Yahoo! News: World News

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• French, Malian forces fight Islamist rebels in Gao
• Iran move to speed up nuclear program troubles West
• Syrian opposition says Assad cannot be part of deal
• Analysis: Japan's mission impossible: to spend $100 billion in 15 months
• Egypt's Mursi calls elections beginning April 27
• Duvalier defies court order to face human rights accusations
• Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda to pick hardliner for PM
• Ecuador's Correa plans no sweeping reforms, wants investment
• Japan's Abe to showcase alliance, get Obama to back Abenomics
• Bomb blasts rock southern Indian city; at least 11 dead
• UN rejects damage claim for Haiti cholera victims
• Haiti's 'Baby Doc' summoned to court after no-show
• Large coats a mainstay for next winter from Milan
• SAfrica police replace top Pistorius investigator
• Al-Qaida tipsheet on avoiding drones found in Mali
• Car bomb kills at least 53 in Syrian capital
• All eyes on Venezuelan hospital, no sign of Chavez
• Vatican feuds, fiefdoms, betrayals await next pope
• Twin bombings kill 12, wound more in south India
• Christchurch marks 2nd anniversary of deadly quake
• Does Cameron's decision not to apologize for 1919 massacre really matter?
• India to investigate Hyderabad bomb blasts, eyes the Indian Mujahideen... again
• So many nyets: Why the chasm between US, Russia is so hard to bridge
• For India's 'untouchables,' a rare moment of inclusion
• Israel braces for action along the Syrian border
• Can South Africa's justice system handle the Oscar Pistorius case?
• India on high alert: Twin bike bombs kill at least 11 in southern Indian city of Hyderabad
• Will rising tensions in Asia push Japan toward a full-fledged military?
• Why did North Korea explode a nuclear device?
• Creative Connections links kids worldwide through art
• Mexico state security officials collaborated in civilian abductions: Human Rights Watch

French, Malian forces fight Islamist rebels in Gao Posted: 21 Feb 2013 02:46 PM PST GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops fought Islamists on the streets of Gao and a car bomb exploded in Kidal on Thursday, as fighting showed little sign of abating weeks before France plans to start withdrawing some forces. Reuters reporters in Gao in the country's desert north said French and Malian forces fired at the mayor's office with heavy machineguns after Islamists were reported to have infiltrated the Niger River town during a night of explosions and gunfire. ...

Iran move to speed up nuclear program troubles West Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:39 PM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, a defiant step that will worry Western powers ahead of a resumption of talks with Tehran next week. In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said 180 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been put in place at the facility near the town of Natanz in central Iran. They were not yet operating. ...

Syrian opposition says Assad cannot be part of deal Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:53 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - The opposition Syrian National Coalition is willing to negotiate a peace deal to end the country's civil war but President Bashar al-Assad must step down and cannot be a party to any settlement, members agreed after debating a controversial initiative by their president. The meeting of the 70-member Western, Arab and Turkish-backed coalition began on Thursday before Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem is due for talks in Moscow, one of Assad's last foreign allies, and as U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi renews efforts for a deal. ...

Analysis: Japan's mission impossible: to spend $100 billion in 15 months Posted: 21 Feb 2013 01:05 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - What do you buy the nation that already seems to have everything? That is the question facing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he aims to spend more than $100 billion on infrastructure in the next 15 months to help revive his country's economy. But with its gleaming bullet trains, jungles of elevated highways and strings of man-made islands, ultra-modern Japan doesn't appear to want for much. ...

Egypt's Mursi calls elections beginning April 27 Posted: 21 Feb 2013 03:49 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi on Thursday called parliamentary elections that will begin on April 27 and finish in late June, a four-stage vote that the Islamist leader hopes will conclude Egypt's turbulent transition to democracy. The vote will take place in a country deeply divided between Islamist parties that have come out on top in all elections held since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 and more secular-minded opposition parties that have struggled to get organized. ...

