2013年2月14日星期四

Yahoo! News: World News

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: World News


Key U.S. general backs keeping Afghan forces at peak strength

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 02:43 PM PST

U.S. Army General Austin, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, greets last group of soldiers to cross Kuwaiti border as part of last U.S. military convoy to leave IraqWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. general nominated to oversee a vast region that includes Afghanistan on Thursday backed keeping Afghan forces at a peak strength of 352,000, contrary to current plans to shrink them after NATO declares the war over next year. General Lloyd Austin, nominated to lead the U.S. military's Central Command, said at his Senate confirmation hearing that a more robust Afghan force, while more costly, would "hedge against any Taliban mischief" following America's longest war. ...


In Mali town, counter-insurgency task ties down French

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 12:25 PM PST

A French soldier poses for a photo with his FRF2 sniper rifle on the road to the airport, where French troops are based, in GaoGAO, Mali (Reuters) - By the slow-moving Niger River at Gao, the north Malian town retaken by French troops from Islamist rebels last month, men repair fishing nets beside beached pirogues, women wash pots and children splash naked in the muddy water. The scene looks tranquil enough but the French soldiers and their allied troops from Niger on the riverbank are alert, fingering their weapons and squinting southwest across the water to the village of Kadji, shrouded by eucalyptus trees. ...


French firm suspected as culprit in horsemeat scandal

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 11:35 AM PST

A sign with the Spanghero logo is seen at their head office in CastelnaudaryPARIS (Reuters) - An investigation has identified a French meat-processing firm as a likely culprit in the horsemeat scandal that has enraged consumers across Europe and implicated traders and abattoirs from Cyprus to Romania. Separately, British police investigating alleged mislabeling of beef products arrested three people on Thursday at facilities in Wales and Yorkshire which had handled horsemeat and were raided by police earlier, British media reported. No further details on the British arrests were immediately available. ...


"Blade Runner" Pistorius faces court on murder charge

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:04 PM PST

South African "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius is escorted by police at a Pretoria police stationJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee who became one of the biggest names in world athletics, is due to appear in court on Friday on charges of murdering his girlfriend. The arrest of the 26-year-old Olympic and Paralympic track star stunned a nation that holds him up as hero who triumphed over adversity to compete with able-bodied athletes at the highest levels of sport. ...


Egypt's ruling party aims for outright majority in new parliament

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 09:37 AM PST

Parliament Speaker El-Katatni casts his vote during the two chambers of parliament meeting to elect the 100 members of the constituent assembly in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood's political party aims to win an outright majority in Egypt's forthcoming parliamentary elections without making alliances with other more hardline Islamist groups, its leader said on Thursday. Saad el-Katatni, 61, became the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) leader in October, replacing Mohamed Mursi who had become the first elected president of Egypt since the overthrow of veteran authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. "The Freedom and Justice Party will aim to get a majority (in parliament). ...


Somali Islamists say kill soldier, delay executions

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 02:52 PM PST

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali militants linked to al Qaeda said they executed a Kenyan army private at midnight on Thursday after the expiry of an ultimatum for the release of Muslims held by Kenya on terror charges. The al Shabaab militants, who want to impose a strict version of sharia, or Islamic law, also said they were extending the execution deadline by 72 hours for five other hostages. The insurgents on January 23 had given Kenya a three-week deadline to free fighters held by the east African country, but Kenya refused to negotiate and said it would not meet the demand. ...

Teen killed in protests on Bahrain revolt anniversary

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 02:08 PM PST

Anti-government protesters, one of them holding a Bahraini flag, run to take cover from tear gas in the village of SanabisDUBAI (Reuters) - Bahraini security forces killed a teenager and injured dozens more protesters on Thursday, an opposition website said, during clashes on the second anniversary of an uprising to demand democratic reforms in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state. Several hundred demonstrators, mostly youths from largely Shi'ite villages, blocked roads around the capital Manama and hurled stones and fire bombs at police, who responded with birdshot and tear gas, witnesses said. ...


U.N. warns that Sudan could use foreign military support in Darfur

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:38 AM PST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council warned on Thursday that funding, training, spare parts, weapons systems and other materiel supplied to Sudan's government could be used for air strikes in the Darfur region in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. The 15-member council expressed concern that "the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of technical assistance and support ... could be used by the Government of Sudan to support military aircraft being used in violation" of Darfur sanctions. ...

