Yahoo! News: World News

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• Bombs kill 23 across Iraq as sectarian strife grows
• Assad's forces battle to retake Damascus suburb
• State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report
• In Indian student's gang rape, murder, two worlds collide
• Monti aims for Italy vote majority, pro-Europe alliance
• Israeli held for sneaking into Egypt
• CAR rebels say split over peace talks offer
• Analysis: Venezuela's Maduro channels Chavez, lacks his charisma
• Pakistan releases more Afghan Taliban members: official
• Rwanda vows to help on Congo at U.N., assails "blame game"
• US, Europe hope the new year brings better times
• AP IMPACT: Al-Qaida carves out own country in Mali
• India rape sets off debate over women's rights
• In concession, Israel eases restrictions on Gaza
• Protester shot in Cairo may have been targeted
• Pakistan releases 8 Afghan Taliban prisoners
• Chavez suffers new complications in cancer fight
• Syria says rebels attack gas pipeline
• Afghans: Next force transition starts in 2 months
• Myanmar fetes 2013 with first public countdown
• Happy new year, Cairo?
• Egypt's opposition still hopeful, despite many defeats
• On cusp of new year, Chavez's health keeps Venezuleans fixated on future
• Obama's pivot to Asia? Middle East will still demand attention in 2013.
• UN envoy: Without deal in Syria, think Somalia not Yugoslavia

Bombs kill 23 across Iraq as sectarian strife grows Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:29 PM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed and 87 wounded in attacks across Iraq on Monday, police said, underlining sectarian and ethnic divisions that threaten to further destabilize the country a year after U.S. troops left. Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been on the rise this year. Militants strike almost daily and have staged at least one big attack a month. The latest violence followed more than a week of protests against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by thousands of people from the minority Sunni community. ...

Assad's forces battle to retake Damascus suburb Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:31 AM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Elite Syrian government troops backed by tanks battled on Monday to recapture a strategic Damascus suburb from rebels who have advanced within striking distance of the center of Syria's capital. Five people, including a child, died from army rocket fire that hit the Daraya suburb during the fighting, opposition activists said. Daraya is part of a semi-circle of Sunni Muslim suburbs south of the capital that have been at the forefront of the 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. "This is the biggest attack on Daraya in two months. ...

State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report Posted: 31 Dec 2012 10:23 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the U.S. mission in Benghazi open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before a deadly attack by militants, a Senate committee said on Monday. A report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission and a nearby CIA annex, in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died, faulted intelligence agencies for not focusing tightly enough on Libyan extremists. ...

In Indian student's gang rape, murder, two worlds collide Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:32 AM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - One of hundreds of attacks reported in New Delhi each year, the gang rape and murder of a medical student caught Indian authorities and political parties flat-footed, slow to see that the assault on a private bus had come to symbolize an epidemic of crime against women. ...

Monti aims for Italy vote majority, pro-Europe alliance Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Monday he was aiming to win a majority in a parliamentary election in February and would seek alliances with parties agreeing with his pro-Europe agenda. While not explicitly saying so, Monti appeared to indicate he was open to an alliance with the centre left - led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who polls say is on track to win the election - although not until after the vote. The statement came a day after Bersani pressured Monti to choose sides. ...

Israeli held for sneaking into Egypt Posted: 31 Dec 2012 03:54 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt on Monday said it had detained an Israeli army officer in the Taba region of the Sinai peninsula for sneaking through the border, but his mother and Israeli media said he was a civilian pro-Palestinian activist. The Egyptian state news agency MENA said the man was a Tel Aviv resident of Russian origin who was not carrying a passport, and that his name had not been on tourist arrival lists. An Egyptian state security officer said the man was an army officer who had been detained on Saturday and was still being interrogated. ...

CAR rebels say split over peace talks offer Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:59 AM PST BANGUI (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic are split over whether to start peace talks with President Francois Bozize or carry on an assault to overthrow him, a spokesman said on Monday, leaving efforts to end the conflict hanging in the balance. The Seleka insurgents had advanced to within 75 km (45 miles) of the mineral-rich country's capital Bangui and threatened to seize the city - until Bozize made a last ditch offer on Sunday to hold talks and share power with them. ...

Analysis: Venezuela's Maduro channels Chavez, lacks his charisma Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:12 AM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - He uses Hugo Chavez's bombastic language, brandishes the constitution and showers opponents with vitriol at every turn. But Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro is struggling to replicate the extraordinary charisma of his boss, who is battling to recover from cancer surgery in Cuba. Named as heir apparent by Chavez just before the president returned to Havana for his fourth surgery in December, the 50-year-old former bus driver has become the face of the socialist government in South America's top oil exporter. ...

