Yahoo! News: World News

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• Cameron promises Britons vote on EU exit
• U.S., Africa say Mali action counters growing Islamist threat
• U.S. renews call for resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks
• Palestinians say they may have no choice but to take Israel to Hague court
• U.S. drone kills six suspected al Qaeda members in Yemen: sources
• Venezuela's vice president says he's target of assassination plot
• Mexico quashes Frenchwoman's kidnap charge, ends seven-year ordeal
• Search for missing plane in Antarctica: New Zealand officials
• EU says Iran stalling on nuclear talks
• Syrian civil war devastates farming: U.N.
• Rise of Israeli centrist raises hopes for peace
• Algeria militants played shrewd media game
• Defiant Clinton takes on lawmakers on Libya attack
• Mexican court frees Frenchwoman in kidnapping case
• Al-Qaida leader's brother condemns Mali operation
• Venezuela VP: plot against Chavez allies revealed
• Russia shelves plan to shut child cancer clinic
• Jordanians vote for newly empowered parliament
• AP sources: Pentagon opens combat roles to women
• Report: Myanmar still recruits child soldiers
• Big losers in Israeli election: American political strategists
• Contrary to reports, the Irish haven't legalized drunk driving
• Catalonia declares intent to hold independence referendum
• Can Mali use surge of patriotism to heal its political divides?
• After 300 years, British monarchs can once again marry Catholics
• With group effort, Japan suicides fall to 15-year low
• First Russia bans US adoptions. Are English words next?
• Should we stay or go? Cameron pledges British referendum on EU.
• Centrists make strong show in Israel, tempering Netanyahu
• Russia denies evacuation of 77 citizens from Syria is beginning of the end
• South Korea tries to recall a US adoption

Cameron promises Britons vote on EU exit Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:06 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a vote on quitting the European Union, rattling London's biggest allies and some investors by raising the prospect of uncertainty and upheaval. Cameron announced on Wednesday that the referendum would be held by the end of 2017 - provided he wins a second term - and said that while Britain did not want to retreat from the world, public disillusionment with the bloc was at "an all-time high". "It is time for the British people to have their say. ...

U.S., Africa say Mali action counters growing Islamist threat Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:41 PM PST DIABALY/SEGOU, Mali (Reuters) - The United States and African leaders threw their full diplomatic weight on Wednesday behind a campaign to expel Islamist rebels from Mali, as French air strikes harried the al Qaeda-allied fighters in their strongholds. For nearly two weeks, French jets and helicopters have been hitting carefully selected targets around rebel-held Malian towns such as Gao and Timbuktu, while African troops gather for a planned ground offensive against the Islamist forces. ...

U.S. renews call for resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday renewed its call for a resumption of long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in the wake of Israeli elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged the winner but with a weaker-than-expected showing for his right-wing bloc. White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to speculate on Netanyahu's efforts to forge a new governing coalition after center-left parties scored surprising gains but said President Barack Obama would likely call the prime minister to congratulate him on his election win. ...

Palestinians say they may have no choice but to take Israel to Hague court Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:40 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Palestinians declared Wednesday that they will have no choice but to complain about Israel to the International Criminal Court if the Jewish state proceeds with plans to build housing on land the Palestinians want for a future state. Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the Middle East, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said his government's decision will largely depend on what the Israelis do with the so-called "E1" area outside the Arab suburbs of East Jerusalem. ...

U.S. drone kills six suspected al Qaeda members in Yemen: sources Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:34 PM PST SANAA (Reuters) - At least six suspected al Qaeda members were killed in a U.S. drone strike in northern Yemen on Wednesday, local sources said, in an escalating campaign in which at least 20 Islamist militants have died this week. The United States never comments on strikes by its pilotless aircraft, which it has used to track down militants in Yemen for years. The Yemeni government tolerates such strikes but usually does not comment on the U.S. role in specific incidents. ...

Venezuela's vice president says he's target of assassination plot Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:55 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said unidentified groups had entered the country with the aim of assassinating him and the head of the National Assembly as President Hugo Chavez recovers from cancer in Cuba. Maduro provided no proof of the claim, made at a rally on Wednesday to mark the end of a dictatorship in the OPEC nation 55 years ago, but he said action would be taken shortly. ...

Mexico quashes Frenchwoman's kidnap charge, ends seven-year ordeal Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:38 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's top court freed a Frenchwoman convicted of kidnapping on Wednesday, ruling that her trial was tainted and ending a seven-year prison ordeal that strained diplomatic ties. Florence Cassez, 38, was serving a 60-year sentence that opened up a rift between France and Mexico after she was arrested in 2005 at a ranch near Mexico City with her former boyfriend, who led a kidnapping gang called the Zodiacs. Supreme Court Judge Jorge Pardo ordered her release during a televised court session, which at one point looked to be going against Cassez. ...

Search for missing plane in Antarctica: New Zealand officials Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:11 PM PST WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A search is under way in Antarctica for a missing plane with three Canadians on board, New Zealand rescue authorities said on Thursday. An emergency locator beacon from a Twin Otter plane flying from the South Pole to the Italian base in Terra Nova was activated late on Wednesday in the northern end of the Queen Alexandra Range. A search by a U.S. National Guard Hercules failed to spot the plane, and a second flight over the area was planned, the NZ Rescue Coordination Centre said. ...

