2013年1月20日星期日

Yahoo! News: World News

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: World News

French troops advance in Mali as Islamists melt away

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 02:03 PM PST

French soldiers stand on a tank in NionoNIONO, Mali (Reuters) - French troops advanced cautiously toward northern Mali on Sunday amid fears of ambush by al Qaeda-linked fighters, while its fighter jets pounded the Islamists' strongholds in the desert near Timbuktu. In the central Malian town of Diabaly, seized by Islamist fighters on Monday, the wreckage of the Islamists' charred pick-up trucks lay abandoned among the mud-brick buildings, television images showed. Residents of the town, some 350 km (220 miles) from the capital Bamako, said Islamists had fled into the bush after French airstrikes. ...

U.N. report finds torture of Afghan detainees, secret sites

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 11:09 AM PST

A captured Taliban insurgent is presented to the media in Ghazni provinceKABUL (Reuters) - Almost a third of all detainees recently transferred to Afghan control have been tortured and Afghanistan's spy agency is operating secret facilities to avoid international scrutiny, a United Nations report released on Sunday said. The findings could complicate the already thorny issue of how to manage the security transition ahead of the withdrawal of NATO-led troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year. Hundreds of detainees are being transferred from NATO to Afghan control as part of that transition. ...

Syrian opposition seeks Qatar backing for transition government

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 10:26 AM PST

Fighters from Fateh al Sham unit of the Free Syrian Army enter a house in Haresta neighbourhood of DamascusISTANBUL (Reuters) - The head of Syria's opposition coalition has flown to Qatar to secure promises of financial aid for a transitional government in rebel-held areas, sources at negotiations in Istanbul said on Sunday. The talks on agreeing a transitional government had been hit by disagreement over whether a transitional government could survive when the Syrian National Coalition President Moaz Alkhatib left in the middle of deliberations, the sources said. ...

Merkel coalition struggles to keep power in state vote: exit poll

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 11:43 AM PST

German Chancellor Merkel delivers her speech during an election campaign with Lower Saxony's Christian Democratic state governor McAllister (CDU) (not pictured) in StadeHANOVER (Reuters) - Angela Merkel's conservatives appeared to be struggling to hold onto power in a German state election on Sunday against a center-left opposition showing it could yet mount a strong challenge to her chancellorship in September national polls. In exit polls released after voting ended, Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) remained the biggest party in the swing state of Lower Saxony with 36 percent. The chief victors of the evening, however, appeared to be their Free Democrat (FDP) allies who defied doomsayers to win 10 percent. ...

Egypt police, protesters clash over uprising court case

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 02:12 PM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Police and protesters clashed in the port city of Alexandria on Sunday after a judge investigating the killing of protesters in Egypt's 2011 uprising said he was transferring the case to another court, a court source and a Reuters witness said. Lawyers for the plaintiffs wanted the court to consider the report of a fact-finding committee investigating the case against six police officers accused of killing unarmed protesters during the 18-day uprising before proceeding with the defendants' hearings. ...

Iraq protester sets himself ablaze in anti-government rally

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 01:29 PM PST

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - An Iraqi protester set himself on fire on Sunday in the northern city of Mosul in a dramatic turn after more than three weeks of Sunni Muslim rallies that are challenging Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. Thousands of Sunni demonstrators have rallied since late December against a Shi'ite-led government they say has marginalized their minority sect, raising fears the OPEC country may slide again into widespread sectarian confrontation. ...

India rape prosecutors bank on DNA, despite poor forensic track record

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 01:07 PM PST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A DNA investigation of bloodstained clothes and body swabs has linked all five men and a juvenile accused of the gang rape and murder of a woman in New Delhi to the crime, providing evidence the prosecution claims will be enough to convict them. Prosecutors say their case will also hinge on cellphone records and on testimony from the dying woman and a male companion who was attacked with her on a moving bus in the Indian capital on December 16. ...

India's enigmatic Gandhi embraces politics in emotive speech

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 10:58 AM PST

Rahul Gandhi speaks during AICC meeting in JaipurJAIPUR, India (Reuters) - Rahul Gandhi embraced his role as a leading contender for India's next prime minister in a speech on Sunday that spoke of his family's tragic history but yielded few clues about his views on politics and the economy. Gandhi is heir to a dynasty that began with India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and is now headed by his mother, Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress party. His background and relative youth make him the party's main hope for elections due next year in the world's largest democracy. ...

