Yahoo! News: World News

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• Assad "peace plan" greeted with scorn by foes
• Activists wary as India rushes to justice after gang rape
• Richardson, Schmidt fly to North Korea Monday: reports
• Northern Irish militants seen hijacking flag protests
• Analysis: Air assaults raise doubts about Myanmar's reformist rulers
• Britain's coalition leaders seek to regain voters' trust
• Russia kills militants suspected of Christmas attack plan
• Kuwaiti forces disperse protesters with stun grenades
• Egypt strengthens Islamist role in cabinet, eyes IMF deal
• Infighting mars rally for Merkel's FDP partners before state vote
• Defiant Assad pledges to continue fighting
• Venezuela looks for missing plane with Missoni CEO
• US family builds Haiti orphanage for daughter
• Pakistan says 1 dead in border clash with India
• Philippine army, police kill 13 suspects in clash
• Indonesian anti-terror squad criticized for deaths
• Pakistani officials say US drones kill 9 militants
• AP Interview: Palestinian PM warns of cash crisis
• S. Africa sends troops to Central African Republic
• Egypt Copts mark Christmas with fear of future
• Turkey sees promise in pivoting north
• Takeaway from Assad's speech? There will be no meaningful dialogue.
• Got water? Hard to know in Mexico City.

Assad "peace plan" greeted with scorn by foes Posted: 06 Jan 2013 02:04 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected peace talks with his enemies on Sunday in a defiant speech that his opponents described as a renewed declaration of war. Although the speech was billed as the unveiling of a new peace plan, Assad offered no concessions and even appeared to harden many of his positions. He rallied Syrians for "a war to defend the nation" and disparaged the prospect of negotiations. "We do not reject political dialogue ... ...

Activists wary as India rushes to justice after gang rape Posted: 06 Jan 2013 12:09 PM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - It's no surprise the Indian street wants faster, harsher justice for sexual crimes after a horrific gang rape that rocked the nation, but some activists worry the government will trample fundamental rights in its rush to be in tune with popular rage. Last month's rape of a physiotherapy student on a moving bus and her death on December 28 in hospital triggered a national debate about how to better protect women in India, where official data shows one rape is reported on average every 20 minutes. ...

Richardson, Schmidt fly to North Korea Monday: reports Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:24 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt will start their controversial private mission to North Korea on Monday that may include an effort to secure the release of an imprisoned American, South Korean media reported. The trip comes after North Korea carried out a long range rocket test last month and as the reclusive state continues work on its nuclear testing facilities according to satellite imagery, potentially paving the way for a third nuclear bomb test. ...

Northern Irish militants seen hijacking flag protests Posted: 06 Jan 2013 03:39 PM PST BELFAST (Reuters) - Pro-British militant groups are instigating riots that have rocked the Northern Irish capital Belfast in the past month, a police officers' representative said on Sunday as officers came under attack again. The violence stems from protests over the removal of the British flag over Belfast City Hall. It has been among the province's worst since a 1998 peace accord ended 30 years of conflict in which Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland fought British forces and mainly Protestant loyalists. ...

Analysis: Air assaults raise doubts about Myanmar's reformist rulers Posted: 06 Jan 2013 01:04 PM PST BANGKOK (Reuters) - Unprecedented aerial attacks on ethnic Kachin rebels by Myanmar's military have raised doubts about whether the retired generals in a government hailed for its reforms have really changed their harsh old ways. Assurances by the quasi-civilian government that it wants a peace deal with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and that the military is exercising "maximum restraint" are starting to ring hollow as jets and helicopter gunships take to the air. The 18-month conflict is back under the spotlight, with U.N. ...

Britain's coalition leaders seek to regain voters' trust Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:02 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - The leaders of Britain's fractious coalition pledged on Monday to cap the cost of long-term care for the elderly and to improve state pensions in an effort to re-engage with electors midway into their five-year government. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and his Liberal Democrat deputy, Nick Clegg, have seen popular support fall away as voters suffer squeezed incomes and the economy fails to stage a stable recovery from the 2008/2009 financial crisis. ...

Russia kills militants suspected of Christmas attack plan Posted: 06 Jan 2013 02:28 PM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian security forces in a restive North Caucasus province on Sunday killed three militants suspected of planning attacks on church services during the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday, authorities said. Security forces tried to stop a van in the Kabardino-Balkaria province on Sunday but its occupants opened fire and were killed in the ensuing battle, during which the vehicle caught fire, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said in a statement. ...

