Yahoo! News: World News

Lawyer for accused al Qaeda figure says case will take months to prepare
Saudi Arabia warns of shift away from U.S. over Syria, Iran
Syrian opposition resists calls to commit to peace talks
U.S. broke international law by killing civilians with drones: rights groups
U.S. concerned about Mozambique violence, urges dialogue
Greece cuts off state funding to far-right Golden Dawn party
Sharif Calls on Obama as U.S. and Pakistan Try to Turn the Corner
Storm weakens off Mexico coast, still rain threat
Russian Suicide Bus Bombing Sparks Terror Fears at Sochi Olympics
Israelis vote in local polls after corruption scandals
Interpol DNA database shows no match for Roma camp girl
Jerusalem mayor re-elected in hard-fought race
Focus on Arab states to fill Saudi Security Council seat, Kuwait a front-runner
Jerusalem mayor leads in election battle
Goldcorp gets environmental go-ahead for Chile mine
Hurricane Raymond weakens off Mexico coast
Greece suspends state aid to neo-Nazi party
Jerusalem mayor fights to hold seat in tight vote
Greek Parliament axes funding for far right
USDA to assist South Dakota ranchers recovering from blizzard
Syria talks in London agree on no future role for Assad
Economy, energy center stage as German coalition talks begin
Celebrity photographer snapped up for UK royal christening
Celtic break Champions League duck with Ajax win
Lewandowski ruins Wenger birthday celebrations
US denies ties with Saudis under strain
Weakening Raymond soaks southwestern Mexico, no serious damage
Syria opposition under pressure to negotiate
Egypt: Attack in Sinai kills soldier, civilian
Report slams continued antibiotic use in U.S. livestock
One killed in Bahrain explosion- Interior Ministry
Palestinian refugees in Syria face 'extreme vulnerability': UN
Child killed in Lebanon clash over Syria
Mexican diplomat says Obama promises NSA probe
Photographer captures haunting beauty in abandoned buildings
Mexico calls on U.S. to widen spy probe after new allegations
'Forget Hollywood': Germany trains Syria chemical team

Lawyer for accused al Qaeda figure says case will take months to prepare

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:58 PM PDT

By Luke Swiderski NEW YORK (Reuters) - The defense attorney for an alleged senior al Qaeda figure captured in Libya earlier this month said on Tuesday it will take several months to sort through hundreds of thousands of documents before the case can proceed. Bernard Kleinman said in federal court that he had just begun representing Libyan Nazih al-Ragye, better known as Abu Anas al-Liby, who last week pleaded not guilty to involvement in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. Al-Liby was seized by a U.S. ...

Saudi Arabia warns of shift away from U.S. over Syria, Iran

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:10 PM PDT

By Amena Bakr and Warren Strobel DOHA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Upset at President Barack Obama's policies on Iran and Syria, members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are threatening a rift with the United States that could take the alliance between Washington and the kingdom to its lowest point in years. Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief is vowing that the kingdom will make a "major shift" in relations with the United States to protest perceived American inaction over Syria's civil war as well as recent U.S. overtures to Iran, a source close to Saudi policy said on Tuesday. ...

Syrian opposition resists calls to commit to peace talks

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:30 PM PDT

By Arshad Mohammed and Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Syria's opposition in exile resisted calls from Western and Arab countries on Tuesday to commit to attending peace talks, saying they would not take part if there was any chance President Bashar al-Assad could cling to power. Eleven countries meeting in London pressed the opposition National Coalition to join talks to end a conflict that has killed over 100,000 people, but the group listed conditions and said it would decide in the coming weeks whether to attend. ...

U.S. broke international law by killing civilians with drones: rights groups

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 01:19 PM PDT

By Susan Cornwell and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Human rights groups on Tuesday accused the United States of breaking international law and perhaps committing war crimes by killing civilians in missile and drone strikes that were intended to hit militants in Pakistan and Yemen. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released separate reports detailing the deaths of dozens of civilians in the two countries. They urged the Obama administration and Congress to investigate, and end a policy of secrecy on the attacks. "In some of the cases we looked at ... ...

U.S. concerned about Mozambique violence, urges dialogue

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:49 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday urged Mozambique's government and the Renamo opposition movement to "move back from the brink" and take steps to quell an escalation in tensions that many worry could disrupt the country's strong economic growth. The Renamo former rebel group declared on Monday it was terminating a 1992 peace accord that ended a 1975-1992 civil war, complaining that government forces overran base of opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama in the Gorongosa forest. ...

Greece cuts off state funding to far-right Golden Dawn party

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:07 PM PDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers voted to cut off state funding to the far-right Golden Dawn party early on Wednesday, the latest effort by the government to clamp down on a party it has branded a "neo-Nazi criminal gang". Golden Dawn had steadily risen on the back of an anti-austerity and anti-immigrant agenda to become Greece's third-most popular party, until the killing of a left-wing rapper by a party supporter last month triggered the government crackdown. ...