Maldives ex-president to stay in Indian Embassy, party says

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 12:30 PM PST

Maldives President-elect Mohamed Nasheed speaks during a news conference in MaleMALE (Reuters) - Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed will stay in the Indian Embassy in Male until a caretaker government is formed, his party said on Thursday, despite a government assurance he would not be arrested if left. Nasheed, the Maldives' first democratically elected leader, who left office last year in contested circumstances, entered the Indian High Commission in the capital on Wednesday as police tried to arrest him in connection with a court case. ...


Iranian Guards commander killed in Syria

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 12:19 PM PST

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Roknabadi accepts condolences for the death of Khoshnevis, Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander, at the Iranian Embassy in BeirutBEIRUT (Reuters) - An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander has been killed inside Syria by rebels battling Iran's close ally President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian officials and a rebel leader said on Thursday . Syrian rebels have repeatedly accused Tehran of sending fighters to help Assad crush the 22-month-old uprising, a charge Iran has denied. The Iranian embassy in Lebanon said the dead man, Hessam Khoshnevis, was in charge of Tehran's reconstruction assistance in Lebanon. ...


Amputee Olympic star Pistorius charged in slaying

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 03:31 PM PST

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius leaves the Boschkop police station, east of Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 en route to appear in court charged with murder. Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was taken into custody and was expected to appear in court Thursday, after a 30-year-old woman who was believed to be his girlfriend was shot dead at his home in South Africa's capital, Pretoria. (AP Photo/Chris Collingridge) SOUTH AFRICA OUTPRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter dubbed the Blade Runner, was charged Thursday in the Valentine's Day slaying of his girlfriend at his upscale home in South Africa, a shocking twist to one of the feel-good stories of last summer's Olympics.


In Timbuktu, al-Qaida left behind a manifesto

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 12:27 PM PST

In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 photo, neighborhood resident Mohamed Alassane sifts through documents left behind at the Ministry of Finance's Regional Audit Department, in Timbuktu, Mali, where a confidential letter was found from terror leader Abdelmalek Droukdel spelling out the terror network's blueprint for conquering this desert nation. In the days before being rousted by a French assault force, the leader of al-Qaida¹s branch in Africa had warned fellow Islamic fighters to go softly on the people in order to make their takeover of northern Mali last. The more than 10-page letter, which the AP found in a building the Islamists occupied for nearly a year, is signed by Droukdel, the senior commander appointed by Osama bin Laden to run al-Qaida's branch in Africa. (AP Photo/Rukmini Callimachi)TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) — In their hurry to flee last month, al-Qaida fighters left behind a crucial document: Tucked under a pile of papers and trash is a confidential letter, spelling out the terror network's strategy for conquering northern Mali and reflecting internal discord over how to rule the region.


Pistorius' girlfriend was a model, law graduate

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 08:58 AM PST

This is an undated portfolio photo supplied by Ice Model Management in Johannesburg of Reeva Steenkamp, during a photo shoot. Paralympic superstar Oscar Pistorius was charged Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, with the murder of his girlfriend who was shot inside his home in South Africa, a stunning development in the life of a national hero known as the Blade Runner for his high-tech artificial legs. Reeva Steenkamp, a model who spoke out on Twitter against rape and abuse of women, was shot four times in the predawn hours in the home, in a gated community in the capital, Pretoria, police said. (AP Photo/Ice Model Management) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLYJOHANNESBURG (AP) — The leggy blonde model tweeted that Valentine's Day should be "a day of love for everyone."


Litany of secrets after papal retirement bombshell

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 02:07 PM PST

FILE -- In this file picture made available on March 26, 2012 by the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI wears a Mexican sombrero hat in Leon, Mexico, Sunday, March 25, 2012. Turin's La Stampa newspaper reported Thursday, Feb. 14, 2014, that Benedict hit his head and bled when he got up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar bedroom in Leon, Mexico. The report said blood stained his hair, pillow and floor. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi confirmed the incident but said "it was not relevant for the trip, in that it didn't affect it, nor in the decision" to resign. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano)VATICAN CITY (AP) — For an institution devoted to eternal light, the Vatican has shown itself to be a master of smokescreens since Pope Benedict XVI's shock resignation announcement.


Argentine woman marries twin's convicted killer

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 02:59 PM PST

Edith Casas leaves the courthouse after getting married to the man convicted of killing her twin sister in Pico Truncado, Argentina, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. Casas says her now husband Victor Cingolani is innocent of killing her twin sister Johana two years ago, despite his conviction. (AP Photo/OPI Santa Cruz)BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — This was a Valentine's Day wedding that the bride's family wanted no part of: An Argentine woman married the man convicted of killing her twin sister.


