Yahoo! News: World News

---

• French troops deployed in last Mali rebel strongholds
• Israel hits Syria arms convoy to Lebanon: sources
• Magnitude 6.8 quake shakes Chile, but no serious damage
• South Korea launches first civilian rocket amid tensions with North
• Egypt curfew scaled back as Mursi seeks end to bloodshed
• NATO chief to warn defense cuts could endanger alliance's power
• China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: U.S. envoy
• Russia scraps law enforcement deal with U.S. in new blow to ties
• Donors meet target of $1.5 billion aid for stricken Syrians: U.N.
• Analysis: For Brazil's president, deadly fire highlights larger cause
• Israeli jets bomb military target in Syria
• Week of unrest weakens Egypt's Islamist leader
• French capture Islamists' last major Malian town
• Cuba dissidents approved, denied for passports
• Brazil nightclub owner blames country for fire
• Magnitude-6.8 earthquake shakes northern Chile
• Zimbabwe claims its accounts are bare
• Vietnam deports American it detained for 9 months
• Prince Charles takes rare ride on London's subway
• More Borneo elephants found dead, toll rises to 13
• In Salafis wake, charred Malian heritage in Timbuktu
• Good Reads: Mexico City cleans up, avoiding 'truth,' and a rare visit to North Korea
• South Korea catches up to North Korea on the space race
• Pakistani Taliban enter fray around strategic NATO routes
• Israeli strike indicates Syria, Hezbollah may have crossed its 'red line'
• 5 big losers in press freedom: Mali and ... Japan?
• Anti-drug pact latest casualty of souring US-Russian relations
• Ferocious battle for strategic suburb could hold the keys to Damascus
• France rolls north in Mali, but daunting second phase looms
• New record for the biggest wave ever surfed? (+video)

French troops deployed in last Mali rebel strongholds Posted: 30 Jan 2013 02:15 PM PST DOUENTZA, Mali/PARIS (Reuters) - French troops seized the airport in Mali's northern town of Kidal, the last urban stronghold held by Islamist insurgents, as they moved to wrap up the first phase of a military operation to wrest northern Mali from rebel hands. France has deployed some 4,500 troops in a three-week ground and air offensive to break the Islamist rebels' 10-month grip on major northern towns. The mission is aimed at heading off the risk of Mali being used as a springboard for jihadist attacks in the wider region or Europe. ...

Israel hits Syria arms convoy to Lebanon: sources Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:11 PM PST BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes bombed a convoy near Syria's border with Lebanon, sources told Reuters, apparently targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah in what some called a warning to Damascus not to arm Israel's Lebanese enemy. Syrian state television accused Israel of bombing a military research center at Jamraya, between Damascus and the nearby border, but Syrian rebels disputed that, saying their forces had attacked the site. No source spoke of a second Israeli strike. ...

Magnitude 6.8 quake shakes Chile, but no serious damage Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:50 PM PST SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit central-northern Chile on Wednesday, shaking buildings as far away as the capital Santiago, and possibly leading a woman to die minutes later of an apparent heart attack, the U.S. Geological Survey and local officials said. There were no reports of serious damage. The quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.7, struck at a depth of 28.4 miles, 63 miles southwest of the mining town Copiapo and 364 miles north of Santiago at 5:15 p.m. (2015 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey said. ...

South Korea launches first civilian rocket amid tensions with North Posted: 30 Jan 2013 07:26 AM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea launched its first space rocket carrying a science satellite on Wednesday amid heightened regional tensions, caused in part, by North Korea's successful launch of its own rocket last month. It was South Korea's third attempt to launch a civilian rocket to send a satellite in orbit in the past four years and came after two previous launches were aborted at the eleventh hour last year due to technical glitches. ...

Egypt curfew scaled back as Mursi seeks end to bloodshed Posted: 30 Jan 2013 11:16 AM PST CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities scaled back a curfew imposed by President Mohamed Mursi, and the Islamist leader cut short a visit to Europe on Wednesday to deal with the deadliest violence in the seven months since he took power. Two more protesters were shot dead before dawn near Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Wednesday, a day after the army chief warned that the state was on the brink of collapse if Mursi's opponents and supporters did not end street battles. ...