Sharif Calls on Obama as U.S. and Pakistan Try to Turn the Corner

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 05:14 PM PDT

Fourteen years after his last Oval Office visit, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is poised to meet this Wednesday with U.S. President Barack Obama. In between, Sharif was deposed in a 1999 coup and then endured nearly a decade in the political wilderness. His arrival this week in Washington marks another moment of triumph for one of South Asia's political heavyweights.

Storm weakens off Mexico coast, still rain threat

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 05:04 PM PDT

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Raymond weakened to barely a Category 1 storm Tuesday while still stalled off Mexico's Pacific coast, pumping rain onto an already sodden region recovering from a battering by a tropical storm last month.

Russian Suicide Bus Bombing Sparks Terror Fears at Sochi Olympics

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:59 PM PDT

Naida Asiyalova, the suicide bomber who blew herself up on Monday on a crowded bus in the Russian city of Volgograd, killing six people and wounding dozens more, was born in the town of Buynaksk, a huddle of mosques and squat apartment blocks in the foothills of the Russian Caucasus. For at least a year, the town has been under a so-called KTO regime, the Russian acronym for counter-terrorism operation, which allows security forces to conduct random searches, impose curfews and detain any foreigners who do not carry a special visitor's permit, as happened to me this spring. ...

Israelis vote in local polls after corruption scandals

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:58 PM PDT

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israelis voted in municipal elections Tuesday expected to be shunned by much of the public, who see local authorities as tainted by corruption.

Interpol DNA database shows no match for Roma camp girl

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:54 PM PDT

Cartagena (Colombia) (AFP) - Interpol has searched its DNA database in the case of the mysterious blonde girl discovered in a Roma community in Greece and found no match, the police body's chief said Tuesday.

Jerusalem mayor re-elected in hard-fought race

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:53 PM PDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The secular mayor of Jerusalem won a second term in a hard-fought campaign that saw him fending off a challenge by a candidate backed by two of Israel's biggest kingmakers in the centerpiece race of nationwide municipal voting.

Focus on Arab states to fill Saudi Security Council seat, Kuwait a front-runner

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:42 PM PDT

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's unprecedented rejection of a U.N. Security Council place has pushed the world body into uncharted territory, but fellow Gulf nation Kuwait is emerging as an early front-runner to fill the seat. With 10 weeks until Saudi Arabia's term on the 15-member Security Council was due to start - on January 1 - U.N. diplomats do not appear to be in a rush to fill the vacancy and some are hoping Riyadh might still change its mind. "One waits to see what will happen," British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said on Tuesday. ...

Jerusalem mayor leads in election battle

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:37 PM PDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The secular mayor of Jerusalem appeared to be heading to victory in a re-election bid early Wednesday, fending off a challenge by a candidate backed by two of Israel's biggest kingmakers in the centerpiece race of nationwide municipal voting.

Goldcorp gets environmental go-ahead for Chile mine

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:34 PM PDT

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Goldcorp has secured the environmental permit it needs to progress with its copper and gold El Morro project in the north of Chile, the Canadian miner said on Tuesday. Construction on the $3.9 billion project was halted last year, after the Supreme Court froze its environmental permit at the request of the local indigenous community, until the company had fully consulted the community. ...

Hurricane Raymond weakens off Mexico coast

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:08 PM PDT

Zihuatanejo (Mexico) (AFP) - Hurricane Raymond weakened and barely budged off Mexico's Pacific coast Tuesday, dumping more rain in a region still recovering from a previous deadly storm.

Greece suspends state aid to neo-Nazi party

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 04:03 PM PDT

Athens (AFP) - The Greek parliament late Tuesday adopted a measure suspending state aid to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, after six of its lawmakers faced charges of constituting or belonging to a criminal organisation.

Jerusalem mayor fights to hold seat in tight vote

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:45 PM PDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The secular mayor of Jerusalem was fighting for his political survival in a closely watched re-election bid early Wednesday, facing a challenger backed by two of Israel's biggest kingmakers in the centerpiece race of nationwide municipal voting.

Greek Parliament axes funding for far right

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:19 PM PDT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek lawmakers voted late Tuesday to suspend state funding for political parties accused of criminal activities, a measure targeting the Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn group.

USDA to assist South Dakota ranchers recovering from blizzard

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:15 PM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it would provide assistance to South Dakota livestock producers to clean up from an early winter blizzard two weeks ago that killed tens of thousands of cattle. The agency would help producers dispose of livestock carcasses, replace destroyed fencing and rebuild shelters that were damaged by the storm, U.S. Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse told livestock producers in Rapid City, South Dakota. The USDA said assistance could begin as early as this week. ...

Syria talks in London agree on no future role for Assad

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:08 PM PDT

LONDON (AFP) - Western and Arab powers agreed with Syrian opposition leaders Tuesday that President Bashar al-Assad should play no future role in government, but they struggled to convince the rebels to attend key peace talks in Geneva next month.