Israeli spy saga raises press freedom questions

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 04:22 PM PST

The tombstone of Ben Zygier stands at Chevra Kadisha Jewish Cemetery in Melbourne, Australia Friday, Feb 15. 2013. Foreign reports about the mysterious death of the Australian-born Israeli man who worked for Israel's Mossad spy agency and died in an Israeli prison two years ago have sparked a rare backlash against the country's well-respected security agencies. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)JERUSALEM (AP) — Foreign reports about the mysterious death of an Australian-Israeli Mossad agent in an Israeli prison two years ago have sparked a rare backlash against the country's well-respected security agencies.


Papal conclave still largely a European club

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 08:25 AM PST

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing flanked by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, center and his personal secretary Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, right, after an audience with the Roman clergy in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Thursday Feb. 14, 2013. Benedict XVI is continuing his farewell tour with an off-the-cuff meeting with Roman priests, an annual encounter that has taken on poignant new meaning with his impending resignation.The Vatican has said Benedict would reflect Thursday on his personal experiences as a young theological expert attending the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that brought the Catholic Church into the modern world. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)The face of the Roman Catholic Church has changed profoundly in Pope Benedict XVI's lifetime. Congregations in the West are smaller and older, while those in Africa, Latin America and pockets of Asia are booming, bringing youth and energy to the Catholic world.


Horsemeat: French company blamed, UK arrests

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 01:39 PM PST

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2013 file photo, a sign at the entrance of French meat supplier Spanghero in Castelnaudary, southern France. French economy minister Benoit Hamon on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 pinned the bulk of the blame on a French wholesaler at the heart of the growing scandal in Europe. (AP Photo/Manuel Blondeau, File)PARIS (AP) — The price, smell and color should have been clear tipoffs something was wrong with shipments of horsemeat that were fraudulently labeled as beef, French authorities said Thursday. The government pinned the bulk of the blame on a French wholesaler at the heart of a growing scandal in Europe.


Afghan troop cuts invite comparison to Iraq

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 12:15 PM PST

The Senate Armed Services Committee meets on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, to consider the nominations of Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, left, for reappointment to the grade of general and to be commander of the U.S. Central Command, and Gen. David M. Rodriguez, right, for reappointment to the grade of general and to be commander of the U.S. Africa Command. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. looks to reduce American and Afghan forces in Afghanistan after 2014, Congress members are making comparisons to Iraq and predicting a sharp decline in troops will quickly lead to increased violence and instability.


Eurozone recession deepens as Germany falters

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 01:27 PM PST

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2012 file photo containers are piling at the harbor in Duisburg, Germany. The German economy shrank by a larger-than-expected 0.6 percent in the final quarter in 2012, official figures showed Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, in a clear sign that the European financial crisis took its toll on the continent's largest economy. The quarterly decline was primarily due to a drop in exports as demand weakened from other European nations, many of which are in recession, the Federal Statistical Office said. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)BERLIN (AP) — It was only a matter of time. With many of its debt-ridden euro partners in recession, Germany could only swim against the tide for so long.


Spain's King Juan Carlos fights new pressures to abdicate

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 11:53 AM PST

Spain's aging King Juan Carlos is intent on extending his reign and reaffirming his legacy of resurrecting the monarchy, but calls for his abdication are growing amid a simmering scandal over embezzlement of public funds incriminating his son-in-law, a duke. The scandal and climate here are proving a serious threat to the crown.

One Billion Rising: Indonesia joins world discussion on rape

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 10:32 AM PST

When Indonesian high court judge Muhammad Daming Sunusi joked during vetting for a Supreme Court position this month that women might enjoy rape, he sparked an outcry that, activists say, helped drive nearly a thousand Indonesians onto the streets today.

Ethiopia airs jihadi film amid sensitive Muslim protest trial

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 09:25 AM PST

Ethiopia, a US ally in the battle against Al Qaeda-affiliated militants in Somalia, added to mounting worries about religious discord in the diverse east African state by screening a provocative documentary on Islamic extremism.

Talking about love: Valentine's Day tales from around the world

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 08:20 AM PST

Valentine's Day is always a day for cynics to smirk at a holiday they say has been co-opted by card companies and chocolate factories. And true enough, it has become an unabashedly commercialized affair, from Texas to Thailand. But it's also a time to reflect on the way love is expressed and has endured across the globe. Here are our vignettes of love on Feb. 14 the world over.RECOMMENDED: Test your love IQ: Who said these romantic things?

New nation, new love: Israel's first soldiers forged lasting bonds on the frontlines

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 08:06 AM PST

When Alisa Berman and Pinhas Ofer decided at age 17 to go out on their first date, they faced unusual hurdles: A barbed-wire fence and the armed soldiers guarding their base.

One step forward, one step back on Iran's nuclear program

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 05:57 AM PST

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