Yahoo! News: World News

Syria "likely" to have used chemical weapons, says UK
Yemen kidnappers free Finnish couple, Austrian
South African military flexes muscles ahead of Congo mission
Brazil's big government seen as good for politics, bad for economy
Bangladesh factory fire kills 8; collapse toll tops 900
Guatemala's Rios Montt tells court: I never ordered genocide
Death penalty for Ariel Castro? Official cites captives' miscarriages, 'torture'
China's growing military might: top 4 concerns for the Pentagon
Tunisian national is accused of seeking US visa to plot terror
Jodi Arias case: What's trend line on women getting the death penalty?
Karzai says US can have 9 Afghan bases after 2014
Abduction, attacks mar run-up to Pakistan election
Iran president still a force even as his era ends
Hezbollah: Syria to supply weapons to militia
NKorea: Detained American smuggled in propaganda
Yemen's leader warns of al-Qaida expansion
Venezuela's Maduro gets firm Brazilian backing, trade
Turkey would support U.S.-led no-fly zone in Syria: NBC
Hizballah and Israel Spar as Syria’s Conflict Threatens to Spin Out of Control
Prosecutor to seek murder charges against accused Ohio kidnapper
Australia seeks two passengers lost from cruise ship
Rios Montt denies he ordered genocide
Uruguay general gets 28 years in prisoner's murder
Proposed UN resolution backs transition in Syria
Kuwait launches sports clubs for women
Coalition on immigration bill clears first tests
U.S. blacklists firms for evading Iran oil sale sanctions
Chess world champion Anand draws against Carlsen
African Union calls for Sudan, South Sudan summit on Abyei
Kerry says he'll answer questions on Benghazi
Iran envoy to Cyprus recalled after extradition to U.S.
Northern Ireland hopes to tear down 'peace lines'
IMF: Egypt's financial situation deteriorating
A look at Iran's political hierarchy

Syria "likely" to have used chemical weapons, says UK

Posted: 09 May 2013 10:51 AM PDT

By Andrew Roche LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday it was "very likely" the Syrian government had used chemical weapons, and Turkey announced it was stepping up testing of people fleeing the Syrian civil war for traces. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed gratitude to Russia for its willingness to try to arrange a "Geneva two" conference to negotiate an end to the conflict, in a sign of a thawing of the long diplomatic chill between Washington and Moscow, Syria's strongest ally. ...

Yemen kidnappers free Finnish couple, Austrian

Posted: 09 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni kidnappers have released a Finnish couple and an Austrian man more than four months after they were seized in the capital Sanaa. The trio were freed on Wednesday night after mediation by authorities in neighboring Oman, who paid a sum of money for their release, a senior Yemini security source told Reuters. Austria and Finland confirmed the release on Thursday. "The Omani authorities led mediation efforts and paid a ransom to free the Austrian and Finnish hostages," the security source told Reuters. "They were handed over to the Omani authorities last night. ...

South African military flexes muscles ahead of Congo mission

Posted: 09 May 2013 11:30 AM PDT

By Ed Cropley ROODEWAAL ARTILLERY RANGE, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa's air force showed off its military might on Thursday with precision bombing and helicopter gunships firing fusillades of rockets just days ahead of an unprecedented "peace enforcing" deployment to eastern Congo. Two months after 13 troops were killed by rebels in Central African Republic in South Africa's heaviest military losses since the end of apartheid, Pretoria is gearing up to send 1,000 soldiers to Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile border with Rwanda and Uganda. ...

Brazil's big government seen as good for politics, bad for economy

Posted: 09 May 2013 04:14 PM PDT

By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff added a new minister to her Cabinet on Thursday, further enlarging a federal government whose rapid growth since her leftist party came to power a decade ago has increased Brazil's heavy tax burden. Rousseff, who is seeking re-election next year, swore in Guilherme Afif Domingos to head the newly created Ministry of Micro and Small Businesses, the country's 39th ministry. When civilian rule replaced military dictatorship in 1985, there were only 17 ministries in Brasilia. ...

Bangladesh factory fire kills 8; collapse toll tops 900

Posted: 09 May 2013 09:44 AM PDT

By Serajul Quadir and Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Eight people were killed when a fire swept through a clothing factory in Bangladesh, police and an industry association official said on Thursday, as the death toll from the collapse of another factory building two weeks ago climbed above 900. The fire, in an industrial district of Dhaka, comes amid global attention on safety standards in Bangladesh's booming garment industry following the catastrophic collapse of Rana Plaza, on the outskirts of the city, in the world's deadliest industrial accident since the Bhopal disaster in India in 1984. ...

Guatemala's Rios Montt tells court: I never ordered genocide

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:45 PM PDT

By Mike McDonald GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt told a court on Thursday he never ordered the genocide of his own people, taking the witness stand for the first time as the war crimes trial against him neared its conclusion. Rios Montt, 86, is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity for allegedly drawing up a counterinsurgency plan during his 1982-1983 rule that killed at least 1,771 members of the Maya Ixil indigenous group. ...