Economy, energy center stage as German coalition talks begin

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 03:06 PM PDT

By Noah Barkin and Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) start hammering out compromises on economic, energy and euro policies on Wednesday, the opening day of talks on a coalition government that should be in place by Christmas. Germany's European partners will be watching the negotiations closely, hoping for a swift deal that allows the bloc to meet looming deadlines for its ambitious banking union. ...

Celebrity photographer snapped up for UK royal christening

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:46 PM PDT

LONDON (AFP) - Celebrity portrait photographer Jason Bell, known for his pictures of Paul McCartney and David Beckham, will take the official christening photos of Britain's Prince George, Kensington Palace announced Tuesday.

Celtic break Champions League duck with Ajax win

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:45 PM PDT

Glasgow (AFP) - Celtic kick-started their Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-1 victory over Ajax in Glasgow on Tuesday.

Lewandowski ruins Wenger birthday celebrations

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:43 PM PDT

London (AFP) - Robert Lewandowski ruined Arsene Wenger's birthday as the Borussia Dortmund striker's late goal clinched a 2-1 win against Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday.

US denies ties with Saudis under strain

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:42 PM PDT

Washington (AFP) - Relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia remain strong, a US official insisted Tuesday, brushing aside a report its key Gulf ally was seeking to distance itself from Washington amid differences over Syria.

Weakening Raymond soaks southwestern Mexico, no serious damage

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:42 PM PDT

By David Alire Garcia ACAPULCO, Mexico (Reuters) - More heavy rain spawned by Hurricane Raymond as it churns over the Pacific fell on southwestern Mexico on Tuesday, soaking areas hit by record flooding last month, but forecasters said the storm was weakening and appeared unlikely to reach land. The port and schools remained closed in the resort city of Acapulco, which also was battered by tropical storms that struck Mexico in mid-September. The freight hub of Lazaro Cardenas to the northwest also was shut. ...

Syria opposition under pressure to negotiate

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:36 PM PDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. and Europe are putting intense pressure on the main Syrian opposition group to attend a long-delayed peace conference aimed at ending Syria's civil war, even though agreeing to join the talks could irreparably split the already-fragmented opposition in exile.

Egypt: Attack in Sinai kills soldier, civilian

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:31 PM PDT

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Insurgents ambushed an Egyptian army convoy in northern Sinai early Tuesday killing a soldier and a civilian, the local government and the military said, the latest in a rising wave of attacks in the volatile peninsula.

Report slams continued antibiotic use in U.S. livestock

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:29 PM PDT

By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators and livestock producers have failed to curb the use of antibiotics in cattle, pigs and poultry despite concerns that excessive use in meat production will reduce the drugs' effectiveness in humans, a panel of experts said. "Meaningful change is unlikely in the future," concluded the 14-member panel, assembled by Johns Hopkins University, in a report released on Tuesday that quickly drew protests from livestock industry groups. ...

One killed in Bahrain explosion- Interior Ministry

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:21 PM PDT

DUBAI (Reuters) - An explosion shook a village in Bahrain late on Tuesday and one person was killed, police and witnesses said. The cause of the explosion in the village of Bani Jamra, west of the capital Manama, was not immediately clear. Some witnesses said it was caused by a bomb. The Interior Ministry said police received a call from a person reporting the blast and were told one person was dead at the scene. "Police deployed to the area and dealt with a suspicious object," the ministry said on its Twitter account without elaborating. ...

Palestinian refugees in Syria face 'extreme vulnerability': UN

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:16 PM PDT

New York City (AFP) - Top UN official Jeffrey Feltman emphasized Tuesday the "extreme vulnerability" of Palestinian refugees in Syria as fighting there escalates.

Child killed in Lebanon clash over Syria

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:09 PM PDT

Tripoli (Lebanon) (AFP) - A 13-year-old child was killed and 11 other people wounded in a gunfight in Lebanon's Tripoli Tuesday between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a security official said.

Mexican diplomat says Obama promises NSA probe

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:09 PM PDT

GENEVA (AP) — President Barack Obama has promised an investigation into spying the U.S. reportedly did on Mexico's presidential email system, Mexico's top diplomat told reporters Tuesday. The White House said Mexico's concerns would be addressed as part of a broader examination of U.S. intelligence gathering.

Photographer captures haunting beauty in abandoned buildings

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:08 PM PDT

A London-based photographer documents haunting scenes from abandoned locations — hospitals, schools, houses, hotels, asylums and more — and often captures them exactly how their occupants left them: cluttered, dusty, silent and honestly creepy.

Mexico calls on U.S. to widen spy probe after new allegations

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 02:08 PM PDT

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade called on the United States on Tuesday to widen an investigation into spying to include allegations that a U.S. government agency hacked former President Felipe Calderon's public email account. Mexico scolded Washington on Sunday after a German magazine reported that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) hacked Calderon's public email account while he was president. ...