Yahoo! News: World News

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• Malian army beats back Islamist rebels with French help
• Syria rebels seize base as envoy holds talks
• Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels
• Venezuela's Maduro to visit Chavez again in Cuba
• Spain seizes valves bound for Iran's nuclear program: ministry
• Shi'ite leader challenges Pakistan army chief over attacks
• More than 30,000 flee fighting in Sudan's Darfur: U.N.
• Lack of deal with Iran on nuclear talks alarms Russia
• Richardson delivered letter for detained American in North Korea
• Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan
• UN urged to refer Syria to war crimes court
• French forces take action against Mali Islamists
• Venezuela VP heading to Cuba see Chavez, family
• Syrian rebels seize key air base, activists say
• Brazil police: Artist's death a possible suicide
• Critics divided over Duchess of Cambridge portrait
• Analysis: Israel left wing sees Jewish state's end
• Mexicans protest dog detentions, tests negative
• Al-Qaida presence in Mali, Yemen and Afghanistan
• In Venezuela, humor not stymied by Chavez's crisis
• As French forces hit rebels in Mali, Paris wants to avoid Europe's Afghanistan
• For Saudi Arabia's foreign domestic workers, employers' word is virtually law
• Chinese reporters say censorship leaves them 'dancing in handcuffs'
• Fate of Syria's Assad complicates international peace efforts
• Tanzania withdraws bid to sell 'legal ivory;' Kenyan poachers kill 12 elephants anyway
• Eric Schwarz and Citizen Schools give inner-city kids a leg up

Malian army beats back Islamist rebels with French help Posted: 11 Jan 2013 03:59 PM PST PARIS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian government troops drove back Islamist rebels from a strategic central town after France intervened on Friday with air strikes to halt advances by the militants controlling the country's desert north. Western governments, particularly former colonial power France, had voiced alarm after the al Qaeda-linked rebel alliance captured the town of Konna on Thursday, a gateway towards the capital Bamako 600 km (375 miles) south. President Francois Hollande said France would not stand by to watch the rebels push southward. ...

Syria rebels seize base as envoy holds talks Posted: 11 Jan 2013 12:35 PM PST BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Rebels seized control of one of Syria's largest helicopter bases on Friday, opposition sources said, in their first capture of a military airfield used by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Fighting raged across the country as international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi sought a political solution to Syria's civil war, meeting senior U.S. and Russian officials in Geneva. But the two world powers are still deadlocked over Assad's fate in any transition. ...

Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels Posted: 11 Jan 2013 03:05 PM PST LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic's government and rebels agreed on Friday to the formation of a national unity government under a ceasefire deal to end an insurgency that swept to within striking distance of the capital. The agreement, signed in Gabon's coastal capital Libreville after three days of talks mediated by regional neighbors, averted the biggest threat to President Francois Bozize's decade in charge of the mineral-rich former French colony. Aid groups had warned that a rebel attack on the capital Bangui could trigger a humanitarian crisis. "God is great. ...

Venezuela's Maduro to visit Chavez again in Cuba Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro will fly to Cuba on Friday to visit cancer-stricken Hugo Chavez, a month after the socialist leader underwent his fourth operation in 18 months. The 58-year-old president has neither been seen nor heard from since the surgery, and he has suffered multiple post-operative complications including a severe lung infection. He missed his own inauguration on Thursday, but the Supreme Court said he could be sworn in later - in theory meaning he could remain in office for weeks or months from a Havana hospital. ...

Spain seizes valves bound for Iran's nuclear program: ministry Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:11 PM PST MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police arrested two men and seized the contents of a truck bound for Iran loaded with materials destined for use in the Islamic state's nuclear program, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. The truck, intercepted on a motorway in northern Spain early on Wednesday, was carrying highly corrosion-resistant valves, the ministry said in a statement. Police were examining computer databases and documents at Fluval Spain, the company where the two arrested men worked, a ministry spokesman said. ...

Shi'ite leader challenges Pakistan army chief over attacks Posted: 11 Jan 2013 10:17 AM PST QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - In a rare challenge, a Shi'ite Muslim leader publicly criticized Pakistani military chief General Ashfaq Kayani over security in the country on Friday after bombings targeting the minority sect killed 93 people. The criticism of Kayani, arguably the most powerful man in the South Asian state, highlighted Shi'ite frustrations with Pakistan's failure to contain Sunni Muslim militant groups who have vowed to wipe out Shi'ites. ...

More than 30,000 flee fighting in Sudan's Darfur: U.N. Posted: 11 Jan 2013 03:18 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - More than 30,000 people have fled during two weeks of fighting in Sudan's Darfur region, the United Nations said after some of the worst clashes between government troops, rebels and rival tribes reported there for months. Conflict has raged in Darfur, a vast arid region in the west of Sudan, since 2003 when mainly non-Arab tribes took up arms against the Arab government in Khartoum, accusing it of political and economic marginalization. ...

Lack of deal with Iran on nuclear talks alarms Russia Posted: 11 Jan 2013 09:03 AM PST MOSCOW/VIENNA (Reuters) - Russia voiced alarm on Friday at delays in agreeing new nuclear talks between world powers and Iran and the U.N. atomic watchdog chief said he was not optimistic ahead of his inspectors' separate visit to Tehran next week. The comments underlined the difficult challenges facing world powers in their search for a diplomatic solution to the decade-old standoff over Iran's nuclear programme to avert the threat of a new Middle East war. ...