Kuwaiti forces disperse protesters with stun grenades Posted: 06 Jan 2013 11:51 AM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Security forces used stun grenades to disperse hundreds of opposition activists trying to stage a march in Kuwait on Sunday, part of a series of protests against what they see as a rubber-stamp parliament, and made several arrests. Protest marches have grown more frequent in the U.S.-allied oil producer since the opposition boycotted a parliamentary election on December 1 over changes to voting laws that they saw as an attempt to favor pro-government candidates. ...

Egypt strengthens Islamist role in cabinet, eyes IMF deal Posted: 06 Jan 2013 09:04 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's president added fellow Islamists to a reshuffled government on Sunday and the new finance minister pledged to finish talks on an IMF loan to stave off a currency crisis that risks provoking more popular unrest. A senior IMF official is due in Cairo on Monday to meet Egyptian leaders over the $4.8 billion loan deal, which was postponed last month to give Egypt more time to tackle political tensions before introducing unpopular austerity measures. ...

Infighting mars rally for Merkel's FDP partners before state vote Posted: 06 Jan 2013 10:14 AM PST STUTTGART (Reuters) - Germany's Free Democrats (FDP) struggled to show a united front on Sunday just two weeks before a crucial state election, which could see their leader booted out if they fail to win enough support to gain Lower Saxony assembly seats. The junior partner in Merkel's center-right government is also in danger of missing the threshold for representation in the national parliament in September's federal election, which would leave the Chancellor having to form a coalition with either the opposition Social Democrats or the Greens. ...

Defiant Assad pledges to continue fighting Posted: 06 Jan 2013 12:58 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — A defiant Syrian President Bashar Assad rallied a chanting and cheering crowd Sunday to fight the uprising against his authoritarian rule, dismissing any chance of dialogue with "murderous criminals" that he blames for nearly two years of violence that has left 60,000 dead.

Venezuela looks for missing plane with Missoni CEO Posted: 06 Jan 2013 01:08 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The search for a missing plane carrying Italian fashion executive Vittorio Missoni and five other people has entered its third straight day on Sunday with no signs of the aircraft.

US family builds Haiti orphanage for daughter Posted: 06 Jan 2013 11:33 AM PST PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — An American family who lost their daughter in a massive earthquake in Haiti three years ago has finished building an orphanage in her memory.

Pakistan says 1 dead in border clash with India Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:54 AM PST ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and India traded accusations Sunday of violating the cease-fire in the disputed northern region of Kashmir, with Islamabad accusing Indian troops of a cross-border raid that killed one of its soldiers and India charging that Pakistani shelling destroyed a home on its side.

Philippine army, police kill 13 suspects in clash Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:32 PM PST ATIMONAN, Philippines (AP) — Philippine army special forces and police killed 13 suspected criminals in a fierce gunbattle in a northeastern province in the latest recent violence in the country.

Indonesian anti-terror squad criticized for deaths Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:37 PM PST JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's U.S.-funded police anti-terror squad has killed seven suspected militants recently, reviving allegations that the force is not trying to take suspects alive — a trend that appears to be fueling the very extremism the predominantly Muslim country is trying to counter.

Pakistani officials say US drones kill 9 militants Posted: 06 Jan 2013 03:19 AM PST DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected American drones fired several missiles into three militant hideouts near the Afghan border on Sunday, killing nine Pakistani Taliban fighters, intelligence officials said.

AP Interview: Palestinian PM warns of cash crisis Posted: 06 Jan 2013 12:53 PM PST RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian self-rule government is in "extreme jeopardy" because of an unprecedented financial crisis, largely because Arab countries have failed to send hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, the Palestinian prime minister said Sunday.

S. Africa sends troops to Central African Republic Posted: 06 Jan 2013 08:07 AM PST JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African presidency announced Sunday that is sending 400 army troops to Central African Republic to help the country's army as it faces a threat from a coalition of rebel groups.

Egypt Copts mark Christmas with fear of future Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:14 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's minority Christians were celebrating their first Christmas after the election of an Islamist president and a new pope — and following adoption of a constitution many argue has an Islamist slant.

Turkey sees promise in pivoting north Posted: 06 Jan 2013 06:17 AM PST Its protracted bid to join the European Union remains stalled and its "zero problems" policy in the Middle East is cracking over support for Syria's opposition. But one foreign policy front retains promise for Turkey: the Black Sea.

Takeaway from Assad's speech? There will be no meaningful dialogue. Posted: 06 Jan 2013 06:01 AM PST Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN's special envoy to Syria, surely listened to President Bashar al-Assad's speech to the Syrian people today with a growing feeling of dread.

Got water? Hard to know in Mexico City. Posted: 06 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST The usually leaky faucet had stopped its perpetual drip. So it didn't come as a surprise when, instead of a stream of fresh water, I opened the faucet to a gurgling, gagging sound.

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