NATO chief to warn defense cuts could endanger alliance's power Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:14 PM PST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO's military power and global influence could be put at risk if allies continue to slash their defense budgets while emerging powers boost theirs, NATO's chief will warn on Thursday. Anders Fogh Rasmussen is also expected to warn in his annual report, due out later on Thursday, that too deep defense cuts could worsen the West's economic crisis by weakening defense industries that are key drivers of innovation, jobs and exports. ...

China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: U.S. envoy Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:38 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China needs to move beyond a narrow focus on oil issues in South Sudan and help tackle that country's larger political disputes with Sudan, the outgoing U.S. special envoy to the two African states said on Wednesday. Ambassador Princeton Lyman said he had worked closely with Chinese officials more than two years, during which time South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 to become the world's newest nation. ...

Russia scraps law enforcement deal with U.S. in new blow to ties Posted: 30 Jan 2013 11:24 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia scrapped a law enforcement agreement with the United States on Wednesday, further turning back the clock on a "reset" in relations since President Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin last year. An order to end the deal, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, was posted on the government's website. It said the agreement, under which Washington provided financial assistance for law enforcement and drugs control programs, "does not address current realities and has exhausted its potential". ...

Donors meet target of $1.5 billion aid for stricken Syrians: U.N. Posted: 30 Jan 2013 08:35 AM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Donor countries have pledged more than $1.5 billion to aid Syrians stricken by civil war, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday after warning that the conflict had wrought a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. In a pointed message for Syria's leader, Ban told a fund-raising conference that President Bashar al-Assad bore primary responsibility to stop his country's suffering after nearly two years of conflict that have cost an estimated 60,000 lives. ...

Analysis: For Brazil's president, deadly fire highlights larger cause Posted: 30 Jan 2013 11:41 AM PST SAO PAULO (Reuters) - For a gruff, no-nonsense technocrat known for intimidating even her closest aides, the tears rolling down President Dilma Rousseff's face were especially striking. After receiving a phone call at 7 a.m. on Sunday notifying her of a nightclub fire that killed 235 people in southern Brazil, Rousseff cut short a visit to Chile and was on the scene by midday. One photo showed her in a Santa Maria gym that had been turned into a makeshift morgue, cradling the head of a victim's mother with both hands as the two women cried. ...

Israeli jets bomb military target in Syria Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:17 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Israel launched a rare airstrike inside Syria, U.S. officials said Wednesday, targeting a convoy believed to contain anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The attack adds a potentially flammable new element to tensions already heightened by Syria's civil war.

Week of unrest weakens Egypt's Islamist leader Posted: 30 Jan 2013 02:25 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist president has been significantly weakened by a week of violent protests across much of the country, with his popularity eroding, the powerful military implicitly criticizing him and some of his ultraconservative Islamist backers distancing themselves from him.

French capture Islamists' last major Malian town Posted: 30 Jan 2013 01:37 PM PST SEVARE, Mali (AP) — French forces met no resistance Wednesday in Kidal, the Islamists' last major town, as the two-week-old mission scored another success in its effort to dislodge the al-Qaida-linked militants from northern Mali.

Cuba dissidents approved, denied for passports Posted: 30 Jan 2013 04:41 PM PST HAVANA (AP) — Two Cuban dissidents who applied for passports to go overseas under recently enacted travel reform reported mixed results Wednesday, as one former prisoner was turned down while a prominent blogger excitedly tweeted a photo of her brand new, bright blue travel document.

Brazil nightclub owner blames country for fire Posted: 30 Jan 2013 04:17 PM PST SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) — The owner of a nightclub in southern Brazil where more than 230 people died in a fire last weekend deflected blame to "the whole country," as well as to architects and inspectors charged with making sure the building was safe, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Magnitude-6.8 earthquake shakes northern Chile Posted: 30 Jan 2013 04:43 PM PST SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A magnitude-6.8 earthquake shook offices, toppled supermarket shelves and broke windows on Wednesday in north-central Chile, where people fled some buildings in panic.