Death penalty for Ariel Castro? Official cites captives' miscarriages, 'torture'

Posted: 09 May 2013 04:59 PM PDT

Prosecutors may seek the death penalty in the case against a Cleveland man accused of kidnapping and holding captive three young women for years, on the basis of police reports that he allegedly forced miscarriages during the women's detainment, officials announced Thursday.

China's growing military might: top 4 concerns for the Pentagon

Posted: 09 May 2013 04:49 PM PDT

China continues to increase spending to grow its already considerable military, and top Pentagon officials continue to watch the developments carefully.

Tunisian national is accused of seeking US visa to plot terror

Posted: 09 May 2013 04:04 PM PDT

A Tunisian national has been charged in New York City with fraudulently applying for a work visa so he could remain in the US to allegedly carry out terrorist operations on behalf of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Jodi Arias case: What's trend line on women getting the death penalty?

Posted: 09 May 2013 04:01 PM PDT

Whether Jodi Arias gets her wish – to be executed rather than spend her life in prison – is now up to the Arizona jury that on Wednesday found her guilty of brutally murdering her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in a jealous rage on June 4, 2008, in a Phoenix suburb.

Karzai says US can have 9 Afghan bases after 2014

Posted: 09 May 2013 01:16 PM PDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has irked Washington with his frequent criticism of American military operations in his country, said Thursday that his government is now ready to let the U.S. have nine bases across Afghanistan after most foreign troops withdraw in 2014.

Abduction, attacks mar run-up to Pakistan election

Posted: 09 May 2013 01:39 PM PDT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An especially violent spate of killings, kidnappings and bombings marred the run-up to Pakistan's nationwide election, capped Thursday by the abduction of the son of a former prime minister as he was rallying supporters on the last day of campaigning before the historic vote.

Iran president still a force even as his era ends

Posted: 09 May 2013 12:19 PM PDT

BIRJAND, Iran (AP) — When many struggling families in this eastern Iranian city take stock of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's legacy, it's not about the oratory full of bluster and menace or his tussles with Iran's ruling clerics that are known to much of the world.

Hezbollah: Syria to supply weapons to militia

Posted: 09 May 2013 03:17 PM PDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria will supply "game-changing" weapons to Hezbollah, the chief of the Lebanese militant group said Thursday, less than a week after Israeli airstrikes on Damascus targeted alleged shipments of advanced Iranian missiles bound for Hezbollah.

NKorea: Detained American smuggled in propaganda

Posted: 09 May 2013 11:16 AM PDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea delivered its most in-depth account yet of the case against a Korean-American sentenced to 15 years' hard labor, accusing him late Thursday of smuggling in inflammatory literature and trying to establish a base for anti-Pyongyang activities at a border city hotel.

Yemen's leader warns of al-Qaida expansion

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:53 PM PDT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The president of Yemen on Thursday warned that the al-Qaida branch in the country was expanding and using assassinations and abductions of foreigners as a way to challenge the central authority.

Venezuela's Maduro gets firm Brazilian backing, trade

Posted: 09 May 2013 05:05 PM PDT

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro got strong backing from regional heavyweight Brazil on Thursday on a tour of South American allies to cement his legitimacy as political heir to the late Hugo Chavez. The clear endorsement from the largest and most influential Latin American nation will strengthen Maduro's grip on power following his contested election in the oil-producing nation last month. ...

Turkey would support U.S.-led no-fly zone in Syria: NBC

Posted: 09 May 2013 04:39 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would support a U.S.-enforced no-fly zone in Syria and warned that Damascus crossed President Barack Obama's "red line" on chemical weapons use long ago, according to an NBC News interview released Thursday. A no-fly zone to prohibit Syrian military aircraft from hitting rebel targets has been mentioned by American lawmakers as one option the United States could use to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "Right from the beginning ... ...

Hizballah and Israel Spar as Syria’s Conflict Threatens to Spin Out of Control

Posted: 09 May 2013 03:13 PM PDT

A dangerous game of brinkmanship is unfolding in the Middle East pitching Israel against Syria and its militant Shi'ite ally Hizballah in what threatens to expand the two-year Syrian civil war into a full-blown regional conflict. On three separate occasions since January – two of them within 48 hours of each other last Friday and Sunday – Israeli jets have attacked Syrian military bases, targeting consignments of advanced weaponry supplied allegedly by Iran that were pending transfer to Hizballah across the nearby border with Lebanon. The air raids were unprecedented. ...

