Yahoo! News: World News

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• Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal
• France bombs Mali rebels, African states ready troops
• Key witness in Berlusconi sex trial to testify on Monday
• Venezuela's Hugo Chavez not in coma, brother says
• Italian consul in Benghazi shot at in car but unhurt
• Petrol bombs thrown at protesters outside Egypt president's palace
• Israel seeks to remove Palestinian tent outpost in West Bank
• France believes hostage killed in Somalia rescue bid
• Haiti remembers 2010 earthquake in subdued ceremony
• Pakistan Taliban say they won't attack army in key area
• Hundreds of French troops drive back Mali rebels
• Syrian army advances in strategic Damascus suburb
• Egypt's Mubarak questioned over alleged gifts
• French commando killed in Somalia hostage raid
• More money, time needed to remove Concordia wreck
• Gunmen shoot birdshot at Egypt protesters; 15 hurt
• Influential Israeli Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in hospital
• Kurd protest in Paris demands justice in killings
• Haiti quietly marks quake's 3rd anniversary
• Passenger has baby aboard flight to Armenia
• Where does Haiti stand three years after its 7.0 earthquake?
• Afghanistan: The challenge of 'good' vs 'bad' militias

Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:41 AM PST MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia voiced support on Saturday for international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi but insisted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for a deal to end the country's conflict. Some 60,000 Syrians have been killed during the 21-month-old revolt and world powers are divided over how to stop the escalating bloodshed. Government aircraft bombed outer districts of Damascus on Saturday after being grounded for a week by stormy weather, opposition activists in the capital said. ...

France bombs Mali rebels, African states ready troops Posted: 12 Jan 2013 03:01 PM PST BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French aircraft pounded Islamist rebels in Mali for a second day on Saturday and neighboring West African states sped up their plans to deploy troops in an international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaeda expanding their power base. France, warning that the control of northern Mali by the militants posed a security threat to Europe, intervened dramatically on Friday as heavily armed Islamist fighters swept southwards towards Mali's capital Bamako. ...

Key witness in Berlusconi sex trial to testify on Monday Posted: 12 Jan 2013 01:40 PM PST MILAN (Reuters) - The nightclub dancer who is the main witness in the sex trial of Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is to testify on Monday, her lawyer said on Saturday. Karima El Mahroug, better known by her stage name "Ruby the Heartstealer", was due to testify in the Milan court in December but failed to show up, telling her lawyer she was on holiday in Mexico. "Karima will be present in the courtroom on Monday," her lawyer Paola Boccardi told Reuters, adding that Mahroug had returned to Italy on Friday. ...

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez not in coma, brother says Posted: 12 Jan 2013 02:30 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's cancer-stricken president, Hugo Chavez, is recovering in Cuba and is not in a coma as some have rumored a month after surgery, his brother, Adan Chavez, said after a visit to Havana. The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen or heard from since his December 11 cancer surgery - his fourth such operation after the disease was detected in his pelvic area in mid-2011 - leaving Venezuela in a state of suspense. ...

Italian consul in Benghazi shot at in car but unhurt Posted: 12 Jan 2013 02:35 PM PST BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - An Italian consul came under fire in his car in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday but was unhurt, Italy said, four months after the U.S. ambassador was killed in an attack on the U.S. mission in the city. A spokesman for the Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed the attack on Guido De Sanctis, Italy's Benghazi consul since 2011, and said he was unhurt. A security source in Libya who declined to be named told Reuters: "They shot at his car, but the car was armored. He is fine, there are no injuries. ...

Petrol bombs thrown at protesters outside Egypt president's palace Posted: 12 Jan 2013 02:21 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Unknown attackers threw petrol bombs at tents housing protesters outside the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo on Saturday and fired rubber bullets at security forces, injuring at least 15 people, officials and witnesses said. Four tents were burnt in the attacks, injuring several protesters. One police officer and six soldiers, deployed to the scene to arrest the attackers, were wounded by rubber bullets, according to the interior ministry. The health ministry said a total of 15 people were injured. ...

Israel seeks to remove Palestinian tent outpost in West Bank Posted: 12 Jan 2013 10:56 AM PST E1, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday he was seeking court approval to remove an outpost of Palestinian tents pitched in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel has earmarked for a new settlement. Israel's Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Palestinian outpost, built in the geographically sensitive area known as E1, could remain for six days while the issue of its removal was being discussed. ...