Richardson delivered letter for detained American in North Korea Posted: 11 Jan 2013 10:14 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson delivered a letter for an imprisoned American to officials in North Korea during his trip there this week. Richardson was unable meet with Korean-American Kenneth Bae, a 44-year-old tourist who was detained in North Korea late last year, but he said he was able to give a letter from Bae's son to authorities. "I delivered the letter to North Korean officials," Richardson told Reuters on Friday. "They said they would provide that to him." Bae has been charged with unspecified crimes against the state. ...

Obama, Karzai accelerate end of U.S. combat role in Afghanistan Posted: 11 Jan 2013 03:24 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on Friday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from the country and underscoring Obama's determination to wind down a long, unpopular war. Signaling a narrowing of differences, Karzai appeared to give ground in talks at the White House on U.S. demands for immunity from prosecution for any U.S. ...

UN urged to refer Syria to war crimes court Posted: 11 Jan 2013 04:42 PM PST BERLIN (AP) — Dozens of countries plan to call on the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

French forces take action against Mali Islamists Posted: 11 Jan 2013 04:02 PM PST BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — France launched airstrikes Friday to help the government of Mali defeat al-Qaida-linked militants who captured more ground this week, dramatically raising the stakes in the battle for this vast desert nation.

Venezuela VP heading to Cuba see Chavez, family Posted: 11 Jan 2013 04:19 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president was heading to Cuba on Friday to visit the ailing Hugo Chavez and his family, while the leaders of Argentina and Peru also traveled to Havana saying they hoped to ask about the Venezuelan president's condition.

Syrian rebels seize key air base, activists say Posted: 11 Jan 2013 01:47 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels and Islamic militants overran a major military air base in the north Friday and, buoyed by the victory, intensified their offensive on two other bases in their most aggressive campaign yet to erode the air supremacy on which the regime of President Bashar Assad has increasingly relied the past year.

Brazil police: Artist's death a possible suicide Posted: 11 Jan 2013 12:54 PM PST RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Artist Jorge Selaron may have taken his own life by setting himself on fire on the very steps of his masterpiece, a brilliantly colored public staircase that became a symbol of Rio de Janeiro, the homicide police chief said Friday.

Critics divided over Duchess of Cambridge portrait Posted: 11 Jan 2013 08:59 AM PST LONDON (AP) — The Duchess of Cambridge seems to like her first official portrait, which is lucky for the artist. Many critics don't.

Analysis: Israel left wing sees Jewish state's end Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:56 PM PST TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An apocalyptic tone has crept into Israel's hitherto muted election season, with opposition leaders and others sounding increasingly desperate warnings that a few more years of rule by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's heavily favored right wing might well destroy the Jewish state.

Mexicans protest dog detentions, tests negative Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:26 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Dozens of protesters chanting "Free the dogs, arrest the criminals!" demonstrated outside Mexico City police headquarters Friday, demanding the release of 57 stray dogs seized over five suspected mauling deaths in recent weeks.

Al-Qaida presence in Mali, Yemen and Afghanistan Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:49 PM PST President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met Friday to discuss bringing down the curtain in the long Afghan war. As U.S. involvement in one war against the terror movement draws down, there's increasing talk about using force to stop al-Qaida affiliates elsewhere in the world, notably in Mali, Yemen and Somalia. A look at the al-Qaida presence in all four countries:

In Venezuela, humor not stymied by Chavez's crisis Posted: 11 Jan 2013 04:00 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The monthlong absence of ailing President Hugo Chavez has elicited prayers, an emotional street rally and heated political debate. Amid the tense wait for news from Chavez's hospital in Cuba, Venezuelans are also turning to one of their most prized national attributes: a biting, irreverent sense of humor.

As French forces hit rebels in Mali, Paris wants to avoid Europe's Afghanistan Posted: 11 Jan 2013 01:28 PM PST French forces today landed in Mali to provide support to government forces even as fighting continued around Konna between Islamist rebels linked to Al-Qaeda, and the Malian Army.The fighting takes place amid concerns that Al Qaeda-linked militants are poised to push south to the strategic, government-controlled cities of Sévaré and Mopti, where many residents have reportedly started to panic. ...

For Saudi Arabia's foreign domestic workers, employers' word is virtually law Posted: 11 Jan 2013 08:55 AM PST Saudi Arabia's execution Wednesday of a Sri Lankan maid, charged at age 17 with killing a baby left in her care, highlights the often abysmal conditions faced by hundreds of thousands of foreigners who come to the kingdom to serve as drivers, maids, and gardeners.

Chinese reporters say censorship leaves them 'dancing in handcuffs' Posted: 11 Jan 2013 06:19 AM PST As the proverbial smoke clears from the battlefield where journalists from the feisty Southern Weekend newspaper fought government censors this week, the reporters' victory seems to have yielded only meager gains.

Fate of Syria's Assad complicates international peace efforts Posted: 11 Jan 2013 06:01 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Tanzania withdraws bid to sell 'legal ivory;' Kenyan poachers kill 12 elephants anyway Posted: 11 Jan 2013 05:33 AM PST International restrictions on elephant ivory poaching gained a bit of clout after a key African nation abandoned efforts to sell a hefty trove of "legal ivory."

Eric Schwarz and Citizen Schools give inner-city kids a leg up Posted: 11 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST It isn't rocket science – though giving kids an opportunity to build and launch their own model rockets is often part of the program.

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