Zimbabwe claims its accounts are bare Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:37 AM PST HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's finance ministry said it has just $217 left in its accounts after paying the nation's civil servants and government employees earlier this month.

Vietnam deports American it detained for 9 months Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:11 PM PST HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam released and deported an American pro-democracy activist detained since April, a move that contrasts with the long prison terms given to Vietnamese activists who are members of the same U.S.-based dissident group.

Prince Charles takes rare ride on London's subway Posted: 30 Jan 2013 09:50 AM PST LONDON (AP) — Royalty means rarely having to mind the gap.

More Borneo elephants found dead, toll rises to 13 Posted: 30 Jan 2013 04:56 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian authorities found remains of another three endangered Borneo pygmy elephants, deepening a mystery surrounding at least 13 such deaths this month.

In Salafis wake, charred Malian heritage in Timbuktu Posted: 30 Jan 2013 02:01 PM PST The first thing Islamist militants did upon commandeering Timbuktu's Ahmed Baba Institute for Higher Learning and Islamic Research last April was change the locks. Their parting act last week was to burn some of the institute's medieval manuscripts.

Good Reads: Mexico City cleans up, avoiding 'truth,' and a rare visit to North Korea Posted: 30 Jan 2013 11:37 AM PST Mexico City has long had a dark cloud hovering over it – both literally and figuratively – when it comes to traffic woes and vehicle emissions. As recently as 2011, residents of Mexico's vibrant capital city reported "enduring the most painful commute," according to a report in National Geographic. "Based on factors such as roadway traffic, stress levels, and commute times, the city scored worse than 19 cities, including Beijing, China, and Nairobi, Kenya."RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Mexico? Take our quiz.

South Korea catches up to North Korea on the space race Posted: 30 Jan 2013 11:11 AM PST South Korea says its first successful launch Wednesday of a rocket from its own soil has opened a new era of opportunity, taking the pressure off to keep up with its rival, North Korea, on a space race.

Pakistani Taliban enter fray around strategic NATO routes Posted: 30 Jan 2013 11:07 AM PST Clashes between rival militant groups in the tribal region next to the Afghanistan border has reportedly claimed more than 70 lives since fighting broke out last week. The area lies near the Khyber Pass, a main route for NATO supply trucks to Afghanistan, making it pivotal to the US war effort there and to Pakistan's revenues.

Israeli strike indicates Syria, Hezbollah may have crossed its 'red line' Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:51 AM PST Israeli jets reportedly carried out an unprecedented airstrike along the Lebanon-Syria border today against an arms convoy carrying advanced anti-aircraft missiles to the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

5 big losers in press freedom: Mali and ... Japan? Posted: 30 Jan 2013 09:17 AM PST Each year, the World Press Freedom Index ranks the world's nations – 179 of them – on how easy they make the work of journalists, scoring them in categories like media independence, the physical safety of reporters, free speech laws, and transparency. The resulting list reads much like a primer for understanding global conflict: Safe and prosperous countries like Finland and Norway do best, while war-torn dictatorships like Iran, Eritrea, and Syria are among the world's worst spots to be not only a citizen, but a journalist as well.

Anti-drug pact latest casualty of souring US-Russian relations Posted: 30 Jan 2013 08:06 AM PST Russia officially pulled out of a decade-old law enforcement and narcotics agreement with the US on Wednesday, just the latest casualty in an escalating tit-for-tat chain reaction of diplomatic blows that seems well on its way to demolishing the entire infrastructure of US-Russia relations constructed since the demise of the USSR.

Ferocious battle for strategic suburb could hold the keys to Damascus Posted: 30 Jan 2013 06:49 AM PST Three tanks are parked at a street junction in a southwestern suburb of Damascus when one of them is struck by an anti-tank missile. Smoke shoots out of the barrel and turret and swiftly turns into a fiery jet of flame as the interior ignites, incinerating the crew.

France rolls north in Mali, but daunting second phase looms Posted: 30 Jan 2013 06:03 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

New record for the biggest wave ever surfed? (+video) Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:41 AM PST Was Garrett McNamara humming 'Oops, I did it again?" as he rode a 100-foot wave off Portugal?

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