Pakistan releases more Afghan Taliban members: official Posted: 31 Dec 2012 10:03 AM PST ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has freed four Afghan Taliban prisoners, including a former justice minister, a Pakistani government official said on Monday, in the newest sign Islamabad is serious about backing peace efforts in Afghanistan. Regional power Pakistan is seen as critical to the success of U.S. and Afghan efforts to bring stability to the country, a task gaining urgency as the end of the U.S. combat mission in 2014 draws closer. Afghanistan has been pressing the strategic U.S. ally to free Taliban members who could help promote reconciliation. ...

Rwanda vows to help on Congo at U.N., assails "blame game" Posted: 31 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rwanda warned on Monday it will not tolerate attempts to blame it for a rebel insurgency in eastern Congo but vowed to use its two-year U.N. Security Council stint to help put an end to the conflict that has destabilized its much larger neighbor. Rwanda - along with Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg and South Korea - was elected in October as a temporary member of the 15-nation U.N. Security Council for 2013-14. ...

US, Europe hope the new year brings better times Posted: 31 Dec 2012 04:23 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — From teeming Times Square to an Asian capital hosting its first public New Year's Eve countdown in decades, the world looked to the start of 2013 with hope for renewal after a year of economic turmoil, searing violence and natural disasters.

AP IMPACT: Al-Qaida carves out own country in Mali Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:59 PM PST MOPTI, Mali (AP) — Deep inside caves, in remote desert bases, in the escarpments and cliff faces of northern Mali, Islamic fighters are burrowing into the earth, erecting a formidable set of defenses to protect what has essentially become al-Qaida's new country.

India rape sets off debate over women's rights Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:27 AM PST NEW DELHI (AP) — India's army and navy canceled New Year's celebrations on Monday out of respect for a New Delhi student whose gang-rape and murder has set off an impassioned debate about what the nation needs to do to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

In concession, Israel eases restrictions on Gaza Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:40 AM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — In a major concession to Gaza's Hamas leaders Monday, Israel dropped its five-year ban on construction materials crossing into the territory and raised hopes there that rebuilding could begin following a damaging eight-day Israeli air campaign.

Protester shot in Cairo may have been targeted Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:16 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Gunmen drove into Cairo's Tahrir Square before dawn Monday and fired at an anti-government sit-in, seriously wounding a protester who had been jailed and tortured by former military rulers after he witnessed the killing of another activist. Two lawyers involved in the case suggested it was a targeted attack.

Pakistan releases 8 Afghan Taliban prisoners Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:57 AM PST ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan released eight members of the Afghan Taliban from prison on Monday, including the former justice minister under the Taliban, in a bid to boost the peace process in neighboring Afghanistan, the government said.

Chavez suffers new complications in cancer fight Posted: 31 Dec 2012 04:41 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez's new complications after cancer surgery prompted his closest allies to call for Venezuelans to pray for him on Monday, presenting an increasingly bleak outlook and prompting growing speculation about whether the ailing leader has much longer to live.

Syria says rebels attack gas pipeline Posted: 31 Dec 2012 08:10 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Syria has blamed rebels for blowing up a natural gas pipeline Monday in the country's oil-rich east, disrupting distribution.

Afghans: Next force transition starts in 2 months Posted: 31 Dec 2012 05:26 AM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The next phase of transferring security from NATO to Afghan control will begin in two months and aim to cover nearly 90 percent of the country's population, the Kabul government announced Monday.

Myanmar fetes 2013 with first public countdown Posted: 31 Dec 2012 04:34 PM PST YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar rang in 2013 with its first public New Year's Eve countdown and a grand fireworks display, a celebration unprecedented in the former military-ruled country.

Happy new year, Cairo? Posted: 31 Dec 2012 10:54 AM PST I'm back in Cairo after well over a year away, and my first thought was that little has changed.

Egypt's opposition still hopeful, despite many defeats Posted: 31 Dec 2012 08:05 AM PST When a controversial constitutional draft went to a vote earlier this month, the Egyptian opposition was, as usual, in disarray.

On cusp of new year, Chavez's health keeps Venezuleans fixated on future Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:28 AM PST Dec. 31 is typically a time to recap the biggest events of the year. But in Venezuela this year, news that President Hugo Chavez has suffered "new complications" after surgery on Dec. 11 has kept Venezuelans anxiously fixated on what's to come in 2013.

Obama's pivot to Asia? Middle East will still demand attention in 2013. Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:05 AM PST Nearly four years ago, President Barack Obama addressed a packed, enthusiastic crowd at Cairo University and promised a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world.

UN envoy: Without deal in Syria, think Somalia not Yugoslavia Posted: 31 Dec 2012 05:59 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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