Duvalier defies court order to face human rights accusations Posted: 21 Feb 2013 02:55 PM PST PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier defied a judge's order to appear in court on Thursday to face charges he was responsible for corruption and serious human rights violations during his 15-year rule. Duvalier had already boycotted two previous court hearings, and Judge Jean-Joseph Lebrun, head of the court of appeals, responded to the latest snub by ordering that Duvalier be escorted to court by law enforcement officials next week. The presence of the 61-year-old former "president for life" was "imperative," Lebrun said. ...

Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda to pick hardliner for PM Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:59 AM PST TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's main Islamist Ennahda party will pick a hardliner to replace moderate outgoing Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali after he declined to head the next government, a party official said on Thursday. Jebali, who is secretary-general of Ennahda, resigned on Tuesday after his plan for an apolitical technocrat cabinet to prepare for elections collapsed, largely because of opposition from within his own party and its leader, Rached Ghannouchi. "Jebali declined to accept nomination (for next prime minister)," Ennahda said. ...

Ecuador's Correa plans no sweeping reforms, wants investment Posted: 21 Feb 2013 12:08 PM PST QUITO (Reuters) - Beaming after his re-election last weekend, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said on Thursday he is not planning sweeping reforms and instead hopes to attract investors and diversify the economy from its dependence on oil exports. Since taking office in 2007, the U.S.-trained economist defaulted on $3.2 billion of debt, rewrote contracts with oil companies to squeeze more revenue from them, and pushed through a new constitution that gave him more power. "Everything has been done and there will not be any more big changes. There will not be tax reforms either. ...

Japan's Abe to showcase alliance, get Obama to back Abenomics Posted: 21 Feb 2013 02:02 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be seeking to put a strong U.S.-Japan alliance on full display in the face of potential threats from a nuclear North Korea and an assertive China when he meets U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday. Abe, who has kept his ratings high since taking office in December, also needs Obama's signoff on his economic revival recipe of big spending and hyper-easy monetary policy. ...

Bomb blasts rock southern Indian city; at least 11 dead Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:47 AM PST HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - Two bombs placed on bicycles exploded in a crowded market-place in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Thursday, and the federal home minister said at least 11 people were killed and 50 wounded. All major cities in the country were placed on high alert, television channels said, adding that as many as 15 people may have been killed in the explosions. Hyderabad is a major IT center in India, only second to Bangalore. Microsoft and Google have major centers in the city. ...

UN rejects damage claim for Haiti cholera victims Posted: 21 Feb 2013 03:51 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations rejected a claim for damages on behalf of more than 5,000 Haitian cholera victims and their families on Thursday, citing diplomatic immunity.

Haiti's 'Baby Doc' summoned to court after no-show Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:19 PM PST PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A Haitian judge on Thursday summoned Jean-Claude Duvalier to appear in court after the former dictator defied an order to attend a hearing to determine whether he should again face charges for human rights abuses committed during the nearly 15 years of his brutal regime.

Large coats a mainstay for next winter from Milan Posted: 21 Feb 2013 02:50 PM PST MILAN (AP) — Many of the fashions displayed on the Milan runway Thursday had a yesteryear appeal — but with a contemporary edge.

SAfrica police replace top Pistorius investigator Posted: 21 Feb 2013 01:49 PM PST PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South African police appointed a new chief investigator Thursday in the Oscar Pistorius murder case, replacing a veteran detective after unsettling revelations that the officer was charged with seven counts of attempted murder.

Al-Qaida tipsheet on avoiding drones found in Mali Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:22 AM PST TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) — One of the last things the bearded fighters did before leaving this city was to drive to the market where traders lay their carpets out in the sand.

Car bomb kills at least 53 in Syrian capital Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:17 PM PST DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A car bomb exploded Thursday near Syria's ruling party headquarters in Damascus, killing at least 53 people and scattering mangled bodies among the blazing wreckage in one of the bloodiest days in the capital since the uprising began almost two years ago.

