Yahoo! News: World News

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• Focus on mission, stay true to the cross, pope tells cardinals
• Kerry voices conditional U.S. support for U.N. arms treaty
• U.S. to bolster missile defenses to counter North Korea threat: Hagel
• Venezuelans flood streets for another Chavez coffin parade
• U.S. drone strikes violate Pakistan's sovereignty: U.N.
• Obama won't trip over Netanyahu's Iran "red line"
• Tuareg rebels seek to stamp control on northern Mali
• Brazil names new agriculture, labor and aviation ministers
• Gridlocked Italian parliament fails to elect speakers
• EU rejects Franco-British push to arm Syrian rebels
• Vatican criticizes campaign against pope
• Few protests on 2nd anniversary of Syrian uprising
• Nigeria summons US official over tweets on pardon
• Brazil's new oil revenue law goes into effect
• Hugo Chavez coffin parades past Venezuela's ills
• AP PHOTOS: A look at 2 years of conflict in Syria
• Bolshoi acid attack victim hopes to work again
• Ex-tabloid editor quizzed in phone hacking probe
• Pope's former neighbor recalls his 'love' letter
• UN: 28 percent of NKorean children malnourished
• Lessons from Iraq... in 1958.
• How European Catholics see Pope Francis
• The UN document on women that has terrified Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
• Division among cardinals paved way for selection of Pope Francis
• Good Reads: Amazon mysteries, Africans step up, state of the states, knowing voters
• From every direction, arms for Syria
• Can Pope Francis' focus on poor attract 'indifferent Catholics' back to church?
• Pakistan's parliament makes history
• Two years on, aid efforts struggle to keep up with a shattered Syria
• Sandinistas block Internet in Nicaragua's National Assembly
• Will Jesuit identity help Pope Francis repair 'fractured church'?
• An echo of Soviet-era censorship and meddling in Latvia?
• War draws closer to Lebanon with Syrian threat of attack
• Kimberly Ritter stands up to child sex trafficking in US hotels

Focus on mission, stay true to the cross, pope tells cardinals Posted: 15 Mar 2013 10:30 AM PDT By Philip Pullella and Catherine Hornby VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday urged leaders of a Roman Catholic Church riven by scandal and crisis never to give in to discouragement, bitterness or pessimism but to keep focused on their mission. Since his election on Wednesday as the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years, Francis has signaled a sharp change of style from his predecessor, Benedict, and has laid out a clear moral path for the 1.2-billion-member Church, which is beset by scandals, intrigue and strife. ...

Kerry voices conditional U.S. support for U.N. arms treaty Posted: 15 Mar 2013 03:23 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry voiced his support on Friday for an international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global arms trade, but restated Washington's "red line," affirming that it will not accept limits on U.S. domestic gun ownership. The U.N. General Assembly voted in December to hold a final round of negotiations March 18-28 on what could become the first international treaty to regulate international weapons transfers after a drafting conference in July 2012 collapsed because the United States and others wanted more time. ...

U.S. to bolster missile defenses to counter North Korea threat: Hagel Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:13 PM PDT By Phil Stewart and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans on Friday to bolster U.S. missile defenses in response to "irresponsible and reckless provocations" by North Korea, which threatened a preventative nuclear strike against the United States last week. Hagel said the Pentagon would add 14 new anti-missile interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska - an effective reversal of an early Obama administration decision - and move ahead with the deployment of a second missile-defense radar in Japan. ...

Venezuelans flood streets for another Chavez coffin parade Posted: 15 Mar 2013 11:10 AM PDT By Andrew Cawthorne and Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans were on the streets again on Friday at a funeral parade for Hugo Chavez amid opposition protests that the government was exploiting his death for election purposes. Chavez's remains were being transported for about 12 miles through Caracas from an army academy to a military museum on a hillside where the former soldier launched his political career with a failed coup in 1992. ...

U.S. drone strikes violate Pakistan's sovereignty: U.N. Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:08 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States has violated Pakistan's sovereignty and shattered tribal structures with unmanned drone strikes in its counterterrorism operations near the Afghan border, a U.N. human rights investigator said in a statement on Friday. U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, Ben Emmerson, visited Pakistan for three days this week as part of his investigation into the civilian impact of the use of drones and other forms of targeted killings. "As a matter of international law, the U.S. drone campaign in Pakistan is ... ...