Snow hits London and Paris flights, more cuts seen

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 12:36 PM PST

A man uses cross-country skis to make his way across the snow-covered Champs de Mars near the Eiffel Tower in ParisLONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - London's Heathrow Airport canceled a fifth of flights on Sunday and airlines scrapped 40 percent of flights to Paris's main airports as snow blanketed parts of Europe, with more forecast. Air France predicted more cancellations on a similar scale for Monday. Heathrow Ltd, owned by Spain's Ferrovial, said the reduced schedule - amounting to around 250 fewer flights - would help it cope with the snowfall without making further cancellations. As snow continued to fall through Sunday, the airport operator said Monday's flight schedule would be cut by 10 percent. ...

Death toll climbs past 80 in siege in the Sahara

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 02:48 PM PST

In this image made from video, a group of people believed to be hostages kneel in the sand with their hands in the air at an unknown location in Algeria. Algerian de-mining teams were scouring a gas refinery on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 that was the scene of a bloody four-day standoff, searching for explosive traps left by the Islamist militants who took dozens of foreigners hostage. The siege left at least 23 captives dead, and the American government warned that there were credible threats of more kidnapping attempts on Westerners. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUTALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — The death toll from the terrorist siege at a natural gas plant in the Sahara climbed past 80 on Sunday as Algerian forces searching the refinery for explosives found dozens more bodies, many so badly disfigured it was unclear whether they were hostages or militants, a security official said.

Al-Qaida flourishes in Sahara, emerges stronger

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 12:01 PM PST

In this undated photo, men look at the wreckage of a vehicle near Ain Amenas, Algeria. Algerian bomb squads scouring a gas plant where Islamist militants took dozens of foreign workers hostage found "numerous" new bodies on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 as they searched for explosive traps left behind by the attackers, a security official said, a day after a bloody raid ended the four-day siege of the remote desert refinery. (AP Photo/Echorouk Elyaoumi)RABAT, Morocco (AP) — The Islamists are back as a force in Algeria.

French airstrikes jolt Islamists in Malian town

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 01:59 PM PST

A French soldier waits for a French Puma transport helicopter to land on the soccer stadium to test the field in the center of Niono, some 400 kms (300 miles) North of the capital Bamako Sunday Jan. 20, 2013. French troops encircled a key Malian town on Friday, trying to stop radical Islamists from striking against communities closer to the capital and cutting off their supply line, a French official said. The move around Diabaly came as French and Malian authorities said that the city whose capture prompted the French military intervention in the first place was no longer in the hands of the extremists.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Backed by French air strikes, Malian forces appeared close to recapturing a key central town in Mali where bands of al-Qaida-linked fighters had holed up, France's defense minister said Sunday.

AP PHOTOS: Fighting in Mali continues

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 01:37 PM PST

A French soldier waits for a French Puma transport helicopter to land on the soccer stadium to test the field in the center of Niono, some 400 kms (300 miles) North of the capital Bamako Sunday Jan. 20, 2013. French troops encircled a key Malian town on Friday, trying to stop radical Islamists from striking against communities closer to the capital and cutting off their supply line, a French official said. The move around Diabaly came as French and Malian authorities said that the city whose capture prompted the French military intervention in the first place was no longer in the hands of the extremists.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)Burned out vehicles and scattered bullets dot the streets of a central Malian town after radical Islamists retreated following days of French airstrikes. The Malian military announced late Saturday that the government was now controlling Diabaly, marking an important accomplishment for the French-led offensive to oust the extremists from northern and central Mali. Also Sunday, French forces extended their deployment northward up from the central town of Markala, reinforcing their presence in the towns of Niono and Mopti, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman.

Merkel's coalition loses German state vote

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 03:48 PM PST

German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks up after smelling at coffee beans during the opening tour of the 'International Green Week' in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. International Green Week opens to the public from Jan. 18 until Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/dpa, Michael Kappeler)BERLIN (AP) — Germany's center-left opposition won a wafer-thin victory over Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition in a major state election Sunday, dealing a setback as she seeks a third term at the helm of Europe's biggest economy later this year.