All eyes on Venezuelan hospital, no sign of Chavez Posted: 21 Feb 2013 02:25 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — At Caracas' military hospital, the only outward signs that President Hugo Chavez is a patient inside are the motorcades that come and go and the soldiers standing guard, some of them wearing red berets.

Vatican feuds, fiefdoms, betrayals await next pope Posted: 21 Feb 2013 10:35 AM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — If evidence was ever needed that the next pope must urgently overhaul the powerful Vatican bureaucracy called the Curia, the scandal over Pope Benedict XVI's private papers is Exhibit A.

Twin bombings kill 12, wound more in south India Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:27 PM PST HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A pair of bombs exploded in a crowded shopping area in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, killing at least 12 people and wounding scores of others in the worst bombing in the country in more than a year, officials said.

Christchurch marks 2nd anniversary of deadly quake Posted: 21 Feb 2013 04:11 PM PST CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The New Zealand city of Christchurch is commemorating the second anniversary of an earthquake that destroyed thousands of homes and killed 185 people.

Does Cameron's decision not to apologize for 1919 massacre really matter? Posted: 21 Feb 2013 02:36 PM PST David Cameron returned home from India Thursday to a mixed reaction following his decision not to issue a formal apology during a visit to the site of a 1919 massacre where hundreds were killed by British forces.

India to investigate Hyderabad bomb blasts, eyes the Indian Mujahideen... again Posted: 21 Feb 2013 01:57 PM PST Two almost simultaneous explosions killed at least 12 people in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad after Thursday evening's rush hour. It was the first major bomb attack in India since the 2011 Mumbai bombing that left 26 dead.

So many nyets: Why the chasm between US, Russia is so hard to bridge Posted: 21 Feb 2013 12:09 PM PST For many in the West, Russia remains the brain-twisting, multi-layered enigma of Winston Churchill's overworked cliche.

For India's 'untouchables,' a rare moment of inclusion Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:38 AM PST Hindus believe a dip in the waters where the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers meet during India's Kumbh Mela Hindu religious festival cleanses them of their past sins, giving them a clean slate and helping them attain salvation.

Israel braces for action along the Syrian border Posted: 21 Feb 2013 09:20 AM PST For nearly four decades, the Assad regime in Syria ensured that the border with the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights remained quiet. But in a treeless valley at the foot of snow-capped Mount Hermon, it's clear that is changing.

Can South Africa's justice system handle the Oscar Pistorius case? Posted: 21 Feb 2013 10:18 AM PST The lead investigator in the Oscar Pistorius murder case has been replaced. Why? Detective Hilton Botha himself now faces charges of attempted murder.

India on high alert: Twin bike bombs kill at least 11 in southern Indian city of Hyderabad Posted: 21 Feb 2013 09:32 AM PST A pair of bicycle bombs rocked a crowded marketplace in Hyderabad today, killing at least 11 people and injuring scores more in the southern Indian city of 6.8 million, a major hub for information technology where Microsoft and Google have a large presence.

Will rising tensions in Asia push Japan toward a full-fledged military? Posted: 21 Feb 2013 09:22 AM PST At the heart of Japan's tense military standoff with China over a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea lies a paradox.

Why did North Korea explode a nuclear device? Posted: 21 Feb 2013 09:05 AM PST Despite strong international pressure, even from ally China, North Korea tested a third nuclear device Feb. 12, its most powerful to date, prompting an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council at which the action was unanimously condemned.

Creative Connections links kids worldwide through art Posted: 21 Feb 2013 06:54 AM PST Nine-year-old Luise's painting is about more than the wooly white sheep and verdant fields that distinguish her family's farm in Latvia. It's about patience and diligence.

Mexico state security officials collaborated in civilian abductions: Human Rights Watch Posted: 21 Feb 2013 06:06 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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