Obama won't trip over Netanyahu's Iran "red line" Posted: 15 Mar 2013 03:19 PM PDT By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama visits Israel next week at the onset of spring - the "red line" previously drawn by his host, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to trigger an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. But an Israeli-Iranian war, Washington's nightmare as it tries to scale back defense commitments abroad and avoid a draining Gulf oil crisis, does not appear trip-wire imminent. ...

Tuareg rebels seek to stamp control on northern Mali Posted: 15 Mar 2013 01:04 PM PDT By Joe Penney GAO, Mali (Reuters) - Tuareg rebels are moving to exert their own authority over north Mali by issuing security passes for the region, officials and residents said on Friday, underscoring the challenge of unifying the West African state before planned elections. Rebels from the pro-autonomy MNLA have been handing out the security documents, stamped in name of the Azawad Republic they proclaimed last year, to drivers of vehicles in and around their northern stronghold of Kidal. ...

Brazil names new agriculture, labor and aviation ministers Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:26 PM PDT BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff appointed new ministers for agriculture, civil aviation and labor on Friday, the presidential office said, in a Cabinet shuffle that left her economic team intact. Congressman Antonio Andrade from Minas Gerais state was named agriculture minister, replacing Mendes Ribeiro, who is recovering from brain tumor surgery. Both men belong to the PMDB, Brazil's largest political party and Rousseff's main ally in her unwieldy 17-party governing coalition. ...

Gridlocked Italian parliament fails to elect speakers Posted: 15 Mar 2013 02:08 PM PDT By Giselda Vagnoni and Giuseppe Fonte ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new parliament sat on Friday for the first time since an inconclusive general election produced a political stalemate that meant deputies and senators were unable even to elect speakers for either chamber. The February election gave the center left a majority in the lower house but not in the Senate, leaving it unable to form a government and raising the specter of a return to the polls and the threat of renewed market turmoil. ...

EU rejects Franco-British push to arm Syrian rebels Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:06 PM PDT By Peter Griffiths and Justyna Pawlak BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments on Friday rejected Franco-British efforts to lift an EU arms embargo to allow weapons supplies to Syrian rebels, saying this could spark an arms race and worsen regional instability. France and Britain found little support for their proposal at an EU summit in Brussels, diplomats said, but EU foreign ministers will consider the issue again next week. ...

Vatican criticizes campaign against pope Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:43 PM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — The honeymoon that Pope Francis has enjoyed since his remarkable election hit a bump Friday, with the Vatican lashing out at what it called a defamatory and "anti-clerical left-wing" media campaign questioning his actions during Argentina's murderous military dictatorship.

Few protests on 2nd anniversary of Syrian uprising Posted: 15 Mar 2013 02:10 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — On the second anniversary of Syria's uprising, there were only small protests and a few firecrackers defiantly popping in the capital of Damascus — a grim contrast to the early days when crowds of demonstrators danced to the drums of rebellion against President Bashar Assad.

Nigeria summons US official over tweets on pardon Posted: 15 Mar 2013 03:08 PM PDT LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's foreign ministry summoned a top U.S. diplomat Friday night over an issue of national importance — on Twitter.

Brazil's new oil revenue law goes into effect Posted: 15 Mar 2013 02:44 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — A new oil law that gives a greater share of royalty revenues from Brazil's vast oil fields to non-producing states went into effect Friday and producing states filed appeals against it with the Supreme Court.

Hugo Chavez coffin parades past Venezuela's ills Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:36 PM PDT CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The road from the military academy where Hugo Chavez's body has been lying in state to the hilltop museum where he'll be displayed indefinitely is lined with some of the most dangerous slums on the planet. It runs under bridges in dire need of repair and past grocery stores with few groceries.

AP PHOTOS: A look at 2 years of conflict in Syria Posted: 15 Mar 2013 09:55 AM PDT Syrians marked the second anniversary of the revolt against President Bashar Assad on Friday, with small protests and vigils inside the war-shattered country and abroad. Since the heady, early days of their uprising, many Syrians opposed to the regime have descended into despair: The civil war has killed an estimated 70,000 people, displaced more than four million and turned neighbor against neighbor.

Bolshoi acid attack victim hopes to work again Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:44 AM PDT AACHEN, Germany (AP) — The Bolshoi ballet artistic director badly burned in an acid attack said Friday he is "full of strength and faith" that he will eventually see well enough to return to work at the famed Moscow theater.