France believes hostage killed in Somalia rescue bid Posted: 12 Jan 2013 08:52 AM PST PARIS/MOGADISHU (Reuters) - France sent special forces into Somalia to rescue a secret agent but insurgents apparently killed their hostage during the raid along with a commando, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Saturday. The intelligence agency team flew into southern Somalia by helicopter under cover of darkness to try to free Denis Allex, held since 2009, by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, on the same day France launched air strikes against Islamist militants in Mali. ...

Haiti remembers 2010 earthquake in subdued ceremony Posted: 12 Jan 2013 04:57 PM PST PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti marked the third anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed much of the capital and killed more than 250,000 people with a purposely low-key commemoration on Saturday that included former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Clinton, who is the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, joined the country's president, Michel Martelly, for a simple wreath-laying ceremony held at a mass burial site on a barren hillside at the outskirts of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. ...

Pakistan Taliban say they won't attack army in key area Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:48 AM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban said on Saturday they would cease their occasional attacks on the Pakistani army in the Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan and concentrate attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan instead - an announcement possibly designed to head off divisions in the insurgency. The ceasefire does not apply to the rest of the country, where there are often fierce clashes between the Taliban and security services. Thousands of Pakistani soldiers are stationed in North Waziristan, a tribal region along the Afghan border. ...

Hundreds of French troops drive back Mali rebels Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:48 PM PST BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The battle to retake Mali's north from the al-Qaida-linked groups controlling it began in earnest Saturday, after hundreds of French forces deployed to the country and began aerial bombardments to drive back the Islamic extremists.

Syrian army advances in strategic Damascus suburb Posted: 12 Jan 2013 11:31 AM PST DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian troops advanced in a strategic suburb of Damascus and bombarded other areas around the capital Saturday in a push to secure President Bashar Assad's seat of power as rebels make gains in the north.

Egypt's Mubarak questioned over alleged gifts Posted: 12 Jan 2013 01:55 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian prosecutor placed a new detention order on Hosni Mubarak on Saturday after the ousted ex-president was questioned over valuable gifts he allegedly received from the country's top newspaper as a show of loyalty while he was in power, a security official said.

French commando killed in Somalia hostage raid Posted: 12 Jan 2013 02:13 PM PST MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A raid to free a French intelligence agent held captive in Somalia for three years went horribly wrong, leaving 17 Islamists and at least one French commando dead in a mud-caked farming town deep in militant territory.

More money, time needed to remove Concordia wreck Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:59 PM PST GIGLIO, Italy (AP) — More time and money will be needed to remove the Costa Concordia cruise ship from the rocks off Tuscany where it capsized last year, in part to ensure the toxic materials still trapped inside don't leak into the marine sanctuary when it is righted, officials said Saturday.

Gunmen shoot birdshot at Egypt protesters; 15 hurt Posted: 12 Jan 2013 01:20 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — A dozen masked attackers fired birdshot late Saturday at protesters who have camped outside Egypt's presidential palace in Cairo for the past month, wounding several along with security forces standing watch nearby, witnesses said. It was the latest in a series of shootings of protesters in Egypt.

Influential Israeli Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in hospital Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:02 PM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — The spiritual leader of an Israeli ultra-Orthodox political party was hospitalized after a suspected minor stroke in Jerusalem on Saturday, a development that could shake his party's fortunes and mute one of Israel's most influential voices.

Kurd protest in Paris demands justice in killings Posted: 12 Jan 2013 09:37 AM PST PARIS (AP) — Thousands of Kurds from across Europe descended upon Paris on Saturday, demanding justice for three activists shot dead in the French capital.

Haiti quietly marks quake's 3rd anniversary Posted: 12 Jan 2013 04:09 PM PST PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — President Michel Martelly urged Haitians to recall the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in a devastating earthquake three years ago, marking the disaster's anniversary Saturday with a simple ceremony.

Passenger has baby aboard flight to Armenia Posted: 12 Jan 2013 12:09 PM PST YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — A passenger has given birth aboard a plane flying to Armenia and named her daughter after one of the flight attendants who helped with the delivery.

Where does Haiti stand three years after its 7.0 earthquake? Posted: 12 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST On Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit already deeply impoverished Haiti, killing more than 200,000 and leaving another 1.5 million in makeshift camps. It was one of the worst humanitarian disasters in years, and though the response was rapid and generous, three years and billions of dollars in aid later, hundreds of thousands are still without homes. How has aid money been spent and can Haiti 'build back better?'

Afghanistan: The challenge of 'good' vs 'bad' militias Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:10 PM PST As two Afghan farmers tell it, they are part of the "good" militia in their northern province: unofficial armed men who protect schools, families, and farms, and have chased Taliban insurgents away.

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