramids, the desperation of vendors to sell can be a little frightening for some tourists.

Tensions hit French Embassy in C. African Republic Posted: 26 Dec 2012 04:32 PM PST BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Angry protesters carrying clubs threw rocks at the French Embassy in Central African Republic on Wednesday, criticizing the former colonial power for failing to do more to stem a rapid rebel advance as fears grew that the insurgents aim to seize the capital.

Russian parliament endorses anti-US adoption bill Posted: 26 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST MOSCOW (AP) — Defying a storm of domestic and international criticism, Russia moved toward finalizing a ban on Americans adopting Russian children, as Parliament's upper house voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of a measure that President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will sign into law.

Fireworks warehouse in Nigeria explodes, killing 1 Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:52 AM PST LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A massive explosion ripped through a warehouse full of fireworks in Nigeria's largest city on Wednesday, sparking a fire that threatened surrounding city blocks and sending a plume of thick smoke high into the sky. At least one person died and 15 others were wounded, emergency officials said.

Iraq: New protests break out in Sunni stronghold Posted: 26 Dec 2012 10:44 AM PST RAMADI, Iraq (AP) — Large, noisy demonstrations against Iraq's government flared for the third time in less than a week Wednesday in Iraq's western Anbar province, raising the prospect of a fresh bout of unrest in a onetime al-Qaida stronghold on Syria's doorstep.

World's longest fast train line opens in China Posted: 26 Dec 2012 04:18 AM PST BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday opened the world's longest high-speed rail line that more than halves the time required to travel from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.

Italians, backed by the Catholic Church, aim to stop Sunday shopping Posted: 26 Dec 2012 11:27 AM PST Italians are fighting a government lift of regulations on business operation hours, insisting that the move will eventually hurt the small shops and values that have long been the foundation of the Italian business community.

Russia's adoption ban exposes political rift Posted: 26 Dec 2012 09:44 AM PST Russia's upper house of parliament today unanimously approved a ban on US citizens adopting Russian children, a highly charged move that appears to have prompted an unusual public split among government officials.

Tunisia seeks gold in former dictator's assets Posted: 26 Dec 2012 08:27 AM PST On a crisp December morning in Tunis, a finance ministry official named Mohamed Hamaied was demonstrating the horsepower of maroon V-12 BMW on the runway of a national guard airfield. Beside him sat an agent for a potential buyer.

Syrian moderates fear being edged out of uprising Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:22 AM PST Abdul Rahman, a quiet, even-tempered man, leads a collection of moderate Free Syrian Army battalions in Aleppo. He says groups like his are becoming harder to find as the 21-month uprising drags on and more groups lean either secular or Islamist extremist.

A year after being literally wiped out, a Russian hockey team flourishes Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST Wooden hockey sticks smack into rubber pucks as the metal blades of skates slice through the ice. The sounds echo through an empty arena in the Czech capital Prague in late November as a visiting hockey team prepares for another game in the Kontinental Hockey League.

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