Ex-tabloid editor quizzed in phone hacking probe Posted: 15 Mar 2013 03:10 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — The former editor of Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid was questioned on Friday by police investigating phone hacking, British media reported.

Pope's former neighbor recalls his 'love' letter Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:32 AM PDT BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine woman who grew up as the neighbor of the future Pope Francis says she was very briefly the object of his affections when they were just 12 years old.

UN: 28 percent of NKorean children malnourished Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:41 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than a fourth of all North Korean children are stunted from chronic malnutrition, and two-thirds of the country's 24 million people don't know where their next meal is coming from, the United Nations said Friday.

Lessons from Iraq... in 1958. Posted: 15 Mar 2013 01:39 PM PDT The Atlantic recently re-posted a piece they'd commissioned from William R. Polk in 1958 and I stumbled across it when I was looking for some of Mr. Polk's more recent work this morning.

How European Catholics see Pope Francis Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:41 PM PDT Catholics across the world are celebrating the inauguration of a new pope and Europe is no exception. But many are wondering what kind of leader Pope Francis will be.

The UN document on women that has terrified Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:01 PM PDT Yesterday Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement warning of apocalyptic consequences if a proposed document addressing violence against women is adopted by the UN.

Division among cardinals paved way for selection of Pope Francis Posted: 15 Mar 2013 11:47 AM PDT The surprise election of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope was the result of a determination among many cardinals to pick a candidate from outside Europe, Vatican insiders say.

Good Reads: Amazon mysteries, Africans step up, state of the states, knowing voters Posted: 15 Mar 2013 11:09 AM PDT The Amazon Basin is often cited as a global repository of biodiversity. But it's also the last bastion, perhaps, of human cultural diversity. In Smithsonian magazine, Joshua Hammer recounts the recent spotting of what may be the last two isolated tribes in the Colombian Amazon: the Yuri and the Passé. They were spotted from airplanes by experts seeking to confirm their existence and to strengthen protections against outside intrusion.

From every direction, arms for Syria Posted: 15 Mar 2013 10:31 AM PDT The United Nations said today that more than 5 million Syrians – about 20 percent of its population – have been left reliant on aid handouts by the ferocious civil war that has raged there for two years now.

Can Pope Francis' focus on poor attract 'indifferent Catholics' back to church? Posted: 15 Mar 2013 10:26 AM PDT As Pope Francis made his first speech to the world yesterday from the white balcony on St. Peter's Basilica, he rebuffed some of the traditional pomp and circumstance, reportedly declining the ornate Vatican jewelry and fur-lined red cloak.

Pakistan's parliament makes history Posted: 15 Mar 2013 10:08 AM PDT At midnight on Friday, the Pakistani parliament will make history by becoming the first Pakistan National Assembly to complete its full five-year term.

Two years on, aid efforts struggle to keep up with a shattered Syria Posted: 15 Mar 2013 09:34 AM PDT Earlier this month, aid group Syria Relief and Development traveled to Idlib Province to pass out clothing and toys to children. Two days later, a missile struck the town, killing half of its residents.

Sandinistas block Internet in Nicaragua's National Assembly Posted: 15 Mar 2013 09:27 AM PDT • A version of this story ran on the author's site, nicaraguadispatch.com. The views expressed are the author's own.

Will Jesuit identity help Pope Francis repair 'fractured church'? Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PDT Jorge Mario Bergoglio may be the first pope from the Americas, and the first to call himself Francis. But he is also the first Jesuit ever to head the Roman Catholic Church – perhaps surprising given the order's visible prominence in 112 nations on six continents.

An echo of Soviet-era censorship and meddling in Latvia? Posted: 15 Mar 2013 07:47 AM PDT Latvia left behind the repression of dissent and state control of academic research when the Soviet Union started breaking apart 25 years ago, but recent events have left Latvians wondering whether some old habits are returning.

War draws closer to Lebanon with Syrian threat of attack Posted: 15 Mar 2013 05:55 AM PDT • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Kimberly Ritter stands up to child sex trafficking in US hotels Posted: 15 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PDT The first time someone mentioned human trafficking to Kimberly Ritter, she had only a vague idea of what it was. "Isn't that something that happens in third-world countries?" she asked.

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