EU says Iran stalling on nuclear talks Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:28 AM PST BRUSSELS/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran is stalling on fixing a date and location for a new round of talks on its nuclear program, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Wednesday, but there is still hope that talks between Tehran and six world powers can begin soon. EU officials have been in contact with Iranian negotiators repeatedly since December to try to prepare a new set of talks, which the West hopes will lead to Iran scaling back its nuclear work and avert the threat of another war in the Middle East. But they have failed to agree on a plan so far. ...

Syrian civil war devastates farming: U.N. Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:28 PM PST ROME/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's 22-month civil war has ravaged vital infrastructure and halved the output of staple crops, the United Nations said on Wednesday, underscoring the lasting damage from which the country will take years to recover. What began as a peaceful protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad has killed more than 60,000 people, devastated the economy and left 2.5 million people hungry. ...

Rise of Israeli centrist raises hopes for peace Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:12 PM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — The unexpectedly strong showing by a new centrist party in Israel's parliamentary election has raised hopes of a revival of peace talks with Palestinians that have languished for four years under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Algeria militants played shrewd media game Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:06 PM PST RABAT, Morocco (AP) — As wildly contradictory accounts trickled out about a terror attack at an Algerian gas plant, one source of information proved to be the most reliable: announcements by the al-Qaida-linked militants themselves.

Defiant Clinton takes on lawmakers on Libya attack Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered fiery rejoinders Wednesday to Republican critics of the Obama administration's handling of the deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, facing off with lawmakers who included potential 2016 presidential rivals.

Mexican court frees Frenchwoman in kidnapping case Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:26 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican Supreme Court panel voted Wednesday to release Florence Cassez, a Frenchwoman who says she was unjustly sentenced to 60 years in prison for kidnapping and whose case became a cause celebre in France, straining relations between the two countries.

Al-Qaida leader's brother condemns Mali operation Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:03 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — The brother of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri on Wednesday sanctioned violence against the West in retaliation for the French-led campaign against militants in Mali, saying the U.S. and Europe are "making jihadists."

Venezuela VP: plot against Chavez allies revealed Posted: 23 Jan 2013 03:19 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president said Wednesday that the government has uncovered a plot to attack him or another senior leader of President Hugo Chavez's party.

Russia shelves plan to shut child cancer clinic Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:50 AM PST ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — The intention to turn a St. Petersburg clinic treating pediatric cancer patients into one that would exclusively serve judges and staff of Russia's highest courts spread widespread public dismay.

Jordanians vote for newly empowered parliament Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:17 PM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordanians voted Wednesday for a parliament with wider authority, as the king cedes some of his powers to try to prevent simmering dissent from boiling over into a full blown Arab Spring uprising.

AP sources: Pentagon opens combat roles to women Posted: 23 Jan 2013 03:29 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is lifting its ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after generations of limits on their service, defense officials said Wednesday.

Report: Myanmar still recruits child soldiers Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:42 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Myanmar is still recruiting and using child soldiers, despite embracing democratic reforms and a U.N. agreement to end the practice, a human rights group said Wednesday.

Big losers in Israeli election: American political strategists Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:11 PM PST Two of the big losers in Israel's parliamentary vote Tuesday were Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and the Labor Party of Shelly Yachimovich, with both underperforming initial polling expectations.

Contrary to reports, the Irish haven't legalized drunk driving Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:05 PM PST Reported around the globe as a license to drive drunk, an Irish council's motion to permit rural pub-goers to get behind the wheel not only lacks force of law, it's also a slightly odd solution to a serious issue.

Catalonia declares intent to hold independence referendum Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:57 PM PST Catalonia's parliament Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a bill unilaterally claiming the region's right to decide whether it seeks an independent state within the European Union, setting a 2014 timeframe to carry out a referendum on the issue.

Can Mali use surge of patriotism to heal its political divides? Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:54 PM PST As French and Malian troops were advancing on Islamist militants this weekend, a young man lay quietly on a lawn chair in the capital, giving blood.

After 300 years, British monarchs can once again marry Catholics Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:25 PM PST A group of centuries old laws preventing the British monarch from marrying a Catholic are set to be abolished under major constitutional changes likely to be passed in Parliament later this year.

With group effort, Japan suicides fall to 15-year low Posted: 23 Jan 2013 09:47 AM PST Japan has long been plagued by suicide. It has one of the world's highest suicide rates and it's one of the leading causes of death among men. But last year the number of suicides fell below 30,000 for the first time in 15 years, according to the government.

First Russia bans US adoptions. Are English words next? Posted: 23 Jan 2013 09:31 AM PST With anti-foreign sentiments riding high in Russia this political season, the flamboyant leader of the Duma's ultranationalist wing, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, is proposing a dramatic new measure to curb outside influence: a ban on about 100 English words that are allegedly subverting the Russian language.

Should we stay or go? Cameron pledges British referendum on EU. Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:38 AM PST Britain's prime minister used a long-awaited speech Wednesday to declare himself in favor for the first time of an up-or-down referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union and committed his Conservative Party to holding one by the end of 2017 if it won the next general election.

Centrists make strong show in Israel, tempering Netanyahu Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:23 AM PST There is a future for Israel's center after all. In fact, it's looking surprisingly good.

Russia denies evacuation of 77 citizens from Syria is beginning of the end Posted: 23 Jan 2013 05:45 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

South Korea tries to recall a US adoption Posted: 23 Jan 2013 05:26 AM PST The bitter legal struggle of an American couple to adopt a Korean baby is touching on nationalist and ethnic sensitivities in South Korea.

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