Yahoo! News: World News

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• South Africa says Mandela's condition has improved
• U.S. F-22 stealth jets join South Korea drills amid saber-rattling
• Egyptian satirist questioned for insulting Mursi, freed on bail
• Italian president at center of storm as deadlock continues
• Iran sanctions spur boom for Pakistani diesel smugglers
• Fighting erupts after car bombing in Mali
• Syria says rebels set fire to three eastern oil wells
• Britain's Osborne defends welfare cuts after church attacks
• Central African Republic leader takes defense ministry in caretaker government
• Flash floods kill at least 10 people in Mauritius
• Pope makes Easter pleas for world peace
• Privately owned daily newspapers return to Myanmar
• NKorea calls nukes country's 'life' at big meeting
• South Africa: Mandela in hospital on Easter
• Egyptian TV satirist released after questioning
• Christians in Holy Land, Mideast celebrate Easter
• Islamic extremists attack Timbuktu in north Mali
• Syria accuses rebels of setting fire to oil wells
• AP PHOTOS: Easter celebrations around the world
• Palestinian leader clamps down on critics
• Iraq's Christians face hardship, but peaceful Easter also highlights promise

South Africa says Mandela's condition has improved Posted: 31 Mar 2013 12:07 PM PDT By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The condition of South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela has improved further, the government said on Sunday, as the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero spent a fourth day in hospital receiving treatment for pneumonia. "Nelson Mandela had a restful day," South Africa's presidency said in a statement, adding doctors treating him had reported "a further improvement in his condition". "Government is satisfied that the doctors are providing the former president with the best medical care possible to enable his recovery and comfort," the statement said. ...

U.S. F-22 stealth jets join South Korea drills amid saber-rattling Posted: 31 Mar 2013 03:01 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea on Sunday to join military drills aimed at underscoring the U.S. commitment to defend Seoul in the face of an intensifying campaign of threats from North Korea. The advanced, radar-evading F-22 Raptors were deployed to Osan Air Base, the main U.S. Air Force base in South Korea, from Japan to support ongoing bilateral exercises, the U.S. military command in South Korea said in a statement that urged North Korea to restrain itself. ...

Egyptian satirist questioned for insulting Mursi, freed on bail Posted: 31 Mar 2013 10:28 AM PDT By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian prosecutors questioned Egypt's most popular television satirist on Sunday over allegations that he insulted President Mohamed Mursi, a case regarded by his critics as new proof of a crackdown on dissent. Bassem Youssef turned himself in after the prosecutor general issued an arrest warrant for him on Saturday. He was released on bail of 15,000 Egyptian pounds ($2,200). Youssef rose to fame with a satirical online show after the uprising that swept autocrat Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011. His program, which has been compared to the Daily Show of U.S. ...

Italian president at center of storm as deadlock continues Posted: 31 Mar 2013 08:20 AM PDT By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy's 87-year-old President Giorgio Napolitano will face the greatest test of his career during his final weeks in office as he tries to end the standoff preventing a new government being formed more than a month after elections. Following widespread reports he may resign to open the way for a new vote, Napolitano pledged to remain in office at the Quirinale palace until his term ends on May 15, averting the immediate threat of further turmoil. ...

Iran sanctions spur boom for Pakistani diesel smugglers Posted: 31 Mar 2013 02:16 PM PDT By Hamdan Albaloshi JOGAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Some of the contraband is spirited across the mountains in Pepsi bottles carried by child smugglers. Yet more is loaded into pick-up trucks or siphoned into barrels and strapped onto mules. So lucrative are the returns that even seasoned opium traffickers are abandoning their traditional cargo to grab a share of Pakistan's closest thing to an oil boom: a roaring trade in illicit Iranian diesel. ...

Fighting erupts after car bombing in Mali Posted: 31 Mar 2013 01:48 PM PDT By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian soldiers backed by French fighter jets battled Islamist rebels in Timbuktu on Sunday after insurgents used a car bomb as cover to infiltrate the northern desert town, sources said. The French-led offensive in Mali has pushed a mix of Islamists out of their northern strongholds and remote mountain bases but the militants have hit back with several suicide attacks and guerilla-style raids. ...

Syria says rebels set fire to three eastern oil wells Posted: 31 Mar 2013 01:33 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have set three oil wells in the east of the country ablaze, causing a daily loss of nearly 5,000 barrels of oil and 52,000 cubic meters of gas, state media quoted an oil ministry official as saying on Sunday. SANA news agency said the damage to the oil wells in Deir al-Zor province, much of which is in rebel hands, followed disputes among the fighters over "sharing out the stolen oil" from fields in areas they control. It said Syria's Furat Petroleum Corporation was working to extinguish the three fires. ...