Airstrike kills at least 7 near Syrian capital

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 06:59 AM PST

In this citizen journalism image provided by Lens Young Homsi, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters take their positions during clashes with government forces in Qusair, Homs province, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Syrian government troops battled rebels in several areas outside Damascus on Sunday while regime warplanes bombed opposition-held areas around the capital, including an airstrike on one village that killed at least seven people, activists said. (AP Photo/Yong Homsi Lens)BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government troops battled rebels in several areas outside Damascus on Sunday while regime warplanes bombed opposition-held areas around the capital, including an airstrike on one village that killed at least seven people, activists said.

UN: Prisoners still tortured in Afghan prisons

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 09:54 AM PST

FILE - In this Monday, April 25, 2011 file photo, a prisoner looks out of his cell window at the main prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The United Nations said Sunday that Afghan authorities were still torturing prisoners, such as hanging them by their wrists and beating them with cables. Particularly in the southern province of Kandahar, the U.N. received reports that authorities were using unofficial sites to torture detainees before transporting them to the regular prison. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan, File)KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations said Sunday that Afghan authorities were still torturing prisoners, such as hanging them by their wrists and beating them with cables, a year after the U.N. first documented the abuse and the Afghan government promised detention reform.

Algeria terror leader preferred money to death

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 09:39 AM PST

This image from video provided by the SITE Intel Group made available Thursday Jan. 17, 2013, purports to show militant militia leader Moktar Belmoktar. Algerian officials scrambled Thursday Jan. 17, 2013 for a way to end an armed standoff deep in the Sahara desert with Islamic militants who have taken dozens of foreigners hostage, turning to tribal Algerian Tuareg leaders for talks and contemplating an international force. The group claiming responsibility — called Katibat Moulathamine or the Masked Brigade — says it has captured 41 foreigners, including seven Americans, in the surprise attack Wednesday on the Ain Amenas gas plant. Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the roughly 20 well armed gunmen were from Algeria itself, operating under orders from Moktar Belmoktar, al-Qaida's strongman in the Sahara. (AP Photo/SITE Intel Group) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS NO WAY OF INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING THE CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS PICTURE. MANDATORY CREDIT: SITE Intel GroupBAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Moktar Belmoktar is known abroad as the man who orchestrated the abduction of scores of foreigners last week at a BP-operated plant in the remote, eastern corner of Algeria, in a raid that led to many of their deaths.

India political heir Rahul Gandhi condemns elitism

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 04:48 PM PST

India's Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, left, talks to his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi at a meeting of the party in Jaipur, India, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India's Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, was Saturday appointed the party vice president. The elevation positions him to lead the party, which his family has long dominated, in parliamentary elections next year.(AP Photo)JAIPUR, India (AP) — Rahul Gandhi, the heir to India's Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, said he would work to transform the country by decentralizing power after he was elevated to the governing Congress party's No. 2 post.

Indicted Megaupload founder opens new sharing site

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 04:42 PM PST

Indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom appears on a large screen during the launch of a new file-sharing website called "Mega" at his Coatesville mansion in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. The colorful entrepreneur unveiled the site ahead of a lavish gala and press conference on the anniversary of his arrest on racketeering charges related to his now-shuttered Megaupload file-sharing site. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Richard Robinson) New Zealand Out, Australia OutSYDNEY (AP) — Indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom launched a new file-sharing website that promises uses greater privacy and defies the U.S. prosecutors who accuse him of facilitating massive online piracy.

What are Western and African powers up against in Mali, Algeria?

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 12:09 PM PST

Today in Algeria, authorities are scouring a Saharan gas plant for bodies in the wake of a hostage crisis that ended in a shootout between the Army and Islamist kidnappers. Around the world, leaders are vowing to strike back hard at Islamist militancy that is surging across North Africa.

In Mali, French forces move north amid plea for faster African deployments

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 12:04 PM PST

As Malian troops enter Diabaly, a garrison town of 35,000 recently abandoned by rebels in response to French air strikes, France's foreign minister has warned his African counterparts that "African friends need to take the lead" in the ongoing military campaign against Islamist rebels in Mali.

Israel offering bonuses to teachers who boost student enlistment

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST

Israel is offering new salary bonuses to high school educators based on criteria including their success in motivating pupils to perform their army service, fueling criticism of alleged militarism in its education system.

Famous bridge in India is in danger of coming down ... because of spit

Posted: 20 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST

It was first reported in 2010 that the pillars of Kolkata's landmark Howrah bridge were being used as spittoons by pedestrians who chewed gutkha – a tobacco product popular with millions in India.

发贴者：iwvck10 时间 17:17 0 条评论

bnzv