Prosecutor to seek murder charges against accused Ohio kidnapper

Posted: 09 May 2013 03:04 PM PDT

By Daniel Trotta and Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio prosecutor said on Thursday he will seek aggravated murder charges, which could carry the death penalty, against a former Cleveland school bus driver accused of kidnapping and raping three women during a decade of captivity in his house. The charges would stem from the forced miscarriages that police say were suffered by one of the women at the hands of Ariel Castro, who is accused of holding them captive at his house in a low-income neighborhood of Cleveland. ...

Australia seeks two passengers lost from cruise ship

Posted: 09 May 2013 03:03 PM PDT

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian emergency crews were searching on Friday for two people who fell overboard from a Carnival Corp cruise liner off the New South Wales coast. Police said surveillance camera footage from the ship showed the 30-year-old man and 27-year-old woman, both Australian, fell from the mid-deck around 8:50 p.m. AEST (1150 GMT) on Wednesday. The pair were reported missing when the Carnival Spirit docked in Sydney on Thursday after completing a South Pacific tour. ...

Rios Montt denies he ordered genocide

Posted: 09 May 2013 03:03 PM PDT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt denied Thursday that he ordered the extermination of Ixil Mayas as he testified for the first time at his genocide trial.

Uruguay general gets 28 years in prisoner's murder

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:48 PM PDT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Uruguay has convicted an active general for dictatorship-era human rights violations for the first time. Gen. Miguel Dalmao was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the death of a communist professor.

Proposed UN resolution backs transition in Syria

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:34 PM PDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — An Arab-backed resolution calling for a political transition in Syria and strongly condemning the regime's escalating use of heavy weapons and "gross violations" of human rights was circulated Thursday to the U.N. General Assembly, but key Syria ally Russia urged other countries to vote "no."

Kuwait launches sports clubs for women

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:31 PM PDT

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Muneera al-Shatti has loved playing basketball since she was a child but it wasn't until Thursday that she had chance to show off her skills at a public arena in Kuwait.

Coalition on immigration bill clears first tests

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:26 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The bipartisan coalition behind a contentious overhaul of immigration laws stuck together on a critical early series of test votes Thursday, turning back challenges from conservative critics as the Senate Judiciary Committee refined legislation to secure the borders and grant eventual citizenship to millions living in the United States illegally.

U.S. blacklists firms for evading Iran oil sale sanctions

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:12 PM PDT

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has blacklisted two companies it says helped Iran evade sanctions on oil sales and slapped penalties on four Tehran-based firms it says helped the Islamic Republic enrich uranium, the latest efforts to pressure Iran's nuclear program. "As long as Iran tries to evade our sanctions, we will continue to expose their deceptive maneuvers," David Cohen, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department said in a news release. ...

Chess world champion Anand draws against Carlsen

Posted: 09 May 2013 02:10 PM PDT

SANDNES, Norway (AP) — Chess world champion Viswanathan Anand of India halved a point with the Norwegian world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen to draw in Thursday's second round of the Norway Chess Tournament.

African Union calls for Sudan, South Sudan summit on Abyei

Posted: 09 May 2013 01:54 PM PDT

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The African Union (AU) called on Thursday for an urgent meeting of the leaders from Sudan and South Sudan to find a solution for the flashpoint Abyei region after the killing of a tribal leader and an Ethiopian peacekeeper. On Saturday, Kuwal Deng Mayok, the chief of the Dinka tribe allied to South Sudan, was killed by a member of the Misseriya tribe in Abyei claimed by Khartoum and Juba. One Ethiopian peacekeeper and 15 Misseriya, who are allied to Sudan, also died, according to the U.N. and the Misseriya. ...

Kerry says he'll answer questions on Benghazi

Posted: 09 May 2013 01:49 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday he's determined to answer any questions related to the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, as the House Republican leader pushed for more information from the Obama administration.

Iran envoy to Cyprus recalled after extradition to U.S.

Posted: 09 May 2013 01:33 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran has recalled its ambassador to Cyprus for consultations after an Iranian national was recently extradited from the island to the United States on suspicion of violating U.N. arms sanctions, Cyprus's foreign minister said on Thursday. "Only today ... I received word from Nicosia that Iran has decided to recall its ambassador there for consultations. Why? Because an Iranian citizen was apprehended for trying to buy, to contravene the arms embargo against Iran," Ioannis Kasoulides told a conference in Washington. ...

Northern Ireland hopes to tear down 'peace lines'

Posted: 09 May 2013 01:01 PM PDT

DUBLIN (AP) — Northern Ireland hopes to tear down the so-called "peace lines" of Belfast — dozens of walls of brick, steel and barbed wire that divide Irish Catholic and British Protestant neighborhoods — within a decade, officials said Thursday. But in setting a deadline of 2023, it's a sign of how difficult the task will be.

IMF: Egypt's financial situation deteriorating

Posted: 09 May 2013 12:29 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that Egypt's financial situation is deteriorating and the lending agency won't move ahead with a $4.8 billion loan until receiving updated economic information and reform plans from President Mohammed Morsi's government.