Britain's Osborne defends welfare cuts after church attacks Posted: 31 Mar 2013 05:07 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government on Monday defended a raft of new welfare spending cuts, a key plank of efforts to rein in spending as the economy flounders, after church leaders attacked the changes as unjust. Finance minister George Osborne and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith labeled opponents of their plan as "shrill", and insisted it would lead to a fairer benefits system and encourage more Britons to work. ...

Central African Republic leader takes defense ministry in caretaker government Posted: 31 Mar 2013 12:51 PM PDT By Ange Aboa BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's new leader Michel Djotodia announced a caretaker government on Sunday in which he is defense minister, according to a statement issued by his spokesman. The new government, which is due to hold elections in the mineral-rich former French colony within three years, will retain civilian opposition representative Nicolas Tiangaye as prime minister. ...

Flash floods kill at least 10 people in Mauritius Posted: 31 Mar 2013 11:34 AM PDT PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - At least 10 people have been killed in flash floods in Mauritius and more downpours could be on the way, officials and the Indian Ocean island's meteorological service said on Sunday. The deaths occurred on Saturday and most of the victims were trapped in an underpass leading to the Caudan Waterfront, a commercial area in Port Louis. Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said on Sunday that Port Louis had a torrential downpour with 152 mm falling in two hours. ...

Pope makes Easter pleas for world peace Posted: 31 Mar 2013 01:29 PM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis marked Christianity's most joyous day with a passionate plea for world peace, celebrating his first Easter Sunday as pontiff in the enthusiastic company of more than 250,000 people who overflowed from St. Peter's Square.

Privately owned daily newspapers return to Myanmar Posted: 31 Mar 2013 09:45 AM PDT YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — For most people in Myanmar, it will be a novelty when privately run daily newspapers hit the streets on Monday. Many weren't even born when the late dictator Ne Win imposed a state monopoly on the daily press in the 1960s.

NKorea calls nukes country's 'life' at big meeting Posted: 31 Mar 2013 06:55 AM PDT SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A top North Korean decision-making body issued a pointed warning Sunday, saying that nuclear weapons are "the nation's life" and will not be traded even for "billions of dollars."

South Africa: Mandela in hospital on Easter Posted: 31 Mar 2013 12:41 PM PDT JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela had a restful day in a hospital Sunday and is improving following treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, the government said.

Egyptian TV satirist released after questioning Posted: 31 Mar 2013 02:12 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's most popular television satirist, who every week skewers the Islamist president and hard-line clerics on his Jon Stewart-style show, was released on bail Sunday but could face charges of insulting the country's leader and Islam.

Christians in Holy Land, Mideast celebrate Easter Posted: 31 Mar 2013 09:01 AM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — Catholics and Protestants flocked to churches to celebrate Easter on Sunday in the Holy Land and across the broader Middle East, praying, singing and rejoicing as a new pope pleaded for peace in the region.

Islamic extremists attack Timbuktu in north Mali Posted: 31 Mar 2013 08:17 AM PDT BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Timbuktu has been hit by a prolonged battle between Islamic extremists and the Malian and French armies, residents and a Malian military spokesman said Sunday.

Syria accuses rebels of setting fire to oil wells Posted: 31 Mar 2013 08:50 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Heavy shelling in a neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo sent civilians fleeing for their lives on Sunday, and the state news agency accused rebels trying to topple the government of setting fire to three oil wells.

AP PHOTOS: Easter celebrations around the world Posted: 31 Mar 2013 11:49 AM PDT On Easter Sunday, the most holy day of the Christian calendar, believers attended religious services — whether among the packed crowds before a new pope in St. Peter's Square, at sunrise services in India and Pakistan, or at churches flanked by blast walls and security cordons in Iraq.

Palestinian leader clamps down on critics Posted: 31 Mar 2013 12:24 PM PDT HUSSAN, West Bank (AP) — Mahmoud Abbas' government in the West Bank is getting tougher with critics, interrogating, prosecuting and even jailing several journalists and bloggers in recent months for allegedly "defaming" the Western-backed Palestinian leader.

Iraq's Christians face hardship, but peaceful Easter also highlights promise Posted: 31 Mar 2013 08:55 AM PDT Iraqi Christians celebrated a largely peaceful Easter under heavy security as a newly-elected Catholic leader pledged to try to stop an exodus from the Middle East and rebuild the battered church community.

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